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diff --git a/20758-8.txt b/20758-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ada8099 --- /dev/null +++ b/20758-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,31781 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, by Morris Jastrow + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria + +Author: Morris Jastrow + +Release Date: March 7, 2007 [EBook #20758] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RELIGION OF BABYLONIA *** + + + + +Produced by Paul Murray and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. (This file was +produced from images generously made available by the +Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + + + + +[Transcriber's Note: This file was produced from images generously made +available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) +at http://gallica.bnf.fr.] + +HANDBOOKS +ON THE +HISTORY OF RELIGIONS + +EDITED BY +MORRIS JASTROW, Jr., PH.D. +_Professor of Semitic Languages in the University of Pennsylvania_ + +VOLUME II + + + + +THE RELIGION + +OF + +BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA + +BY +MORRIS JASTROW, Jr., PH.D. +(LEIPZIG) +PROFESSOR OF SEMITIC LANGUAGES IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA + +GINN & COMPANY + +BOSTON · NEW YORK · CHICAGO · LONDON + +COPYRIGHT, 1893 +By MORRIS JASTROW, Jr. + +ALL RIGHTS RESERVED + +35.11 + + +The Athenæum Press +GINN & COMPANY · PROPRIETORS +BOSTON · USA + + + + +TO + +H. B. J. + +MY FAITHFUL COLLABORATOR + + + + +PREFACE. + + +It requires no profound knowledge to reach the conclusion that the time +has not yet come for an exhaustive treatise on the religion of Babylonia +and Assyria. But even if our knowledge of this religion were more +advanced than it is, the utility of an exhaustive treatment might still +be questioned. Exhaustive treatises are apt to be exhausting to both +reader and author; and however exhaustive (or exhausting) such a +treatise may be, it cannot be final except in the fond imagination of +the writer. For as long as activity prevails in any branch of science, +all results are provisional. Increasing knowledge leads necessarily to a +change of perspective and to a readjustment of views. The chief reason +for writing a book is to prepare the way for the next one on the same +subject. + +In accordance with the general plan of this Series[1] of Handbooks, it +has been my chief aim to gather together in convenient arrangement and +readable form what is at present known about the religion of the +Babylonians and Assyrians. The investigations of scholars are scattered +through a large variety of periodicals and monographs. The time has come +for focusing the results reached, for sifting the certain from the +uncertain, and the uncertain from the false. This work of gathering the +_disjecta membra_ of Assyriological science is essential to future +progress. If I have succeeded in my chief aim, I shall feel amply repaid +for the labor involved. + +In order that the book may serve as a guide to students, the names of +those to whose researches our present knowledge of the subject is due +have frequently been introduced, and it will be found, I trust, that I +have been fair to all.[2] At the same time, I have naturally not +hesitated to indicate my dissent from views advanced by this or that +scholar, and it will also be found, I trust, that in the course of my +studies I have advanced the interpretation of the general theme or of +specific facts at various points. While, therefore, the book is only in +a secondary degree sent forth as an original contribution, the +discussion of mooted points will enhance its value, I hope, for the +specialist, as well as for the general reader and student for whom, in +the first place, the volumes of this series are intended. + +The disposition of the subject requires a word of explanation. After the +two introductory chapters (common to all the volumes of the series) I +have taken up the pantheon as the natural means to a survey of the +field. The pantheon is treated, on the basis of the historical texts, in +four sections: (1) the old Babylonian period, (2) the middle period, or +the pantheon in the days of Hammurabi, (3) the Assyrian pantheon, and +(4) the latest or neo-Babylonian period. The most difficult phase has +naturally been the old Babylonian pantheon. Much is uncertain here. Not +to speak of the chronology which is still to a large extent guesswork, +the identification of many of the gods occurring in the oldest +inscriptions, with their later equivalents, must be postponed till +future discoveries shall have cleared away the many obstacles which +beset the path of the scholar. The discoveries at Telloh and Nippur have +occasioned a recasting of our views, but new problems have arisen as +rapidly as old ones have been solved. I have been especially careful in +this section not to pass beyond the range of what is definitely _known_, +or, at the most, what may be regarded as tolerably certain. Throughout +the chapters on the pantheon, I have endeavored to preserve the attitude +of being 'open to conviction'--an attitude on which at present too much +stress can hardly be laid. + +The second division of the subject is represented by the religious +literature. With this literature as a guide, the views held by the +Babylonians and Assyrians regarding magic and oracles, regarding the +relationship to the gods, the creation of the world, and the views of +life after death have been illustrated by copious translations, together +with discussions of the specimens chosen. The translations, I may add, +have been made direct from the original texts, and aim to be as literal +as is consonant with presentation in idiomatic English. + +The religious architecture, the history of the temples, and the cult +form the subject of the third division. Here again there is much which +is still uncertain, and this uncertainty accounts for the unequal +subdivisions of the theme which will not escape the reader. + +Following the general plan of the series, the last chapter of the book +is devoted to a general estimate and to a consideration of the influence +exerted by the religion of Babylonia and Assyria. + +In the transliteration of proper names, I have followed conventional +methods for well-known names (like Nebuchadnezzar), and the general +usage of scholars in the case of others. In some cases I have furnished +a transliteration of my own; and for the famous Assyrian king, to whom +we owe so much of the material for the study of the Babylonian and +Assyrian religion, Ashurbanabal, I have retained the older usage of +writing it with a _b_, following in this respect Lehman, whose +arguments[3] in favor of this pronunciation for the last element in the +name I regard as on the whole acceptable. + +I have reasons to regret the proportions to which the work has grown. +These proportions were entirely unforeseen when I began the book, and +have been occasioned mainly by the large amount of material that has +been made available by numerous important publications that appeared +after the actual writing of the book had begun. This constant increase +of material necessitated constant revision of chapters; and such +revision was inseparable from enlargement. I may conscientiously say +that I have studied these recent publications thoroughly as they +appeared, and have embodied at the proper place the results reached by +others and which appeared to me acceptable. The work, therefore, as now +given to the public may fairly be said to represent the state of present +knowledge. + +In a science that grows so rapidly as Assyriology, to which more than to +many others the adage of _dies diem docet_ is applicable, there is great +danger of producing a piece of work that is antiquated before it leaves +the press. At times a publication appeared too late to be utilized. So +Delitzsch's important contribution to the origin of cuneiform writing[4] +was published long after the introductory chapters had been printed. In +this book he practically abandons his position on the Sumerian question +(as set forth on p. 22 of this volume) and once more joins the opposite +camp. As far as my own position is concerned, I do not feel called upon +to make any changes from the statements found in chapter i., even after +reading Weissbach's _Die Sumerische Frage_ (Leipzig, 1898),--the latest +contribution to the subject, which is valuable as a history of the +controversy, but offers little that is new. Delitzsch's name must now be +removed from the list of those who accept Halévy's thesis; but, on the +other hand, Halévy has gained a strong ally in F. Thureau-Dangin, whose +_special_ studies in the old Babylonian inscriptions lend great weight +to his utterances on the origin of the cuneiform script. Dr. Alfred +Jeremias, of Leipzig, is likewise to be added to the adherents of +Halévy. The Sumero-Akkadian controversy is not yet settled, and +meanwhile it is well to bear in mind that not _every_ Assyriologist is +qualified to pronounce an opinion on the subject. A special study is +required, and but few Assyriologists have made such a study. Accepting a +view or a tradition from one's teacher does not constitute a person an +authority, and one may be a very good Assyriologist without having views +on the controversy that are of any particular value. + +Lastly, I desire to call attention to the Bibliography, on which much +time has been spent, and which will, I trust, be found satisfactory. In +a list of addenda at the end of the book, I have noted some errors that +slipped into the book, and I have also embodied a few additions. The +copious index is the work of my student, Dr. S. Koppe, and it gives me +pleasure to express my deep obligations to him for the able and +painstaking manner in which he has carried out the work so kindly +undertaken by him. The drawing for the map was made by Mr. J. Horace +Frank of Philadelphia. + + * * * * * + +To my wife more thanks are due than I can convey in words for her share +in the work. She copied almost all of the manuscript, and in doing so +made many valuable suggestions. Without her constant aid and +encouragement I would have shrunk from a task which at times seemed too +formidable to be carried to a successful issue. As I lay down my pen +after several years of devotion to this book, my last thought is one of +gratitude to the beloved partner of my joys and sorrows. + +MORRIS JASTROW, Jr. +University of Pennsylvania, +_June, 1898._ + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Set forth in the announcement of the series at the back of the book +and in the Editor's Prefatory Note to Volume I. + +[2] In the Index, however, names of scholars have only been introduced +where absolutely necessary to the subject. + +[3] In his work, _Shamassum-ukin König von Babylonien_, pp. 16-21. +Hence, I also write Ashurnasirbal. + +[4] _Die Entstehung des ältesten Schriftsystems_ (Leipzig, 1897). + + + + +CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. + +[Transcriber's Note: These changes and additions are printed only here; +the main text is as it was in the original.] + + +Page, Line. + +22. See Preface. + +35, 10. Isin or Nisin, see Lehmann's _Shamash-shumukin_, I. 77; +Meissner's _Beiträge zum altbabylonischen Privatrecht_, p. 122. + +61. Bau also appears as Nin-din-dug, _i.e._, 'the lady who restores +life.' See Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, I. 2, Nos. 95, 106, +111. + +74. On Ã, see Hommel, _Journal of Transactions of Victoria Institute_, +XXVIII. 35-36. + +99, 24. Ur-shul-pa-uddu is a ruler of Kish. + +102, 13. For Ku-anna, see IIIR. 67, 32 c-d. + +102, 24. For another U-mu as a title of Adad, see Delitzsch, _Das +Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos_, p. 125, note. + +111, 2. Nisaba is mentioned in company with the great gods by +Nebopolassar (Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, I. 1. Pl. 32, +col. II. 15). + +165. Note 2. On these proper names, see Delitzsch's "Assyriologische +Miscellen" (_Berichte der phil.-hist. Classe der kgl. sächs. Gesell. d. +Wiss._, 1893, pp. 183 seq.). + +488. Note 1. See now Scheil's article "Recueil de Travaux," etc., XX. +55-59. + +529. The form Di-ib-ba-ra has now been found. See Scheil's "Recueil de +Travaux," etc., XX. 57. + +589. Note 3. See now Hommel, _Expository Times_, VIII. 472, and +Baudissin, _ib._ IX. 40-45. + + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAPTER PAGE + +I. Introduction 1 +II. The Land and the People 26 +III. General Traits of the Old Babylonian Pantheon 48 +IV. Babylonian Gods Prior to the Days of Hammurabi 51 +V. The Consorts of the Gods 104 +VI. Gudea's Pantheon 106 +VII. Summary 112 +VIII. The Pantheon in the Days of Hammurabi 116 +IX. The Gods in the Temple Lists and in the Legal and Commercial + Documents 165 +X. The Minor Gods in the Period of Hammurabi 171 +XI. Survivals of Animism in the Babylonian Religion 180 +XII. The Assyrian Pantheon 188 +XIII. The Triad and the Combined Invocation of Deities 235 +XIV. The Neo-babylonian Period 239 +XV. The Religious Literature of Babylonia 245 +XVI. The Magical Texts 253 +XVII. The Prayers and Hymns 294 +XVIII. Penitential Psalms 312 +XIX. Oracles and Omens 328 +XX. Various Classes of Omens 352 +XXI. The Cosmology of the Babylonians 407 +XXII. The Zodiacal System of the Babylonians 454 +XXIII. The Gilgamesh Epic 467 +XXIV. Myths and Legends 518 +XXV. The Views of Life After Death 556 +XXVI. The Temples and the Cult 612 +XXVII. Conclusion 690 + + + + +[Illustration: MAP OF BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. + +(From a drawing by Mr. J. HORACE FRANK.)] + + + + +THE RELIGION OF BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. + +CHAPTER I.--INTRODUCTION. + +SOURCES AND METHODS OF STUDY. + +I. + + +Until about the middle of the 19th century, our knowledge of the +religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians was exceedingly scant. No +records existed that were contemporaneous with the period covered by +Babylonian-Assyrian history; no monuments of the past were preserved +that might, in default of records, throw light upon the religious ideas +and customs that once prevailed in Mesopotamia. The only sources at +command were the incidental notices--insufficient and fragmentary in +character--that occurred in the Old Testament, in Herodotus, in +Eusebius, Syncellus, and Diodorus. Of these, again, only the two +first-named, the Old Testament and Herodotus, can be termed direct +sources; the rest simply reproduce extracts from other works, notably +from Ctesias, the contemporary of Xenophon, from Berosus, a priest of +the temple of Bel in Babylonia, who lived about the time of Alexander +the Great, or shortly after, and from Apollodorus, Abydenus, Alexander +Polyhistor, and Nicolas of Damascus, all of whom being subsequent to +Berosus, either quote the latter or are dependent upon him. + +Of all these sources it may be said, that what information they furnish +of Babylonia and Assyria bears largely upon the political history, and +only to a very small degree upon the religion. In the Old Testament, the +two empires appear only as they enter into relations with the Hebrews, +and since Hebrew history is not traced back beyond the appearance of the +clans of Terah in Palestine, there is found previous to this period, +barring the account of the migrations of the Terahites in Mesopotamia, +only the mention of the Tigris and Euphrates among the streams watering +the legendary Garden of Eden, the incidental reference to Nimrod and his +empire, which is made to include the capitol cities of the Northern and +Southern Mesopotamian districts, and the story of the founding of the +city of Babylon, followed by the dispersion of mankind from their +central habitation in the Euphrates Valley. The followers of Abram, +becoming involved in the attempts of Palestinian chieftains to throw off +the yoke of Babylonian supremacy, an occasion is found for introducing +Mesopotamia again, and so the family history of the Hebrew tribes +superinduces at odd times a reference to the old settlements on the +Euphrates, but it is not until the political struggles of the two Hebrew +kingdoms against the inevitable subjection to the superior force of +Assyrian arms, and upon the fall of Assyria, to the Babylonian power, +that Assyria and Babylonia engage the frequent attention of the +chronicler's pen and of the prophet's word. Here, too, the political +situation is always the chief factor, and it is only incidentally that +the religion comes into play,--as when it is said that Sennacherib, the +king of Assyria, was murdered while worshipping in the temple dedicated +to a deity, Nisroch; or when a prophet, to intensify the picture of the +degradation to which the proud king of Babylon is to be reduced, +introduces Babylonian conceptions of the nether world into his +discourse.[5] Little, too, is furnished by the Book of Daniel, despite +the fact that Babylon is the center of action, and what little there is +bearing on the religious status, such as the significance attached to +dreams, and the implied contrast between the religion of Daniel and his +companions, and that of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, loses some +of its force by the late origin of the book. The same applies, only in a +still stronger degree, to the Book of Judith, in which Nineveh is the +center of the incidents described. + +The rabbinical literature produced in Palestine and Babylonia is far +richer in notices bearing on the religious practices of Mesopotamia, +than is the Old Testament. The large settlements of Jews in Babylonia, +which, beginning in the sixth century B.C., were constantly being +increased by fresh accessions from Palestine, brought the professors of +Judaism face to face with religious conditions abhorrent to their souls. +In the regulations of the Rabbis to guard their followers from the +influences surrounding them, there is frequent reference, open or +implied, to Babylonish practices, to the festivals of the Babylonians, +to the images of their gods, to their forms of incantations, and other +things besides; but these notices are rendered obscure by their indirect +character, and require a commentary that can only be furnished by that +knowledge of the times which they take for granted. To this difficulty, +there must be added the comparatively late date of the notices, which +demands an exercise of care before applying them to the very early +period to which the religion of the Babylonians may be traced. + +Coming to Herodotus, it is a matter of great regret that the history of +Assyria, which he declares it was his intention to write,[6] was either +never produced, or if produced, lost. In accordance with the general +usage of his times, Herodotus included under Assyria the whole of +Mesopotamia, both Assyria proper in the north and Southern Mesopotamia. +His history would therefore have been of extraordinary value, and since +nothing escaped his observant eye and well-trained mind, the religious +customs of the country would have come in for their full share of +attention. As it is, we have only a few notices about Babylonia and +Assyria, incidental to his history of Persia.[7] Of these, the majority +are purely historical, chief among which is an epitome of the country's +past--a curious medley of fact and legend--and the famous account of the +capture of Babylon by Cyrus. Fortunately, however, there are four +notices that treat of the religion of the inhabitants: the first, a +description of an eight-storied tower, surmounted by a temple sacred to +the god Bel; a second furnishing a rather detailed account of another +temple, also sacred to Bel, and situated in the same precinct of the +city of Babylon; a third notice speaks, though with provoking brevity, +of the funeral customs of the Babylonians; while in a fourth he +describes the rites connected with the worship of the chief goddess of +the Babylonians, which impress Herodotus, who failed to appreciate their +mystic significance, as shameful. We have no reason to believe that +Ctesias' account of the Assyrian monarchy, under which he, like +Herodotus, included Babylonia, contained any reference to the religion +at all. What he says about Babylonia and Assyria served merely as an +introduction to Persian history--the real purpose of his work--and the +few fragments known chiefly through Diodorus and Eusebius, deal +altogether with the succession of dynasties. As is well known, the lists +of Ctesias have fallen into utter discredit by the side of the +ever-growing confidence in the native traditions as reported by Berosus. + +The loss of the latter's history of Babylon is deplorable indeed; its +value would have been greater than the history of Herodotus, because it +was based, as we know, on the records and documents preserved in +Babylonian temples. How much of the history dealt with the religion of +the people, it is difficult to determine, but the extracts of it found +in various writers show that starting, like the Old Testament, with the +beginning of things, Berosus gave a full account of the cosmogony of the +Babylonians. Moreover, the early history of Babylonia being largely +legendary, as that of every other nation, tales of the relations +existing between the gods and mankind--relations that are always close +in the earlier stages of a nation's history--must have abounded in the +pages of Berosus, even if he did not include in his work a special +section devoted to an account of the religion that still was practiced +in his days. The quotations from Berosus in the works of Josephus are +all of a historical character; those in Eusebius and Syncellus, on the +contrary, deal with the religion and embrace the cosmogony of the +Babylonians, the account of a deluge brought on by the gods, and the +building of a tower. It is to be noted, moreover, that the quotations we +have from Berosus are not direct, for while it is possible, though not +at all certain, that Josephus was still able to consult the works of +Berosus, Eusebius and Syncellus refer to Apollodorus, Abydenus, and +Alexander Polyhistor as their authorities for the statements of Berosus. +Passing in this way through several hands, the authoritative value of +the comparatively paltry extracts preserved, is diminished, and a +certain amount of inaccuracy, especially in details and in the reading +of proper names,[8] becomes almost inevitable. Lastly, it is to be noted +that the list of Babylonian kings found in the famous astronomical work +of Claudius Ptolemaeus, valuable as it is for historical purposes, has +no connection with the religion of the Babylonians. + + +II. + +The sum total of the information thus to be gleaned from ancient sources +for an elucidation of the Babylonian-Assyrian religion is exceedingly +meagre, sufficing scarcely for determining its most general traits. +Moreover, what there is, requires for the most part a control through +confirmatory evidence which we seek for in vain, in biblical or +classical literature. + +This control has now been furnished by the remarkable discoveries made +beneath the soil of Mesopotamia since the year 1842. In that year the +French consul at Mosul, P. E. Botta, aided by a government grant, began +a series of excavations in the mounds that line the banks of the Tigris +opposite Mosul. The artificial character of these mounds had for some +time been recognized. Botta's first finds of a pronounced character were +made at a village known as Khorsabad, which stood on one of the mounds +in question. Here, at a short distance below the surface, he came across +the remains of what proved to be a palace of enormous extent. The +sculptures that were found in this palace--enormous bulls and lions +resting on backgrounds of limestone, and guarding the approaches to the +palace chambers, or long rows of carvings in high relief lining the +palace walls, and depicting war scenes, building operations, and +religious processions--left no doubt as to their belonging to an ancient +period of history. The written characters found on these monuments +substantiated the view that Botta had come across an edifice of the +Assyrian empire, while subsequent researches furnished the important +detail that the excavated edifice lay in a suburb of the ancient capitol +of Assyria, Nineveh, the exact site of which was directly opposite +Mosul. Botta's labors extended over a period of two years; by the end of +which time, having laid bare the greater part of the palace, he had +gathered a large mass of material including many smaller +objects--pottery, furniture, jewelry, and ornaments--that might serve +for the study of Assyrian art and of Assyrian antiquities, while the +written records accompanying the monuments placed for the first time an +equally considerable quantity of original material at the disposal of +scholars for the history of Assyria. All that could be transported was +sent to the Louvre, and this material was subsequently published. Botta +was followed by Austen Henry Layard, who, acting as the agent of the +British Museum, conducted excavations during the years 1845-52, first at +a mound Nimrud, some fifteen miles to the south of Khorsabad, and +afterwards on the site of Nineveh proper, the mound Koyunjik, opposite +Mosul, besides visiting and examining other mounds still further to the +south within the district of Babylonia proper. + +The scope of Layard's excavations exceeded, therefore, those of Botta; +and to the one palace at Khorsabad, he added three at Nimrud and two at +Koyunjik, besides finding traces of a temple and other buildings. The +construction of these edifices was of the same order as the one +unearthed by Botta; and as at the latter, there was a large yield of +sculptures, inscriptions, and miscellaneous objects. A new feature, +however, of Layard's excavations was the finding of several rooms filled +with fragments of small and large clay tablets closely inscribed on both +sides in the cuneiform characters. These tablets, about 30,000 of which +found their way to the British Museum, proved to be the remains of a +royal library. Their contents ranged over all departments of +thought,--hymns, incantations, prayers, epics, history, legends, +mythology, mathematics, astronomy constituting some of the chief +divisions. In the corners of the palaces, the foundation records were +also found, containing in each case more or less extended annals of the +events that occurred during the reign of the monarch whose official +residence was thus brought to light. Through Layard, the foundations +were laid for the Assyrian and Babylonian collections of the British +Museum, the parts of which exhibited to the public now fill six large +halls. Fresh sources of a direct character were thus added for the +study, not only of the historical unfolding of the Assyrian empire, but +through the tablets of the royal library, for the religion of ancient +Mesopotamia as well. + +The stimulus given by Botta and Layard to the recovery of the records +and monuments of antiquity that had been hidden from view for more than +two thousand years, led to a refreshing rivalry between England and +France in continuing a work that gave promise of still richer returns by +further efforts. Victor Place, a French architect of note, who succeeded +Botta as the French consul at Mosul, devoted his term of service, from +1851 to 1855, towards completing the excavations at Khorsabad. A large +aftermath rewarded his efforts. Thanks, too, to his technical knowledge +and that of his assistant, Felix Thomas, M. Place was enabled more +accurately to determine the architectural construction of the temples +and palaces of ancient Assyria. Within this same period (1852-1854) +another exploring expedition was sent out to Mesopotamia by the French +government, under the leadership of Fulgence Fresnel, in whose party +were the above-mentioned Thomas and the distinguished scholar Jules +Oppert. The objective point this time was Southern Mesopotamia, the +mounds of which had hitherto not been touched, many not even identified +as covering the remains of ancient cities. Much valuable work was done +by this expedition in its careful study of the site of the ancient +Babylon,--in the neighborhood of the modern village Hillah, some forty +miles south of Baghdad. Unfortunately, the antiquities recovered at this +place, and elsewhere, were lost through the sinking of the rafts as they +carried their precious burden down the Tigris. In the south again, the +English followed close upon the heels of the French. J. E. Taylor, in +1854, visited many of the huge mounds that were scattered throughout +Southern Mesopotamia in much larger numbers than in the north, while his +compatriot, William K. Loftus, a few years previous had begun +excavations, though on a small scale, at Warka, the site of the ancient +city of Erech. He also conducted some investigations at a mound Mugheir, +which acquired special interest as the supposed site of the famous +Ur,--the home of some of the Terahites before the migration to +Palestine. Of still greater significance were the examinations made by +Sir Henry Rawlinson, in 1854, of the only considerable ruins of ancient +Babylonia that remained above the surface,--the tower of Birs Nimrud, +which proved to be the famous seven-staged temple as described by +Herodotus. This temple was completed, as the foundation records showed, +by Nebuchadnezzar II., in the sixth century before this era; but the +beginnings of the structure belong to a much earlier period. Another +sanctuary erected by this same king was found near the tower. Subsequent +researches by Hormuzd Rassam made it certain that Borsippa, the ancient +name of the place where the tower and sanctuaries stood, was a suburb of +the great city of Babylon itself, which lay directly opposite on the +east side of the Euphrates. The scope of the excavations continued to +grow almost from year to year, and while new mounds were being attacked +in the south, those in the north, especially Koujunjik, continued to be +the subject of attention. + +Rassam, who has just been mentioned, was in a favorable position, +through his long residence as English consul at Mosul, for extracting +new finds from the mounds in this vicinity. Besides adding more than a +thousand tablets from the royal library discovered by Layard, his most +noteworthy discoveries were the unearthing of a magnificent temple at +Nimrud, and the finding of a large bronze gate at Balawat, a few miles +to the northeast of Nimrud. Rassam and Rawlinson were afterwards joined +by George Smith of the British Museum, who, instituting a further search +through the ruins of Koujunjik, Nimrud, Kalah-Shergat, and elsewhere, +made many valuable additions to the English collections, until his +unfortunate death in 1876, during his third visit to the mounds, cut him +off in the prime of a brilliant and most useful career. The English +explorers extended their labors to the mounds in the south. Here it was, +principally at Abu-Habba, that they set their forces to work. The +finding of another temple dedicated to the sun-god rewarded their +efforts. The foundation records showed that the edifice was one of great +antiquity, which was permitted to fall into decay and was then restored +by a ruler whose date can be fixed at the middle of the ninth century +B.C. The ancient name of the place was shown to be Sippar, and the fame +of the temple was such, that subsequent monarchs vied with one another +in adding to its grandeur. It is estimated that the temple contained no +less than three hundred chambers and halls for the archives and for the +accommodation of the large body of priests attached to this temple. In +the archives many thousands of little clay tablets were again found, +not, however, of a literary, but of a legal character, containing +records of commercial transactions conducted in ancient Sippar, such as +sales of houses, of fields, of produce, of stuffs, money loans, +receipts, contracts for work, marriage settlements, and the like. The +execution of the laws being in the hands of priests in ancient +Mesopotamia, the temples were the natural depositories for the official +documents of the law courts. Similar collections to those of Sippar have +been found in almost every mound of Southern Mesopotamia that has been +opened since the days of Rassam. So at Djumdjuma, situated near the site +of the ancient city of Babylon, some three thousand were unearthed that +were added to the fast growing collections of the British Museum. At +Borsippa, likewise, Rawlinson and Rassam recovered a large number of +clay tablets, most of them legal but some of them of a literary +character, which proved to be in part duplicates of those in the royal +library of Ashurbanabal. In this way, the latter's statement, that he +sent his scribes to the large cities of the south for the purpose of +collecting and copying the literature that had its rise there, met with +a striking confirmation. Still further to the south, at a mound known as +Telloh, a representative of the French government, Ernest de Sarzec, +began a series of excavations in 1877, which, continued to the present +day, have brought to light remains of temples and palaces exceeding in +antiquity those hitherto discovered. Colossal statues of diorite, +covered with inscriptions, the pottery, tablets and ornaments, showed +that at a period as early as 3500 B.C. civilization in this region had +already reached a very advanced stage. The systematic and thorough +manner in which De Sarzec, with inexhaustible patience, explored the +ancient city, has resulted in largely extending our knowledge of the +most ancient period of Babylonian history as yet known to us. The Telloh +finds were forwarded to the Louvre, which in this way secured a +collection from the south that formed a worthy complement to the +Khorsabad antiquities. + +Lastly, it is gratifying to note the share that our own country has +recently taken in the great work that has furnished the material needed +for following the history of the Mesopotamian states. In 1887, an +expedition was sent out under the auspices of the University of +Pennsylvania, to conduct excavations at Niffer,--a mound to the +southeast of Babylon, situated on a branch of the Euphrates, and which +was known to be the site of one of the most famous cities in this +region. The Rev. John P. Peters (now in New York), who was largely +instrumental in raising the funds for the purpose, was appointed +director of the expedition. Excavations were continued for two years +under Dr. Peters' personal supervision, and since then by Mr. John H. +Haynes, with most satisfactory success. A great temple dedicated to the +god Bel was discovered, and work has hitherto been confined chiefly to +laying bare the various parts of the edifice. The foundation of the +building goes back to an earlier period than the ruins of Telloh. It +survived the varying fortunes of the city in which it stood, and each +period of Babylonian history left its traces at Niffer through the +records of the many rulers who sought the favor of the god by enlarging +or beautifying his place of worship. The temple became a favorite spot +to which pilgrims came from all sides on the great festivals, to offer +homage at the sacred shrines. Votive offerings, in the shape of +inscribed clay cones, and little clay images of Bel and of his female +consort, were left in the temple as witnesses to the piety of the +visitors. The archives were found to be well stocked with the official +legal documents dating chiefly from the period of 1700 to 1200 B.C., +when the city appears to have reached the climax of its glory. Other +parts of the mound were opened at different depths, and various layers +which followed the chronological development of the place were +determined.[9] After its destruction, the sanctity of the city was in a +measure continued by its becoming a burial-place. The fortunes of the +place can thus be followed down to the ninth or the tenth century of our +era, a period of more than four thousand years. Already more than 20,000 +tablets have been received at the University of Pennsylvania, besides +many specimens of pottery, bowls, jars, cones, and images, as well as +gold, copper, and alabaster work. + +From this survey of the work done in the last decades in exploring the +long lost and almost forgotten cities of the Tigris and of the Euphrates +Valley, it will be apparent that a large amount of material has been +made accessible for tracing the course of civilization in this region. +Restricting ourselves to that portion of it that bears on the religion +of ancient Mesopotamia, it may be grouped under two heads, (1) literary, +and (2) archaeological. The religious texts of Ashurbanabal's library +occupy the first place in the literary group. The incantations, the +prayers and hymns, lists of temples, of gods and their attributes, +traditions of the creation of the world, legends of the deities and of +their relations to men, are sources of the most direct character; and it +is fortunate that among the recovered portions of the library, such +texts are largely represented. Equally direct are the dedicatory +inscriptions set up by the kings in the temples erected to the honor of +some god, and of great importance are the references to the various +gods, their attributes, their powers, and their deeds, which are found +at every turn in the historical records which the kings left behind +them. Many of these records open or close with a long prayer to some +deity; in others, prayers are found interspersed, according to the +occasion on which they were offered up. Attributing the success of their +undertakings--whether it be a military campaign, or the construction of +some edifice, or a successful hunt--to the protection offered by the +gods, the kings do not tire of singing the praises of the deity or +deities as whose favorites they regarded themselves. The gods are +constantly at the monarch's side. Now we are told of a dream sent to +encourage the army on the approach of a battle, and again of some +portent which bade the king be of good cheer. To the gods, the appeal is +constantly made, and to them all good things are ascribed. From the +legal documents, likewise, much may be gathered bearing on the religion. +The protection of the gods is invoked or their curses called down; the +oath is taken in their name; while the manner in which the temples are +involved in the commercial life of ancient Babylonia renders these +tablets, which are chiefly valuable as affording us a remarkable insight +into the people's daily life, of importance also in illustrating certain +phases of the religious organization of the country. Most significant +for the position occupied by the priests, is the fact that the latter +are invariably the scribes who draw up the documents. + +The archaeological material furnished by the excavations consists of the +temples of the gods, their interior arrangement, and provisions for the +various religious functions; secondly, the statues of the gods, +demigods, and the demons, the altars and the vessels; and thirdly, the +religious scenes,--the worship of some deity, the carrying of the gods +in procession, the pouring of libations, the performance of rites, or +the representation of some religious symbols sculptured on the palace +wall or on the foundation stone of a sacred building, or cut out on the +seal cylinders, used as signatures[10] and talismans. + +Large as the material is, it is far from being exhausted, and, indeed, +far from sufficient for illustrating all the details of the religious +life. This will not appear surprising, if it be remembered that of the +more than one hundred mounds that have been identified in the region of +the Tigris and Euphrates as containing remains of buried cities, only a +small proportion have been explored, and of these scarcely more than a +half dozen with an approach to completeness. The soil of Mesopotamia +unquestionably holds still greater treasures than those which it has +already yielded. The links uniting the most ancient period--at present, +_c._ 4000 B.C.--to the final destruction of the Babylonian empire by +Cyrus, in the middle of the sixth century B.C., are far from being +complete. For entire centuries we are wholly in the dark, and for others +only a few skeleton facts are known; and until these gaps shall have +been filled, our knowledge of the religion of the Babylonians and +Assyrians must necessarily remain incomplete. Not as incomplete, indeed, +as their history, for religious rites are not subject to many changes, +and the progress of religious ideas does not keep pace with the constant +changes in the political kaleidoscope of a country; but, it is evident +that no exhaustive treatment of the religion can be given until the +material shall have become adequate to the subject. + + +III. + +Before proceeding to the division of the subject in hand, some +explanation is called for of the method by which the literary material +found beneath the soil has been made intelligible. + +The characters on the clay tablets and cylinders, on the limestone +slabs, on statues, on altars, on stone monuments, are generally known as +cuneiform, because of their wedge-shaped appearance, though it may be +noted at once that in their oldest form the characters are linear rather +than wedge-shaped, presenting the more or less clearly defined outlines +of objects from which they appear to be derived. At the time when these +cuneiform inscriptions began to be found in Mesopotamia, the language +which these characters expressed was still totally unknown. Long +previous to the beginning of Botta's labors, inscriptions also showing +the cuneiform characters had been found at Persepolis on various +monuments of the ruins and tombs still existing at that place. The first +notice of these inscriptions was brought to Europe by a famous Italian +traveler, Pietro della Valle, in the beginning of the seventeenth +century. For a long time it was doubted whether the characters +represented anything more than mere ornamentation, and it was not until +the close of the 18th century, after more accurate copies of the +Persepolitan characters had been furnished through Carsten Niebuhr, that +scholars began to apply themselves to their decipherment. Through the +efforts chiefly of Gerhard Tychsen, professor at Rostock, Frederick +Münter, a Danish scholar, and the distinguished Silvestre de Sacy of +Paris, the beginnings were made which finally led to the discovery of +the key to the mysterious writings, in 1802, by Georg Friedrich +Grotefend, a teacher at a public school in Göttingen. The observation +was made previous to the days of Grotefend that the inscriptions at +Persepolis invariably showed three styles of writing. While in all three +the characters were composed of wedges, yet the combination of wedges, +as well as their shape, differed sufficiently to make it evident, even +to the superficial observer, that there was as much difference between +them as, say, between the English and the German script. The conclusion +was drawn that the three styles represented three languages, and this +conclusion was strikingly confirmed when, upon the arrival of Botta's +finds in Europe, it was seen that one of the styles corresponded to the +inscriptions found at Khorsabad; and so in all subsequent discoveries in +Mesopotamia, this was found to be the case. One of the languages, +therefore, on the monuments of Persepolis was presumably identical with +the speech of ancient Mesopotamia. Grotefend's key to the reading of +that style of cuneiform writing which invariably occupied the first +place when the three styles were ranged one under the other, or occupied +the most prominent place when a different arrangement was adopted, met +with universal acceptance. He determined that the language of the style +which, for the sake of convenience, we may designate as No. 1, was Old +Persian,--the language spoken by the rulers, who, it was known through +tradition and notices in classical writers, had erected the series of +edifices at Persepolis, one of the capitols of the Old Persian or, as it +is also called, the Achaemenian empire. By the year 1840 the +decipherment of these Achaemenian inscriptions was practically complete, +the inscriptions had been read, the alphabet was definitely settled, and +the grammar, in all but minor points, known. It was possible, therefore, +in approaching the Mesopotamian style of cuneiform, which, as occupying +the third place, may be designated as No. 3, to use No. 1 as a guide, +since it was only legitimate to conclude that Nos. 2 and 3 represented +translations of No. 1 into two languages, which, by the side of Old +Persian, were spoken by the subjects of the Achaemenian kings. That one +of these languages should have been the current speech of Mesopotamia +was exactly what was to be expected, since Babylonia and Assyria formed +an essential part of the Persian empire. + +The beginning was made with proper names, the sound of which would +necessarily be the same or very similar in both, or, for that matter, in +all the three languages of the Persepolitan inscriptions.[11] In this +way, by careful comparisons between the two styles, Nos. 1 and 3, it was +possible to pick out the signs in No. 3 that corresponded to those in +No. 1, and inasmuch as the same sign occurred in various names, it was, +furthermore, possible to assign, at least tentatively, certain values to +the signs in question. With the help of the signs thus determined, the +attempt was made to read other words in style No. 3, in which these +signs occurred, but it was some time before satisfactory results were +obtained. An important advance was made when it was once determined, +that the writing was a mixture of signs used both as words and as +syllables, and that the language on the Assyrian monuments belonged to +the group known as Semitic. The cognate languages--chiefly Hebrew and +Arabic--formed a help towards determining the meaning of the words read +and an explanation of the morphological features they presented. For all +that, the task was one of stupendous proportions, and many were the +obstacles that had to be overcome, before the principles underlying the +cuneiform writing were determined, and the decipherment placed on a firm +and scientific basis. This is not the place to enter upon a detailed +illustration of the method adopted by ingenious scholars,--notably +Edward Hincks, Isidor Löwenstern, Henry Rawlinson, Jules Oppert,--to +whose united efforts the solution of the great problems involved is +due;[12] and it would also take too much space, since in order to make +this method clear, it would be necessary to set forth the key discovered +by Grotefend for reading the Old Persian inscriptions. Suffice it to say +that the guarantee for the soundness of the conclusions reached by +scholars is furnished by the consideration, that it was from small and +most modest beginnings that the decipherment began. Step by step, the +problem was advanced by dint of a painstaking labor, the degree of which +cannot easily be exaggerated, until to-day the grammar of the +Babylonian-Assyrian language has been clearly set forth in all its +essential particulars: the substantive and verb formation is as +definitely known as that of any other Semitic language, the general +principles of the syntax, as well as many detailed points, have been +carefully investigated, and as for the reading of the cuneiform texts, +thanks to the various helps at our disposal, and the further elucidation +of the various principles that the Babylonians themselves adopted as a +guide, the instance is a rare one when scholars need to confess their +ignorance in this particular. At most there may be a halting between two +possibilities. The difficulties that still hinder the complete +understanding of passages in texts, arise in part from the mutilated +condition in which, unfortunately, so many of the tablets and cylinders +are found, and in part from a still imperfect knowledge of the +lexicography of the language. For many a word occurring only once or +twice, and for which neither text nor comparison with cognate languages +offers a satisfactory clue, ignorance must be confessed, or at best, a +conjecture hazarded, until its more frequent occurrence enables us to +settle the question at issue. Such settlements of disputed questions are +taking place all the time; and with the activity with which the study of +the language and antiquities of Mesopotamia is being pushed by scholars +in this country, in England, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Norway, +and Holland, and with the constant accession of new material through +excavations and publications, there is no reason to despair of clearing +up the obscurities, still remaining in the precious texts that a +fortunate chance has preserved for us. + + +IV. + +A question that still remains to be considered as to the origin of the +cuneiform writing of Mesopotamia, may properly be introduced in +connection with this account of the excavations and decipherment, though +it is needless to enter into it in detail. + +The "Persian" style of wedge-writing is a direct derivative of the +Babylonian, introduced in the times of the Achaemenians, and it is +nothing but a simplification in form and principle of the more +cumbersome and complicated Babylonian. Instead of a combination of as +many as ten and fifteen wedges to make one sign, we have in the Persian +never more than five, and frequently only three; and instead of writing +words by syllables, sounds alone were employed, and the syllabary of +several hundred signs reduced to forty-two, while the ideographic style +was practically abolished. + +The second style of cuneiform, generally known as Median or Susian,[13] +is again only a slight modification of the "Persian." Besides these +three, there is a fourth language (spoken in the northwestern district +of Mesopotamia between the Euphrates and the Orontes), known as +"Mitanni," the exact status of which has not been clearly ascertained, +but which has been adapted to cuneiform characters. A fifth variety, +found on tablets from Cappadocia, represents again a modification of the +ordinary writing met with in Babylonia. In the inscriptions of Mitanni, +the writing is a mixture of ideographs and syllables, just as in +Mesopotamia, while the so-called "Cappadocian" tablets are written in a +corrupt Babylonian, corresponding in degree to the "corrupt" forms that +the signs take on. In Mesopotamia itself, quite a number of styles +exist, some due to local influences, others the result of changes that +took place in the course of time. In the oldest period known, that is +from 4000 to 3000 B.C., the writing is linear rather than wedge-shaped. +The linear writing is the modification that the original pictures +underwent in being adapted for engraving on stone; the wedges are the +modification natural to the use of clay, though when once the wedges +became the standard method, the greater frequency with which clay as +against stone came to be used, led to an imitation of the wedges by +those who cut out the characters on stone. In consequence, there +developed two varieties of wedge-writing: the one that may be termed +lapidary, used for the stone inscriptions, the official historical +records, and such legal documents as were prepared with especial care; +the other cursive, occurring only on legal and commercial clay tablets, +and becoming more frequent as we approach the latest period of +Babylonian writing, which extends to within a few decades of our era. In +Assyria, finally, a special variety of cuneiform developed that is +easily distinguished from the Babylonian by its greater neatness and the +more vertical position of the wedges. + +The origin of all the styles and varieties of cuneiform writing is, +therefore, to be sought in Mesopotamia; and within Mesopotamia, in that +part of it where culture begins--the extreme south; but beyond saying +that the writing is a direct development from picture writing, there is +little of any definite character that can be maintained. We do not know +when the writing originated, we only know that in the oldest +inscriptions it is already fully developed. + +We do not know who originated it; nor can the question be as yet +definitely answered, whether those who originated it spoke the +Babylonian language, or whether they were Semites at all. Until about +fifteen years ago, it was generally supposed that the cuneiform writing +was without doubt the invention of a non-Semitic race inhabiting +Babylonia at an early age, from whom the Semitic Babylonians adopted it, +together with the culture that this non-Semitic race had produced. These +inventors, called Sumerians by some and Akkadians by others, and +Sumero-Akkadians by a third group of scholars, it was supposed, used the +"cuneiform" as a picture or 'ideographic' script exclusively; and the +language they spoke being agglutinative and largely monosyllabic in +character, it was possible for them to stop short at this point of +development. The Babylonians however, in order to adapt the writing to +their language, did not content themselves with the 'picture' method, +but using the non-Semitic equivalent for their own words, employed the +former as syllables, while retaining, at the same time, the sign as an +ideograph. To make this clearer by an example, the numeral '1' would +represent the word 'one' in their own language, while the non-Semitic +word for 'one,' which let us suppose was "_ash_," they used as the +phonetic value of the sign, in writing a word in which this sound +occurred, as _e.g._, _ash-es_. Since each sign, in Sumero-Akkadian as +well as in Babylonian, represented some general idea, it could stand for +an entire series of words, grouped about this idea and associated with +it, 'day,' for example, being used for 'light,' 'brilliancy,' 'pure,' +and so forth. The variety of syllabic and ideographic values which the +cuneiform characters show could thus be accounted for. + +This theory, however, tempting as it is by its simplicity, cannot be +accepted in this unqualified form. Advancing knowledge has made it +certain that the ancient civilization, including the religion, is +Semitic in character. The assumption therefore of a purely non-Semitic +culture for southern Babylonia is untenable. Secondly, even in the +oldest inscriptions found, there occur Semitic words and Semitic +constructions which prove that the inscriptions were composed by +Semites. As long, therefore, as no traces of purely non-Semitic +inscription are found, we cannot go beyond the Semites in seeking for +the origin of the culture in this region. In view of this, the theory +first advanced by Prof. Joseph Halévy of Paris, and now supported by the +most eminent of German Assyriologists, Prof. Friedrich Delitzsch, which +claims that the cuneiform writing is Semitic in origin, needs to be most +carefully considered. There is much that speaks in favor of this theory, +much that may more easily be accounted for by it, than by the opposite +one, which was originally proposed by the distinguished Nestor of +cuneiform studies, Jules Oppert, and which is with some modifications +still held by the majority of scholars.[14] The question is one which +cannot be answered by an appeal to philology alone. This is the +fundamental error of the advocates of the Sumero-Akkadian theory, who +appear to overlook the fact that the testimony of archaeological and +anthropological research must be confirmatory of a philological +hypothesis before it can be accepted as an indisputable fact.[15] The +time however has not yet come for these two sciences to pronounce their +verdict definitely, though it may be added that the supposition of a +variety of races once inhabiting Southern Mesopotamia finds support in +what we know from the pre-historic researches of anthropologists. + +Again, it is not to be denied that the theory of the Semitic origin of +the cuneiform writing encounters obstacles that cannot easily be set +aside. While it seeks to explain the syllabic values of the signs on the +general principle that they represent elements of Babylonian words, +truncated in this fashion in order to answer to the growing need for +phonetic writing of words for which no ideographs existed, it is +difficult to imagine, as Halévy's theory demands, that the "ideographic" +style, as found chiefly in religious texts, is the deliberate invention +of priests in their desire to produce a method of conveying their ideas +that would be regarded as a mystery by the laity, and be successfully +concealed from the latter. Here again the theory borders on the domain +of archaeology, and philology alone will not help us out of the +difficulty. An impartial verdict of the present state of the problem +might be summed up as follows: + +1. It is generally admitted that all the literature of Babylonia, +including the oldest and even that written in the "ideographic" style, +whether we term it "Sumero-Akkadian" or "hieratic," is the work of the +Semitic settlers of Mesopotamia. + +2. The culture, including the religion of Babylonia, is likewise a +Semitic production, and since Assyria received its culture from +Babylonia, the same remark holds good for entire Mesopotamia. + +3. The cuneiform syllabary is largely Semitic in character. The ideas +expressed by the ideographic values of the signs give no evidence of +having been produced in non-Semitic surroundings; and, whatever the +origin of the system may be, it has been so shaped by the Babylonians, +so thoroughly adapted to their purposes, that it is to all practical +purposes Semitic. + +4. Approached from the theoretical side, there remains, after making +full allowance for the Semitic elements in the system, a residuum that +has not yet found a satisfactory explanation, either by those who favor +the non-Semitic theory or by those who hold the opposite view. + +5. Pending further light to be thrown upon this question, through the +expected additions to our knowledge of the archaeology and of the +anthropological conditions of ancient prehistoric Mesopotamia, +philological research must content itself with an acknowledgment of its +inability to reach a conclusion that will appeal so forcibly to all +minds, as to place the solution of the problem beyond dispute. + +6. There is a presumption in favor of assuming a mixture of races in +Southern Mesopotamia at an early day, and a possibility, therefore, that +the earliest form of picture writing in this region, from which the +Babylonian cuneiform is derived, may have been _used_ by a non-Semitic +population, and that traces of this are still apparent in the developed +system after the important step had been taken, marked by the advance +from picture to phonetic writing. + +The important consideration for our purpose is, that the religious +conceptions and practices as they are reflected in the literary sources +now at our command, are distinctly Babylonian. With this we may rest +content, and, leaving theories aside, there will be no necessity in an +exposition of the religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians to +differentiate or to attempt to differentiate between Semitic and +so-called non-Semitic elements. Local conditions and the long period +covered by the development and history of the religion in question, are +the factors that suffice to account for the mixed and in many respects +complicated phenomena which this religion presents. + +Having set forth the sources at our command for the study of the +Babylonian-Assyrian religion, and having indicated the manner in which +these sources have been made available for our purposes, we are prepared +to take the next step that will fit us for an understanding of the +religious practices that prevailed in Mesopotamia,--a consideration of +the land and of its people, together with a general account of the +history of the latter. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[5] Isaiah, xlv. For the Babylonian views contained in this chapter, see +Alfred Jeremias, _Die Babylonisch-Assyrischen Vorstellungen vom Leben +nach dem Tode_, pp. 112-116. + +[6] Book i. sec. 184. + +[7] Book I. ("Clio"), secs. 95, 102, 178-200. + +[8] An instructive instance is furnished by the mention of a mystic +personage, "Homoroka," which now turns out to be--as Professor J. H. +Wright has shown--a corruption of Marduk. (See _Zeitschrift für +Assyriologie_, x. 71-74.) + +[9] The excavations are still being continued, thanks to the generosity +of some public-spirited citizens of Philadelphia. + +[10] The parties concerned rolled their cylinders over the clay tablet +recording a legal or commercial transaction. + +[11] Besides those at Persepolis, a large tri-lingual inscription was +found at Behistun, near the city of Kirmenshah, in Persia, which, +containing some ninety proper names, enabled Sir Henry Rawlinson +definitely to establish a basis for the decipherment of the Mesopotamian +inscriptions. + +[12] The best account is to be found in Hommel's _Geschichte Babyloniens +und Assyriens_, pp. 58-134. A briefer statement was furnished by +Professor Fr. Delitzsch in his supplements to the German translation of +George Smith's _Chaldaean Genesis_ (_Chaldäische Genesis_, pp. 257-262). +A tolerably satisfactory account in English is furnished by B. T. A. +Evetts in his work, _New Light on the Bible and the Holy Land_, pp. +79-129. For a full account of the excavations and the decipherment, +together with a summary of results and specimens of the various branches +of the Babylonian-Assyrian literature, the reader may be referred to +Kaulen's _Assyrien und Babylonien nach den neuesten Entdeckungen_ (5th +edition). + +[13] The most recent investigations show it to have been a 'Turanian' +language. See Weissbach, _Achämeniden Inschriften sweiter Art_, Leipzig, +1893. + +[14] Besides Delitzsch, however, there are others, as Pognon, Jäger, +Guyard, McCurdy and Brinton, who side with Halévy. + +[15] See now Dr. Brinton's paper, "The Protohistoric Ethnography of +Western Asia" (_Proceed. Amer. Philos. Soc._, 1895), especially pp. +18-22. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE. + +I. + + +The Babylonians and Assyrians with whom we are concerned in this volume +dwelt in the region embraced by the Euphrates and the Tigris,--the +Babylonians in the south, or the Euphrates Valley, the Assyrians to the +northeast, in the region extending from the Tigris into the Kurdish +Mountain districts; while the northwestern part of Mesopotamia--the +northern half of the Euphrates district--was the seat of various empires +that were alternately the rivals and the subjects of either Babylonia or +Assyria. + +The entire length of Babylonia was about 300 miles; the greatest breadth +about 125 miles. The entire surface area was some 23,000 square miles, +or about the size of West Virginia. The area of Assyria, with a length +of 350 miles and a breadth varying from 170 to 300 miles, covered 75,000 +square miles, which would make it somewhat smaller than the state of +Nebraska. In the strict sense, the term Mesopotamia should be limited to +the territory lying between the Euphrates and the Tigris above their +junction, in the neighborhood of Baghdad, and extending northwards to +the confines of the Taurus range; while the district to the south of +Baghdad, and reaching to the Persian Gulf, may more properly be spoken +of as the Euphrates Valley; and a third division is represented by the +territory to the east of the Tigris, from Baghdad, and up to the Kurdish +Mountains; but while this distinction is one that may be justly +maintained, in view of the different character that the southern valley +presents from the northern plain, it has become so customary, in popular +parlance, to think of the entire territory along and between the +Euphrates and Tigris as one country, that the term Mesopotamia in this +broad sense may be retained, with the division suggested by George +Rawlinson, into Upper and Lower Mesopotamia. The two streams, as they +form the salient traits of the region, are the factors that condition +the character of the inhabitants and the culture that once flourished +there. The Euphrates, or, to give the more correct pronunciation, Purat, +signifies the 'river' _par excellence_. It is a quiet stream, flowing +along in majestic dignity almost from its two sources, in the Armenian +mountains, not far from the town of Erzerum, until it is joined by the +Tigris in the extreme south. As the Shatt-el Arab, _i.e._, Arabic River, +the two reach the Persian Gulf. Receiving many tributaries as long as it +remains in the mountains, it flows first in a westerly direction, as +though making direct for the Mediterranean Sea, then, veering suddenly +to the southeast, it receives but few tributaries after it once passes +through the Taurus range into the plain,--on the right side, only the +Sadschur, on the left the Balichus and the Khabur. From this point on +for the remaining distance of 800 miles, so far from receiving fresh +accessions, it loses in quantity through the marsh beds that form on +both sides. When it reaches the alluvial soil of Babylonia proper, its +current and also its depth are considerably diminished through the +numerous canals that form an outlet for its waters. Of its entire +length, 1780 miles, it is navigable only for a small distance, cataracts +forming a hindrance in its northern course and sandbanks in the south. +In consequence, it never became at any time an important avenue for +commerce, and besides rafts, which could be floated down to a certain +distance, the only means of communication ever used were wicker baskets +coated within and without with bitumen, or some form of a primitive +ferry for passing from one shore to another. + +An entirely different stream is the Tigris--a corrupted form of +'Idiklat.' It is only 1146 miles in length, and is marked, as the native +name indicates, by the 'swiftness' of its flow. Starting, like the +Euphrates, in the rugged regions of Armenia, it continues its course +through mountain clefts for a longer period, and joined at frequent +intervals by tributaries, both before it merges into the plain and after +doing so, the volume of its waters is steadily increased. Even when it +approaches the alluvial soil of the south, it does not lose its +character until well advanced in its course to the gulf. Advancing +towards the Euphrates and again receding from it, it at last joins the +latter at Korna, and together they pour their waters through the Persian +Gulf into the great ocean. It is navigable from Diabekr in the north, +for its entire length. Large rafts may be floated down from Mosul to +Baghdad and Basra, and even small steamers have ascended as far north as +Nimrud. The Tigris, then, in contrast to the Euphrates, is the avenue of +commerce for Mesopotamia, forming the connecting bond between it and the +rest of the ancient world,--Egypt, India, and the lands of the +Mediterranean. Owing, however, to the imperfect character of the means +of transportation in ancient and, for that matter, in modern times, the +voyage up the stream was impracticable. The rafts, resting on inflated +bags of goat or sheep skin, can make no headway against the rapid +stream, and so, upon reaching Baghdad or Basra, they are broken up, and +the bags sent back by the shore route to the north. + +The contrast presented by the two rivers is paralleled by the traits +distinguishing Upper from Lower Mesopotamia. Shut off to the north and +northeast by the Armenian range, to the northwest by the Taurus, Upper +Mesopotamia retains, for a considerable extent, and especially on the +eastern side, a rugged aspect. The Kurdish mountains run close to the +Tigris' bed for some distance below Mosul, while between the Tigris and +the Euphrates proper, small ranges and promontories stretch as far as +the end of the Taurus chain, well on towards Mosul. + +Below Mosul, the region begins to change its character. The mountains +cease, the plain begins, the soil becomes alluvial and through the +regular overflow of the two rivers in the rainy season, develops an +astounding fertility. This overflow begins, in the case of the Tigris, +early in March, reaches its height in May, and ceases about the middle +of June. The overflow of the Euphrates extends from the middle of March +till the beginning of June, but September is reached before the river +resumes its natural state. Not only does the overflow of the Euphrates +thus extend over a longer period, but it oversteps its banks with +greater violence than does the Tigris, so that as far north as the +juncture with the Khabur, and still more so in the south, the country to +both sides is flooded, until it assumes the appearance of a great sea. +Through the violence of these overflows, changes constantly occur in the +course that the river takes, so that places which in ancient times stood +on its banks are to-day removed from the main river-bed. Another +important change in Southern Babylonia is the constant accretion of +soil, due to the deposits from the Persian Gulf. + +This increase proceeding on an average of about one mile in fifty years +has brought it about that the two rivers to-day, instead of passing +separately into the Gulf, unite at Korna--some distance still from the +entrance. The contrast of seasons is greater, as may be imagined, in +Upper Mesopotamia than in the south. The winters are cold, with +snowfalls that may last for several months, but with the beginning of +the dry season, in May, a tropical heat sets in which lasts until the +beginning of November, when the rain begins. Assyria proper, that is, +the eastern side of Mesopotamia, is more affected by the mountain ranges +than the west. In the Euphrates Valley, the heat during the dry season, +from about May till November, when for weeks, and even months, no cloud +is to be seen, beggars description; but strange enough, the Arabs who +dwell there at present, while enduring the heat without much discomfort, +are severely affected by a winter temperature that for Europeans and +Americans is exhilarating in its influence. + +From what has been said, it will be clear that the Euphrates is, _par +excellence_, the river of Southern Mesopotamia or Babylonia, while the +Tigris may be regarded as the river of Assyria. It was the Euphrates +that made possible the high degree of culture, that was reached in the +south. Through the very intense heat of the dry season, the soil +developed a fertility that reduced human labor to a minimum. The return +for sowing of all kinds of grain, notably wheat, corn, barley, is +calculated, on an average, to be fifty to a hundred-fold, while the date +palm flourishes with scarcely any cultivation at all. Sustenance being +thus provided for with little effort, it needed only a certain care in +protecting oneself from damage through the too abundant overflow, to +enable the population to find that ease of existence, which is an +indispensable condition of culture. This was accomplished by the +erection of dikes, and by directing the waters through channels into the +fields. + +Assyria, more rugged in character, did not enjoy the same advantages. +Its culture, therefore, not only arose at a later period than that of +Babylonia, but was a direct importation from the south. It was due to +the natural extension of the civilization that continued for the greater +part of the existence of the two empires to be central in the south. But +when once Assyria was included in the circle of Babylonian culture, the +greater effort required in forcing the natural resources of the soil, +produced a greater variety in the return. Besides corn, wheat and rice, +the olive, banana and fig tree, mulberry and vine were cultivated, while +the vicinity of the mountain ranges furnished an abundance of building +material--wood and limestone--that was lacking in the south. The +fertility of Assyria proper, again, not being dependent on the overflow +of the Tigris, proved to be of greater endurance. With the neglect of +the irrigation system, Babylonia became a mere waste, and the same river +that was the cause of its prosperity became the foe that, more +effectually than any human power, contributed to the ruin and the +general desolation that marks the greater part of the Euphrates Valley +at the present time. Assyria continued to play a part in history long +after its ancient glory had departed, and to this day enjoys a far +greater activity, and is of considerable more significance than the +south. + + +II. + +In so far as natural surroundings affect the character of two peoples +belonging to the same race, the Assyrians present that contrast to the +Babylonians which one may expect from the differences, just set forth, +between the two districts. The former were rugged, more warlike, and +when they acquired power, used it in the perfection of their military +strength; the latter, while not lacking in the ambition to extend their +dominion, yet, on the whole, presented a more peaceful aspect that led +to the cultivation of commerce and industrial arts. Both, however, have +very many more traits in common than they have marks of distinction. +They both belong not only to the Semitic race, but to the same branch of +the race. Presenting the same physical features, the languages spoken by +them are identical, barring differences that do not always rise to the +degree of dialectical variations, and affect chiefly the pronunciation +of certain consonants. At what time the Babylonians and Assyrians +settled in the district in which we find them, whence they came, and +whether the Euphrates Valley or the northern Tigris district was the +first to be settled, are questions that cannot, in the present state of +knowledge, be answered. As to the time of their settlement, the high +degree of culture that the Euphrates Valley shows at the earliest period +known to us,--about 4000 B.C.,--and the indigenous character of this +culture, points to very old settlement, and makes it easier to err on +the side of not going back far enough, than on the side of going too +far. Again, while, as has been several times intimated, the culture in +the south is older than that of the north, it does not necessarily +follow that the settlement of Babylonia antedates that of Assyria. The +answer to this question would depend upon the answer to the question as +to the original home of the Semites.[16] The probabilities, however, are +in favor of assuming a movement of population, as of culture, from the +south to the north. At all events, the history of Babylonia and Assyria +begins with the former, and as a consequence we are justified also in +beginning with that phase of the religion for which we have the earliest +records--the Babylonian. + + +III. + +At the very outset of a brief survey of the history of the Babylonians, +a problem confronts us of primary importance. Are there any traces of +other settlers besides the Semitic Babylonians in the earliest period of +the history of the Euphrates Valley? Those who cling to the theory of a +non-Semitic origin of the cuneiform syllabary will, of course, be ready +to answer in the affirmative. Sumerians and Akkadians are the names +given to these non-Semitic settlers who preceded the Babylonians in the +control of the Euphrates Valley. The names are derived from the terms +Sumer and Akkad, which are frequently found in Babylonian and Assyrian +inscriptions, in connection with the titles of the kings. Unfortunately, +scholars are not a unit in the exact location of the districts comprised +by these names, some declaring Sumer to be in the north and Akkad in the +south; others favoring the reverse position. The balance of proof rests +in favor of the former supposition; but however that may be, Sumer and +Akkad represent, from a certain period on, a general designation to +include the whole of Babylonia. Professor Hommel goes so far as to +declare that in the types found on statues and monuments of the oldest +period of Babylonian history--the monuments coming from the mound +Telloh--we have actual representations of these Sumerians, who are thus +made out to be a smooth-faced race with rather prominent cheek-bones, +round faces, and shaven heads.[17] He pronounces in favor of the +highlands lying to the east of Babylonia, as the home of the Sumerians, +whence they made their way into the Euphrates Valley. Unfortunately, the +noses on these old statues are mutilated, and with such an important +feature missing, anthropologists, at least, are unwilling to pronounce +definitely as to the type represented. Again, together with these +supposed non-Semitic types, other figures have been found which, as +Professor Hommel also admits, show the ordinary Semitic features. It +would seem, therefore, that even accepting the hypothesis of a +non-Semitic type existing in Babylonia at this time, the Semitic +settlers are just as old as the supposed Sumerians; and since it is +admitted that the language found on these statues and figures contains +Semitic constructions and Semitic words, it is, to say the least, +hazardous to give the Sumerians the preference over the Semites so far +as the period of settlement and origin of the Euphratean culture is +concerned. As a matter of fact, we are not warranted in going beyond the +statement that all evidence points in favor of a population of mixed +races in the Euphrates Valley from the earliest period known to us. No +positive proof is forthcoming that Sumer and Akkad were ever employed or +understood in any other sense than as geographical terms. + +This one safe conclusion, however, that the Semitic settlers of +Babylonia were not the sole occupants, but by their side dwelt another +race, or possibly a variety of races, possessing entirely different +traits, is one of considerable importance. At various times the +non-Semitic hordes of Elam and the mountain districts to the east of +Babylonia swept over the valley, and succeeded, for a longer or shorter +period, in securing a firm foothold. The ease with which these +conquerors accommodated themselves to their surroundings, continuing the +form of government which they found there, making but slight changes in +the religious practices, can best be accounted for on the supposition +that the mixture of different races in the valley had brought about an +interchange and interlacing of traits which resulted in the approach of +one type to the other. Again, it has recently been made probable that as +early at least as 2000, or even 2500 B.C., Semitic invaders entering +Babylonia from the side of Arabia drove the native Babylonian rulers +from the throne;[18] and at a still earlier period intercourse between +Babylonia and distant nations to the northeast and northwest was +established, which left its traces on the political and social +conditions. At every point we come across evidence of this composite +character of Babylonian culture, and the question as to the origin of +the latter may, after all, resolve itself into the proposition that the +contact of different races gave the intellectual impetus which is the +first condition of a forward movement in civilization; and while it is +possible that, at one stage, the greater share in the movement falls to +the non-Semitic contingent, the Semites soon obtained the intellectual +ascendency, and so absorbed the non-Semitic elements as to give to the +culture resulting from the combination, the homogeneous character it +presents on the surface. + + +IV. + +Our present knowledge of Babylonian history reaches back to the period +of about 4000 B.C. At that time we find the Euphrates Valley divided +into a series of states or principalities, parcelling North and South +Babylonia between them. These states group themselves around certain +cities. In fact, the Babylonian principalities arise from the extension +of the city's jurisdiction, just as the later Babylonian empire is +naught but the enlargement, on a greater scale, of the city of Babylon. + +Of these old Babylonian cities the most noteworthy, in the south, are +Eridu, Lagash,[19] Ur, Larsa, Uruk, Isin; and in the north, Agade, +Sippar, Nippur, Kutha, and Babylon. The rulers of these cities call +themselves either 'king' (literally 'great man') or 'governor,' +according as the position is a purely independent one, or one of +subjection to a more powerful chieftain. Thus the earliest rulers of the +district of Lagash, of whom we have inscriptions (_c._ 3200 B.C.) have +the title of 'king,' but a few centuries later Lagash lost its +independent position and its rulers became 'patesis,' _i.e._, governors. +They are in a position of vassalage, as it would appear, to the +contemporaneous kings of Ur, though this does not hinder them from +engaging in military expeditions against Elam, and in extensive building +operations. The kings of Ur, in addition to their title as kings of Ur, +are styled kings of Sumer and Akkad. Whether at this time, Sumer and +Akkad included the whole of Babylonia, or, as seems more likely, only +the southern part, in either case, Lagash would fall under the +jurisdiction of these kings, if their title is to be regarded as more +than an empty boast. Again, the rulers of Uruk are known simply as kings +of that place, while those of Isin incorporate in their titles, kingship +over Ur as well as Sumer and Akkad. + +For this early period, extending from about 4000 B.C. to 2300, +the chronology is as yet uncertain. Beyond the titles of the rulers +over Babylonian states, there are but few safe indications for +determining the succession of dynasties. So much, however, is now +certain,--that simultaneous with the governors of Lagash and the +older kings of Ur, there was an independent state in Northern Babylonia +with its seat at Agade. Indeed the history of this state can now be +traced back six centuries beyond that of Lagash. Two rulers of Agade, +Naram-Sin (_c._ 3800 B.C.) and Sargon (or to give his fuller name, +Shargani-shar-ali[20]), are the earliest rulers as yet known. These +kings of Agade extended their jurisdiction as far north, at least, as +Nippur on the one side and Sippar on the other. The city of Babylon +itself, if it existed at this period, was therefore included within the +territory of these kings; and it follows that if there existed rulers of +Babylon at this time, which is doubtful (since the city is not +mentioned), they were in the same position of dependency upon the rulers +of Agade as the 'governors' of Lagash were upon some greater power. It +is not until about the middle of the third millennium before this era, +that Babylon comes into prominence. + +In the south, as already intimated, the rulers of Lagash and the dynasty +of Ur are the earliest of which we have any record. There is every +reason to believe that further excavations at Mugheir will bring to +light the names of older kings, and the presumption is in favor of +regarding the southern states, or at least some of them, earlier than +any in the north. The climax in the power of the kings of Ur, the period +when they exerted, in fact as well as in name, the sovereignty over all +Sumer and Akkad may be fixed approximately at 3000 B.C. How far we shall +be able to go beyond that, for the beginnings of this state, must, for +the present, remain doubtful, with the chances in favor of a +considerably earlier date; and it may be that prior to Ur and Lagash +there were dynasties established elsewhere,--at Eridu, perhaps,--the +existence of which will be revealed by future discoveries. An +independent state with its seat at Uruk follows upon the culminating +period of the glory of Ur, and may be regarded, indeed, as an indication +that the rulers of Ur had lost their control over the whole of Southern +Babylonia. Isin, whose site has not yet been determined, but which lay +probably to the north of Uruk, was another political center. Its rulers, +so far as we know them, curiously assign the fourth place to the title +'king of Isin,' giving precedence to their control over Nippur, Eridu, +and Uruk. We may conclude from this, that at the time when Isin extended +its supremacy, the greater luster attaching to the old towns of Nippur +and Uruk, was emphasized by the precedence given to these centers over +Isin, although the Isin kings are only 'shepherds' and 'merciful lords' +over Nippur and Uruk, and not kings. + +At a subsequent period, the kings of Ur appear to have regained the +supremacy, which was wrested from them by Isin; and the rulers of the +latter acknowledge their dependence upon the kings of Ur. This so-called +second dynasty of Ur includes Nippur. The kings are proud of calling +themselves the guardians of the temple of Bel in Nippur, nominated to +the office by the god himself, and reviving an old title of the kings of +Agade, style themselves also 'king of the four regions.' Another change +in the political horoscope is reflected in the subjection of Ur to a +district whose center was Larsa, not far from Ur, and represented by the +mound Senkereh. There are two kings, Nur-Rammân (_i.e._, light of +Ramman) and Sin-iddina (_i.e._, Sin judges), who call themselves +guardians of Ur and kings of Larsa, showing that the center of this +principality was Larsa, with Ur as a dependent district. That these +rulers take up the dominion once held by the kings of Ur is further +manifest in the additional title that they give to themselves, as 'kings +of Sumer and Akkad,' whereas the omission of the title 'king of the four +regions' indicates apparently the exclusion of Agade and Nippur; and +with these, probably North Babylonia in general, from their supremacy. +The power of Larsa receives a fatal check through the invasion of +Babylonia by the Elamites (_c._ 2350 B.C.). + +These variations in official titles are a reflection of the natural +rivalry existing between the various Babylonian states, which led to +frequent shiftings in the political situation. Beyond this, the +inscriptions of these old Babylonian rulers, being ordinarily +commemorative of the dedication to a deity, of some temple or other +construction--notably canals--or of some votive offering, a cone or +tablet, unfortunately tell us little of the events of the time. Pending +the discovery of more complete annals, we must content ourselves with +the general indications of the civilization that prevailed, and of the +relations in which the principalities stood to one another, and with +more or less doubtful reconstructions of the sequence in the dynasties. +In all of this period, however, the division between North and South +Babylonia was kept tolerably distinct, even though occasionally, and for +a certain period, a North Babylonian city, like that of Agade and +Nippur, extended its jurisdiction over a section bordering on the south +and _vice versa_. It remained for a great conqueror, Hammurabi, the +sixth king of a dynasty having its seat in the city of Babylon itself, +who about the year 2300 B.C. succeeded in uniting North and South +Babylonia under one rule. With him, therefore, a new epoch in the +history of the Euphrates Valley begins. Henceforth the supremacy of the +city of Babylon remains undisputed, and the other ancient centers, +losing their political importance, retain their significance only by +virtue of the sanctuaries existing there, to which pilgrimages continued +to be made, and through the commercial activity that, upon the union of +the various Babylonian districts, set in with increased vigor. + +Attention was directed a few years ago by Pognon and Sayce to the fact +that the name of Hammurabi, as well as the names of four kings that +preceded him, and of a number that followed, are not Babylonian. Sayce +expressed the opinion that they were Arabic, and Professor Hommel has +recently reënforced the position of Sayce by showing the close +resemblance existing between these names and those found on the +monuments of Southern Arabia.[21] While no evidence has as yet been +found to warrant us in carrying back the existence of the Minean empire +in Southern Arabia beyond 1500 B.C., still since at this period, this +empire appears in a high state of culture, with commercial intercourse +established between it and Egypt, as well as Palestine, the conclusion +drawn by Hommel that Babylonia was invaded about 2500 B.C. by an +Arabic-speaking people is to be seriously considered. Elam, as we have +seen, was constantly threatening Babylonia from the East, and shortly +before Hammurabi's appearance, succeeded in putting an end to the +dynasty of Larsa. It now appears that the inhabitants of the Euphrates +Valley were also threatened by an enemy lodged somewhere in the +southwest. Though Hommel's hypothesis still needs confirmation, and may +perhaps be somewhat modified by future researches, still so much seems +certain: that the great union of the Babylonian states and the supremacy +of the city of Babylon itself was achieved not by Babylonians but by +foreigners who entered Babylonia from its western (or southwestern) +side. The dynasty of which Hammurabi is the chief representative comes +to an end _c._ 2100, and is followed by another known as Shish-Kha,[22] +whose rulers likewise appear to be foreigners; and when this dynasty +finally disappears after a rule of almost four centuries, Babylonia is +once more conquered by a people coming from the northern parts of Elam +and who are known as the Cassites.[23] These Cassites, of whose origin, +character, and language but little is known as yet, ruled over Babylonia +for a period of no less than 576 years; but adapting themselves to the +customs and religion of the country, their presence did not interfere +with the normal progress of culture in the Euphrates Valley. We may +therefore embrace the period of Hammurabi and his successors, down +through the rule of the Cassite kings, under one head. It is a period +marked by the steady growth of culture, manifesting itself in the +erection of temples, in the construction of canals, and in the expansion +of commerce. Active relationships were maintained between Babylonia and +distant Egypt. + +This movement did not suffer an interruption through the invasion of the +Cassites. Though Nippur, rather than Babylon, appears to have been the +favorite city of the dynasty, the course of civilization flows on +uninterruptedly, and it is not until the growing complications between +Babylonia and Assyria, due to the steady encroachment on the part of the +latter, that decided changes begin to take place. + +About 1500 B.C. the first traces of relationship between Babylonia and +the northern Mesopotamian power, Assyria, appear. These relations were +at first of a friendly character, but it is not long before the growing +strength of Assyria becomes a serious menace to Babylonia. In the middle +of the thirteenth century, Assyrian arms advance upon the city of +Babylon. For some decades, Babylon remains in subjection to Assyria, and +although she regains her independence once more, and even a fair measure +of her former glory, the power of the Cassites is broken. Internal +dissensions add to the difficulties of the situation and lead to the +overthrow of the Cassites (1151 B.C.). Native Babylonians once more +occupy the throne, who, although able to check the danger still +threatening from Elam, cannot resist the strong arms of Assyria. At the +close of the twelfth century Tiglathpileser I. secures a firm hold upon +Babylonia, which now sinks to the position of a dependency upon the +Assyrian kings. + + +V. + +In contrast to Babylonia, which is from the start stamped as a +civilizing power, Assyria, from its rise till its fall, is essentially a +military empire, seeking the fulfillment of its mission in the +enlargement of power and in incessant warfare. Its history may be traced +back to about 1800 B.C., when its rulers, with their seat in the ancient +city of Ashur, first begin to make their presence felt. The extension of +their power proceeds, as in Babylonia, from the growing importance of +the central city, and soon embraces all of Assyria proper. They pass on +into the mountain regions to the east, and advancing to the west, they +encounter the vigorous forces of Egypt, whose Asiatic campaigns begin +about the same time as the rise of Assyria. The Egyptians, abetted by +the Hittites--the possessors of the strongholds on the Orontes-- +successfully check the growth of Assyria on this side, at least for a +period of several centuries. In the meanwhile, the Assyrian king gathers +strength enough to make an attack upon Babylonia. + +The conflict, once begun, continues, as has been indicated, with varying +fortunes. Occasional breathing spells are brought about by a temporary +agreement of peace between the two empires, until at the end of the +twelfth century, Assyria, under Tiglathpileser I., secures control over +the Babylonian empire. Her kings add to their long list of titles that +of 'ruler of Babylonia.' They either take the government of the south +into their hands or exercise the privilege of appointing a governor of +their choice to regulate the affairs of the Euphrates Valley. From this +time on, the history of Babylonia and Assyria may be viewed under a +single aspect. The third period of Babylonian history--the second of +Assyrian history--thus begins about 1100 B.C., and continues till the +fall of Assyria in the year 606 B.C. These five centuries represent the +most glorious epoch of the united Mesopotamian empire. During this time, +Assyria rises to the height of an all-embracing power. With far greater +success than Egypt, she securely established her sovereignty over the +lands bordering on the Mediterranean. After severe struggles, the +Hittites are overcome, the names of their strongholds on the Orontes +changed, in order to emphasize their complete possession by the +Assyrians, and the principalities of Northern Syria become tributary to +Assyria. Phoenicia and the kingdom of Israel are conquered, while the +southern kingdom of Judah purchases a mere shadow of independence by +complete submission to the conditions imposed by the great and +irresistible monarchy. Far to the northeast Assyria extends her sway, +while Babylonia, though occasionally aroused to a resistance of the +tyrannical bonds laid upon her, only to be still further weakened, +retains a distinctive existence chiefly in name. The culture of the +south is the heritage bequeathed by old Babylonia to the north. +Babylonian temples become the models for Assyrian architecture. The +literary treasures in the archives of the sacred cities of the south are +copied by the scribes of the Assyrian kings, and placed in the palaces +of the latter. Meanwhile, the capital of Assyria moves towards the +north. Ashur gives way under the glorious reign of Ashurnasirbal to +Calah, which becomes the capitol in the year 880 B.C.; and Calah, in +turn, yields to Nineveh, which becomes, from the time of Tiglathpileser +II., in the middle of the eighth century, the center of the great +kingdom. Under Ashurbanabal, who rules from 668 to 626 B.C., the climax +of Assyrian power is reached. He carries his arms to the banks of the +Nile, and succeeds in realizing the dreams of his ancestors of a direct +control over the affairs of Egypt. A patron of science and literature, +as so many great conquerors, Ashurbanabal succeeds in making Nineveh a +literary as well as a military center. + +A vast collection of the cuneiform literature of Babylonia is gathered +by him for the benefit of his subjects, as he is at constant pains to +tell us. The city is further embellished with magnificent structures, +and on every side he establishes his sovereignty with such force, that +the might of Assyria appears invincible. The fatal blow, dealt with a +suddenness that remains a mystery, came from an unexpected quarter. A +great movement of wild northern hordes, rather vaguely known as the +Cimmerians and Scythians, and advancing towards the south, set in +shortly after the death of Ashurbanabal, and created great political +disturbances. The vast number of these hordes, their muscular strength, +and their unrestrained cruelty, made them a foe which Assyria found as +hard to withstand, as Rome the approach of the Vandals and Goths. The +sources for our knowledge of the last days of the Assyrian empire are +not sufficient to enable us to grasp the details, but it is certain that +the successful attempt of the Babylonians to throw off the Assyrian yoke +almost immediately after Ashurbanabal's death, was a symptom of the +ravages which the hordes made in reducing the vitality of the Assyrian +empire. Her foes gained fresh courage from the success that crowned the +revolt of Babylonia. The Medes, a formidable nation to the east of +Assyria, and which had often crossed arms with the Assyrians, entered +into combination with Babylonia, and the two making several united +assaults upon Nineveh, under the leadership of Kyaxares, at last +succeeded in effecting an entrance. The city was captured and burned to +the ground. With the fall of Assyria, a feeling of relief passed over +the entire eastern world. A great danger, threatening to extinguish the +independence of all of the then known nations of the globe, was averted. +The Hebrew prophets living at the time of this downfall, voice the +general rejoicing that ensued when they declared, that even the cedars +of Lebanon leaped for joy. The province of Assyria proper, fell into the +hands of the Medes, but Babylonia, with her independence established on +a firm footing, was the real heir of Assyria's spirit. Her most glorious +monarch, Nebuchadnezzar II. (604-561 B.C.), seems to have dreamed of +gaining for Babylon the position, once held by Nineveh, of mistress of +the world. Taking Ashurbanabal as his model, he carried his arms to the +west, subdued the kingdom of Judah, and, passing on to Egypt, strove to +secure for Babylon, the supremacy exercised there for a short time by +Assyrian monarchs. In addition to his military campaigns, however, he +also appears in the light of a great builder, enlarging and beautifying +the temples of Babylonia, erecting new ones in the various cities of his +realm, strengthening the walls of Babylon, adorning the capital with +embankment works and other improvements, that gave it a permanent place +in the traditions of the ancient world as one of the seven wonders of +the universe. + +The glory of this second Babylonian empire was of short duration. Its +vaulting ambition appears to have overleaped itself. Realizing for a +time the Assyrian ideal of a world monarchy, the fall was as sudden as +its rise was unexpected. Internal dissensions gave the first indication +of the hollowness of the state. Nebuchadnezzar's son was murdered in 560 +B.C., within two years after reaching the throne, by his own +brother-in-law, Neriglissar; and the latter dying after a reign of only +four years, his infant child was put out of the way and Nabonnedos, a +high officer of the state, but without royal prerogative, mounted the +throne. In the year 550 news reached Babylon that Cyrus, the king of +Anzan, had dealt a fatal blow to the Median empire, capturing its king, +Astyages, and joining Media to his own district. He founded what was +afterwards known as the Persian empire. + +The overthrow of the Medes gave Cyrus control over Assyria, and it was +to be expected that his gaze should be turned in the direction of +Babylonia. Nabonnedos recognized the danger, but all his efforts to +strengthen the powers of resistance to the Persian arms were of no +avail. Civil disturbances divided the Babylonians. The cohesion between +the various districts was loosened, and within the city of Babylon +itself, a party arose antagonistic to Nabonnedos, who in their +short-sightedness hailed the advance of Cyrus. Under these +circumstances, Babylon fell an easy prey to the Persian conqueror. In +the autumn of the year 539 Cyrus entered the city in triumph, and was +received with such manifestations of joy by the populace, as to make one +almost forget that with his entrance, the end of a great empire had +come. Politically and religiously, the history of Babylonia and Assyria +terminates with the advent of Cyrus; and this despite the fact that it +was his policy to leave the state of affairs, including religious +observances, as far as possible, undisturbed. A new spirit had, however, +come into the land with him. The official religion of the state was that +practiced by Cyrus and his predecessors in their native land. The +essential doctrines of the religion, commonly known as Mazdeism or +Zoroastrianism, presented a sharp contrast to the beliefs that still +were current in Babylonia, and it was inevitable that with the influx of +new ideas, the further development of Babylonian worship was cut short. +The respect paid by Cyrus to the Babylonian gods was a mere matter of +policy. Still, the religious rites continued to be practiced as of old +in Babylonia and Assyria for a long time, and when the religion finally +disappeared, under the subsequent conquests of the Greeks, Romans, and +Arabs, it left its traces in the popular superstitions and in the +ineradicable traditions that survived. But so far as the _history_ of +this religion is concerned, it comes to an end with the downfall of the +second Babylonian empire. + + * * * * * + +The period, then, to be covered by a treatment of the religion of the +Babylonians and Assyrians extends over the long interval between about +4000 B.C. and the middle of the sixth century. The development of this +religion follows closely the course of civilization and of history in +the territory under consideration. The twofold division, accordingly, +into Babylonia and Assyria, is the one that suggests itself also for the +religion. The beginning, as is evident from the historical sketch given, +must be made with Babylonia. It will be seen that, while the rites there +and in Assyria are much the same, the characters of the gods as they +developed in the south were quite different from those of the north; +and, again, it was inevitable that the Assyrian influence manifest in +the second Babylonian empire should give to the religion of the south at +this time, some aspects which were absent during the days of the old +Babylonian empire. In Babylonia, again, the political changes form the +basis for the transformation to be observed in the position occupied by +the deities at different periods; and the same general remark applies to +the deities peculiar to Assyria, who must be studied in connection with +the course pursued by the Assyrian empire. + +The division of the subject which thus forces itself upon us is twofold, +(1) geographical, and (2) historical. + +It will be necessary to treat first of the beliefs and pantheon +developed during the first two periods of Babylonian history, down to +the practical conquest of Babylonia by Assyria. Then, turning to +Assyria, the traits of the pantheon peculiar to Upper Mesopotamia will +be set forth. In the third place, the history of the religion will be +traced in Babylonia during the union of the Babylonian-Assyrian empire; +and, lastly, the new phases of that religion which appeared in the days +of the second Babylonian empire. Turning after this to other aspects of +the religion, it will be found that the religious rites were only to a +small degree influenced by political changes, while the literature and +religious art are almost exclusively products of Babylonia. In treating +of these subjects, accordingly, no geographical divisions are called +for, in setting forth their chief features. + +The general estimate to be given at the close of the volume will furnish +an opportunity of making a comparison between the Babylonian-Assyrian +religion and other religions of the ancient world, with a view to +determining what foreign influences may be detected in it, as well as +ascertaining the influence it exerted upon others. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[16] I may be permitted to refer to a publication by Dr. Brinton and +myself, _The Cradle of the Semites_ (Philadelphia, 1889), in which the +various views as to this home are set forth. + +[17] It has been suggested that since the statues of Telloh are those of +the priest-kings, only the priestly classes shaved their hair off. + +[18] See an interesting discussion of the question by Professor Hommel, +"Arabia according to the Latest Discoveries and Researches."--_Sunday +School Times_, 1895, nos. 41 and 43. + +[19] Also known as Shirpurla which Jensen (_Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, 5) thinks +was the later name. + +[20] See Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 16-18. Naram-Sin +signifies 'beloved of the god Sin' (the moon-god); Shargani-shar-ali-- +'the legitimate king, king of the city.' The excavations of the +University of Pennsylvania have cast new light upon this most ancient +period of Babylonian history. It is now known that the temple of Bel at +Nippur antedates the reign of Naram-Sin, and in the further publications +of the University, we may look for material which will enable us to pass +beyond the period of Sargon. + +[21] _Sunday School Times_, 1895, no. 41. + +[22] For various views regarding the name and character of this dynasty +see Winckler, _Geschichte_, pp. 67, 68, 328; Hilprecht, _Assyriaca_, pp. +25-28, 102, 103; Winckler, _Altorientalische Forschungen_, I. 275-277, +and Rogers, _Outlines_, 32, note. + +[23] See Delitzsch, _Die Sprache der Kossaer_. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +GENERAL TRAITS OF THE OLD BABYLONIAN PANTHEON. + + +The Babylonian religion in the oldest form known to us may best be +described as a mixture of local and nature cults. Starting with that +phase of religious beliefs known as Animism, which has been ascertained +to be practically universal in primitive society, the Babylonians, from +ascribing life to the phenomena of nature, to trees, stones, and plants, +as well as to such natural events, as storm, rain, and wind, and as a +matter of course to the great luminaries and to the stars--would, on the +one hand, be led to invoke an infinite number of spirits who were +supposed to be, in some way, the embodiment of the life that manifested +itself in such diverse manners; and yet, on the other hand, this +tendency would be restricted by the experience which would point to +certain spirits, as exercising a more decisive influence upon the +affairs of man than others. The result of this would be to give a +preponderance to the worship of the sun and moon and the water, and of +such natural phenomena as rain, wind, and storms, with their +accompaniment of thunder and lightning, as against the countless sprites +believed to be lurking everywhere. The latter, however, would not for +this reason be ignored altogether. Since everything was endowed with +life, there was not only a spirit of the tree which produced the fruit, +but there were spirits in every field. To them the ground belonged, and +upon their mercy depended the success or failure of the produce. To +secure the favor of the rain and the sun was not sufficient to the +agriculturist; he was obliged to obtain the protection of the guardian +spirits of the soil, in order to be sure of reaping the fruit of his +labors. Again, when through association, the group of arable plots grew +into a hamlet, and then through continued growth into a town, the +latter, regarded as a unit by virtue of its political organization under +a chief ruler, would necessarily be supposed to have some special power +presiding over its destinies, protecting it from danger, and ready to +defend the rights and privileges of those who stood immediately under +its jurisdiction. Each Babylonian city, large or small, would in this +way obtain a deity devoted to its welfare, and as the city grew in +extent, absorbing perhaps others lying about, and advancing in this way +to the dignity of a district, the city's god would correspondingly +increase his jurisdiction. As it encroached upon the domain of other +local deities, it would by conquest annihilate the latter, or reduce +them to a subservient position. The new regime would be expressed by +making the conquered deity, the servant of the victorious, or the two +might be viewed in the relation of father to son; and again, in the +event of a peaceful amalgamation of two cities or districts, the +protecting deities might join hands in a compact, mirroring the +partnership represented by the conjugal tie. In this way, there arose in +Babylon a selection, as it were, out of an infinite variety of +personified forces, manifest or concealed, that at one time may have +been objects of worship. The uniformity of the spirit world, which is +the characteristic trait of primitive Animism, gave way to a +differentiation regulated by the political development and the social +growth of Babylonia. The more important natural forces became gods, and +the inferior ones were, as a general thing, relegated to the secondary +position of mere sprites, like the _jinns_, in Arabic beliefs. Only in +the case of the guardian spirit of an entire city or district, would +there result--and even this not invariably--an elevation to the grade of +deity, in the proper sense of the word. In many cases, however, this +guardian deity might be a heavenly body, as the moon or sun or stars, +all of which were supposed to regulate the fate of mankind or some force +of nature, as the rain or the storm; and even if this were not +originally the case, the protecting deity might, in the course of time, +become identified with one of the forces of nature; and, if for no other +reason, simply because of the prominence which the worship of the force +in question acquired in the place. As a consequence, the mixture of +local and nature cults is so complete that it is often impossible to +distinguish the one from the other. It is hard in many cases to +determine whether the deity which is identified with a certain city was +originally a mere local spirit watching over a certain restricted +territory, or a personification of a natural force associated in some +way with a certain section of Babylonia. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +BABYLONIAN GODS PRIOR TO THE DAYS OF HAMMURABI. + + +With these preliminary remarks, we may turn, as the first part of our +subject, to a consideration of the oldest of the Babylonian gods. Our +main sources are the inscriptions of the old Babylonian rulers, above +referred to. These are, in most cases, of a dedicatory character, being +inscribed on statues, cylinders, or tablets, placed in the temples or on +objects--cones, knobs, stones--presented as votive offerings to some +god. Besides the inscriptions of the rulers, we have those of officials +and others. Many of these are likewise connected directly or indirectly +with religious worship. + +The advantage of the historical texts over the purely religious ones +consists in their being dated, either accurately or approximately. For +this reason, the former must be made the basis for a rational theory of +the development of the Babylonian pantheon through the various periods +above instanced. The data furnished by the religious texts can be +introduced only, as they accord with the facts revealed by the +historical inscriptions in each period. + +Taking up the group of inscriptions prior to the union of the Babylonian +States under Hammurabi, _i.e._, prior to 2300 B.C., we find these gods +mentioned: Bel, Belit, Nin-khar-sag, Nin-girsu, also appearing as +Shul-gur, Bau, Ga-tum-dug, Ea, Nin-a-gal, Nergal, Shamash, under various +forms Â, who is the consort of Shamash, Nannar or Sin, Nanâ, Anunit, +Ishtar, Innanna or Ninni, Ninâ, Nin-mar, Dun-shagga, Gal-alim, Anu, +Nin-gish-zida, Nin-si-a, Nin-shakh, Dumu-zi, Lugal-banda and his consort +Nin-gul, Dumuzi-zu-aba, Nisaba, Ku(?)anna, Lugal-erima(?), Dagan, Ishum, +Umu, Pa-sag, Nin-e-gal, Nin-gal, Shul(or Dun)-pa-uddu, and +Nin-akha-kuddu. + +Regarding these names, it may be said at once that the reading, in many +cases, is to be looked upon as merely provisional. Written, as they +usually are, in the ideographic "style," the phonetic reading can only +be determined when the deity in question can be identified with one, +whose name is written at some place phonetically, or when the ideographs +employed are so grouped as to place the phonetic reading beyond doubt. +The plan to be followed in this book will be to give the ideographic +reading[24] as provisional wherever the real pronunciation is unknown or +uncertain. The ideographic designation of a deity is of great value, +inasmuch as the ideographs themselves frequently reveal the character of +the god, though of course the additional advantage is obvious when the +name appears in both the ideographic and the phonetic writing. It will, +therefore, form part of a delineation of the Babylonian pantheon to +interpret the picture, as it were, under which each deity is viewed. + + +En-lil or Bel. + +Taking up the gods in the order named, the first one, Bel, is also the +one who appears on the oldest monuments as yet unearthed--the +inscriptions of Nippur. His name is, at this time, written invariably as +En-lil. In the Babylonian theology, he is 'the lord of the lower world.' +He represents, as it were, the unification of the various forces whose +seat and sphere of action is among the inhabited parts of the globe, +both on the surface and beneath, for the term 'lower world' is here used +in contrast to the upper or heavenly world. Such a conception manifestly +belongs to the domain of abstract thought, and it may be concluded, +therefore, that either the deity belongs to an advanced stage of +Babylonian culture, or that the original view of the deity was different +from the one just mentioned. The latter is the case. Primarily, the +ideograph Lil is used to designate a 'demon' in general, and En-lil is +therefore the 'chief demon.' Primitive as such a conception is, it +points to some system of thought that transcends primitive Animism, +which is characterized rather by the equality accorded to all spirits. +The antiquity of the association of En-lil with Nippur justifies the +conclusion that we have before us a local deity who, originally the +protecting spirit merely, of a restricted territory, acquires the +position of 'chief demon' as the town of Nippur grows to be the capitol +of a large and powerful district. The fame and sanctity of Nippur +survives political vicissitudes; and, indeed, in proportion as Nippur +loses political prestige, the great deity of the place is released from +the limitations due to his local origin and rises to the still higher +dignity of a great power whose domain is the entire habitable universe. +As the 'lord of the lower world,' En-lil is contrasted to a god Anu, who +presides over the heavenly bodies. The age of Sargon (3800 B.C.), in +whose inscriptions En-lil already occurs, is one of considerable +culture, as is sufficiently evidenced by the flourishing condition of +art, and there can therefore be no objection against the assumption that +even at this early period, a theological system should have been evolved +which gave rise to beliefs in great powers whose dominion embraces the +'upper' and 'lower' worlds. It was because of this wide scope of his +power that he became known as Bel, _i.e._, the lord _par excellence_; +and it is equally natural to find his worship spread over the whole of +Babylonia. In the south, the patron deity of Lagash is designated by +Gudea as "the mighty warrior of Bel," showing the supremacy accorded to +the latter. A temple to En-lil at Lagash, and known as E-adda, 'house of +the father,' by virtue of the relationship existing between the god of +Nippur and Nin-girsu, is mentioned by Uru-kagina. The temple is +described as a lofty structure 'rising up to heaven.' In the north, +Nippur remains the place where his worship acquired the greatest +importance, so that Nippur was known as the "land of Bel." The temple +sacred to him at that place was a great edifice, famous throughout +Babylonian history as E-Kur, _i.e._, mountain house, in the construction +of which, a long line of Babylonian rulers took part. From Naram-Sin, +ruler of Agade, on through the period of Cassite rule, the kings of +Nippur proudly include in their titles that of 'builder of the Temple of +Bel at Nippur,' measuring their attachment to the deity by the additions +and repairs made to his sacred edifice.[25] Besides the kings of Agade, +the rulers of other places pay their devotions to Bel of Nippur. So, a +king of Kish, whose name is read Alu-usharshid by Professor +Hilprecht,[26] brings costly vases of marble and limestone from Elam and +offers them to Bel as a token of victory; and this at a period even +earlier than Sargon. Even when En-lil is obliged to yield a modicum of +his authority to the growing supremacy of the patron deity of the city +of Babylon, the highest tribute that can be paid to the latter, is to +combine with his real name, Marduk, the title of "Bel," which of right +belongs to En-lil. We shall see how this combination of En-lil, or Bel, +with Marduk reflects political changes that took place in the Euphrates +Valley; and it is a direct consequence of this later association of the +old Bel of Nippur with the chief god of Babylon, that the original +traits of the former become obscured in the historical and religious +texts. Dimmed popular traditions, which will be set forth in their +proper place, point to his having been at one time regarded as a +powerful chieftain armed with mighty weapons, but engaged in conflicts +for the ultimate benefit of mankind. On the whole, he is a beneficent +deity, though ready to inflict severe punishment for disobedience to his +commands. We must distinguish, then, in the case of En-lil, at least +four phases: + +1. His original rôle as a local deity; + +2. The extension of his power to the grade of a great 'lord' over a +large district; + +3. Dissociation from local origins to become the supreme lord of the +lower world; and + +4. The transfer of his name and powers as god of Nippur to Marduk, the +god of Babylon. + +The last two phases can best be set forth when we come to the period, +marked by the political supremacy of the city of Babylon. It is +sufficient, at this point, to have made clear his position as god of +Nippur. + + +Nin-lil or Belit. + +The consort of En-lil is Nin-Lil, the 'mistress of the lower world.' She +is known also as Belit, the feminine form to Bel, _i.e._, the lady _par +excellence_. She, too, had her temple at Nippur, the age of which goes +back, at least, to the first dynasty of Ur. But the glory of the goddess +pales by the side of her powerful lord. She is naught but a weak +reflection of Bel, as in general the consorts of the gods are. Another +title by which this same goddess was known is + + +Nin-khar-sag.[27] + +which means the 'lady of the high or great mountain.' The title may have +some reference to the great mountain where the gods were supposed to +dwell, and which was known to Babylonians as the 'mountain of the +lands.' Bel, as the chief of the gods, is more particularly associated +with this mountain. Hence his temple is called the 'mountain house.' +From being regarded as the inhabitant of the mountain, he comes to be +identified with the mountain itself. Accordingly, he is sometimes +addressed as the "great mountain,"[28] and his consort would therefore +be appropriately termed 'the lady of the great mountain.' Besides the +temple at Nippur, Belit, as Nin-khar-sag, had a sanctuary at Girsu, one +of the quarters at Lagash (see under Nin-girsu), the earliest mention of +which occurs on an inscription of Ur-Bau. The latter calls the goddess +'the mother of the gods,' which further establishes her identity with +the consort of Bel. Entemena, another governor of Lagash, places his +domain under the protection of Nin-khar-sag. The worship at Nippur, +however, remained most prominent. The continued popularity of her cult +is attested by the fortress Dur-zakar, which a later king, Samsu-iluna +(_c._ 2200), erected in her honor. + + +Nin-girsu. + +In the inscriptions of Gudea and of his time, the god most prominently +mentioned is the "Lord of Girsu." Girsu itself, as the inscriptions +show, is one of the four sections into which the capitol city of Lagash +was divided. It was there that the temple stood which was sacred to the +patron deity, and we may conclude from this that Girsu is the oldest +part of the city. Afterwards, Lagash became the general name for the +capitol through being the quarter where the great palace of the king was +erected. That Girsu was once quite distinct from Lagash is also evident +from the title of "king of Girsu," with which a certain Uru-kagina, who +is to be placed somewhat before Gudea, contents himself. The other three +quarters, all of which were originally independent cities, are +Uru-azagga, Ninâ, and apparently Gish-galla.[29] + +Nin-girsu is frequently termed the warrior of Bel,--the one who in the +service of the 'lord of the lower world,' appears in the thick of the +fight, to aid the subjects of Bel. In this rôle, he is identical with a +solar deity who enjoys especial prominence among the warlike Assyrians, +whose name is provisionally read Nin-ib, but whose real name may turn +out to be Adar.[30] The rulers of Lagash declare themselves to have been +chosen for the high office by Nin-girsu, and as if to compensate +themselves for the degradation implied in being merely _patesis_, or +governors, serving under some powerful chief, they call themselves the +patesis of Nin-girsu, implying that the god was the master to whom they +owed allegiance. The temple sacred to him at Girsu was called E-ninnu, +and also by a longer name that described the god as the one 'who changes +darkness into light,'--the reference being to the solar character of the +god Nin-ib with whom Nin-girsu is identified. In this temple, Gudea and +other rulers place colossal statues of themselves, but temper the vanity +implied, by inscribing on the front and back of these statues, an +expression of their devotion to their god. To Nin-girsu, most of the +objects found at Tell-loh are dedicated; conspicuous among which are the +many clay cones, that became the conventional objects for votive +offerings. There was another side, however, to his nature, besides the +belligerent one. As the patron of Lagash, he also presided over the +agricultural prosperity of the district. In this rôle he is addressed as +Shul-gur or Shul-gur-an, _i.e._, the "god of the corn heaps"; Entemena +and his son Enanna-tuma in erecting a kind of storehouse which they +place under the protection of Nin-girsu, declare that their god is +Shul-gur;[31] and an old hymn[32] identifies him with Tammuz, the +personification of agricultural activity. Such a combination of +apparently opposing attributes is a natural consequence of the +transformation of what may originally have been the personification of +natural forces, into local deities. Each field had its protecting +spirit, but for the city as a whole, a local deity, whose rule mirrored +the control of the human chief over his subjects, alone was available. +To him who watched over all things pertaining to the welfare of the +territory coming under his jurisdiction, various attributes, as occasion +required, were ascribed, and quite apart from his original character, +the god could thus be regarded, as the warrior and the peaceful +husbandman at the same time. + + +Bau. + +Perhaps the most prominent of the goddesses in the ancient Babylonian +period was Bau. One of the rulers of Lagash has embodied the name of the +goddess in his name, calling himself Ur-Bau. It is natural, therefore, +to find him more especially devoted to the worship of this deity. He +does not tire of singing her praises, and of speaking of the temple he +erected in her honor. Still, Ur-Bau does not stand alone in his +devotion; Uru-kagina, Gudea, and others refer to Bau frequently, while +in the incantation texts, she is invoked as the great mother, who gives +birth to mankind and restores the body to health. In the old Babylonian +inscriptions she is called the chief daughter of Anu, the god of heaven. +Among her titles, the one most frequently given is that of 'good lady.' +She is the 'mother' who fixes the destinies of men and provides +'abundance' for the tillers of the soil. Gudea calls her his mistress, +and declares that it is she who "fills him with speech,"--a phrase whose +meaning seems to be that to Bau he owes the power he wields. Locally, +she is identified with Uru-azagga (meaning 'brilliant town'), a quarter +of Lagash; and it was there that her temple stood. As a consequence, we +find her in close association with Nin-girsu, the god of Girsu. We may +indeed go further and assume that Girsu and Uru-azagga are the two +oldest quarters of the city, the combination of the two representing the +first natural steps in the development of the principality, afterwards +known as Lagash, through the addition of other quarters[33]. She is +indeed explicitly called the consort of Nin-girsu; and this relation is +implied also, in the interesting phrase used by Gudea, who presents +gifts to Bau in the name of Nin-girsu, and calls them 'marriage +gifts'.[34] It is interesting to find, at this early period, the +evidence for the custom that still prevails in the Orient, which makes +the gifts of the bridegroom to his chosen one, an indispensable +formality.[35] These gifts were offered on the New Year's Day, known as +Zag-muk, and the importance of the worship of Bau is evidenced by the +designation of this day, as the festival of Bau. + +The offerings, themselves, consist of lambs, sheep, birds, fish, cream, +besides dates and various other fruits. When Uru-azagga becomes a part +of Lagash, Bau's dignity is heightened to that of 'mother of Lagash.' As +the consort of Ningirsu, she is identified with the goddess Gula, the +name more commonly applied to the 'princely mistress' of Nin-ib, whose +worship continues down to the days of the neo-Babylonian monarchy. + +It is quite certain, however, that Bau is originally an independent +goddess, and that the association of Uru-azagga and Girsu[36] lead to +her identification with Gula. Regarding her original nature, a certain +index is her character as "daughter of Anu." Anu being the god of +heaven, Bau must be sought in the upper realm of personified forces, +rather than elsewhere; but exactly which one she is, it is difficult to +say. Hommel, indeed,[37] is of opinion that she is the personified +watery depth, the primitive chaos which has only the heavens above it; +but in giving this explanation, he is influenced by the desire to +connect the name of Bau with the famous term for chaos in Genesis, +_Tohu-wa-bohu_. There is, however, no proof whatsoever that Bau and Bohu +have anything to do with one another. A goddess who can hardly be +distinguished from Bau is + + +Ga-tum-dug.[38] + +Indeed, from the fact that she is also the 'mother of Lagash,' it might +seem that this is but another name for Bau. However, elsewhere, in two +lists of deities invoked by Gudea (Inscr. B, col. ii. 17), Ga-tum-dug is +given a separate place by the side of Bau, once placed before and once +after the latter; and it is clear therefore that she was originally +distinct from Bau. For Gudea, Ga-tum-dug is the mother who produced him. +He is her servant and she is his mistress. Lagash is her beloved city, +and there he prepares for her a dwelling-place, which later rulers, like +Entena, embellish. She is called the 'brilliant' (_Azag_), but as this +title is merely a play upon the element found in the city, Uru-azagga, +sacred to Bau, not much stress is to be laid upon this designation. +Unfortunately, too, the elements composing her name are not clear,[39] +and it must be borne in mind that the reading is purely provisional. So +much, at least, seems certain: that Bau and Ga-tum-dug are two forms +under which one and the same natural element was personified. Bau is +called in the incantation texts, the mother of Ea. The latter being +distinctly a water god, we may conclude that in some way, Bau is to be +connected with water as a natural element. The conjecture may be +hazarded that she personifies originally the waters of the upper +realm--the clouds. Since Ea, who is her son, represents the waters of +the lower realm, the relation of mother and son reflects perhaps a +primitive conception of the origin of the deep, through the descent of +the upper waters. When we come to the cosmogony of the Babylonians, it +will be seen that this conception of a distinction between the two +realms of waters is a fundamental one. This character as a spirit of the +watery elements is shared by others of the goddesses appearing in the +old Babylonian inscriptions.[40] + + +En-ki or Ea. + +This god, who, as we shall see, becomes most prominent in the developed +form of Babylonian theology, does not occupy the place one should expect +in the early Babylonian inscriptions. Ur-Bau erects a sanctuary to Ea, +at Girsu. Another of the governors of Lagash calls himself, priest of +Ea, describing the god as the "supreme councillor." From him, the king +receives "wisdom."[41] A ruler, Rim-Sin, of the dynasty of Larsa, +associates Ea with Bel, declaring that these "great gods" entrusted Uruk +into his hands with the injunction to rebuild the city that had fallen +in ruins. The ideograms, with which his name is written, En-ki, +designate him as god of that 'which is below,'--the earth in the first +place; but with a more precise differentiation of the functions of the +great gods, Ea becomes the god of the waters of the deep. When this +stage of belief is reached, Ea is frequently associated with Bel, who, +it will be recalled, is the 'god of the lower region,' but who becomes +the god of earth _par excellence_. When, therefore, Bel and Ea are +invoked, it is equivalent, in modern parlance, to calling upon earth and +water; and just as Bel is used to personify, as it were, the unification +of the earthly forces, so Ea becomes, in a comprehensive sense, the +watery deep. Ea and Bel assume therefore conspicuous proportions in the +developed Babylonian cosmogony and theology. In the cosmogony, Bel is +the creator and champion of mankind, and Ea is the subterranean deep +which surrounds the earth, the source of wisdom and culture; in the +theology, Ea and Bel are pictured in the relation of father and son, +who, in concert, are appealed to, when misfortune or disease overtakes +the sons of man; Ea, the father, being the personification of knowledge, +and Bel, the practical activity that 'emanates from wisdom,' as +Professor Sayce,[42] adopting the language of Gnosticism, aptly puts it; +only that, as already suggested, Marduk assumes the rôle of the older +Bel. + +Confining ourselves here to the earlier phases of Ea, it seems probable +that he was originally regarded as the god of Eridu,--one of the most +ancient of the holy cities of Southern Babylonia, now represented by +Abu-Shahrein, and which once stood on the shores of the Persian Gulf. +Ur-Bau expressly calls the god the 'king of Eridu.' The sacredness of +the place is attested by Gudea, who boasts of having made the temple of +Nin-girsu as sacred as Eridu.[43] It is over this city that Ea watches. +The importance of the Persian Gulf to the growth of the city, would make +it natural to place the seat of the god in the waters themselves. The +cult of water-deities arises, naturally, at places which are situated on +large sheets of water; and in the attributes of wisdom which an older +age ascribed to Ea, there may be seen the embodiment of the tradition +that the course of civilization proceeds from the south. The superiority +of the Persian Gulf over the other waters of Babylon--over the two great +rivers with their tributary streams and canals--would be another factor +that would lead to the god of the Persian Gulf being regarded as the +personification of the watery element in general. For the Babylonians, +the Persian Gulf, stretching out indefinitely, and to all appearances +one with the great ocean whose ulterior shores could not be reached, was +the great 'Okeanos,' that flowed around the earth and on which the earth +rested. Ea, accordingly (somewhat like En-lil), was delocalized, as it +were, and his worship was maintained long after the recollection of his +connection with Eridu had all but disappeared. At the same time, for the +very reason that he was cut loose from local associations, no place +could lay claim to being the seat of the deity. Ur-Bau, when erecting a +sanctuary to Ea at Girsu, significantly calls the god 'the king of +Eridu.' The sanctuary is not, in this case, the dwelling-place of the +god. + +We are justified, therefore, in going back many centuries, before +reaching the period when Ea was, merely, the local god of Eridu. Whether +Ea is to be regarded as the real name of the god, or is also an +ideograph like En-ki, is again open to doubt. If Ea is the real +pronunciation, then the writing of the name is a play upon the character +of the deity, for it is composed of two elements that signify 'house' +and 'water,'--the name thus suggesting the character and real seat of +the deity. A point in favor of regarding Ea as the real name, albeit not +decisive, is the frequent use of the unmistakable ideographic +description of the god as En-ki. The consort of Ea who is Dam-kina also +occurs in the historical texts of the first period. + +The origin of Babylonian civilization at the Persian Gulf, together with +the dependence of Babylonia for her fertility upon the streams and +canals, account for the numerous water-deities to be found in the +ancient Babylonian pantheon, some of which have already been discussed. +We will meet with others further on. Every stream, large or small, +having its special protecting deity, the number of water-deities +naturally increases as the land becomes more and more dissected by the +canal system that conditioned the prosperity of the country. + +Ea, as we shall see, appears under an unusually large number of +names.[44] One of these is + + +Nin-a-gal, + +which, signifying 'god of great strength,' is given to him as the patron +of the smith's art.[45] A god of this name is mentioned by Ur-Bau,[46] +who speaks of a sanctuary erected in honor of this deity. But since the +king refers to Ea (as En-ki) a few lines previous, it would appear that +at this period Nin-agal is still an independent deity. The later +identification with Ea appears to be due to the idea of 'strength' +involved in the name of Nin-agal. In the same way, many of the names of +Ea were originally descriptive of independent gods who, because of the +similarity of their functions to those of the great Ea, were absorbed by +the latter. Their names transferred to Ea, are frequently the only trace +left of their original independent existence. + + +Nergal. + +Nergal, the local deity of Cuthah (or Kutu), represented by the mound +Tell-Ibrahim, some distance to the east of Babylon, was of an entirely +different character from Ea, but his history in the development of the +Babylonian religion is hardly less interesting. The first mention of his +famous temple at Cuthah is found in an inscription of Dungi (to be read +Ba'u-ukin, according to Winckler[47]) who belongs to the second dynasty +of Ur (_c._ 2700 B.C.). Its origin, however, belongs to a still earlier +period. Such was the fame of the temple known as E-shid-lam, and the +closeness of the connection between the deity and his favorite seat, +that Nergal himself became known as shid-lam-ta-ud-du-a, _i.e._, the god +that rises up from E-shid-lam. It is by this epithet that the same Dungi +describes him in one of his inscriptions.[48] Down to the latest period +of Assyro-Babylonian history, Nergal remains identified with Kutu, being +known at all times as the god of Kutu.[49] When Sargon, the king of +Assyria, upon his conquest of the kingdom of Israel (_c._ 722 B.C.), +brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, and so forth, across to the +lands of the Jordan to take the place of the deported Israelites, the +Hebrew narrator (II Kings, xvii. 24-35) tells us in an interesting +manner of the obnoxious foreign worship which these people brought to +the land, each division bringing the gods of their place with them. The +men of Cuthah, he adds (v. 30), made a statue of Nergal. Singamil, of +the dynasty, having its capital at Uruk (_c._ 2750 B.C.), likewise +testifies to his devotion to Nergal by busying himself with improvements +and additions to his temple at Cuthah. His worship, therefore, was not +confined to those who happened to reside at Cuthah; and closely as he is +identified with the place, the character of the god is a general and not +a special one. The full form of his name appears to have been +Ner-unu-gal, of which Nergal, furnished by the Old Testament passage +referred to, would then be a contraction or a somewhat corrupt form. The +three elements composing his name signify "the mighty one of the great +dwelling-place," but it is, again, an open question whether this is a +mere play upon the character of the god, as in the name of Ea (according +to one of the interpretations above suggested), or whether it is an +ideographic form of the name. The Old Testament shows, conclusively, +that the name had some such pronunciation as Nergal. Jensen, from other +evidences, inclines to the opinion that the writing Ner-unu-gal is the +result of a species of etymology, brought about by the prominence given +to Nergal as the god of the region of the dead. It is in this capacity +that he already appears in the inscription of Singamil, who calls him +'king of the nether world.' The "great dwelling-place," therefore, is +clearly the dominion over which Nergal rules, and when we come to the +cosmogony of the Babylonians,[50] it will be found that this epithet for +the nether world--the great dwelling-place--accords with their +conception of the life after death. But while Nergal, with a host of +lesser demons about him, appears as the Babylonian Pluto, particularly +in the religious texts, his functions are not limited to the control of +the dead. He is the personification of some of the evils that bring +death to mankind, particularly pestilence and war. The death that +follows in his path is a violent one, and his destructive force is one +that acts upon large masses rather than upon the individual. Hence, one +of the most common ideographs used to express his name is that which +signifies 'sword.' + +War and pestilence are intimately associated in the mind of the +Babylonians. Among other nations, the sword is, similarly, the symbol of +the deity, as the plague-bringer as well as the warrior. + +To this day, a pestilence is the general accompaniment of war in the +East, or follows in its wake. Different from Nin-ib, who is also a god +of war, Nergal symbolizes more particularly the _destruction_ which +accompanies war, and not the strong champion who aids his subjects in +the fight. Nergal is essentially a destroyer, and the various epithets +applied to him in the religious texts, show that he was viewed in this +light. He is at times the 'god of fire,' again 'the raging king,' 'the +violent one' 'the one who burns'; and finally identified with the +glowing heat of flame. Often, he is described by these attributes, +instead of being called by his real name.[51] Dr. Jensen has recently +shown in a satisfactory manner, that this phase of his character must be +the starting-point in tracing the order of his development. As the +'glowing flame,' Nergal is evidently a phase of the sun, and Jensen +proves that the functions and aspects of the sun at different periods +being differentiated among the Babylonians, Nergal is more especially +the hot sun of midsummer or midday, the destructive force of which was +the chief feature that distinguished it. The hot sun of Babylonia, that +burns with fierce intensity, brings pestilence and death, and carries on +a severe contest against man. From being the cause of death, it is but a +step, and a natural one, to make Nergal preside over the region, +prepared for those whom he has destroyed. The course taken by Babylonian +theology is responsible for the prominence given to the latter rôle of +Nergal, which finally overshadows his other phases to the extent of +suggesting the fanciful interpretation of his name as the 'ruler of the +great dwelling place for the dead.' In the light of the facts set forth, +another explanation for his name must be looked for that would connect +the god with solar functions. The name may in fact be divided into two +elements, the first having the force of chief or ruler, the second +'great.' The combination would be an appropriate designation for the +sun, in the rôle of a destructive power. But Nergal, after all, +represents only one phase of the sun-god. The god who was worshipped as +the personification of the sun _par excellence_ and the sun as a whole, +was + + +Shamash. + +Written with an ideograph that describes him as the 'god of the day,' +there is no deity whose worship enjoys an equally continued popularity +in Babylonia and Assyria. Beginning at the earliest period of Babylonian +history, and reaching to the latest, his worship suffers no +interruption. Shamash, moreover, maintains his original character with +scarcely any modification throughout this long period. For all that, he +bears a name which signifies 'attendant' or 'servitor,' and which +sufficiently shows the subsidiary position that he occupied in the +Babylonian pantheon. One of the rulers belonging to the dynasty of Isin +calls the sun-god, the offspring of Nannar,--one of the names of the +moon-god,--and the last king of Babylonia, Nabonnedos, does the same. In +combination with the moon-god, the latter takes precedence of +Shamash,[52] and in the enumeration of the complete pantheon, in the +inscriptions of both Assyrian and Babylonian kings, the same order is +preserved. Other evidence that points to the superior rank accorded to +Sin, the moon-god over the sun deity in Babylonia, is the reckoning of +time by the moon phases. The day begins with the evening, and not with +sunrise. The moon, as the chief of the starry firmament, and controlling +the fate of mankind, was the main factor in giving to the orb of night, +this peculiar prominence. The 'service,' accordingly implied in the name +of Shamash appears to have been such as was demanded by his subsidiary +position to the moon-god. Beyond the general recognition, however, of +this relationship between the two, it does not appear that the worship +paid to Shamash, was at all affected by the secondary place, that he +continued to hold in the theoretically constructed pantheon. Less than +is the case with the other gods, is he identified with any particular +city, and we therefore find in the most ancient period, two centers of +Southern Babylonia claiming Shamash as their patron saint,--Larsa, +represented by the mound of Senkereh, and Sippar, occupying the site of +the modern Abu-Habba. It is difficult to say which of the two was the +older; the latter, in the course of time, overshadowed the fame of the +former, and its history can be traced back considerably beyond the +sun-worship at Larsa, the first mention of which occurs in the +inscriptions of rulers of the second dynasty of Ur (_c._ 2900 B.C.). +Since Ur, as we shall see, was sacred to the moon-god, it is hardly +likely that the Shamash cult was introduced at Larsa by the rulers of +Ur. The kings of Ur would not have forfeited the protection of Sin, by +any manifestation of preference for Shamash. When Ur-Gur, therefore, +tells us that he 'built' a temple to Shamash at Larsa, he must mean, as +Sin-iddina of the dynasty of Larsa does, in using the same phrase, that +he enlarged or improved the edifice. What makes it all the more likely +that Ur-Gur found sun-worship at Larsa in existence is, that in the +various places over which this ruler spread his building activity, he is +careful in each case to preserve the status of the presiding deity. So +at Nippur, he engages in work at the temples of En-lil and of Nin-lil; +while at Uruk he devotes himself to the temple of Nanâ. In thus +connecting their names with the various sacred edifices of Babylonia, +the rulers emphasized, on the one hand, their control of the territory +in which the building lay, and on the other, their allegiance to the +deity of the place, whose protection and favor they sought to gain. + +The mention of a temple to Shamash at Sippar reverts to a still earlier +period than that of its rival. Nabonnedos tells us that it was founded +by Naram-Sin. Sargon has put his name on some object[53] that he +dedicates to the sun-god at Sippar. That there was an historical +connection between the two temples may be concluded from the fact that +the name of the sacred edifices was the same in both,--E-babbara, +signifying the 'house of lustre.' Such a similarity points to a +dependence of one upon the other, and the transfer or extension of the +worship directly from one place to the other; but, as intimated, we have +no certain means of determining which of the two is the older. In view +of the general observation to be made in what pertains to the religion +of the Babylonians, that fame and age go hand in hand, the balance is in +favor of Sippar, which became by far the more famous of the two, +received a greater share of popular affection, and retained its +prominence to the closing days of the neo-Babylonian monarchy. We shall +have occasion in a succeeding chapter to trace the history of the +sun-temple at Sippar so far as known. It is interesting to note that +Nabonnedos, feeling the end of his power to be near, undertakes, as one +of the last resorts, the restoration of this edifice, in the hope that +by thus turning once more to the powerful Shamash, he might secure his +protection, in addition to that of Marduk, the head of the later +Babylonian pantheon. + +In Ur itself, Shamash was also worshipped in early days by the side of +the moon-god. Eannatum, of the dynasty of Isin (_c._ 2800 B.C.), tells +of two temples erected to him at that place; and still a third edifice, +sacred to both Nannar (the moon god) and Shamash at Ur, is referred to +by a king of the Larsa dynasty, Rim-Sin (_c._ 2300 B.C.). The titles +given to Shamash by the early rulers are sufficiently definite to show +in what relation he stood to his worshippers, and what the conceptions +were that were formed of him. He is, alternately, the king and the +shepherd. Since the kings also called themselves shepherds, no especial +endearment is conveyed by this designation. In the incantations, Shamash +is frequently appealed to, either alone, or when an entire group of +spirits and deities are enumerated. He is called upon to give life to +the sick man. To him the body of the one who is smitten with disease is +confided. As the god of light, he is appropriately called upon to banish +'darkness' from the house, darkness being synonymous with misfortune; +and the appeal is made to him more particularly as the 'king of +judgment.' From this, it is evident that the beneficent action of the +sun, was the phase associated with Shamash. He was hailed as the god +that gives light and life to all things, upon whose favor the prosperity +of the fields and the well-being of man depend. He creates the light and +secures its blessings for mankind. His favor produces order and +stability; his wrath brings discomfiture and ruin to the state and the +individual. But his power was, perhaps, best expressed by the title of +"judge"--the favorite one in the numerous hymns that were composed in +his honor. He was represented as seated on a throne in the chamber of +judgment, receiving the supplications of men, and according as he +manifested his favor or withdrew it, enacting the part of the decider of +fates. He loosens the bonds of the imprisoned, grants health to the +sick, and even revivifies the dead. On the other hand, he puts an end to +wickedness and destroys enemies. He makes the weak strong, and prevents +the strong from crushing the weak. From being the judge, and, moreover, +the supreme judge of the world, it was but natural that the conception +of justice was bound up with him. His light became symbolical of +righteousness, and the absence of it, or darkness, was viewed as +wickedness. Men and gods look expectantly for his light. He is the guide +of the gods, as well as the ruler of men. + +While there are no direct indications in the historical texts known at +present, that this conception of the sun-god existed in all its details +before the days of Hammurabi, there is every reason to believe that this +was the case; the more so, in that it does not at all transcend the +range of religious ideas that we have met with in the case of the other +gods of this period. Nor does this conception in any way betray itself, +as being due to the changed political conditions that set in, with the +union of the states under Hammurabi. Still, the age of the religious +texts not being fixed, it is thus necessary to exercise some caution +before using them without the basis of an allusion in the historical +texts. + + +Utu. + +It but remains, before passing on, to note that the same deity appears +under various names. Among these are Utu[54] and apparently also +Babbar[55] in the old Babylonian inscriptions. For the latter, a Semitic +etymology is forthcoming, and we may therefore regard it as representing +a real pronunciation, and not an ideographic writing. Babbar, a +contracted form from Barbar, is the reduplication of the same stem +_bar_[56] that we have already met with, in the name of the temple +sacred to Shamash. Like E-babbara, therefore, Babbar is the "brilliantly +shining one,"--a most appropriate name for the sun, and one frequently +applied to him in the religious texts. As to Utu, there is some doubt +whether it represents a real pronunciation or not. My own opinion is +that it does, and that the underlying stem is _atû_, which in Babylonian +has almost the same meaning as _bar_ or _barû_, viz., 'to see.' 'Utu' +would thus again designate the sun as 'that which shines forth.' + +It will be recalled, that other instances have been noted of the same +god appearing under different names. The most natural explanation for +this phenomenon is, that the variation corresponds to the different +localities where the god was worshipped. The identification would not be +made until the union of the various Babylonian states had been achieved. +Such a union would be a potent factor in systematizing the pantheon. +When once it was recognized that the various names represented, in +reality, one and the same deity, it would not be long before the name, +peculiar to the place where the worship was most prominent, would set +the others aside or reduce them to mere epithets. + +It may well be that Shamash was the name given to the god at Sippar, +whereas at Ur he may have been known as Utu. Ur-Bau (of the first Ur +dynasty) calls him Utu also, when speaking of the temple at Larsa, but +it would be natural for the kings of Ur to call the sun-god of Larsa by +the same name that he had in Ur. That Hammurabi, however, calls the +sun-god of Larsa, Utu, may be taken as an indication that, as such he +was known at that place, for since we have no record of a sun-temple at +Babylon in these days, there would be no motive that might induce him to +transfer a name, otherwise known to him, to another place. The testimony +of Hammurabi is therefore as direct as that of Sargon, who calls the +sun-god of Sippar, Shamash. It is not always possible to determine, with +as much show of probability, as in the case of the sun-god, the +distribution of the various names, but the general conclusion, for all +that, is warranted in every instance, that a variety of names refers, +originally, to an equal variety of places over which the worship was +spread,--only that care must be exercised to distinguish between +distinctive names and mere epithets. + + +Â. + +A consort of the sun-deity, appearing frequently at his side in the +incantation texts, is Â. It is more particularly with the Shamash of +Sippar, that  is associated. She is simply the 'beloved one' of the +sun-deity, with no special character of her own. In the historical +texts, her rôle is quite insignificant, and for the period with which we +are at present concerned she is only mentioned once by a North +Babylonian ruler, Ma-an-ish-tu-su,[57] who dedicates an object to her. +The reading of the ideogram Â, or Nin- (_i.e._, Lady Â), is doubtful. +Malkatu ("mistress" or "queen") is offered as a plausible +conjecture.[58] Lehman (_Keils Bibl._ iii. I, 202) suggests _A-Ja_, but +on insufficient grounds. In any case  has the force of mistress, and +Nin- simply designates the goddess as the lady, mistress, or queen. It +is likely that  was originally an independent deity, and one of the +names of the sun-god in a particular locality. It occurs in proper names +as a title of Shamash. Instead, however, of becoming identified with +Shamash,  degenerated into a pale reflection of Shamash, pictured under +the relationship of consort to him. This may have been due to the union +of Shamash with the place where  was worshipped. If, as seems likely, +that near Sippar, there was another city on the other side of the +Euphrates, forming a suburb to it (as Borsippa did to Babylon), the +conclusion is perhaps warranted that  was originally the sun-god +worshipped at the place which afterwards became incorporated with +Sippar.[59] Such an amalgamation of two originally male deities into a +combination of male and female, strange as it may seem to us, is in +keeping with the lack of sharp distinction between male and female in +the oldest forms of Semitic religions. In the old cuneiform writing the +same sign is used to indicate "lord" or "lady" when attached to deities. +Ishtar appears among Semites both as a male[60] and as a female deity. +Sex was primarily a question of strength. The stronger god was viewed as +masculine; the weaker as feminine. + + +Nannar and Sin. + +Nannar, a reduplicated form like Babbar, with the assimilation of the +first r to n (nar-nar = nannar), has very much the same meaning as +Babbar. The latter, as we have seen, is the "lustrous one," the former, +the "one that furnishes light." The similarity in meaning is in keeping +with the similarity of function of the two deities, thus named: Babbar +being the sun and Nannar, the moon. It was under the name of Nannar that +the moon-god was worshipped at Ur, the most famous and probably the +oldest of the cities over which the moon-god presided. The association +of Nannar with Ur is parallel to that of Shamash with Sippar,--not that +the moon-god's jurisdiction or worship was confined to that place, but +that the worship of the deity of that place eclipsed others, and the +fame and importance at Ur led to the overshadowing of the moon-worship +there, over the obeisance to him paid elsewhere. + +What further motives led to the choice of the moon-god as the patron of +Ur, lies beyond the scope of our knowledge. Due allowance must be made +for that natural selection, which takes place in the realm of thought as +much as in the domain of nature. Attention has already been called to +the predominance given by the Babylonians to the moon over the sun. The +latter is expressly called the "offspring of the lord of brilliant +beginning," that is, the moon-god (Delitzsch, _Assyr. Hdw._, p. 234 +_a_). It is needless, therefore, to do more, at this place, than to +emphasize the fact anew. The moon serving much more as a guide to man, +through the regular character of its constant changes, than the sun, was +connected in the religious system with both the heavenly and the +terrestrial forces. In view of Nannar's position in the heavens, he was +called the "heifer of Anu." Anu, it will be recalled, was the god of +heaven (and heaven itself), while the "heifer"[61] is here used +metaphorically for offspring, the picture being suggested probably by +the "horn" that the moon presents at a certain phase. This 'horn' +constitutes his crown, and he is frequently represented on seal +cylinders with a crescent over his head, and with a long flowing beard, +that is described as having the color of lapislazuli. A frequent title +is the 'lord of the crown.' On the other hand, by virtue of its +influence on the earth, regulating, as the ancients observed, the tides, +the moon was connected by the Babylonians with the reckoning of time. +Because of this connection with the 'lower world,' it seems, he was also +regarded as the first-born of Bel. His sacred edifice at Ur was one to +which all rulers of the place devoted themselves. Ur-Gur, Nur-Rammân, +Sin-iddina, and Kudur-mabuk tell of their embellishment of the temple, +each one appropriating to himself the title of 'builder,' in which they +gloried. So close, again, was the identification of the city with the +deity, that the latter was frequently known simply as the god of Ur, and +the former, as the city of Nannar. + +Another name of the moon-god was Sin,--the meaning of which escapes us. +At the side of Ur, Harran is the place most celebrated by reason of its +moon-worship, and there is every reason to believe that the name Sin was +originally attached to Harran. The migrations of the ancient Hebrews +were connected as we now know with political movements in Babylonia. +They proceed from Ur--or Ur-Kasdim, _i.e._, Chaldean Ur--northward to +Harran, which, by virtue of its position, became a town of much +importance. This association of Ur with Harran furnishes an indication +for historical relations of some sort, existing between the two places. +It is therefore not accidental, that the patron deity of both places was +the same. As yet, no excavations have been made at Harran, and we are, +therefore, dependent upon incidental notices for our knowledge of its +history. These sufficiently show that the place continued through a long +period to preserve its sacred character. The old temple there, was one +of the many that stirred up the religious zeal of Nabonnedos; and +previous to this, we find several Assyrian kings occupied in +embellishing and restoring the structure. An interesting reference to +Harran, bearing witness to its ancient dignity, is found in an +inscription of Sargon II. of Assyria (722-706 B.C.), who enumerates +among his claims to the favor of the gods, that he restored the "laws +and customs of Harran," by which he evidently means that he was +instrumental in giving the place, the dignity it once enjoyed. A curious +feature connected with Sin, is the occurrence of the name in Mount +Sinai, in the wilderness of Sin, as well as in an inscription of +Southern Arabia. May not this be a further testimony to the association +of Harran with Sin, since it is from Harran that the departure of the +Hebrews for the west took place? What more natural than that in the +migrations which carried the Hebrews to the west, the worship of Sin +should have been transferred to Arabia?[62] Important as Ur and Harran +are as sacred towns, politically they do not retain their prominence +after the days of Hammurabi. The amalgamation of Nannar with Sin, and +the almost exclusive occurrence of the latter name in later times, does +not of necessity point to a preponderating influence of Harran over Ur, +but may be due to the greater fame which the former place acquired as +the goal of religious pilgrimages. The situation of Harran--the name +itself signifies 'road'--as the highway leading to the west, must have +been an important factor, in bringing this about. However this may be, +Sin and Nannar are as thoroughly identical in the period following +Hammurabi, as Babbar and Shamash. The attributes of the one are +transferred to the other so completely, that a separation of the two is +no longer possible. + +The ideographs with which the name of Sin is written show him to have +been regarded as the god of wisdom, but while wisdom and light may be +connected, it is Nannar's character as the "illuminator" that becomes +the chief trait of the god. No doubt the preëminence of Ea in this +respect, who is the personification of wisdom, _par excellence_, made it +superfluous to have another deity possessing the same trait. It is, +accordingly, as the god of light, that Sin continues to be adored in the +Babylonian religion; and when he is referred to, in the historical texts +and hymns, this side of his nature is the one dwelt upon. Through his +light, the traps laid by the evil spirits, who are active at night, are +revealed. In later times, apparently through Assyrian influence, the +reckoning of time was altered to the extent of making the day begin with +sunrise, instead of with the approach of night; and this, together with +the accommodation of the lunar cycle to the movements of the sun, +brought about a partial change of the former conditions, and gave +somewhat greater prominence to Shamash. As a consequence, the rôle of +Sin is not as prominent in the hymns that belong to a later period as in +those of earlier days. + +The oracles of the Assyrian kings are addressed to Shamash, and not to +Sin. Moreover, the personal factor in the case of Sin, if one may +express oneself thus, is not as strong as in that of some other gods. +His traits are of a more general kind. He is supreme; there is none like +him, and the spirits are subservient to his will. But terms of +endearment are few, while on the mythological side, comparatively little +is made of him. He is strong and he is holy. He is called upon to clothe +the evil-doer with leprosy, as with a dress. In a robe, befitting his +dignity, he stalks about. Without him, no city is founded, no district +restored to former glory. Sin is called the father of the gods, but in a +metaphorical rather than in a real sense. The only one of his children +who takes an important part in the later phases of Babylonian-Assyrian +worship is his daughter Ishtar. She seems to have taken to herself some +of the traits of right belonging to Sin, and the prominence of her +worship may be regarded as an additional factor in accounting for the +comparative obscurity to which Sin gradually is assigned. At all events, +Sin is a feature of the earlier period of the Babylonian religion rather +than of the later periods. + + +Innanna. + +The secondary position held by the female deities in the Babylonian +pantheon has been repeatedly referred to. This trait of the religion +finds an illustration not only in the 'shadowy' character of the +consorts of the gods, but also in the manner in which goddesses, +originally distinct from one another and enjoying an existence +independent of any male consort, lose their individuality, as it were, +and become merely so many forms of one and the same deity. Indeed, as we +approach the moment when the gods of the Babylonian pantheon are ranged +into a system, the tendency becomes pronounced to recognize only _one_ +goddess, representative of the principle of generation--one 'great +mother,' endowed with a variety of traits according to the political and +social conditions prevailing at different times in Babylonia and +Assyria. In the earliest period which we are now considering, we can +still distinguish a number of goddesses who afterwards became merged +into this one great goddess. These are Ninni (or Innanna), Nanâ, and +Anunit. + +Ninni and Innanna are names that appear to have a common origin.[63] +Both embody the notion of 'ladyship.' The worship of this goddess +centers in the district of Lagash. Ur-Bau (c. 3000 B.C.), who addresses +her as 'glorious and supreme,' builds a temple in her honor at +Gishgalla, and Gudea refers to a temple known as E-anna, _i.e._, +heavenly house in Girsu.[64] For Gudea, Ninni is the "mistress of the +world." Another ruler of Lagash whose name is doubtfully read as +E-dingir-ra-na-gin,[65] but who is even earlier than Ur-Bau, declares +that he has been 'called' by Innanna to the throne. She is mentioned by +the side of Nin-khar-sag. We are still in the period where local +associations formed a controlling factor in ensuring the popularity of a +deity, and while the goddesses attached to the gods of the important +centers are still differentiated, the tendency already exists to +designate the female consorts simply as the 'goddess,'--to apply to all, +the traits that may once have been peculiar to one. As we pass from one +age to the other, there is an increasing difficulty in keeping the +various local 'goddesses' apart. Even the names become interchangeable; +and since these goddesses all represented essentially the same principle +of generation and fertility, it was natural that with the union of the +Babylonian states they should become merged into one great +mother-goddess. A 'local' goddess who retains rather more of her +individuality than others, is + + +Nanâ. + +Her name is again playfully interpreted by the Babylonians--through +association with Nin--as 'the lady' _par excellence_. She was the chief +goddess of the city of Uruk. Her temple at Uruk is first mentioned by +Ur-Gur, of the second dynasty of Ur. It is restored and enlarged by +Dungi, the successor of Ur-Bau, and so thoroughly is she identified with +her edifice known as E-anna (again a play upon her name), that she +becomes known as the Lady of E-anna.[66] She appears to have had a +temple also at Ur, and it is to this edifice that later rulers of +Larsa--Kudur-Mabuk and Rim-Sin, as well as the kings of the Isin +dynasty, Gamil-Ninib, Libit-Ishtar, and Ishme-Dagan--refer in their +inscriptions. + +The members of the Isin dynasty pride themselves upon their control over +Uruk, and naturally appear as special devotees to Nanâ, whose chosen +"consort" they declare themselves to be, wielding the sceptre, as it +were, in union with her. Already at this period, Nanâ is brought into +connection with the moon-god, being called by Kudur-Mabuk the daughter +of Sin. The relationship in this case indicates, primarily, the +supremacy exercised by Ur, and also a similarity in the traits of the +two deities. In the fully developed cosmology, Nanâ is the planet Venus, +whose various aspects, as morning and evening star, suggested an analogy +with the phases of the moon. + +Venus, like the moon, served as a guide to man, while her inferiority in +size and importance to the former, would naturally come to be expressed +under the picture of father and daughter. In a certain sense, all the +planets appearing at the same time and in the same region with the moon +were the children of the latter. Sin, therefore, is appropriately called +the father of gods, just as Anu, the personification of the heaven +itself, is the supreme father of Sin and Shamash, and of all the +heavenly bodies. The metaphorical application of 'father' as 'source,' +throughout Oriental parlance, must be kept in mind in interpreting the +relationship between the gods. Still another name of the goddess is +Anunit, which appears to have been peculiar to the North Babylonian city +Agade, and emphasizes her descent from "Anu," the god of heaven. Her +temple at Agade, known as E-ul-mash, is the object of Sargon's devotion, +which makes her, with Bel and Shamash, the oldest triad of gods +mentioned in the Babylonian inscriptions. But the name which finally +displaces all others, is + + +Ishtar. + +Where the name originated has not yet been ascertained, as little as its +etymology,[67] but it seems to belong to Northern Babylonia rather than +to the south. + +In time, all the names that we have been considering--Innanna, Nanâ, and +Anunit--became merely so many designations of Ishtar. She absorbs the +titles and qualities of all, and the tendency which we have pointed out +finds its final outcome in the recognition of Ishtar as the one and only +goddess endowed with powers and an existence independent of association +with any male deity, though even this independence does not hinder her +from being named at times as the associate of the chief god of +Assyria--the all-powerful Ashur. The attempt has been made by Sayce and +others to divide the various names of Ishtar among the aspects of Venus +as morning and evening star, but there is no evidence to show that the +Babylonians distinguished the one from the other so sharply as to make +two goddesses of one and the same planet. + +It is more in accord with what, as we have seen, has been the general +character of the Babylonian pantheon, to account for the identification +of Ninni, Nanâ, and Anunit with Ishtar on the supposition that the +different names belonged originally to different localities. Ishtar was +appropriately denominated the brilliant goddess. She is addressed as the +mother of gods, which signals her supreme position among the female +deities. 'The mistress of countries' alternating with 'the mistress of +mountains,'[68] is one of her common titles; and as the growing +uniqueness of her position is one of the features of the +Babylonian-Assyrian religion, it is natural that she should become +simply _the_ goddess. This was especially the case with the Assyrians, +to whom Ishtar became a goddess of war and battle, the consort, at +times, of the chief god of the Assyrian pantheon. At the same time it is +important to note that the warlike character of the goddess goes back to +the time of Hammurabi (_Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, 113), and is dwelt upon by +other Babylonian kings (_e.g._, Nebuchadnezzar I., c. 1130 B.C.) prior +to the rise of the Assyrian power. How Ishtar came to take on so violent +a character is not altogether clear. There are no indications of this +rôle in the incantation texts, where she is simply the kind mother who +is appealed to, to release the sufferer from the power of the +disease-bringing spirits. In the prayers, as will be shown in the proper +place, she becomes the vehicle for the expression of the highest +religious and ethical thought attained by the Babylonians. On the other +hand, in the great Babylonian epic,[69] dealing with the adventures of a +famous hero, Gilgamesh, Ishtar, who makes her appearance at the summer +solstice, is a raging goddess who smites those who disobey her commands +with wasting disease. Starting with this phase of the goddess' +character, one can at least understand the process of her further +development into a fierce deity presiding over the fortunes of war. The +epic just referred to belongs to the old Babylonian period. It embodies +ancient traditions of rivalry between the Babylonian principalities, +though there are traces of several recastings which the epic received. +The violent Ishtar, therefore, is a type going back to the same period +as the other side of her character that is emphasized elsewhere. Since, +moreover, the Ishtar in the Gilgamesh epic is none other than the chief +goddess of Uruk, all further doubt as to the union of such diverging +traits in one and the same personage falls to the ground. In this same +epic, Ishtar appears as sympathizing with the sufferings of mankind, and +bewailing the destruction that was at one time decreed by the gods. It +is noteworthy that the violent Ishtar appears in that portion of the +epic which, on the assumption of a zodiacal interpretation for the +composition, corresponds to the summer solstice, whereas, the +destruction which arouses her sympathy takes place in the eleventh +month. It is quite possible, therefore, that the two aspects of Venus, +as evening and morning stars, corresponding, as they do, to the summer +and winter seasons, are reflected in this double character of the +goddess. We are not justified, however, in going further and assuming +that her double rôle as daughter of Sin and daughter of Anu is to be +accounted for in the same manner. In the Gilgamesh epic, she is found in +association with Anu, and to the latter she appeals for protection as +her father, and yet it is as the daughter of Sin that she enters the +world of the dead to seek for the waters that may heal her bridegroom, +Tammuz.[70] Evidently, the distinction between Ishtar as the daughter of +Anu and as the daughter of Sin is not an important one, the term +daughter in both cases being a metaphor to express a relationship both +of physical nature and of a political character. Of the various forms +under which the goddess appears, that of Anunit--a feminine form +indicating descent from and appertaining to Anu--attaches itself most +clearly to the god of heaven, and it may be that it was not until the +assimilation of Anunit and Nanâ with Ishtar that the goddess is viewed +as at once the daughter of Anu and of Sin. If this be so, there is +surely nothing strange in the fact that a planet like Venus should be +regarded in one place as the daughter of heaven and in another brought +into relationship with the moon. She actually belongs to both. + +Just as in Babylonia, so in Assyria, there were various Ishtars, or +rather various places where the goddess was worshipped as the guardian +spirit, but her rôle in the north is so peculiar that all further +consideration of it must be postponed until we come to consider, in due +time, the Assyrian pantheon. There will be occasion, too, when treating +of the Gilgamesh epic, to dwell still further on some of her traits. All +that need be said here is to emphasize the fact that the popularity of +the Babylonian Ishtar in Assyria, as manifested by Esarhaddon's zeal in +restoring her temple at Uruk, and Ashurbanabal's restoration of Nanâ's +statue (_c._ 635 B.C.) which had been captured by the Elamites 1635 +years before Ashurbanabal's reign, is largely due to the effected +identity with the goddess who, for the Assyrians, was regarded chiefly +as the goddess of war and strife. In worshipping the southern Ishtars, +the Assyrian kings felt themselves to be showing their allegiance to the +same deity to whom, next to Ashur, most of their supplications were +addressed, and of whom as warriors they stood in dread. + + +Ninâ. + +A goddess who, while sharing the fate of her sister goddesses in being +overshadowed by Ishtar, yet merits a special treatment, is one whose +name is plausibly conjectured to be read Ninâ. The compound ideogram +expressing the deity signifies 'house of the fish.' The word 'house' in +Semitic parlance is figuratively extended to convey the idea of +'possessing or harboring.' Applied to a settlement, the ideogram would +be the equivalent of our 'Fishtown.' It is with this same ideogram that +the famous capitol of Assyria, Nineveh, is written in the cuneiform +texts, and since the phonetic reading for the city, Ni-na-a, also +occurs, it is only legitimate to conclude that the latter is the correct +reading for the deity as well. As a matter of course, if the goddess +bears a name identical with that of a city, it cannot be the Assyrian +city which is meant in the old Babylonian inscriptions, but some other +place bearing the same name. Such a place actually occurs in the +inscriptions of Gudea. It is, in fact, one of the three towns that +combined with Shirpurla to create the great capitol bearing the latter +name; and Jensen[71] has called attention to a passage in one of Gudea's +inscriptions in which the goddess is brought into direct association +with the town, so that it would appear that Ninâ is the patron of Ninâ, +in the same way that Nin-girsu is the protector of Girsu. In keeping +with this we find the mention of the goddess limited to the rulers of +Lagash. Several of them--En-anna-tuma, Entemena, and Gudea--declare +themselves to have been chosen by her. She is said to regard Gudea with +special favor. She determines destinies. Another king, Ur-Ninâ, embodies +the name of the goddess in his own, and devotes himself to the +enlargement of her temple. From the manner in which she is associated +with Nin-girsu, aiding the latter in guarding his temple E-ninnu, and +uniting with the god in granting the sceptre to Gudea, one is tempted to +conclude that the two towns, Girsu and Ninâ, were amalgamated before +their absorption into Lagash, so that the god and goddess acquired the +relationship to one another of husband and consort. As for the +connection between this Babylonian Ninâ and the late Assyrian capital, +it is quite possible that the origin of the latter is to be traced to a +settlement made by inhabitants of the former, although it should be +added that there is no positive evidence that can be adduced in support +of this proposition. It accords, however, with the northward movement of +culture and civilization in Mesopotamia. If this connection between the +two Ninevehs be accepted, the question suggests itself whether, in time, +Ninâ did not become merely another form of Ishtar. The Assyrian capital +is frequently spoken of as the 'beloved city' of Ishtar, and unless it +be supposed that this epithet simply reflects the comparatively late +popularity of the distinctively Assyrian Ishtar, the most natural +explanation would be to propose the equation Ninâ = Ishtar. + +In the incantation texts, Ninâ is frequently appealed to as the daughter +of Ea,--the god of the deep. This relationship, as well as the +interpretation of the ideogram above set forth, points to the original +character of the goddess as a water-deity. This goddess, therefore, +would be of an entirely different form from the ones discussed in the +previous paragraphs. Instead of being a member of the heavenly pantheon, +her place is with the kingdom over which Ea presides, and whose +dwelling-place is the watery deep. In any case, Ninâ is originally +distinct from Ishtar, Nanâ, and Anunit; and she retains an independent +existence to a later period than most of the other great goddesses that +have been discussed. In an inscription of the days of Belnâdinaplu (_c._ +1100 B.C.), published by Hilprecht,[72] Ninâ appears as the patron deity +of Dêr,--a city of Southern Babylonia. There too she is called the +'daughter of Ea,' the creator of everything. She is 'the mistress of +goddesses.' Attached to her temple there are lands that having been +wrongfully wrested from the priests are returned upon royal command, +under solemn invocation of the goddess. How her worship came to be +transferred to Dêr we do not know. She appears in the inscription in +question by the side of a goddess who--following Hommel--is none other +than Bau. Dêr is called the city of the god Anu, and we can only suppose +that it must at one time have risen to sufficient importance to harbor +in its midst a number of deities. It is presumably[73] the place whence +Nebuchadnezzar I. sets out in the twelfth century to drive the Cassites +off the throne of Babylonia. May it be that, during the days of the +foreign rule, priests attached to the service of various of the old gods +and goddesses transferred the worship of these deities to places more +secure from interference? + +Be this as it may, if our Ninâ has any connection with the goddess of +Nineveh, it is certain that Ishtar has retained none of Ninâ's traits. +The fusion in this case has been so complete that naught but the +faintest tradition of an original and independent Ninâ has survived in +the North. + + +Anu. + +This god, who, from a theoretical point of view (as will be shown in a +subsequent chapter), was regarded as standing at the head of the +organized Babylonian pantheon, figures only incidentally in the +inscriptions prior to the days of Hammurabi. Ur-Gur of the second +dynasty of Ur, in invoking Nannar, calls the latter 'the powerful bull +of Anu.' The reference is interesting, for it shows that already in +these early days the position of Anu, as the god of the heavenly +expanse, was fixed. The moon appearing in the heavens, and the +resemblance of its crescent to a bull's horn,[74] are the two factors +that account for the expressive epithet used by Ur-Bau. That the worship +of the god of heaven _par excellence_ should not have enjoyed great +popularity in the early days of the Babylonian religion might seem +strange at first sight. A little reflection, however, will make this +clear. A god of the heavens is an abstract conception, and while it is +possible that even in an early age, such a conception may have arisen in +some minds, it is not of a character calculated to take a popular hold. +As we proceed in our attempt to trace the development of the Babylonian +religion, we will find the line of demarcation separating the +theological system, as evolved by the schoolmen, from the popular phases +of the religion, becoming more marked. In the inscriptions of the old +Babylonian rulers, comparatively little of the influence of the +Babylonian theologians is to be detected. Even the description of the +moon as the bull of heaven falls within the domain of popular fancy. It +is different in the days after Hammurabi, when political concentration +leads to the focussing of intellectual life in the Euphrates Valley, +with all the consequences that the establishment of a central +priesthood, with growing powers over ever-increasing territory, +involves. It is to be noted, moreover, that the manner in which in the +old Babylonian inscriptions _Anu_ is written,[75] indicates that the +abstraction involved in the conception of a god of heaven had not yet +been reached, though some measure of personification was of course +inevitable at a time when animistic notions still held sway. A direct +indication of this personification of heaven without the deification +appears in the epithet 'child of Anu,' bestowed upon the goddess Bau. +The reference to the heavens in this connection is an allusion to Bau's +position as the patroness of that quarter of Lagash known as the +'brilliant town,'[76] and where Bau's temple stood. The transference of +the quality of 'brilliancy' from the town to the goddess would be +expressed by calling the latter the offspring of that part of visible +nature which is associated in the mind with 'brilliancy.' Somewhat +mysterious, and still awaiting a satisfactory explanation, is the title +'sacrificer,' or 'priest of Anu,' which one of the rulers of Lagash, +Ur-Nin-girsu, assumes. It is scarcely possible that the god of heaven +can be meant; and, on the other hand, if we are to assume merely a +personification of heaven, we encounter fresh difficulties. It seems to +me that the use of Anu[77] here is purely metaphorical for 'high' or +'lofty,' and that the king merely wishes to emphasize the dignity of his +station by declaring himself to be the heavenly priest, somewhat as we +should say 'priest by divine grace,' or 'supreme priest.' + + +Nin-si[78]-a. + +Ur-Bau and Gudea alone of the ancient rulers refer to this god. The +former erects a temple in honor of the god in some quarter of his +capitol city, while the latter emphasizes the strength that the god has +given him. These references, however, show that the god must have been +of considerable importance, and in this case, his disappearance from the +later pantheon is probably due to the absorption of his rôle by the +greater god of Lagash,--Nin-girsu. Like Nin-girsu, Nin-si-a was a god of +war, and his worship, imported perhaps from some ancient site to Lagash, +falls into desuetude, as the attribute accorded to him becomes the +distinguishing trait of the chief deity of the place. + + +Gal-alim. + +Among the various deities to whom Gudea gives praise for the position +and glory which he attains is Gal-alim.[79] From him he has received +great rule and a lofty sceptre. The phrase is of a very general nature +and reveals nothing as to the special character of the god in question. +An earlier king, Uru-kagina, refers to the temple of the god at Lagash. +Gal-alim may have been again a merely local deity belonging to one of +the towns that fell under Gudea's rule, and whose attributes again were +so little marked that this god too disappeared under the overshadowing +importance of Nin-girsu. He and another god, Dun-shagga, are viewed as +the sons of Nin-girsu. + + * * * * * + +Coming to some of the deities that we may designate as minor, it is to +be noted that in the case of certain ones, at least, it will be found +that they may be identified with others more prominent, and that what +seem to be distinct names are in reality descriptive epithets of gods +already met with. This remark applies more particularly to such names as +begin with the element Nin, signifying either 'lord' or 'lady,' and +which, when followed by the name of a place, always points to its being +a title, and, when followed by an ideographic compound, only diminishes +that probability to a slight degree. We have already come across several +instances; thus Nin-girsu, the lord of Girsu, has been shown to be a +form of Ninib, itself an ideogram, the reading of which, it will be +recalled, is still uncertain; and again, Nin-khar-sag has been referred +to, as one of the titles of the great goddess Belit. Similarly, +Nin-gish-zida, whose name signifies 'the lord of the right-hand (or +propitious) sceptre,' becomes a title and not a name, and when Gudea +speaks of this god as the one who leads him to battle, and calls him +'king,' he is simply describing the same god who is elsewhere spoken of +as Nin-girsu. By the side of Nin-girsu and Nin-gish-zida appears +Nin-shakh, who, as Oppert[80] has shown, is like Nin-girsu the prototype +of the well-known god of war, Ninib. However, Nin-shakh occupies, in +contradistinction to Nin-gish-zida and others, a position in the old +Babylonian pantheon of an independent character, so that it is hardly +justifiable, in such a case, to identify him completely with Ninib, and +place the name on a par with the epithets just referred to. The dividing +line between the mere title and an independent god thus becomes at times +very faint, and yet it is well to maintain it whenever called for. In +the following enumeration of the minor gods of the old Babylonian +pantheon, the attempt will be made to bring out this distinction in each +instance. + +Beginning with + + +Nin-shakh + +the element _Nin_, as has several times been mentioned, points to an +ideographic form. The second element signifies 'wild boar,' and from +other sources we know that this animal was a sacred one in Babylonia, as +among other Semitic nations.[81] Its flesh, on certain days of the +Babylonian calendar, was forbidden to be eaten, from which we are +permitted to conclude that these days were dedicated to the animal, and +the prohibition represents perhaps the traces of some old religious +festival. May Nin-shakh therefore have been a 'swine deity,' just as +Nergal is symbolized by the 'lion'? In both cases the animal would be a +symbol of the violent and destructive character of the god. + +The ferocious character of the 'swine' would naturally result in +assigning to Nin-shakh warlike attributes; and as a matter of fact he is +identified at times with Ninib. His subordinate position, however, is +indicated by his being called the 'servant,' generally of En-lil, +occasionally also of Anu, and as such he bears the name of +Pap-sukal,[82] _i.e._, 'divine messenger.' Rim-Sin builds a temple to +Nin-shakh at Uruk, and from its designation as his 'favorite dwelling +place' we may conclude that Rim-Sin only restores or enlarges an ancient +temple of the deity. In the light of this, the relationship above set +forth between Nin-girsu, Nin-gish-zida, and Nin-shakh becomes somewhat +clearer. The former, the local deity of Girsu, would naturally be called +by the kings 'the lord of the true sceptre,' while the subordination of +Girsu as a quarter of Lagash finds its reflection in the relationship of +master and servant pictured as existing between En-lil and Nin-girsu. +Again, the warlike character of the patron deity of Girsu would lead to +an identification with Nin-shakh of Uruk, possessing the same traits; +and the incorporation of Uruk as a part of the same empire which +included Lagash and its quarters, would be the last link bringing about +the full equation between the three. With Ninib--the solar deity--coming +into prominence as the god of war, all three names, Nin-girsu, +Nin-gish-zida, and Nin-shakh, would be regarded by a later age as merely +descriptive of one and the same god. + + +Dun-shagga. + +Gudea makes mention in one of his inscriptions, by the side of +Nin-gish-zida, of a god Dun-shagga,[83] whose name signifies the 'chief +hero,' but the phonetic reading of which it is impossible to +determine.[84] Like Nin-gish-zida, he is a warlike god, and from that +one might suppose that he too is only another form of Nin-girsu-Ninib. +At all events, he did not differ materially from the latter. It is from +him, that Gudea again declares his power to be derived, just as +elsewhere he accords to Nin-girsu this distinction. The element 'Dun,' +which is very much the same as 'Nin,' speaks in favor of regarding +Dun-shagga as a title; but, in default of positive evidence, it will not +be out of place to give him an independent position, and to regard his +identification with Nin-girsu as a later phase due to the extension of +Nin-girsu's jurisdiction and his corresponding absorption of a varying +number of minor gods. This tendency on the part of the greater gods to +absorb the minor ones is as distinctive a trait in the development of +the Babylonian religion, as is the subordination of one god to the +other, whether expressed by making the subordinate god the consort, the +chief, or the servant of a superior one. We have seen that such terms of +relationship correspond to certain degrees of political conditions +existing between the conquering and the conquered districts. +Amalgamation of two cities or districts is portrayed in the relation of +the two patron deities as husband and wife, the stronger of the two +being the former, the more subservient pictured as the latter. The more +pronounced superiority of the one place over the other finds expression +in the relation of father to child, while that of master and servant +emphasizes the complete control exercised by the one over the other. +Lastly, the absorption of one deity into another, is correlative either +with the most perfect form of conquest, or the complete disappearance of +the seat of his worship in consequence of the growing favor of one +possessing sufficiently similar qualities to warrant identification with +the other. + + +Lugal-banda. + +Sin-gashid of the dynasty of Uruk makes mention of this deity at the +beginning of one of his inscriptions. To him and to his consort, +Nin-gul, a temple as 'the seat of their joy' at that place is devoted. +This association of the god with the town points again to a local deity, +but possessing a character which leads to the absorption of the god in +the solar god, Nergal, whom we have already encountered, and who will +occupy us a good deal when we come to the period after Hammurabi. The +identification of the two is already foreshadowed in an inscription of +another member of the same dynasty, Sin-gamil, who places the name of +Nergal exactly where his predecessor mentions Lugal-banda. The first +element in his name signifies 'king,' the second apparently 'strong,' so +that in this respect, too, the god comes close to Nergal, whose name +likewise indicates 'great lord.' The consort of Lugal-banda is + + +Nin-gul. + +Her name signifies 'the destructive lady,'--an appropriate epithet for +the consort of a solar deity. It is Sin-gashid again who associates +Ningul with Lugal-banda, and emphasizes his affection for the goddess by +calling her his mother. In one inscription, moreover, Sin-gashid +addresses himself exclusively to the goddess, who had an equal share in +the temple at Uruk. + + +Dumuzi-zu-aba. + +Among the deities appealed to by Ur-Bau appears one whose name is to be +interpreted as the 'unchangeable child of the watery deep.' The great +god of the deep we have seen is Ea. Dumuzi-zu-aba therefore belongs to +the water-deities, and one who, through his subordinate rank to Ea, +sinks to the level of a water-spirit. Ur-Bau declares himself to be the +darling of this deity, and in the town of Girsu he erects a temple to +him. Girsu, however, was not the patron city of the god, for Ur-Bau +gives Dumuzi-zu-aba, the appellation of 'the lord of Kinunira,'[85] a +place the actual situation of which is unknown. Dumuzi-zu-aba, +accordingly, is to be regarded as a local deity of a place which, +situated probably on an arm of the Euphrates, was the reason for the +watery attributes assigned to the god. The comparative insignificance of +the place is one of the factors that accounts for the minor importance +of the god, and the second factor is the popularity enjoyed by another +child of the great Ea, his child _par excellence_, Marduk, who is best +known as the patron god of the city of Babylon. By the side of Marduk, +the other children of Ea, the minor water-deities, disappear, so that to +a later generation Dumuzi-zu-aba appears merely as a form of Marduk. +With Dumuzi-zu-aba, we must be careful not to confuse + + +Dumu-zi, + +who in the old Babylonian inscriptions is mentioned once by +Sin-iddina,[86] in connection with the sun-god. Dumu-zi, signifying +'child of life,' has a double aspect--an agricultural deity and at the +same time a god of the lower world. He plays an important part in the +eschatological literature of the Babylonians, but hardly none at all in +the historical and incantation texts. A fuller treatment may therefore +be reserved for a future chapter. + + +Lugal-erima. + +A purely local deity, if the reading and interpretation offered by +Jensen, 'King of the city Erim,' is correct. The mention of the deity in +an inscription of Ur-Bau, who calls himself the 'beloved servant' of +this god, would be due to the circumstance that the district within +which the city in question lay was controlled by the rulers of Lagash. +To invoke as large a number of deities as possible was not only a means +of securing protection from many sides, but was already in the early +days of Babylonian history indulged in by rulers, as a means of +emphasizing the extent and manifold character of their jurisdiction. + + +Nin-e-gal and Ningal. + +A temple was erected to Nin-e-gal by the wife of Rim-Sin, of the dynasty +ruling in Larsa. Her name as interpreted in the tablet dedicated to her, +signifies again, as in several cases already noted, 'great lady.' She +was probably therefore only the consort of some patron deity; and Nannar +being the most prominent god invoked by Rim-Sin, it would seem that the +goddess to whom the queen pays her respects is again one of the consorts +of the moon-god.[87] This conclusion is supported by the direct +association of Nannar of Ur and Ningal in an inscription emanating from +an earlier member of the same dynasty to which Rim-Sin belongs. +Nur-Rammân speaks of building temples to these deities in the city of +Ur. Hence the goddess is also represented as interceding with Sin on +behalf of those who appeal to her. The form Nin-e-gal is but a variant +of Nin-gal, so that the identification of the two lies beyond doubt, and +it may very well be that the temple erected by the consort of Rim-Sin is +the same as the one referred to by Nur-Rammân. In a land where polygamy +was a prevailing custom, the gods too might be represented as having a +number of consorts. There would of course be, just as in human +relations, one chief consort, but there might be others ranged at the +side of the latter.[88] Some of these may have been consorts of other +minor deities, worshipped in the same district, and who were given to +the more important divinity as he gradually overshadowed the others. In +this way, we may account for the large variety of 'ladies' and 'great +ladies' met with in the Babylonian pantheon, and who, being merely +'reflections' of male deities, with no sharply marked traits of their +own, would naturally come to be confused with one another, and finally +be regarded as various forms of one and the same goddess. A member of +the dynasty ruling in Isin, En-anna-tuma, earlier even than Nur-Rammân, +invokes Nin-gal in an inscription found in the ancient capital, Ur. +Here, too, the goddess appears in association with Nannar; but, +curiously enough, she is designated as the mother of Shamash. It will be +borne in mind that in the city of Ur, the sun-god occupied a secondary +place at the side of the moon-god. This relationship is probably +indicated by the epithet 'offspring of Nin-gal,' accorded to Shamash in +the inscription referred to. The moon being superior to the sun, the +consort of the moon-god becomes the mother of the sun-god. + +Reference has several times been made to + + +Nin-gish-zida, + +who, originally a distinct solar deity, becomes scarcely distinguishable +from Nin-girsu, and is eventually identified with the great Nin-ib.[89] +It is noticeable that these four deities, Nin-girsu, Nin-shakh, +Nin-gish-zida, and Nin-ib, who are thus associated together, all contain +the element _Nin_ in their names,--a factor that may turn out to be of +some importance when more abundant material shall be forthcoming for +tracing their development in detail. One of Gudea's inscriptions[90] +begins with the significant statement, 'Nin-gish-zida is the god of +Gudea'; and elsewhere when speaking of him, he is 'my god,' or 'his +god.' None of the ancient Babylonian rulers make mention of him except +Gudea, though in the incantation texts he is introduced and +significantly termed 'the throne-bearer' of the earth. The purely local +character of the deity is, furthermore, emphasized by the reference to +his temple in Girsu, on a brick and on a cone containing dedicatory +inscriptions, inscribed by Gudea in honor of the god.[91] + + +Shul (or Dun)-pa-uddu. + +The wife of the famous Gudea, Gin-Shul-pa-uddu, bears a name in which +one of the elements is a deity, the phonetic reading of whose name is +still uncertain.[92] The elements comprising it, namely, 'lord' (?), +'sceptre,' and 'radiant,' leave little doubt as to the solar character +of the god. Besides Gudea's wife, a ruler, Ur-Shul-pa-uddu,[93] +belonging apparently to a somewhat earlier period, embodies this deity +in his name. The worship of the deity, therefore, belongs to a very +early epoch, and appears at one time to have enjoyed considerable +popularity within a certain district of Babylonia. To what region of +Babylonia he belongs has not yet been ascertained. Judging from +analogous instances, he represented some phase of the sun worshipped in +a particular locality, whose cult, with the disappearance of the place +from the surface of political affairs, yielded to the tendency to +concentrate sun-worship in two or three deities,--Shamash and Ninib more +especially. In the astronomy of the Babylonians the name survived as a +designation of Marduk-Jupiter.[94] + + +Nin-Mar. + +A local deity, designated as the lady of Mar, is invoked by Ur-Bau, from +whom we learn that she was the daughter of Ninâ. _Mar_, with the +determinative for country, _Ki_, appears to have been the name of a +district extending to the Persian Gulf.[95] The capital of the district +is represented by the mound Tel-Id, not far from Warka. Her subsidiary +position is indicated in these words, and we may conclude that Nin-Mar +at an early period fell under the jurisdiction of the district in which +Ninâ was supreme. For all that, Nin-Mar, or the city in which her cult +was centralized, must have enjoyed considerable favor. Ur-Bau calls her +the 'gracious lady,' and erects a temple, the name of which, +Ish-gu-tur,[96] _i.e._, according to Jensen's plausible interpretation, +'the house that serves as a court for all persons,' points to Mar as a +place of pilgrimage to which people came from all sides. Gudea, +accordingly, does not omit to include 'the lady of Mar' in his list of +the chief deities to whom he pays his devotions; and on the assumption +of the general favor in which the city of Mar stood as a sacred town, we +may account for the fact that a much later ruler, Dungi, of the dynasty +of Ur,[97] erects a temple to her honor. + + +Pa-sag. + +A deity, the phonetic reading of whose name is unknown, or at all events +uncertain,[98] is mentioned once by Gudea in the long list of deities +that has been several times referred to. The ideographs with which his +name is written designate him as a chief of some kind, and in accord +with this, Gudea calls him 'the leader of the land.' Pa-sag is mentioned +immediately after the sun-god Utu, and in view of the fact that another +solar deity, I-shum, whom we shall come across in a future chapter, is +designated by the same title[99] as Pa-sag, it seems safe to conclude +that the latter is likewise a solar deity, and in all probability, the +prototype of I-shum, if not indeed identical with him. + + +Nisaba (or Nidaba). + +In a dream which the gods send to Gudea, he sees among other things, a +goddess, whose name may be read Nisaba or Nidaba.[100] Ninâ, who +interprets the dream to the ruler of Shirpurla, declares that Nisaba is +her sister. In a text belonging to a still earlier age, the deity is +mentioned as the begetter of a king whose name is read Lugal-zaggisi.[101] +From the manner in which the name of the goddess is written, as well as +from other sources, we know that Nisaba is an agricultural deity. In +historical texts she plays scarcely any rôle at all, but in incantations +she is often referred to; and from the fact that Nisaba is appealed to, +to break the power of the demons in conjunction with Ea, it would appear +that the position once occupied by her was no insignificant one. +Nin-girsu, it will be recalled, has also traits which connect him with +agricultural life, and Ninâ being the daughter of Nin-si-a, one of the +forms under which Ningirsu-Ninib appears, we may connect Nisaba directly +with the cults of which Lagash formed the center. Nisaba must have been +the consort of one of the agricultural gods, whose jurisdiction falls +within Gudea's empire. Lugal-zaggisi, as the king of Uruk, assigns to +the goddess a first place. Her origin must, therefore, be sought in this +region. In later days the name of the goddess is used to describe the +fertility of the soil in general. So Ashurbanabal, describing the +prosperity existing in his days, says that grain was abundant through +the 'increase of Nisaba.'[102] + + +KU(?)-Anna. + +A goddess of this name--reading of the first sign doubtful--is mentioned +by Ur-Bau, who builds a temple to her in Girsu. If Amiaud is correct in +his reading of the first sign, the goddess was identified at one time by +the Babylonians with the consort of Ramman--the storm-god. This would +accord with the description that Ur-Bau gives of the goddess. She is the +one who deluges the land with water--belonging therefore to the same +order as Bau. + +In a list of deities enumerated by a ruler of Erech, Lugal-zaggisi,[103] +are found (1) a local goddess, + + +Umu, + +designated as the 'priestess of Uruk,'[104] and occupying an inferior +rank to (2) a goddess, + + +Nin-akha-kuddu,[105] + +who is called 'the mistress of Uruk.' The importance of Erech in the +early history of Babylonia is emphasized by the inscriptions from +Nippur, recently published by Dr. Hilprecht. It is natural, therefore, +to find several deities of a purely local type commemorated by kings who +belong to this region. The goddess Umu is not heard of again. The great +goddess of Uruk, Nanâ, absorbs the smaller ones, and hence +Nin-akha-kuddu survives chiefly in incantation texts as 'the lady of +shining waters,' of 'purification,' and of 'incantations.'[106] + + * * * * * + +Lastly, a passing reference may be made to several deities to whom +sanctuaries are erected by Uru-Kagina in the great temple of Bau at +Uru-azaga, and whom Amiaud regards as sons of Bau. + +Uru-Kagina enumerates three, Za-za-uru, Im-pa-ud-du, and +Gim-nun-ta-ud-du-a.[107] The element _ud-du_ in the last two names +signifies 'radiant' or 'rising up'; while _pa-ud-du_ (like in +Shul-pa-ud-du, p. 99) means 'radiant sceptre.' If to this, we add that +_Im_ is 'storm,' it will appear plausible to see in the second name a +form of a raging solar deity and perhaps also in the third; _gim nun_ in +the latter name may mean 'creating lord.' To these Amiaud[108] adds from +other sources, Khi-gir-nunna, Khi-shaga, Gurmu, and Zarmu. He takes +these seven deities as sons of Bau, but he offers no conclusive evidence +for his theory. Some of these deities may turn out to be synonymous with +such as have already been met with. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[24] Indicated by separating the syllables composing the name. + +[25] At the period when the kings of Ur extend their rule over Nippur, +they, too, do not omit to refer to the distinction of having been called +to the service of the great god at his temple. + +[26] The name signifies, 'He has founded the city,' the subject of the +verb being some deity whose name is omitted. + +[27] Jensen, _Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, p. 23, proposes to read Nin-Ur-sag, but +without sufficient reason, it seems to me. The writing being a purely +ideographic form, an _epitheton ornans_, the question of how the +ideographs are to be read is not of great moment. + +[28] We may compare the poetic application 'rock' to Yahweh in the Old +Testament, _e.g._, Job 1. 12, and frequently in Psalms,--lxii. 3, 7; +xcii. 16, 18, etc. + +[29] Reading doubtful. Jensen suggests Erim. Hommel (_Proc. Soc. Bibl. +Arch._ xv. 37 _seq._) endeavored to identify the place with Babylon, but +his views are untenable. If Gish-galla was not a part of Lagash, it +could not have been far removed from it. It was Amiaud who first +suggested that Shir-pur-la (or Lagash) was the general name for a city +that arose from an amalgamation of four originally distinct quarters. +("Sirpurla" in _Revue Archéologique_, 1888.) The suggestion has been +generally, though not universally accepted. + +[30] That Ninib is only an ideographic form is sufficiently clear from +the element NIN-, lord. The proof, however, that Ninib is Adar, is still +wanting. See Jensen, _Kosmologie der Babylonier_, pp. 457, 458. + +[31] From the context (De Sarzec, _Découvertes_, pl. 6, no. 4, ll. +13-21, and pl. 31, no. 3, col iii. ll. 2-6), there can be no doubt that +Shul-gur (or Shul-gur-ana) is an epithet of Nin-girsu. The ideographs +descriptive of the edifice suggest a corn magazine of some kind. One is +reminded of the storehouses for grain in Egypt. See Jensen's Notes, +_Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, pp. 15, 18, 73. A comparison of the two texts in +question makes it probable that Ab-gi and E-bi-gar are synonymous. + +[32] Rawlinson, iv. 27, no. 6; 11, 45-46. + +[33] It is noticeable that there is no mention made of a special god of +Lagash, which points to the later origin of the name. + +[34] Inscr. D, col. li. 13; G, col. ii. ll. 1-8; iii. 4 _seq._ + +[35] See Gen. xxiv. 53. Burkhardt, _Notes on the Bedouins_, i. 109, +gives an example of the custom. + +[36] The two names are used by Gudea (Inscr. G, col. iii. 12) in a way +to indicate that they embrace the whole district of Lagash. + +[37] _Semit. Völker_, p. 382. + +[38] See Jensen, _Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, 28, note 2. + +[39] The first signifies 'to make,' the third means "good, favorable," +but the second, upon which so much depends, is not clear. Amiaud reads +_tum_ instead of _sig_. + +[40] _E.g._, Ninâ (see below). + +[41] De Sarzec, pl. 7, col. i. 12. + +[42] _Hibbert Lectures_, p. 104. + +[43] Inscr. D, col. iv. ll. 7, 8. + +[44] In Rawlinson, ii. 58, no. 6, there is a list of some seventy names. + +[45] Rawlinson, ii. 58, no. 6, 58. + +[46] De Sarzec, pl. 8, col v. ll. 4-6. + +[47] _Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, 80, note 3. + +[48] Rawlinson, iv. 35, no. 2, 1. + +[49] See a syllabary giving lists of gods, Rawlinson, ii. 60, 12. Dungi, +indeed, calls Nergal once the king of lawful control over Lagash +(Rawlinson, iv. 35, no. 2, ll. 2, 3). The exact force of the title is +not clear, but in no case are we permitted to conclude as Amiaud does +(_Rec. of the Past_, N.S., i. 59) that Shid-lam-ta-udda is identical +with Nin-girsu. + +[50] See Jensen, _Kosmologie der Babylonier_, pp. 476-87. + +[51] See Jensen, _Kosmologie der Babylonier_, pp. 476-87. + +[52] So in the inscription of Rim-Sin (_Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, p. 97). + +[53] Perhaps the knob of a sceptre. _Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._ viii. 68. + +[54] _E.g._, Hammurabi (_Revue d'Assyriologie_, ii. col. i. 21); but +also Gudea and a still earlier king. + +[55] So Amlaud; and there seems some reason to believe that the name was +used by the side of Utu, though perhaps only as an epithet. + +[56] Compare _birbiru_, 'sheen,' and the stem _barû_, 'to see,' etc. + +[57] See _Keils Bibl._ 3, I, 100. Reading of name uncertain. + +[58] Suggested by Rawlinson, ii. 57, 10. See Schrader, _Zeits. f. +Assyr._ iii. 33 _seq._ + +[59] On Sippar, see Sayce, _Hibbert Lectures_, etc., 168-169, who finds +in the Old Testament form "Sepharvayim" a trace of this double Sippar. +Dr. Ward's suggestion, however, in regard to Anbar, as representing this +'second' Sippar, is erroneous. + +[60] _E.g._, in Southern Arabia. See W. Robertson Smith, _The Religion +of the Semites_, I. 59. + +[61] In Rabbinical literature, the moon is compared to a 'heifer' +(Talmud Babli Rosh-hashana 22 _b_). + +[62] That the name of Sin should have been introduced into Mesopotamia +through the 'Arabic' dynasty (see above, p. 39) is less probable, though +not impossible in the light of recent discoveries. + +[63] Innanna may be separated into _In_ = lord or lady, and _nanna_; +_in_ and _nanna_ would then be elements added to "lady," conveying +perhaps the idea of greatness. See Jensen's remarks, _Keils Bibl._ 3, I, +20, note 4. + +[64] _Rec. of the Past_, N.S., ii. p. 104. + +[65] _Keils Bibl._ 3, I, 16. See Jensen's note on the reading of the +name. + +[66] The fame of this temple outlasts the political importance of the +place, and as late as the days of the Assyrian monarchy is an object of +fostering care on the part of the kings. + +[67] That the name is Semitic is no longer seriously questioned by any +scholar. The underlying stem suggests etymological relationship with the +god Ashur. If this be so, Ishtar may mean 'the goddess that brings +blessing' to mankind, but all this is tentative, as are the numerous +other etymologies suggested. + +[68] The ideographs for 'country' and 'mountain' are identical Assyrian. +The alternation in the title of Ishtar must not be taken to point to a +mountainous origin of the goddess. + +[69] A full account of this epic will be given at its proper place. + +[70] Again, in the incantation texts she appears only as the daughter of +Anu, coördinate with Sin and Shamash. + +[71] _Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, 72, note. Some scholars, as Hommel (_Gesch. d. +alt. Morgenlandes_, p. 68), propose to identify this place with the +Assyrian Nineveh, but the conjecture lacks proof and is altogether +improbable. + +[72] _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, I. pls. 30, 31. (See now Peiser, +_Keils Bibl._ 4, pp. 64-66.) + +[73] Questioned by Peiser, _ib._ + +[74] Among many nations the moon is pictured as a horned animal. See +Robert Brown's interesting monograph on _The Unicorn_, pp. 27 _seq. et +passim_; also above, p. 76. + +[75] Simply the sign AN (= god, heaven) and the phonetic complement +_na_. + +[76] See above, p. 59. + +[77] Written An-na, without the determinative for deity. De Sarzec, +_Découvertes en Chaldée_, pl. 37, no. 8. + +[78] The second element may also be read _dar_. See Jensen, _Keils +Bibl._ 3, 1, p. 24, note 1. + +[79] Inscription B, col. ii. 19. + +[80] See Hommel, _Semitische Kulturen_, p. 389. + +[81] For the sacred character of the swine among the Semites, see W. +Robertson Smith's _The Religion of the Semites_, pp. 201, 272, 332, 457. +Rawlinson, iii. 68, 22, occurs a deity, 'swine of the right hand,' +_i.e._, propitious. + +[82] Rawlinson, ii. 59, 23. The second element in Pap-sukal is the +common Babylonian word for 'servant,' or 'messenger;' other deities +therefore standing in a subsidiary position are also called Pap-sukal. +So _e.g._, Nebo and Nusku. See further on and compare Hommel, _Semiten_, +pp. 479, 480. + +[83] Inscription B, col iii. 2. + +[84] Uru-kagina, earlier than Gudea (de Sarzec, pl. 32), appears to have +built a temple to Dun-shagga, but the passage is not altogether clear. +The element also appears in the name of the ruler of Ur, _Dungi_, +_i.e._, 'the legitimate hero,' as Sargon is the 'legitimate king.' + +[85] Signifying, according to Jensen, _Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, p. 25, +'fighting-place'. + +[86] Published by Delitzsch, _Beiträge zur Assyr._ I. 301-311. + +[87] So also Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 14, note 3. + +[88] So Anu appears to have concubines. + +[89] See above, pp. 92, 93. + +[90] Inscription C. + +[91] De Sarzec, pl. 37, no. 5; _Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch._ vi. 279. + +[92] Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 127, proposes to read Umun-pauddu. + +[93] Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 2, no. 93. The name +also appears in syllabaries as Shul-pa-ud-du-a. For the element +_pa-udda_, see p. 103. In Nergal's name Shid-lam-ta-uddu-a (p. 65), the +same final elements are found which appear to be characteristic epithets +of solar deities. The first element in the name has also the value Dun +(as in Dun-gi). + +[94] Jensen, _Kosmologie_, pp. 125, 126. + +[95] See _Journal Asiatique_, September-October, 1895, p. 393. + +[96] De Sarzec, pl. 8, col. v. ll. 8-12. + +[97] IR. pl. 2, no. 4. + +[98] Jensen regards Pa-sag as a possible phonetic form, but his view is +hardly tenable. + +[99] See Zimmern, _Busspsalmen_, pp. 60, 61. + +[100] Cylinder A, cols. iv. and v. Amiaud read the name _Nirba_. + +[101] Just published by Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 2, +pls. 38-47. _Cf._ p. 52 + +[102] VR. col. i. 48. + +[103] See at close of chapter vi. + +[104] Hilprecht, _ib._ no. 87, col i. 30. + +[105] _Ib._ i. 32. Hilprecht reads Nin-a-gid-kha-du, but this can hardly +be correct. + +[106] The two ideas, 'water' and 'incantation,' are correlated. The +'waters' meant are those used for purification purposes in connection +with the magic formulas. + +[107] De Sarzec, pl. 32, col. ii. 9-11. + +[108] _Records of the Past_, N.S., i. 59. Amiaud reads the second name +Im-ghud-êna and the third Gim (or Ur)-nun-ta-êna. The publication in De +Sarzec favors my readings. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE CONSORTS OF THE GODS. + + +Attention has already been directed to the comparatively small number of +female deities that appear in the inscriptions of the first period of +Babylonian history. We must, however, not conclude from this, that such +deities did not exist in larger numbers. On the contrary, we may feel +certain that every god had his consort, and in some cases more than one. +Several instances of such consorts have been furnished in this chapter; +but if the consorts of the larger number of these gods are unknown, it +is because of the insignificant rôle that these consorts played. The +goddesses of Babylonia, with few exceptions, become mere shadowy +reflections of the gods, with but little independent power, and in some +cases none at all. They owe what popularity they enjoyed to their +association with their male companions. In consequence of this inferior +rôle played by the female deities, the tendency becomes more pronounced, +as we pass from the first to the second period of Babylonian history, to +reduce by assimilation the small number that have independent +attributes, until we reach a condition in which we have practically only +one goddess, appearing under many forms. It is only in the religious +texts, and in some phases of the popular beliefs, that goddesses retain +a certain degree of prominence. So, a goddess Allat, as we shall see, +plays an important part as the chief goddess of the subterranean cave +that houses the dead. Allat appears to have been originally a consort of +the famous Bel of Nippur, but through association with Nergal, who +becomes the chief god of the lower world, almost all traces of the +original character of the goddess disappear. Again, Gula, the consort of +Nin-ib, while occasionally mentioned in the historical texts of the +second and third period, and under the form Ma-ma, as an element in a +proper name belonging to the oldest period,[109] is more frequently +invoked in incantations as the healer of disease. The same is the case +with other goddesses; so that we may conclude that from the earliest +times, the Babylonian religion shared the trait so marked in all Semitic +cults, of a combination of the male and female principle in the +personification of the powers that controlled the fate of man. In part, +no doubt, the minor importance of women, so far as the outward aspects +of social and political life were concerned, is a factor in the +altogether secondary importance attaching to the consorts of the gods; +but we may feel certain that there was no god, however restricted in his +jurisdiction, or however limited in the number of his worshippers, who +had not associated with him a female companion, who follows him as the +shadow follows the substance. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[109] According to Hilprecht, _ib._ p. 48, note 6. For _Ma-ma_ and +_Me-me_, as names of Gula, see chapter viii. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +GUDEA'S PANTHEON. + + +Gudea manifests a fondness for giving to his pantheon as large a compass +as possible. In this respect, he follows earlier examples, and also sets +an example which is followed by many of the rulers of Babylonia and +Assyria, who felt that the larger the number of gods invoked by them, +the more impressive would their own position appear in the eyes of their +subjects. Moreover, by incorporating in their pantheon the gods +associated with districts that they controlled, they would not only +secure the protection of these deities, but would emphasize their own +claim to an extended sovereignty. The beginning and the close of +dedicatory and commemorative inscriptions were the favorite +opportunities, seized upon by the kings, for parading the list of the +powers under whose patronage they wished to appear. These lists are both +interesting and valuable, as furnishing in a convenient form a summary +of the chief gods included in the Babylonian pantheon at the various +historical periods. At the close of one of his inscriptions,[110] Gudea +furnishes a list of no less than eighteen deities. In rapid succession +he enumerates Anu, En-lil (Bel), Nin-khar-sag, En-ki (Ea), En-zu (Sin), +Nin-girsu, Ninâ, Nin-si-a, Ga-tum-dug, Bau, Ninni, Utu (Shamash), +Pa-sag, Gal-alim, Dun-shagga, Nin-Mar, Dumuzi-zuaba, Nin-gish-zida. +These deities may be taken as indicative of the territorial extent of +Gudea's jurisdiction. They are called upon to punish him who attempts to +alter the decrees of the ruler, or to efface the memory of his deeds. +Again, at the beginning of one of his inscriptions, he appeals to +Nin-girsu, En-lil, Ninâ, Bau, Ga-tum-dug, Gal-alim, and Dun-shagga. He +recounts what he has done to promote the cults of these deities, and +upon his conduct he grounds his hope that they will aid him in his +undertakings. The lists, as will be observed, vary in the number and in +the order of the gods enumerated. In the second list, the position of +Nin-girsu at the head is due to the fact that the inscription +commemorates the dedication of a sanctuary to that god. But Nin-girsu, +despite his rank as the chief god of Lagash, belongs to a second class +of deities. Standing far above him is the triad, Anu, Bel, and Ea, the +gods that personify, as we have seen, the great divisions of the +universe,--heaven, earth, and water. These gods, accordingly, take +precedence of Nin-girsu in the first list. In a succeeding chapter, the +significance of this triad for the Babylonian religion will be fully set +forth. For the present, it is sufficient to note that the +systematization of popular beliefs, involved in the distinctions thus +emphasized in the groupings of deities into classes, begins at so early +a period. This systematization, however, has not yet assumed final +shape. True, the moon-god has already been given the place, immediately +following upon the triad, that he will hold in the developed form of +Babylonian theology; but while, as we have seen, Sin properly takes +precedence of the sun-god, the latter should follow in the wake of his +associate. Not only, however, does Nin-girsu precede, but two other +deities who are closely related in general character to the 'warrior +deity' of Gudea's dominion. Then, the two great goddesses, Bau and +Ninni, are introduced, and it is not until they are disposed of that the +sun-god, together again with Pa-sag as a kind of lieutenant,[111] is +invoked. In the arrangement of the five remaining deities, no special +principle can be recognized. They, evidently, occupy a minor rank. It is +possible, then, to distinguish no less than four classes in the old +Babylonian pantheon: (1) the great triad, Anu, Bel, and Ea; (2) a second +group, as yet incomplete, but which will eventually include Sin, +Shamash, and Ramman, representing the great powers of nature--moon, sun, +and storm; (3) the great gods, the patron deities of the more important +political centers of the country; and (4) the minor ones, representing +the local cults of less important places. Naturally, the dividing line +between the two last-named classes is not sharply marked, and in +accordance with the ever-varying political kaleidoscope, local deities +will rise from the rank of minor gods to a higher place in the pantheon; +while such as once enjoyed high esteem will, through decline in the +political fortunes of their worshippers, be brought down from the higher +to an inferior rank.[112] It is this constant interaction between the +political situation and the relationship of the gods to one another, +that constitutes one of the most striking features of the religion of +Babylonia and Assyria. In the course of time, as an organized pantheon +leads to greater stability in the domain of theological speculation, the +influence of the politics of the country on the religion becomes less +marked, without, however, disappearing altogether. The various classes +into which the gods are divided, are definitely fixed by the schools of +theology that, as we shall see, take their rise in the Euphrates Valley. +The rivalry, on the one hand, between the Babylonian empire united under +one head, and the Assyrian empire on the other, alone remains to bring +about an occasional exchange of places between the two gods who stand at +the head of the great gods of the Babylonian and Assyrian pantheon +respectively. The attempt has been made by Amiaud[113] to arrange the +pantheon of this oldest period in a genealogical order. In Gudea's long +list of deities, he detects three generations,--the three chief gods and +one goddess, as the progenitors of Sin, Shamash, Nin-girsu, Bau, and +others. The gods of this second division give rise to a third class, +viewed again as the offspring of the second. Professor Davis, taking up +this idea of Amiaud, has quite recently maintained[114] that the family +idea must form our starting-point for an understanding of the pantheon +of Lagash. The theory, however, does not admit of consistent +application. There are gods, as Amiaud recognized, who cannot be brought +under his scheme, so far at least as present testimony is concerned; and +others can only by an arbitrary assumption be forced into accord with +the theory. Moreover, we should expect to find traces of this family +idea in the later phases of the Assyro-Babylonian pantheon. Such, +however, is not the case. A more reasonable and natural explanation of +the relationship existing between many--not all--of the gods of Gudea's +pantheon has already been suggested. In part, we must look to the +development of a theological system of thought in the Euphrates Valley +to account for the superior position accorded to certain gods, and in +part, political conditions and political changes afford an explanation +for the union of certain deities into a family group. So far, indeed, +Amiaud is correct, that the relationship existing between the various +deities, was as a rule expressed in terms applicable to human society. +The secondary position occupied, _e.g._, by Sin when compared with a god +whose domain is the entire 'lower regions,' would be aptly expressed by +calling the moon-god the eldest son of En-lil or Bel; and, similarly, a +goddess like Bau would be called the daughter of Anu. It is a mistake, +however, to interpret the use of 'daughter' and 'son' literally. Such +terms are employed in all Semitic languages in a figurative sense, to +indicate a dependent position of some sort. Again, we have seen that the +union of a number of cities or states under one head would be followed +by a union of the deities proper to these cities or states. That union +would be expressed, according to circumstances, either by placing the +deities on a footing of equality--in which case they would be consorts, +or brothers and sisters, _offsprings_ therefore of one and the same +god--or, the superior rank of one patron god would be indicated by +assigning to the god of a conquered or subordinate territory the rank of +offspring or attendant. + +In studying such a list as that presented by Gudea, we must, therefore, +make due allowance for what may be called local peculiarities and local +conditions. It is only by comparing his list with others that we can +differentiate between the general features of Babylonian cults and the +special features due to political and local associations. We are in a +position now to institute this comparison for a period which is +certainly some centuries earlier than Gudea. The date of the reign of +Lugal-zaggisi, king of Uruk, who has been several times referred to in a +previous chapter, is fixed by Hilprecht at _c._ 4500 B.C., but it is +doubtful whether so high an age will be accepted by scholars. The +chronology for the period beyond Gudea is still in a very uncertain +condition. Lugal-zaggisi, in a long list of deities at the beginning of +an important inscription, enumerates in succession Anu, the goddess +Nisaba, the gods En-lil (or Bel), En-ki (=Ea), En-zu (Sin), Utu (the +sun-god), the goddess Ninni (or Nanâ(?)), Nin-khar-sag, Umu, and +Nin-akha-kuddu. As for Anu, the king introduces the name, as Ur-Ningirsu +of Lagash does (see above, p. 90), in calling himself 'priest of Anu,' +and which, according to the explanation suggested, means simply 'divine +priest.' + +Bel, Ea, Sin, and Shamash (or Utu) are common to Gudea and +Lugal-zaggisi. These constitute, then, the great gods whose worship is +no longer limited to any particular district. They have become common +property, in part through the sanctity attached to the places where the +gods were worshipped, in part through the antiquity of these places, and +in part, no doubt, as the result of a political development lying behind +the period under consideration. The prominence given by Lugal-zaggisi to +Nisaba is rather surprising. He calls himself and also his father, +'hero' of Nisaba. If, however, it be borne in mind that of the goddesses +at least two, Umu and Nin-akha-kuddu, are of a local character, the +conclusion appears justified that Nisaba was a goddess associated more +particularly with the district in which Uruk lay. The goddess Ninni +(written simply as 'the goddess') is no doubt identical with the great +Nanâ of Uruk, and Nin-khar-sag is introduced as the consort of En-lil. + +As a result of this comparison, we may note the tendency towards a +general recognition of certain great gods, which is more fully developed +in the period of Hammurabi. At the same time, the loyalty of the rulers +to the gods, peculiar to their own district, is manifested by the +prominent place assigned in the several cases to gods who otherwise play +an insignificant rôle, and who eventually are absorbed by others; and +lastly, as between Lugal-zaggisi and Gudea, the observation may be made +of the disposition to emphasize local gods, less for their own sake, +than because of the éclat furnished by the enumeration of a large +pantheon, which shall be coequal in extent and dignity to the district +claimed by the rulers and to the rank assumed by them. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[110] Inscr. B, cols. viii. ix. + +[111] See above, p. 101. + +[112] See Winckler's excellent remarks on the relationship between the +city and the god in ancient Babylonia (_Altorientalische Forschungen_, +III. 232-235). + +[113] _Records of the Past_, N.S., i. 57-59. + +[114] In a paper on "The Gods of Shirpurla," read before the American +Oriental Society in April, 1895. (_Proceedings_, ccxiii-ccxviii.) + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +SUMMARY. + + +We have thus passed in review the old Babylonian pantheon, so far as the +discovered texts have revealed their names and epithets. The list does +not claim to be exhaustive. That future texts will add to its length, by +revealing the existence at this early period of many known to us at +present only from later texts or from the religious literature,[115] is +more than likely. The nature of the old Babylonian religion entails, as +a necessary consequence, an array of gods that might be termed endless. +Local cults would ever tend to increase with the rise of new towns, and +while the deities thus worshipped would not rise to any or much +importance, still their names would become known in larger circles, and +a ruler might, for the sake of increasing his own lustre, make mention +of one or more of them, honoring them at the same time by an epithet +which might or might not accurately define their character. As long as +the various districts of Babylonia were not formally united under one +head, various local cults might rise to equally large proportions, while +the gods worshipped as the special patrons of the great centers, as +Lagash, Ur, Uruk, Nippur, and the like, would retain their prominence, +even though the political status of the cities sacred to them suffered a +decline. The ruler of the district that claimed a supremacy over one +that formerly occupied an independent position, would hasten to +emphasize this control by proudly claiming the patron deity as part of +his pantheon. The popularity of Sin at Ur suffered no diminution because +the supremacy of Ur yielded to that of Uruk. On the contrary, the god +gained new friends who strove to rival the old ones in manifestations of +reverence; and when, as happened in several instances, the patron +deities were personifications of natural phenomena, whose worship +through various circumstances became associated with particular +localities, there was an additional reason for the survival, and, +indeed, growing importance of such local cults, quite independent of the +political fortunes that befell the cities in which the gods were +supposed to dwell. + +As a consequence, there are a considerable number of deities who are met +with both at the beginning and at the end of the first period of +Babylonian history--a period, be it remembered, that, so far as known, +already covers a distance of 2,000 years. These are of two classes, +(_a_) deities of purely local origin, surviving through the historical +significance of the places where they were worshipped, and (_b_) +deities, at once local in so far as they are associated with a fixed +spot, but at the same time having a far more general character by virtue +of being personifications of the powers of nature. The jurisdiction of +both classes of deities might, through political vicissitudes, be +extended over a larger district than the one to which they were +originally confined, and in so far their local character would tend to +be obscured. It would depend, however, upon other factors, besides the +merely political ones, whether these cults would take a sufficiently +deep hold upon the people to lead to the evolution of deities, entirely +dissociated from fixed seats, who might be worshipped anywhere, and +whose attributes would tend to become more and more abstract in +character. Such a process, however, could not be completed by the silent +working of what, for want of a better name, we call the genius of the +people. It requires the assistance, conscious and in a measure pedantic, +of the thinkers and spiritual guides of a people. In other words, the +advance in religious conceptions from the point at which we find them +when the union of the Babylonian states takes place, is conditioned upon +the infusion of the theological spirit into the mass of beliefs that +constituted the ancient heritage of the people. + +On the other hand, various circumstances have already been suggested +that coöperated, already prior to the days of Hammurabi, in weeding out +the superfluity of deities, at least so far as recognition of them in +the official inscriptions of the rulers were concerned. Deities, +attached to places of small and ever-diminishing importance would, after +being at first adopted into the pantheon by some ruler desirous of +emphasizing his control over the town in question, end in being entirely +absorbed by some more powerful god, whose attributes were similar to +those of his minor companion. Especially would this be the case with +deities conceived as granting assistance in warfare. The glory of the +smaller warrior gods would fade through the success achieved by a +Nin-girsu. The names and epithets would be transferred to the more +powerful god, and, beyond an occasional mention, the weaker would +entirely pass out of consideration. Again, the worship of the moon or of +the sun, or of certain aspects of the sun,--the morning sun, the noonday +sun, and the like,--at localities of minor importance, would yield to +the growing popularity of similar worship in important centers. As a +consequence, names that formerly designated distinct deities or +different phases of one and the same deity, would, by being transferred +to a single one, come to be mere epithets of this one. The various names +would be used interchangeably, without much regard to their original +force. + +All the essential elements of the Babylonian religion are already to be +found in the conditions prevailing during the period that we have been +considering. Some new deities are met with in the periods that followed, +but there is no reason to believe that any profound changes in the +manner of worship, or in the conceptions regarding the gods, were +introduced. The relations, however, which the gods bear to one another +are considerably modified, their attributes become more sharply defined, +the duties and privileges pertaining to each are regulated. Hand in hand +with this systematization, the organization of the cult becomes more +perfect, the ritual enters upon further phases of development, +speculations regarding the unknown have their outcome in the +establishment of dogmas. Finally the past, with its traditions and +legends, is viewed under the aspect of later religious thought. The +products of popular fancy are reshaped, given a literary turn that was +originally foreign to them, and so combined and imbued with a meaning as +to reflect the thoughts and aspirations of a comparatively advanced age. +What may be called the flowering of the theological epoch in the history +of the Babylonian religion, viewed as a unit, is so directly dependent +upon the political union of the Babylonian states, brought about by +Hammurabi (_c._ 2300 B.C.), that it may be said to date from this event. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[115] Quite recently there have been found at Telloh some thirty +thousand clay tablets, chiefly lists of sacrifices, temple inventories, +and legal documents. These tablets will probably furnish additional +names of deities, and perhaps throw further light on those known. +Further excavations at Nippur will likewise add to the material. But +after all, for our main purpose in this chapter, which is the +illustration of the chief traits of the Babylonian pantheon in early +days, these expected additions to the pantheon will not be of paramount +significance. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE PANTHEON IN THE DAYS OF HAMMURABI. + + +Marduk. + +The immediate result of Hammurabi's master-stroke in bringing the +various states of the Euphrates Valley under a single control, was the +supremacy secured for his capital, of the city of Babylon over all other +Babylonian cities, and with this supremacy, the superior position +henceforth assumed by the patron deity of the capital, Marduk.[116] It +is needless for our purposes to enter upon the question as to the age of +the city of Babylon,[117] nor as to its political fortunes prior to the +rise of the dynasty of which Hammurabi was the sixth member. That its +beginnings were modest, and that its importance, if not its origin, was +of recent date in comparison with such places as Eridu, Nippur, Lagash, +Ur, and the like, is proved by the absence of the god Marduk in any of +the inscriptions that we have been considering up to this point. The +first mention of the god occurs in the inscriptions of Hammurabi, where +he appears distinctly as the god of the city of Babylon. No doubt the +immediate predecessors of Hammurabi regarded Marduk in the same light as +the great conqueror, so that we are justified in applying the data, +furnished by the inscriptions of Hammurabi to such of his predecessors, +of whom records are still lacking. It is to Marduk, that Hammurabi +ascribes his success. The king regards himself as the beloved of Marduk. +The god rejoices his heart and gives him power and plenty. Even when +paying his homage at the shrines of other deities, he does not forget to +couple the name of Marduk with that of the deity whose protection he +invokes. So at Sippar, sacred to Shamash, and where the king deposits a +cylinder recording the improvements that he instigated in the city, he +associates the sun-god with Marduk, whereas in contradistinction to the +rulers of the old Babylonian cities or states, when addressing Marduk, +he does not find it necessary to make mention at the same time of an +entire pantheon. Marduk's protection suffices for all purposes. This, of +course, does not exclude the worship of other gods. A reference has +already been made to the king's care for the city of Shamash. In this +respect, he was but following the example of his predecessors, who, +while regarding Babylon as their capital, were zealous in doing honor to +ancient centers of worship. So one of these predecessors, Zabu, restores +the temple of Shamash at Sippar, and that of Anunit at Agade. Hammurabi, +besides his work at Sippar, builds a temple to Innanna at Hallabi.[118] +Babylon, however, is the beloved city of Marduk, and upon its +beautification and improvement Hammurabi expends his chief energy. Such +are the endearing terms in which he speaks of his god, as to give one +the impression that, when thinking of Marduk, the king for the moment +loses sight of the existence of other gods. The most striking tribute, +however, that is paid to Marduk in the period of Hammurabi is his +gradual assumption of the rôle played by the old En-lil or Bel of +Nippur, once the head of the Babylonian pantheon. This identification is +already foreshadowed in the title _bêlu rabu_, _i.e._, 'great lord,' +which Hammurabi is fond of bestowing upon Marduk. It is more clearly +indicated in an inscription of his son, Samsu-iluna, who represents Bel, +'the king of heaven and earth,' as transferring to Marduk, the +'first-born son of Ea,' rulership over 'the four regions,'--a phrase +that at this time had already assumed a much wider meaning than its +original portent. In the religious literature of this age, which +reflects the same tendency, Bel expressly transfers his title 'lord of +the lands'[119] to Marduk, while Ea likewise pays homage to his son, +declaring that the latter's 'name' shall also be Ea. The transference of +the name, according to Babylonian notions, is equivalent to a +transference of power. As a consequence, Bel and Marduk are blended into +one personage, Marduk becoming known as Bel-Marduk, and finally, the +first part of the compound sinking to the level of a mere adjective, the +god is addressed as 'lord Marduk,' or 'Marduk, the lord.' The old Bel is +entirely forgotten, or survives at best in conventional association with +Anu and Ea, as a member of the ancient triad. + +It has been satisfactorily shown[120] that Marduk was originally a solar +deity. His association with Babylon, therefore, must be viewed in the +same light as the association of Sin, the moon-god, with the city of Ur, +and the association of Shamash, the sun-god, with Larsa and Sippar. Just +as in the latter places, other cults besides that of the patron deity +prevailed, so in Babylon it was merely the prominence which, for some +reason, the worship of the sun-god acquired, that led to the closer +identification of this particular deity with the city, until he became +viewed as the god _par excellence_ of the city, and the city itself as +his favorite residence. As long as Larsa and Sippar retained a +prominence overshadowing that of Babylon, the sun cult at the latter +place could attract but little attention. Only as Babylon began to +rival, and finally to supersede, other centers of sun-worship, could +Marduk be brought into the front rank of prevailing cults. It may appear +strange, in view of this original character of Marduk, that neither in +the inscriptions of Hammurabi, nor in those of his successors, is there +any direct reference to his qualities as a solar deity. However, in the +ideographs composing his name, which are to be interpreted as 'child of +the day,'[121] and in the zodiacal system, as perfected by the +Babylonian scholars, there lurk traces of the god's solar origin, and +beyond this, perhaps, in certain set phrases, surviving in prayers +addressed to him. The explanation for this absence of solar traits is to +be sought in the peculiar political conditions that resulted in bringing +Marduk into such prominence. Hammurabi was preëminently a conquering +king. He waged war on all sides, and carried on his campaigns for many +years. When he finally succeeded in bringing both North and South +Babylonia under his sway, it still required constant watching to keep +his empire together. His patron god, therefore, the protector of the +city, whose jurisdiction was thus spread over a larger extent of +territory than that of any other deity, must have appeared to Hammurabi +and his followers, as well as to those vanquished by him, essentially as +a warrior. It is he who hands over to kings the land and its +inhabitants. The fact that he was a solar deity would become obscured by +the side of the more potent fact that, as god of the city of Babylon, +his sway was supreme. He therefore became Marduk, the 'great lord.' The +epithets bestowed upon him naturally emphasized the manner in which he +manifested himself, and these epithets, therefore, referred to his +power, to his supremacy over other gods, to his favor shown to his +worshippers by granting them unprecedented glory; and since the +political supremacy remained undisputed for many centuries, no +opportunity was afforded for ever reverting to the attributes of the god +as a solar deity. He remained--if one may so express it--a political +deity. The political significance of Babylon permitted only one phase of +his nature to be brought forward. + +In the religious texts, however, preserving as they do the more +primitive conceptions by the side of the most advanced ones, some traces +of other attributes besides prowess in war are found. By virtue of his +character as a solar deity, Marduk, like the orb personified through +him, is essentially a life-giving god. Whereas Shamash is viewed as the +'judge of mankind,' Marduk becomes the god who restores the dead to +life, though he shares this power with Shamash, Gula, Nebo, and Nergal. +But after all, even in the religious texts, his more prominent rôle is +that of a ruler,--a magnified king. He protects the weak, releases the +imprisoned, and makes great the small. He controls by his powerful hand +the mountains and rivers and fountains. He is the counsellor who guides +the decrees, even of the great gods, Anu and Bel. On his head rests a +crown with high horns, as the symbol of rulership. As the supreme ruler, +life and death are in his hands. Blessings flow from him; and of +awe-inspiring appearance, his wrath inflicts severe punishment on the +evil-doer. + +It is a noteworthy circumstance, and characteristic of the phase of the +Babylonian religion which we are considering, that the extension of +Marduk's political sway did not lead to the establishment of Marduk +cults outside of Babylon. One reason for this was that, in accordance +with the political conceptions, dwelt upon in the introductory chapter, +the empire of Babylonia was regarded simply as an extension of the city +of Babylon. Babylonia, therefore, being identified in theory with the +city of Babylon, there was no need of emphasizing the power of Marduk by +establishing his cult elsewhere. Within the limits of Babylon, however, +there might be more than one shrine to Marduk, and accordingly, when the +city was extended so as to include the place known as Borsippa, a temple +to Marduk was also erected there. The temple on the east side of the +Euphrates, known as E-Sagila, 'the lofty house,' was the older, and +dates probably from the beginnings of Babylon itself; that in Borsippa, +known as E-Zida, 'the true house,' seems to have been founded by +Hammurabi.[122] While it was not in accord with the dignity attaching to +Marduk that his cult should be established outside of the precincts of +the city of Babylon, it would only add to his glory to have the worship +of other deities grouped around his own sanctuary. Such a course would +emphasize the central position of Marduk among the gods, and +accordingly, we find that the chief gods of Babylonia are represented by +shrines within the sacred precincts of his great temples at Babylon and +Borsippa. First among these shrines is that of Marduk's consort, + + +Sarpanitum. + +Neither Hammurabi nor his immediate successor make mention of +Sarpanitum, and at no time does she appear independently of Marduk. The +glory of Marduk did not permit of any rival, and so his consort becomes +merely his shadow,--less significant than most of the consorts of the +male deities. Her name, signifying the 'silvery bright one,' evidently +stands in some connection with the solar character of her consort. +Popular etymology, by a play upon the name, made of Sarpanitum (as +though Zer-banit) the 'offspring-producing' goddess. She had her shrine +within the precincts of the great temple E-Sagila, but we are not told +of any special honors being paid her, nor do we find her invoked to any +extent in incantations or in votive inscriptions. Agumkakrimi, or Agum +(as he is also called), who rules about five centuries after Hammurabi, +speaks of having recovered the image of Sarpanitum, and that of Marduk, +out of the hands of a mountainous people living to the northwest of +Babylonia, in the district between the Bay of Iskenderun and the +Euphrates. The capture of the statues of the patron gods points to a +great humiliation which Babylon must have encountered. Upon receiving a +favorable omen from the sun-god, Agum undertakes the task of bringing +Marduk and Sarpanitum back to their seats. Their temples, too, at +Babylon appear to have suffered damage during the invasion of the city, +and accordingly the statues are placed in the temple of Shamash pending +the restoration of E-Sagila. Agum dwells at length upon the handsome +garments and head-dress, studded with precious stones, that he prepared +for the god and his consort. In all this description, one feels that it +is Marduk for whom the honors are intended, and that Sarpanitum is of +less than secondary importance,--shining merely by the reflected glory +of her great liege, whose presence in Babylon was essential to a +restoration of Babylon's position. + +There are reasons for believing, however, that Sarpanitum once enjoyed +considerable importance of her own, that prior to the rise of Marduk to +his supreme position, a goddess was worshipped in Babylon, one of whose +special functions it was to protect the progeny while still in the +mother's womb. A late king of Babylon, the great Nebuchadnezzar, appeals +to this attribute of the goddess. To her was also attributed the +possession of knowledge concealed from men. Exactly to what class of +deities she belonged, we are no longer able to say, but it is certain +that at some time, probably about the time of Hammurabi, an amalgamation +took place between her and another goddess known as Erua,[123]--a name +that etymologically suggests the idea of 'begetting.'[124] She is +represented as dwelling in the temple of E-Zida at Borsippa, and was +originally the consort of Nabu, the chief god of this place.[125] A late +ruler of Babylon--Shamash-shumukin--calls her the queen of the gods, and +declares himself to have been nominated by her to lord it over men. + +A factor in this amalgamation of Erua and Sarpanitum was the close +association brought about in Babylon between Marduk and a god whose seat +was originally at the Persian Gulf--Ea. The cult of this god, as we +shall see, survived in Babylonia through all political vicissitudes, and +so did that of some other minor water-deities that belong to this +region. Among these was Erua, whose worship centered in one of the +islands in or near the gulf. Wisdom and the life-giving principle were +two ideas associated in the Babylonian mind with water. As inferior in +power to Ea, Erua appears to have been regarded as the daughter of Ea, +and such was the sway exercised by Ea over men's minds, that even the +Babylonian schoolmen did not venture to place Marduk over Ea, but +pictured him as Ea's son. Erua, however, was not prominent enough to +become Marduk's mother, and so she was regarded as his consort. In this +capacity she was associated with Sarpanitum, and the two were merged +into one personality. It rarely happens that all the links in such a +process are preserved, but in this case, the epithets borne by +Sarpanitum-Erua, such as 'lady of the deep,' 'mistress of the place +where the fish dwell,' 'voice of the deep,' point the way towards the +solution of the problem involved in the amalgamation of Erua and +Sarpanitum.[126] + + +Nabu. + +The god Nabu (or Nebo) enjoys a great popularity in the Babylonian cult, +but he owes his prestige to the accident that, as god of Borsippa, he +was associated with Marduk. Indeed, his case is a clear instance of the +manner in which Marduk overshadows all his fellows. Only as they are +brought into some manner of relationship with him do they secure a +position in the pantheon during this second period of Babylonian +history. Since Nabu's position in the pantheon, once established, incurs +but little change, it will be proper, in treating of him, to include the +testimony furnished by the historical records of the Assyrian kings. The +most prominent attribute of Nabu, at least in the later phases of the +Babylonian religion, is that of wisdom. He is the wise, the all-knowing. +He embodies in his person all the wisdom of the gods. To him the +Assyrian kings are particularly fond of ascribing, not merely the +understanding that they possess, but the thought of preserving the +wisdom of the past for future ages; and in doing this the Assyrians were +but guided by examples furnished by the south. Wisdom being associated, +in the minds of the Babylonians, with the watery deep, one is tempted to +seek an aqueous origin for Nabu. Such a supposition, although it cannot +be positively established, has much in its favor. It is not necessary, +in order to maintain this proposition, to remove Nabu from Borsippa. The +alluvial deposits made by the Euphrates yearly have already demonstrated +that Babylon lay much nearer at one time to the Persian Gulf than it +does at present. The original seat of Ea, whose worship continued +through all times to enjoy great popularity at Babylon, was at Eridu, +which, we know, once lay on the Persian Gulf, but does so no longer. The +similarity of the epithets bestowed in various texts upon Ea and Nabu +point most decidedly to a similar starting-point for both; and since in +a syllabary[127] we find the god actually identified with a deity of +Dilmun,--probably one of the islands near Bahrein,--there are grounds +for assuming that a tradition survived among the schoolmen, which +brought Nabu into some connection with the Persian Gulf. Sayce[128] has +already suggested that Borsippa may have originally stood on an inlet of +the Persian Gulf. Nabu is inferior to Ea, and were it not for the +priority of Marduk, he would have become in Babylonian theology, the son +of Ea. Since this distinction[129] is given to Marduk, no direct +indication of an original relationship to Ea has survived. + +But besides being the god of wisdom and intelligence, Nabu is a patron +of agriculture, who causes the grain to sprout forth. In religious and +historical texts, he is lauded as the deity who opens up the +subterranean sources in order to irrigate the fields. He heaps up the +grain in the storehouses, and on the other hand, the withdrawal of his +favor is followed by famine and distress. Jensen[130] would conclude +from this that he was originally (like Marduk, therefore) a solar deity. +This, however, is hardly justified, since it is just as reasonable to +deduce his rôle as the producer of fertility from his powers as lord of +some body of water. However this may be, in the case of Nabu, there are +no grounds for supposing that he represents the combination of two +originally distinct deities. A later--chiefly theoretical--amalgamation +of Nabu with a god Nusku will be discussed in a subsequent chapter.[131] +Hammurabi and his immediate successors, it is noteworthy, do not make +mention of Nabu. A sufficient number of inscriptions of this period +exists to make it probable that this omission is not accidental. This +dynasty was chiefly concerned in firmly establishing the position of +Marduk. Other deities could, indeed, be tolerated at his side, provided +they were subservient to him; but Nabu, the god of a place so near +Babylon, might prove a dangerous rival because of this proximity. The +city on the west bank of the Euphrates was probably as old as that on +the east, if not, indeed, older. It did not seem consistent with this +devotion to Marduk that Hammurabi and his successors should also +recognize Nabu. Policy dictated that Nabu should be ignored, that the +attempt must be made to replace his worship, even in Borsippa, by that +of Marduk. Viewed in this light, Hammurabi's establishment of the Marduk +cult in Borsippa assumes a peculiar significance. It meant that Borsippa +was to be incorporated as part of Babylon, and that Marduk was +henceforth to take the place occupied by Nabu. In order to emphasize +this, Hammurabi actually transfers the name of Nabu's temple in +Borsippa, E-Zida, to the one erected by him at that place to Marduk. Did +he perhaps entirely suppress the worship of Nabu at Borsippa? It would +almost appear so from Agum's utter omission of Nabu. Only the statues of +Marduk and Sarpanitum seem to have been robbed by the Hani. Not a word +is said as to Nabu. Either there was no statue at the time at Borsippa, +or the cult was of such insignificance that the capture of the god was +not considered of sufficient moment to occupy the thoughts of the enemy, +as little as it did that of the rulers of Babylon at the time. In the +inscription in which Hammurabi recounts the building of E-Zida in +Borsippa, there are certain expressions which go to substantiate the +proposition that Nabu is intentionally ignored.[132] He calls Marduk the +lord of E-Sagila and of E-Zida; he speaks of Borsippa as the beloved +city of Marduk, just as though it were Babylon. Taking unto himself the +functions of Nabu, he even appears to play upon the name, which +signifies 'proclaimer,' and styles himself the _nabiu Anu_, 'the +proclaimer of Anu.' However this may be, the attempt to suppress Nabu +did not succeed,--a proof that in early times he had gained popular +favor. He had to be readmitted into the Babylonian pantheon, though in a +subordinate position to Marduk. He took his place in the theological +system as the son of Marduk, and on the great festival--the New Year's +day--celebrated in honor of the great god of Babylon, the son shared +some of the honors accorded to the father. In time, his sanctuary at +Borsippa was again recognized. The former rivalry gave way to a cordial +_entente_. Nabu was even granted a chapel in E-Sagila at Babylon, to +which likewise the name of E-Zida was given. Every New Year's day the +son paid a visit to his father, on which occasion the statue of Nabu was +carried in solemn procession from Borsippa across the river, and along +the main street of Babylon leading to the temple of Marduk; and in +return the father deity accompanied his son part way on the trip back to +E-Zida. In this way, due homage was accorded to Marduk, and at the same +time the close and cordial bonds of union between Babylon and Borsippa +found satisfactory illustration. E-Sagila and E-Zida become, and remain +throughout the duration of the Babylonian religion, the central +sanctuaries of the land around which the most precious recollections +cluster, as dear to the Assyrians as to the Babylonians. The kings of +the northern empire vie with their southern cousins in beautifying and +enlarging the structures sacred to Marduk and Nabu. + +In view of the explanation offered for the silence maintained by +Hammurabi and his successors regarding Nabu, we are justified in +including Nabu in the Babylonian pantheon of those days. In later times, +among the Assyrians, the Nabu cult, as already intimated, grows in +popularity. The northern monarchs, in fact, seem to give Nabu the +preference over Marduk. They do not tire of proclaiming him as the +source of wisdom. The staff is his symbol, which is interpreted in a +double sense, as the writer's stylus and as the ruler's sceptre. He +becomes, also, the bestower of royal power upon his favorites. Without +his aid, order cannot be maintained in the land. Disobedience to him is +punished by the introduction of foreign rule. Political policy may have +had a share in this preference shown for the minor god of Babylon. The +Assyrian kings were always anxious to do homage to the gods of Babylon, +in order to indicate their control over the southern districts. They +were particularly proud of their title 'governor of Bel.'[133] On the +other hand, they were careful not to give offence to the chief of the +Assyrian pantheon,--the god Ashur,--by paying too much honor to Marduk, +who was in a measure Ashur's rival. In consequence, as Hammurabi and his +successors endeavored to ignore Nabu, the Assyrian rulers now turned the +tables by manifesting a preference for Nabu; and obliged as they were to +acknowledge that the intellectual impulses came from the south, they +could accept a southern god of wisdom without encroaching upon the +province of Ashur, whose claims to homage lay in the prowess he showed +in war. Marduk was too much like Ashur to find a place at his side. Nabu +was a totally different deity, and in worshipping him who was the son of +Marduk, the Assyrian kings felt that they were paying due regard to the +feelings of their Babylonian subjects. The cult of Nabu thus became +widely extended in Assyria. Statues of the god were erected and +deposited in shrines built for the purpose, although the fact was not +lost sight of that the real dwelling-place of the god was in Borsippa. +At the end of the ninth century B.C. this cult seems to have reached its +height. We learn of a temple at Calah, and of no less than eight statues +of the god being erected in the days of Ramman-nirari III., and the +terms in which the god is addressed might lead one to believe that an +attempt was made to concentrate the cult in Assyria on him.[134] This, +however, was an impossibility. As long as Assyria continued to play the +rôle of the subduer of nations, Ashur--the god of war _par +excellence_--necessarily retained his position at the head of the +Assyrian pantheon. The popularity of Nabu, which continued to the end of +the Assyrian empire, and gained a fresh impetus in the days of +Ashurbanabal, who, as a patron of literature, invokes Nabu on thousands +of the tablets of his library as 'the opener of ears to understanding,' +reacted on his position in the Babylonian cult. In the new Babylonian +empire, which continued to so large a degree the traditions of Assyria, +it is no accident that three of the kings--Nabupolassar, Nebuchadnezzar, +and Nabonnedos--bear names containing the deity as one of the elements. +While paying superior devotion to Marduk, who once more became the real +and not merely the nominal head of the pantheon, they must have held +Nabu in no small esteem; and indeed the last-named king was suspected of +trying actually to divert the homage of the people away from Marduk to +other gods, though he did not, as a matter of course, go so far as to +endeavor to usurp for the son, the position held by the father. It is +probably due to Assyrian influence that even in Babylonia, from the +eighth century on, Nabu is occasionally mentioned before Marduk. So +Marduk-baladan II. (721-710) calls himself the "worshipper of Nabu and +Marduk," and similarly others. In official letters likewise, and in +astronomical reports, Nabu is given precedence to Marduk, but this may +be due to Nabu's functions, as the god of writing and the patron of +science. + +The Neo-Babylonian kings are not sparing in the epithets they bestow on +Nabu, though they emphasize more his qualities as holder of the +'sceptre' than as lord of the 'stylus.' So Nebuchadnezzar declares that +it is he 'who gives the sceptre of sovereignty to kings to rule over all +lands.' In this capacity he is 'the upholder of the world,' 'the general +overseer,' and his temple is called 'the house of the sceptre of the +world.' + +His name signifies simply the 'proclaimer,' or herald, but we are left +in doubt as to what he proclaims,--whether wisdom or sovereignty. +Sometimes he appears as the 'herald' of the gods. In this rôle he +receives the name of Papsukal (_i.e._, supreme or sacred messenger), and +it may be that this function was a very old one. But, again, as god of +fertility he could also be appropriately termed the 'proclaimer.' The +question must, accordingly, be left open as to the precise force of the +attribute contained in his name. Finally, an interesting feature +connected with Nabu, that may be mentioned here, is that in the name +borne by a famous mountain in Moab, Nebo, where Moses--himself a +'proclaimer'[135]--died, there survives a testimony that the worship of +this popular deity extended beyond the Euphrates and the Tigris, to +Semites living considerably to the west. To Nabu, as to Marduk, a +consort was given. Her name was + + +Tashmitum. + +The name Tashmitum appears for the first time in the days of Hammurabi. +Attention has already been called to the king's ignoring of the god of +Borsippa. While his attempt to suppress the cult of Nabu was not +successful, he did succeed in causing the old consort of Nabu to +disappear. This consort appears to have been no other than Erua. It will +be recalled that up to very late times the tradition survived that her +dwelling-place was Borsippa.[136] This is never said of Sarpanitum. +Despite, therefore, the amalgamation of Sarpanitum and Erua, the +association of the latter with Nabu's dwelling-place remains impressed +upon the memory of the Babylonian scholars, at least. Nabu's consort +having thus been transferred to Marduk, a new mate had to be found for +the former, when once his rivalry was no longer to be dreaded, and his +cult again rose to prominence. 'Tashmitum' is an abstract noun in +Assyrian, signifying 'revelation.' As such, it is bestowed in historical +texts upon Nabu himself, who is called _itu tashimêti_, 'god of +revelation.' Nabu is, above all, a 'revealing' god,--revealing +knowledge, the art of writing, and the method of ruling. The appellation +is therefore a most appropriate one, and there seems little reason to +question that Tashmitum was originally nothing but one of the terms by +which Nabu was designated, just as he was called Papsukal in his rôle as +'messenger' of the gods,--the messenger of his father Marduk and of his +grandfather Ea, in particular. But Tashmitum, being feminine in gender, +as an abstract noun, seemed appropriate as the designation of a goddess. +It would appear, then, that 'Revelation,' from being so constantly +associated with Nabu, was personified, dissociated from him, as it were, +through the conception of a distinct goddess bearing the name of +'Tashmitum.' This process of thought, in giving rise to a new goddess, +may have been, in part, a popular one. The translation of a metaphor +into reality is a phenomenon that may be observed in almost all +religions of antiquity. But the process, whatever its course in detail +may have been, was not uninfluenced by the theological dogma whereby a +god was supposed to have a 'reflection' who was pictured as his consort. +Through this conception, as we have already seen, many a goddess once +ruling in her own right, and enjoying an independent existence, +degenerated into a mere shadow of some male deity, though, on the other +hand, it must be borne in mind that these female deities would have +disappeared altogether but for the opportunity thus afforded them of +becoming 'attachées' to some male deity. This theory of the +_quasi_-artificial character and origin of Tashmit finds support in the +manner in which the mention of her name is entwined with that of Nabu. +Sarpanitum, bound up as the goddess is with Marduk, has at least a +shrine of her own, and occasionally she is spoken of in the texts +without her husband Marduk.[137] The mention of Tashmitum, however, +invariably follows that of Nabu. It is always 'Nabu and Tashmitum,' and +it is never Tashmitum without Nabu. While the creation of Tashmitum may +be a product of Babylonian religious thought, it is in Assyrian texts +that her name is chiefly found. The great Ashurbanabal, in the +conventional subscript attached to his tablet, is particularly fond of +coupling Tashmitum with Nabu, as the two deities who opened his ears to +understanding and prompted him to gather in his palace the literary +treasures produced by the culture that flourished in the south. Tashmit +has no shrine or temple, so far as known, either in Borsippa or in any +of the places whither the Nabu cult spread. She has no attributes other +than those that belong to Nabu, and, what is very remarkable, the later +Babylonian kings, such as Nebuchadnezzar II., when they deem it proper +to attach a consort to Nabu call her Nanâ,[138] _i.e._, simply the lady, +and not Tashmitum, a proof, how little hold the name had taken upon the +Babylonian populace. If to this it be added, that in by far the greater +number of instances, no reference whatsoever to a consort is made when +Nabu is spoken of, an additional reason is found for the unreal, the +shadowy character of this goddess. + + +Ea. + +In treating of the position occupied by Ea in the oldest period of +Babylonian history (see above, pp. 61-64), it has already been mentioned +that he grows to much larger proportions under the influence of a more +fully developed theological system. Indeed, there is no god who shows +such profound traces of having been submitted to a theological +treatment, and indirectly, therefore, furnishes so distinct a proof of +the existence of theological schools in the ancient centers of +Babylonian culture, as Ea. The question may with propriety be here +discussed, to what period we are to attribute the completion of the +process, which, to summarize his position, made Ea the special god of +humanity, the father of Marduk, the third in a great triad, of which the +other two members were Anu, the god of heaven, and Bel, the god of +earth. Already, in the days preceding the union of the Babylonian states +under one head, we have had occasion to see traces of an attempt to +systematize the relations existing between the gods. A high degree of +culture, such as the existence of a perfected form of writing, an +advanced form of architecture, and commercial enterprise reflect, cannot +be dissociated from a high degree of activity in the domain of +philosophic or religious thought. Accordingly, we are in no danger of +attributing too great an antiquity to the beginnings of theological +speculation in Babylonia. Be it remembered that from the earliest to the +latest days, the priests were the scribes and that in their capacity as +writers of the texts, they would be enjoying the advantages of an +intellectual impulse. But they were also the composers of the texts, as +well as the writers, and the prominence given to the gods in texts of +whatever description, would inevitably lead their thoughts to +speculations regarding the attributes of the gods. The attempt would at +an early period be made to find some unifying principles in the tangled +mass of gods. By the time that Hammurabi appears on the scene, we have +every reason to believe that some of the ancient libraries of the south, +whither Ashurbanabal sent his scribes, were already well stocked, and +that a goodly portion of the Babylonian literature known to us already +existed. What these portions were, we will have occasion to point out +when we come to discuss the literature of Babylonia. On the other hand, +this literature would not only necessarily increase as long as any +degree of intellectual activity existed in the country, but this +activity would also manifest itself in transforming this literature, so +as to adapt it to the thoughts and aspirations of a later age. +Especially would this be the case in the purely religious divisions of +literature. The ancient traditions, legends, and myths, once committed +to writing, would serve as a point of departure for further +speculations. The existence of a text to which any measure of value is +attached, is bound to give rise to various attempts at interpretation, +and if this value be connected with the religion of a people, the result +is, invariably, that the ancient words are invested with a meaning +conformable to a later age. Each generation among a people characterized +by intellectual activity has a signature of its own, and it will seek to +give to the religious thoughts of the time its own particular impress. +Since, however, the material upon which any age works is not of its own +making, but is furnished by a preceding one, it follows that much of the +intellectual activity of an age manifests itself in a transformation of +its literary or speculative heritage. This process was constantly going +on in Babylonia, and had we more material--and older material--at our +disposal, we would be able to trace more clearly than we can at present, +the various stages that led to the system of theology, as embodied in +the best productions of the ancient Babylonian schoolmen. + +The days of Hammurabi, as they were politically of great importance, +also appear to have ushered in a new era in the religious life of the +people. Stirring political events are always apt to bring in their wake +intellectual movements, and in a country like Babylonia, where politics +react so forcibly on religious conditions, the permanent establishment +of the supremacy of the city of Babylon would be fraught with important +consequences for the cult. The main change brought about by this new +epoch of Babylonian history was, as we have seen, the superior position +henceforth accorded in the pantheon to Marduk as the patron deity of +Babylon; but this change entailed so many others, that it almost merits +being termed a revolution. In order to ensure Marduk's place, the +relations of the other deities to him had to be regulated, the legends +and traditions of the past reshaped, so as to be brought into consistent +accord with the new order of things, and the cult likewise to be, at +least in part, remodelled, so as to emphasize the supremacy of Marduk. +This work, which was an inevitable one, was primarily of an intellectual +order. We are justified, then, in looking for traces of this activity in +the remains that have been recovered of ancient Babylonian literature. +We know from direct evidence that the commercial life of Babylonia had +already, in the period preceding Hammurabi, led to regulated legal forms +and practices for the purpose of carrying out obligations and of +settling commercial and legal difficulties. The proof has been furnished +by Dr. Meissner[139] that syllabaries prepared for the better +understanding of the formulas and words employed in preparing the legal +and commercial tablets, date, in part, from the period which we may +roughly designate as that of Hammurabi,--covering, say, the three +centuries 2300 to 2000 B.C. With this evidence for the existence of +pedagogues devoted to the training of novices in the art of reading and +writing, in order to fit them for their future tasks as official +scribes, we are safe in assuming that these same schoolmen were no less +active in other fields of literature. If, in addition to this, we find +that much of the religious literature, in the shape that we have it, +reflects the religious conditions such as they must have shaped +themselves in consequence of the promotion of Marduk to the head of the +pantheon, the conclusion is forced upon us that such literary +productions date from this same epoch of Hammurabi. This influence of +the schoolmen while centering, as repeatedly pointed out, around the +position of Marduk, manifests itself in a pronounced fashion, also, in +the changed position henceforth accorded to the god Ea. It will be +recalled that in the earliest period of Babylonian history, Ea does not +figure prominently. At the same time we must beware of laying too much +stress upon the negative testimony of the historical texts. Besides the +still limited material of this character at our disposal, the +non-mention of a deity may be due to a variety of circumstances, that +may properly be designated as accidental. The gods to whom the kings of +the ancient Babylonian states would be apt to appeal would be, in the +first instance, the local deities, patrons of the city that happened to +be the capital of the state; in the second instance, the gods of the +vanquished towns; and thirdly, some of the great deities worshipped at +the sacred centers of the Euphrates valley, and who constituted, as it +were, the common heritage of the past. Ea, as the god of the Persian +gulf, the region which forms the starting-point of Babylonian culture, +and around which some of the oldest and most precious recollections +center, would come within the radius of the third instance, since, in +the period we have in mind, Eridu no longer enjoyed any political +importance. We may be sure, then, despite the silence of the texts, that +Ea was always held in great esteem, and that even the absence of temples +in his honor, did not affect the reverence and awe that he inspired. As +for the epoch of Hammurabi, the historical spirit that is never absent +in a truly intellectual age would be certain to restore Ea to his proper +prestige, assuming that a previous age had permitted him to fall into +neglect. Next to Marduk, there is no deity who is given such distinction +in Babylonia, after the union of the Babylonian states, as Ea. In the +religious literature, moreover, as reshaped by the schoolmen of the +time, his rôle is even more prominent than that of Marduk. As a +water-god, and more particularly as the god to whom the largest body of +water known to the Babylonians was sacred, Ea was regarded as the source +and giver of wisdom. Fountains everywhere were sacred to him; and so he +becomes also the giver of fertility and plenty. Berosus tells us of a +mystic being, half man, half fish, who spent his nights in the waters of +the gulf, but who would come out of the waters during the day to give +instruction to the people, until that time steeped in ignorance and +barbarism. This 'Oannes,' as Berosus is said[140] to have called him, +was none other than Ea. As the great benefactor of mankind, it is +natural that Ea should have come to be viewed as the god whose special +function it is to protect the human race, to advance it in all its good +undertakings, to protect it against the evil designs of gods or demons. +In this rôle, he appears in the religious literature--in the epics, the +cosmogony, and the ritual--of Babylonia. There is no god conceived in so +universal a manner as Ea. All local connection with Eridu disappears. He +belongs to no particular district. His worship is not limited to any +particular spot. All of Babylonia lays claim to him. The ethical import +of such a conception is manifestly great, and traces of it are to be +found in the religious productions. It impressed upon the Babylonians +the common bond uniting all mankind. The cult of Ea must have engendered +humane feelings, softening the rivalry existing among the ancient +centers of Babylonian power, and leading the people a considerable +distance, on the road to the conception of a common humanity. When the +gods decide to destroy mankind, it is Ea who intercedes on behalf of +humanity; when the demon of disease has entered a human body, it is to +Ea that, in the last resort, the appeal is made to free the sufferer +from his pain. Ea is the god of the physicians. Nay, more, it is Ea who +presided at the birth of humanity, so that his protection reaches far +back, beyond even the beginnings of civilization, almost to the +beginning of things. Lastly, as the god of civilization, it is to him +that the great works of art are ascribed. He is the god of the smithy, +the patron of the gold and silversmiths, of workers in lapis-lazuli, and +all kinds of precious stones. He is the god of sculpture. The great +bulls and lions that guarded the approaches to the temple and palace +chambers, as well as the statues of the gods and kings, were the work of +his hands. Furthermore, he is the patron of weavers, as of other arts. +This conception may have been perfected in a general way, and in all +probability was perfected before the days of Hammurabi, though perhaps +not prominently brought forward; but important modifications were +introduced into it, through the compromise that had to be arranged +between the position of Ea and that of Marduk. Of course, neither the +rulers nor the priests of Babylon could have permitted the reverence for +Ea to have gone to the length of throwing Marduk into the shade. Many of +the functions assigned to Ea seemed to belong of right to Marduk, who, +as the patron of Babylon, presided over the destinies of what to the +Babylonians was the essential part of mankind,--namely, themselves. +Moreover, Babylon being the seat of culture as well as of power, in the +period following upon Hammurabi, Marduk was necessarily conceived as +possessing the same wisdom that distinguishes Ea. As a consequence, the +attributes of Ea were transferred in a body to Marduk. An amalgamation +of the two, however, such as took place in the case of other deities, +was neither possible, nor, indeed, desirable. It was not possible, +because of the antiquity of the Ea cult and the peculiar position that +he, as a common heirloom of all Babylonia, occupied; nor was it +desirable, for to do so would be to cut off completely the bond uniting +Babylon to its own past and to the rest of Babylonia. The solution of +the problem was found in making Ea, the father of Marduk--the loving and +proud father who willingly transfers all his powers and qualities to his +son, who rejoices in the triumph of his offspring, and who suffers no +pangs of jealousy when beholding the superior honors shown to Marduk, +both by the gods and by men. + + +Ea and Marduk. + +The combination of the two gods is particularly frequent in the +so-called incantation texts. Marduk becomes the mediator between Ea and +mankind. The man smitten with disease, or otherwise in trouble, appeals +to Marduk for help, who promptly brings the petition to his father Ea. +The latter, after modestly declaring that there is nothing that he knows +which his son Marduk does not know, gives Marduk the necessary +instructions, which in turn are conveyed to the one crying for divine +succor. It is clear that these texts have been reshaped with the +intention of adding to the glory of Marduk. They must, therefore, have +been remodelled at a time when the Marduk cult was in the ascendancy. +This was after the days of Hammurabi, and before the subjugation of +Babylonia to Assyrian rule. The limits thus assigned are, to be sure, +broad, but from what has above been said as to the intellectual activity +reigning in the days of Hammurabi, we need not descend far below the +death of the great conqueror to find the starting-point for the +remodelling of the texts in question. Not all of them, of course, were +so reshaped. There are quite a number in which Ea is alone and directly +appealed to, and these form a welcome confirmation of the supposition +that those in which Ea is joined to Marduk have been reshaped with a +desire to make them conform to the position of Marduk in the Babylonian +pantheon. Again, there are incantations in which the name of Marduk +appears without Ea. Such are either productions of a later period, of +the time when Marduk had already assumed his superior position, or what +is also possible, though less probable, old compositions in which the +name of Ea has been simply replaced by that of Marduk. An especially +interesting example of the manner in which ancient productions have been +worked over by the Babylonian theologians, with a view to bringing their +favorite Marduk into greater prominence, appears in one of the episodes +of the Babylonian cosmogony. Prior to the creation of man a great +monster known as Tiâmat had to be subdued. The gods all shrink in terror +before her. Only one succeeds in conquering her. In the form of the +story, as we have it, this hero is Marduk, but it is quite evident[141] +that the honor originally belonged to an entirely different god, one who +is much older, and who stands much higher than the god of Babylon. This +was Bel,--the old god of Nippur who was conceived as the god of earth +_par excellence_, and to whom therefore the task of preparing the earth +for the habitation of mankind properly belonged. How do the Babylonian +theologians, who stand under the influence of the political conditions +prevailing in Babylonia after the union of the Babylonian states, +reconcile this older and true form of the episode with the form in which +they have recast it? The gods who are called the progenitors of Marduk +are represented as rejoicing upon seeing Marduk equipped for the fray. +In chorus they greet and bless him, "Marduk be king." They present him +with additional weapons, and encourage him for the contest. Upon hearing +of his success the gods vie with one another in conferring honors upon +Marduk. They bestow all manner of glorious epithets upon him; and, to +cap the climax, the old Bel, known as 'father Bel,' steps forward and +transfers to him his name, _bêl matâti_,[142] 'lord of lands.' To bestow +the name was equivalent to transferring Bel's powers to Marduk; and so +Marduk is henceforth known as _Bel_. But Ea must be introduced into the +episode. It is not sufficient that Bel, the original subduer of Tiâmat, +should pay homage to Marduk; Ea also greets his son, and bestows his +name upon him,[143]--that is, transfers his powers to his son. There is +a special reason for this. The overthrow of Tiâmat is followed by the +creation of man. This function properly belongs to Bel, both as the god +of earth and as the subduer of Tiâmat. According to one--and probably +the oldest--version of this part of the Babylonian cosmogony which was +embodied in the work of Berosus[144], it is Bel who creates mankind. The +substitution of Marduk for Bel necessitated the transference of the rôle +of creator to Marduk likewise, and yet the latter could not take this +upon himself without the consent of his father Ea, who had become the +god of humanity _par excellence_. Ea could interpose no objection +against Bel being replaced by Marduk in vanquishing the monster, but +when it came to drawing the conclusion and replacing Bel by Marduk also +in the creation of man, the case was different. If Bel was to be +replaced, Ea had a prior claim. Marduk could only take the new functions +upon himself after receiving the powers of Ea. That is the force of Ea's +saying that Marduk's name also shall be Ea just as his. This +transference of the name of Ea to Marduk is in itself an indication that +there must have existed a second version in Babylonia--probably of later +origin than the other--of the creation of man, according to which Ea, +and not Bel, was the creator. We shall have occasion to see, in a future +chapter, that there were at least two different versions current in +Babylonia of the creation of the gods and of the universe. The opening +chapters in Genesis form an interesting parallel to show the manner in +which two different versions of one and the same subject may be +combined. There is, therefore, nothing improbable in the supposition +that a later version, reflecting a period when Bel had sunk into +comparative insignificance, made Ea the creator of mankind instead of +Bel, and that still later a solution of the apparent inconsistency +involved in transferring only part of Bel's powers to Marduk was found +by securing Ea's consent to the acknowledgment of Marduk not merely as +creator of mankind but of the heavenly vault as well. Jensen[145] has +brought other evidence to show that Ea was once regarded as the creator +of mankind. One of his titles is that of 'potter,' and mankind, +according to Babylonian theories, was formed of 'clay.' Moreover, in a +Babylonian myth that will be set forth in its proper place, Ea expressly +figures in the rôle of creating a mysterious being, _Uddushu-na-mir_, +whose name signifies 'his light shines.' Such a proper name, too, as +"Ea-bani," _i.e._, 'Ea creates,' points in the same direction. + +In other literary productions of Babylonia, such as, _e.g._, the +so-called Izdubar epic, Ea again appears without Marduk, showing that +this story has not been remodeled, or that the later version, in which +the traces of a recasting may have been seen, has not been discovered. +In the deluge story, which forms part of the Izdubar epic, Ea alone is +the hero. It is he who saves humanity from complete annihilation, and +who pacifies the angered Bel. Marduk's name does not appear in the +entire epic. We have found it necessary to dwell thus at length upon +these evidences of the recasting of the literary products of ancient +Babylonia under the influence of changed conceptions of the gods and of +their relations to one another, for upon the understanding of these +changes, our appreciation of the development of religious beliefs in +Babylonia, and all connected with these beliefs, hinges. The epoch of +Hammurabi was a crucial one for Babylonia from a religious as well as +from a political point of view. + + +Damkina. + +The consort of Ea figures occasionally in the historical texts of +Hammurabi's successors. Agumkakrimi invokes Ea and Damkina, asking these +gods, who 'dwell in the great ocean' surrounding the earth, to grant him +long life. In addition to this, the antiquity of the literary +productions in which her name appears justifies us in reckoning her +among the gods of Babylonia of Hammurabi's time. Her name signifies +'lady of the earth,' and there is evidently a theoretical substratum to +this association of Ea, the water-god, with an earth-goddess. The one +forms the complement to the other; and Marduk, as the son of water and +earth, takes his place in the theory as the creator of the world. In +this form the 'natural philosophy' of Babylonia survived to a late +period. Nicolas of Damascus still knows (probably through Berosus) that +Ea and Damkina[146] had a son Bel (_i.e._, Marduk). The survival of the +name is a proof that, despite the silence of the historical texts, she +was a prominent personage in Babylonian mythology, even though she did +not figure largely in the cult. She appears in the magical texts quite +frequently at the side of Ea. In a hymn[147] where a description occurs +of the boat containing Ea, Damkina his wife, and Marduk their son, +together with the ferryman and some other personages sailing across the +ocean, we may see traces of the process of symbolization to which the +old figures of mythology were subjected. + + +Shamash. + +Passing on, we find Hammurabi as strongly attached to the worship of the +old sun-god as any of his predecessors. Next to Babylon, he was much +concerned with making improvements in Sippar. The Temple of Shamash at +Larsa also was improved and enlarged by him. Hammurabi's example is +followed by his successors. Agumkakrimi invokes Shamash as 'warrior of +heaven and earth'; and it is likely that the precedent furnished by +these two kings, who considered it consistent with devotion to Marduk to +single out the places sacred to Shamash for special consideration, had +much to do in maintaining the popularity of sun-worship in Babylonia and +Assyria. Kara-indash, of the Cassite dynasty (_c._ 1450 B.C.), restores +the temple of Shamash at Larsa, and Mili-shikhu, two centuries later, +assigns to Shamash the second place in his pantheon, naming him before +Marduk. Foreign rulers were naturally not so deeply attached to Marduk +as were the natives of Babylon. In the Assyrian pantheon Shamash +occupies the third place, following immediately upon the two special +deities of Assyria. One of the greatest of the northern kings erects a +temple in honor of the god, and the later Babylonian kings vie with one +another in doing honor to the two oldest sanctuaries of Shamash, at +Sippar and Larsa. Perhaps the pristine affinity between Marduk, who, as +we saw, was originally a sun-deity, and Shamash, also had a share in +Hammurabi's fondness for coupling these two gods. When describing his +operations at Sippar he speaks of himself as 'doing good to the flesh of +Shamash and Marduk.' Hammurabi felt himself to be honoring Marduk, +through paying homage to a deity having affinity with the patron +protector of Babylon. + + +Innanna. + +We have already come across a deity of this name in a previous +chapter.[148] Hammurabi tells us, in one of his inscriptions, that he +has restored the temple in honor of Innanna at Hallabi--a town near +Sippar.[149] Innanna, or Ninni, signifying merely 'lady,' or 'great +lady,' appears to have become a very general name for a goddess, hence +the addition 'of Hallabi,' which Hammurabi is careful to make. At the +same time the designation 'lady of Hallabi' points to her being a +consort of a male deity who was the patron of the place. May this have +been the moon-god again, as in the case of the other Innanna? Our +knowledge of this goddess is confined to what the king tells us about +her. For him she is the mistress whose glory fills heaven and earth, but +when he adds that she has placed in his hands the reins of government, +this only means that the goddess recognizes his right to supreme +authority over the Babylonian states--not that he owes his power to her. +It is after he has succeeded in making Babylon the capital of a great +kingdom that he proceeds to improve the temple of Innanna. + + +Bel and the Triad of Babylonian Theology. + +Among the literary remains of Hammurabi's days we have a hymn in which +the chief gods worshipped by the king are enumerated in succession. The +list begins with Bel, and then mentions Sin, Ninib, Ishtar, Shamash, and +Ramman. We should expect to find at the head of the list Marduk. The +hymn may be older than Hammurabi, who, perhaps, is quoting or copying +it, and since the Bel who is here at the head of the pantheon is the god +of Nippur, the hymn may originally have belonged to the ritual of that +place. For Hammurabi the highest 'Bel,' or lord, is Marduk, and there is +hardly room for doubt that in using this hymn as a means of passing on +to singing his own praises, with which the inscription in question ends, +Hammurabi has in mind the patron god of Babylon when speaking of +Bel.[150] It is this amalgamation of the old Bel with Marduk that marks, +as we have seen, the transition to the use of Bel's name as a mere title +of Marduk. Elsewhere, however, Hammurabi uses Bel to designate the old +god. So when he calls himself the proclaimer of Anu and Bel[151] the +association with Anu makes it impossible that Marduk should be meant. At +times he appears to refer in the same inscription, now to the old Bel +and again to Bel-Marduk, under the same designation. When Kurigalzu, a +member of the Cassite dynasty (_c._ 1400 B.C.), speaks of 'Bel, the lord +of lands,' to whom he erects a temple in the new city, Dur-Kurigalzu-- +some forty miles to the northeast of Babylon--it is the old Bel who is +again meant. While acknowledging Marduk as one of the chief gods, these +foreign rulers in Babylonia--the Cassites--did not feel the same +attachment to him as Hammurabi did. They gave the preference to the old +god of Nippur, and, indeed, succeeded in their attempt to give to the +old city of Nippur some of its pristine glory. They devoted themselves +assiduously to the care of the great temple at Nippur. There are some +indications of an attempt made by them to make Nippur the capital of +their empire. In the case of Hammurabi's immediate successor, as has +been pointed out, the equation Bel-Marduk is distinctly set down, but, +for all that, the double employment of the name continues even through +the period of the Assyrian supremacy over Babylonia. The northern rulers +now use Bel to designate the more ancient god, and, again, merely as a +designation of Marduk. Tiglathpileser I. (see note 1, below) expressly +adds 'the older' when speaking of Bel. When Sargon refers to Bel, 'the +lord of lands, who dwells on the sacred mountain of the gods,' or when +Tiglathpileser I. calls Bel 'the father of the gods,' 'the king of the +group of spirits' known as the Anunaki, it is of course only the old +Bel, the lord of the lower region, or of the earth, who can be meant; +but when, as is much more frequently the case, the kings of Assyria, +down to the fall of the empire, associate Bel with Nabu, speak of Bel +and the gods of Akkad (_i.e._, Babylonia), and use Bel, moreover, to +designate Babylonia,[152] it is equally clear that Marduk is meant. In +the Neo-Babylonian empire Marduk alone is used. + +The continued existence of a god Bel in the Babylonian pantheon, despite +the amalgamation of Bel with Marduk, is a phenomenon that calls for some +comment. The explanation is to be found in the influence of the +theological system that must have been developed in part, at least, even +before the union of the Babylonian states.[153] Bel, as the god of +earth, was associated with Anu, as the god of heaven, and Ea, as the god +of the deep, to form a triad that embraced the entire universe. When, +therefore, Anu, Bel, and Ea were invoked, it was equivalent to naming +all the powers that influenced the fate of man. They embraced, as it +were, the three kingdoms of the gods, within which all the other gods +could be comprised. The systematization involved in the assumption of a +triad of gods controlling the entire pantheon can hardly be supposed to +have been a popular process. It betokens an amount of thought and +speculation, a comprehensive view of the powers of nature, that could +only have arisen in minds superior to the average intelligence. In other +words, the conception of the triad Anu, Bel, and Ea is again an evidence +of the existence of schoolmen and of schools of religious thought in the +days of the ancient empire. So far, however, as Hammurabi is concerned, +he only refers to a duality--Anu and Bel--which, for him, comprises all +the other gods. He is the 'proclaimer of Anu and Bel.' It is Anu and Bel +who give him sovereignty over the land. In the texts of the second +period the triad does not occur until we come to the reign of a king, +Mili-shikhu, who lives at least eight centuries after Hammurabi. Ea, in +fact, does not occur at all in those inscriptions of the king that have +as yet been discovered. If any conclusion is to be drawn from this +omission, it is certainly this,--that there are several stages in the +development of the ancient theological system of Babylonia. At first a +duality of kingdoms--the kingdom of what is above and below--was +conceived as comprising all the personified powers of nature, but this +duality was replaced by a triad through the addition of the god who +stands at the head of all water-deities. Of course the assumption of a +duality instead of a triad may have been due to a difference among +existing schools of thought. At all events, there seems to be no +political reason for the addition of Ea, and it is difficult to say, +therefore, how soon the conception of a triad standing at the head of +the pantheon arose. We have found it in Gudea's days, and it must, +therefore, have existed in the days of Hammurabi, without, perhaps, +being regarded as an essential dogma as yet. A direct and natural +consequence of Bel's position in the triad was that, by the side of +Bel-Marduk, the older Bel continued to be invoked in historical +inscriptions. Since Anu and Ea were appealed to by themselves, the +former occasionally, the latter more frequently, there was no reason why +a ruler should not at times be prompted to introduce an invocation to +Bel, without the direct association with Anu and Ea. The confusion that +thus ensues between the two Bels was not of serious moment, since from +the context one could without difficulty determine which of the two was +meant; and what we, with our limited knowledge of ancient Babylonia, are +able to do, must have been an easy task for the Babylonians +themselves.[154] It is tempting to suppose that the first command of the +Decalogue (Exodus, xx) contains an implied reference to the Babylonian +triad. + + +Anu, Bel, and Ea. + +The theory of the triad succeeds in maintaining its hold upon Babylonian +minds from a certain period on, through all political and intellectual +vicissitudes. To invoke Anu, Bel, and Ea becomes a standing formula that +the rulers of Babylonia as well as of Assyria are fond of employing. +These three are the great gods _par excellence_. They occupy a place of +their own. The kings do not feel as close to them as to Marduk, or to +Ashur, or even to the sun-god, or to the moon-god. The invocation of the +triad partakes more of a formal character, as though in giving to these +three gods the first place, the writers felt that they were following an +ancient precedent that had more of a theoretical than a practical value +for their days. So among Assyrian rulers, Ashur-rish-ishi (_c._ 1150 +B.C.) derives his right to the throne from the authority with which he +is invested by the triad. Again, in the formal curses which the kings +called down upon the destroyers of the inscriptions or statues that they +set up, the appeal to Anu, Bel, and Ea is made. Ashurnasirbal calls upon +the triad not to listen to the prayers of such as deface his monuments. +Sargon has an interesting statement in one of his inscriptions, +according to which the names of the months were fixed by Anu, Bel, and +Ea. This 'archaeological' theory illustrates very well the extraneous +position occupied by the triad. The months, as we shall see, are sacred, +each to a different god. The gods thus distinguished are the ones that +are directly concerned in the fortunes of the state,--Sin, Ashur, +Ishtar, and the like. Anu, Bel, and Ea are not in the list, and the +tradition, or rather the dogma according to which they assign the names +is evidently an attempt to make good this omission by placing them, as +it were, beyond the reach of the calendar. In short, so far as the +historical texts are concerned which reflect the popular beliefs, the +triad represents a theological doctrine rather than a living force. In +combination, Anu, Bel, and Ea did not mean as much, nor the same thing, +to a Babylonian or an Assyrian, as when he said Marduk, or Nabu, or +Ashur, or Sin, as the case might be. It was different when addressing +these gods individually, as was occasionally done. The Assyrians were +rather fond of introducing Anu by himself in their prayers, and the +Babylonians were prompted to a frequent mention of Ea by virtue of his +relationship to Marduk, but when this was done Anu and Ea meant +something different than when mentioned in one breath along with Bel. + + +Belit. + +One might have supposed that when Bel became Marduk, the consort of Bel +would also become Marduk's consort. Such, however, does not appear to be +the case, at least so far as the epoch of Hammurabi is concerned. When +he calls himself 'the beloved shepherd of Belit,' it is the wife of the +old Bel that is meant, and so when Agumkakrimi mentions Bel and Belit +together, as the gods that decree his fate on earth, there is no doubt +as to what Belit is meant. In later days, however, and in Assyria more +particularly, there seems to be a tendency towards generalizing the name +(much as that of Bel) to the extent of applying it in the sense of +'mistress' to the consort of the chief god of the pantheon; and that +happening to be Ashur in Assyria accounts for the fact, which might +otherwise appear strange, that Tiglathpileser I. (_c._ 1140 B.C.) calls +Belit the 'lofty consort and beloved of Ashur.' Ashurbanabal (668-626 +B.C.) does the same, and even goes further and declares himself to be +the offspring of Ashur and Belit. On the other hand, in the interval +between these two kings we find Shalmaneser II. (860-825 B.C.) calling +Belit 'the mother of the great gods' and 'the wife of Bel,' making it +evident that the old Belit of the south is meant, and since Ashurbanabal +on one occasion also calls the goddess 'the beloved of Bel,'[155] it +follows that in his days two Belits were still recognized, or perhaps it +would be more accurate to say two uses of the term,--one specifically +for the consort of the Babylonian Bel, the god of the earth, with his +ancient seat at Nippur; the other of a more general character, though +still limited as 'lady' to the consort of the _chief_ gods, just as +'Bel,' while acquiring the general sense of 'lord,' was restricted in +actual usage to the _greatest_ 'lords' only. An indication of this +distinction, somewhat parallel to the addition of Dagan to Bel, to +indicate that the old Bel was meant,[156] appears in the sobriquet 'of +Babylonia,'[157] which Ashurbanabal gives to the goddess in one place +where the old Belit is meant. Under the influence of this Assyrian +extension of the term, Nabopolassar, in the Neo-Babylonian period, +applies the title to the consort of Shamash at Sippar, but he is careful +to specify 'Belit of Sippar,' in order to avoid misunderstanding. +Besides being applied to the consorts of Ashur and of Shamash, 'Belit,' +in the general sense of 'mistress,' is applied only to another goddess, +the great Ishtar of the Assyrian pantheon--generally, however, as a +title, not as a name of the goddess. The important position she occupied +in the Assyrian pantheon seemed to justify this further modification and +extension in the use of the term. Occasionally, Ishtar is directly and +expressly called 'Belit.' So, Ashurbanabal speaks of a temple that he +has founded in Calah to 'Belit mâti,'[158] 'the Belit (or lady) of the +land,' where the context speaks in favor of identifying Belit with the +great goddess Ishtar. Again Ashurbanabal, in a dedicatory inscription +giving an account of improvements made in the temple of Ishtar, +addresses the goddess as Belit 'lady of lands, dwelling in +E-mash-mash.'[159] + + +Anu and Anatum. + +In the second period of Babylonian history the worship of the supreme +god of heaven becomes even more closely bound up with Anu's position as +the first member of the inseparable triad than was the case in the first +period. For Hammurabi, as has been noted, Anu is only a half-real figure +who in association with Bel is represented as giving his endorsement to +the king's authority.[160] The manner in which Agumkakrimi introduces +Anu is no less characteristic for the age of Hammurabi and his +successors. At the beginning of his long inscription,[161] he enumerates +the chief gods under whose protection he places himself. As a Cassitic +ruler, he assigns the first place to the chief Cassite deity, Shukamuna, +a god of war whom the Babylonian scholars identified with their own +Nergal.[162] Shukamuna is followed by the triad Anu, Bel, and Ea. Marduk +occupies a fifth place, after which comes a second triad, Sin, Shamash +"the mighty hero," and Ishtar[163] "the strong one among the gods." The +inscription is devoted to the king's successful capture of the statues +of Marduk and Sarpanitum out of the hands of the Khani, and the +restoration of the shrines of these deities at Babylon. At the close, +the king Agumkakrimi appeals to Anu and his consort Anatum,[164] who are +asked to bless the king in heaven, to Bel and Belit who are asked to fix +his fate on earth, and to Ea and Damkina, inhabiting the deep,[165] who +are to grant him long life. As in the beginning of the inscription, the +thought of the triad--Anu, Bel, Ea--evidently underlies this interesting +invocation, but at the same time the association of a consort with Anu +brings the god into closer relationship with his fellows. He takes +on--if the contradiction in terms be permitted--a more human shape. His +consort bears a name that is simply the feminine form to Anu, just as +Belit is the feminine to Bel. 'Anu,' signifying 'the one on high,'--a +feminine to it was formed, manifestly under the influence of the notion +that every god must have a consort of some kind. After Agumkakrimi no +further mention of Anatum occurs, neither in the inscriptions of +Babylonian nor of Assyrian rulers. We are permitted to conclude, +therefore, that Anatum was a product of the schools, and one that never +took a strong hold on the popular mind. Among the Assyrian kings who in +other respects also show less dependence upon the doctrines evolved in +the Babylonian schools, and whose inscriptions reflect to a greater +degree the purely popular phases of the faith, we find Anu mentioned +with tolerable frequency, and in a manner that betrays less emphasis +upon the position of the god as a member of the triad. Still, it is +rather curious that he does not appear even in the inscriptions of the +Assyrian kings by himself, but in association with another god. Thus +Tiglathpileser I. (_c._ 1130 B.C.) gives an elaborate account of an old +temple to Anu and Ramman in the city of Ashur that he restores to more +than its former grandeur.[166] This dedication of a temple to two +deities is unusual. Ramman is the god of thunder and storms, whose seat +of course is in the heavens. He stands close, therefore, to Anu, the +supreme god of heaven. In the religious productions, this relationship +is expressed by making Ramman the son of Anu. From a passage descriptive +of this temple it would appear that the old temple founded by King +Samsi-Ramman, who lived several centuries before Tiglathpileser, was +dedicated to Ramman. It looks, therefore, as though the association of +Anu with Ramman was the work of the later king. What his motive was in +thus combining Anu with Ramman it is difficult to say, but in his +account of the restoration of the sanctuary, he so consistently mentions +Anu and Ramman together,[167] designating them unitedly as 'the great +gods my lords,' that one gains the impression that the two were +inseparable in his mind, Ramman being perhaps regarded simply as a +manifestation of Anu. The supposition finds some support in the closing +words of the inscription, where, in hurling the usual curses upon those +who should attempt to destroy his monuments, he invokes Ramman alone, +whom he asks to punish the offender by his darts, by hunger, by distress +of every kind, and by death. + +Elsewhere Anu appears in association with Dagan, of whom we shall have +occasion to speak in the chapter on the Assyrian pantheon. Suffice it to +say here that Dagan in this connection is an equivalent of Bel. When, +therefore, Ashurbanabal and Sargon call themselves 'the favorite of Anu +and Dagan,' it is the same as though they spoke of Anu and Bel. Apart +from this, Anu only appears when a part or the whole of the Assyrian +pantheon is enumerated. Thus we come across Anu, Ramman, and Ishtar as +the chief gods of the city of Ashur,[168] and again Anu, Ashur, Shamash, +Ramman, and Ishtar.[169] Finally, Sargon who names the eight gates of +his palace after the chief gods of the land does not omit Anu, whom he +describes as the 'one who blesses his handiwork.' Otherwise we have Anu +only when the triad Anu, Bel, and Ea is invoked. Once Ramman-nirari I. +(_c._ 1325 B.C.) adds Ishtar to the triad. After Sargon we no longer +find Anu's name at all among the deities worshipped in Assyria. On the +whole, then, Anu's claim to reverence rests in Assyria as well as in +Babylonia upon his position in the triad, and while Assyria is less +influenced by the ancient system devised in Babylonia whereby Anu, Bel, +and Ea come to be the representatives of the three kingdoms among which +the gods are distributed, still Anu as a specific deity, ruling in his +own right, remains a rather shadowy figure. The only temple in his honor +is the one which he shares with Ramman, and which, as noted, appears to +have been originally devoted to the service of the latter. One other +factor that must be taken into account to explain the disappearance of +Anu is the gradual enforcement of Ashur's claim to the absolute headship +of the Assyrian pantheon. Either Anu or Ashur had to be assigned to this +place, and when circumstances decided the issue in favor of Ashur, there +was no place worthy of Anu as a specific deity. Ashur usurps in a +measure the rôle of Anu. So far as Babylonia was concerned, there was +still in the twelfth century B.C. a city 'Der' which is called the 'city +of Anu.' The city is probably of very ancient foundation, and its +continued association with Anu forms an interesting survival of a local +conception that appears to have been once current of the god. + +In the religious literature, especially in that part of it which +furnishes us with the scholastic recastings of the popular traditions, +Anu is a much more prominent figure than in the historical texts. From +being merely the personification of the heavens, he is raised to the +still higher dignity of symbolizing, as Jensen puts it,[170] the +abstract principle of which both the heavens and earth are emanations. +All the earliest gods conceived of by popular tradition as existing from +the beginning of things are viewed as manifestations of Anu, or of Anu +and Anatum in combination. He gives ear to prayers, but he is not +approached directly. The gods are his messengers, who come and give him +report of what is going on.[171] He is a god for the gods rather than +for men. When his daughter Ishtar is insulted she appeals to her father +Anu; and when the gods are terrified they take refuge with Anu. Armed +with a mighty weapon whose assault nothing can withstand, Anu is +surrounded by a host of gods and powerful spirits who are ready to +follow his lead and to do his service. + + +Ramman. + +With Ramman we reach a deity whose introduction into the Babylonian +pantheon and whose position therein appears to be entirely independent +of Marduk. + +The reading of the name as Ramman (or Rammanu) is provisional. The +ideograph _Im_ with which the name is written designates the god as the +power presiding over storms; and while it is certain that, in Assyria at +least, the god was known as Ramman, which means 'the thunderer,' it is +possible that this was an epithet given to the god, and not his real or +his oldest name. It is significant that in the El-Amarna tablets (_c._ +1500 B.C.), where the god _Im_ appears as an element in proper names, +the reading _Addu_ is vouched for, and this form has been justly brought +into connection with a very famous solar deity of Syria,--Hadad. The +worship of Hadad, we know, was widely spread in Palestine and Syria, and +there is conclusive evidence that Hadad (or Adad), as a name for the god +_Im_, was known in Babylonia. Professor Oppert is of the opinion that +Adad represents the oldest name of the god. Quite recently the +proposition has been made that the real name of the deity was +_Immeru_.[172] The ideograph in this case would arise through the +curtailment of the name (as is frequently the case in the cuneiform +syllabary), and the association of _Im_ with 'storm' and 'wind' would be +directly dependent upon the nature of the deity in question. The +material at hand is not sufficient for deciding the question. Besides +Immeru, Adad, and Ramman, the deity was also known as _Mer_--connected +apparently with Immeru.[173] So much is certain, that Ramman appears to +have been the name currently used in Assyria for this god. Adad may have +been employed occasionally in Babylonia, as was _Mer_ in proper names, +but that it was not the common designation is proved by a list of gods +(published by Bezold[174]) in which the _foreign_ equivalent for _Im_ is +set down as Adad. We may for the present, therefore, retain Ramman, +while bearing in mind that we have only proof of its being an epithet +applied to the god, not necessarily his real name and in all +probabilities not the oldest name. + +We meet with the god for the first time in the hymn to which reference +has already been made,[175] and where the god is mentioned together with +Shamash. If the suggestion above thrown out is correct, that the hymn is +older than the days of Hammurabi, Ramman too would be older than his +first mention in historical texts. However, it is worthy of note that in +this hymn each of the other gods mentioned receives a line for himself, +and that Ramman is the only one who is tacked on to another deity. It is +not strange that in making copies of older texts, especially those of a +religious character, the scribes should have introduced certain +modifications. At all events, the god does not acquire any degree of +prominence until the days of Hammurabi; so that whatever his age and +origin, he belongs in a peculiar sense to the pantheon of Hammurabi +rather than to that of the old Babylonian period. The successor of +Hammurabi, Samsu-iluna, dedicates a fort, known as Dur-padda, to Ramman +whom he addresses as his 'helper', along with several other gods. +Despite this fact, his worship does not appear to have been very firmly +established in Babylonia, for Agumkakrimi, who follows upon Samsu-iluna, +does not make mention of Ramman. During the reign of the Cassite +dynasty, however, the worship of Ramman appears to have gained a +stronger foothold. Several kings of this dynasty have incorporated the +name of this deity into their own names, and in an inscription dealing +with events that transpired in the reign of one of these kings, Ramman +occupies a prominent place. Immediately after the great triad, Anu, Bel, +and Ea, there is enumerated a second, Sin, Shamash, and Ramman, and only +then there follows Marduk.[176] More than this, Ramman is introduced for +a second time in conjunction with Shamash, as in the hymn of Hammurabi. +The two are appealed to as 'the divine lords of justice.' The conqueror +of the Cassites, Nebuchadnezzar I., also holds Ramman in high esteem. +For him, Ramman is the god of battle who in companionship with Ishtar +abets the king in his great undertakings. He addresses Ramman as the +great lord of heaven, the lord of subterranean waters and of rain, whose +curse is invoked against the one who sets aside the decrees of +Nebuchadnezzar or who defaces the monument the king sets up. While +acknowledging the supremacy of Marduk, upon whose appeal he proceeds to +Babylonia to rid the country of its oppressors, Nebuchadnezzar +nevertheless shows remarkable partiality for Ramman, perhaps as a matter +of policy to offset the supposed preference shown by Ramman towards the +previous dynasty. Ramman with Nergal and Nanâ are also enumerated as the +special gods of Namar--a Babylonian district which caused the king +considerable annoyance, and which may have been one of the strongholds +whence the Cassitic kings continued their attacks upon Nebuchadnezzar. + +In order to determine more precisely the nature of this deity, it is +necessary to turn to Assyria, where his worship dates from the very +earliest times, and where he appears consistently in a single +rôle,--that of the god of storms, more particularly of thunder and +lightning. The oldest Assyrian ruler known to us is Samsi-Ramman (_c._ +1850 B.C.), whose name, containing the god as one of its elements, +points to the antiquity of the cult of Ramman in the north. Another king +who has frequently been mentioned, Ramman-nirari (_i.e._, Ramman is my +helper), bears evidence to the same effect, and Tiglathpileser I. speaks +of a temple to Ramman whose foundation carries us back several centuries +beyond the period of these two kings--almost to the days of Hammurabi. +The theory has accordingly been advanced that the worship of Ramman came +to Babylonia from the north, and since the cult of this same god is +found in Damascus and extended as far south as the plain of Jezreel, the +further conclusion has been drawn that the god is of Aramaic origin and +was brought to Assyria through Aramaic tribes who had settled in parts +of Assyria. The great antiquity of the Ramman cult in Assyria argues +against a foreign origin. It seems more plausible to regard the Ramman +cult as indigenous to Assyria; but reverting to a time when the +population of the north was still in the nomadic state of civilization, +the cult may have been carried to the west by some of the wandering +tribes who afterwards established themselves around Damascus. Up to a +late period Aramaic hordes appear from time to time in western Assyria; +and in a higher stage of culture, contact between Aramaeans and +Assyrians was maintained by commercial intercourse and by warfare. Since +the earliest mention of Ramman's cult is in the city of Ashur, it may be +that he was originally connected with that place. As already intimated, +he was essentially a storm-god, whose manifestation was seen in the +thunder and lightning, and the god was known not merely as 'the +thunderer,' but also as Barku, _i.e._, lightning. Perhaps it was because +of this that he was also brought into association with the great light +of heaven,--the sun-god. In many mythologies, the sun and lightning are +regarded as correlated forces. At all events, the frequent association +of Shamash and Ramman cannot have been accidental. This double nature of +Ramman--as a solar deity representing some particular phase of the sun +that escapes us and as a storm-god--still peers through the inscription +above noted from the Cassite period where Ramman is called 'the lord of +justice,'--an attribute peculiar to the sun-god; but in Assyria his rôle +as the thunder-and storm-god overshadows any other attributes that he +may have had. + +There are two aspects to rainstorms in Babylonia. The flooding of the +fields while committing much havoc is essential to the fertility of the +soil. Ramman is therefore the carrier of blessings to the cities, the +one who supplies wells and fields with water; but the destructive +character of the rain and thunder and lightning are much more strongly +emphasized than their beneficent aspects. Even though the fields be +flooded, Ramman can cause thorns to grow instead of herbs. The same +ideograph _Im_ that signifies Ramman also means distress. When the +failure of the crops brings in its wake hunger and desolation, it is the +'god of the clouds,' the 'god of rain,' the 'god of the overflow,' whose +wrath has thus manifested itself. It is he who (as a hymn puts it) 'has +eaten the land.' No wonder that the 'roar' of the god is described as +'powerful,' and that he is asked to stand at the right side of the +petitioner and grant protection. When Ramman lets his voice resound, +misfortune is at hand. It was natural that he who thus presided over the +battle of the elements should come to be conceived essentially as a god +of war to a people whose chief occupation grew to be conquest. As such +he appears constantly in the inscriptions of Assyrian kings, and to such +a degree as to be a formidable rival, at times, to the head of the +Assyrian pantheon. The final victory of the Assyrian arms is generally +attributed to Ashur alone, but just before the battle and in the midst +of the fray, Ramman's presence is felt almost as forcibly as that of +Ashur. He shares with the latter the honor of invocations and sacrifices +at such critical moments. In this capacity Ramman is so essentially an +Assyrian god that it will be proper to dwell upon him again in the +following chapter, when the specially Assyrian phases of the religion we +are investigating will be taken up. The consort of Ramman also, the +goddess Shala, will best be treated of in connection with the Assyrian +phases of the Ramman cult. + +Of the other gods whose names occur in the inscriptions of Hammurabi, +but little of a special character is to be noted. The attributes that he +gives them do not differ from those that we come across in the texts of +his predecessors. It is sufficient, therefore, to enumerate them. The +longest list is furnished by the hymn which has already been referred +to. The text is unfortunately fragmentary, and so we cannot be sure that +the names embrace the entire pantheon worshipped by him. The list opens +with Bel (who, as we have seen, is the old Bel of Nippur); then follow +Sin, Ninib, Ishtar, Shamash, Ramman. Here the break in the tablet begins +and, when the text again becomes intelligible, a deity is praised in +such extravagant terms that one is tempted to conclude that Hammurabi +has added to an old hymn a paean to his favorite Marduk[177]. To Bel is +given the honor of having granted royal dignity to the king. Sin has +given the king his princely glory; from Ninib, the king has received a +powerful weapon; Ishtar fixes the battle array, while Shamash and Ramman +hold themselves at the service of the king. With this list, however, we +are far from having exhausted the pantheon as it had developed in the +days of Hammurabi. From the inscriptions of his successors we are +permitted to add the following: Nin-khar-sag, Nergal, and Lugal-mit-tu, +furnished by Samsu-iluna; Shukamuna, by Agumkakrimi; and passing down to +the period of the Cassite dynasty, we have in addition Nin-dim-su, +Ba-kad, Pap-u, Belit-ekalli, Shumalia.[178] + +During the Cassitic rule, Marduk does not play the prominent part that +he did under the native rulers, but he is restored to his position by +Nebuchadnezzar I., who, it will be recalled, succeeds in driving the +Cassites out of power. But besides Marduk, Nebuchadnezzar invokes a +large number of other deities. For purposes of comparison with the +pantheon of Hammurabi, and of his immediate successors, I give the +complete list and in the order mentioned by him in the only inscription +that we have of this king. They are Ninib, Gula, Ramman, Shumalia, +Nergal, Shir, Shubu, Sin, Belit of Akkad. Moreover, Anu is referred to +as the especial god of Der, and a goddess Eria[179] is worshipped in +Elam. Passing still further down, we obtain as additional names, Malik +and Bunene, from the inscription of Nabubaliddin (_c._ 883-852 +B.C.).[180] + +We may divide this long period from Hammurabi down to the time that the +governors of Babylonia became mere puppets of the Assyrian rulers into +three sections: (1) Hammurabi and his successors, (2) the Cassite +dynasty, (3) the restoration of native rulers to the throne. A +comparison of the names furnished by the inscriptions from these three +sections shows that the gods common to all are Marduk, Bel, Shamash, +Ramman. But, in addition, our investigations have shown that we are +justified in adding the following as forming part of the Babylonian +pantheon during this entire period: Sarpanitum, Belit, Tashmitum, Sin, +Ninib, Ishtar, Nergal, Nin-khar-sag, and the two other members of the +triad, Anu and Ea, with their consorts, Anatum and Damkina. All these +gods and goddesses are found in the texts from the first and third +section of the period, and the absence of some of them from texts of the +second section is simply due to the smaller amount of material that we +have for the history of the Cassite dynasty in Babylonia. Some of the +deities in this list, which is far from being exhaustive,[181] are +foreign, so _e.g._, Shukamuna and Shumalia, who belong to the Cassitic +pantheon; others are of purely local significance, as Shir and +Shubu.[182] As for Sin, Ninib, and Ishtar, the worship of none of these +deities assumes any great degree of prominence during this period. No +doubt the local cult was continued at the old centers much as before, +but except for an occasional invocation, especially in the closing +paragraphs of an inscription, where the writers were fond of grouping a +large array of deities so as to render more impressive the curses upon +enemies and vilifiers, with which the inscriptions usually terminated, +they do not figure in the official writings of the time. Of Sin, it is +of some importance to note that under the Cassite dynasty he stands +already at the head of a second class of triads which consists of Sin, +Shamash, and Ramman, or Ishtar (see note 3 on page 152), and that +through the inscription of Nebuchadnezzar I., we learn of an additional +district of Babylonia,--that of Bit-Khabban, where in association with +Belit of Akkad, the consort of the older Bel, he was worshipped as the +patron deity. Nebuchadnezzar himself does not enumerate Sin among the +chief gods. Ninib appears in the familiar rôle as a god of war. After +Hammurabi he is only mentioned once in inscriptions of the Cassitic +period and then again in the days of Nebuchadnezzar I., who assigns a +prominent place to him. It is Ninib who, with the title 'king of heaven +and earth,' leads off in the long list of gods whose curses are invoked +upon the king's opponents. Similarly, the belligerent character of +Ishtar is the only phase of the goddess dwelt upon during this period. +While for Agumkakrimi, she still occupies a comparatively inferior rank, +coming seventh in his list, Nebuchadnezzar places her immediately after +Anu and before Ramman and Marduk. This advance foreshadows the superior +rôle that she is destined to play in the pantheon during the period of +Assyrian supremacy. The cult of Nergal does not figure prominently +during this period. In fact, so far as the historical texts go, he +disappears from the scene till the time of Nebuchadnezzar I., when he is +incidentally invoked in a group with Ramman and Nanâ as the gods of a +district in Babylonia known as Namar. Exactly where Namar lay has not +yet been ascertained. Since Nergal, as was shown in the previous +chapter, was the local patron of Cuthah, it may be that the latter city +was included in the Namar district. At all events, we may conclude from +the silence of the texts as to Nergal, that Cuthah played no conspicuous +part in the empire formed of the Babylonian states, and that the cult of +Nergal, apart from the association of the deity in religious texts with +the lower world, did not during this entire period extend beyond local +proportions. Lastly, it is interesting to note that Samsu-iluna, the son +of Hammurabi, refers to Belit of Nippur as Nin-khar-sag, which we have +seen was one of her oldest titles. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[116] The name is also written Ma-ru-duk, which points to its having +been regarded (for which there is other evidence) as a compound of +_maru_, 'son,' and an element, _duk_(_u_), which in religious and other +texts designates the 'glorious chamber' in which the god determines the +fate of humanity. Such an 'etymology' is, however, merely a play upon +the name, similar to the plays upon proper names found in the Old +Testament. The real etymology is unknown. The form Marduk is Semitic, +and points to an underlying stem, _rdk_. Marduk appears under a variety +of names which will be taken up at their proper place. See Schrader's +_Assyrisch-Babyl. Keilschriften_, p. 129; and the same author's +_Cuneiform Inscrip. and the O. T._ (p. 422) for other etymologies. + +[117] Hommel's view that Gish-galla, in Gudea's inscriptions, is Babylon +lacks convincing evidence, but the city may be as old as Gudea's days +for all that. + +[118] Near Sippar. + +[119] _Bêl matâti_. + +[120] Sayce, _Religion of the Ancient Babylonians_, pp. 98 _seq._; +Jensen, _Kosmologie der Babylonier_, p. 88. + +[121] So Delitzsch, _Beiträge sur Assyriologie_, ii. 623. The first part +of the name is also used to designate the 'young bullock,' and it is +possible, therefore, that the god was pictured in this way, as both Anu +and Sin are occasionally called 'bulls.' + +[122] Louvre Inscription II, col ii. ll. 12-17. + +[123] There is also a goddess _Eria_ worshipped in Elam, who may be +identical with Erua. The scribes in the days of Nebuchadnezzar (_c._ +1140 B.C.), at least, appear to have thought so, for they associate her +with Bel, just as Sarpanitum is associated with Del-Marduk. (See the +Inscription VR. 57, col. ii. ll. 11, 12.) + +[124] Whether, however, this was the real meaning of the name is +doubtful, for the name of the goddess is also written Aru and Arua, +which points to a different verbal stem. + +[125] See below under Tashmitum. + +[126] There are indications also of an arrested amalgamation of +Erua-Sarpanitum with Tashmitum, the wife of Nabu. (See Sayce, _Hibbert +Lectures_, p. 112.) + +[127] Rawlinson, ii. 60, 30. + +[128] _Hibbert Lectures_, p. 117. + +[129] See further on, _sub_ Ea. + +[130] _Kosmologie_, p. 239. + +[131] _Sub_ Nusku, chapter xiii. + +[132] Tiele, _Geschichte d. Religion i. Alterthum_, i. 171 and 188, is +of the opinion that Nabu is a late deity whose worship dates from a +period considerably subsequent to Hammurabi. This conclusion from the +non-occurrence of the god in early inscriptions is not justified. There +is no reason why Nabu should have been added as a deity in later times, +and in general we must be on our guard against assuming new deities +subsequent to Hammurabi. It is much more plausible to assume the +restored popularity of very old ones. + +[133] Bel being Marduk, the title was equivalent to that of 'governor of +Babylonia.' + +[134] So, Tiele, _Geschichte d. Religion i. Alterthum_, i. 191. + +[135] The Hebrew word for prophet, _nabi_, is of the same stem as the +Assyrian Nabu, and the popular tradition is placing the last scene in +the life of Moses on Mt. Nebo is apparently influenced by the fact that +Moses was a _nabi_. + +[136] See above, p. 123. + +[137] So in the cylinder of Shamash-shum-ukin (Lehmann's publication, +pls. viii. _seq._). + +[138] _E.g._, in the so-called Grotefend Cylinder, col. ii. 34. + +[139] _Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde d. Morgenlandes_, iv. 301-307. + +[140] We only know the name through Eusebius' extract from Alexander +Polyhistor's digest of Berosus. The form, therefore, cannot be vouched +for. The various modern attempts to explain the name have failed (see +_e.g._, Lenormant's _Magic und Wahrsagekunst der Chaldaer_, 2d German +edition, pp. 376-379). There may be some ultimate connection between +Oannes and Jonah (see Trumbull in _Journal of Bibl. Liter._ xl. 58, +note). + +[141] For fuller proof, see the chapter on "The Cosmology of the +Babylonians." + +[142] This, it will be remembered (see above, p. 118), is one of the +titles of Marduk in one of Hammurabi's inscriptions,--an important point +for the date of the episode in its present form. + +[143] Literally, 'Ea shall be his name, his as mine.' + +[144] According to Syncellus. In cuneiform texts the old Bel is at times +invoked as the creator of mankind. + +[145] _Kosmologie_, pp. 293, 294. + +[146] _Aos_ and _Dauke_. + +[147] Rawlinson, iv. 25. + +[148] See p. 79. + +[149] See Jensen, _Keils Bibl._. 3, 1, p. 108, note 5. Tiele, _Gesch._ +p. 126, apparently identifies Innanna of Hallabi with Tashmit, but, so +far as I can see, without sufficient reason. + +[150] Here written En-lil, as the Bel of Nippur. + +[151] Attached to the name here (Rawlinson, i. 4, no. xv-9), which is +written ideographically En-Lil, is the designation _da-gan-ni_, which +has occasioned considerable discussion. See Jensen, _Kosmologie_, pp. +449-456. It seems to me that the addition which emphasizes this identity +of Bel with another god, Dagan, is to indicate that the Bel of the +triad, and not Bel-Marduk, is here meant. Somewhat in the same way +Tiglathpileser I. (Rawlinson, i. 14, vi. 87) distinguishes the older Bel +by calling him 'Bel latura,' _i.e._, 'Bel the older.' + +[152] 'Governor of Bel' for governor of Babylonia, and 'subjects of Bel' +for subjects of Babylonia. + +[153] See p. 89 and chapter vii. + +[154] Occasionally a king (so _e.g._ Nabubaliddin, _c._ 883 B.C.) +associates Anu with Ea, and omits Bel (Rawlinson, v. 60, ii. 21), as +though with the intent of avoiding confusion. + +[155] Rassam, Cylinder ix. 75. + +[156] See chapter xii., "The Assyrian Pantheon," p. 208. + +[157] Rassam, Cylinder viii. 98, 99. 'Belit of Babylonia, honored among +the great gods.' + +[158] _Annals_, iii. 135. + +[159] The name of the temple. See IIR. 66, ll. 1 and 10. The title +'belit matâti,' 'lady of the lands' is evidently introduced in imitation +of 'bel matâti,' 'lord of lands,' belonging to Bel and then to Marduk. + +[160] Sayce's view (_Hibbert Lectures_, p. 186), according to which Anu +was originally the local god of Erech, is erroneous. + +[161] VR. pl. 33. + +[162] Delitzsch, _Die Kossaer_, pp. 25, 27. + +[163] The omission of Ramman here, though invoked at the close of the +inscription, is noticeable. Ishtar takes the place that in the more +developed system belongs to the god of storms, who with the moon-god and +sun-god constitutes a second triad. See p. 163. + +[164] Written with the sign _An_, and the feminine ending _tum_, but +probably pronounced Anatum. The form Anat (without the ending) is used +by many scholars, as Sarpanit and Tashmit are used instead of Sarpanitum +and Tashmitum. I prefer the fuller forms of these names. Anum similarly +is better than Anu, but the latter has become so common that it might as +well be retained. + +[165] VR. 33, vii. 34-44. + +[166] IR. pl. 15, col. vii. 71-pl. 16, col. viii. 88. + +[167] No less than nine times. + +[168] Tiglathpileser I. + +[169] Ramman-nirari I. + +[170] _Kosmologie_, p. 274. + +[171] See the list IIIR. 68, 26 _seq._ + +[172] Thureau-Dangin, _Journal Asiatique_, 1895, pp. 385-393. The name +of this deity has been the subject of much discussion. For a full +discussion of the subject with an account of the recent literature, see +an article by the writer in _The American Journal of Semitic Languages +and Literatures_, xii. 159-162. + +[173] Arising perhaps after _Im_ came into use as the ideographic form. + +[174] _Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, xi. 173-174 and pl. 1, col. i. 7. + +[175] See p. 145 and also p. 161. + +[176] Belser in Haupt and Delitzsch, _Beiträge sur Assyriologie_, ii. +187 _seq._, col. vi. i. 3 _seq._ + +[177] The character of this part of the hymn is quite different from +that which precedes. + +[178] For further notices of these gods, see chapter x. + +[179] See above, p. 122. + +[180] One might include in the list also Nin-igi-nangar-bu, +Gushgin-banda, Nin-kurra, Nin-zadim (from Nabubaliddin's Inscription), +but these are only so many epithets of Ea or various _forms_ under which +the god came to be worshipped. See p. 177. + +[181] We may now look forward to finding many more gods in the rich +material for this period unearthed by the University of Pennsylvania +Expedition to Niffer. + +[182] See chapter x. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE GODS IN THE TEMPLE LISTS AND IN THE LEGAL AND COMMERCIAL DOCUMENTS. + + +Besides the historical texts in the proper sense, there is another +source for the study of the Babylonian pantheon. + +Both for the first and for the second periods we now have a large number +of lists of offerings made to the temples of Babylonia and of thousands +of miscellaneous legal documents. De Sarzec found a number of such +documents at Telloh some years ago, and quite recently some thirty +thousand tablets of the temple archives have come to light.[183] At +Tell-Sifr, Abu-Habba, and elsewhere, many thousands also have been +found, belonging chiefly to the second period. A feature of these +documents is the invocation of the gods, introduced for various +purposes, at times in connection with oaths, at times as a guarantee +against the renewal of claims. Again, certain gods are appealed to as +witnesses to an act, and in the lists of temple offerings, gods are +constantly introduced. Since many of the commercial transactions +recorded in these documents, moreover, concern the temples of Babylonia, +further occasions were found for the mention of a god or gods. The +proper names occurring in these documents, compounded as these names in +most cases are with some deity,[184] furnish some additions to the +pantheon of Babylonia. Naturally, a distinction is to be made between +deities introduced in temple lists and in the course of legal +proceedings, and such as are merely known through forming an element in +proper names. The former constitute a part of what might be called the +'active' pantheon of the time. Deities that are actually invoked by +contracting parties for whatever purpose are such as are endowed with +real significance; and if any of these are not mentioned in the +historical texts proper, the omission is due to the lack of material. +The testimony of the legal documents in this respect is fully as valid +as is that of the historical texts. In proper names the case is +different. Custom being a prominent, if not a controlling, factor in the +giving of names, it may happen that the deity appearing as an element in +a name is one who, for various reasons, is no longer worshipped, or +whose worship has diminished in significance at the time we meet with +the name. Again, deities of very restricted local fame, deities that +occupy the inferior rank of mere spirits or demons in the theological +system of the Babylonians, may still be incorporated in proper names. +Lastly, in view of the descriptive epithets by which some deities are +often known, as much as by their real names, it frequently happens in +the case of proper names that a deity otherwise known is designated by +one of his attributes. Thus we find in legal documents of the second +period a goddess, Da-mu-gal, who is none other than the well-known Gula, +the great healing deity; Ud-zal, who is identical with Ninib, and so +written as the god of 'the rising sun';[185] and Mar-tu (lit., 'the west +god'), which is a designation of Ramman.[186] Bearing in mind all these +considerations, we find in the tablets of the first period, so far as +published,[187] the same deities that are met with in the historical +inscriptions: En-lil, Bau, En-zu (or Sin), Nin-girsu, Nin-gish-zida, +Nin-mar, Nanâ, Ninâ, Shul-pa-uddu, and others. No doubt a complete +publication of the Telloh archives will furnish some--not many--new +deities not occurring in the historical texts of this period. A rather +curious feature, illustrated by these temple archives, and one upon +which we shall have occasion to dwell, is the divine honors that appear +to have been paid towards the end of the first period of Babylonian +history to some of the earlier rulers, notably Gudea and Dungi.[188] +Alongside of wine, oil, wheat, sheep, etc., offered to Bau, +Nin-gish-zida, and Shul-pa-uddu, the great kings and _patesis_ of the +past are honored. More than this, sanctuaries sacred to these rulers are +erected, and in other respects they are placed on a footing of equality +with the great gods of the period. Passing on to the lists and the legal +documents of the second period,[189] we may note that the gods in whose +name the oath is taken are chiefly Marduk, Shamash,[190] Â, Ramman, and +Sin. Generally two or three are mentioned, and often the name of the +reigning king is added to lend further solemnity to the oath. Other gods +directly introduced are Nanâ, Ishtar, Nebo, Tashmitum, and Sarpanitum, +after whom the years are at times designated, probably in consequence of +some special honors accorded to the gods. The standing phrase is 'the +year of the throne,' or simply 'the year' of such and such a deity. +Nin-mar appears in the days of Hammurabi as the daughter of Marduk. +Among gods appearing for the first time are Khusha[191], Nun-gal, and +Zamama. Mentioned in connection with the gates of the temple where the +judges held court, the association of Khusha with Marduk, Shamash, Sin, +and Nin-mar points to a considerable degree of prominence enjoyed by +this deity. Of his nature and origin, however, we know nothing. Nun-gal +signifies the 'great chief.' His temple stood in Sippar,[192] and from +this we may conclude that he was one of the minor gods of the place +whose original significance becomes obscured by the side of the +all-powerful patron of Sippar--the sun-god. A syllabary describes the +god as a 'raging' deity, a description that suggests solar functions. +Nun-gal appears, therefore, to be the ideograph proper to a deity that +symbolized, like Nergal, Ninib, and Â, some phase of the sun. The +disappearance of the god would thus be naturally accounted for, in view +of the tendency that we have found characteristic of the religion, +whereby powerful gods absorb the functions of weaker ones whose +attributes resemble their own. But while the god disappears, the name +survives. Nun-gal with the plural sign attached becomes a collective +designation for a group of powerful demons.[193] In this survival and +use of the name we have an interesting example of the manner in which, +by a species of differentiation, local gods, unable to maintain +themselves by the side of more powerful rivals, sink to the lower grade +of demons, either beneficent or noxious. In this grade, too, +distinctions are made, as will be pointed out at the proper place. There +is a 'pantheon' of demons as well as of gods in the Babylonian theology. +Nun-gal accordingly recovers some of his lost dignity by becoming an +exceptionally powerful demon--so powerful as to confer his name upon an +entire class. The god Zamama appears in connection with a date attached +to a legal document of the days of Hammurabi. The building of a +sanctuary in honor of this deity and his consort was of sufficient +importance to make the year known by this event. Zamama is occasionally +mentioned in the religious hymns. He belongs to the deities that form a +kind of court around Marduk. From syllabaries, we learn that he was a +form of the sun-god, worshipped in the city of Kish in northern +Babylonia, and it also appears that he was identified at one period with +Ninib. The temple to Zamama--perhaps only a shrine--stood in the city of +Kish, which was remodeled by Hammurabi. The shrine, or temple, bore the +significant name 'house of the warrior's glory.' The warrior is of +course the god, and the name accordingly shows clearly the character of +the god in whose honor the sanctuary was built. Elsewhere, he is +explicitly called a 'god of battle.' Associated with Zamama of Kish was +his consort, who, however, is merely termed again in a general way, +'Ninni,' _i.e._, 'the lady.' In the case of such a deity as Zamama, it +is evident that the absence of the name in historical texts is +accidental, and that we may expect to come across it with the increase +of historical material. In the proper names, all of the prominent +deities discussed in this and the previous chapters are found, though +with some notable exceptions. Anu, _e.g._, is not met with as an element +in proper names, but among those occurring may be mentioned Shamash, Â, +Ishtar, Ramman (also under the forms Im-me-ru and Mar-tu), Marduk, +sometimes called Sag-ila after his temple in Babylon, Nabu, Ishum, +Shala, Bau, Nin-ib, Nin-girsu, Sin, Bunene, Annuit, and Ea. Among gods +appearing for the first time in connection with the names, it is +sufficient to record a goddess Shubula, who from other sources[194] we +know was the local patron of the city Shumdula, a goddess Bashtum,[195] +a goddess Mamu (a form of Gula), Am-na-na, Lugal-ki-mu-na, E-la-li +(perhaps an epithet for the fire-god Gibil), Ul-mash-shi-tum, and a +serpent god Sir. Most of these may be safely put down as of purely local +origin and jurisdiction, and it is hardly likely that any of them embody +an idea not already covered by those which we have discussed. From the +lists of gods prepared by the Babylonian scholars, it is clear that the +number of local deities whose names at least survived to a late period +was exceedingly large, ranging in the thousands; and since, as seems +likely, these lists were prepared (as so much of the lexicographical +literature) on the basis of the temple lists and of the commercial and +legal documents, we may conclude that all, or at any rate most, of these +deities were in use as elements in proper names, without, however, +having much importance beyond this incorporation. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[183] The museums of Europe and America have secured a large proportion +of these through purchase. + +[184] The longer names consist of three elements: subject, +verb, and object. The deity is generally the subject; _e.g._, +Sinacherib=Sin-akhe-irba, _i.e._, may the god Sin increase the brothers. +But there are many variations. So the imperative of the verb is often +used, and in that case, the deity is in the vocative case. Instead of +three elements, there are frequently only two, a deity and a participle +or an adjective; _e.g._, Sin-magir, _i.e._, Sin is favorable, or a +person is called 'the son' or 'the servant' of a god. The name of the +deity alone may also constitute a proper name; and many names of course +do not contain the mention of a deity at all, though such names are +often abbreviations from longer ones in which some god was introduced. + +[185] Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 458. + +[186] Arnold, _Ancient Babylonian Temple Records_, p. 5, is of the +opinion that Id-nik-mar-tu is also a designation of Ramman. His view is +plausible, but it still remains to be proved. + +[187] Scheil, "Le Culte de Gudea sous le II^e Dynastie d'Ur" (_Recueil +des Travaux, etc._ xviii. 64-74). W. R. Arnold, _Ancient Babylonian +Temple Records_ (New York, 1896). The Telloh tablets appear to be +largely lists of offerings made to the temples at Lagash, and temple +accounts. (See now Reisner, Tempelurkunden aus Telloh (Berlin, 1901).) + +[188] See besides Scheil's article (above), Lehmann's note, _Zeits. für +Assyr._ x. 381. + +[189] Our knowledge of the documents of this period is due chiefly to +Strassmaier and Meissner. + +[190] At times under rather curious forms, _e.g._, Shush-sha; +Strassmaier, Warka, no. 30, l. 21. The form Sha-ash-sha also occurs in +nos. 43 and 105 (_cf._ Meissner's note, _Beiträge zum Altbabylonischen +Privatrecht_, p. 156). + +[191] Meissner, no. 42. Also in a proper name, Khusha-ilu, _i.e._, +'Khusha is god.' + +[192] Meissner, nos. 40 and 118. + +[193] See chapter xi. + +[194] IIR. 60, 18a. Pinches (_Journal Victoria Institute_, xxviii. 36 +reads Shu-gid-la; Hommel, _ib._ 36, Shu-sil-la). + +[195] For this deity, see a paper by the writer, "The Element _Bosheth_ +in Hebrew Proper Names," in the _Journal of Bibl. Liter._ xiii. 20-30. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE MINOR GODS IN THE PERIOD OF HAMMURABI. + + +Coming back now to the historical texts and placing the minor deities +together that occur in the inscriptions of Hammurabi and his successors +down through the restoration of native rulers on the throne of +Babylonia, we obtain the following list: Zakar, Lugal-mit-tu (?), +Nin-dim-su, Ba-kad, Pap-u, Belit-ekalli, Shumalia, Shukamuna, Gula, +Shir, Shubu, Belit of Akkad, Malik, Bunene, Nin-igi-nangar-bu, +Gushgin-banda, Nin-kurra, Nin-zadim. In view of the limited amount of +historical material at our disposal for the second period of Babylonian +history, the list of course does not permit us to form a definite notion +of the total number of minor gods that were still occasionally invoked +by the side of the great gods. By comparison, however, with the pantheon +so far as ascertained of the first period, the conclusion is justified +that with the systematization of cults and beliefs characteristic of the +Hammurabi, a marked tendency appears towards a reduction of the +pantheon, a weeding out of the numerous local cults, their absorption by +the larger ones, and the relegation of the minor gods of only local +significance to a place among the spirits and demons of the Babylonian +religion. Brief statements of these minor gods will suffice to indicate +their general character. Of most of the gods in this list there is but +little we know as yet beyond the name. Some of them will occur again in +the Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian historical texts, others in the hymns +and incantations; some are only found in the period we are considering, +though with the material constantly increasing we must beware of drawing +any conclusions from the fact of a single mention. 'Zakar,' signifying, +probably, 'heroic,' appears to have been worshipped in Nippur, where a +wall known as the 'wall of Zakar' was built by Samsu-iluna. From the +fact that this wall was sacred to Nin-khar-sag or Belit, we may, +perhaps, be permitted to conclude that 'Zakar' stood in close +relationship to Bel and Belit of Nippur,--possibly a son,--or, at all +events, belonged to the inner circle of deities worshipped in the old +city sacred to the great Bel. + +Another wall in Nippur was dedicated by this Samsu-iluna to a god whose +name is provisionally read by Winckler, Lugal-mit-tu.[196] Lugal, +signifying 'king,' is an element that enters as an ideograph in the +composition of the names of several deities. Thus we have Lugal-edinna, +'king of the field,' which is the equivalent of Nergal, and again for +the same god, the combination Lugal-gira, which is, as Jensen[197] has +shown, 'raging king,' and a title of Nergal in his character as the god +of pestilence and war. Nin-dim-su, Ba-kad, Pap-u, Belit-ekalli, +Shumalia, and Shukamuna occur at the close of the inscription of +Melishikhu, among the gods asked to curse the transgressors of the royal +decree.[198] That some of these are Cassite deities imported into +Babylonia, and whose position in the pantheon was therefore of a +temporary character, there seems little reason to question. Ba-kad may, +and Shumalia quite certainly does, belong to this class. As for +Shukamuna, the fact that Agumkakrimi, who places his title, 'king of +Cassite land,' before that of Akkad and Babylon, opens his inscription +with the declaration that he is the glorious offspring of Shukamuna, +fixes the character of this god beyond all doubt; and Delitzsch has +shown[199] that this god was regarded by the Babylonian schoolmen as the +equivalent of their own Nergal. Shukamuna, accordingly, was the Cassite +god of war, who, like Nergal, symbolized the mid-day sun,--that is, the +raging and destructive power. Shumalia is the consort of Shukamuna[200], +and is invoked as the 'lady of the shining mountains.' Nin-dim-su is a +title of Ea, as the patron of arts. Belit-ekalli--_i.e._, Belit of the +palace--appears as the consort of Ninib, the epithet 'ekalli' being +added to specify what Belit is meant, and to avoid confusion with the +consort of Bel. At the same time it must be confessed that the precise +force of the qualification of 'Belit of the palace' (or temple) escapes +us. Ninib's consort, as we know from other sources, was Gula.[201] This +name is in some way connected with an Assyrian stem signifying 'great,' +and it is at least worthy of note that the word for palace is written by +a species of punning etymology with two signs, e=house and gallu=large. +The question suggests itself whether the title 'Belit-ekalli' may not +have its rise in a further desire to play upon the goddess's name, just +as her title Kallat-Eshara (bride of Eshara, or earth) rests upon such a +play. Such plays on names are characteristic of the Semites, and indeed +in a measure are common to all ancient nations, to whom the name always +meant much more than to us. Every _nomen_, as constituting the essence +of an object, was always and above all an _omen_. It is, therefore, +plausible to suppose that titles of the gods should have been chosen in +part under the influence of this idea.[202] A further suggestion that I +would like to offer is that 'ekallu,' as temple or palace (lit., large +house), may be one of the numerous names of the nether world. A parallel +would be furnished by Ekur, which signifies both 'temple' and +'earth,'[203] and is also one of the names of the gathering-place of the +dead. Gula, being the goddess of the nether world who restores the dead +to life, would be appropriately called 'the lady of the nether world.' +One should like to know more of Pap-u (the phonetic reading unknown), +who is called the offspring of Eshara, and 'the lord of the boundary.' +Eshara, as Jensen has shown,[204] is a poetical name for earth. The god +Ninib, in his capacity as a god of agriculture, is called the 'product +of Eshara.'[205] Pap-u, therefore, must be a god somewhat of the same +character--a conclusion which is borne out by the description given of +him as the protector of the boundary. He is probably one of the numerous +forms of boundary gods that are met with among all nations. That we do +not encounter more in Babylonia is due to the decided tendency that has +been noted towards a centralization of power in a limited number of +deities. Instead of gods of boundaries, we have numerous demons and +spirits in the case of the developed Babylonian religion, into whose +hands the care of preserving the rights of owners to their lands is +entrusted. Symbols of these spirits--serpents, unicorns, scorpions, and +the like--are added on the monuments which were placed at the +boundaries, and on which the terms were specified that justified the +land tenure. To this class of monuments the name of 'Kudurru,' or +'boundary' stones, was given by the Babylonians themselves. The +inscription on which the name of Pap-u occurs belongs to this class; and +he is invoked, as already said, along with many other gods--in fact, +with the whole or a goodly portion of the pantheon. It would seem, +therefore, that we have in Pap-u a special boundary god who has survived +in that rôle from a more primitive period of Babylonian culture. He +occupies a place usually assigned to the powerful demons who are +regarded as the real owners of the soil.[206] + +Perhaps the most interesting of the minor deities during this second +period is + + +Gula. + +As has just been stated, she is the consort of Ninib. She is not +mentioned in any of the inscriptions of this period till we come to the +days of Nebuchadnezzar I., who invokes her as the bride of +Eshara,--_i.e._, of the earth.[207] We also meet with her name in that +of several individuals, Balatsu-Gula[208] and Arad-Gula,[209] and we +have seen that she is also known as _Damu_ and _Mamu_, or _Meme_. We +have a proof, therefore, of her cult being firmly established at an +early period of Babylonian history. Her rôle is that of a 'life-giver,' +in the widest sense of the word. She is called the 'great physician,' +who both preserves the body in health and who removes sickness and +disease by the 'touch of her hand.' Gula is the one who leads the dead +to a new life. She shares this power, however, with her husband Ninib. +Her power can be exerted for evil as well as for good. She is appealed +to, to strike the enemy with blindness; she can bring on the very +diseases that she is able to heal, and such is the stress laid upon +these qualities that she is even addressed as the 'creator of mankind.' +But although it is the 'second' birth of mankind over which she +presides, she does not belong to the class of deities whose concern is +with the dead rather than the living. The Babylonians, as we shall have +occasion to point out, early engaged in speculations regarding the life +after death, and, as a result, there was developed a special pantheon +for the nether world. Gula occupies a rather unique place intermediate, +as it were, between the gods of the living and the gods of the dead. + +Of the other deities occurring in the inscription of this same +Nebuchadnezzar I. it is sufficient to note that two, Shir and Shubu, are +enumerated among the gods of Bit-Khabban. They were, therefore, local +deities of some towns that never rose to sufficient importance to insure +their patrons a permanent place in the Babylonian pantheon. 'Belit of +Akkad,' whom Nebuchadnezzar invokes, is none other than the great Belit, +the consort of Bel. 'Akkad' is here used for Babylonia, and the +qualification is added to distinguish her from other 'ladies,' as, +_e.g._, 'Belit-ekalli,' who, we have seen, was Gula. + + +Malik and Bunene. + +Upon reaching so late a period as the days of Nabubaliddin (_c._ 850 +B.C.), it becomes doubtful whether we are justified in including the +additional deities occurring in his inscription among the Babylonian +pantheon of the second period. The occurrence of some of these gods in +the religious literature is a presumption in favor of regarding them as +ancient creations, rather than due to later influences. Certainly this +appears to be the case with Malik and Bunene, who, with Shamash, form a +triad that constitutes the chief object of worship in the great temple +E-babbara at Sippar, to whose restored cult Nabubaliddin devotes +himself. Both names, moreover, occur as parts of proper names in the age +of Hammurabi. Malik--_i.e._, ruler--is one of the names frequently +assigned to Shamash, just as the god's consort was known as Malkatu, but +for all that Malik is not the same as Shamash. Accompanying the +inscription of Nabubaliddin is a design[210] representing the sun-god +seated in his shrine. Before him on a table rests a wheel, and attached +to the wheel are cords held by two figures, who are evidently directing +the course of the wheel. These two figures are Malik and Bunene, a +species of attendants, therefore, on the sun-god, who drive the fiery +chariot that symbolized the great orb. Bunene, through association with +Malik, becomes the latter's consort, and it is interesting to observe +the extent to which the tendency of the Babylonian religion to conceive +the gods in pairs goes. Bunene is not the only instance of an originally +male deity becoming through various circumstances the female consort to +another. Originally, Malik may have been a name under which the sun-god +was worshipped at some place, for the conception that makes him the +chariot-driver to Shamash appears to be late. The absorption by the +greater sun-cults (at Sippar and Larsa more particularly) of the lesser +ones leads to the complete transfer of the names of minor sun-deities to +the great Shamash, but in some instances the minor deities continue to +lead a shadowy existence in some rôle of service to the greater ones. + + +Nin-igi-nangar-bu, Gushgin-banda, Nin-kurra, and Nin-zadim. + +We have seen that Ea, among other powers assigned to him, was regarded +as the god of fine arts,--in the first instance as the god of the +smithy, because of the antiquity and importance of the smith's art, and +then of art in general, including especially the production of great +statues. In accordance with this conception, Nabubaliddin declares that +it was through the wisdom of Ea that he succeeded in manufacturing the +great image of Shamash that was set up by him in the temple at Sippar. +But in the days of Nabubaliddin the arts had been differentiated into +various branches, and this differentiation was expressed by assigning to +each branch some patron god who presided over that section. In this way, +the old belief that art comes to men from the gods survived, while at +the same time it entered upon new phases.[211] Accordingly, Nabubaliddin +assigns several deities who act the part of assistants to Ea. The names +of these deities point to their functions. Nin-igi-nangar-bu is the +'lord who presides over metal-workers'; Gushgin-banda, 'brilliant +chief,' is evidently the patron of those skilled in the working of the +bright metals; Nin-kurra, 'lord of mountain,' the patron of those that +quarried the stones; while Nin-zadim is the patron of sculpture. Ea +stands above these as a general overseer, but the four classes of +laborers symbolized by gods indicate the manner of artistic construction +in the advanced state of Babylonian art, and of the various distinct +professions to which this art gave birth. In a certain sense, of course, +these four gods associated with Ea belong to the Babylonian pantheon, +but not in the same sense in which Ea, for example, or the other gods +discussed in this chapter, belong to it. They cannot even be said to be +gods of a minor order--they are hardly anything more than +personifications of certain phenomena that have their source in the +human intellect. In giving to these personified powers the determinative +indicative of deity, the Babylonian schoolmen were not conscious of +expressing anything more than their belief in the divine origin of the +power and skill exercised by man. To represent such power as a god was +the only way in which the personification could at all be effected under +the conditions presented by Babylonian beliefs. When, therefore, we meet +with such gods as Nin-zadim, 'lord of sculpture,' it is much the same as +when in the Old Testament we are told that Tubal-cain was the 'father' +of those that work in metals, and where similarly other arts are traced +back to a single source. 'Father' in Oriental hyperbole signifies +'source, originator, possessor, or patron,' and, indeed, includes all +these ideas. The Hebrew writer, rising to a higher level of belief, +conceives the arts to have originated through some single personage +endowed with divine powers;[212] the Babylonian, incapable as yet of +making this distinction, ascribes both the origin and execution of the +art directly to a god. In this way, new deities were apparently created +even at an advanced stage of the Babylonian religion, but deities that +differed totally from those that are characteristic of the earlier +periods. The differentiation of the arts, and the assignment of a patron +to each branch, reflect the thoughts and the aspirations of a later age. +These views must have arisen under an impulse to artistic creation that +was called forth by unusual circumstances, and I venture to think that +this impulse is to be traced to the influence of the Assyrian rulers, +whose greatest ambition, next to military glory, was to leave behind +them artistic monuments of themselves that might unfold to later ages a +tale of greatness and of power. Sculpture and works in metal were two +arts that flourished in a special degree in the days when Assyria was +approaching the zenith of her glory. Nabubaliddin's reign falls within +this period; and we must, therefore, look from this time on for traces +of Assyrian influence in the culture, the art, and also to some extent +in the religious beliefs of the southern district of Mesopotamia. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[196] The text is defective at the point where the god's name +is mentioned. See _Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, p. 133. King reads, +Lugal-diri-tu-gab. + +[197] _Kosmologie_, pp. 481 _seq._ + +[198] Belser, _Beiträge zur Assyr._ ii. 203, col. vi. + +[199] _Kossaer_, pp. 25-27. + +[200] Delitzsch, _Kossaer_, p. 33. + +[201] See above, p. 105. + +[202] Examples of punning etymologies on names of gods are frequent. See +Jensen's discussion of Nergal for examples of various plays upon the +name of the god. _Kosmologie_, pp. 185 _seq._ + +[203] Jensen, _Kosmologie_, pp. 185 _seq._ and p. 218. + +[204] _Kosmologie_, p. 195. + +[205] Rawlinson, i. 29, 16. + +[206] This notion that the ground belongs to the gods, and that man is +only a tenant, survives to a late period in Semitic religions. The +belief underlies the Pentateuchal enactments regarding the holding of +the soil, which is only to be temporary. See W. R. Smith, _Religion of +the Semites_, pp. 91 _seq._ + +[207] In Babylonian, _Kallat Eshara_, with another play upon her name. +See above, p. 173. + +[208] _I.e._, (Protect) his life, O Gula. + +[209] Servant of Gula. + +[210] See V.R. pl. 60. + +[211] To this day in the Orient, fine productions of man's skill are +attributed to the influence of hidden spirits, good or bad, as the case +may be. + +[212] This position does not, of course, exclude the fact that in the +original form of the tradition, Tubal-cain, Naamah, and other personages +in the fourth chapter of Genesis were deities. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +SURVIVALS OF ANIMISM IN THE BABYLONIAN RELIGION. + + +The Assyrian influence however was only one factor, and a minor factor +at that, in maintaining the belief in countless spirits that occupied a +place of more or less importance by the side of the great and lesser +gods. That conservatism which is a distinguishing trait of the popular +forms of religion everywhere, served to keep alive the view that all the +acts of man, his moods, the accidents that befell him, were under the +control of visible or invisible powers. The development of a pantheon, +graded and more or less regulated under the guidance of the Babylonian +schoolmen, did not drive the old animistic views out of existence. In +the religious literature, and more especially in those parts of it which +reflect the popular forms of thought, the unorganized mass of spirits +maintain an undisputed sway. In the incantation texts, which will be +discussed at length in a subsequent chapter, as well as in other +sections of Babylonian literature embodying both the primitive and the +advanced views of the Babylonians regarding the origin of the universe, +its subdivisions, and its order of development, and, thirdly, in the +legends and epics, hundreds of spirits are introduced, to which some +definite function or functions were assigned. In many, indeed in the +majority of cases, the precise character of these functions still +escapes us. The material at our disposal is as yet inadequate for any +satisfactory treatment of this phase of Babylonian belief, and we must +content ourselves for the present with some generalizations, or at the +most with some broad classifications. Besides the texts themselves, we +have proper names containing a spirit as an element, and also lists of +those spirits prepared by the schoolmen on the basis of the texts. When, +as sometimes happens, these lists contain explanatory comments on the +spirits enumerated, we are able to take some steps forward in our +knowledge of the subject. + +In the first place, then, it is important to bear in mind that the +numerous spirits, when introduced into the religious and other texts, +are almost invariably preceded by a sign--technically known as a +determinative--which stamps them as divine. This sign being the same as +the one placed before the names of the gods, it is not always possible +to distinguish between deities and spirits. The use of a common sign is +significant as pointing to the common origin of the two classes of +superior powers that thus continue to exist side by side. A god is +naught but a spirit writ large. As already intimated in a previous +chapter, a large part of the development of the Babylonian religion +consists in the differentiation between the gods and the spirits,--a +process that, beginning before the period of written records, steadily +went on, and in a certain sense was never completed. In the historical +texts, the gods alone, with certain exceptions, find official +recognition, and it is largely through these texts that we are enabled +to distinguish between the two classes of powers, the gods and the +spirits; but as a survival of a primitive animism, the demons, good, +bad, and indifferent, retain their place in the popular forms of +religion. Several hundred spirits occur in the incantation texts, and +almost as many more in other religious texts. We may distinguish several +classes. In the first place, there are the demons that cause disease and +all manner of physical annoyances. The chief of these will be considered +when we come to the analysis of the incantation texts. Against these +demons the sufferer seeks protection by means of formulas, the utterance +of which is invested with peculiar power, and again by means of certain +rites of an expiatory or purificatory character. Next, we have the +demons supposed to inhabit the fields, and to whom the ground is +supposed to belong. These were imaged under various animal forms, +serpents and scorpions being the favorite ones. When possession was +taken of the field, the spirits inhabiting it had to be propitiated. The +owner placed himself under their protection, and endeavored to insure +his rights against wrongful encroachment by calling upon the demons to +range themselves on his side. It was customary, especially in the case +of territory acquired by special grant of the monarch, or under +extraordinary circumstances, to set up a so-called boundary stone,[213] +on which the owner of the field detailed his right to possession, +through purchase or gift, as the case may be. This inscription closed +with an appeal to various gods to strike with their curses any intruder +upon the owner's rights. In addition to this, the stones are embellished +with serpents, scorpions, unicorns, and various realistic or fantastic +representations of animal forms. These, it would seem, symbolize the +spirits, the sight of which, it was hoped, might act as a further and +effectual warning against interference with the owner's rights.[214] + +A special class of demons is formed by those which were supposed to +infest the resting-places of the dead, though they stand in a certain +relationship to the demons that plague the living. A remarkable monument +found a number of years ago, and which will be fully described in a +subsequent chapter, affords us a picture of some of these demons whose +sphere of action is more particularly in the subterranean cave that +forms the gathering-place of the dead. They are represented as half +human, half animal, with large grotesque and terror-inspiring +features.[215] Their power, however, is limited. They are subject to the +orders of the gods whose dominion is the lower world, more particularly +to Nergal and his consort Allatu. In the advanced eschatology of the +Babylonians the demons play a minor part. It is with the gods that the +dead man must make his peace. Their protection assured, he has little to +fear; but the demons of the lower world frequently ascend to the upper +regions to afflict the living. Against them precautions must be taken +similar to the means employed for ridding one's self of the baneful +influence of the disease-and pain-bringing spirits. Reference has +already been made to the spirits that belong to the higher phases of +Mesopotamian culture,--those that have a share in the production of +works of skill and art. We have seen that in accounting for these we are +justified in assuming a higher phase of religious belief. The dividing +line between god and spirit becomes faint, and the numerous protecting +patrons of the handicrafts that flourished in Babylonia and Assyria can +hardly be placed in the same category with those we have so far been +considering. Still, to the popular mind the achievements of the human +mind were regarded as due to the workings of hidden forces. Strange as +it may seem, there was an indisposition to ascribe everything to the +power of the gods. Ea and Nabu, although the general gods of wisdom, did +not concern themselves with details. These were left to the secondary +powers,--the spirits. Hence it happens that by the side of the great +gods, we have a large number of minor powers who preside over the +various branches of human handiwork and control the products of the +human mind. + +Reserving further details regarding the several classes of demons and +spirits enumerated, it will suffice to say a few words about one +particular group of spirits whose rôle was peculiarly prominent in both +historical, liturgical, and general religious texts. The tendency to +systematize the beliefs in spirits manifests itself in Babylonia, +equally with the grouping of the gods into certain classes. In +consequence of this general tendency, the conception arose of a group of +spirits that comprised the associated secondary powers of earth and +heaven, somewhat as Anu, Bel, and Ea summed up the quintessence of the +higher powers or gods. This group was known as the + + +Anunnaki and Igigi. + +Regarding these names it may be said that the former has not yet been +satisfactorily interpreted. On the assumption that the union of the +syllables A-nun-na-ki[216] represents a compound ideograph, the middle +syllable _nun_ signifies 'strength,' whereas the first is the ordinary +ideograph for 'water.' Hommel[217] proposed to interpret the name +therefore as 'gods of the watery habitation.' The artificiality of this +manner of writing points, as in several instances noted, to a mere +'play' upon the real name. _Anunna_ reminds one forcibly of the god +_Anu_ and of the goddess _Anunit_, and the element _ak_ is quite a +common afformative in Babylonian substantives, conveying a certain +emphatic meaning to the word. If therefore we may compare Anun with the +name of the god of heaven, the name _Anunnak_ embodying, as it does in +this case, the idea of power, would be an appropriate designation for +the spirits, or a group of spirits collectively. Be it understood that +this explanation is offered merely as a conjecture, which, however, +finds support in the meaning attached to the term 'Igigi.' This, as +Halévy and Guyard have recognized, is a formation of a well-known stem +occurring in Babylonian, as well as in other Semitic languages, that has +the meaning 'strong.' The ideographic form of writing the name likewise +designates the spirits as 'the great chiefs.' The 'Igigi,' therefore, +are 'the strong ones,' and strength being the attribute most commonly +assigned to the Semitic deities,[218] there is a presumption, at least, +in favor of interpreting Anunnak, or Anunnaki,[219] in the same way. The +'Igigi' are at times designated as the seven gods, but this number is +simply an indication of their constituting a large group. Seven is a +round number which marked a large quantity. At an earlier period five +represented a numerical magnitude, and hence the Anunnaki are at times +regarded as a group of five.[220] The Anunnaki and Igigi appear for the +first time in an historical text in the inscription of the Assyrian king +Ramman-nirari I., who includes them in his appeal to the great gods. He +designates the Igigi as belonging to heaven, the Anunnaki as belonging +to the earth. The manner in which he uses the names shows conclusively +that, at this early period, the two groups comprehended the entire +domain over which spirits, and for that matter also the gods, exercised +their power. Indeed, it would appear that at one time the two names were +used to include the gods as well as the spirits. At least this appears +to be the case in Assyria, and the conclusion may be drawn, from the +somewhat vague use of the terms, that the names belong to a very early +period of the religion, when the distinction between gods and spirits +was not yet clearly marked. However that may be, in Babylonian hymns and +incantations the Igigi and Anunnaki play a very prominent part. Anu is +represented as the father of both groups. But they are also at the +service of other gods, notably of Bel, who is spoken of as their 'lord,' +of Ninib, of Marduk, of Ishtar, and of Nergal. They prostrate themselves +before these superior masters, and the latter at times manifest their +anger against the Igigi. They are sent out by the gods to do service. +Their character is, on the whole, severe and cruel. They are not +favorable to man, but rather hostile to him. Their brilliancy consumes +the land. Their power is feared, and Assyrian kings more particularly +are fond of adding the Igigi and Anunnaki to the higher powers--the gods +proper--when they wish to inspire a fear of their own majesty. At times +the Igigi alone are mentioned, but generally the Igigi and Anunnaki +appear in combination. To the latest period of Babylonian history these +two groups continue to receive official recognition. Nebuchadnezzar +II.[221] dedicates an altar, which he erects at the wall of the city of +Babylon, to the Igigi and Anunnaki. The altar is called a structure of +'joy and rejoicing,' and on the festival of Marduk, who is the 'lord of +the Anunnaki and Igigi,' sacrifices were offered at this altar. In the +great temple of Marduk there was a fountain in which the gods and the +Anunnaki, according to a Babylonian hymn, 'bathe their countenance'; and +when to this notice it be added that another hymn praises them as the +'shining chiefs' of the ancient city of Eridu, it will be apparent that +the conceptions attached to this group span the entire period of +Babylonian-Assyrian history. + +Besides the Igigi and Anunnaki there is still a third group of seven +spirits, generally designated as the 'evil demons,' who represent the +embodiment of all physical suffering to which man is subject. They +appear, however, only in the incantation texts, and we may, therefore, +postpone their consideration until that subject is reached. The point to +be borne in mind, and which I have attempted to emphasize in this place, +is the close relationship existing in the _popular_ forms of the +Babylonian religion between the gods and the spirits. The latter belong +to the pantheon as much as the former. Primitive animism continues to +enchain the minds of the people, despite the differentiation established +between the higher and the secondary powers, and despite the high point +of development reached by the schoolmen in their attempts to systematize +and, in a measure, to purify the ancient beliefs. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[213] The technical name for this class of monuments was _Kudurru_, +_i.e._, mark, and then used like the German word _Mark_ both for +boundary and for the territory included within the bounds. A notable +contribution to the interpretation of the Kudurru monuments was made by +Belser, in the _Beiträge zur Assyriologie_, ii. 111-203. + +[214] The question has been raised (see Belser, _ib._ p. 111) by Pinches +whether these representations are not the symbols of the zodiac, but, as +Belser justly remarks, the attempt to interpret the pictures in this way +has not been successful. It still seems most plausible to regard the +pictures as symbols of spirits or demons. Such an interpretation is in +accord with the Babylonian and general Semitic view of land ownership. +At the same time it must be confessed that we are still in the dark as +to the motives underlying the choice of the animals portrayed. There may +be some ultimate connection with _some_ of the signs of the zodiac,--so +Hommel believes,--but such connection would have to be judged from the +earlier forms that animism takes on, and not in the light of an advanced +theology such as appears in the zodiacal system of the Babylonians. + +[215] See Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in Chaldaea and Assyria_, +I. 351. + +[216] The element _ki_ is sometimes omitted. The force of _na_ is not +clear, unless it be a phonetic complement merely. + +[217] _Semitische Völker_, p. 369. + +[218] Very many of the names of the Semitic gods and heroes signify +strong, _e.g._, _El_, _Adon_, _Baal_, _Etana_, _Kemosh_, etc. + +[219] The final vowel _i_ would, on the basis of the explanation +offered, be paralleled by the _i_ of Igigi--an indication of the plural. +See Delitzsch, _Assyr. Gram._ § 67, 1. + +[220] The Igigi are designated ideographically as v plus ii, and Hommel +(_Semitische Völker_, p. 491) properly suggests that this peculiar +writing points to an earlier use of five as constituting the group. +Hommel, however, does not see that neither five nor seven are to be +interpreted literally, but that both represent a large round number, +and, therefore, also a holy one. + +[221] IR. 55, col. iv. ll. 7-13. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE ASSYRIAN PANTHEON. + + +We have now reached a point where it will be proper to set forth the +phases that the Babylonian religion assumed during the days of Assyrian +supremacy. + +An enumeration of the gods occurring in the inscriptions of the rulers +of Assyria from the earliest days to the close of the empire, so far as +published, will show better than any argument the points of similarity +between the Babylonian and the Assyrian pantheon. These gods are in +alphabetical order:[222] Anu, Ashur, Bel, Belit, Gaga, Gibil, Gamlat, +Gula, Dibbarra, Dagan, Damkina, Ea, Ishtar, Kadi, Khani, Marduk, Nabu, +Nanâ, Nin-gal, Nergal, Ninib, Nusku, Ramman, Sin, Shala, Shalman, +Shamash, Shanitka(?), Tashmitum. Of these quite a number are only +mentioned incidentally, and in a manner that indicates that they do not +belong to the pantheon in the strict sense. Others, like Khani[223] and +Gamlat,--_i.e._, 'the merciful one,'[224]--may turn out to be mere +epithets of deities otherwise known; and it would hardly be legitimate +to extend the list by including deities that have not yet been +identified,[225] and which may similarly be only variant forms, +descriptive of such as are already included. But however much this list +may be extended and modified by further publications and researches, the +historical material at hand for the Assyrian period of the religion is +sufficient to warrant us in setting up two classes of the pantheon,--one +class constituting the active pantheon, the other, deities introduced by +the kings merely for purposes of self-glorification, or to give greater +solemnity to the invocations and warnings that formed a feature of all +commemorative and dedicatory inscriptions, as well as of the annals +proper. The future additions to the list, it is safe to assert, will +increase the second class and only slightly modify, if at all, the first +class. Bearing in mind this distinction we may put down as active forces +in Assyria the following: Anu, Ashur, Bel, Belit, Gula, Dagan, Ea, +Khani, Ishtar, Marduk, Nabu, Nergal, Ninib, Nusku, Ramman, Sin, Shala, +Shamash, Tashmitum. + +Comparing both the fuller and the restricted list with the Babylonian +pantheon during the two periods treated of in the preceding chapters, we +are struck by three facts: (1) the smaller compass of the Assyrian +pantheon; (2) the more restricted introduction of what, for want of a +better term, we may call minor deities; and (3) the small number of new +deities met with. To take up the latter point, the only gods in the +above list that are not found in Babylonian inscriptions are Ashur, +Gibil, Gamlat, Dibbarra, Kadi, Nusku, Shala, Shanitka. Of these it is +purely accidental that Gibil, Dibbarra, Nusku, and Shala are not +mentioned, for, except those that are foreign importations, they belong +to Babylonia as much as to Assyria and fall within the periods of the +Babylonian religion that have been treated of. Kadi is a foreign +deity.[226] Shanitka(?) may only be a title of some goddess, and Shalman +(or Shalmannu) occurs only in proper names, and may likewise be only a +title of some god.[227] There remains, as the only god peculiar to +Assyria, the god Ashur. But for this god, the Babylonian and the +Assyrian pantheon are identical. When we come, however, to the position +held by the gods in the pantheon, their relationship to one another, and +the traits which secured for them popular and royal favor, the +differences between the Babylonian and the Assyrian phases of the +religion will be found to be more accentuated. + +As for the smaller compass of the Assyrian pantheon, we may recognize in +this a further advance of the tendency already noted in the second +period of the Babylonian religion. There, too, we found the minor local +cults yielding to the growing influence and favor of certain gods +associated with the great centers of Babylonian life, or possessing +attributes that accorded more with the new political order and the +general advance of culture. One of the chief factors in this tendency +towards centralization was, as we saw, the supremacy accorded to Marduk +in the new empire as the patron god of the capital, and that not only +led to his absorbing the rôle of other deities,[228] but resulted also +in strengthening the belief that there were only a limited number of +deities upon whose power and willingness to aid dependence could be +placed. This tendency was in a measure offset by the pride that the +rulers of the second Babylonian period still took in parading at times, +as large a number as possible of deities under whose protection they +claimed to stand. As we pass from one age to the other, the number of +minor deities thus invoked also tends to diminish, and the occasions +likewise when they are invoked become limited to the more solemn +invocations at the beginning and the close of inscriptions. Now, in +Assyria we have much the same political conditions as in Babylonia, only +intensified. Here, too, we have one god towering above the others, only +to a still greater degree even than Marduk in Babylonia. Marduk, while +absorbing the rôle of the old Bel, is still bound to acknowledge the +fathership of Ea. For a time he has to fear the rivalry of Nabu, and we +have seen that during the Cassitic rule, the glory of Marduk is somewhat +dimmed. The god who comes to stand at the head of the Assyrian +pantheon--Ashur--suffers from none of these restrictions. He is +independent of other gods and is under no obligations to any of his +fellows, and his rule once acknowledged remains supreme, with, perhaps, +one short period excepted,[229] throughout all the vicissitudes that the +empire undergoes. As a consequence of this unique position, Ashur is so +completely identified with Assyria, that with the fall of the empire he, +too, disappears,--whereas the Marduk cult survives the loss of +Babylonian independence, and is undisturbed even by the final absorption +of Babylonia into the empire of Cyrus. The tendency towards +centralization of the cult is even more pronounced, therefore, in +Assyria than in Babylonia. Marduk is a leader who has many gods as +followers, but all of whom have their distinct functions. Ashur is a +host in himself. He needs no attendants. His aid suffices for all +things, and such is the attachment of his subjects to him that it would +almost appear like an insult to his dignity to attach a long array of +minor gods to him. For the Assyrian kings the same motives did not exist +as for the Babylonians to emphasize their control over all parts of +their empire by adding the chief gods of these districts to the +pantheon. Assyria was never split up into independent states like +Babylonia before the days of Hammurabi. The capital, it is true, changed +with considerable frequency, but there was always only one great center +of political power. So far as Assyrian control over Babylonia was +concerned, it was sufficient for the purposes of the Assyrian rulers to +claim Marduk as their patron and protector, and, as we shall see, they +always made a point of emphasizing this claim. Hence we have only 'great +gods,'[230] and no minor deities, in the train of Ashur. These 'great +gods' could not be expunged from the pantheon without a complete +severance of the ties that bound the Assyrians to their past. Kings of +great empires seldom favor religious revolutions. But by the side of +Ashur these great gods pale, and in the course of time the tendency +becomes more marked to regard them merely as formal members of a little +court with few functions of their own, beyond that of adding by their +presence to the majesty and glory of Ashur. One receives the impression +that in Assyria only a few of the gods invoked by the kings at the side +of Ashur exert any real influence on the lives of the people; and such +as do, gain favor through possessing in some measure the chief attribute +that distinguished Ashur,--prowess in war. They are little Ashurs, as it +were, by the side of the great one. The position of Ashur in the +Assyrian pantheon accounts for the general tendencies manifested by the +religion of the northern empire, and upon a clear conception of the +character of Ashur depends our understanding of the special points that +distinguish the other gods from what we have learned of their character +and traits in the southern states. The beginning, therefore, of an +account of the Assyrian pantheon is properly to be made with Ashur. + + +Ashur. + +The starting-point of the career of Ashur is the city of Ashur, situated +on the west bank of the Tigris, not far from the point where the lower +Zab flows into the Tigris. Ashur is therefore distinctly a local deity, +and so far as the testimony of the texts goes, he was never regarded in +early days in any other light than as the local patron of the city to +which he has given his name. He was never worshipped, so far as can be +ascertained, as a manifestation of any of the great powers of +nature,--the sun or the moon; though, if anything, he was originally a +solar deity.[231] Nor was he a symbol of any of the elements,--fire or +water. In this respect he differs from Sin, Shamash, Nusku,[232] and Ea, +whose worship was localized, without affecting the _quasi_-universal +character that these deities possessed. As a local deity his worship +must have been limited to the city over which he spread his protecting +arm; and if we find the god afterwards holding jurisdiction over a much +larger territory than the city of Ashur, it is because in the north, as +in the south, a distinct state or empire was simply regarded as the +extension of a city. Ashur became the god of Assyria as the rulers of +the city of Ashur grew in power,--in the same way that Marduk, upon the +union of the Babylonian states under the supremacy of the city of +Babylon, became the god of all Babylonia. But a difference between the +north and the south is to be noted. Whereas Marduk, although the god of +Babylonia, was worshipped only in the city of Babylon where he was +supposed to have his seat, temples to Ashur existed in various parts of +the Assyrian empire. The god accompanied the kings in their wars, and +wherever the rulers settled, there the god was worshipped. So in the +various changes of official residences that took place in the course of +Assyrian history from Ashur to Calah, and from Calah to Nineveh, and +from Nineveh to Khorsabad, the god took part, and his central seat of +worship depended upon the place that the kings chose for their official +residence. At the same time, while the cult in the various temples that +in the course of time were erected in his honor probably continued +without interruption, there was always one place--the official +residence--which formed the central spot of worship. There the god was +supposed to dwell for the time being. One factor, perhaps, that ought to +be taken into consideration in accounting for this movable disposition +of the god was that he was not symbolized exclusively by a statue, as +Marduk and the other great gods were. His chief symbol was a standard +that could be carried from place to place, and indeed was so made that +it could be carried into the thick of the fray, in order to assure the +army of the god's presence. The standard consisted of a pole surrounded +by a disc enclosed within two wings, while above the disc stood the +figure of a warrior in the act of shooting an arrow.[233] The statues of +the gods were deposited in shrines, and after being carried about, as +was done on festive days or other occasions, they would be replaced in +their shrines. The military standard, however, followed the camp +everywhere, and when the kings chose to fix upon a new place for their +military encampment--and such the official residences of the Assyrian +warrior-kings in large measure were--the standard would repose in the +place selected. How this standard came to be chosen, and when, is +another question, and one more difficult to answer. It may be that the +representation of the god by a standard was a consequence of the +fondness that the rulers of Ashur manifested for perpetual warfare; or, +in other words, that the god Ashur was represented by a standard so that +he might be carried into the battle and be moved from place to place. At +all events, the two things--the standard and the warlike character of +the subjects of Ashur--stood in close relationship to one another, and +the further conclusion is justified that when a military standard came +to be chosen as the symbol of Ashur, the god was recognized distinctly +as a god of war. The symbols accompanying the standard are of importance +as enabling us to determine something more regarding the character of +Ashur. In the first place, the fact that it contained a figure may be +taken as an indication that the god was at one time represented by a +statue,--as indeed we know from other evidence,[234]--and that the +change of his symbol from a statue to a standard is a result of the +military activity of the Assyrians. The winged disc is so general a +symbol of the sun in the religious system of various ancient +nations[235] that one cannot escape the conclusion that the symbol must +be similarly interpreted in the case before us. Is it possible, +therefore, that in a period lying beyond that revealed by the oldest +inscriptions at our disposal, Ashur was worshipped as a solar deity? One +is bound to confess that the evidence does not warrant us in regarding +Ashur as anything but the patron of the city of Ashur. Nowhere do we +find any allusion from which we are justified in concluding that he +originally represented some elemental power or phenomenon. Tiele[236] is +of the decided opinion that Ashur was at his origin a nature god of some +kind, and he goes so far as to suggest, though with due reserve, the +possible identification of Ashur with Sin. No doubt Tiele is prompted to +this view by the example of the great god of the south, Marduk, who is +originally a solar deity, and by all the other great gods who represent, +or represented, some power of nature. Analogy, however, is not a +sufficiently reliable guide to settle a question for the solution of +which historical material is lacking. So much, however, may be said, +that if we are to assume that Ashur personified originally some natural +power, the symbol of the winged disc lends a strong presumption in favor +of supposing him to have been some phase of the sun. So much, then, for +the general character of Ashur. Before passing on to a specification of +his rôle and his traits, as revealed by the historical texts, a word +remains to be said as to the etymology and form of the name. Ashur is +the only instance that we have of a god expressly giving his name to a +city, for the name of the city can only be derived from that of the god, +and not _vice versa_. The identification of the god with his favorite +town must have been so complete that the town, which probably had some +specific name of its own, became known simply as the 'city of the god +Ashur.' From such a designation it is but a small step to call the city +simply, Ashur. The difference between the god and the city would be +indicated by the determinative for deity, which was only attached to the +former, while the latter was written with the determinative attached to +towns. When this city of Ashur extended its bounds until it became +coequal with the domain of Assyria, the name of the god was transferred +to the entire northern district of Mesopotamia, which, as the country of +the god Ashur, was written with the determinative for country.[237] The +ideographs which the Assyrian scribes employed in writing the name of +the god reveal the meaning they attached to it. He is described +ideographically as the 'good god.' This interpretation accords admirably +with the general force of the verbal stem underlying the name. In both +Hebrew and Assyrian _a-sh-r_ signifies 'to be gracious, to grant +blessing, to cause to prosper.' Ashur, therefore, is the god that +blesses his subjects, and to the latter he would accordingly appear as +the 'good god' _par excellence_. If the tempting etymology of our own +word 'god,' which connects it with 'good,' be correct, 'god' would be +almost the perfect equivalent of Ashur. It is not necessary to conclude, +as Tiele does,[238] that Ashur, as the 'good one,' is an ethical +abstraction, but certainly a designation of a god as 'a good one' sounds +more like a descriptive epithet than like a name. The supposition that +Ashur was not, therefore, the original name of the god receives a +certain measure of force from this consideration. Moreover, there are +indications that there actually existed another form of his name, +namely, Anshar.[239] This form Anshar would, according to the phonetic +laws prevailing in Assyria, tend to become Ash-shar.[240] Ashur--the +'good one'--would thus turn out to be an epithet of the god, chosen as a +'play' suggested by Ash-shar, just as we found Gula called the lady of +_Ekalli_, and again _Kallat_ (bride).[241] The etymology of Anshar is as +obscure as that of most of the ancient gods of Babylonia,--as of Sin, +Marduk, Ishtar, and many more. But before leaving the subject, it will +be proper to call attention to the rôle that a god Anshar plays in the +Babylonian-Assyrian cosmological system. _Anshar_ and _Kishar_ are the +second pair of deities to be created, the first pair being _Lakhmu_ and +_Lakhamu_. In the great fight of the gods against the monster Tiâmat, it +would appear that, according to one version at least, Anshar sends Anu, +Ea, and finally Bel-Marduk, in turn to destroy the monster. He appears, +therefore, to have exercised a kind of supremacy over the gods. Assuming +the correctness of the deductions, according to which Ashur is an +epithet arising by a play upon Ash-shar (from an original Anshar), it is +hardly open to doubt that this Anshar is the same as the one who appears +in the cosmology. On the other hand, it is difficult to suppose that +Anshar should have played so significant a part in Babylonian traditions +and yet find no mention in the text of the rulers of Babylonia. Bearing +in mind what has been said as to the manner in which ancient traditions +and myths were remodeled by the schoolmen to conform to later ideas,--we +have seen how in this process the popularity of Marduk led to his +assuming the rôle originally played by Bel,--may not the recognition +given to Anshar be a concession, made at the time that Assyria had begun +her glorious career (_c._ 1400 B.C.), to the chief god of the northern +empire? + +That such tendencies to glorify Ashur may justly be sought for in part +of the religious literature is proved by a version of one of the series +of tablets giving an account of the creation, and which assigns to +Anshar the work of building Esharra,--_i.e._, the earth,--that, +according to another version, belongs to Marduk.[242] Evidently, then, +just as the Babylonian theologians sought to glorify Marduk at the +expense of Bel, so Assyrian theologians, or such as stood under Assyrian +influences, did not hesitate to replace Marduk by their own favorite, +Anshar. In the chapter on the 'Cosmology' we will have occasion to come +back to this point. For present purposes it is sufficient to have shown +that the position of Anshar in the remodeled traditions is an argument +in favor of regarding Anshar as the real name of the god who stands at +the head of the Assyrian pantheon. + +In the oldest Assyrian inscription known to us, the god Ashur is +mentioned. Samsi-Ramman, who does not yet assume the title of king, but +only _patesi_,--_i.e._, 'religious chief,'[243]--prides himself upon +being 'the builder of the temple of Ashur.' The phrase does not mean +that he founded the temple, but only that he undertook building +operations in connection with it. The date of this ruler may be fixed +roughly at 1850 B.C., and since the two inscribed bricks that we have of +Samsi-Ramman were found in the ruins of Kalah-Shergat,--the site of the +ancient city of Ashur,--there can, of course, be no doubt that the +temple at that place is referred to. + +The rulers of Assyria, even after they assumed the title of 'king' (_c._ +1500 B.C.), were still fond of calling themselves the 'priest' of the +god Ashur, and frequently gave this title the preference over others. In +the fourteenth century the temple of Ashur seems to have suffered at the +hands of the Cassites, who attempted to extend their power to the north. +This plan was, however, frustrated by Ramman-nirari I., who forces the +Cassites to retreat, successfully opposes other enemies of Assyria, and +restores the injured parts of Ashur's temple. From this time on, and for +a period of several centuries, Assyria assumes an aggressive attitude, +and as a consequence the dependency upon the god is more keenly felt +than before. The enemies against whom the kings proceed are called 'the +enemies of Ashur,' the troops of the king are the troops of Ashur, and +the weapons with which they fight are the weapons of Ashur. It is he who +causes the arms of Tiglathpileser I. to strike down his foes. The +nations cannot endure the awful sight of the god. His brilliancy--the +reference being no doubt to the shining standard as it was carried into +the fray--inspires on every side a terror that casts all enemies to the +ground. All warfare is carried on in the name of Ashur. The statement +may be taken literally, for an oracle was sought at critical moments to +determine the course that was to be pursued. The fight itself takes +place with the help of the god,--again to be taken literally, for the +god, represented by his symbol, is present on the battlefield. The +victory, accordingly, belongs to the god in the first instance, and only +in a secondary degree to the king. The nations are vanquished by Ashur, +the conquered cities become subject to Ashur, and when the tribute is +brought by the conquered foe, it is to Ashur that it is offered by the +kings. Proud and haughty as the latter were, and filled with greed for +glory and power, they never hesitated to humble themselves before their +god. They freely acknowledged that everything they possessed was due to +Ashur's favor. It was he who called them to the throne, who gave them +the sceptre and crown, and who firmly established their sovereignty. +Through Ashur, who gives the king his invincible weapon,--the mighty +bow,--the kingdom is enlarged, until the kings feel justified in saying +of themselves that, by the nomination of Ashur, they govern the four +quarters of the world. Nay, the rulers go further and declare themselves +to be the offspring of Ashur. It is not likely that they ever desired +such an assertion also to be interpreted literally. The phrase is rather +to be taken as the strongest possible indication of the attachment they +felt for their chief god. Everything that they possessed coming directly +from their god, how could this be better expressed than by making the +god the source of their being? The phrase, at all events, is interesting +as showing that the element of love was not absent in the emotions that +the thought of Ashur aroused in the breasts of his subjects. The kings +cannot find sufficient terms of glorification to bestow upon Ashur. +Tiglathpileser I. calls him 'the great lord ruling the assembly of +gods,' and in similar style, Ashurnasirbal invokes him as 'the great god +of all the gods.' For Ramman-nirari III., he is the king of the +Igigi--the heavenly host of spirits. Sargon lovingly addresses him as +the father of the gods. Sennacherib calls him the great mountain or +rock,--a phrase that recalls a Biblical metaphor applied to the +deity,--and Esarhaddon speaks of him as the 'king of gods.' Frequently +Ashur is invoked together with other gods. He is 'the guide of the +gods.' There is only one instance in which he does not occupy the first +place. Ramman-nirari I., to whom reference has above been made, gives +Anu the preference over Ashur in a list of gods,[244] to whom conjointly +he ascribes his victories. We have already had occasion (see pp. +153-155) to note the antiquity of Anu worship in Assyria, the foundation +of whose temple takes us beyond the period of Samsi-Ramman. Ashur's +importance begins only with the moment that the rulers of his city enter +upon their career of conquest. Before that, his power and fame were +limited to the city over which he presided. Those gods who in the south +occupied a superior rank were also acknowledged in the north. The +religion of the Assyrians does not acquire traits that distinguish it +from that of Babylonia till the rise of a distinct Assyrian empire. +Here, as in Babylonia, the religious conceptions, and in a measure the +art, are shaped by the course of political events. Anu, accordingly, +takes precedence to Ashur previous to the supremacy of the city of +Ashur. This superior rank belongs to him as the supreme god of heaven. +Ramman-nirari's reign marks a turning-point in the history of Assyria. +The enemies of Ashur, who had succeeded for a time in obscuring the +god's glory through the humiliation which his land endured, were driven +back, but neither the people nor the rulers had as yet become conscious +of the fact that it was solely to Ashur that the victory was due. Hence, +other gods are associated with Ashur by Ramman-nirari, and the old god +Anu is accorded his proper rank. After the days of Ramman-nirari, +however, Ashur's precedence over all other gods is established. Whether +associated with Bel or with Ramman, or with Shamash and Ramman, or with +a larger representation of the pantheon, Ashur is invariably mentioned +first. + +From what has been said of the chief trait of Assyrian history, it +follows, as a matter of course, that the popularity of Ashur is due to +the military successes of the Assyrian armies; and it follows, with +equal necessity, that Ashur, whatever he may originally have been, +becomes purely a god of war, from the moment that Assyria enters upon +what appeared to be her special mission. All the titles given to Ashur +by the kings may be said to follow from his rôle as the god who presides +over the fortunes of the wars. If he is the 'ruler of all the gods,' and +their father, he is so simply by virtue of that same superior strength +which makes him the 'law-giver' for mankind, and not because of any +ancient traditions, nor as an expression of some nature-myth. He lords +it over gods and spirits, but he lords it solely because of his warlike +qualities. Ashur is the giver of crown and sceptre, and the kings of +Assyria are the _patesis_ of the god, his lieutenants. He is the god +that embodies the spirit of Assyrian history, and as such he is the most +characteristic personage of the Assyrian pantheon--in a certain sense +the only characteristic personage. So profound is his influence that +almost all the other gods of the pantheon take on some of his character. +Whenever and wherever possible, those phases of the god's nature are +emphasized which point to the possession of power over enemies. The gods +of the Assyrian pantheon impress one as diminutive Ashurs by the side of +the big one, and in proportion as they approach nearer to the character +of Ashur himself, is their hold upon the royal favor strengthened. + + +Ishtar. + +Second in rank to Ashur during the most glorious part of Assyrian +history stands the great goddess Ishtar. That the Assyrian Ishtar is +identical with the great goddess of the Babylonian pantheon is beyond +reasonable doubt. She approaches closest to Nanâ,--the Ishtar of Erech; +but just as we found the Babylonian Ishtar appearing under various names +and forms, so there are no less than three Ishtars in Assyria, +distinguished in the texts as Ishtar of Nineveh, Ishtar of Arbela, and +Ishtar who presides over the temple known as Kidmuru and who for that +reason is generally called 'the queen of Kidmuru.' The seat of the +latter was in Nineveh, as was of course also the seat of Ishtar of +Nineveh. The third Ishtar had her cult at Arbela,[245] a town lying to +the east of Calah about midway between the upper and lower Zab. It is +not easy to determine which of these three Ishtars is the oldest. The +Assyrians themselves seem to have been aware of the Babylonian origin of +Ishtar, for Tiglathpileser I. is at pains to emphasize that the temple +he builds to Ishtar in his capital is dedicated to the 'Assyrian +Ishtar.'[246] This being the oldest mention of Ishtar in Assyrian texts, +we are perhaps warranted in concluding that the cult of the goddess was +transferred with the seat of government to Nineveh. This would not +necessarily make Ishtar of Nineveh the oldest of the three, but accounts +for the higher rank that was accorded to her, as against the other two. +Ishtar of Arbela and the queen of Kidmuru do not make their appearance +so far as the historical texts are concerned till the time of Esarhaddon +(681, B.C.)--a comparatively late date. Tiele[247] suggests that Arbela +became the seat of a school of prophets in the service of Ishtar. The +curious name of the place, the 'four-god' city, certainly speaks in +favor of supposing Arbela to have been a great religious center, but +until excavations shall have been conducted on the modern site of the +town, the problems connected with the worship of Ishtar of Arbela cannot +be solved. It is quite possible, if not probable, that the three Ishtars +are each of independent origin. The 'queen of Kidmuru,' indeed, I +venture to think, is the indigenous Ishtar of Nineveh, who is obliged to +yield her place to the so-called 'Assyrian Ishtar' upon the transfer of +the capitol of Assyria to Nineveh, and henceforth is known by one of her +epithets to distinguish her from her formidable rival. The cult of +Ishtar at Arbela is probably, too, of ancient date; but special +circumstances that escape us appear to have led to a revival of interest +in their cults during the period when Assyria reached the zenith of her +power. The important point for us to bear in mind is that no essential +distinctions between these three Ishtars were made by the Assyrians. +Their traits and epithets are similar, and for all practical purposes we +have only one Ishtar in the northern empire. Next to Ashur, or rather by +the side of Ashur, Ishtar was invoked as the great goddess of battle and +war. This trait, however, was not given to her by the Assyrians. +Hammurabi views the goddess in this light,[248] and in the Izdubar or +Gilgamesh epic, as already pointed out, she appears at times in the rôle +of a violent destroyer. The warlike phase of the goddess's nature is +largely accentuated in the Assyrian pantheon and dwelt upon to the +exclusion of that softer and milder side which we have seen +characterized her as 'the mother of mankind.' Her rôle as the goddess of +war grows in prominence as the Assyrian rulers proceed in their +triumphal careers. Ashurrishishi (_c_. 1150 B.C.) invokes her simply as +the superior goddess, but for Tiglathpileser I. and from his days on, +she is primarily the lady of war, who arranges the order of battle and +encourages her favorites to fight. She appears in dreams at critical +moments, and whispers words of cheer to King Ashurbanabal. When danger +threatens, it is to her that the great king spreads his hands in prayer. +She is not merely the goddess of the kings, but of the people as well. +The latter are instructed to honor her. No deity approaches her in +splendor. As Ashur rules the Igigi, so Ishtar is declared to be 'mighty +over the Anunnaki.' Her commands are not to be opposed. Her appearance +is that of a being clothed with fiery flames, and streams of fire are +sent down by her upon the enemies of Ashurbanabal--a description that +expresses admirably the conception formed by the Assyrians of a genuine +goddess of war. Like Ashur, she is given a supreme rank among the gods. +Shalmaneser II. calls her the first-born of heaven and earth, and for +Tiglathpileser I., she is the first among the gods. Her milder +attributes as the gracious mother of creation, the giver of plenty, and +the hearer of the supplications of the sinner, so prominent in the +religious literature,[249] are not dwelt upon in the historical texts. +Still, an element of love also enters into the relationship with her +subjects. Ashurnasirbal (885-860 B.C.) speaks of her as the lady who +'loves him and his priesthood.' Sennacherib similarly associates Ishtar +with Ashur as the lover of his priesthood. As a goddess of war she is of +course 'perfect in courage,' as Shalmaneser II. declares. Temples are +erected to her in the city of Ashur, in Nineveh and Arbela. Ashurbanabal +distinguishes carefully between the two Ishtars,--the one of Nineveh and +the one of Arbela; and, strange enough, while terming Nineveh the +favorite city of Ishtar, he seems to give the preference to Ishtar of +Arbela. It is to the latter[250] that when hard pressed by the Elamites +he addresses his prayer, calling her 'the lady of Arbela'; and it is +this Ishtar who appears to the royal troops in a dream. The month of +Ab--the fifth month of the Babylonian calendar--is sacred to Ishtar. +Ashurbanabal proceeds to Arbela for the purpose of worshipping her +during this sacred period. Something must have occurred during his +reign, to bring the goddess of Arbela into such remarkable prominence, +but even Ashurbanabal does not go so far as to place Ishtar of Arbela +before Ishtar of Nineveh, when enumerating the gods of the pantheon. One +point still remains to be mentioned before passing on. Ashurbanabal +calls Ishtar--he is speaking of Ishtar of Nineveh--the wife of Bel.[251] +Now Ishtar never appears in this capacity in the Babylonian +inscriptions. If there is one goddess with whom she has nothing in +common, it is Belit of Nippur. To account for this curious statement on +the part of the Assyrian scribes, it is only necessary to bear in mind +that the name Belit signifies 'lady,' and Ishtar is constantly spoken of +as the Belit or lady of battle. Much the same train of thought that led +to regarding Bel in the sense of 'lord,' merely as a title of Marduk, +gave rise to the use of 'Belit,' as the title of the great 'lady' of the +Assyrian pantheon.[252] From this it is but a small--but of course +erroneous--step, to speak of Belit-Ishtar as the consort of Bel. Whether +the error is due only to the scribe, or whether it actually made its way +into the Assyrian system of theology, it is difficult to say. Probably +the former; for the distinguishing feature of both the Babylonian and +the Assyrian Ishtar is her independent position. Though at times brought +into close association with Ashur, she is not regarded as the mere +consort of any god--no mere reflection of a male deity, but ruling in +her own right on a perfect par with the great gods of the pantheon. She +is coequal in rank and dignity with Ashur. Her name becomes synonymous +with goddess, as Marduk becomes the synonym for god. The female deities +both native and foreign come to be regarded as so many forms of Ishtar. +In a certain sense Ishtar is the only _real_ goddess of the later +Assyrian pantheon, the only one taking an active part in the religious +and political life of the people. At the same time it is to be noted +that by the side of the Assyrian Ishtar, the Babylonian Ishtar, +especially the one associated with Erech (or Warka) is also worshipped +by the monarchs of the north. Esarhaddon devotes himself to the +improvement of the old temple at Erech, and Ashurbanabal prides himself +upon having rescued out of the hands of the Elamites a statue of Ishtar +or Nanâ of Erech that had been captured 1635 years previous.[253] + + +Anu. + +Reference has already been made to the antiquity of the Anu cult in +Assyria, and that prior to the time that the city of Ashur assumes the +rôle of mistress of the northern district, Anu stood at the head of the +pantheon, just as theoretically he continued to occupy this place in the +pantheon of the south. What is especially important, he had a temple in +the very city of Ashur, whose patron god succeeded in usurping the place +of the old 'god of heaven.' The character of Anu in the north differs in +no way from the traits assigned to him in the south. He is the king of +the Igigi and Anunnaki, that is, of all the heavenly and earthly +spirits, and he is this by virtue of being the supreme god of heaven. +His cult, however, appears to have suffered through the overshadowing +supremacy of Ashur. Even in his old temple at Ashur, which +Tiglathpileser I. on the occasion of his rebuilding it, tells us was +founded 641 years before this restoration,[254] he is no longer accorded +sole homage. Ramman, the god of thunder and of storms, because +correlated to Anu, is placed by the side of the latter and permitted to +share the honors with Anu.[255] Anu survives in the Assyrian as in the +Babylonian pantheon by virtue of being a member of the theological +triad, composed as we have seen of Anu, Bel, and Ea. Tiglathpileser I. +still invokes Anu as a deity of practical importance. He associates him +with Ramman and Ishtar as the great gods of the city of Ashur or with +Ramman alone, but beyond an incidental mention by Ashurnasirbal, who in +a long list of gods at the beginning of his annals emphasizes the fact +of his being the favorite of Anu, he appears only in combination with +Bel and Ea. The same degree of reverence, however, was shown to the old +triad in Assyria as in Babylonia. The three gods are asked not to listen +to the prayers of the one who destroys the monuments set up by the +kings. Sargon tells us that it is Anu, Bel, and Ea who fix the names of +the months,[256] and this same king when he comes to assign names to the +eight gates of his great palace, does not forget to include Anu in the +list of deities,[257] describing him as the god who blesses his +handiwork. + + +Dagan. + +Coequal in antiquity with the cult of Anu in Assyria is that of Dagan. +Although occurring in Babylonia as early as the days of Hammurabi, and +indeed earlier,[258] it would appear that his worship was imported from +the north into the south.[259] At all events, it is in the north that +the cult of Dagan rises to prominence. The name of the god appears as an +element in the name of Ishme-Dagan (the father of Samsi-Ramman +II.),[260] whose date may be fixed at the close of the nineteenth +century B.C. The form Dagan is interesting as being almost identical +with the name of the chief god of the Philistines, Dagon,[261] who is +mentioned in the Book of Judges. The resemblance can hardly be entirely +accidental. From other sources we know that Dagan was worshipped in +Palestine as early as the fourteenth or fifteenth century, and the form +Dagan, if derived from _Dag_, contains an afformative element which +stamps the word as non-Assyrian. The proposition has much in its favor +which regards Dagan as a god whose worship was introduced into Assyria +at a very early period through the influence of Aramaean hordes, who +continue throughout Assyrian history to skirt the eastern shores of the +Tigris. Once introduced, however, into Assyria, Dagan assumes a +different form from the one that he receives among the Philistines. To +the latter he is the god of agriculture, while in Assyria he rises to +the rank of second in the pantheon, and becomes the associate of Anu. +The latter's dominion being the heavens, Dagan is conceived as the god +of earth. Hence, there results the fusion with the Babylonian Bel, which +has already been noted,[262] and it is due to this fusion that Dagan +disappears almost entirely from the Assyrian pantheon. Ashurnasirbal +invokes Dagan with Anu. Two centuries later, Sargon, whose scribes, as +Jensen has noticed, manifest an 'archaeological' fondness for the +earlier deities, repeats the phrase of Ashurnasirbal, and also calls his +subjects 'troops of Anu and Dagan'; but it is important to observe that +he does not include Dagan among the deities in whose honor he assigns +names to the gates of his palace. We may, therefore, fix upon the ninth +century as the terminus for the Dagan cult in Assyria. Proper names +compounded with Dagan do not occur after the days of Ashurnasirbal.[263] + + +Shamash. + +Besides the testimony furnished by the name of the king, Samsi-Ramman, +we have a proof for the antiquity of the Shamash cult in Assyria in the +express statement of Pudilu (_c._ 1350 B.C.) that he built a temple to +the sun-god in the city of Ashur. He calls Shamash the 'protecting +deity,' but the protection vouchsafed by Shamash is to be understood in +a peculiar sense. Shamash does not work by caprice. He is, as we have +seen, preëminently a god of justice, whose favors are bestowed in +accordance with unchangeable principles. So far as Assyria is concerned, +the conceptions regarding Shamash reach a higher ethical level than +those connected with any other deity. Ashur and Ishtar are partial to +Assyria, and uphold her rulers at any cost, but the favors of Shamash +are bestowed upon the kings because of their righteousness, or, what is +the same thing, because of their claim to being righteous. For +Tiglathpileser I., great and ruthless warrior as he is, Shamash is the +judge of heaven and earth, who sees the wickedness of the king's +enemies, and shatters them because of their guilt. When the king +mercifully sets certain captives free, it is in the presence of Shamash +that he performs this act. It is, therefore, as the advocate of the +righteous cause that Tiglathpileser claims to have received the glorious +sceptre at the hands of Shamash; and so also for the successors of +Tiglathpileser, down to the days of Sargon, Shamash is above all and +first of all the judge, both of men and of the gods. There is, of +course, nothing new in this view of Shamash, which is precisely the one +developed in Babylonia; but in Assyria, perhaps for the reason that in +Shamash is concentrated almost all of the ethical instinct of the +northern people, the judicial traits of Shamash appear to be even more +strongly emphasized. Especially in the days of Ashurnasirbal and +Shalmaneser II.--the ninth century--does the sun-cult receive great +prominence. These kings call themselves the _sun_ of the world. The +phrase,[264] indeed, has so distinctly an Egyptian flavor, that, in +connection with other considerations, it seems quite plausible to assume +that the influence of Egyptian reverence for _Ra_ had much to do with +the popularity of the sun-cult about this time. Shalmaneser bestows +numerous epithets upon Shamash. He is the guide of everything, the +messenger of the gods, the hero, the judge of the world who guides +mankind aright, and, what is most significant, the lord of law. The word +used for law, _têrtu_, is identical with the Hebrew term _torâ_ that is +used to designate the Pentateuchal legislation. No better testimony +could be desired to show the nature of the conceptions that must have +been current of Shamash. Sargon, again, who is fond of emphasizing the +just principles that inspire his acts, goes to the length of building a +sanctuary[265] for Shamash far beyond the northern limits of Assyria. +But the kings, in thus placing themselves under the protection of the +great judge, were not oblivious to the fact that this protection was +particularly desired on the battlefield. War being uppermost in their +thoughts, the other side of Shamash's nature--his power and +violence--was not overlooked. Tiglathpileser invokes him also as the +warrior,--a title that is often given to Shamash in the religious +literature. There can be little doubt that a nation of warriors whose +chief deities were gods of war, was attracted to Shamash not merely +because he was the judge of all things, but also, and in a large degree, +because he possessed some of the traits that distinguished Ashur and +Ishtar. + + +Ramman. + +The association of Ramman with Shamash in the name of the old ruler of +Assyria, Samsi-Ramman, is not accidental or due to mere caprice. Only +such deities are combined in proper names that are, or may be, +correlated to one another. Ramman, as the god of storms, is naturally +viewed as a power complementary to the great orb of light.[266] The two +in combination, viewed as the beneficent and the destructive power, +constitute the most powerful elements of nature, whose good will it was +most important, especially for a nation of warriors, to secure. Some +such thought surely underlies this association of Shamash with Ramman. +The Assyrian Ramman differs in no way from the Ramman of Babylonia, but +he is much more popular in the north than in the south. The popularity +of the god is but a reflection of the delight that the Assyrians took in +military pursuits. Ramman is hardly anything more than another Ashur. +Tiglathpileser I., who once calls the god Mar-tu, _i.e._, "the West +god,"[267] has left us an admirable description of him. He is the hero +who floods the lands and houses of the country's enemies. The approach +of the Assyrian troops is compared to an onslaught of Ramman. His curses +are the most dreadful that can befall a nation or an individual, for his +instruments of destruction are lightning, hunger, and death. Reference +has several times been made to the manner in which Tiglathpileser honors +Ramman by making him a partner of Anu in the great temple of the latter +at Ashur. But the successors of Tiglathpileser are no less zealous in +their reverence for Ramman. It is to Ramman that the kings offer +sacrifices during the campaign, and when they wish to depict in the +strongest terms the destruction that follows in the wake of an onslaught +of the Assyrian troops, they declare that they swept over everything +like Ramman. It is natural, in view of this, that Ramman should have +been to the Assyrians also the 'mightiest of the gods.'[268] Through the +Assyrian inscriptions we learn something of the consort of Ramman. + + +Shala. + +Sennacherib tells us that in the course of his campaign against +Babylonia he removes out of the city of Babylon, and replaces in +Ekallâte[269] the statues of Ramman and Shala. This, he says, he did 418 +years after the time that they had been carried captive from Ekallâte to +Babylon by Marduknadinakhi.[270] We know nothing more of this Ekallâte +except that it lay in Assyria,--probably in the southern half,--and that +Ramman and Shala are called the gods of the city. The name 'Shala' +appears to signify 'woman.' It reminds us, therefore, of 'lady' (Ninni, +Nanâ, etc.), which we have found to be the designation for several +distinct goddesses. It is possible that Shala, likewise, being a name of +so indefinite a character, was applied to other goddesses. A 'Shala of +the mountains,' who is stated to be the wife of Marduk, is mentioned in +a list of gods.[271] The wife of Bel, too, is once called Shala, though +in this case the confusion between Marduk and Bel may have led to +transferring the name from the consort of one to the consort of the +other. Too much importance must not be attached to the data furnished by +these lists of gods. They represent in many cases purely arbitrary +attempts to systematize the Babylonian and Assyrian pantheon, and in +other cases are valuable only as reflecting the views of the +theologians, or rather of certain schools of theological thought, in +Babylonia. In the religious hymns, too, the consort of Ramman finds +mention, and by a play upon her name is described as the 'merciful one.' +The attribute given to her there is the 'lady of the field,' which puts +her in contrast to Ramman, rather than in partnership with him. Since we +hear little of her worship in Assyria, beyond the notices of +Sennacherib, we may conclude that, like so many goddesses, Shala +dwindled to the insignificant proportions of a mere pale reflection of +the male deity. + + +Nin-ib. + +Another god, who by virtue of his violent traits enjoys the favor of the +Assyrian rulers, is the old Babylonian deity whose name is provisionally +read Nin-ib. In the very first mention of him, in the inscription of +Ashurrishishi (_c._ 1150 B.C.), he is called the 'mighty one of the +gods.' Through the protection of Nin-ib, Ashurrishishi secures victory +over his enemies on all sides. Similarly, other of the Assyrian rulers +emphasize the strength of Nin-ib. Tiglathpileser I. calls him the +courageous one, whose special function is the destruction of the king's +enemies. In doing so he becomes the god 'who fulfills the heart's +desire.' The unmistakable character of the god as a god of war is also +shown by his association with Ashur.[272] If Ashur is the king of Igigi +and Anunnaki, Nin-ib is the hero of the heavenly and earthly spirits. To +him the rulers fly for help. Of all the kings, Ashurnasirbal seems to +have been especially devoted to the service of Nin-ib. The annals of +this king, instead of beginning, as is customary, with an invocation of +all or many of the gods, starts out with an address to Nin-ib, in which +the king fairly exhausts the vocabulary of the language in his desire to +secure the favor of this powerful deity. Almost all the attributes he +assigns to him have reference to the god's powers in war. Dwelling in +the capital Calah, he is 'the strong, the mighty, the supreme one,' the +perfect hero, who is invincible in battle, the 'destroyer of all +opposition, who holds the lock of heaven and earth, who opens the deep; +the strong one, endowed with youthful vigor, whose decree is +unchangeable, without whom no decision is made in heaven or on earth, +whose attack is like a flood, who sweeps away the land of his enemies,' +and so forth, through a bewildering array of epithets. The inscriptions +of the Assyrian kings, especially in the introductions, manifest little +originality. One king, or rather his scribe, frequently copies from +earlier productions, or imitates them. Hence, it happens that the +grandson of Ashurnasirbal, Shamshi-Ramman (_c._ 825-812 B.C.), furnishes +us with an almost equally long array of epithets, exalting the strength +and terror of Nin-ib. Like Ashurnasirbal, he declared himself to have +been chosen by this god to occupy the throne. A comparison of the two +lists makes it evident that the later one is modeled upon the earlier +production. The conclusion is justified that in the century covered by +the reigns of Ashurnasirbal[273] and Shamshi-Ramman, the cult of Nin-ib +must have acquired great popularity, though suffering, perhaps, an +interruption during the reign of Shalmaneser II.,--midway between these +two kings,--whose favorite we have seen was Shamash. The great temple of +Nin-ib stood in Calah, which Ashurnasirbal chose as his official +residence, and it was in this temple that the king deposited a long +inscription commemorating his deeds. In the temple, he also places a +colossal statue of the god. Upon the completion of the edifice, he +dedicates it with prayer and sacrifices. The special festivals of the +god are fixed for the months of Shabat and Ulul,--the eleventh and sixth +months,--and provision is made for the regular maintenance of the cult. +It must, of course, not be supposed that, because Nin-ib appears to be a +favorite of the king, the latter concentrates his attentions upon this +god. He appears to have been specially fond of temple building, and, +besides the one to Nin-ib, he tells us of sanctuaries to 'Belit of the +land,' _i.e._, Ishtar,[274] Sin, Gula, Ea, and Ramman,--that he erects +or improves. One might be led to regard it as strange that a god like +Nin-ib, or Shamash, should claim so large a share of the attention of +the Assyrian rulers, to the apparent neglect of Ashur, but it must be +borne in mind that the position of Ashur was so assured as to be beyond +the reach of rivalry. The fact also that Ashur's popular symbol was the +movable standard was no doubt a reason why so few temples were erected +to him. He did not stand in need of temples. For the very reason that +Ashur was the universally acknowledged master of everything, the kings +felt called upon to choose, by the side of Ashur, some additional +deity,--a patron under whose special protection they placed themselves. +The natural desire for novelty--together with other circumstances that +escape us--led one to choose Ramman, another Nin-ib, a third Shamash, +and a fourth, as we shall see, Nabu. In doing so they were not conscious +of any lack of respect towards Ashur, of whose good will they always +felt certain. + +Besides the service rendered by Nin-ib in war, his aid was also invoked +by the kings in their recreations, which partook of the same violent +character as their vocation. Their favorite sport was hunting, +especially of lions, wild horses, elephants, stags, boars, and bulls. +They either proceeded to districts where these animals were to be found, +or they had large parks laid out near their residences, which were then +stocked with material for the chase. Ashurnasirbal does not shun a long +journey to distant mountainous regions to seek for sport, and it is +Nin-ib whom he invokes, together with Nergal. These two, he declares, +who, like Ashur and Ishtar, "love his priesthood," are the ones that +convey into his hands the hunting spoils. Tiglathpileser I. was +especially fond of lion and elephant hunting. He declares that on one +occasion he killed 10 elephants and 920 lions in various parts of +northwestern Mesopotamia; and he ascribes his success to Nin-ib, who +loves him, and who, again, in association with Nergal, and Ashur, has +placed in the king's hands the mighty weapons and the glorious bow. +After the days of Shamshi-Ramman we hear of Nin-ib chiefly in the formal +lists of gods which the later kings of Assyria, from Sargon[275] on, are +fond of placing at the beginning and end of their inscriptions. These +lists, again, copied the one from the other, are of value only as +indicating the chief gods of the pantheon, but warrant no conclusions as +to the activity reigning in the cults of the gods there mentioned. +Before leaving Nin-ib a few words need be said as to his relations to +the other gods. In the chapter on the pantheon before Hammurabi,[276] +the identity of Nin-ib with the chief god of Gudea's district, +Nin-girsu, has been pointed out. The solar character of the latter being +clear, it follows that Nin-ib, too, is originally a personification of +the sun, like Nin-gish-zida and Nin-shakh, whose rôles are absorbed by +Nin-ib.[277] This has long been recognized, but it is the merit of +Jensen[278] to have demonstrated that it is the east sun and the morning +sun which is more especially represented by Nin-ib. On this supposition, +some of the titles given to him in the inscriptions of Ashurnasirbal and +Shamshi-Ramman become perfectly clear. Like Marduk, who, it will be +remembered, is also originally a phase of the solar deity, Nin-ib is +called the first-born of Ea; and as the rising sun he is appropriately +called the offspring of Ekur,--_i.e._, the earth,--in allusion to his +apparent ascent from a place below the earth. Ekur and Eshara being +employed as synonyms, Shamshi-Ramman replaces Ekur by Eshara, and since +Bel is the lord of Ekur-Eshara, Nin-ib also becomes the first-born son +of Bel. Other epithets, such as 'the light of heaven and earth,' 'the +one who pursues his path over the wide world,'[279] are all in keeping +with the solar character of the deity, and date, therefore, from a +period when the more purely 'nature' phases of the god were dwelt upon. +But just as in the case of Shamash and Nergal (also, as we have seen, a +solar deity), so in that of Nin-ib, the violent, fiery, and destructive +character that the sun has in a climate like that of Babylonia brought +it about that Nin-ib was viewed as a destructive force, whose assistance +was of great value in military strife. He becomes the god of the cloud +storm, before whom, as he passes along, heaven and earth tremble. By his +strong weapon he humiliates the disobedient, destroys the enemies of the +kings, and grants all manner of protection to his favorites. Only in the +religious literature are other qualities dwelt upon, such as his +'holiness.'[280] For Hammurabi, it will be recalled, Nin-ib is already +the god of war, and it is natural that in a country like Assyria this +side of the god's nature should become accentuated to the point of +obscuring all others, until nothing more is left of his solar character +than is indicated by stray bits of mythological phrases, perhaps only +half understood, and introduced to add to the imposing array of epithets +that belong to the terrible god of war. As the consort of Nin-ib, the +Assyrians recognized + + +Gula. + +She is only occasionally invoked by the Assyrian rulers. A sanctuary to +Gula, as the consort of Nin-ib, is erected by Ashurnasirbal, and a +festival in honor of the goddess is referred to by Ashurbanabal. + + +Nergal. + +Nergal not only shares with Nin-ib, as already mentioned, the honor of +being the god under whose auspices the royal chase is carried on, but he +is also, like Nin-ib, invoked in that other sport of which the Assyrian +rulers were so fond,--war. He is scarcely differentiated from Nin-ib. +Like the latter he is the perfect king of battle, who marches before the +monarch together with Ashur, and he is pictured as carrying the mighty +weapons which Ashur has presented to the king. In an inscription of +Shalmaneser II.[281] there is an interesting reference to the city +sacred to Nergal--Cuthah. The king, who in the course of his campaign +against Babylonia reaches Cuthah, brings sacrifices to Nergal, whom he +speaks of as 'the hero of the gods, the supreme raging sun.' A later +king, Sargon, also honors the god by giving a fortress in the distant +land of Nairi, to the northeast of Assyria, the name of Kar[282]-Nergal. +It would seem as though, through the influence of Sargon, a revival of +the Nergal cult took place. His successor, Sennacherib, erects a temple +in honor of the god at Tarbisu, a suburb to the north of Nineveh proper, +and Ashurbanabal, who dwells at Tarbisu for a while, is engaged in +adding to the beauty of the edifice,--an indication of the honor in +which the god continued to be held. Nergal's consort is Laz, but she is +not referred to by the Assyrian rulers. + + +Sin. + +The old Babylonian moon-god plays a comparatively insignificant rôle in +Assyria. Ashurnasirbal speaks of a temple that he founded in +Calah--perhaps only a chapel--in honor of Sin. It could not have been of +much importance, for we learn nothing further about it. Sargon, too, who +manifests a great fondness for reviving ancient cults, erects +sanctuaries to Sin along with a quantity of other gods in his official +residence at Khorsabad and beyond the northeastern confines of Assyria +at Magganubba. But when invoked by the kings, Sin shows traces of the +influence which the conceptions current about Ashur exerted upon his +fellow deities. He takes on, as other of the gods, the attributes of the +war-god. Instead of being merely the lord of the crescent, as in +Babylonia, and one of the sources of wisdom because of the connection of +astrology with lunar observations, he is pictured as capable of +inspiring terror. At the same time he is also the lord of plenty, and in +his capacity as the wise god he is regarded as the lord of decisions. +But by the side of new epithets that are attached to him in the Assyrian +inscriptions, there is one which, just as in the case of Nin-ib, +connects the Assyrian Sin cult with the oldest phase of moon-worship in +the south. It is one of the last kings of Assyria, Ashurbanabal, who +calls Sin 'the firstborn son of Bel.' He appears in this relationship to +Bel in the religious texts of Babylonia. The Bel here meant can only be +the great god of Nippur, and the title 'son of Bel' accordingly shows +that the moon-worship of Assyria is ultimately derived from that which +had its seat in the south. Sin's secondary position is indicated by +making him a son of Bel. The rise of the science of astronomy in +connection with astrology, was, as already suggested, an important +factor in spreading and maintaining the Sin cult in the south, while the +lack of intellectual originality in Assyria would equally account for +the comparatively subordinate position occupied by Sin in the Assyrian +pantheon. + + +Nusku. + +That Nusku is a Babylonian god, meriting a place in the pantheon of +Hammurabi, if not of the days prior to the union of the Babylonian +states, is shown by the fact (1) that he had a shrine in the great +temple of Marduk at Babylon, along with Nebo, Tashmiyum, and Ea;[283] +and (2) that he appears in the religious texts. In view of this it might +appear strange that we find no reference to the god in historical texts +till we reach the Assyrian period. The reason, or at least one reason, +is that Nusku is on the one hand amalgamated with Gibil, the fire-god, +and on the other identified with Nabu. The compound ideogram with which +his name is written includes the same sign--the stylus or sceptre--that +is used to designate Nabu, the second part of the ideogram adding the +idea of 'force and strength.' Whether this graphical assimilation is to +be regarded as a factor in bringing about the identification of Nusku +and Nabu, or is due to an original similarity in the traits of the two +gods, it is difficult to say. Hardly the latter, for Nusku is a solar +deity, whereas, as we have tried to show, Nabu is originally a +water-deity.[284] But however we may choose to account for it, the +prominence of Nusku is obscured by Nabu. As a solar deity, it is easy to +see how he should have been regarded as a phase of the fire-god, and if +the various other solar deities were not so regarded, it is because in +the course of their development they were clothed with other attributes +that, while obscuring their origin, saved them from the loss of their +identity. Apart from the formal lists of gods drawn up by Sargon and his +successors, Shalmaneser II. and Ashurbanabal are the only kings who make +special mention of Nusku. The former calls him the bearer of the +brilliant sceptre, just as Nabu is so called; and again, just as Nabu, +he is termed the wise god. The two phases of the ideogram used in his +name--the sceptre and the stylus--are thus united in the personage of +Nusku precisely as in Nabu. On the other hand, the manner in which +Ashurbanabal speaks of him reflects the mythological aspect of Nusku. In +the religious literature Nusku is the messenger of Bel-Marduk, who +conveys the message of the latter to Ea. From being the messenger of +Bel, he comes to be viewed as the messenger of the gods in general, and +accordingly Ashurbanabal addresses him as 'the highly honored messenger +of the gods,' but, combining with the mythological the more realistic +aspect of Nusku, refers to him also as the one who glorifies sovereignty +and who, at the command of Ashur and Belit, stands at the king's side to +aid in bringing the enemies to fall. As for the fire-god Gibil, with +whom Nusku is identified, we have merely a reference to a month of the +year sacred to the servant of Gibil in a passage of the inscriptions of +Sargon.[285] + + +Bel-Marduk. + +From the time that the Assyrian rulers claimed a greater or small +measure of control over the affairs of Babylonia, that is, therefore, +from about the twelfth century, they were anxious to make good their +claim by including in their pantheon the chief god of Babylonia. The +Assyrian inscriptions prove that, as early as the twelfth century, the +theoretical absorption on the part of Marduk, of the rôle taken by the +old god Bel of Nippur, which was enlarged upon in a preceding +chapter,[286] had already taken place. Marduk is not only frequently +known as Bel, but what is more, Babylonia is the country of Bel, or +simply Bel, and the Babylonians are referred to as 'the subjects of +Bel,' or the 'humanity of Bel.' There can be no doubt that in all these +cases Bel-Marduk is meant and not the older Bel. In the days of +Ashurrishishi we already come across the title 'governor of Bel,' that +to the latest days remains the official designation for political +control over the southern empire. So general is this use of Bel for +Marduk that the latter name does not occur until we reach Shalmaneser +II., _i.e._, the ninth century. There seems to be no reason to question, +therefore, that even when Tiglathpileser I. applies to Bel titles that +certainly belong to the older Bel, such as 'father of the gods,' 'king +of all the Anunnaki,' 'who fixes the decrees of heaven and earth,' he +means Marduk, a proof for which may be seen in the epithet _bêl matâti_, +'lord of lands,' which follows upon these designations and which, as we +saw, is a factor in the evolution of Marduk into Bel-Marduk.[287] The +importance that Tiglathpileser I., and therefore also his successors, +attached to their control over the old southern district, is shown by +his according to Bel the second place in the pantheon, invoking him at +the beginning of his inscriptions immediately after Ashur. The control +over Babylonia was an achievement that stirred the pride of the Assyrian +rulers to the highest degree. Its age and its past inspired respect. +Besides being the source of the culture that Assyria possessed, +Babylonia had sacred associations for the Assyrians, as the original +dwelling-places of most of the gods worshipped by them. The old sacred +centers like Ur, Nippur, Uruk, Sippar, with their great temples, their +elaborate cults, their great storehouses of religious literature, and +their great body of influential priests and theologians and astrologers +were as dear to the people of the north as to those of the south; and in +proportion as these old cities lost their political importance, their +rank as sacred centers to which pilgrimages were made on the occasion of +the festivals of the gods was correspondingly raised. Hence the value +that the Assyrian rulers attached to the possession of Babylonia. They +do not like to be reminded that they rule the south by force of arms. +They prefer, as Tiglathpileser I. declares, to consider themselves +'nominated by the gods to rule over the land of Bel.' They want to be +regarded as the favorites of Bel, and they ascribe to him the greatness +of their rule. It is he who fulfills the wishes of the kings; and when +the kings enter upon a campaign against Babylonia, as they frequently +did to quell the uprisings that were constantly occurring in the one or +the other of the southern districts, they emphasize, as Shalmaneser II. +does, that he enters upon this course at the command of Marduk. They set +themselves up as Marduk's defenders, and it must be said for the +Assyrian rulers that they were mild and sparing in their treatment of +their southern subjects. They do not practise those cruelties--burning +of cities, pillage, and promiscuous slaughter--that form the main +feature in their campaigns against the nations to the northeast and +northwest, and against Elam. They accord to the Babylonians as much of +the old independence as was consistent with an imperial policy. The +internal affairs continue for a long time to be regulated by rulers who +are natives of Babylonia, and it is not until a comparatively late +day--the time of Sennacherib--that in consequence of the endless trouble +that these native rulers gave the Assyrians through their constant +attempt to make themselves independent, it became customary for the +Assyrian kings to appoint a member of the royal house--a son or +brother--to the lieutenancy over Babylonia. As for the cult, the +Assyrian kings were at great pains to leave it undisturbed, or where it +had been interrupted to restore it, and thus secure the favor of the +southern gods. So Shalmaneser II. upon the completion of his campaign +enters Marduk's great temple at Babylon, E-sagila, and offers prayers +and sacrifices to Bel and Belit, _i.e._, Marduk and Sarpanitum. From +E-sagila he crosses over to Borsippa, and pays homage to Nabu and to +Nabu's consort, whom he calls Nanâ.[288] The kings are fond, especially +when speaking of the Babylonian campaigns, of slipping in the name of +Marduk after that of Ashur. With the help of Ashur and Marduk their +troops are victorious. Marduk shares Ashur's terrible majesty. At times +Shamash, or Shamash and Ramman, are added to form a little pantheon +whose assistance is invoked in the Babylonian wars. From being used in +restricted application to Babylonian affairs, Ashur and Marduk came to +be invoked in a general way. Esarhaddon expressly sets up the claim of +being the savior of Marduk's honor, as a kind of apology for proceeding +against Babylonia with his armies. Sargon, to emphasize his legitimate +control over Babylonia as well as Assyria, says that he has been called +to the throne by Ashur and Marduk, but Ashurbanabal goes further even +than his predecessors. He proceeds to Babylon on the occasion of the +formal installation of his brother Shamash-shumukin as viceroy of the +district, enters the temple of Marduk, whom he does not hesitate to call +'the lord of lords,' performs the customary rites, and closes the +ceremonies by a fervent prayer to Marduk for his continued good will and +blessing.[289] The great gods Nergal, Nabu, and Shamash come from their +respective shrines to do homage to Marduk. Ashurbanabal's brother +Shamash-shumukin, when he attempts as governor of Babylon to make +himself independent of his brother, endeavors by means of sacrifices and +other devices to secure the favor of Marduk, well aware that in this way +he will also gain the support of the Babylonians. On another occasion, +incidental to a northern campaign, Ashurbanabal mentions that the day on +which he broke up camp at Damascus was the festival of Marduk,--an +indication that the Babylonian god was in his thoughts, even when he +himself was far away from Babylonia. Esarhaddon and Ashurbanabal, when +approaching the sun-god to obtain an oracle, make mention of Marduk by +the side of Shamash. There are, however, a number of passages in the +Assyrian inscriptions in which when Bel is spoken of, not Marduk but the +old god Bel is meant. + + +Bel. + +Tiglathpileser I. tells us that he rebuilt a temple to Bel in the city +of Ashur, and he qualifies the name of the god by adding the word 'old' +to it. In this way he evidently distinguished the god of Nippur from +Bel-Marduk, similarly as Hammurabi in one place adds Dagan to Bel,[290] +to make it perfectly clear what god he meant. Again, it is Sargon who in +consistent accord with his fondness for displaying his archaeological +tastes, introduces Bel, the 'great mountain,' 'the lord of countries,' +who dwells in E-khar-sag-kurkura, _i.e._, the sacred mountain on which +the gods are born, as participating in the festival that takes place +upon the dedication of the king's palace in Khorsabad. The titles used +by the king are applicable only to the old Bel, but whether he or his +scribes were fully conscious of a differentiation between Bel and +Bel-Marduk, it is difficult to say. Bel is introduced in the inscription +in question[291] immediately after Ashur, and one is therefore inclined +to suspect that Sargon's archaeological knowledge fails him at this +point in speaking of the old Bel, whereas he really meant to invoke the +protection of Bel-Marduk as the chief god of his most important +possession next to Assyria.[292] Besides this, the old Bel is of course +meant, when associated with Anu, as the powers that, together with +Belit, grant victory,[293] or as a member of the old triad, Anu, Bel, +and Ea, whose mention we have seen is as characteristic of the Assyrian +inscriptions as of the Babylonian. Lastly, Sargon calls one of the gates +of his palace after Bel, whom he designates as the one who lays the +foundation of all things. In this case, too, the old Bel is meant. + + +Belit. + +In the case of Belit a curious species of confusion confronts us in the +Assyrian inscriptions. At times Belit appears as the wife of Bel, again +as the consort of Ashur, again as the consort of Ea, and again simply as +a designation of Ishtar.[294] To account for this we must bear in mind, +as has already been pointed out, that just as Bel in the sense of lord +came to be applied merely as a title of the chief god of Babylonia, so +Belit as 'lady' was used in Assyria to designate the chief goddess. This +was, as the case may be, either Ishtar or the pale 'reflection' +associated with Ashur as his consort. Now this Belit, as the wife of +Ashur, absorbs the qualities that distinguish Belit, the wife of +Bel-Marduk. The temple in the city of Ashur, which Tiglathpileser +I.[295] enriches with presents consisting of the images of the deities +vanquished by the king, may in reality have been sacred to the Belit of +Babylonia, but Tiglathpileser, for whom Bel becomes merely a designation +of Marduk, does not feel called upon to pay his devotions to the +Babylonian Sarpanitum, and so converts the old Belit into 'the lofty +wife, beloved of Ashur.' Sargon, on the other hand, who calls one of the +gates of his palace _Belit ilâni_ 'mistress of the gods,' seems to mean +by this, the consort of Ea.[296] Similarly, Ashurbanabal regards Belit +as the wife of Ashur, and himself as the offspring of Ashur and Belit. +At the same time he gives to this Belit the title of 'mother of great +gods,' which of right belongs to the consort of the Babylonian Bel. In +the full pantheon as enumerated by him, Belit occupies a place +immediately behind her consort Ashur. Ashurbanabal, however, goes still +further, and, influenced by the title of 'Belit' as applied to Ishtar, +makes the latter the consort of Ashur. This at least is the case in an +inscription from the temple of Belit at Nineveh,[297] known as +E-mash-mash, and in which Ashurbanabal alternately addresses the goddess +as Belit and as Ishtar, while elsewhere[298] this same Belit, whose seat +is in E-mash-mash, is termed the consort of Ashur. How Ashurbanabal or +his scribes came to this confusing identification we need not stop to +inquire. In part, no doubt, it was due to the general sense of +'goddess,' which Ishtar began to acquire in his days.[299] At all +events, Ashurbanabal's conception marks a contrast to the procedure of +Shalmaneser II., who correctly identifies the mother of the great gods +with the wife of Bel.[300] On the other hand, the confusion that took +place in Ashurbanabal's days is foreshadowed by the title of 'Bêlit +mâti,' _i.e._, 'mistress of the land,' by which Ashurbanabal appears to +designate some other than Ishtar.[301] Lastly, it is interesting to note +that Ashurbanabal recognizes by the side of Belit-Ishtar, the wife of +Ashur, the older Belit, the wife of the Bel of Nippur, to whom, in +association with Anu and Bel, he attributes his victory over the +Arabs.[302] + + +Sarpanitum. + +The consort of Marduk is only incidentally referred to: once by +Sargon,[303] who groups Bel with Sarpanitum and Nabu and Tashmitum, at +the head of the gods of Babylonia; and similarly by Tiglathpileser III., +on the occasion of his enumerating the chief gods of the Babylonian +pantheon. + + +Nabu. + +The intimate association of Nabu with Marduk in the city of Babylon +leads as a natural consequence to a similar association in Assyria, when +once the Marduk cult had for political reasons become established in the +north. The kings invoke the favor of Bel (meaning Marduk) and Nabu, +especially when dealing with the affairs of Babylonia,[304] as they +invoke Ashur and Ishtar. Just as we have certain kings devoted to Nin-ib +and Shamash by the side of Ashur, so there are others whose special +favorite is Nabu. In the days of Ramman-nirari III. (812-783 B.C.) the +Nabu cult reached its highest point of popularity in Assyria. From the +manner in which the king speaks of the god, one might draw the +conclusion that he attempted to concentrate the whole Assyrian cult upon +that god alone. He erects a temple to the god at Calah, and overwhelms +the deity with a great array of titles. The dedicatory inscription which +the king places on a statue of Nebo closes with the significant words, +'O Posterity! trust in Nabu. Trust in no other god.'[305] Still we must +not press such phrases too hard. Ramman-nirari III. had no intention of +suppressing Ashur worship, for he mentions the god elsewhere, and +assigns to him the same rank as the other kings do, but so much we are +justified in concluding, that next to Ashur and Ishtar he feels most +strongly attached to Nabu. That the Babylonian Nabu is meant, is clear +from such designations as 'the offspring of E-sagila, the favorite of +Bel,' 'he who dwells at E-zida,' which appear among the epithets +bestowed upon the god; and the temple in Calah, which one of the last +kings of Assyria, Ashuretililani,[306] is engaged in improving, bears +the same name E-zida, as Nabu's great temple at Borsippa. We have +already set forth the reasons[307] for the popularity of the Nabu cult +in Assyria. Suffice it to recall that the peculiar character of the god +as the patron of wisdom placed him beyond the reach of any jealousy on +the part of the other members of the pantheon. So Ramman-nirari III. +extols Nabu as the protector of the arts, the all-wise who guides the +stylus of the scribe, and the possessor of wisdom in general. He is not +merely the originator of writing, but the source of all wisdom, and for +this reason he is spoken of as the son of Ea. Attributes of mere brutal +force are rarely assigned to Nabu, but as befits a god of wisdom, mercy, +nobility, and majesty constitute his chief attractions. By virtue of his +wisdom, Sargon calls him 'the clear seer who guides all the gods,' and +when the last king of Assyria--Saracus, as the Greek writers called +him--invokes Nabu as the 'leader of forces,' he appears to have in mind +the heavenly troops rather than earthly armies. Such patrons of learning +as Sargon and Ashurbanabal were naturally fond of parading their +devotion to Nabu. The former significantly calls him the 'writer of +everything,' and as for Ashurbanabal, almost every tablet in the great +literary collection that he made at Nineveh closes with a solemn +invocation to Nabu and his consort Tashmitum, to whom he offers thanks +for having opened his ears to receive wisdom, and who persuaded him to +make the vast literary treasures of the past accessible to his subjects. + + +Tashmitum. + +The consort of Nabu was permitted to share the honors in the temple of +Nabu at Calah, but beyond this and Ashurbanabal's constant association +of Tashmitum with Nabu in the subscript to his tablets, she appears only +when the kings of Assyria coming to Babylonia as they were wont to +do,[308] in order to perform sacrifices, enumerate the chief gods of the +Babylonian pantheon. + + +Ea. + +Ea takes his place in the Assyrian pantheon in the double capacity of +god of wisdom and as a member of the old triad. Ashurnasirbal makes +mention of a sanctuary erected to the honor of Ea in Ashur. A +recollection of the rôle that Ea plays in Babylonian mythology survives +in the titles of 'creator' and 'king of the ocean,' which Shalmaneser +gives him,[309] and of the 'one who opens the fountains' as Ashurbanabal +declares.[310] He is also, as in Babylonia, the one who determines the +fates of mankind. As the one who has a care for the arts, he is the wise +god, just as Nabu, and under various titles, as Nu-gim-mud,[311] +Nin-igi-azag, and Igi-dug-gu,[312] all emphasizing his skill, he is the +artificer who aids the kings in their building operations. The +similarity of the rôles of Nabu and Ea, as gods of wisdom and the arts, +might easily have led to a confusion. Fortunately, the grandiloquent and +all-embracing titles accorded to the former did not alter his character +as essentially the god who presides over the art of writing, while Ea +retains the control over the architectural achievements,--the great +colossi, in the first instance, that guarded the approach of palaces, +the images of the gods in the second, and the temples and palaces in +general as his third function. + + +Damkina. + +Of the consort of Ea, it is sufficient to note that she is occasionally +referred to in the historical texts of the Assyrian period. In the +inscriptions of Sargon she appears under the rather strange title of +'Belit ilâni,' _i.e._, the mistress of the gods.[313] This 'mistress' +cannot be, as might at first blush appear, Ishtar or the old Belit, for +elsewhere[314] Ishtar, Belit, and Belit ilâni occur side by side. Sargon +declares that he owes his wisdom to Ea and Belit ilâni. In naming the +gates of his palace, he again associates Ea with 'the mistress of the +gods,' from which it is clear that the epithet is used of Ea's consort. + + +Nin-gal. + +A sanctuary to the old Babylonian goddess Nin-gal is included by Sargon +among the holy edifices erected by him in his official residence.[315] + + +Dibharra. + +We have pointed out in a previous chapter how faint the dividing line +sometimes becomes between gods and spirits. Among the minor deities, +ranking hardly above demons, is the plague-god, whose name may +provisionally be read Dibbarra.[316] The god plays a rôle in some of the +ancient legends of Babylonia. Remains have been found of a kind of epic +in which Dibbarra is the chief personage.[317] In the historical texts +he is once incidentally mentioned by Ashurbanabal, who in the course of +his campaign against Babylonia[318] describes how the corpses of those +killed by Dibbarra, _i.e._, through hunger and want, filled the streets +of the cities. Evidently Dibbarra here is a mere personification of the +dreadful demon of want that so often follows in the wake of a military +destruction. Still there can be no doubt that at one time he was +regarded as a real deity, and not merely a spirit or demon. Dibbarra is +identified in the theological system of Babylonia with Nergal. + + +Damku, Sharru-ilu, and Sha-nit(?)-ka. + +In an interesting passage recounting the restoration of the city +Magganubba, Sargon[319] says that he prayed to Damku, _i.e._, 'grace,' +Sharru-ilu, _i.e._, 'king-god,' and Sha-nit(?)-ka. The two former he +calls the judges of mankind. That Damku and Sharru-ilu are titles and +not names is evident from the meaning of the words, but at present it +is impossible to say what gods are meant.[320] Perhaps that these are +the translations of names of the old deities of Magganubba. We have +at least one other example of a foreign deity introduced into the +Assyrian pantheon. At Dur-ilu, a town lying near the Elamitic +frontier, there flourished the cult of Ka-di,[321] evidently a god +imported into the Assyrian pantheon from Elam or some other eastern +district. Sargon's scribes are fond of translating foreign names and +words, and they may have done so in this case, and thus added two new +deities to the glorious pantheon protecting their royal chief. As for +Sha-nit(?)-ka,[322] were it not that she is called the mistress of +Nineveh, one would also put her down as a foreign goddess. In view of +this, however, it may be that Sha-nit(?)-ka is an ideographic +designation of Ishtar. + +Before leaving the subject, a word needs to be said regarding the +relation between the active Assyrian pantheon and the long lists of +deities prepared by the schoolmen of Babylonia and Assyria. Reference +has already been made to these lists.[323] They vary in character. Some +of them furnish an index of the various names under which a god was +known,[324] or the titles assigned to him. These names and titles are +frequently indications that some great god has absorbed the attributes +of smaller ones, whose independence was in this way destroyed. Other +lists[325] are simple enumerations of local deities, and when to these +names some indications are added, as to the locality to which the gods +belong,[326] their importance is correspondingly increased. There can be +no doubt that most of these lists were prepared on the basis of the +occurrence of these gods in texts, and it seems most plausible to +conclude that the texts in question were of a religious character. +References to local cults are numerous in the incantations which form a +considerable proportion of the religious literature, while in hymns and +prayers, gods are often referred to by their titles instead of their +names. In some respects, however, these lists of gods are still obscure. +It is often difficult to determine whether we are dealing with gods or +spirits, and the origin and meaning of many of the names and epithets +assigned to gods are similarly involved in doubt. Use has been made of +these lists in determining the character of the gods included in this +survey of the Babylonian and Assyrian pantheon, but it would be +manifestly precarious to make additions to this pantheon on the basis of +the lists alone. Despite the tendency towards centralization of divine +power in a limited number of gods, local cults, no doubt, continued to +enjoy some importance in Assyria as well as Babylonia; but, in the +present stage of our knowledge, we have no means of determining either +the number or the character of these local cults. While, therefore, a +complete treatment of the pantheon of Babylonia and Assyria would +include all the minor local cults, we may feel quite certain that these +local cults furnish few, if any, additions to the concepts connected +with these gods which we have discussed. I have therefore contented +myself with some illustrations, in each of the three divisions under +which the pantheon has been surveyed, of some of the minor deities +chosen, such as actually occur in historical, commercial, or religious +texts. For the Assyrian pantheon, we may place Nin-gal and most of the +consorts of the gods among the minor gods, and also such deities as +Ka-di, Khani, Gaga, Dibbarra, Sherua, and Azag-sir, who are merely +incidentally referred to.[327] These illustrations suffice for placing +clearly before us the distinction to be made in the pantheon between +gods whose worship was actively carried on, and those who occupy more of +a theoretical position in the system perfected by the schoolmen, +standing under the political and social influences of their days. With +this distinction clearly impressed upon us, we will be prepared for such +modifications of our views of the Babylonian-Assyrian pantheon as +further researches and discoveries may render necessary. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[222] Semitic alphabet. + +[223] A form of Nebo, according to Meissner-Rost, _Bauinschriften +Sanherib's_, p. 105. + +[224] See Meissner-Rost, _ib._ p. 108. + +[225] As _e.g._, En-e-in-pal (Meissner-Rost, _ib._ p. 76). Sherua and +Arag-sir (_ib._ p. 101). For further lists of deities, see pp. 234, 238. + +[226] The Assyrian kings are fond of mentioning foreign deities, and of +adding them to their pantheon. In his annals (VR. col. vi. ll. 30-43) +Ashurbanabal gives a list of twenty Elamitic deities captured by him. + +[227] Tiele (_Babyl.-Assyr. Geschichte_, p. 519) suggests Ea. + +[228] An interesting example of this tendency is furnished by a tablet +published by T. G. Pinches (_Journal of the Victoria Institute_, xxviii. +8-10), in which the name Marduk is treated almost as a generic term for +deity. Nergal is called 'the Marduk of warfare'; Nebo, 'the Marduk of +earthly possessions'; Ninib, 'the Marduk of strength'; En-lil, 'the +Marduk of sovereignty'; and so on, in a long enumeration, the gods are +regarded as so many forms of Marduk. Pinches' conclusion that the list +points to monotheistic beliefs is, however, unwarranted. The list only +illustrates a tendency towards a centralization of divine powers in +Marduk, that accompanies the political centralization of the period. + +[229] See below, pp. 228, 229. + +[230] So the gods of the Assyrian pantheon are generally termed in the +inscriptions of the kings. + +[231] See below, p. 195. + +[232] See below, p. 220. + +[233] A description of this symbol occurs in a text of Sennacherib +(Meissner-Rost, _Bauinschriften Sanherib's_, p. 94). The symbol itself +is found on sculptured slabs and on seal cylinders. + +[234] So Sennacherib still speaks of Images of Ashur, and of the great +gods erected by him (Meissner-Rost, _Bauinschriften Sanherib's_, p. 94). + +[235] See Stevenson, "The Feather and the Wing in Mythology," _Oriental +Studies of the Phila. Oriental Club_, pp. 236-239. + +[236] _Babyl.-Assyr. Geschichte_, p. 533. + +[237] For the sake of convenience it is customary to distinguish between +Ashur the god, and the country by writing the latter with a double +_sh_--Ashshur. + +[238] _Geschichte_, p. 533. + +[239] See Jensen _Zeits. für Assyr._ i. 1 _seq._ and Delitzsch, _Das +Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos_, p. 94. + +[240] By the assimilation of the _n_ to the following consonant. + +[241] See above, pp. 173, 175. + +[242] Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 275. + +[243] The combination of religious supremacy with political power, which +characterizes the social state of ancient Babylonia and Assyria, gives +to the title _patesi_ a double significance. In Babylonia, moreover, it +acquires the force of vassal-king. + +[244] The full list is Anu, Ashur, Shamash, Ramman, and Ishtar. + +[245] More precisely Arba-ilu, signifying 'city of the fourfold +divinity' or 'four-god' city. _Cf._ the Palestinian form Kiryath-Arba, +"four city,"--originally perhaps, likewise, a city of four gods, rather +than four roads or four quarters, as commonly explained. + +[246] IR. 14, l. 86. + +[247] _Babyl.-Assyr. Geschichte_, p. 85. + +[248] See above, p. 83. + +[249] See above, pp. 83, 84. + +[250] Cylinder B, col. v. ll. 30 _seq._; elsewhere (Rassam Cylinder, +col. ii. ll. 115 _seq._) he prays to Ashur and Ishtar. + +[251] Rassam Cylinder, col. viii. l. 92. Elsewhere, Cylinder B, col. v. +17, Ishtar is called the daughter of Bel. This, however, must be an +error; either Sin must be read for Bel, or _khirat_ (consort) for +_marat_ (daughter). + +[252] See above, p. 151. + +[253] See Barton, "The Semitic Ishtar Cult" (_Hebraica_, x. 9-12). + +[254] _I.e._, _c._ 1800 B.C. + +[255] See p. 154. + +[256] See above, p. 149. + +[257] See below, p. 237. + +[258] A king of Nippur (_c._ 2500 B.C.) bears the name Ishme-Dagan. + +[259] See above, p. 154; Tiele, _Geschichte der Religion im Alterthum_, +i. 172. + +[260] See Hommel, _Geschichte_, p. 490. How much earlier Samsi-Ramman I. +reigned is not known--perhaps only 40 or 50 years. + +[261] The _d_ of Dagon would be represented by _d_ in cuneiform writing. + +[262] See p. 154. + +[263] An eponym in his days bears the name Daganbelusur. + +[264] In the El-Amarna tablets (_c._ 1400 B.C.) the governors of the +Palestinian states generally address their Egyptian lord as 'my sun'. + +[265] Exactly of what nature we do not know. The Assyrian word used, +Cylinder, l. 43, is obscure. + +[266] See p. 160. + +[267] IR. 8, col. i. 85. See above, p. 166. + +[268] Ashurnasirbal calls him so in his annals, _e.g._, col. iii. 1. +130. + +[269] Bavian Inscription, ll. 48-50. See also Meissner-Rost, +_Bauinschriften Sanherib's_, p. 102. The reading of the name of the city +is not certain. It signifies 'city of palaces.' + +[270] _c._ 1120 B.C. + +[271] II Rawlinson, 57, 33. + +[272] So Tiglathpileser associates Ashur and Nin-ib, as those 'who +fulfill his desire.' + +[273] Ashurnasirbal's father bears the name Tukulti-Ninib. + +[274] See above, pp. 151, 206. + +[275] One of the gates of Sargon's palace is called after Nin-ib. + +[276] See above, p. 57. + +[277] See above, pp. 92-94. + +[278] _Kosmologie_, pp. 457-475. + +[279] He is also called the offspring of a goddess, Ku-tu-shar, but this +reference is not clear. See Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 468, note 5. + +[280] In a religious text he is addressed as 'holy, holy, holy.' + +[281] Balawat, col. v. ll. 4, 5. + +[282] Kar = fortress. + +[283] See Sayce, _Hibbert Lectures_, p. 438, and Jensen's important +note, _Kosmologie_, pp. 492-494. + +[284] See pp. 124, 125. + +[285] Cylinder, l. 61. + +[286] See pp. 117 _seq._ + +[287] We may therefore expect, some day, to come across the name Marduk +in Assyrian texts earlier than the ninth century. + +[288] See p. 131. + +[289] So also Shalmaneser II., Obelisk, l. 179, unless Marduk here is an +error for Ramman, _cf._ l. 175. + +[290] See above, p. 146. + +[291] The so-called _Prunkinschrift_, ll. 174 _seq._ + +[292] Note the frequent use of Ashur and Bel for Assyria and Babylonia. + +[293] Ashurbanabal, Rassam Cylinder, col ix. ll. 76, 77. + +[294] See above, p. 205. + +[295] IR. II. col. iv. ll. 34, 35. + +[296] See below, pp. 231, 237. + +[297] Rawlinson, ii. 66. + +[298] Rassam Cylinder, col. x. ll. 25-27. + +[299] See Tiele, _Babyl. Assyr. Geschichte_, p. 127. + +[300] Obelisk, l. 52. + +[301] Annals, col. ii. l. 135. + +[302] Rassam Cylinder, col. x. l. 75. + +[303] _Prunkinschrift_, l. 143. + +[304] Esarhaddon, IR. 46, col. ii. l. 48; Rawlinson, iii. 16, col. iii. +l. 24. + +[305] IR. 35, no. 2, l. 12. + +[306] IR. 8, no. 3, ll. 5 _seq._ + +[307] See above, p. 126. + +[308] _E.g._, Tiglathpileser III., Nimrud inscription (Layard, pl. 17, +l. 12). + +[309] Obelisk, l. 5. + +[310] Rassam Cylinder, col. i. l. 45. + +[311] Delitzsch (_Das Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos_, p. 99) questions +whether Nu-gim-mud (or Nu-dim-mud) was originally a designation of Ea. +Nu-dim-mud being an epithet might, of course, be applied to other gods, +but there can be no doubt that it was used to designate more +particularly Ea as the artificer. See my remarks, pp. 138, 177 _seq._ + +[312] Meissner-Rost, _Bauinscriften Sanherib's_, p. 105. + +[313] Cylinder, l. 48, ideographically as Nin-men-an-na, 'lady of the +heavenly crown.' In the parallel passage, however, as Lyon +(_Sargontexte_, p. 71) points out, _Belit ilâni_ is used. + +[314] Cylinder, l. 70. + +[315] Cylinder, l. 68. + +[316] Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 445, reads the name _Gira_. See pp. +527-28. + +[317] See the author's work on _A Fragment of the Dibbarra Epic_. (Ginn +& Co., Boston, 1891). + +[318] Rassam Cylinder, col. lv. ll. 79 _seq._ + +[319] Cylinder, ll. 44-53. + +[320] Delitzsch's supposition (see Lyon, _Sargontexte_, p. 71) that +Sharru-ilu is Izdubar is untenable. + +[321] _Babyl. Chronicle_, col. iii. l. 44. + +[322] May also be read Sha-ush-ka. + +[323] See above, pp. 13, 170. + +[324] _E.g._, IIR. 58, no. 5, titles of Ea; IIR. 60, no. 2, titles of +Nabu. + +[325] _E.g._, IIR. 60, no. 1. + +[326] _E.g._, IIIR. 66, lists of gods worshipped in various temples of +Assyria and also of Babylonia. + +[327] See pp. 189, 238. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE TRIAD AND THE COMBINED INVOCATION OF DEITIES. + + +The Assyrian kings, in imitation of the example set by their Babylonian +predecessors, are fond of introducing into their inscriptions, a series +of gods under whose protection they place themselves. They do not do +this as the earlier Babylonian rulers did, to emphasize the extent of +their jurisdiction by adding to their pantheon the deities of towns or +districts vanquished by them. The day of independent states being over, +the importance of merely local deities had ceased. The theological +system evolved in Babylonia in combination with the popular instinct had +led to a selection out of the mass of deities of a limited number, each +with tolerably definite attributes, and who together embraced all the +forces under whose power mankind stood. Of these deities again, as we +have seen, some acquired greater favor in Assyria than others, but for +all that, the kings especially of the later period of Assyrian history +were fond of including in an enumeration of the pantheon, even those who +had no special significance. Policy and the meaningless imitation of +earlier examples played an equal part in thus giving to the lists an +aspect of formality that deprives them of the impression that they might +otherwise make. + +The combined invocations are found usually at the beginning and at the +end of the inscriptions--at the beginning for invoking the aid of the +gods, at the close for invoking their curses upon those who would +attempt to destroy the ambitious monuments set up by the kings. Often, +however, the narrative is interrupted for the purpose of making +acknowledgment to a larger or smaller series of gods for victory, +granted or hoped for. In these combined references a separate place +belongs to the triad, Anu, Bel, and Ea. While not occupying the +prominent position they have in Babylonian inscriptions, still the kings +often mention Anu, Bel, and Ea separately, or Anu and Bel alone, +ascribing victory to them, putting them down as the originators of the +calendar system, and declaring themselves to have been nominated by them +to rule over Assyria. Sargon, with his antiquarian zeal, appears to have +made an effort to reinstate the triad as a special group in the +pantheon. In general, however, they take their place with other gods. So +Ramman-nirari I. invokes the curse of Ashur, Anu, Bel, Ea, and Ishtar, +together with the Igigi and Anunnaki; but, what is more important, +already at an early period the triad disappears altogether from the +pantheon, except for the artificial attempts of Sargon to revive +interest in them. In both the longer and shorter lists of gods +enumerated by the kings from the time of Tiglathpileser, the triad is +conspicuous for its absence. + +As for the other gods, it is to some extent a matter of caprice which +ones happen to be invoked, though just as frequently we see the motive +for selecting certain ones of the pantheon. Thus, when proceeding to +Babylonia for war or sacrifices, the gods of Babylonia are invoked, +either Marduk and Nabu alone, as the chief gods, or Bel (_i.e._, +Marduk), Sarpanitum, Nabu, Tashmitum, Nanâ, Nergal, with Ashur, or Ashur +and Marduk, or Marduk and Nabu in combination with Ashur. At other times +it depends upon the gods to whom certain kings may be especially +attached, or with whom they may have special dealings in their +inscriptions. Thus Tiglathpileser I., when speaking of the temple of Anu +and Ramman, contents himself with invoking these two gods alone at the +close of his great inscription. Elsewhere, when referring to the special +gods of his city, he combines Anu and Ramman with Ishtar; but again, for +no special reason, his prayer is addressed to Ashur, Shamash, and +Ramman. The pantheon of Ramman-nirari I. consists either of the longer +one above enumerated, or of Anu, Ashur, Shamash, Ramman, and Ishtar. As +we proceed down the centuries, the formal lists at the beginning of +inscriptions have a tendency to grow larger. Ashurnasirbal's pantheon +consists of Bel and Nin-ib, Anu and Dagan, Sin, Anu, Ramman, and, of +course, Ashur, though on special occasions, as when speaking of his +achievements in the chase, he contents himself with a mention of Nin-ib +and Nergal. He loves, too, to vary the style of his inscriptions by +naming various groups of deities in pairs: now Ashur and Shamash, again +Ashur and Nin-ib, or Ashur and Bel; then Shamash and Ramman, or a group +of three deities, Ashur, Shamash, and Ramman, or Sin, Anu, and Ramman. +His successors imitate this example, though each one chooses his own +combinations. Shalmaneser II.'s pantheon embraces Ashur, Anu, Bel, Ea, +Sin, Shamash, Nin-ib, Nergal, Nusku, Belit, and Ishtar--eleven in all. +Sargon's practice varies. The best list is furnished by his account of +the eight gates of his palace and of two walls, which he names after the +gods in the following order:[328] + + Shamash, who grants victory. } As the names for the + Ramman, who brings superabundance. } eastern gates. + Bel, who lays foundations. } For the northern gates. + Belit, who brings fertility. } + Anu, who blesses handiwork. } For the western + Ishtar, who causes the inhabitants to flourish. } gates. + Ea, who unlocks fountains. } For the southern + } gates. + Belit ilâni,[329] who increases the offspring. } + Ashur, who permits the king to grow old, and protects the troops.--For + the inner wall. + Nin-ib, who lays the foundations of the city.--For the outer wall. + +The order here is dictated by the directions of the gates. Elsewhere he +sets up the group Ea, Sin, Shamash, Nabu, Ramman, Nin-ib, and their +consorts. + +Sennacherib's fuller group consists of Ashur, Sin, Shamash, Bel (_i.e._, +Marduk), Nabu, Nergal, Ishtar of Nineveh, and Ishtar of Arbela--only +eight. But at the close of one of his building inscriptions[330] he +invokes some twenty deities, adding to these eight, Nusku, Khani, Gaga, +Sherua, Nin-gal, a god Azag-sir, and Nin-ib under three different forms; +but it is evident that most of these are added to give effect and +solemnity. They do not form part of the active pantheon. His successor, +Esarhaddon, sets up various groups. At one time he enumerates Ashur, +Sin, Shamash, Nabu, Marduk, Ishtar of Nineveh, Ishtar of Arbela; at +another he prefers different combinations of these gods. Ashurbanabal is +more consistent than most of the Assyrian rulers, and furnishes at the +same time the best list. While he, too, frequently mentions only a few +deities, grouping three or four together, his longer series consists, +with but one or two exceptions, invariably of the following, and who +always occur in the same order: Ashur, Belit, Sin, Shamash, Ramman, Bel +(_i.e._, Marduk), Nabu, Ishtar of Nineveh, the queen of Kidmuru, Ishtar +of Arbela, Nin-ib, Nergal, and Nusku--thirteen in all. Of these, as we +have seen, only some were actively worshipped at all times in Assyria; +as for the others, the popularity of their cult varied from age to age, +now being actively carried on under the stimulus afforded by the +erection or improvement of an edifice sacred to the god, and again +falling into comparative insignificance; but formally, at least, all +these gods were regarded at all times as forming part of the pantheon of +the 'great gods.' The testimony of Ashurbanabal thus becomes valuable as +a proof that to the latest days of the Assyrian monarchy, the attachment +to these gods was still strong enough to merit the formal +acknowledgments of the king to them on all occasions, and that through +their combined aid the glorious achievements of the past and present +were attained. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[328] Cylinder, ll. 67-73. + +[329] Ea's consort; see above, p. 231. + +[330] Meissner-Rost, _Bauinschriften Sanherib's_, p. 99. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE NEO-BABYLONIAN PERIOD. + + +When upon the fall of the Assyrian empire, in 606 B.C., Babylonia +regained her full measure of independence, Marduk once more obtained +undisputed sway at the head of the pantheon. True, so far as Babylonia +was concerned, Marduk was always the acknowledged head, but during the +period that Assyria held Babylonia in a more or less rigid form of +subjection it was inevitable that Ashur should lower the prestige of +Marduk. When the kings of Assyria paid their respects to Marduk, it was +always as second in rank to Ashur; and, what is more, they claimed +Marduk and the other gods of Babylonia as their own, and as upholders of +their own sovereignty. When the kings feel impelled to invade the +southern districts, they not only claim to be under the protection of +the Babylonian gods, but they carry these gods with them into the land +to be invaded. 'Bel and the gods of Akkad leave Assyria and go to +Babylonia' is the official term in which a campaign against Babylonia is +described.[331] In the eyes of the Babylonians such a haughty assumption +on the part of the Assyrians must have been regarded as humiliating to +Marduk, Nabu, and their associates. + +The state of affairs changed when Nebopolassar at the end of the seventh +century once more claimed independent control over Babylonia. Marduk +triumphs over Ashur. He is once more the great god, lord of gods, +supreme king of the Igigi, the father of the Anunnaki--all titles that +the Assyrians were fond of heaping upon Ashur. One feels the anxiety of +Nebopolassar to emphasize the new order of things by attributing once +more to Marduk what was formerly claimed for Ashur. The successor of +Nebopolassar, the great Nebuchadnezzar, continues the policy of his +father. He neglects no opportunity for exalting Marduk as the king, the +creator, the leader of the gods, the lord of everything, the merciful +one, the light of the gods, the all-wise. Nabu shares the honors with +Marduk. Nebopolassar, indeed, accords to Nabu an equal share, and he +does not hesitate at times to place the name Nabu before that of +Marduk.[332] He does not speak of Nabu as the son of Marduk, and seems +to be at particular pains to emphasize the equality of Nabu with Marduk. +In this respect Nebopolassar presents a contrast to Hammurabi, who, it +will be recalled, made an attempt to suppress the Nabu cult.[333] +Nebopolassar, however, does not go to the extent of endeavoring to make +Nabu supersede Marduk. He contents himself with manifesting his +partiality for the former, and it is probably no accident that both his +official name and that of his son contain the god Nabu as one of their +elements, and not Marduk. One is inclined to suspect that this +popularity of the Nabu cult is a trace of Assyrian influence. But +whatever may have been Nebopolassar's intention in exalting Nabu at the +cost of Marduk, Nebuchadnezzar restores the old relationship between the +two. For him Nabu is again merely the son of Marduk, and he honors Nabu +in this capacity. Like the Assyrian Nabu, the god places the sceptre in +the king's hands, but he is, after all, only the supreme messenger of +Marduk. In the closing days of the Babylonian monarchy a more serious +attempt, it would appear, was made to displace Marduk. Nabonnedos formed +the design of replacing both Marduk and Nabu by the cult of Shamash. He +incurs the ill-will of the priests by paying much more attention to the +restoration of the various Shamash temples in Babylonia than would +appear to be consistent with devotion to Marduk. Cyrus, therefore, in +his conquest of Babylonia, sets up the claim of being the savior of +Marduk's honor.[334] + +The Neo-Babylonian period may properly be designated as a religious age. +The rulers, anxious to manifest their gratitude to the gods, and +prompted in part, no doubt, by the desire to emulate the glorious +architectural achievements of the Assyrian monarchs, devote themselves +assiduously to the improvement of the great temples of the city of +Babylon, and to the restoration or enlargement of those scattered +throughout the country. Nebopolassar sets the example in this respect, +which is considerably improved upon by Nebuchadnezzar. Over forty +temples and shrines are mentioned in the latter's inscriptions as having +been improved, enlarged, or restored by him; and the last king of +Babylonia, Nabonnedos, endeavors to continue this royal policy of +temple-building. In this respect the Neo-Babylonian rulers present a +contrast to the Assyrian rulers, who were much more concerned in rearing +grand edifices for themselves. While the gods were not neglected in +Assyria, one hears much more of the magnificent palaces erected by the +kings than of temples and shrines. In fact, as compared with Babylonia, +Assyria was poor in the number of her temples. The chief sanctuaries to +which the Neo-Babylonian kings devoted themselves were, in the first +instance, E-sagila of Babylon and E-zida of Borsippa. Nebopolassar and +his successors are fond of giving themselves the title of 'beautifier of +E-Sagila and E-zida.' In these great temples sacred to Marduk and Nebo, +there were shrines to Sarpanitum, Tashmitum, Nusku, Ea and others, which +also engaged the energies of the rulers. + +After Babylon came the old sanctuaries in the ancient religious centers +of the south,--the temples to Shamash and his consort at Sippar and +Larsa, the temples to Sin at Ur and Harran, to the old Ishtar or Anunit +at Agade, to Nanâ in Erech. Thirdly, the cities of Babylon and Borsippa, +to which the kings, especially Nebuchadnezzar, are deeply attached, were +enriched with many sanctuaries more or less imposing, sacred to a +variety of deities. So Shamash, Sin, Nin-makh,--_i.e._, the great lady, +or Ishtar,--Nin-khar-shag, Gula, also appearing as Nin-Karrak,[335] have +their temples in Babylon, while Ramman has one in Borsippa, and Gula no +less than three sanctuaries--perhaps only small chapels--in Borsippa. +Fourthly, there are sanctuaries of minor importance in other quarters of +Babylonia. Among these we find mention of the improvement of sanctuaries +to the local deity of Marad, whom Nebuchadnezzar simply calls +Lugal-Marada, _i.e._, king of Marad, to Bel-sarbi, or Shar-sarbi, in +Baz,--perhaps a title of Nergal,--to Nin-ib in Dilbat, to Ramman in +Kumari(?). + +Most of these sanctuaries are referred to in the inscriptions of +Nebuchadnezzar--a circumstance which, in connection with the many other +gods whom he invokes on various occasions, points to a great revival of +ancient cults in his days. Some of these cults had never reached any +degree of importance prior to his time. Hence it happens that we come +across deities in his inscriptions of whom no mention is found +elsewhere. It is probable that such gods were purely local deities, some +of them, if not many, being at the same time personifications of the +powers or phenomena of nature, while others may be familiar gods, +masquerading under strange attributes. Unfortunately most of these gods +are written in ideographic fashion, so that we cannot be certain of the +reading of their names. Among these are Nin-lil-anna, a goddess called +by Nebuchadnezzar 'the lady who loves me,'[336] and Tur-lil-en,[337] a +god who is described as 'breaking the weapons of enemies.' As for +Bel-sarbi, or Shar-sarbi, the god of Baz,[338] they appear to be titles +rather than names. Dibbarra, Nergal and his consort Laz, and Zamama are +also included in the pantheon of Nebuchadnezzar. + +In regard to none of these deities do we find any conceptions different +from those developed in the period of Hammurabi, any more than in the +conceptions of those gods who occupy a more prominent place in the +pantheon. Shamash is the judge, Sin is the wise one, Ramman the +thunderer, and so on throughout the list. It was not a period favorable +to the production of new religious thought, but only to the more or less +artificial revival of old cults. + + * * * * * + +With the conquest of Babylonia by Cyrus in 539 B.C., we reach the close +of the period to be embraced in a history of the Babylonian-Assyrian +religion. True, the Marduk and Nabu cults were upheld by the Persian +rulers, and the policy of the latter in not disturbing the religious +status was continued by the Greeks when they in turn succeeded the +Persians in their control of Babylonia, but the presence of strange +civilizations with totally different religious trains of thought was +bound to affect the character of the old faith, and in time to threaten +its existence. At all events, it ceases to have any interest for us. +There are no further lines of development upon which it enters. The +period of decay, of slow but sure decay, has set in. The cuneiform +writing continues to be used till almost the beginning of our era, and +so the religious cults draw out their existence to a late period; but as +the writing and the civilization yield before new forces that entirely +alter the character of Oriental culture, so also the religion, after +sinking ever lower into the bogs of superstition, disappears, much as +the canals and little streams of the Euphrates valley, through the +neglect which settled over the country, become lost in the +death-breeding swamps and marshes. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[331] Babylonian Chronicle B, col. iv. ll. 34, 35. + +[332] _Zeitschrift für Assyriologie_, II. 72, col. i. ll. 2, 3. + +[333] See above, p. 127. + +[334] See a paper by Tiele, on "Cyrus and the Babylonian Religion," in +the _Proceedings of the Amsterdam Academy_, 1896. + +[335] For the identity of Nin-Karrak and Gula, see the 'Shurpu' +Incantation Series, iv. l. 86 (ed. Zimmern), where the former is called +the 'great physician,'--the epithet peculiar to Gula. + +[336] East India House Inscription, col. iv. l. 44. + +[337] VR. 34, col. ii. l. 26, or simply Tur-lil (East India House +Inscription, col. iv. l. 49, not Tur-e, as Winckler, _Keils Bibl._ 3, 2, +18, reads). + +[338] _I.e._, king or lord of Sarbi. Pognon (_Les Inscriptions +Babyloniennes de Wadl Brissa_), p. 46, is of the opinion that _sarbi_ is +the palm, but he fails to bring sufficient proof, and his theory is +improbable. The stem _sarabu_ means to burn, and the "fiery lord" is +certainly an epithet belonging to some solar deity. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE RELIGIOUS LITERATURE OF BABYLONIA. + + +The pantheon of a religion presents us with the external phases of the +religion in question. In order to penetrate further towards the core of +the religion, and to see it at its best, the religious thought as +manifested in the national literature constitutes our most valuable +guide. The beginnings of Babylonian literature are enveloped in +obscurity. We have seen that we are justified in passing beyond the +period of Hammurabi[339] for these beginnings, but exactly when and +precisely how the literary spirit first manifested itself in Babylonia +will probably remain for a long time, if not for always, a matter of +conjecture. The great political and religious centers of Babylonia, such +as Ur, Sippar, Agade, Eridu, Nippur, Uruk, perhaps also Lagash, and +later on Babylon, formed the foci of literary activity, as they were the +starting-points of commercial enterprise. This intimate connection of +religion with literature left its impress upon all branches into which +the Babylonian literature was in the course of time differentiated. In a +certain sense all the literature of Babylonia is religious. Even the +legal formulas, as embodied in the so-called contract tablets, have a +religious tinge. The priests being the scribes, a contract of any kind +between two or more parties was a religious compact. The oath which +accompanied the compact involved an invocation of the gods. The decree +of the judges in a disputed suit was confirmed by an appeal to the gods. +The terms in which the parties bound themselves consisted largely of +religious phrases, and finally the dating of the tablet often contained +a reference to some religious festival or to some event of religious +import--such as the building of a sanctuary. Science, so far as it +existed in Babylonia, never loosened the leading-strings that bound it +to the prevailing religious thought. The observation of the stars was +carried on under the belief of the supposed influence exerted by the +heavenly bodies upon the fate of man; and surprising as we find the +development of astronomical calculations and forecasts to be, +mathematics does not pass beyond the limits of astrology. Medicine was +likewise the concern of the priests. Disease was a divine infliction +supposed to be due to the direct presence in the body, or to the hidden +influence, of some pernicious spirit. The cure was effected by the +exorcising of the troublesome spirit through prescribed formulas of +supposed power, accompanied by symbolical acts. There is indeed no +branch of human knowledge which so persistently retains its connection +with religious beliefs among all peoples of antiquity as the one which +to-day is regarded as resting solely upon a materialistic basis. As a +consequence the Babylonians, although they made some progress in +medicinal methods, and more especially in medical diagnosis, never +dissociated medicinal remedies from the appeal to the gods. The recital +of formulas was supposed to secure by their magic force the +effectiveness of the medical potions that were offered to the sufferer. + +As for the historical texts, the preceding chapters have illustrated how +full they are of religious allusions, how at every turn we meet with the +influence exerted by the priests as the composers of these texts. Almost +all occurrences are given a religious coloring. That these texts furnish +us with such valuable material, and such a quantity of it, is indeed to +be traced directly to the fact that the historical literature is also +the direct production of the religious leaders and guides of the people, +acting at the command of rulers, who were desirous of emphasizing their +dependence upon the gods of the country, and who made this dependence +the basis of the authority they exerted. + +Such being the general aspect of Babylonian literature, it is not always +possible to draw a sharp line separating religious productions from such +as may properly be termed secular. For example, the zodiacal system of +the Babylonians, which we shall have occasion to discuss, although +presenting a scientific aspect, is in reality an outcome of the +religious thought; and so at other points it is necessary to pass over +into the region of secular thought for illustrations of the religious +beliefs. Bearing this in mind, we may set up a fivefold division of the +religious literature of the Babylonians in the stricter sense: (1) the +magical texts, (2) the hymns and prayers, (3) omens and forecasts, (4) +the cosmology, (5) epics and legends. It will be apparent that the first +three divisions represent a practical part of the literature, while the +two latter are of a more purely literary character. The magical texts, +as well as the hymns and prayers and omens, we can well imagine were +produced as circumstances called them forth, and one can also understand +how they should, at an early age, have been committed to writing. The +incantations serving the practical purpose already referred to of +securing a control over the spirit, it will be readily seen that such as +had demonstrated their effectiveness would become popular. The desire +would arise to preserve them for future generations. With that natural +tendency of loose custom to become fixed law, these incantations would +come to be permanently associated with certain temples. Rituals would +thus arise. The incantation would be committed to writing so that one +generation of priests might be certain of furnishing orthodox +instruction to the other; and, once written, they would form part of the +temple archives, finding a place in these archives by the side of the +contract tablets, for which the sacred edifices of the country also +served as depositories. The large quantity of incantation texts that +have been found in Ashurbanabal's library,[340] as well as the +variations and contrasts they present when compared with one another, +are probably due to the various sources whence the scribes of the king, +who were sent to the libraries of the south, collected their material. +It is only reasonable to suppose that each great temple acquired in the +course of time a ritual of its own, which, while perhaps not differing +in any essential points from that introduced in another place, yet +deviated from it sufficiently to impart to it a character of its own. In +the case of some of the texts that have been preserved, it is still +possible to determine through certain traits that they exhibit in what +religious center they were produced. With considerable more guarantee of +accuracy can this be done in the case of the hymns and prayers. +Addressed as the latter were to certain deities, it stands to reason +that they were written for use in the temples sacred to those deities, +or, if not to be used, at least composed in honor of certain sanctuaries +that contained the images of the deities thus exalted. Again, in the +historical inscriptions of the Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods, +prayers are introduced, and we are as a general thing expressly told on +what occasion they were composed and in what sanctuary they were +uttered. We may therefore conclude that those which have been preserved +independently also served a practical purpose, and were written, not +merely for certain occasions, but for certain places. The practical +purpose served by texts containing omens and forecasts derived from the +observation of the planets and stars, from monstrosities--human and +animal--from strange occurrences, accidents, and the like, is too +obvious to require demonstration. But while duly emphasizing the +practical purpose that gave rise to the incantation texts, the hymns, +the prayers and omens, we must be careful not to press this point too +far. The rituals of the various temples once being fixed, the impulse to +literary composition would still go on in an age marked by intellectual +activity. The practical purpose would be followed by the pure love of +composition. The attachment to certain sanctuaries or certain deities +would inspire earnest and gifted priests to further efforts. +Accordingly, while we cannot be certain that among the actual remains of +magical texts and hymns we may not have specimens that belong to this +class, there is no reason to question that such must have been produced. +The guarantee for this hypothesis is furnished by the compositions that +reflect the cosmological beliefs, the epics and legends that form the +second half of the religious productions of Babylonia. + +Speculation regarding the origin of the universe belongs to an early +period in the development of culture. There are few people, however +primitive their culture, who are not attracted by the spirit of +curiosity to seek for some solution of the mysteries which they daily +witness; but the systematization of these speculations does not take +place until a body of men arises among a people capable of giving to the +popular fancies a logical sequence, or the approach at least to a +rational interpretation. This process, which resulted in producing in +Babylonia compositions that unfold a system of creation, is one of long +duration. It proceeds under the influence of the intellectual movements +that manifest themselves from time to time with the attendant result +that, as the conceptions become more definite and more elaborate, they +reflect more accurately the aspirations of the various generations +engaged in bringing these conceptions to their final form. When finally +these beliefs and speculations are committed to writing, it is done in +part for the purpose of assuring them a greater degree of permanence, +and in part to establish more definitely the doctrines developed in the +schools--to define, as it were, the norm of theological and +philosophical thought. + +In examining, therefore, the cosmological speculations of the +Babylonians as they appear in the literary productions, we must +carefully distinguish between those portions which are the productions +of popular fancy, and therefore old, and those parts which give evidence +of having been worked out in the schools. In a general way, also, we +must distinguish between the contents and the form given to the +speculations in question. We shall see in due time that a certain amount +of historical tradition, however dimmed, has entered into the views +evolved in Babylonia regarding the origin of things, inasmuch as the +science of origins included for the Babylonians the beginning, not +merely of gods, men, animals, and plants, but also of cities and of +civilization in general. Still more pronounced is the historical spirit +in the case of the epics and legends that here, as everywhere else, grew +to even larger proportions, and were modified even after they were +finally committed to writing. The great heroes of the past do not perish +from the memory of a people, nor does the recollection of great events +entirely pass away. In proportion as the traditions of the past become +dimmed, the more easily do they lend themselves to a blending with +popular myths regarding the phenomena of nature. To this material +popularly produced, a literary shape would be given through the same +medium that remodeled the popular cosmological speculations. The task +would have a more purely literary aspect than that of systematizing the +current views regarding the origin and order of things, since it would +be free from any doctrinal tendency. The chief motive that would prompt +the _literati_ to thus collect the stories of favorite heroes and the +traditions and the legends of the past would be--in addition, perhaps, +to the pure pleasure of composition--the desire to preserve the stories +for future generations, while a minor factor that may have entered into +consideration would be the pedagogical one of adding to the material for +study that might engage the attention and thoughts of the young +aspirants to sacred and secular lore. While the ultimate aim of learning +in Babylonia remained for all times a practical one, namely, the ability +to act as a scribe or to serve in the cult, to render judicial decisions +or to observe the movements of the stars, to interpret the signs of +nature and the like, it was inevitable that through the intellectual +activity thus evoked there would arise a spirit of a love of learning +for learning's sake, and at all events a fondness for literary pursuits +independent of any purely practical purposes served by such pursuits. + +In this way we may account for the rise of the several divisions of the +religious literature of Babylonia. Before turning to a detailed +exposition of each of these divisions, it only remains to emphasize the +minor part taken in all these literary labors by the Assyrians. The +traditions embodied in the cosmological productions, the epics and +legends of Babylonia, are no doubt as much the property of the Assyrians +as of their southern cousins, just as the conceptions underlying the +incantation texts and the hymns and prayers and omens, though produced +in the south, are on the whole identical with those current in the +north. Whatever differences we have discovered between the phases of the +Babylonian-Assyrian religion, as manifested in the north and in the +south, are not of a character to affect the questions and views involved +in the religious literature. The stamp given to the literary products in +this field, taken as a whole, is distinctly Babylonian. It is the spirit +of the south that breathes through almost all the religious texts that +have as yet been discovered. Only in some of the prayers and oracles and +omens that are inserted in the historical inscriptions of Assyrian +kings, or have been transmitted independently, do we recognize the work +of Assyrian _literati_, imbued with a spirit peculiar to Assyria. +Perhaps, too, in the final shape given to the tales connected with the +creation of the gods and of men we may detect an Assyrian influence on +Babylonian thought, some concession made at a period of Assyrian +supremacy to certain religious conceptions peculiar to the north. But +such influences are of an indirect character, and we may accept the +statement of Ashurbanabal as literally true that the literature +collected by him is a copy of what was found in the great literary +archives of the south--and not only found, but produced there. In +imitation of the example set by the south, schools were of a certainty +established in Nineveh, Arbela, and elsewhere for the education of +priests, scribes, and judges; but we have no evidence to show that they +ever developed to the point of becoming intellectually independent of +Babylonian _models_, except perhaps in minor particulars that need not +enter into our calculations. This relationship between the intellectual +life of Babylonia and Assyria finds its illustration and proof, not +merely in the religious literature, but in the religious art and cult +which, as we shall see, like the literature, bear the distinct impress +of their southern origin, though modified in passing from the south to +the north. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[339] See above, pp. 72, 114, 133 _seq._ + +[340] See pp. 12-14. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE MAGICAL TEXTS. + + +Turning to the first subdivision of Babylonian religious literature, we +find remains sufficient to justify us in concluding that there must have +been produced a vast number of texts containing formulas and directions +for securing a control over the spirits which were supposed at all times +to be able to exercise a certain amount of power over men. By virtue of +the aim served by these productions we may group them under the head of +magical texts, or incantations. We have already indicated the manner in +which these incantations grew into more or less rigid temple rituals. +This growth accounts for the fact that the incantations generally framed +in by ceremonial directions, prayers, and reflections, were combined +into a continuous series (or volume, as we would say) of varying length, +covering nine, ten, a dozen, twenty tablets or more. It has been +generally assumed that these incantation texts constitute the oldest +division of the religious literature of the Babylonians. The assertion +in an unqualified form is hardly accurate, for the incantation texts, +such as they lie before us, give evidence of having been submitted to +the influences of an age much later than the one in which their +substance was produced. Conceptions have been carried into them that +were originally absent, and a form given to them that obliges us to +distinguish between the underlying concepts, and the manner in which +these concepts have been combined with views that reflect a later and, +in many respects, a more advanced period. The incantation texts are +certainly no older than texts furnishing omens. Some of the incantation +texts indeed may not be any older than portions of the creation epic, +and in the latter, as in other parts of the religious literature, there +are elements as ancient and as primitive as anything to be found in the +omens or incantations. So much, however, is true, that the incantations +represent the earliest ritual proper to the Babylonian cult, and that +the conceptions underlying this ritual are the emanation of popular +thought, or, if you choose, of popular fancy of a most primitive +character. It is also true that, on the whole, the incantation texts +retain more traces of primitive popular thought than other divisions of +the religious literature with the exception of the omens. The remodeling +to which they were subjected did not destroy their original character to +the extent that might have been expected--a circumstance due in the +first instance to the persistency of the beliefs that called these texts +forth. + +Many of the texts containing incantations were found by the modern +explorers in so mutilated a condition, that one can hardly hazard any +generalizations as to the system followed in putting the incantations +together. From the fact, however, that in so many instances the +incantations form a series of longer or shorter extent, we may, for the +present at least, conclude that the serial form was the method generally +followed; and at all events, if not the general method, certainly a +favorite one. Deviating from the ordinary custom of calling the series +according to the opening line of the first tablet, the incantation texts +were given a distinct title, which was either descriptive or chosen with +reference to their general contents. So one series which covered at +least sixteen tablets was known by the very natural name of the 'evil +demon'; the incantations that it contained being intended as a +protection against various classes of demons. Another is known as the +series of 'head sickness,' and which deals, though not exclusively, with +various forms of derangements having their seat in the brain. It covered +no less than nine tablets. Two others bear names that are almost +synonymous,--"Shurpu" and "Maklu," both signifying 'burning,' and so +called from the chief topic dealt with in them, the burning of images of +the sorcerers, and the incantations to be recited in connection with +this symbolical act. The "Maklu" series embraced eight tablets and +contained, according to Tallqvist's calculations,[341] originally about +1,550 lines, or upwards of 9,000 words. The "Shurpu" series, although +embracing nine tablets, appears to have been somewhat shorter. In view +of the extensive character of these series we are justified in speaking +of incantation 'rituals.' The texts were evidently prepared with a +practical purpose in view. The efficacy of certain formulas having been +demonstrated, it was obviously of importance that their exact form +should be preserved for future reference. But a given formula was +effective only for a given case, or at most for certain correlated +cases, and accordingly it became necessary to collect as many formulas +as possible to cover all emergencies. The priests, acting as exorcisers, +would be the ones interested in making such collections, and we may +assume, as already suggested, that each temple would develop a +collection of its own,--an incantation code that served as a guide for +its priests. The natural tendency would be for these codes to increase +from generation to generation, perhaps not rapidly, but steadily. New +cases not as yet provided for would arise, and new formulas with new +instructions would be produced; or the exorcisers at a certain temple +would learn of remedies tried elsewhere, and would embody them in their +own special code. In short, the growth of these incantation 'rituals' +was probably similar to the manner in which, on the basis of actual +practice, religious codes grew up around the sanctuaries of ancient +Israel,--a process that terminated in the production of the various +codes and rituals constituting the legal documents embodied in the +Pentateuch. + +The prominence given to Ea and to his favorite seat, the city of Eridu, +in the incantations suggests the theory that many of our texts are to be +ultimately traced to the temple of Ea, that once stood at Eridu. In that +case an additional proof would be furnished of the great antiquity of +the use of incantations in Babylonia. We must sharply distinguish +however, as already emphasized, between the origin and the present form +of the rituals. Again, those parts of a ritual in which Gibil, or Nusku, +appears prominently would most naturally be produced by priests +connected with a temple sacred to the one or the other of these gods. +The practice of incantation, however, being common to all parts of +Babylonia, we can hardly suppose that any temple should have existed +which did not have its exorcising formulas. In the combination of these +formulas into a ritual, due consideration would naturally be had to the +special gods invoked, the obvious result of which would be to produce +the long lists of deities that are often embodied in a single +incantation. The details of this process can of course no longer be +discerned, but the inevitable tendency would be towards increasing +complications. The effort would be made to collect everything, and from +all known quarters. Hence the heterogeneous elements to be detected in +the texts, and which, while adding to their interest, also increase the +difficulty of their interpretation. In consequence of the presence of +such heterogeneous elements, it is difficult to determine within an +incantation series any guiding principles that prompted the collectors. +Still we can often distinguish large groups in a series that belong +together. So we have whole series of addresses to the fire-god ending +with incantations, and again a series of descriptions of the group of +seven spirits serving a similar purpose as introductions to +incantations, but we cannot see on what grounds the transition from one +subject to the other takes place. Indeed the transitions are generally +marked by their abruptness. + +The only legitimate inference is that the main purpose of the collectors +of incantation texts was to exhaust the subject so far as lay in their +power. They included in their codes as much as possible. The exorciser +would have no difficulty in threading his way through the complicated +mass. He would select the division appropriate to the case before him +without much concern of what preceded or followed in the text. Moreover, +these divisions in the texts were clearly marked by dividing lines, +still to be seen on the clay tablets. These divisions correspond so +completely to divisions in the subject-matter that the purely practical +purpose they served can hardly be called into question, while at the +same time they furnish additional proof for the compiled character of +the texts. + +As for the date of the composition of the texts, the union of the +Babylonian states under Hammurabi, with its necessary result, the +supremacy of Marduk, that finds its reflection in the texts, furnishes +us with a terminus _a quo_ beyond which we need not proceed for _final_ +editing. On the other hand, there are indications in the language which +warrant us in not passing below 2000 B.C. as the period when many of the +incantation texts received their present form, and the editions were +completed from which many centuries afterwards the Assyrian scribes +prepared their copies for their royal masters. + +There is, of course, no reason for assuming that all our texts should be +of one age, or that the copying and, in part, the editing should not +have gone on continually. Necessity for further copies would arise with +the steady growth of the temples. Priests would be engaged in making +copies for themselves, either for their edification as a pious work, or +for real use; and accordingly, in fixing upon any date for the texts, +one can hardly do more than assign certain broad limits within which the +texts, so far as their present contents are concerned, may have been +completed. The _copies_ themselves may of course belong to a much later +period without, for that reason, being more recent productions. + +Attention must also be directed to the so-called 'bilingual' form, in +which many of the incantation texts are edited; each line being first +written in the ideographic style, and then followed by a transliteration +into the phonetic style.[342] The use of the ideographic style is a +survival of the ancient period when all texts were written in this +manner, and the conservatism attaching to all things religious accounts +for the continuation of the ideographic style in the religious rituals +down to the latest period, beyond the time when even according to those +who see in the ideographic style a language distinct from Babylonian, +this supposed non-Semitic tongue was no longer spoken by the people, and +merely artificially maintained, like the Latin of the Middle Ages. The +frequent lack of correspondence in minor points between the ideographic +style and the phonetic transliteration shows that the latter was +intended merely as a version, as a guide and aid to the understanding of +the 'conservative' method of writing. It was not necessary for a +transliteration to be accurate, whereas, in the case of a translation, +the greatest care would naturally be taken to preserve the original +sacred text with all nicety and accuracy, since upon accuracy and nicety +the whole efficacy of the formulas rested. The redaction of the +incantation texts in the double style must not be regarded as a +necessary indication of high antiquity, but only as a proof that the +oldest incantation texts were written in the ideographic style, and that +for this reason the custom was continued down to the latest period. On +the other hand, the addition of the transliteration points to a period +when the old style could no longer be read by the priests with facility +without some guide, and incidentally proves again that the texts have +gone through an editing process. But in the course of time, additions to +the ritual were made, written in the phonetic style; and then it would +happen, as a concession to religious conservatism, that the text would +be translated back into the ideographic form. We would then have a +"bilingual" text, consisting of Babylonian and an artificial +"Sumero-Akkadian." That incantations were also composed in pure +Babylonian without reference to any "Sumero-Akkadian" original is +conclusively shown by the metrical traits frequently introduced. Many of +the sections--by no means all--can be divided into regular stanzas of +four, six, or eight lines, and frequently to the stanza is added a line +which forms what Professor D. H. Müller[343] calls the "response." The +same metrical traits being found in other parts of the Babylonian +literature,--so, _e.g._, in the creation epic,--their occurrence in the +incantation texts is of course not accidental. When, therefore, we come +across a ritual as the "Maklu" series, written exclusively in the +phonetic style, and giving evidence of being in part a metrical +composition, we are justified in assuming this to have been the original +form. Again, in the case of another series,--the "Shurpu," in part +Babylonian, in part bilingual,[344]--since the Babylonian section shows +the metrical form, it is likely that the ideographic style represents a +transliteration of a phonetic, or pure Babylonian, original. + +The chief value of the incantation texts lies, naturally, in the insight +they afford into the popular beliefs. As among other nations, so among +the Babylonians, the use of certain formulas to secure release from +ills, pains, and evils of any kind, either actual or portending, rests +upon the theory that the accidents and misfortunes to which man is heir +are due largely to the influence of more or less powerful spirits or +demons, acting independently or at the command of higher powers,--the +gods. + +Through the incantation rituals we are enabled to specify the traits +popularly ascribed to these demons and the means employed to rid oneself +of their baneful grasp. + + +Demons. + +The demons were of various kinds and of various grades of power. The +names of many of them, as _utukku_, _shedu_, _alu_, _gallu_, point to +'strength' and 'greatness' as their main attribute; other names, as +_lilu_, 'night-spirit,' and the feminine form _lilitu_, are indicative +of the moment chosen by them for their work; while again, names like +_ekimmu_, the 'seizer,' _akhkhazu_, the 'capturer,' _rabisu_, 'the one +that lies in wait,' _labartu_, 'the oppressor,' and _labasu_, 'the +overthrower,' show the aim that the demons have in view. Putting these +names together, we may form a general idea of the conceptions connected +with the demons. They lurk in hidden or remote places, in graves, in the +shadow of ruins, on the tops of mountains, in the wilderness. Their +favorite time of activity is at dead of night. They glide noiselessly +like serpents, entering houses through holes and crevices. They are +powerful, but their power is directed solely towards evil. They take +firm hold of their victims and torture them mercilessly. + +To these demons all manner of evil is ascribed. Their presence was felt +in the destructive winds that swept the land. The pestilent fevers that +rise out of the marshes of the Euphrates valley and the diseases bred by +the humid heat of summer were alike traced to demons lurking in the +soil. Some of these diseases, moreover, were personified, as _Namtar_, +the demon of 'plague,' and _Ashakku_, the demon of 'wasting disease.' +But the petty annoyances that disturb the peace of man--a sudden fall, +an unlucky word, a headache, petty quarrels, and the like--were also due +to the instigation of the demons; while insanity and the stirring up of +the passions--love, hatred, and jealousy--were in a special sense +indicative of the presence and power of the demons. Men and women stood +in constant danger of them. Even the animals were not safe from their +attacks. They drive the birds out of their nests, strike down lambs and +bulls. It was impossible to forestall their attacks. They enter a man's +dwelling, they wander through the streets, they make their way into food +and drink. There is no place, however small, which they cannot invade, +and none, however large, that they cannot fill. In a text which +furnishes the sacred formulas by means of which one can get rid of the +demoniac influence, a description is given of the demons which may serve +as an illustration of what has just been said. The incantation is +directed against a variety of the demons:[345] + + The _utukku_[346] of the field and the _utukku_ of the mountain, + The _utukku_ of the sea and the one that lurks in graves, + The evil _shedu_, the shining _alu_. + The evil wind, the terrible wind, + That sets one's hair on end. + +Against these the spirits of heaven and earth are invoked. The text +proceeds: + + The _utukku_ that seizes hold of a man, + The _ekimmu_ that seizes hold of a man, + The _ekimmu_ that works evil, + The _utukku_ that works evil. + +And after invoking against these demons, likewise, the spirits of heaven +and earth, the text passes on to an enumeration of a long list of +physical ills: sickness of the entrails, of the heart, of the head, of +the stomach, of the kidneys, of the limbs and muscles, of the skin, and +of the senses, which are all ascribed to the influence of the demons. + +Apart from the demons that are naught but the personification of certain +diseases, it does not appear that the demons were limited in their power +to one specific kind of action. In other words, sharp distinctions +between the demons do not appear to have been drawn. As appears from the +extracts above translated, the _utukku_, _shedu_, _alu_, and _ekimmu_ +were grouped together, and hardly regarded as anything more than +descriptive epithets of a general class of demons. At the same time it +appears likely that at one time they were differentiated with a greater +degree of preciseness. So the _ekimmu_ appears to be the shadowy demon +that hovers around graves, a species of ghost or vampire that attacks +people in the dead of night and lays them prostrate. _Lilu_ and _lilitu_ +are the spirits that flit by in the night. Of a specific character +likewise are the conceptions connected with a demon known as _ardat +lili_, 'maid of the night,' a strange female 'will-o'-the-wisp,' who +approaches men, arouses their passions, but does not permit a +satisfaction of them. Great importance being attached by the Babylonians +to dreams, the belief in a 'maid of the night' was probably due to the +unchecked play of the imagination during the hours of sleep. Bad dreams +came at the instigation of the demons, and such a demon as the _rabisu_ +or the _labartu_ appears to have been especially associated with the +horrible sensations aroused by a 'nightmare.'[347] Again the _utukku_ is +represented at times as attacking the neck of man; the _gallu_ attacks +the hand, the _ekimmu_ the loins, the _alu_ the breast. But these +distinctions count for little in the texts. _Utukku_ becomes a general +name for demon, and _gallu_, _alu_, and _shedu_ are either used +synonymously with _utukku_ or thrown together with the latter in a +manner that clearly shows the general identity of the conceptions +ultimately connected with them. The same is the case with the _rabisu_ +and _gallu_, with the _labartu_, _akhkhazu_, and _ekimmu_. + +The demons were always given some shape, animal or human, for it was a +necessary corollary of the stage of religious thought to which the +belief in demons belongs, that the demon must not only be somewhere, +though invisible to mankind, but also _in_ something that manifests +life. Among animals, those calculated to inspire terror by their +mysterious movements were chosen, as serpents appearing and disappearing +with startling suddenness, or ugly scorpions, against whom it was +difficult to protect oneself, or the fabulous monsters with which graves +and pestiferous spots were peopled. Regions difficult of access--the +desert, the deep waters, the high mountains--were the favorite haunts of +the demons. Some of these demons were frequently pictured in the +boundary stones between fields, in order to emphasize the curses hurled +upon the head of him who should trespass on the lawful rights of the +owner of the land.[348] It is to such demons embodied in living form +that epithets such as the 'seizer,' the 'one that lurks,' and the like +apply with peculiar aptness. In a tablet belonging to a long series of +incantations,[349] we find references to various animals--the serpent, +the scorpion, monsters--that are regarded as the embodiment of demons. + +In the distinctively religious art, the evil spirits are often pictured +as ugly monsters that were to inspire terror by their very aspect. +Depicted on the monuments, singly or in groups,[350] the shape of wild +animals was given to the head, while the remainder of the body was +suggestive of a human form. With gaping mouths and armed with some +weapon, they stand ready to make an attack. The Assyrian kings, up to +the latest period, acknowledged the power of the demons by making huge +representations of them, which they placed at the approaches, entrances, +and divisions of their temples and palaces, in the hope of thus securing +their protection. The great bulls and lions with human heads--so +familiar to every one--are but another form of the same idea. These +colossal statues were actually known by the name _shedu_, which we have +seen is one of the general terms for 'demon.' But as a general thing, +this personal phase of the demon's existence is lost sight of. Even +though embodied in animal form, the demons could make themselves +invisible to man; and since most of their actions were performed in +secret, so that people were totally at their mercy, the differentiation +of the demons became a factor of minor importance. With so large a +quantity of demons at command, it was difficult to hit upon the one who +was manifesting himself by some evil at any given moment. Accordingly, +instead of a single mention, a number or a group were enumerated, and +the magic formulas pronounced against them in concert. We have one such +group of seven to whom quite a number of references are found in the +incantation texts. A section in one of these texts gives a vivid +description of them:[351] + + Seven are they, they are seven, + In the subterranean deep, they are seven, + Perched (?) in the sky, they are seven, + In a section of the subterranean deep they were reared, + They are neither male nor are they female, + They are destructive whirlwinds, + They have no wife, nor do they beget offspring. + Compassion and mercy they do not know, + Prayer and supplication they do not hear, + Horses bred on the mountains, are they + Hostile to Ea[352] are they, + Powerful ones among the gods are they. + To work mischief in the street they settle themselves in the highway. + Evil are they, they are evil, + Seven are they, they are seven, seven, and again seven[353] are they. + +These seven spirits, who are elsewhere compared to various animals, have +power even to bewitch the gods. The eclipse of the moon was attributed +to their baneful influence. The number seven is probably not to be taken +literally. As among so many nations,[354] seven had a sacred +significance for the Babylonians; but largely, if not solely, for the +reason, as I venture to think, because seven was a large number. In the +Old Testament seven is similarly used to designate a large number. A +group of seven spirits, accordingly, meant no more than a miscellaneous +mass of spirits, and we may therefore regard this 'song of the seven' as +a general characterization of the demons who, according to this view, +appear to move together in groups rather than singly. Elsewhere[355] we +are told of this same group of spirits 'that they were begotten in the +mountain of sunset,' _i.e._, in the west, 'and were reared in the +mountain of sunrise,' _i.e._, the east; 'that they dwell in the hollow +of the earth, and that they are proclaimed on the mountain tops.' +Evidently a description of this kind is intended to emphasize the +universal presence of the spirits. There is no place where they are not +found; and when we are furthermore told (apparently in contradiction to +what has just been said) 'that neither in heaven nor earth is their name +pronounced (_i.e._, are they known to be), that among the gods of the +earth (_i.e._, the pantheon) they are not recognized, that neither in +heaven nor earth do they exist,' this is but the reverse of the picture +intended to illustrate the capability of the spirits to disappear +without leaving any trace of their presence. They are everywhere and yet +invisible. They come and they go, and no one knows their place. Nothing +is proof against their approach. Of all the demons it is true, as of +this group, that they slip through bolts and doorposts and sockets, +gliding, as we are told, 'like snakes.' Such are the demons against whom +man must seek to protect himself. + +The relationship of the demons or spirits to the gods of the pantheon +has been touched upon in a previous chapter.[356] It is sufficient here +to emphasize the fact that the dividing line between the two becomes at +times exceedingly faint. A deity, we have seen, is a spirit writ large; +but often the demon assumes dimensions and is clothed with power that +makes him 'little short of divine.' Strength is the attribute of the +demons as it is the chief feature of the gods. Both classes of powers +influence man's career. The names of the demons are preceded by the same +determinative that is used for the gods. As a matter of fact, many of +the spirits were originally worshipped as local deities in some +restricted territory, which, losing its importance, bequeaths the name +of its protective genius to posterity. In the realm of religious belief, +as in the domain of nature, absolute loss of something that once had +existence does not take place. Something remains. Hundreds of old local +gods of Babylonia thus survived in the literature as spirits or demons. +The tendency towards making a selection out of the great mass of gods +goes hand in hand with the multiplication of spirits that might, as +occasion presented itself, be invoked. In general, the larger affairs of +life were consigned into the hands of the gods; the petty +annoyances--accidents, pains, ill luck, and the like--were put down to +the account of the spirits. The gods were, on the whole, favorably +disposed towards man. They were angry at times, they sent punishments, +but they could be appeased. The spirits were, on the whole, hostile; and +although the Babylonians also invoked favorable and kind spirits, when a +spirit was hostile there was only one method of ridding oneself of the +pernicious influence,--to drive it out by means of formulas, and with +the help of a priest acting as exorciser. + + +Sorcerers and Sorceresses. + +A widespread and apparently very ancient belief among the Babylonians +and Assyrians was that certain human beings possessed demoniac power, +and could exercise it for evil purposes over whomsoever they pleased. +This belief may have originated in the abnormal appearance presented by +certain individuals in consequence of physical deformities or +peculiarities. The uncanny impression made by dwarfs, persons with +misshapen limbs, with a strange look in their eyes, and, above all, the +insane would give rise to the view that some people, for the very reason +of their variation from the normal type, possessed peculiar powers. But +by the side of such as were distinguished by bodily defects, those who +outranked their fellows by virtue of their prowess or of natural gifts, +by keenness of intellect or cunning, would also be supposed to have +received their power through some demoniac source. With the giant and +the artificer there would thus be associated ideas of sorcery and +witchcraft, as with dwarfs, the deformed, and insane. The sorcerers +might be either male or female, but, for reasons which are hard to +fathom, the preference was given to females. Accordingly, it happens +that among the Babylonians, as in the Middle Ages, the witch appears +more frequently than the male sorcerer. The witches have all the powers +of the demons, and in the incantation texts the two are often thrown +together. Just as the demons, so the witches take away the breath of +man, defile his food and drink, or close up his mouth. They are able to +penetrate into the body of men, and thus produce similar physical and +mental disturbances as the animalic demons. In view of this close +relationship between witches and demons, we are justified in regarding +the two as varying aspects of one and the same belief. The witch appears +to be merely the person through whom the hitherto 'invisible' demon has +chosen to manifest itself. From being identical in character with the +demons, the witches reached a stage which made them superior to the +former. They could not only do everything that the demons did, but they +could also control the latter, whereas the demons had no power over +witches. Witches could invoke the demons at their will and bring such +persons as they chose within the demons' power. Various means were at +their disposal for bringing this about. The glance of a witch's 'evil +eye' was supposed to have great power.[357] Terrible were the sufferings +of the one on whom a witch threw the glance that kept the person under +her spell. The 'evil word,' as it was called, and by which the use of +certain magic formulas was meant, was another effective means at her +command for inflicting all manner of evil. Magical potions, too, +compounded of poisonous weeds, appear to have been prepared by them, and +which, entering the body of those whom they desired to punish, had a +disastrous effect. Such means might be denominated as direct. There were +others indirect which were even more effective, and which rested upon +the principle commonly known as 'sympathetic magic.'[358] Under the +notion that the symbolical acts of the sorcerers would have their effect +upon the one to be bewitched, the male sorcerer or the witch, as the +case might be, would tie knots in a rope. Repeating certain formulas +with each fresh knot, the witch would in this way symbolically strangle +the victim, seal his mouth, wrack his limbs, tear his entrails, and the +like. + +Still more popular was the making of an image of the desired victim of +clay or pitch, honey, fat, or other soft material,[359] and either by +burning it inflict physical tortures upon the person represented, or by +undertaking various symbolical acts with it, such as burying it among +the dead, placing it in a coffin, casting it into a pit or into a +fountain, hiding it in an inaccessible place, placing it in spots that +had a peculiar significance, as the doorposts, the threshold, under the +arch of gates, would prognosticate in this way a fate corresponding to +one of these acts for the unfortunate victim. + + +The Exorcisers. + +As a protection against the demons and witches, small images of some of +the protecting deities were placed at the entrances to houses, and +amulets of various kinds were carried about the person. Tablets, too, +were hung up in the house,--probably at the entrance,--on which extracts +from the religious texts were inscribed. These texts by virtue of their +sacred character assured protection against the entrance of demons.[360] +But when once a person had come under the baneful power of the demons, +recourse was had to a professional class of exorcisers, who acted as +mediators between the victims and the gods to whom the ultimate appeal +for help was made. These exorcisers were of course priests, and at an +early period of Babylonian culture it must have been one of the main +functions of priests to combat the influence of evil spirits. It was for +this purpose chiefly that the people came to the temples, and in so far +we are justified in regarding incantation formulas as belonging to the +oldest portion of the Babylonian temple rituals. In the course of time, +as the temples in the great religious centers developed into large +establishments, the priests were divided into classes, each with special +functions assigned to them. Some were concerned with the sacrifices, +others presided over the oracles, others were set aside for the night +and day watches which were observed in the temple, and it is likely that +the scribes formed a class by themselves. To this age of differentiation +in priestly functions belongs the special class who may be regarded as +the forerunners of the eastern _magi_ or magicians, and who by powers +and methods peculiar to them could ward off the dangerous attacks of the +demons and witches. The means employed by them may in general be +described as forming the complement to those used by the witches,--the +reverse side of the picture,--only that they were supposed to be +effective against sorcerers, witches, and demons alike. Against the +incantation formulas of the witches, incantations of superior force were +prescribed that might serve to overcome the baneful influence of the +former. The symbolical tying of knots was offset by symbolical +loosening, accompanied by formulas that might effect the gradual release +of the victim from the meshes of both the witches and the demons; or the +hoped-for release was symbolized by the peeling of the several skins of +an onion. Corresponding to the images made by the witches, the +exorcising priests advised the making of counter images of the witches, +and by a symbolical burning, accompanied by certain ceremonies and +conciliatory gifts to the gods, hoped to destroy the witches themselves. +Since, moreover, the favorite time chosen by the demons and witches for +their manifestations was the night, the three divisions of the +nights--evening, midnight, and dawn--that correspond to the temple +watches were frequently selected as the time for the incantations and +the symbolical acts. The address was often made to the gods of night. A +series of incantation formulas begins: + + I call upon you, gods of the night, + With you I call upon the night, the veiled bride,[361] + I call at evening, midnight, and at dawn. + +The formulas themselves, as we shall see, are characterized by their +large number rather than by any elements that they have in common. At +times they constitute a direct appeal to some god or gods, to some +particular spirit, or to the associated spirits of heaven and earth, +together with a direct indication of what is desired. An incantation +addressed to Nusku, the god of fire, closes: + + Fire-god, mighty and lofty one of the gods, + Who dost overpower the wicked and the hostile, + Overpower them (the witches) so that I be not destroyed. + Let me thy servant live, let me + unharmed stand before thee, + Thou art my god, thou art my lord, + Thou art my judge, thou art my helper, + Thou art my avenger. + +Preceding the direct appeal, there is usually a recital more or less +detailed of the woes with which one is afflicted. The victim tells of +the pains which torture him. Says one bewitched: + + I stand upright, and cannot lie down, + neither night nor day. The witches have filled my + mouth with their knots. + With the aid of _upuntu_ weed,[362] + they have stuffed up my mouth. + The water that I drink have they diminished, + My joy is changed to pain, my pleasure to sorrow. + +This recital, which is often wearisome by its length, may or may not end +in a direct appeal to some god or gods. The narrative of woes, however, +is merely introductory to the incantation itself. To prescribe the +formula to be used to the one appealing for help, is the special +function of the priest acting as exorciser. He recites the formula, +which is then repeated by the communicant. + +Instead of an appeal to the gods for help, the incantation often +embodies threats hurled in the name of the gods at the demons or witches +in case they do not release their victim. Such incantations appear to +derive their power chiefly through the personage of the exorciser, who +believes himself to be able to control the evil spirits. So in one case, +after the sufferer has poured out his troubles, the exorciser replies, +threatening the witches with the same evils that they have +inflicted:[363] + + They have used all kinds of charms + to entwine me as with ropes, + to catch me as in a cage, + to tie me as with cords, + to overpower me as in a net, + to twist me as with a sling, + to tear me as a fabric, + to fill me with dirty water as that which runs down a wall (?) + to throw me down as a wall. + +At this point the exorciser takes up the thread and declares: + + But I by command of Marduk, the lord of charms, + by Marduk, the master of bewitchment, + Both the male and female witch + as with ropes I will entwine, + as in a cage I will catch, + as with cords I will tie, + as in a net I will overpower, + as in a sling I will twist, + as a fabric I will tear, + with dirty water as from a wall I will fill, + as a wall throw them down. + +Accompanying these threats, the actions indicated were symbolically +performed by the exorciser on effigies of the witches made, in this +case, of bitumen covered with pitch. + +Corresponding again to the potions prepared by the witches, the priests +prepared draughts compounded of various weeds and herbs that were given +to the victim, or concoctions that were poured over his body. This +constituted the medicinal phase of the priest's labors, and marks the +connection between magic and medicine. Naturally such herbs and weeds +were chosen as through experience had proved effective. + + +The Gods of the Incantation Texts. + +A feature of the incantation texts is the appeal to the gods, which is +seldom, if ever, wanting. Just as the kings sought, by the enumeration +of a large pantheon, to secure the protection of as large a number of +powers as possible, so the priests endeavored to strengthen their magic +formulas by including the mention of all the chief and a varying number +of the minor deities. This invocation of groups of deities, as the +invocation of groups of spirits, became more or less conventional, so +much so that, instead of mentioning the gods individually, the scribe +would content himself with an indication, at the proper point, of the +number of gods to be appealed to,--six, ten, fifteen, as the case may +be, to as many as fifty.[364] Precisely what gods he had in mind we are +no longer in a position to know, but no doubt the chief members of the +pantheon were included in the first place. Lists of these deities are +often added. The superior triad, Anu, Bel, and Ea, head the list, at +times accompanied by their consorts, at times standing alone. The second +class of triads, Sin, Shamash, and Ramman, follow, and then the other +great gods, Nin-ib, Marduk, Nergal, Nusku, and Gibil; and finally the +chief goddesses are added, notably Ishtar, Nin-karrak, or Gula, and Bau. + +But besides the chief deities, an exceedingly large number of minor ones +are found interspersed through the incantation texts. Some are well +known, as Nin-girsu, Zamama, and Papsukal. Many of them are found in +other branches of the religious literature or in invocations attached to +historical texts, commemorative of some work undertaken and completed by +the kings; but a large proportion of these powers, not often +distinguishable from mere spirits, only appear once in the literary +remains of Babylonia. It is manifestly impossible, under such +circumstances, to specify their traits. In most cases, indeed, the +phonetic reading is unknown or uncertain. While a considerable +proportion may be put down as local gods, enjoying an independent, +albeit obscure, existence, at least an equal number will turn out to be +mere epithets of gods already known. In all cases where the god's name +actually appears as an epithet, we may be certain that such is the case. +So when a god is called simply _Dainu_, _i.e._, Judge, there can be +little doubt that Shamash, the sun-god, is meant; a god, 'great +mountain,' is none other than Bel; and similarly, such names as +'merciful,' 'hearer of prayer,' 'conqueror of enemy' are manifestly +titles belonging to certain well-known deities, and used much as among +the Greeks the gods were often referred to by the traits, physical or +moral, that distinguished them. As for the residue, who are independent +deities, while of course our knowledge of the Babylonian religion would +be increased did we know more of them than their names, it is not likely +that the worship of these gods, nor the conceptions connected with them, +involved any new principle. A mere enumeration would of course be of +little use. Moreover, such an enumeration would not be exhaustive, for +new deities are found in almost every additional text that is published. +Already this list counts considerably over two hundred. At most, such an +enumeration would merely illustrate what we already know,--the +exceedingly large number of local cults that once existed in Babylonia +and Assyria, and disappeared without leaving any trace but the more or +less accidental preservation of the name of the deity, who was once +regarded as the patron of the place. Lastly it is to be noted that, +besides gods, stars are invoked, as well as rivers, temples, and even +towns,--in short, anything that has sacred associations. + +On a different level from the gods enumerated in groups stand those +deities who are introduced into the incantation texts at essential +points individually and for a special reason. Such deities are +comparatively few,--hardly more than half a dozen. These gods may be +called the gods of the incantation texts _par excellence_. Their help is +essential to ensure the effectiveness of the exorciser's task. They +stand in close and direct connection with the troubles from which relief +is prayed for. For physical ills, they act as healers. If the evil for +which the individual or the country suffers is due to some natural +phenomena,--an eclipse of the moon, of which people stood in great +terror, or a deluge or a famine,--the moon-god, the storm-god, some +phase of the sun-deity, or an agricultural god would naturally be +implored; while in a general way the heads of the pantheon, Marduk in +Babylonia and Ashur in Assyria, come in for a large share of attention. + +As already intimated in a previous chapter,[365] the god who plays +perhaps the most prominent rôle in the incantation texts is Ea. He +occupies this rank primarily by virtue of his being the god of humanity; +but another factor which enters into consideration, though in an +indirect fashion, is his character as a water-god. Water, being one of +the means of purification frequently referred to in the texts, acquires +a symbolical significance among the Babylonians, as among so many other +nations. Ea, therefore, as the water-god of the ancient sacred town, +Eridu, acquires additional popularity through this circumstance. The +titles that he receives in the texts emphasize his power to heal and +protect. He is the great physician who knows all secret sources whence +healing can be obtained for the maladies and ills caused by the demons +and sorcerers. He is therefore in a peculiar sense 'the lord of the +fates' of mankind, the chief exorciser, the all-wise magician of the +gods, at whose command and under whose protection, the priest performs +his symbolical acts. Not only does humanity turn to Ea: the gods, too, +appeal to him in their distress. The eclipse of the moon was regarded by +the popular faith as a sort of bewitchment of the great orb through the +seven evil spirits. All the heavenly bodies are affected by such an +event. Anu is powerless. It is only through Ea that Sin is released, +just as though he were a human individual. But Ea is rarely approached +directly. At his side stands his son Marduk, who acts as a mediator. +Marduk listens to the petition addressed to him by the exorcising priest +on behalf of the victim, and carries the word to Father Ea. The latter, +after first declaring Marduk to be his equal in knowledge, proceeds to +dictate the cure. Marduk, accordingly, is given the same titles as his +father, Ea. He, too, is the lord of life, the master of the exorcising +art, the chief magician among the gods. + +The importance thus given to Marduk is an indication of a later period, +and must be taken in connection with the supremacy accorded to the god +after the union of the Babylonian states. Originally, Ea is the god to +whom the direct appeal was made. Marduk is an afterthought that points +to the remodeling of the ancient texts after the period of Hammurabi. +Damkina, the consort of Ea, is occasionally invoked, but it is +significant that Sarpanitum, the consort of Marduk, is rarely mentioned. + +The burning of images and witches, or of other objects, being so +frequently resorted to as a means of destroying baneful influences, the +god of fire occupies a rank hardly secondary to Ea. Here, too, the +mystical element involved in the use of fire adds to the effectiveness +of the method. Water and fire are the two great sources of symbolical +purification that we meet with in both primitive and advanced rituals of +the past.[366] The fire-god appears in the texts under the double form +of Gibil and Nusku. The former occurs with greater frequency than the +latter, but the two are used so interchangeably as to be in every +respect identical. The amalgamation of the two may indeed be due to the +growth of the incantation rituals of Babylon. In some districts Gibil +was worshipped as the special god of fire, in others Nusku, much as we +found the sun-god worshipped under the names of _Shamas_ and _Utu_, and +similarly in the case of other deities. On the supposition that the +incantation rituals are the result of a complicated literary process, +involving the collection of all known formulas, and the bringing of them +into some kind of connection with one another, this existence of a +twofold fire-god finds a ready explanation. At Babylon we know Nusku was +worshipped as the fire-god. Gibil belongs therefore to another section, +perhaps to one farther south. He is in all probability the older god of +the two, and the preponderating occurrence of his name in the texts may +be taken as a proof of the ancient origin of those parts in which it +occurs. There being no special motive why he should be supplanted by +Nusku, his preëminence was not interfered with through the remodeling to +which the texts were subjected. While bearing in mind that Gibil and +Nusku are two distinct deities, we may, for the sake of convenience, +treat them together under the double designation of Gibil-Nusku. + +Gibil and Nusku are called 'sons of Anu'; Gibil, indeed, is spoken of as +the first-born of heaven, and the image of his father. The conception is +probably mythological, resting upon the belief in the heavenly origin of +fire held by all nations. Gibil-Nusku is exalted as the 'lofty one' +among the gods, whose command is supreme. He is at once the great +messenger of the gods and their chief counsellor. Clothed in splendor, +his light is unquenchable. A large variety of other attributes are +assigned to him, all emphasizing his strength, his majesty, his +brilliancy, and the terror that he is able to inspire. The importance of +fire to mankind made Gibil-Nusku the founder of cities, and in general +the god of civilization. As the fire-god, Gibil-Nusku is more especially +invoked at the symbolical burning of the images of the witches. With a +raised torch in one hand, the bewitched person repeats the incantation +recited by the exorciser. Frequently the instruction is added that the +incantation is to be recited in a whisper, corresponding to the soft +tones in which the demons, witches, and ghosts are supposed to convey +their messages. The incantations in which the fire-god is exalted in +grandiloquent terms belong to the finest productions of this branch of +the religious literature. The addresses to Gibil-Nusku are veritable +hymns that are worthy of better associations. One of these addresses +begins: + + Nusku, great god, counsellor of the great gods,[367] + Guarding the sacrificial gifts[368] of all the heavenly spirits, + Founder of cities, renewer of the sanctuaries, + Glorious day, whose command is supreme, + Messenger of Anu, carrying out the decrees of Bel, + Obedient to Bel, counsellor, mountain[369] of the earthly spirits, + Mighty in battle, whose attack is powerful, + Without thee no table is spread in the temple. + Without thee, Shamash, the judge executes no judgment. + + I, thy servant so and so, the son of so and so,[370] + Whose god is so and so, and whose goddess so and so,[371] + I turn to thee, I seek thee, I raise my hands to thee, + I prostrate myself before thee. + Burn the sorcerer and sorceress, + May the life of my sorcerer and sorceress be destroyed. + Let me live that I may exalt thee and proudly pay homage to thee. + +This incantation, we are told, is to be recited in a whisper, in the +presence of an image of wax. The image is burnt as the words are spoken, +and as it is consumed the power of the witch is supposed to wane. The +reference to the indispensable presence of the fire-god in the temple is +rather interesting. Sacrifice always entailed the use of fire. To +whatever deity the offering was made, Gibil-Nusku could not in any case +be overlooked. The fire constituted the medium, as it were, between the +worshipper and the deity addressed. The fire-god is in truth the +messenger who carries the sacrifice into the presence of the god +worshipped. Even Shamash, though himself personifying fire, is forced to +acknowledge the power of Gibil-Nusku, who, we are told elsewhere, is +invoked, even when sacrifices are made to the sun-god. + +Besides being the son of Anu, Gibil-Nusku is brought into association +with the two other members of the triad, Bel and Ea. He is the messenger +of Bel and the son of Ea. The former conception is again mythical. Fire +is also the instrument of the gods, and Nusku is particularly called the +messenger of Bel because Bel is one of the highest gods. In reality he +is the messenger of all the gods, and is frequently so designated. His +connection with Ea, on the other hand, seems to be the result of the +systematizing efforts of the schoolmen. Ea occupying the chief rank in +the incantations, the subsidiary rôle of Gibil-Nusku is indicated by +making him, just as Marduk, the son of Ea. In this way, too, the two +great means of purification--water and fire--are combined under a single +aspect. The combination was all the more appropriate since the fire-god, +as the promoter of culture, shared with Ea the protection of humanity. +Accordingly, all the titles of Ea are bestowed in one place or the other +upon Gibil-Nusku. But, after all, Gibil-Nusku is merely a phase of the +solar deity,[372] and hence by the side of this fire-god, Shamash and +the other solar deities, though in a measure subsidiary to Gibil-Nusku, +are frequently invoked. Shamash, as the great judge, was a personage +especially appropriate for occasions which involved a decision in favor +of the bewitched and against the witches or demons. Gibil-Nusku, like +Shamash, is exalted as the great judge who comes to the aid of the +oppressed. Similarly, the fire-god receives the attributes belonging to +Ninib, Nergal, and the various phases of the latter, such as +Lugal-edinna, Lugal-gira, and Alamu. These gods, then, and their +consorts, because of their relationship to the fire-god, are introduced +into the incantations, and what is more to the point, the various phases +of Nergal and Ninib are introduced without any trace of the distinctions +that originally differentiated them from one another.[373] Besides the +great solar deities, minor ones, as Nin-gish-zida[374] and I-shum, are +frequently added in long lists of protecting spirits to whom the appeal +for help is directed. The attempt is also made to illustrate their +relationship to the great fire-god. So I-shum becomes the messenger of +Nusku, while Nin-gish-zida (though in the days of Gudea a male +deity[375]) appears to be regarded, as Tallqvist has suggested, as the +consort of Nusku. + +Night being a favorite time for the recital of the incantations, it was +natural that the orb of night, the god Sin, should be added to the +pantheon of the exorciser. Though playing a minor rôle, the moon-god is +never omitted when a long series of protecting spirits is invoked. But +there are occasions when Sin becomes the chief deity invoked. Reference +has already been made to the general terror that moon eclipses inspired. +The disappearance of the moon was looked upon as a sign of the god's +displeasure or as a defeat of the moon in a conflict with other planets. +Disaster of some kind--war, pestilence, internal disturbances--was sure +to follow upon an eclipse, unless the anger of the god could be appeased +or his weakness overcome. In the case of such general troubles affecting +the whole country, it is the kings themselves who seek out the priests. +Rituals were prepared to meet the various contingencies. The king begins +the ceremony by a prayer addressed to Sin. One of these prayers +begins:[376] + + O Sin, O Nannar! mighty one ... + O Sin, thou who alone givest light, + Extending light to mankind, + Showing favor to the black-headed ones,[377] + Thy light shines in heaven ... + Thy torch is brilliant as fire; + Thy light fills the broad earth. + + ... + + Thy light is glorious as the Sun ... + Before thee the great gods lie prostrate; + The fate of the world rests with thee. + +An eclipse has taken place, portending evil to the country, and +libations have been poured out on days carefully selected as favorable +ones. The king continues: + + I have poured out to thee, with wailing,[378] a libation at night; + I have offered thee a drink-offering with shouts; + Prostrate and standing erect[379] I implore thee. + +With the prayer to Sin, appeals to other gods and also goddesses are +frequently combined,--to Marduk, Ishtar, Tashmitum, Nabu, Ramman, and +the like. The incantations themselves, consisting of fervent appeals to +remove the evil, actual or portending, are preceded by certain +ceremonies,--the burning of incense, the pouring out of some drink, or +by symbolical acts, as the binding of cords; and the god is appealed to +once more to answer the prayer. + +Again, just as Gibil-Nusku entails the invocation of a large variety of +solar deities, so Ea, as the water-god, leads to the introduction of +various water-gods and spirits. Perhaps the most prominent of these is +the god Nâru, whose name, signifying 'river,'[380] is clearly the +personification of the watery element, though of the minor bodies of +water. Next in order comes the goddess Nin-akha-kuddu.[381] She is +invoked as 'goddess of purification.' From her association in several +passages with the great deep, and with the city of Eridu--metaphorically +used for the great deep--one may be permitted to conclude that she, too, +was conceived of as a water-god or a water-spirit. She is 'the lady of +spells,' who is asked to take possession of the body of the sufferer, +and thus free him from the control of demons or witches. By the side of +this goddess, Gula, 'the great physician,' is often appealed to. Again, +the demons being in some cases the ghosts of the departed, or such as +hover around graves, Nin-kigal, or Allatu, the mistress of the lower +world, is an important ally, whose aid is desired in the struggle +against the evil spirits. Lastly, it is interesting to note that +Izdubar, or Gilgamesh, the famous hero of the great Babylonian epic, +occurs also in incantations[382]--a welcome indication of the antiquity +of the myth, and the proof, at the same time, that the epic is built on +a foundation of myth. From the mythological side, Gilgamesh appears to +be a solar deity. The connection of a solar god with fire would account +for his appearance in the magical texts. However obscure some of the +points connected with the gods of the incantation texts may be, so much +is certain, that the two factors of water and fire, and the part played +by these elements in the ceremonies, control and explain the choice of +most of the gods and goddesses introduced, though--be it expressly +noted--not of all occurring in the magical texts. + + +The Ritual and Formulas. + +Coming to the incantations themselves, they can best be characterized as +appeals interspersed with words of a more or less mystic character. The +force and efficacy of the incantation lie not so much in the meaning of +the words uttered, as in the simple fact that they _are_ to be uttered. +These incantations were combined into a ritual, and indications were +given of the occasions on which the incantations were to be used. An +analysis of one of these rituals will serve to illustrate this branch of +the religious literature of the Babylonians. I choose for this purpose +the series known as Maklu, _i.e._, Burning,[383] the interpretation of +which has been so considerably advanced by Dr. Tallqvist's admirable +work. The first tablet of the series opens with an invocation to the +gods of night. After complaining of his sad condition, the bewitched +individual continues as follows: + + Arise ye great gods, hear my complaint; + Grant me justice, take cognizance of my condition. + I have made an image of my sorcerer and sorceress; + I have humbled myself before you and bring to you my cause + Because of the evil they (_i.e._, the witches) have done, + Of the impure things which they have handled,[384] + May she[385] die! Let me live! + May her charm, her witchcraft, her sorcery (?) be broken. + May the plucked sprig (?) of the _binu_ tree purify me. + May it release me; may the evil odor[386] of my mouth be scattered to + the winds. + May the _mashtakal_ herb[387] which fills the earth cleanse me. + Before you let me shine like the _kankal_ herb. + Let me be as brilliant and pure as the _lardu_ herb. + The charm of the sorceress is evil; + May her words return to her mouth,[388] her tongue be cut off. + Because of her witchcraft, may the gods of night smite her, + The three watches of the night[389] break her evil charm. + May her mouth be wax[390] (?), her tongue honey. + May the word causing my misfortune that she has spoken dissolve like + wax (?). + May the charm that she has wound up melt like honey, + So that her magic knot be cut in twain, her work destroyed, + All her words scattered across the plains + By the order that the gods have given. + +The section closes with the ordinary request of the exorciser to the +victim: "Recite this incantation." It will be seen how closely the +principle of sympathetic magic is followed. The individual having been +bewitched by means of certain herbs concocted probably into potions, +other herbs are prepared by the exorciser as an antidote. The emphasis +laid upon purification, too, is noteworthy. There are numerous synonyms +employed for which it is difficult to find the adequate equivalent in +English. The terms reach out beyond the literal to the symbolical +purification. The victim wishes to become pure, cleansed of all +impurities, so that he may be resplendent as the gods are pure, +brilliant, and glorious, pure as the water, brilliant and glorious as +the fire. + +The length of the formulas varies. Often they consist only of a few +lines. So the one immediately following appeals to Gilgamesh in these +words: + + Earth, Earth, Earth, + Gilgamesh is the master of your witchcraft. + What you have done, I know; + What I do, you know not. + All the mischief wrought by my sorceresses is destroyed, dissolved-- + is gone. + +At times the conditions under which the witches are pictured as acting +are very elaborate. They are represented as dwelling in places with +which mythological conceptions are connected; they are ferried across +the river separating their city from human habitations; they are +protected against attacks by the walls which surround their habitations. +To effect a release, the exorcisers, it would appear, made +representations by means of drawings on clay of these habitations of the +witches. They thereupon symbolically cut off the approaches and laid +siege to the towns. This, at least, appears to be the meaning of an +incantation beginning: + + My city is Sappan,[391] my city is Sappan; + The gates of my city Sappan are two, + One towards sunrise, the other towards sunset.[392] + I carry a box, a pot with _mashtakal_ herbs; + To the gods of heaven I offer water; + As I for you secure your purification, + So do you purify me! + +The victim imitates the conduct of the witch, goes about as she does, +with a pot in which the potions are made, performs the symbolical act +which should purify him of the evil that is in him, and hopes, in this +way, to obtain his own release. The description continues: + + I have kept back the ferry, have shut off the wall,[393] + Have thus checked the enchantment from all quarters. + Anu and Anatum have commissioned me. + Whom shall I send to Belit of the field?[394] + Into the mouth of the sorcerer and sorceress cast the lock.[395] + Recite the incantation of the chief of gods, Marduk.[396] + 'Let them[397] call to thee but answer them not, + Let them address thee, but hearken not to them. + Let me call to thee, and do thou answer me, + Let me address thee, and do thou hearken unto me.' + By the command of Anu, Anatum, and Belit, recite the incantation. + +The hymns to the fire-god, Nusku (or Girru), of which the 'Maklu' series +naturally furnishes many specimens,[398] are all pretty much alike. I +choose one which illustrates in greater detail the symbolical burning of +the image of the witch:[399] + + Nusku, great offspring of Anu, + The likeness of his father, the first-born of Bel, + The product of the deep, sprung from Ea,[400] + I raise the torch to illumine thee, yea, thee. + The sorcerer who has bewitched me, + Through the witchcraft by means of which he has bewitched me, do thou + bewitch him. + The sorceress who has bewitched me, + Through the witchcraft by means of which she has bewitched me, bewitch + thou her. + The charmer who has charmed me, + Through the charm with which he has charmed me, charm thou him. + The witch who has charmed me, + Through the charm with which she has charmed me, charm thou her. + Those who have made images of me, reproducing my features, + Who have taken away my breath, torn my hairs, + Who have rent my clothes, have hindered my feet from treading the + dust, + May the fire-god, the strong one, break their charm. + +Just as the witches were burnt in effigy, so also the demons were +supposed to be similarly dispelled. Immediately following the +incantation comes one directed against the demons: + + I raise the torch, their images I burn, + Of the _utukku_, the _shedu_, the _rabisu_, the _ekimmu_, + The _labartu_, the _labasi_, the _akhkhasu_, + Of _lilu_ and _lilitu_ and _ardat lili_, + And every evil that seizes hold of men. + Tremble, melt away, and disappear! + May your smoke rise to heaven, + May Shamash destroy your limbs, + May the son of Ea [_i.e._, may the fire-god], + The great magician, restrain your strength (?). + +The witch who has caused the evil may be unknown. For such a case one of +the incantations runs:[401] + + Who art thou, sorceress, who bears her evil word within her heart, + Through whose tongue my misfortune is produced, + Through whose lips I have been poisoned, + In whose footsteps death follows? + Sorceress, I seize thy mouth, seize thy tongue, + I seize thy searching eyes, + I seize thy ever-moving feet, + I seize thy knees ever active, + I seize thy hands ever stretched out, + I tie thy hands behind thee. + May Sin ... destroy thy body, + May he cast thee into an abyss of fire and water. + Sorceress, as the circle of this seal-ring,[402] + May thy face grow pale and wan. + +Of the same character as this, are a variety of other incantations, all +applicable to cases in which the sorceress is unknown. As the last +specimen of the 'Maklu' series, I choose an incantation addressed to the +demons, which is interesting because of the direct character of the +commands it contains: + + Away, away, far away, far away, + For shame, for shame, fly away, fly away, + Round about face, go away, far away, + Out of my body, away, + Out of my body, far away, + Out of my body, away for shame, + Out of my body, fly away, + Out of my body, round about face, + Out of my body, go away, + Into my body, come not back, + Towards my body, do not approach, + Towards my body, draw not nigh, + My body torture not. + By Shamash the mighty, be ye foresworn. + By Ea, the lord of everything, be ye foresworn. + By Marduk, the chief magician of the gods, be ye foresworn. + By the fire-god, be ye foresworn. + From my body be ye restrained! + +Repetition and variation in the use of certain phrases make up, as will +be seen from the specimens given, a large part of the incantation. A +curious illustration of the importance attributed to such repetition is +furnished by the eighth and last tablet of the 'Maklu' series. It +consists of seven divisions, each beginning with a repetition of the +headlines of the various sections of the preceding seven tablets; and +only after the headlines of each of the tablets have been exhausted, +does the real incantation begin. This eighth tablet contains therefore a +kind of summary of all the others, the purpose of which is to gather +together all the power and influence of the seven others. + +The 'Maklu' ritual deals so largely with the fire-god that a specimen +from another series, to illustrate the position of Ea and Marduk in the +incantations, seems called for. The 'Shurpu' series introduces Ea and +Marduk more particularly. The fifth tablet of this series begins:[403] + + The evil curse rests like a _gallu_ upon the man, + The pain-giving voice[404] has settled upon him, + The voice that is not good has settled upon him, + The evil curse, the charm that produces insanity, + The evil curse has killed that man as a sheep, + His god has departed from his body,[405] + His goddess has ... taken her place outside,[406] + The pain-giving voice covers him as a garment and confuses him. + Marduk sees him, + And proceeds to the house of his father Ea and speaks: + "My father, the evil curse as a demon has settled on the man." + He says it for a second time. + "What that man should do, I do not know; by what can he be cured?" + Ea answers his son Marduk: + "My son, can I add aught that thou dost not know? + Marduk, what can I tell thee that thou dost not know? + What I know, also thou knowest. + My son Marduk, take him to the overseer of the house of perfect + purification, + Dissolve his spell, release him from the charm, and from the + troublesome bodily disease. + Whether it be the curse of his father, + Or the curse of his mother, + Or the curse of his brother, + Or the curse of an unknown,[407] + May the bewitchment through the charm of Ea be peeled off like an + onion. + May it be cut off like a date. + May it be removed like a husk. + O power of the spirit of heaven, be thou invoked! + O spirit of earth, be thou invoked!" + +The purification by water, which is here only incidentally referred to, +is more fully touched upon in other incantations, where Ea tells Marduk +that the victim must take + + Glittering water, pure water, + Holy water, resplendent water, + The water twice seven times may he bring, + May he make pure, may he make resplendent. + May the evil _rabisu_ depart, + May he betake himself outside, + May the protecting _shedu_, the protecting _lamassu_, + Settle upon his body. + Spirit of heaven, be thou invoked! + Spirit of earth, be thou invoked![408] + +Still other methods of magical cure besides the use of water and of +potions were in vogue. In a tablet of the same ritual to which the last +extract belongs, and which is especially concerned with certain classes +of diseases produced by the demons, the sick man is told to take + + White wool, which has been spun into thread, + To attach it to his couch[409] in front and at the top, + Black wool which has been spun into thread + To bind at his left side. + +Then follows the incantation which he is to recite: + + The evil _ulukku, alu, ekimmu_, + The evil _gallu_, the evil god, _rabisu_, + _Labartu, labasu, akhkhazu_, + _Lilu_ and _lilit_ and _ardat lili_, + Sorcery, charm, bewitchment, + The sickness, the cruel artifice, + Their head against his head, + Their hand against his hand, + Their foot against his foot, + May they not place, + May they never draw nigh. + Spirit of heaven, be thou foresworn! + Spirit of earth, be thou foresworn! + +It is interesting to note the introduction of ethical ideas into these +texts, despite the primitive character of the beliefs upon which the +incantations repose. The possibility was considered that the attack of +the demons was a punishment sent in some way for committed sins. The +incantation series 'Shurpu' furnishes us with a long list of wrongs for +which a person may be held enthralled in the power of the demons or +sorcerers. The exorciser in petitioning that the ban may be relieved, +enumerates at length the various causes for which the evil may have been +sent:[410] + + Has he sinned against a god, + Is his guilt against a goddess, + Is it a wrongful deed against his master, + Hatred towards his elder brother, + Has he despised father or mother, + Insulted his elder sister, + Has he given too little,[411] + Has he withheld too much, + For "no" said "yes," + For "yes" said "no"?[412] + + ... + + Has he used false weights? + + ... + + Has he taken an incorrect amount, + Not taken the correct sum, + Has he fixed a false boundary, + Not fixed a just boundary, + Has he removed a boundary, a limit, or a territory, + Has he possessed himself of his neighbor's house, + Has he approached his neighbor's wife, + Has he shed the blood of his neighbor, + Robbed his neighbor's dress? + + ... + + Was he frank in speaking, + But false in heart, + Was it "yes" with his mouth, + But "no" in his heart?[413] + +In this way the exorciser proceeds to enumerate an exceedingly long list +of sins--no less than one hundred--most of which are ethical +misdemeanors, while others are merely ceremonial transgressions. In the +third tablet of this series[414] there is even a longer list of causes +for the ban which Marduk, the "chief exorciser" among the gods, is +called upon to loosen. Here again we find an equal proportion of moral +transgressions placed on a par with errors in performing religious rites +or unwillful offences in neglecting conventional methods of doing +things. + +The ethical features of the texts can, without much question, be put +down as the work of the later editors. They belong to a period when +already an advanced conception not only of right and wrong, but also of +sin had arisen among the religious leaders of the people, and perhaps +had made its way already among the masses, without, however, disturbing +the confidence in the traditional superstitions. The strange combination +of primitive and advanced religious beliefs is characteristic, as we +shall have occasion to see, of various divisions of the Babylonian +religious literature. The lapse from the ethical strain to the +incantation refrain is as sudden as it is common. The priest having +exhausted the category of possible sins or mishaps that have caused the +suffering of the petitioner, proceeds to invoke the gods, goddesses, and +the powerful spirits to loosen the ban. There is no question of +retribution for actual acts of injustice or violence, any more than +there is a question of genuine contrition. The enumeration of the causes +for the suffering constitutes in fact a part of the incantation. The +mention of the real cause in the long list--and the list aims to be +exhaustive, so that the exorciser may strike the real cause--goes a long +way towards ensuring the departure of the evil spirit. And if, besides +striking the real cause, the exorciser is fortunate enough in his +enumeration of the various gods, goddesses, and spirits to call by name +upon the _right_ god or spirit, the one who has the power over the demon +in question, his object is achieved. Speaking the right words and +pronouncing the right name, constitute, together with the performance of +the correct ceremony and the bringing of the right sacrifice, the +conditions upon which depends the success of the priest in the +incantation ritual. Hence the striking features of these texts, the +enumeration of long lists of causes for misfortune, long lists of powers +invoked, and a variety of ceremonies prescribed, in the hope that the +priest will "hit it" at one time or the other. + + +Incantations and Prayers. + +The incantations naturally shade off into prayers. Frequently they are +prayers pure and simple. Powerful as the sacred formulas were supposed +to be, the ultimate appeal of the sufferer is to the gods. Upon their +favor it ultimately depends whether the mystic power contained in the +sacred words uttered shall manifest itself to the benefit of the +supplicant or not. While it is proper, therefore, to distinguish +incantations from prayers, the combination of the two could scarcely be +avoided by the priests, who, rising in a measure superior to the popular +beliefs, felt it to be inconsistent with a proper regard for the gods +not to give them a superior place in the magical texts. The addition, to +the sacred formulas, of prayers directly addressed to certain gods may +be put down as due to the adaptation of ancient texts to the needs of a +later age; and, on the other hand, the addition of incantations to what +appear to have been originally prayers, pure and simple, is a concession +made to the persistent belief in the efficacy of certain formulas when +properly uttered. Such combinations of prayers and incantations +constituted, as would appear, a special class of religious texts; and, +in the course of further editing,[415] a number of prayers addressed to +various deities were combined and interspersed with incantation and +ceremonial directions which were to accompany the prayers. + +The incantations accordingly lead us to the next division in the +religious literature of the Babylonians,--the prayers and hymns. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[341] _Die Assyrische Beschwörungsserie, Maqlû_, p. 14. + +[342] There are some preserved solely in the ideographic style, and +others of which we have only the phonetic transliteration. + +[343] _Die Propheten in ihrer ursprünglichen Form_, pp. 1, 6. This work +is a valuable investigation of the oldest form of the poetic +compositions of the Semites. + +[344] The fifth and sixth tablets of the series. It is probable that +several editions were prepared,--some wholly Babylonian, others +bilingual. + +[345] Haupt, _Akkadische und Sumerische Keilschrifttexte_, p. 83. col. +I. ll. 1-10. + +[346] Wherever feasible, the Babylonian name of the demon will be used +in the translations. + +[347] Our word 'nightmare' still embodies the same ancient view of the +cause of bad dreams as that found among the Babylonians. + +[348] See above, p. 182. + +[349] IV R. pl. 5. + +[350] See Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in Chaldaea and Assyria_, +i. 61, 62; ii. 81 for illustrations. + +[351] IV R. 2, col. v. ll. 30-60. + +[352] The god of humanity. The phrase is equivalent to saying that the +spirits are hostile to mankind. + +[353] Literally, 'to their second time,' _i.e._, repeat 'seven are +they.' + +[354] See Hopkins, _The Holy Numbers in the Rig-Veda_ (Oriental +Studies), pp. 144-147. + +[355] IV R. 15, col. ll. 21 _seq._ + +[356] See chapter xi. + +[357] For the general views connected with the evil eye among all +nations, see Elworthy's recent volume, _The Evil Eye_. (London, 1896.) + +[358] For illustrations taken from various nations, see Fraser, _The +Golden Bough_, ii. 9-12; ii. 85-89. + +[359] See for illustrations of similar practices among Egyptians and +Greeks, Budge, _Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great_ (London, +1896), pp. xii-xvii. + +[360] Mr. L. W. King describes (_Zeits. für Assyr._ xl. 50-62) +interesting fragments of the Dibbarra (or 'plague-god') legend found on +tablets which were evidently intended to be hung up. Mr. King suggests +that such tablets were hung up in the houses of the Babylonians whenever +a plague broke out. One is reminded of the _mezuzoth_, the metallic or +wooden cases, attached to the doorposts of their houses by the Jews, and +which originally served a similar purpose. + +[361] Tallqvist, _Assyr. Beschwörungsserie Maklu_, p. 115, suggests that +the 'veiled bride' may be a name of some goddess of the night. This is +improbable. It sounds more like a direct personification of the night, +for which an epithet as 'veiled bride' seems appropriate. The name may +have arisen in consequence of mythological conceptions affecting the +relationship between day and night. + +[362] A magic potion compounded of this plant. 'Maklu' series, i. ll. +8-12. + +[363] 'Maklu' series, ii. ll. 148-168. + +[364] See Relsner, _Sumerisch-Babylonische Hymnen_ (Berlin, 1896), p. +15. + +[365] See p. 137. + +[366] Robertson Smith, _Religion of the Semites_, p. 352. Grimm, +_Deutsche Mythologie_, i. 508-596. Tylor, _Primitive Culture_, ii. 383 +_seq._ See also the article "Hestia" in Roscher's _Ausführliches Lexikon +der Griechischen und Römischen Mythologie_. + +[367] 'Maklu' series, ii. ll. 1-17. + +[368] A reference to the sacred action of the fire in the burnt +offerings. + +[369] A favorite title of several gods, Bel, Sin, etc., that emphasizes +their strength. + +[370] Here the seeker for help inserts his name. + +[371] Here the names of special deities are to be inserted. + +[372] See above, Nusku, p. 220. + +[373] See p. 67. + +[374] A form of Nusku, according to Tallqvist, _Assyr. Beschwör._ p. +146. It would be more accurate to say a form of Ninib. See p. 92. + +[375] See p. 91. + +[376] King, _Babylonian Magic_, p. 3. + +[377] Humanity. + +[378] The reference is to the formal lamentations on the occasion of the +death of any one. The moon-god, having disappeared, is bewailed as +though dead. + +[379] _I.e._, under all conditions and at all times. + +[380] The reading Nâru is not altogether certain, but probable. See +Tallqvist, _Assyr. Beschwör._ pp. 131, 132, whose suggestion, however, +that Nâru may be a female deity, is not acceptable. _Elitti_ is probably +a scribal error. + +[381] See above p. 103. + +[382] Tallqvist, I. l. 38. + +[383] See above, p. 254. + +[384] To bewitch me. + +[385] The witch. + +[386] From which he suffers through the witches. + +[387] The identification of the many herbs mentioned in the texts is as +yet impossible. The subject awaits investigation at the hands of one +versed in botanical lore. + +[388] _I.e._, be ineffective. + +[389] _I.e._, the gods presiding over the watches. + +[390] Her words dissolve like wax and honey. + +[391] Supposed to be situated at the northern point of the heavens. + +[392] The vault of heaven was pictured as having two gates. + +[393] So that the witch cannot leave her habitation. + +[394] With the order 'to cast the lock,' etc. + +[395] To prevent her from uttering her charms. + +[396] The following four lines constitute the incantation. + +[397] _I.e._, the witches. + +[398] See above, p. 278, where one has been given. + +[399] Maklu, I. 122-143. + +[400] The fiery element belongs to all three divisions of the +universe,--to heaven, earth, and water. + +[401] Maklu, III. ll. 89-103. + +[402] Many of the seals used by the Babylonians were of white stone or +bone. + +[403] Zimmern's edition, pp. 25-29. + +[404] _I.e._, the evil word. + +[405] His protecting deity has deserted him. + +[406] Of his body. + +[407] _I.e._, whoever may have invoked the evil demon to settle upon +him. + +[408] The translation of these lines follows in all but some minor +passages the correct one given by Sayce, _Hibbert Lectures_, p. 446. + +[409] Of the sick man. + +[410] Zimmern, _Die Beschwörungstafeln Shurpu_, pp. 5, 6. + +[411] In mercantile transactions. + +[412] _I.e._, lied. + +[413] _I.e._, did he say one thing, but mean the contrary? + +[414] Zimmern, _ib._ pp. 13-20. + +[415] For details as to the manner in which this editing was done, see +King's admirable remarks in the Introduction to his _Babylonian Magic +and Sorcery_, pp. xx-xxiv. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE PRAYERS AND HYMNS. + + +From what has just been said, it follows that the step from magical +formulas to prayers and hymns is but a small one, and does not, indeed, +carry with it the implication of changed or higher religious +conceptions. While the incantation texts in their entirety may be +regarded as the oldest _fixed_ ritual of the Babylonian-Assyrian +religion, there were occasions even in the oldest period of Babylonian +history when the gods were approached in prayer without the +accompaniment of magic formulas. Such occasions were the celebration of +festivals in honor of the gods, the dedication of temples or of sacred +statues, and the completion of such purely secular undertakings as the +building of a canal. Gudea, we are told, upon completing a statue to his +god Nin-girsu, prayed: 'O King, whose great strength the land cannot +endure (?); Nin-girsu! grant to Gudea, who has built this house, a good +fate.'[416] As in the earliest, so in the latest, period, the Babylonian +kings approach the gods in prayer upon completing their great sacred +edifices. The prayers of Nebuchadnezzar are particularly +fine--remarkable, indeed, for their diction and elevation of thought. +Upon completing the restoration of a temple to Nin-karrak or Gula in +Sippar, he prays:[417] + + Nin-karrak, lofty goddess, look with favor upon the work of my hands, + Mercy towards me be the command of thy lips, + Long life, abundance of strength, + Health, and joy, grant to me as a gift. + In the presence of Shamash and Marduk cause my deeds to be regarded + with favor, + Command grace for me. + +A prayer of the same king addressed to Shamash, upon restoring the great +temple at Sippar, E-babbara, runs:[418] + + O Shamash, great lord, upon entering joyfully into thy glorious temple + E-babbara, + Look with favor upon my precious handiwork, + Mercy towards me be thy command; + Through thy righteous order, may I have abundance of strength. + Long life, and a firm throne, grant to me. + May my rule last forever! + With a righteous sceptre of blissful rulership, + With a legitimate staff, bringing salvation to mankind, adorn my + sovereignty forever. + With strong weapons for the fray, protect my soldiers; + Then, O Shamash, by oracle and dream, answer me correctly! + By thy supreme command, which is unchangeable, + May my weapons advance, and strike and overthrow the weapons of the + enemies. + +Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions are characterized by the prayer with which +they almost invariably close. Whether erecting a sanctuary or building a +canal or improving the walls of Babylon, he does not fail to add to the +description of his achievements a prayer to some deity, in which he asks +for divine grace and the blessings of long life and prosperity. + +There were other occasions, too, in which, both in ancient times and in +more modern periods, prayers were sent up to the gods. Kudur-mabuk, of +the second dynasty of Ur, informs us that he built a temple, E-nun-makh, +to Sin in gratitude to the god for having hearkened to his prayer. + +The Assyrian kings pray to Ashur or Ishtar before the battle, and offer +thanks after the victory has been gained. "O goddess of Arbela!" says +Ashurbanabal,[419] "I am Ashurbanabal, the king of Assyria, the product +of thy hands, created by thee in the house of my father. To renew the +sanctuaries of Assyria, and to enlarge the cities of Babylonia, ... have +I devoted myself to thy dwelling-places, and have steadfastly worshipped +thy sovereignty.... Hearken unto me! O thou mistress of mistresses, +supreme in battle, mistress of the fray, queen of the gods, ... who +speakest good things in the presence of Ashur, the father, that produced +thee. Teumman, king of Elam, has arrayed his army and fixed upon battle, +brandishes his weapons to proceed against Assyria. Do thou now, O +warrior, like ... drive him into the midst of the fray, pursue him with +a storm, with an evil wind." Ishtar, the narrative tells us, hearkened +to the fervent words of the king. "Be not afraid," says the goddess to +her royal subject. Elsewhere the same king prays more briefly to Ashur +and Ishtar. "May his corpse [viz., of a certain enemy] be cast before +his enemy [_i.e._, before Ashurbanabal], and his remains be carried +off."[420] + +Upon ascending the throne, we find Nebuchadnezzar addressing a fervent +prayer to the great god Marduk: + + O Eternal Ruler! Lord of the Universe! + Grant that the name[421] of the king whom thou lovest, + Whose name thou hast mentioned,[422] may flourish as seems good to + thee. + Guide him on the right path. + I am the ruler who obeys thee, the creation of thy hand. + It is thou who hast created me, + And thou hast entrusted to me sovereignty over mankind. + According to thy mercy, O lord, which thou bestowest upon all, + Cause me to love thy supreme rule. + Implant the fear of thy divinity in my heart, + Grant to me whatsoever may seem good before thee, + Since it is thou that dost control my life. + +The curses also with which so many of the historical texts of Babylonia +and Assyria close may be regarded as prayers. We are also justified in +assuming that the offering of sacrifices, which formed at all times an +essential feature of the cult, both in Babylonia and Assyria, was always +accompanied by some form of prayer addressed to some deity or to a group +of deities. In view of all this, no sharp chronological line, any more +than a logical one, can be drawn marking off the incantation formulas +from the hymns and prayers pure and simple. The conceptions formed of +the gods in the incantation texts are precisely those which we have +found to be characteristic of them in the period when this phase of the +religion reached its highest development. Ea is the protector of +humanity, Shamash the lord of justice; and, if certain ideas that in the +prayers are attached to the gods--as wisdom to Sin--are absent from the +incantations, it may be regarded rather as an accident than as an +indication of any difference of conception. The pantheon too, barring +the omission of certain gods, is the same that we find it to be in the +historical texts, and the order in which the gods are enumerated +corresponds quite closely with the rank accorded to them in the +inscriptions of the kings. What variations there are are not +sufficiently pronounced to warrant any conclusions. All this points, as +has been emphasized several times, to the subsequent remodeling of the +texts in question. It is true that we find more traces of earlier and +purely mythological notions in the incantations than in the hymns and +prayers, but such notions are by no means foreign to the latter. Even in +those religious productions of Babylonia which represent the flower of +religious thought, we meet with views that reflect a most primitive mode +of thought. The proper view, therefore, to take of the prayers and hymns +is to regard them as twin productions to the magical texts, due to the +same conceptions of the power of the gods, an emanation of the same +religious spirit, and produced at the same time that the incantation +rituals enjoyed popular favor and esteem, and without in any way +interfering with the practice of the rites that these rituals involved. + +This position does not of course preclude that among the prayers and +hymns that have been preserved there are some betraying a loftier +spirit, a higher level of religious thought, and more pronounced ethical +tendencies than others. Indeed, the one important result of the +dissociation of the address to the gods from the purely practical magic +rites was to produce the conditions favorable to a development of higher +religious thought. An offering of praise to the gods, whether it was for +victory granted or for a favor shown, called forth the best and purest +sentiments of which the individual was capable. Freed from all lower +associations, such an act proved an incentive to view the deity +addressed from his most favorable side, to emphasize those phases which +illustrated his affection for his worshippers, his concern for their +needs, his discrimination, and not merely his power and strength. In +short, the softer and the more humane aspects of the religion would thus +be brought out. The individual would address his god in terms betraying +his affection, and would couple with him attributes that would reflect +the worshipper's rather than the god's view of the purpose and aim of +existence. Whatever powers of idealization there lay in the worshipper's +nature would be brought into the foreground by the intellectual effort +involved in giving expression to his best thoughts, when aiming to come +into close communion with a power upon which he felt himself dependent. +For an understanding, therefore, of the ethical tendencies of the +Babylonian religion, an appreciation of the prayers and hymns is of +prime importance; and we shall presently see that, as a matter of fact, +the highest level of ethical and religious thought is reached in some of +these hymns. + +The prayers of Nebuchadnezzar represent, perhaps, the best that has been +attained in this branch of religious literature. Returning, for a +moment, to the dedication prayer to Marduk, addressed by the king on the +occasion of his mounting the throne,[423] one cannot fail to be struck +by the high sense of the importance of his station with which the king +is inspired. Sovereignty is not a right that he can claim--it is a trust +granted to him by Marduk. He holds his great office not for purposes of +self-glorification, but for the benefit of his subjects. In profound +humility he confesses that what he has he owes entirely to Marduk. He +asks to be guided so that he may follow the path of righteousness. +Neither riches nor power constitute his ambition, but to have the fear +of his lord in his heart. Such a plane of thought is never reached in +the incantation texts. For all that, the original dependence of the +prayers and hymns upon incantation formulas, tinges even the best +productions. Some of the finest hymns, in which elevated thoughts are +elaborated with considerable skill, reveal their origin by having +incantations attached to them. Again, others which are entirely +independent productions are full of allusions to sickness, demons, and +sorcerers, that show the outgrowth of the hymns from the incantations; +and none are entirely free from traces of the conceptions that are +characteristic of the incantation texts. The essential difference +between these two classes of closely related texts may be summed up in +the proposition that the religious thought which produced them both is +carried to a higher point of elaboration in the hymns. The prayers and +hymns represent the attempt of the Babylonian mind to free itself from a +superstitious view of the relationship of man to the powers around him; +an attempt, but--it must be added--an unsuccessful one. + +It is rather unfortunate that many of the hymns found in the library of +Ashurbanabal are in so fragmentary a condition. As a consequence we are +frequently unable to determine more than their general contents. The +colophons generally are missing,--at least in those hymns hitherto +published,[424]--so that we are left in the dark as to the special +occasion for which the hymn was composed. Without this knowledge it is +quite impossible to assign to it any definite date except upon internal +evidence. In the course of time, the hymnal literature of the great +temples of Babylonia must have grown to large proportions, and, in +collecting them, some system was certainly followed by the priests +engaged in this work. There is evidence of a collection having been made +at some time of hymns addressed to Shamash. Some of these were intended +as a salute upon the sun's rising, others celebrated his setting. These +hymns convey the impression of having been composed for the worship of +the god in one of his great temples--perhaps in E-babbara, at Sippar. We +have several hymns also addressed to Marduk, and one can well suppose +that at the great temple E-sagila, in Babylon, a collection of Marduk +hymns must have been prepared, and so for others of the great gods. But, +again, many of the hymns convey the impression of being merely sporadic +productions--composed for certain occasions, and without any reference +to a possible position in a ritual. + +Of the hymns so far published, those to Shamash are probably the finest. +The conception of the sun-god as the judge of mankind lent itself +readily to an ethical elaboration. Accordingly, we find in these hymns +justice and righteousness as the two prominent themes. A striking +passage in one of these hymns reads:[425] + + The law of mankind dost thou direct, + Eternally just in the heavens art thou, + Of faithful judgment towards all the world art thou. + Thou knowest what is right, thou knowest what is wrong. + O Shamash! Righteousness has lifted up its neck(?); + O Shamash! Wrong like a ---- has been cut(?); + O Shamash! The support of Anu and Bel art thou; + O Shamash! Supreme judge of heaven and earth art thou. + +After a break in the tablet, the hymn continues: + + O Shamash! Supreme judge, great lord of all the world art thou; + Lord of creation, merciful one of the world art thou. + +The following lines now reveal the purpose of the hymn. It is a prayer +for the life of the king: + + O Shamash! on this day purify and cleanse the king, the son of his + god. + Whatever is evil within him, let it be taken out. + +The next few lines are a distinct echo of the incantation formulas, and +show how readily prayer passes from a higher to a lower stage of +thought: + + Cleanse him like a vessel ----[426] + Illumine him like a vessel of ----[426] + Like the copper of a polished tablet,[427] let him be bright. + Release him from the ban. + +The same incantation occurs at the close of another hymn to Shamash, +addressed to the sun upon his rising.[428] The colophon furnishes the +opening line of the next tablet, which also begins with an address to +Shamash. We have here a clear indication of a kind of Shamash ritual +extending, perhaps, over a number of tablets, and to which, in all +probability, the hymn just quoted also belongs. + +The opening lines of the second hymn read: + + O Shamash! out of the horizon of heaven thou issuest forth, + The bolt of the bright heavens thou openest, + The door of heaven thou dost open. + O Shamash! over the world dost thou raise thy head. + O Shamash! with the glory of heaven thou coverest the world. + +It would be difficult to believe, but for the express testimony +furnished by the hymn itself, that a production giving evidence of such +a lofty view of the sun-god should, after all, be no more than an +incantation. The same is the case, however, with all the Shamash hymns +so far published. They either expressly or by implication form part of +an incantation ritual. Evidently, then, such addresses to Shamash are to +be viewed in no other light than the exaltation of Nusku in the 'Maklu' +series,[429] and which we have found were in many cases elaborate, +beautiful in diction, and elevated in thought. So--to give one more +example--a hymn addressed to the sun-god at the setting, and which is +especially interesting because of the metaphors chosen to describe the +sun's course, is proved by the colophon to be again an incantation. It +belongs to a series--perhaps, indeed, to the same as the specimens +furnished:[430] + + O sun-god in the midst[431] of heaven at thy setting, + May the enclosure of the pure heaven greet thee,[432] + May the gate of heaven approach thee, + May the directing god, the messenger who loves thee, direct thy way. + In E-babbara, the seat of thy sovereignty, thy supremacy rises like + the dawn. + May Â, the wife whom thou lovest, come before thee with joy; + May thy heart be at rest,[433] + May the glory of thy divinity be established for thee. + O Shamash! warrior hero, mayest thou be exalted; + O lord of E-babbara, as thou marchest, may thy course be directed, + Direct thy path, march along the path fixed for thy course (?). + O Shamash! judge of the world, director of its laws art thou. + +In the previous chapter, the hymns addressed to the moon-god in +connection with eclipses have been referred to and short specimens +given. A more elaborate hymn to Sin will further illustrate the +conceptions current about this deity:[434] + + O lord, chief of the gods, who on earth and in heaven alone is exalted. + Father Nannar,[435] lord of increase, chief of the gods, + Father Nannar, heavenly lord, + Father Nannar, moon-god, chief of the gods, + Father Nannar, lord of Ur, chief of the gods, + Father Nannar, lord of E-gish-shir-gal,[436] chief of the gods, + Father Nannar, lord of the brilliant crescent, chief of the gods, + Father Nannar, whose sovereignty is brought to perfection, chief of + the gods, + Father Nannar, who passes along in great majesty, + O strong Bull,[437] great of horns, perfect in form, with long flowing + beard[438] of the color of lapus-lazuli. + Powerful one, self-created, a product (?) beautiful to look upon, + whose fullness has not been brought forth,[439] + Merciful one, begetter of everything, who among living things occupies + a lofty seat, + Father, merciful one and restorer, whose weapon (?) maintains the life + of the whole world. + Lord, thy divinity, like the distant heaven and the wide ocean, is + full (?) of fear. + Ruler of the land, protector of sanctuaries, proclaimer of their name. + Father, begetter of the gods and of men, establishing dwellings and + granting gifts, + Calling to sovereignty, giving the sceptre, who decreest destinies for + distant days. + Strong chief, whose wide heart embraces in mercy all that exists, + ... beautiful, whose knees do not grow weary, who opens the road (?) + for the gods, his brothers, + ... who, from the foundation of heaven till the zenith, + Passes along in brilliancy (?), opening the door of heaven, + Preparing the fate (?) of humanity. + Father, begetter of everything, ... + Lord, proclaiming the decisions of heaven and earth, + Whose command is not set aside, + ... and granting water[440] for all that has life. + No god reaches to thy fullness. + In heaven who is exalted? Thou alone art exalted. + On earth who is exalted? Thou alone art exalted. + Thy strong command is proclaimed in heaven, and the Igigi prostrate + themselves. + Thy strong command is proclaimed on earth, and the Anunnaki kiss the + ground. + Thy strong command on high, like a storm in the darkness, passes + along, and nourishment streams forth. + When thy strong command is established on the earth, vegetation + sprouts forth. + Thy strong command stretches over meadows and heights, and life is + increased. + Thy strong command produces right and proclaims justice to mankind. + Thy strong command, through the distant heavens and the wide earth, + extends to whatever there is. + Thy strong command, who can grasp it? Who can rival it? + Lord, in heaven is [thy] sovereignty, on earth is thy sovereignty. + Among the gods, thy brothers, there is none like thee. + O King of Kings, who has no judge superior to him, whose divinity is + not surpassed by any other![441] + +A more perfect idealization of the mythological notions connected with +the moon-god can hardly be imagined. The old metaphors are retained, but +interpreted in a manner that reflects higher spiritual tendencies. The +moon is still figured as a bull, but it is the idea of strength that is +extracted from the picture and dwelt upon. The writer still thinks of +the moon as an old man with flowing beard, but he uses the figure to +convey the impression of the brilliancy of the great orb. The influence +of the moon upon the change of seasons, upon vegetation,--a belief which +the Babylonians shared with other nations,--leads the writer to extol +the benign feelings of the god towards mankind. The sun-god, through the +glowing heat that he develops, becomes, as we have seen, the warrior and +even the destroyer, the consuming force. The moon-god is the benefactor +of mankind who restores the energies of man weakened from the heat of +the day. Nannar-Sin becomes the giver of life, whose mercies are +extended to all. The gods and the spirits follow the example of mankind +in prostrating themselves before the great orb of night. The +independence of the course that he pursues in the heavens places him +beyond the control of the great judge of the world, the mighty Shamash. +There is no one superior to Sin, no one to whose command he must bend. +With all this, there is a total absence of any allusion to his power of +removing the influence of demons and witches. We have here a hymn +purified from all association with the incantation texts, and there is +every reason to believe that it was composed for use in the great temple +at Ur, which is mentioned in the opening lines. + +In the alternating question and answer we have also a valuable +indication of the manner in which the hymn was to be recited or sung. +The whole production appears to be arranged in a dialogue form, the +lines to be alternately read by the reciting priest and the chorus of +priests or worshippers. The same method is followed in other +productions, while in some, as we shall see, the dialogue does not +proceed in alternate lines, but is distributed among a varying number of +sections. We may see in this style of composition one of the natural +outcomes of the method pursued in the incantation texts, where, as will +be remembered, the priest first recites the formulas, and then calls +upon the individual before him to repeat it once, twice, or oftener, as +the case may be. Such a custom leads to recital and responses in the +hymns. + +Not many of the hymns rise to such a height as the one just quoted. +There were certain gods only, and after all not many, whose nature was +such as to make an ethical development of the conceptions formed of them +possible. Besides Shamash and Sin, Ea as the god of humanity and Nebo as +the god of wisdom belong to this class. Of Ea, however, no hymns have as +yet been found. This may of course be accidental, and still, if one +bears in mind that in the later periods of Babylonian history Ea enjoyed +a theoretical popularity rather than a practical one, the absence of Ea +hymns might be explained as due to the lack of a fixed ritual in the Ea +temples outside of the incantation texts.[442] Ea's position, like that +of Nusku, was too marked in the magical texts to encourage a conception +of them entirely independent of their power to release victims from the +grasp of the demons. + +A hymn to Nebo, which unfortunately is preserved only in part, +illustrates the extent to which polytheistic conceptions may be +spiritualized:[443] + + ... Lord of Borsippa, + ... son of E-sagila.[444] + O Lord! To thy power there is no rival power, + O Nebo! To thy power, there is no rival, + To thy house, E-zida, there is no rival, + To thy city, Borsippa, there is no rival, + To thy district, Babylon, there is no rival. + Thy weapon is U-sum-gallu,[445] from whose mouth the breath does not + issue, blood does not flow.[446] + Thy command is unchangeable like the heavens. + In heaven thou art supreme. + +There are still plenty of mythological allusions in this hymn that take +us back to a primitive period of thought, but it is a hymn prompted by +the love and reverence that Nebo inspired. Its direct connection with +the Nebo cult is shown again by the complementary character of each two +lines. The whole hymn was probably adapted in this way to public +worship. + +Marduk, by virtue of his relationship to Ea, and by his independent +position as the supreme god of Babylon, occupies a middle ground between +Shamash, Ea, and Nusku on the one side, and such gods as Sin and Nebo on +the other. Some of the hymns addressed to him end in incantations; +others form part of the cult arranged for solemn occasions, when the +praises of the god were sung in connection with sacrificial offerings. + +In confirmation of the theory as to the relationship between magical +texts and hymns above advanced, we find scarcely any difference in the +grade of religious thought between these two classes of Marduk hymns. +Both are equally distinguished by their fine diction. A hymn which +celebrates Marduk as the restorer of the dead to life, and yet forms +part of an incantation text, reads:[447] + + O merciful one among the gods! + O merciful one who loveth to give life to the dead! + Marduk, king of heaven and earth, + King of Babylon, lord of E-sagila, + King of E-zida, lord of E-makh-tila, + Heaven and earth are thine. + The whole of heaven and earth are thine, + The spell affording life is thine, + The breath of life is thine, + The pure incantation of the ocean[448] is thine, + Mankind, the black-headed race,[449] + The living creatures, as many as there are, and exist on earth, + As many as there are in the four quarters, + The Igigi of the legions of heaven and earth, + As many as there are, + To thee do they incline (?). + Thou art the _shedu_, thou art the _lamassu_. + Thou restorest the dead to life, thou bringest things to + completeness (?). + O merciful one among the gods! + +One scarcely detects any difference between such a hymn and those to Sin +and Nebo. The lines are adapted, like the other specimens, for +recitation by two parties. The last line forms a solemn close to a +section of this hymn. In the section that follows, the same character is +maintained till we approach the close, when the exorciser steps in and +asks Marduk to + + Expel the disease of the sick man, + The plague, the wasting disease ... + +and the various classes of demons, _utukku, alu,_ etc., are introduced. + +Compare this now with some passages in a prayer addressed to +Marduk:[450] + + A resting-place for the lord (of E-sagila) is thy house. + A resting-place for the lord of E-makh-tila is thy house. + E-sagila, the house of thy sovereignty, is thy house. + May the city speak 'rest'[451] to thee--thy house. + May Babylon speak peace to thee[452]--thy house. + May the great Anu, the father of the gods, tell thee when there will + be rest. + May the great mountain, the father of the gods,[453] tell thee when + there will be rest. + + ... + + Look favorably upon thy house, + Look favorably upon the city, O lord of rest! + May he restore to his place the bolt Babylon, the enclosure E-sagila, + the edifice E-zida,[454] + May the gods of heaven and earth speak to thee, O lord of rest. + +Here we have specific references to Marduk. Everything about the city of +Babylon is associated with the god. The great gods pay homage to Marduk. +The whole hymn, conceived as a royal prayer to the god, clearly formed +part of the ritual prepared for the great Marduk temple at Babylon. The +hymn closes, as so many others, with a prayer on behalf of the king. The +god is asked + + To establish firmly the foundation of the throne of his sovereignty, + So that he may nourish (?) mankind to distant days. + +'Rest,' in the liturgical language, implied cessation of anger. Marduk, +as the 'lord of rest,' was the pacified deity; and since it was a +necessary condition in obtaining an answer to petitions that the god +should be free from anger, the city, the temple, and the gods are +represented as unitedly speaking to him--appealing to him to be at +'rest.' The production might, therefore, be called a 'pacification +hymn.' The god has shown his anger by bringing on misfortune of some +shape. His divine associates are no less anxious than his human subjects +to pacify the mighty god. + +Passing on to another god, a hymn to the storm-god, Ramman, enables us +to specify the great terror that the god, as the general source of +disturbances in the heavenly phenomena, inspired. The god is +addressed[455] as + + The lord who in his anger holds the heavens in his control, + Ramman in his wrath the earth has shaken. + The mighty mountain--thou dost overturn it. + At his anger, at his wrath, + The gods of heaven mount up to heaven,[456] + The gods of earth enter the earth. + Into the foundation of heaven Shamash[457] enters. + +The illustrations adduced will suffice to show the manner in which the +Babylonians conceived the relationship between mankind and the gods. The +element of fear alternated with that of love, and no matter how near the +gods were felt to be, one was never certain of their good will. + +Another feature of some of these hymns which calls for special mention +is the introduction of the deity as himself or herself taking part in +the dialogue. A hymn addressed to Ishtar, as the morning and evening +star,[458] belongs to this class.[459] It begins with a glorification of +the goddess as the source of light, of being, and of earthly blessings. +The worshipper speaks: + + O light of heaven who arises like fire over the earth, who art fixed + in the earth, + Thou art exalted in strength like the earth. + As for thee, a just path be graciously granted to thee + When thou enterest the house of man. + A hyena on the hunt for a young lamb art thou, + A restless lion art thou. + A destructive handmaid, the beauty of heaven, + A handmaid is Ishtar, the beauty of heaven, + Who causest all being to emanate, O beauty of heaven, + Associate (?) of the sun, O beauty of heaven! + +At this point the goddess speaks, through the officiating priest, who +acts as the mediator: + + For determining oracles[460] I have been established, in perfection + have I been established. + For determining oracles of my father Sin, I have been established, in + perfection have I been established. + For determining oracles of my brother Shamash, I have been + established, in perfection have I been established. + Me has my father Sin fixed, to determine oracles I have been + established, + Shining anew in heaven, for determining oracles I have been + established, in perfection have I been established. + +From the regular repetition of the refrain at the end of each line, one +is tempted to conclude that these utterances of the goddess were to be +recited by an officiating priest with the assistance of a chorus of +priests, to whom the refrain was assigned, or it may be that the lines +were alternately recited by the priest and the chorus. In the section +that follows, this alternative character of the lines is more clearly +indicated: + + Full of delight is my majesty, full of delight is my supremacy, + Full of delight do I as a goddess walk supreme. + Ishtar, the goddess of morning am I, + Ishtar, the goddess of evening am I, + (I am) Ishtar,--to open the lock of heaven belongs to my supremacy. + Heaven I destroy, earth I devastate,[461]--such is my supremacy. + The destroyer of heaven, the devastator of the earth,--such is my + majesty. + To rise up out of the foundation of heaven, + Whose fame shines among the habitation of men,--such is my supremacy. + Queen of heaven that on high and below is invoked,--such is my + supremacy. + The mountain I sweep away altogether,--such is my supremacy. + The destroyer of the mountain walls am I, their great foundation am + I,--such is my supremacy. + +The hymn closes with a prayer that the anger of the god be appeased: + + May thy heart be at rest, thy liver[462] be pacified. + By the great lord Anu, may thy heart be at rest. + By the lord, the great mountain Bel, may thy liver be pacified. + O goddess, mistress of heaven, may thy heart be at rest. + O supreme mistress of heaven, may thy liver be pacified. + O supreme mistress of the E-anna,[463] may thy heart be at rest. + O supreme mistress of the land of Erech, may thy liver be pacified. + O supreme mistress of the shining Erech, may thy heart be at rest. + O supreme mistress of the mountain of the universe, may thy liver be + pacified. + O supreme mistress, queen of E-tur-kalama,[464] may thy heart be at + rest. + O supreme mistress, queen of Babylon, may thy liver be pacified. + O supreme mistress, whose name is Nanâ, may thy heart be at rest. + O mistress of the house, lady of the gods, may thy liver be pacified. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[416] Inscription D, col. v. ll. 2-7. + +[417] Abel-Winckler, _Keilschrifttexte_, p. 33, col. iii. ll. 52-58. + +[418] Ball, _Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._ xi. 124 _seq._ + +[419] _Annals_, Cylinder B, col. v. ll. 30-46. + +[420] Without proper burial,--the greatest misfortune that could happen +to the dead. + +[421] _I.e._, life. + +[422] _I.e._, called to the throne. + +[423] See p. 296. + +[424] The prayers and hymns of the Babylonians are only beginning to +receive the attention they deserve at the hands of scholars. Sayce, +_e.g._, in the specimens attached to his _Hibbert Lectures_, pp. +479-520, does not even distinguish properly between pure hymns and mere +incantations. Now that Dr. Bezold's great catalogue of the Koujunjik +collection of the British Museum is completed, the opportunity is +favorable for some one to study the numerous unpublished fragments of +hymns in the British Museum, and produce in connection with those that +have been published a comprehensive work on the subject. Knudtzon's +_Assyrische Gebete an den Sonnengott_ may serve as a model for such a +work. + +[425] IVR. 28, no. 1. + +[426] Some specification of the kind of vessel meant. + +[427] Inscriptions were written on various metals,--gold, silver, +antimony, lead, copper, etc. + +[428] IVR. 20, no. 2. + +[429] See above, p. 286. + +[430] Published by Bertin in the _Revue d'Assyriologie_, no. 4, and +translated by Sayce, _Hibbert Lectures_, p. 573. I adopt Sayce's +translation, Bertin's publication being inaccessible to me. + +[431] Probably 'horizon.' + +[432] Lit., speak to thee of peace. + +[433] _I.e._, may thy anger depart. + +[434] IVR. 9. + +[435] 'The illuminator,' one of the names of Sin. See above, p. 75. + +[436] The name of Sin's temple at Ur. + +[437] A metaphor descriptive of the moon, because of the resemblance of +the crescent to a horn. + +[438] The moon-god is pictured with a long beard on the seal cylinders. +See p. 76. + +[439] _I.e._, unlike other products, the moon's fullness is +self-created. + +[440] A reference perhaps to the supposed influence of the moon on the +tides. + +[441] The rest of the hymn--some dozen lines--is too fragmentary to +warrant translation. + +[442] We have, however, a list (IIR. 58, no. 5) giving many titles and +names of Ea that must have been prepared on the basis of Ea hymns. + +[443] IVR. 20, no. 3. + +[444] _I.e._, of Marduk. + +[445] This weapon plays a part in some of the Babylonian myths. + +[446] The weapon is miraculous--It kills instantly, but without causing +blood to flow. The reference is to the lightning stroke. + +[447] IVR. 29, no. 1. + +[448] Perhaps a reference to Ea. + +[449] Name for the inhabitants of Babylonla, and then used in general +for mankind. _Cf._ p. 281. + +[450] IVR. 18, no. 2. Badly preserved. + +[451] _I.e._, call upon thee to be pacified. + +[452] _I.e._, salute thee. + +[453] Bel. + +[454] The strongly fortified city of Babylon is compared to a bolt and +the temple to an enclosure. + +[455] IVR. 28, no. 2. + +[456] _I.e._, fly to a safe place. + +[457] _I.e._, the sun is obscured. + +[458] See above, p. 84. + +[459] Delitzsch, _Assyrische Lesestücke_ (3d edition), pp. 134-136. + +[460] The portents taken through observation of the position of Ishtar +or Venus in the heavens were of especial value. + +[461] Phrases introduced to illustrate the power, not the function, of +Ishtar. + +[462] The liver as the seat of the emotions. + +[463] _I.e._, house of heaven. Name of Ishtar's temple at Erech. + +[464] _I.e._, court of the universe. Name of one of Ishtar's temples. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +PENITENTIAL PSALMS. + + +It will be recalled that both in the Ishtar hymn and in the one to +Marduk above quoted, great stress is laid upon pacifying the deity +addressed. Starting from the primitive conception that misfortunes were +a manifestation of divine anger, the Babylonians never abandoned the +belief that transgressions could be atoned for only by appeasing the +anger of the deity. But within this limitation, an ethical spirit was +developed among the Babylonians that surprises us by its loftiness and +comparative purity. Instead of having recourse merely to incantation +formulas, the person smitten with disease or pursued by ill fortune +would turn in prayer to some god at whose instigation the evil has come +and appeal for the pacification of the divine wrath. But while the +origin of the so-called penitential psalms is thus closely bound up with +the same order of thought that gave rise to the incantation texts, no +less significant is the divorce between the two classes of compositions +that begins already at an early stage of the literary period. The +incantations, it is true, may be combined with compositions that belong +to a higher order of religious thought. We have seen that they have been +so combined, and yet the dividing line between the two is also sharply +marked. Zimmern, to whom, more than to any one else, the interpretation +of these penitential psalms is due, has suggested[465] that national +misfortunes rather than private grievances may have given an impetus to +this class of literary productions. It is true that historical +references are found in some of the hymns, and it is also significant +that not only do these psalms occasionally embody a prayer for the +king,--thus giving to them a national rather than a personal +character,--but the kings are called upon in times of distress to +accompany their libations to the gods with the recitation of a 'lament +to quiet the heart,'[466] as the Babylonians called this class of hymns. + +One can easily see how such events as defeat in war would be ascribed to +divine wrath, and not to the workings of evil spirits or witches; and +while the personal tone that pervades most of the penitential psalms +makes them applicable to conditions affecting the individual as well as +the nation, the peculiar fitness of such psalms for occasions of +national importance was a powerful factor in bringing about their sharp +separation from the incantation formulas. + +Just as in the hymns we found that the mere contemplation of the +attributes of the gods, apart from the manifestation of these attributes +in any particular instance, led to a loftier interpretation of the +relationship existing between the gods and mankind, so the thought that +evil was due in the last instance to the anger of some god led to +greater emphasis being laid upon this relationship. The anger of the god +prompted both the individual and the nation to greater zeal in securing +the deity's love. To an even greater extent than in the hymns is the +element of love introduced into the penitential psalms, and when not +directly expressed, is so clearly implied as to form the necessary +complement to the conception of the divine wrath. These psalms indeed +show the religious and ethical thought of Babylonia at its best. Their +ethical phase manifests itself more particularly in the conception of +sin which is unfolded in them. The misfortunes of life, more especially +those which could not so readily be ascribed to the presence of evil +spirits, filled the individual with his sense of guilt. In some way, +known or unknown to him, he must have offended the deity. The thought +whether the deity was justified in exercising his wrath did not trouble +him any more than the investigation of the question whether the +punishment was meted out in accordance with the extent of the wrong +committed. It was not necessary for the deity to be just; it was +sufficient that some god felt himself to be offended, whether through +the omission of certain rights or through an error in the performance of +rites or what not. The two facts which presented themselves with +overpowering force to the penitent were the anger of the deity and the +necessity of appeasing that anger. Beyond this conclusion the +Babylonians and Assyrians did not go, but this reasoning also sufficed +to bring the conviction home to him that his misfortunes were the result +of some offence. The man afflicted was a sinner, and the corollary to +this position was that misfortunes come in consequence of sin. Through +the evils alone which overtook one, it became clear to an individual +that he had sinned against the deity. Within this circle of ideas the +penitential psalms of Babylonia move. They do not pass wholly outside of +the general Semitic view that sin is a 'missing of the mark,'--a +failure, whether voluntary or involuntary, to comply with what was +demanded by the deity under whose protection one stood. But one became +conscious of having 'missed the mark' only when evil in some +form--disease, ill luck, deluge, drought, defeat, destruction, storms, +pecuniary losses, family discords, the death of dear ones--came to +remind the individual or the nation of the necessity of securing the +favor of the deity again. Still within this sphere there were great +possibilities of ethical progress, and some of the Babylonian psalms +breathe a spirit and are couched in a diction that have prompted a +comparison with the Biblical psalms.[467] Thrown, as the sinner felt +himself to be, upon the mercy of the angry deity, it mattered little +what had called forth this wrath or whether the deity was conceived as +acting in accordance with just ideas. The thought that would engage the +entire attention of the penitent would be the appeasement of his god. To +effect this, he would not stop short at exaggerating his own guilt. He +would manifest a contrition of spirit that would not be the less sincere +for being, perhaps, out of proportion to the character of his sin when +judged by our standards. + +Corresponding to the humiliation of mind to which he would be brought, +his longing to be reconciled to the offended deity would be intensified. +He would address this deity in terms of strong endearment, magnify his +or her powers, as the case may be, and belittle himself and his own +worth. The result of such a mental discipline could not but react +healthfully on the mind of the penitent. The penitent would arise from +his prayer with a more spiritual conception of the relationship existing +between himself and his god. Not appealing for any material benefits for +the time being, but concerned only with appeasing the divine wrath, the +single burden of his prayer "that the heart of the offended god might be +'at rest'" would be marked by an intensity all the stronger for being at +least comparatively pure of grosser associations. + +All these features combined serve to make the penitential psalms the +flower of the religious literature of Babylonia. The productions not +only represent the highest stage which religious thought reached in the +Euphrates Valley, but, in a certain sense, constitute the only +productions in cuneiform literature that have a permanent literary +value. + +We find these compositions marked by a third feature which, however, as +we have already seen, is not peculiar to them,--the dialogue form. In +order to bring about a reconciliation with an angered god, three +personages were necessary in the drama,--the god, the penitent, and, +thirdly, the priest, acting as mediator between the sinner and his +deity. The deity, according to Babylonian notions, could not be +approached directly, but only through his chosen messengers,--the +priests. This idea of mediation, as against the immediate approach, was +so pronounced as to lead, as we have seen, to the frequent association +with a god of a second divine personage,--his son or his +servant,--through whom the petitions of mankind were brought to the +throne of grace.[468] The priest was similarly conceived as the +messenger of the god, and, by virtue of this office, endowed with a +certain measure, at least, of divine power. He was, in the full sense, +the god's vicar on earth,--his representative, who could, as we saw in +the Ishtar hymn, speak in the first person on behalf of the god.[469] +The more manifest mission of the priest, however, was to intercede on +behalf of the mass of mankind. Accepting the sacrifices offered by the +laity, it was he that secured their gracious acceptance on the part of +the deity. It was the priest, as we have seen, who instructed the +individual to pronounce the magic formulas that would be appropriate to +his case; and just as in the incantation texts the priest accompanied +the recitation of the formulas with an appeal of his own, so in the +penitential psalms, he stood at the penitent's side, instructing him +what to say, and emphasizing the confessions of the penitent by an +assurance to the deity of the sincerity of the penitent, coupled with a +fervent request that the prayer for 'appeasement,' which involved all +that we mean by forgiveness, be graciously answered. + +It is unfortunate that the text of none of the penitential psalms is +perfectly preserved. We must, therefore, content ourselves in our +illustrations with more or less imperfect extracts. It is to be noted, +too, that often the exact meaning of the lines escapes us, owing to the +obscurity of terms employed or to the gaps in the texts themselves. With +few exceptions the psalms appear in the double style characteristic of +so large a section of the religious literature of the Babylonians, the +'ideographic' composition being accompanied by a phonetic +transliteration. The fact, however, that we have at least one text (IVR. +59, no. 2) in the phonetic style alone, is sufficient to show that no +_special_ weight is to be attached to the supposed 'bilingual' character +of the others. This double style is not a feature that need be taken +into account in determining the age of this class of compositions. The +historical references in some of them have prompted Zimmern to give his +partial assent to the opinion which would assign them, or some of them, +to the age of Hammurabi. Beyond such references, which are not as clear +as they might be, we have no data through which their age can be +determined; but so far as the ideas which they convey and the religious +spirit manifested in them are concerned, there is no reason why they +should not be assigned to as early a period as some of the incantation +texts. It is characteristic of the Babylonian, as, in a measure, of all +religions, that the old and the new go hand in hand; that more advanced +conceptions, so far from setting aside primitive ones, can live and +thrive in the same atmosphere with the latter. We may, therefore, assume +that penitential psalms existed as early as 2000 B.C. Whether any of +these that have been preserved go back to that period is another +question. One gains the impression from a careful study of them that +most of these, if not all, belong to a somewhat later period, nearer to +the first millennium than to the second millennium before our era. The +Assyrians adopted these psalms, as they did the other features of the +religious literature of the Babylonians, and enriched the collection by +productions of their own which, however, follow closely the Babylonian +models. + +A particularly beautiful psalm, judging from the portion preserved, +represents the penitent addressing his goddess--probably Ishtar--as +follows:[470] + + I, thy servant, full of sighs, call upon thee; + The fervent prayer of him who has sinned do thou accept. + If thou lookest upon a man, that man lives. + O all-powerful mistress of mankind, + Merciful one, to whom it is good to turn, who hears[471] sighs! + +At this point the priest takes up the thread to emphasize the appeal of +the penitent by adding to it his own. He prays to the goddess: + + His god and goddess being angry with him, he calls upon thee, + Turn towards him thy countenance, take hold of his hand. + +The penitent continues: + + Besides thee, there is no guiding deity. + I implore thee to look upon me and hear my sighs. + Proclaim pacification,[472] and may thy soul be appeased. + How long, O my mistress, till thy countenance be turned towards me. + Like doves, I lament, I satiate myself with sighs. + +The priest once more sums up the penitent's prayer: + + With pain and ache, his soul is full of sighs; + Tears he weeps, he pours forth lament (?). + +A trait which appears in many of these psalms is the anonymity beneath +which the offended deity is veiled. His or her name is often not +mentioned, the deity being simply referred to as god or goddess, and at +times it is left doubtful whether the sinner has 'sinned' against the +demands of a god or a goddess, or against several deities. This feature +is not without significance. In some cases, no doubt, the name of the +specific deity was to be added by the penitent,[473] but in others this +does not appear to be indicated. The anonymity is the natural result of +the conception of sin involved in these productions. The sinner, +becoming conscious of his guilt only as a conclusion drawn from the fact +of his suffering from some misfortune, could only surmise, but never be +entirely certain, wherein his offence consisted or what deity he had +offended. In the case of the recital of incantation formulas, the +question as to the offended deity was a minor one, and may indeed, at an +earlier stage of thought, not have entered into consideration at all. +This anonymity, therefore, which characterized the penitential psalms +was not due to any advance in thought, but one can easily see how it led +to such an advance. What may be called the personal aspects of the gods +were less accentuated. The very fact that no particular god could in +many cases be specified entailed, as a consequence, that the views held +of the gods gained in abstractness. The general thought of one's +dependence upon these supernatural powers, without further +specification, superinduced a grouping of the gods under a common +aspect, as the directors of man's fate. In short, the notion of deity, +not indeed as a unit, but as a collective idea, begins to dawn in +Babylonia. At the same time we must beware of exaggerating the force +that this notion acquired. There is not the slightest trace of any +approach to real monotheism in Babylonia, nor can it even be said that +the penitential psalms constitute a bridge leading to such an approach. +The strong hold that astrology at all times, and up to the latest +periods, had upon both the popular and the educated mind was in itself +sufficient to prevent the Babylonians from passing, to any considerable +degree, beyond the stage in which the powers of nature were personified +and imbued with real life. The penitential psalms presuppose this belief +as much as any other branch of the religious literature; they merely +illustrate this belief in the purest form of which, in the course of its +development, it was capable. + +A psalm in which this anonymity of the offended god is more strongly +brought out begins as follows.[474] The penitent prays: + + O that the wrath of my lord's heart return to its former + condition,[475] + O that the god who is unknown be pacified, + O that the goddess unknown be pacified, + O that the god known or unknown[476] be pacified, + O that the goddess known or unknown be pacified, + O that the heart of my god be pacified, + O that the god or goddess known or unknown be pacified! + +The penitent, it will be seen, does not know whether it is a god or a +goddess whom he has offended. He therefore appeals to both. He goes on +to say that he is not even aware of the sin that he has committed: + + The sin that I have committed I know not. + +And yet he must have sinned or he would not suffer as he does. In +addition to his confession, he imposes the hardship of fasting upon +himself by way of penance: + + Food I have not eaten; + Clear water I have not drunk. + +The reference to fasting occurs so frequently in these psalms that one +is tempted to conclude that such a bodily castigation was demanded by +the ritual of the Babylonians:[477] + + An offence have I unwittingly committed against my god, + A sin against my goddess unwillingly been guilty of, + O lord, my sins are many, great are my transgressions, + O my god, my sins are many, great are my transgressions, + O my goddess, my sins are many, great are my transgressions, + Known or unknown god, my sins are many, great are my transgressions. + +Again the sinner protests his innocence of the wrong he has done. He +only knows that + + The lord has looked upon me in the rage of his heart, + A god has visited me in his wrath, + A goddess has become angry with me and brought me into pain, + A known or unknown god has oppressed me, + A known or unknown goddess has brought sorrow upon me. + I seek for help, but no one takes my hand. + I weep, but no one approaches me. + I call aloud, but no one hears me. + Full of woe, I grovel in the dust without looking up. + To my merciful god I turn, speaking with sighs. + The feet of my goddess I kiss imploringly (?). + To the known or unknown god do I speak with sighs, + To the known or unknown goddess do I speak with sighs. + O lord, look upon me, accept my lament, + O goddess, look upon me, accept my lament, + O known or unknown goddess, look upon me, accept my lament! + +In this strain he proceeds for some time, until he is interrupted by the +priest, who briefly adds: + + O lord, do not cast aside thy servant, + Overflowing with tears,[478] take him by the hand! + +The penitent closes the prayer by another and still more earnest appeal: + + The sin I have committed change to mercy, + The wrong I have done, may the wind carry off. + Tear asunder my many transgressions as a garment. + My god, my sins are seven times seven,[479] forgive me my sins. + My goddess, my sins are seven times seven, forgive me my sins, + Known or unknown god, my sins are seven times seven, forgive me my + sins. + Known or unknown goddess, my sins are seven times seven, forgive me my + sins. + Forgive me my sins and I will humble myself before thee. + May thy heart be glad[480] as the heart of the mother that has given + birth, + May thy heart be glad as that of a mother who has given birth, as + that of a father who has begotten a child. + +The proportions between the parts taken by the priest and penitent vary +considerably. In the one quoted, the priest is only incidentally +introduced; in others,[481] it is the penitent who plays the minor part. +The penitential ritual varied accordingly; but since we cannot discover +here, as we could in the case of the incantation texts, the special +occasions for the variations, except for those that contain historical +references, one must suppose that they could be used indifferently at +the choice of the penitent or the priest. It is probable that at one +time a large collection of such psalms was made in Babylonia, and that +those we have represent compositions made from the rituals of various +temples. In one psalm we have a distinct statement from which we may +conclude that it belonged to the E-sagila temple at Babylon. Only a +portion of it is preserved.[482] It is interesting, also, because of a +reference to a dream that it contains, and which the god of Babylon is +called upon to convert into a favorable sign for the petitioner. Zimmern +is of the opinion that the hymn may have been an evening prayer, but it +seems more satisfactory to place it merely in the general category of +penitential psalms, with a request for a sign that the deity has been +appeased. The sinner, after describing his woeful state,-- + + Instead of food, I eat bitter tears, + Instead of date-wine, I drink the waters of misery, + For my drink I have bitter waters, + Instead of clothes, I am enveloped in sin,[483]-- + +proceeds to a fervent appeal: + + O my god who art angry with me, accept my prayer, + O my goddess who art wroth with me, accept my appeal, + Accept my appeal, may thy liver be at rest! + My lord in mercy and compassion [look upon me?] + Who guides the span of life against the encroachments (?) of death, + accept my prayer! + O my goddess, look upon me, accept my appeal; + May my sins be forgiven,[484] my transgressions be wiped out. + May the ban be loosened, the chain broken, + May the seven winds carry off my sighs. + Let me tear away my iniquity, let the birds carry it to heaven, + Let the fish take off my misfortune, the stream carry it off. + May the beasts of the field take it away from me, + The flowing waters of the stream wash me clean. + Let me be pure like the sheen of gold. + As a ring (?) of precious stone, may I be precious before thee. + Remove my iniquity, save my soul. + Thy [temple] court I will watch, thy image (?) I will set up.[485] + Grant to me that I may see a favorable dream, + The dream that I see, let it be favorable, + The dream that I see, let it be unfailing, + The dream that I see, turn it to a favorable [issue]. + The god Makhir (?), the god of dreams stand at my head. + Let me enter into E-sagila, the temple of the gods, the house of life. + Commend me to Marduk, the merciful one, for favor, + I will be subservient to thy greatness, I will exalt thy divinity. + +There follows a line from which one may further conclude that the psalm +is one composed for the royal chief of Babylonia. It is evidently only a +ruler who can assure the deity that + + The inhabitants of my city,[486] may they glorify thy power. + +We know from the historical texts that previous to a military engagement +the kings were particularly desirous of some sign from the deity that +might serve to encourage the soldiery. Such a sign was ordinarily a +dream. The circumstances, therefore, seem to point to our psalm being a +royal prayer for forgiveness of transgressions, uttered before some +impending national crisis, in the hope of securing, with the divine +pardon, the protection of the deity who, up to this point in the +campaign, must have manifested his displeasure rather than his favor. +More distinct references to national events are found in another royal +penitential psalm:[487] + + How long, O my mistress, will the mighty foe oppress thy land, + In thy great city Erech famine has settled, + In E-ulbar, the house of thy oracle, blood is poured out like water, + Throughout thy districts he has kindled conflagrations, and poured + [fire] over them in columns (?).[488] + O my mistress, I am abundantly yoked to misfortune, + O my mistress, thou hast encompassed me, thou hast brought me into + pain, + The mighty foe has trodden me down as a reed, + I have no judgment, I have no wisdom, + Like a 'dry field' I am desolate night and day, + I thy servant beseech thee, + May thy heart be at rest, thy liver be pacified. + +At times specific requests are inserted into these hymns, such as +release from physical ills. Sickness being, as any other evil, due to +divine anger, the sick man combines with his prayer for forgiveness of +the sin of which he is guilty, the hope that his disease, viewed as the +result of his sin, may be removed. A hymn addressed to Ishtar of Nineveh +by Ashurnasirbal, a king of Assyria,[489] is of this character. It +begins by an adoration of the goddess, who is addressed as + + The producer, the queen of heaven, the glorious lady, + To the one who dwells in E-babbara ... who hath spread my fame, + To the queen of the gods to whom has been entrusted the commands of + the great gods, + To the lady of Nineveh ... + To the daughter of Sin, the twin-sister of Shamash, ruling over all + kingdoms, + Who issues decrees, the goddess of the universe, + To the lady of heaven and earth, who receives prayer, who hearkens to + the petition, who accepts beseeching, + To the merciful goddess who loves righteousness. + +The king calls upon Ishtar to listen to his prayers: + + Look upon me, O lady, so that through thy turning towards me the heart + of thy servant may become strong. + +Ashurnasirbal appeals to the goddess on the ground of what he has done +to promote the glory of the goddess in his land. He has devoted himself +to the service of the goddess. He has observed the festivals in her +honor. He has repaired her shrines. No less than fourteen images of the +goddess were set up by the king. Nay, more, he claims that before his +days Ishtar was not properly worshipped. + + I was without understanding, and did not pray to thy ladyship, + The people of Assyria also lacked judgment, and did not approach thy + divinity; + But thou, O Ishtar, mighty weapon of the great gods, + By thy grace[490] thou didst instruct me, and didst desire me to rule. + +The statement that the Ishtar cult was introduced or even reinstated by +Ashurnasirbal can hardly be taken literally; but it distinctly points to +a movement in the days of the dynasty to which the king belonged, that +brought the worship of the goddess into great prominence. + +In return for all that he has done to the house of Ishtar, the king +pleads: + + I, Ashurnasirbal, full of affliction, thy worshipper, + Who takes hold of thy divine staff, + Who prays to thy sovereignty, + Look upon me and let me appeal to thy power! + May thy liver be appeased for that which has aroused thy anger; + Let thy whole heart be strong towards me. + Make my disease come forth and remove my sin, + Let thy mouth, O lady, proclaim forgiveness. + The priestly vassal who worships thee without change, + Grant him mercy and cut off his affliction. + +The historical references found in the penitential psalms are valuable +indications, not only for determining the age of these compositions, but +for ascertaining the occasions on which they were employed. Neither the +Babylonian nor the Assyrian rulers ever reveal to us in their official +annals or dispatches any check that they may have encountered in their +careers or any misfortune that may have occurred to them or to the +state. These psalms tell their own story. They point to seasons of +distress, when recourse had to be taken to appeals to the gods, +accompanied by the confession of wrongs committed. As against the +incantations which are the outcome of the purely popular spirit, and +which are the _natural_ expression of popular beliefs, the penitential +psalms seem to represent a more official method of appealing to the +gods. The advance in religious thought which these productions signal +may, therefore, be due, in part at least, to a growing importance +attached to the relationship existing between the gods and the kingdom +as a whole, as against the purely private pact between a god and his +worshippers. The use of these psalms by Assyrian rulers, among whom the +idea of the kingdom assumes a greater significance than among the +Babylonians, points in this direction. It is significant, at all events, +that such psalms were also produced in Assyria; and while they are +entirely modeled upon the earlier Babylonian specimens, the contribution +to the religious literature thus made in the north must be regarded, not +as the outcome of the extension of the literary spirit prevailing in +Babylonia, but as prompted by a special significance attached to the +penitential ritual in removing the obstacles to the advancement of the +affairs of state. + +Despite, therefore, the elevated thought and diction found in these +psalms, there is a close bond existing between them and the next branch +of the religious literature to be taken up,--the oracles and omens, +which similarly stand in close contact with affairs of state, and to +which, likewise, additions, and indeed, considerable additions, to the +stock received from Babylonia were made by the Assyrian _literati_. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[465] _Babylonische Busspsalmen_, pp. 1, 2. + +[466] _I.e._, of the deity. + +[467] See an article by Francis Brown, "The Religious Poetry of +Babylonia," _Presbyterian Review_, 1888. + +[468] Compare the relationship existing between Ea and Marduk, noted +above, p. 276. Similarly, Nusku was the messenger to Bel. See p. 279. + +[469] On the wider aspects of this conception of the priest among +ancient nations, see Frazer, _The Golden Bough_, passim. + +[470] Zimmern, no. 1; IVR. 29, no. 5. + +[471] Lit., 'accepts.' + +[472] In the original appears a phrase which signifies literally 'when +at last,'--an abbreviation for 'when will there be rest,' and which has +become a kind of technical phrase to indicate, again, the hoped-for +pacification of the deity. + +[473] The colophon to one of them (IVR. 10, Reverse 52) declares that +the production in question is a "penitential psalm for any god +whatsoever." + +[474] IVR. 10. Zimmern, no. 4. + +[475] _I.e._, be pacified. + +[476] _I.e._, 'whoever he may be,' as we would say. + +[477] Among many nations fasting is resorted to as a means of atonement. +It must have been common among the Hebrews during the period of the +Babylonian exile--perhaps through Babylonian influence. See Isaiah, +lviii. 3. + +[478] Lit., rushing water. + +[479] _I.e._, very numerous. + +[480] Be pacified. + +[481] _E.g._, IVR. 61. + +[482] _Ib._ 59, no. 2. + +[483] Delitzsch, _Assyr. Wörterbuch_, p. 378. In another psalm the +penitent says similarly, "Food I have not eaten, weeping is my +nourishment, water I have not drunk, tears are my drink." + +[484] Lit., 'released.' The underlying metaphor represents the +individual held fast by sin, just as the demons seize hold of a man. + +[485] A somewhat puzzling line, but which appears to convey the promise +on the part of the penitent that if forgiven he will observe the rites +demanded by the deity. + +[486] Babylon. + +[487] IVR 19, no. 3; Zimmern, no. 5. + +[488] Like a column. The metaphor is the same as in the Biblical phrase, +"column of smoke." + +[489] Published by Brünnow, _Zeits. f. Assyr._ v. 66 _seq._ The king +mentions his father, Shamshi-Ramman, in the hymn. If this is +Shamshi-Ramman III., the date of the hymn would be _c._ 1100 B.C. + +[490] Lit., 'lifting up of thy eyes.' + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +ORACLES AND OMENS. + + +A strong element of magic, we have seen, was always present in the hymns +and prayers of the Babylonians, and even in such as contained religious +sentiments of an elevated and pure character. The finest prayer has +almost invariably tacked on to it an incantation, or constitutes in +itself an incantation. Accompanying the prayer were offerings to the +deity addressed, or certain symbolical rites, or both, and the efficacy +of the prayer was supposed to reside partly in the accompanying acts and +partly in the mystic power of the _words_ of the prayer as such. In +large measure this indissoluble association of prayer and incantation is +due to the circumstance that both Babylonians and Assyrians addressed +their deities only when something was desired of the latter,--the +warding off of some evil or the expectation of some favor. Even in the +penitential psalms, that merit the term 'sublime,' the penitent pours +out his soul at the shrine of grace in order to be released from some +misfortune that has come over him or that is impending. Mere praise of +the gods without any ulterior motive finds no place in the Babylonian or +Assyrian ritual. The closest approach to this religious attitude may +perhaps be seen in the prayers attached by the kings to their +commemorative or dedicatory inscriptions. One feels that the rulers are +impelled to do this from a certain sense of love and devotion to their +protecting deities. Nebuchadnezzar's prayers form a conspicuous example +of the strength which pure love and attachment to the gods acquired in +Babylonia; but even in these specimens, a request of some kind--usually +for long life and prosperity--is made. The spiritualization of the +Babylonian religion has in this way most definite limitations imposed +upon it. There is a point beyond which it could not go without giving +rise to a totally changed conception of the gods and their relationship +to men. Prayer in its higher form, as the result of an irresistible +prompting of the emotions, without any other purpose than the longing to +come into closer communion with a superior Power, involves such a change +in religious conceptions, and hence is conspicuous in the Babylonian +ritual by its absence. + +A request of some kind being thus the motive that lies behind the +Babylonian prayers, it follows that the means taken to ascertain the +will or intention of the gods with regard to that request formed an +essential feature of the ritual. Indeed, to ascertain the will of a +deity constituted one of the most important functions of the +priest--perhaps _the_ most important function. The prayer was of no use +unless it was answered, and the priest alone could tell whether the +answer was afforded. The efforts of the priest were accordingly directed +towards this end--the prognostication of the future. What was the +intention of the deity? Would the hoped-for deliverance from evil be +realized? Would the demon of disease leave the body? Would the +symbolical acts, burning of effigies, loosening of knots, and the like, +have the desired effect? Upon the success of the priest in performing +this function of prognostication everything depended, both for himself +and for the petitioner. + +The natural and indeed necessary complement to the priest as exorciser +is the priest as the forecaster of the future. Since no one, not even +the king, could approach a deity directly, the mediation of the priest +was needed on every occasion of a religious import. The ordinary means +at the disposal of the priest for ascertaining the divine will or +caprice were twofold,--directly through oracles or indirectly by means +of omens derived from an examination of the sacrifices offered. A +complete Babylonian ritual therefore required, besides the appeal made +by the petitioner through the priests or with their assistance, an +incantation introduced in some form, an offering, certain symbolical +acts and omens. The offerings and the symbolical acts, as a matter of +fact, appear to have preceded[491] the prayer and the incantation, but +in the prayers they are referred to again, and generally just before the +interpretation of the omens. The omens constituted the ulterior end in +view. Because of the looked-for omens the offering was brought, the +symbolical acts performed, the incantations recited. All these rites +formed the preparation for the grand _finale_. The worshipper waited +anxiously for the decision of the priest. Attached, therefore, to the +prayers we frequently find directions intended for the priests as to the +signs to which his attention should be directed, certain peculiarities +exhibited in parts of the animal sacrificed from which certain +conclusions may be drawn. The observation of these signs grows to the +dimensions of a science equal in extent to the observation of the +heavenly bodies whose movements, as indeed the whole of the natural +world, were supposed to exert an influence over the fate of mankind. + +It does not of course follow that in the case of every prayer an +elaborate ritual was observed. Many of the prayers to the gods in their +present form do not embody omens, as indeed many contain no reference to +offerings or symbolical acts. While no conclusion can be drawn from this +circumstance, since the omission may be due to the point of view from +which in a given case a collection of prayers was made by the priest, +still we may well believe that for the exorcising of evil spirits the +utterance of sacred formulas was often considered quite sufficient. In +the earlier stages of the Babylonian religion the priest's function may +have ended when he had exorcised the demons by means of magic words. The +demons were forced to yield. If they nevertheless held out, so much the +worse for them or--for the priest, who, it was concluded, must have lost +his power over the spirits through some error committed by him. The +resort to omens has wider aspects, as will presently be shown, than the +connection with prayers and offerings, and a most reasonable view is +that omens were first introduced into prayers on occasions when a +worshipper wished to ascertain the will of a deity for a certain +purpose, and to regulate his own conduct accordingly. In petitioning the +deity a sacrifice was naturally offered. Through the sacrifice, which +was rendered acceptable to the deity by the mediation of the priest, the +desired answer to a question was obtained. From being resorted to in +such instances, omens would naturally come to form part of the ritual +for almost any occasion when a deity was appealed to, both in connection +with incantations and symbolical acts when the omens would form a +supplement to the magic element in the ritual, as well as in cases where +no specific incantations are introduced. In both cases the omens would +constitute the means resorted to for ascertaining whether the petitioner +might look for a favorable reply to a request proffered or, in a more +general way, find out anything that it may be important for him to know. +The occasions for consulting the deity would be of a public or private +character. How far it became customary for the general public to secure +the mediation of a priest for securing aid from the gods in matters +appertaining to personal welfare we have no means of definitely +determining. We find, for example, a son consulting an oracle on behalf +of his father in order to ascertain what day would be favorable for +undertaking some building operation,[492] and he receives the answer +that the fourth of the month will be propitious; and so there are other +occasions on which private individuals consult the priests, but in +general it was only on occasions of real distress that an individual +would come to the sanctuary,--to seek relief from bodily ills, to ward +off blows of adversity, to pacify a deity who has manifested his or her +displeasure. The expense involved--for the worshipper was not to appear +empty-handed--would of itself act as a deterrent against too frequent +visits to a sanctuary. + +The public welfare occupied a much larger share in the Babylonian +worship. In order to ensure the safety of the state, occasions +constantly arose when the deities had to be consulted. It is no accident +that so many of the prayers--the hymns and psalms--contain references to +kings and to events that transpired during their reigns. In these +references the occasions for the prayers are to be sought. Remarkable as +is the expression which the consciousness of individual guilt finds in +the religious literature of Babylonia, the anger of the deity against +his land is much more prominently dwelt upon than the manifestation of +his wrath towards an individual. It could not be otherwise, since the +welfare of the state conditioned to so large an extent the happiness of +the individual. The startling phenomena of nature, such as an eclipse, a +flood, a storm, while affecting individuals were not aimed directly at +them, but at the country viewed as the domain of a certain god or of +certain gods. Blighted crops, famine, and pestilence had likewise a +public as well as a private aspect. On all such occasions the rulers +would proceed to the sanctuaries in order, with the assistance of the +priests, to pacify the angered god. It was not sufficient at such times +to pronounce sacred formulas, to make fervent appeals, but some +assurances had to be given that the words and the symbolical acts would +have the desired effect. Omens were sought for from the animals offered. +There were other occasions besides those stated, when for the sake of +the public welfare oracles were sought at the sanctuaries. If a public +improvement was to be undertaken, such as the building of a palace, or +of a temple, of a canal, or a dam, it was of the utmost importance to +know whether the enterprise was acceptable to the deity. A day had to be +carefully chosen for laying the foundations, when the god would be +favorably disposed towards his subjects,--the kings under whose auspices +such work was carried on. Similar precautions had to be taken to select +a favorable day for the dedication. This again was determined by means +of omens either derived from offerings or in some other way. The +Babylonians and Assyrians believed, as did the Jews upon their return +from the Babylonian exile, that 'unless the lord assists, the builders +work in vain.' When we come to military campaigns where the individual +disappears altogether in the presence of the majestic figure of the +state, the will and disposition of the gods had to be consulted at every +step,--regarding the plans of the enemy, at the enemy's approach, before +the battle, in the midst of the fray, and at its termination. + +The frequency with which the gods were approached in the interests of +the state and the public weal, plied with questions upon which the fate +of the land depended, is shown by the stereotyped form which such +official solicitations in the course of time acquired. Dating from the +reigns of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanabal we have an elaborate series of +prayers addressed to the sun-god, all dealing with questions of a +political import. These prayers, so admirably edited and analyzed by +Knudtzon,[493] are all arranged according to a single pattern. Each one +opens with a question or series of questions which Shamash, the sun-god, +is asked to answer. The god is then implored not to be angry, but to +lend his aid against any errors unwittingly committed in the sacrificial +rites. For a second time the same question is put in a somewhat varying +form. Another appeal is made, and the various omens derived from the +inspection of animals are interpreted as a guide to the priests. +According to the application of these omens to the sacrifice before the +priest, a decision is rendered. It will be sufficient for our purposes +to present a single specimen of such a fixed ritual.[494] + +Esarhaddon, being hard pressed by a group of nations to the northeast of +Assyria, led by a certain Kashtariti, and among whose followers the +Gimirrites, the Medes, and Manneans are the most prominent, asks for an +oracle from Shamash as to the outcome of the situation. The priest, +acting as mediator, addresses[495] the god: + + O Shamash! great lord! As I ask thee, do thou in true mercy + answer me. + + From this day, the 3d day of this month of Iyar[496] to the 11th + day of the month of Ab[497] of this year, a period of one + hundred days and one hundred nights is the proscribed term for + the priestly activity.[498] + + Will within this period, Kashtariti, together with his soldiery, + will the army of the Gimirrites, the army of the Medes, will the + army of the Manneans, or will any enemy whatsoever succeed in + carrying out their plan, whether by strategy (?) or by main + force, whether by the force of weapons of war and fight or by + the ax, whether by a breach made with machines of war and + battering rams[499] or by hunger, whether by the power residing + in the name of a god or goddess,[500] whether in a friendly way + or by friendly grace,[501] or by any strategic device, will + these aforementioned, as many as are required to take a city, + actually capture the city Kishassu, penetrate into the interior + of that same city Kishassu, will their hands lay hold of that + same city Kishassu, so that it falls into their power? Thy great + divine power knows it.[502] + + The capture of that same city, Kishassu, through any enemy + whatsoever, within the specified period, is it definitely + ordained by thy great and divine will, O Shamash! Will it + actually come to pass?[503] + +It will be observed that, much as in a legal document, all contingencies +are enumerated. In other prayers, still more are mentioned. A definite +answer is required, and care is taken not to leave any loophole open by +means of which the deity may escape from the obligation imposed upon him +to manifest his intention. Shamash might answer that the city will not +be captured, with the mental reservation that it will surrender, or he +might throw Esarhaddon off his guard by announcing that "not by might +nor by strength" will the city be taken, and the king may be surprised +some morning to learn that the catastrophe has been brought about +through the power residing in the 'word.' These precautions were taken, +not so much because it was supposed that the gods and priests were +tricky, but because all conditions had to be carefully fulfilled in +order to ensure an answer, and, if at all possible, of course a +favorable answer. To the same end, great care had to be taken that in +the preparation of the offering which accompanied the prayer no mistake +should be made. The sacrificial animal--in the case before us a +lamb--had to be guarded against all imperfections, impurities, and +contaminations. The priest had to be careful to put on the proper dress, +to speak the proper words, and to be himself free from any ritualistic +impurity. Before proceeding to the inspection of the animal, in order to +forecast the future, the priest had to take care that nothing might +happen to interfere with the proper observation of the rites. This +section of the prayer is characterized by the word "_ezib_" repeated at +the beginning of every line, and which conveys the appeal that what +follows may be precluded from happening.[504] The priest first prays to +Shamash: + + Preclude that after the specified period [the catastrophe may not come + to pass], + Preclude whatever they [_i.e._, the enemies] may plan may not be + carried out (?), + Preclude them from making a slaughter and from plundering.... + Whether the decision of this day be good or bad, ward off a stormy + day with pouring rain. + +This last phrase, which is somewhat obscure, seems to be a request made +in the contingency of an unfavorable omen being received. The sun-god is +asked, at all events, not to hide his countenance under clouds and rain +on the decisive day of battle. Coming after these preliminary requests +to the sacrifice, the priest continues: + + Prevent anything unclean from defiling the place of inspection,[505] + Prevent the lamb of thy divinity, which is to be inspected, from being + imperfect and unfit. + Guard him who takes hold of the body of the lamb, who is clothed in + the proper sacrificial dress, from having eaten, drunk, or handled + anything unclean. + +The priest thereupon repeats his question to the sun-god: + + I ask thee, O Shamash! great lord! whether from the 3d day of + this month of Iyar, up to the 11th day of the month of Ab of + this year, Kashtariti, with his soldiers, whether the + Gimirrites, the Manneans, the Medes, or whether any enemy + whatsoever will take the said city, Kishassu, enter that said + city, Kishassu, seize said city, Kishassu, with their hands, + obtain it in their power. + +The various terms used in describing the taking of a city are once more +specified, so as to fulfill all the demands of definiteness in the +question. + +The priest is now ready to proceed with an examination of the animal +before him. A varying list of omens are introduced into the prayers +under consideration. That they are so introduced is a proof of the +official character of these texts. The omens were not, of course, +intended to be recited. They are enumerated as a guide to the priests. +The various signs that may be looked for are noted, and according to +what the priest finds he renders his decision. Knudtzon has made the +observation[507] that in the prayers published by him, the signs found +on the animal are noted but not interpreted. This rather curious +omission is again naturally accounted for on the assumption that these +prayers in their present form are part of a ritual compiled solely for +the benefit of priests attached to a Shamash sanctuary. Full directions +were not required. All that the priest needed was to know what to look +for. For the rest, he depended upon tradition or his own knowledge or +judgment. The omens themselves, or rather the signs, refer to the +condition in which certain parts of the animal are found or to +peculiarities in the composition of the animal. + +The priest is instructed to observe whether 'at the nape on the left +side' there is a slit; whether 'at the bottom on the left side of the +bladder' some peculiarity[508] is found or whether it is normal; whether +'the nape to the right side' is sunk and split or whether the viscera +are sound. The proportions, too, in the size of the various parts of the +body appear to have been of moment; and in this way, a large number of +points are given to which the priest is to direct his attention. From a +combination of all peculiarities and signs in a given instance, he +divines the disposition of the god addressed, whether it is favorable or +not. The whole ceremony is brought to a close by another appeal to the +god to send an answer to the question put to him. The priest prays: + + By virtue of this sacrificial lamb, arise and grant true mercy, + favorable conditions of the parts of the animal, a declaration + favorable and beneficial be ordained by thy great divinity. + Grant that this may come to pass. To thy great divinity, O + Shamash! great lord! may it[509] be pleasing,[510] and may an + oracle be sent in answer! + +In some of the prayers a second series of omen indications are given. +What the oracle announced we are, of course, not told. The ritual is not +concerned with results. + +From the analysis just given it will be seen that the consultation of a +deity was often entailed with much ceremony. No doubt the priests did +all in their power to add to the solemnity of such an occasion. The +kings on their side showed their lavishness in furnishing victims for +the sacrifice. Again and again does Esarhaddon solicit Shamash to reveal +the outcome of the military campaigns in which the king was engaged. The +same individual, Kashtariti, and the Gimirrites, Medes, etc., are +mentioned in many other prayers prepared in the course of the campaign; +and elsewhere other campaigns are introduced. What Esarhaddon did, no +doubt his successors also did, as he himself followed the example set by +his predecessors. We are justified, then, in concluding that a regular +'oracle and omen ritual' was developed in Babylonia and Assyria--how +early it is of course impossible to say. There is every reason to +believe that in some form such a ritual existed in Babylonia before the +rise of Assyria, but it is also evident that in a military empire like +Assyria, there would be more frequent occasion for securing oracles than +in Babylonia. The ritual may therefore have been carried to a greater +degree of perfection in the north. The Assyrian conquerors, if we may +judge from examples, were fond of asking for an oracle at every turn in +the political situation. The king intends to send an official to a +foreign land, but he is uncertain as to the wisdom of his decision. +Accordingly, he puts the case before the god. If this decision is taken, +he asks, Will the envoy carry out the orders of the king? + + Thy great divinity knows it. + Is it commanded and ordained by thy great divinity, + O Shamash? Is it to come to pass?[511] + +In a similar way, questions are asked with reference to the course of a +campaign. Will the Assyrian king encounter the king of Ethiopia, and +will the latter give battle? Will the king return alive from the +campaign? is a question frequently asked. Even for their quasi-private +affairs, the kings sought for an oracle. Before giving his daughter in +marriage to a foreign potentate, Esarhaddon desires to know whether the +one seeking this favor, Bartatua, the king of Ishkuza,[512] + + is to be trusted, will he fulfill his promises, will he observe + the decrees of Esarhaddon, the king of Assyria, and execute them + in good faith? + +Again, when the king is about to associate his son with himself in the +government, he first inquires whether this is agreeable to the +deity.[513] The king fears lest his son may cause trouble, may provoke +dissensions. Past experience prompts him to be careful before following +his inclination. + + Is the entrance of Siniddinabal, the son of Esarhaddon, the king + of Assyria, whose name is written on this tablet, into the + government in accord with the command of thy great divinity? Is + it to come to pass? + +The reference to the writing of the name is interesting. It would appear +that the question is actually written by the priest and placed before +the deity. The Greeks similarly put their questions to the Delphian +oracle in writing. May it be that among the Babylonians the answer of +the god was at times also handed down on a tablet, as the Greek and +Roman oracles were communicated in writing on the leaves of a tree? + +If sickness entered the royal house, an oracle was likewise sought. The +king is sick. Is it ordained that he will recover? We are told in one +case that[514] + + Nikâ, the mother of Esarhaddon, the king of Assyria, is sick. + She sees the hand of the goddess Nanâ of Uruk laid heavily upon + her.... Is it ordained that this hand will be lifted off from + the sufferer? + +The occasions, it is evident, were exceedingly numerous when the +Assyrian rulers appealed to the priests for oracles. Naturally, this +appeal was not in all cases made with the elaborate formality +illustrated by Esarhaddon's petitions to Shamash. At times the monarch, +as the individual, would content himself with sending to the priest for +an answer to a question, and the priest would reply in an equally simple +and direct manner. Quite a number of such messages, sent by priests to +their master, are included in the valuable publication of 'Assyrian +Letters,' begun by Professor R. F. Harper.[515] The king's son wishes to +set out on a journey. The father sends to the astrologers Balasi and +Nabu-akheirba, and receives the reply:[516] + + As for Ashur-mukinpalea, about whom the king, our lord, has sent + to us, may Ashur, Bel, Nabu, Sin, Shamash, and Ramman bless him. + May the king, our lord, witness his welfare (?). Conditions are + favorable for the journey. The second day is favorable, the + fourth day very favorable. + +Similarly, the astrologers send reports regarding the appearance and +position of the moon and the stars, and of various phenomena that had to +be taken into account in moments where decisive action had to be taken. + +Before leaving the subject, it may be of interest to point out that +among the literary remains of the Assyrian period there are "blank +formulas" for oracles, the names in each instance to be filled out by +the officiating priest. Such formulas were prepared, no doubt, for cases +of common occurrence. Thus Esarhaddon, before appointing a person to a +responsible position, took the precaution of ascertaining from some +deity whether the appointment was a wise one. The name of the individual +being written down, the priest asks the deity in a general way:[517] + + Will the man whose name appears on this tablet, and whom he [the + king] is about to appoint to such and such a position, keep good + faith, or will he manifest hostility towards the king, inciting + to rebellion? + +Esarhaddon may have had a special reason for using precautions against +his officials, and even his sons. He came to the throne during a +rebellion which involved the assassination of his father. Esarhaddon's +own brothers were the murderers. We may well suppose that he trembled at +every step he took, but his position is after all characteristic of the +Assyrian rulers in general, many of whom came to the throne by violence +and maintained themselves through force. + +Other texts enable us to study the form of the oracles themselves. As +yet, no oracle texts have been found belonging to the older Babylonian +period, but we have again every reason to believe that what holds good +for the days of Assyrian power applies to a much earlier period, though +at the same time the greater frequency with which Assyrian rulers were +wont to ply their gods with questions would increase the number of those +whose special business it was to pronounce the oracles. The manifold +duties of the priesthood would tend towards a differentiation of the +priests into various classes. The priest, as exorciser, would become +distinct from the priest as the inspector of omens; and the latter +different again from the pronouncer of oracles. From the fact that +Marduk was regarded as the special god of oracles by the Assyrians as +well as the Babylonians,[518] we may conclude that this differentiation +of the priestly classes took place already in the south, or at all +events that oracle-giving as a distinct priestly function was recognized +in Babylonia and carried over to the northern empire. If we may draw a +general conclusion from the state of affairs in Esarhaddon's days, this +function was largely in the hands of women. We know from other evidence +that women were attached to the temple service from ancient times.[519] +As sorceresses, too, they occupied a quasi-priestly position, since +their help could be invoked in driving evil spirits into the person of +one's enemy. The oracle-giver and the sorcerer or sorceress are +correlated personages in religion. For various reasons--in part, +perhaps, because of her physical differences from man--woman was +invested with a certain mystery by ancient nations.[520] Hence the fact +that among so many nations witchcraft is associated with woman, and +similarly among many nations women perform the functions of the oracle. +In a series of eight oracles addressed to Esarhaddon,[521] six are given +forth by women. These oracles, it so happens, all issue from the goddess +Ishtar of Arbela. The cult of this goddess at Arbela stood in high favor +in the eighth century B.C. An influential body of priests congregated +there, and the eight oracles in question appear to be a part of a more +extensive collection made by the theologians of Arbela, of whose +intellectual activity there are other traces. Arbela appears to have +developed a special school of theology, marked by the attempt to accord +a superior position to the great goddess Ishtar. + +The one who pronounces the oracle speaks on behalf of Ishtar, and +therefore employs the first person. The oracles all have reference to +political events. They cannot, of course, be the answers to the +questions asked in the prayers analyzed above, since these were +addressed to the sun-god; but we may feel certain that the oracles of +the Shamash priests or priestesses were much of the same order, varying +only in minor particulars. The goddess invariably encourages the king. +The priest, it would appear, hears the voice of the deity in the wind. + + Fear not! The wind which speaks to thee-- + Comes with speech from me, withholding nothing.[522] + Thine enemies, like the ... of Siwan,[523] + At thy feet will be poured out. + The great mistress am I. + I am Ishtar of Arbela, who forces thine enemies to submission. + Is there any utterance of mine that I addressed to thee upon which + thou couldst not rely? + I am Ishtar of Arbela. + Thine enemies, the Ukkites (?), I give to thee, even I, Ishtar of + Arbela. + In front and behind thee I march. + Fear not! + +This oracle, we are told in the subscript, was pronounced by a certain +Ishtar-la-tashiat, a son [_i.e._, a native] of Arbela. The dignity of +the diction is very marked. The very frequent assurance 'fear not' and +the solemn repetition of 'I am Ishtar' lend impressiveness to the +message. The oracle, it will be seen, deals in general phrases. This +indefiniteness characterizes most of them; and the more impressive the +diction, the greater vagueness in the statements made. So an oracle, +coming from Ishtar and Nabu and uttered by a woman Baya, a native of +Arbela, announces: + + Fear not, Esarhaddon, + I, the lord, to thee do I speak. + The beams of thy heart I strengthen as thy mother,[524] + Who gave thee life. + Sixty great gods are with me[525] + Drawn up to protect thee. + The god Sin is on thy right, Shamash on thy left. + Sixty great gods are round about thee + Drawn up in battle array in the center of the citadel. + On men do not rely. + Lift up thine eyes to me. Look up to me! + I am Ishtar of Arbela. + Ashur is gracious to thee. + Thy weakness I will change to strength (?). + Fear not! glorify me! + Is not the enemy subdued + Who has been handed over to thee? + I proclaim it aloud, + What has been will be.[526] + I am Nabu, the lord of the willing tablet, + Glorify me. + +A message of this kind could hardly have been satisfactory except as a +general encouragement. + +The popularity of the Nabu cult in Assyria, it will be recalled, is an +offset against the supremacy of Marduk in the south. The Assyrian kings +found it to their interest to incorporate as much of the Babylonian cult +as was possible into their own religious ritual. To Shamash they +assigned the rôle played by Marduk. There was no danger in paying homage +to Nabu, the son of Marduk. Ishtar they regarded as their own goddess +quite as much as Ashur. These four deities, therefore, Ishtar, Shamash, +Nabu, and Ashur, are the special gods of oracles recognized by the +Assyrian rulers. Marduk, who is the chief source of oracles in the +south, is more rarely appealed to in the north, though of course +recognized as powerful. He could not be expected to regard with favor an +empire that so seriously threatened his supremacy in the pantheon. + +The occasion when an oracle was announced was often one of great +solemnity. Just as the prayers in which the questions of the kings were +embodied were carefully written out, so that the priest in reciting them +might not commit any mistakes, so the answer to the prayers were +transmitted to the king in writing. Among the oracles of the days of +Esarhaddon, there is one coming from Ashur in which the ceremonies +accompanying the deliverance are instanced.[527] The oracle deals with +the Gimirrites, the same people in regard to whom Esarhaddon so often +consults the sun-god. It is marked by the more definite character of its +announcements when compared with others. The text is in the form of a +communication made to the king, and, like other official documents, it +begins with a salutation. The gods give Esarhaddon greeting.[528] + + Ashur has given him the four ends of the earth. + In the house where he shines and is great,[529] the king has no rival. + Like the rising sun he shines. + This is the greeting from Bel Tarbasi[530] and the assembled gods. + +The god Ashur himself now addresses the king: + + As for those enemies that plot against thee, that force thee to march + out, + Thou didst open thy mouth [saying], "Verily I implore Ashur." + I have heard thy cry. + Out of the great gate of heaven I proclaim aloud, + 'Surely I will hasten to let fire devour them. + Thou shall stand among them. + In front of thee I shall rise up.[531] + Up onto the mountain I bring them. + There to rain down upon them destructive stones. + Thine enemies I hew down, + With their blood I fill the river. + Let them behold and glorify me, + For Ashur, the lord of gods, am I.' + +This important and striking message, coming direct from Ashur we are +told, is to be formally presented and read in the presence of the king. +Instructions are added to the priests to pour out a libation of precious +oil. Sacrifices of animals and waving of incense are to accompany the +presentation. + +The oracle, as the god's answer to the king's questions, thus gave rise +to a ritual as elaborate as the rites connected with the preparations +for the answer. The oracles were not always trustworthy, as we can well +believe, and often they were not definite enough. If we may judge from +an expression in one of the divine messages to Esarhaddon, the king +appears to have entered a complaint against a former oracle, which was +not to his liking. Ishtar accordingly sends the following message:[532] + + The former word which I spoke to thee, + On it thou didst not rely. + Now, then, in the later one you may have confidence. + Glorify me! + +Clearly, the Assyrian kings believed that the oracles existed to +announce what they wanted to hear. They probably did not hesitate to +follow their own judgment whenever they considered it superior to the +advice given to them by the gods. There would, of course, be no +difficulty in accounting for failures brought about through obedience to +the oracles. The priests, hemmed in on every side by minute ceremonial +observances, forfeited their power as mediators by the slightest failure +in the observance of these rites. An error or a mishap would entail most +serious consequences. A misleading oracle, therefore, and to a certain +extent, unfavorable omens, would be the fault of the priests. The deity +would send 'a lying message'[533] or bring about unfavorable omens as a +sign of his or her displeasure. On the other hand, the priests in turn +would not hesitate--speaking of course in the name of the gods--to +accuse the kings of neglecting Ishtar or Nabu or Shamash, as the case +may be. In an oracle addressed to Esarhaddon,[534] Ishtar of Arbela is +represented as complaining that the king has done nothing for her, +although she has done so much for him. Such a state of affairs cannot go +on. + + Since they do nothing for me, + I will not give anything to thee. + +The king promptly responds by copious offerings, and the goddess appears +to be pacified. + +There is another feature connected with the oracles that must be touched +upon before passing on. The oracles stand obviously in close +relationship to the penitential psalms. It was, naturally, in times of +political distress that the kings would be particularly zealous in +maintaining themselves on good terms with the powerful gods. Without +their aid success could not be expected to crown any efforts. Guiding +their steps by frequent consultations of the priests, the appeals of the +kings would increase in earnestness and fervor as the campaign +progressed and assumed more serious aspects. When disaster stared them +in the face, they would be forced to conclude that the gods were +angered, and there was only one way left of averting the divine wrath--a +free confession of sins, accompanied, of course, by offerings and magic +rites. The Assyrian kings do not tell us in their annals of +discomfitures that they encountered. The penitential psalms supply this +omission. We have such a psalm written in the days of Ashurbanabal,[535] +in which that proud monarch humbles himself before the great god Nabu, +and has the satisfaction in return of receiving a reassuring oracle. He +prays: + + I confess to thee, Nabu, in the presence of the great gods, + [Many[536] (?)] are my sins beyond endurance?[537] + [Lord (?)] of Nineveh, I come before thee, the warrior among the gods, + his brothers. + [Prolong (?)] the life of Ashurbanabal for a long period. + ... At the feet of Nabu I prostrate myself. + +The god reassures the king: + + I will grant thee life, O Ashurbanabal, even I, + Nabu, to the end of days + Thy feet shall not grow weary, nor thy hands weak (?), + These lips of thine shall not cease to approach me, + Thy tongue shall not be removed from thy lips, + For I give thee a favorable message. + I will raise thy head, I will increase thy glory in the temple of + E-babbara.[538] + +The reference to the temple of Shamash at Sippar reveals the situation. +Babylonia was the cause of much trouble to Ashurbanabal, owing chiefly +to the intrigues of his treacherous brother Shamash-shumukin.[539] +Ashurbanabal at one time was not merely in danger of losing control over +the south, but of losing his life in the rebellion organized by his +'faithless brother.' A successful rebellion is a clear sign of a god's +displeasure. Marduk, as we have seen, was not often appealed to by the +Assyrian kings, but Nabu seemed always ready to help them. Hence the +king confesses his sins and makes an appeal to the great Babylonian god +and not to Ashur. He is encouraged by the promise that his life will be +spared, and that his supremacy will be recognized in Babylonia. The +great sanctuary of Sippar is here employed figuratively for the temples +of Babylonia in general. To be glorified in that famous temple was +equivalent to a recognition of royal authority. + +That these oracles served a practical purpose is definitely proved by +the manner in which they are introduced by the kings in their annals. +Ashurbanabal tells us that in the course of one of his campaigns against +Elam, he addressed a fervent prayer to Ishtar of Arbela, and in reply +the message comes, as in the texts we have been considering, "Fear not"; +and she adds, "Thy hands raised towards me, and thy eyes filled with +tears, I look upon with favor."[540] + + +Dreams. + +It is, of course, not necessary to assume that the oracles of the gods +were always delivered in the same formal manner, accompanied by +elaborate ceremonies. The gods at times reveal themselves in a more +direct manner to their favorites. In visions of the night they appear to +encourage the Assyrian army by an oracle. On one occasion, when the army +of Ashurbanabal approached a rushing stream which they were afraid to +cross, Ishtar makes her appearance at night, and declares, "I walk in +front of Ashurbanabal, the king who is the creation of my hands."[541] +The army, thus reassured, crosses the river in safety. On another +occasion, Ashurbanabal, when threatened by the king of Elam, receives a +message from Ishtar revealed to a seer in a dream at night. The seer--no +doubt a priest--reports to the king:[542] 'Ishtar, dwelling in Arbela, +came with quivers hung on her right and left side, with a bow in her +hand, and girded (?) with a pointed, unsheathed sword. Before thee +[_i.e._, the king] she stood, and like the mother that bore thee.[543] +Ishtar, supreme among the gods, addressed thee, commanding: "Be +encouraged[544] for the fray. Wherever thou art, I am."' + +In connection with the importance that the Babylonians and Assyrians, in +common with all ancient nations, attached to dreams, divine messages +thus revealed had a special significance fully on a par with the oracles +that were formally delivered with an accompaniment of elaborate rites. A +god appearing to one in a dream was a manifestation, the force of which +could not be disputed. It mattered little to whom the dream was sent. +Ashur, on one occasion, chose to reveal himself to an enemy of +Ashurbanabal with a message. He appears in a dream before Gyges, the +king of Lydia, and tells him,[545] "Pay homage to Ashurbanabal, the king +of Assyria, and by the power of his name conquer thine enemies." Gyges +obeys and sends a messenger to the Assyrian monarch to inform him of the +dream. Occasionally in this way a deity might appear to a king, but in +general it was to the professional 'dreamer' rather than to the laity to +whom oracles were thus sent. The message was not necessarily delivered +in person by the deity. Sin, the moon-god, on one occasion writes his +message on the moon's disc: + + Against all who have evil designs + And hostile sentiments towards + Ashurbanabal, the king of Assyria, + Will I send a miserable death.[546] + +Every dream was of course sent by some god, but the dreams of others +than those who acted as mediators between the gods and men were of a +different character. They were omens. The gods would reveal themselves +indirectly by means of pictures or symbols, and it would require the +services of a priest again to interpret such symbols or omens. The gods +were asked to send such dreams as might receive a favorable +interpretation,[547] and when a dream came unsolicited, the gods were +implored to convert the dream into a favorable omen. + +In the case of dreams, it will be apparent, the dividing line between +oracles proper and omens becomes exceedingly faint and it is very +doubtful whether the Babylonians or Assyrians recognized any essential +difference between the two. The suggestion has already been thrown out +that there is a wider aspect to omens in the Babylonian religion than +their employment in connection with sacrificial offerings. We have +reached a point when it will be proper to take up this wider aspect. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[491] See King, _Babylonian Magic_, p. xxx. + +[492] Harper's _Assyrian Letters_, no. 219. + +[493] _Assyrische Gebete an den Sonnengott für Staat und Königliches +Haus_ (Leipzig, 1893, 2 vols.). + +[494] Knudtzon, no. 1. + +[495] That the priest recites the prayer and not the king is shown by +the frequent introduction of the king's name in the 3d person. See, +_e.g._, Knudtzon, nos. 40-47. + +[496] 2d month. + +[497] 5th month. + +[498] _I.e._, the priest is only asked for an oracle regarding the +events of the next one hundred days. + +[499] Various machines are mentioned. The precise meaning of the +technical terms employed is not known. + +[500] By invoking the assistance of the gods. + +[501] Peacefully, by mutual agreement and the promise of favors. + +[502] One is reminded of the Arabic phrase "Allah alone knows it," so +frequently introduced in Mohammedan writings. + +[503] Lit., 'Seen will it be seen, heard will it be heard?' The emphatic +construction is identical with the one frequently employed in Biblical +Hebrew. + +[504] Knudtzon (p. 25) did not grasp the negative force of _ezib_. The +word is a request that something might _not_ happen. + +[505] Where the animal is to be inspected, probably the altar itself. + +[506] In the Jewish ritual and many others, stress is laid upon +pronouncing the words of a prayer clearly and deliberately, especially +such words as have a particularly sacred value. + +[507] _Assyrische Gebete_, p. 50. + +[508] Exactly of what nature cannot be ascertained. The text (Knudtzon, +no. 29, rev. 15) is defective at this point. + +[509] The prayer or the lamb. + +[510] Lit., 'proceed.' + +[511] Knudtzon, no. 66. Other examples are furnished in George Smith's +_History of Ashurbanabal_, pp. 184, 185. + +[512] A district to the northeast of Assyria; Knudtzon, no. 29. + +[513] _Ib._ no. 107. + +[514] _Ib._ no. 101. + +[515] Four volumes comprising several hundred letters have already +appeared under the title, _Assyrian Letters of the K. Collection_ +(London, 1896). For a good summary of the character of the Assyrian +epistolary literature, see Johnston's article in the _Journal of the +American Oriental Society_, xviii. 1, pp. 125-134. + +[516] Harper, no. 77. + +[517] _E.g._, Knudtzon, no. 124. + +[518] Zimmern, _Busspsalmen_, p. 32. The popularity of the sun-cult in +Assyria in connection with omens and oracles is probably due also in +part to the influence of Marduk, who was, as we have seen, a solar +deity. + +[519] Lehman, _Samassumukin_, p. 42. + +[520] See Ploss, _Das Weib_, pp. 594-606; also above, p. 267. + +[521] IVR. pl. 61. + +[522] _I.e._, Ishtar sends the wind with a clear message. + +[523] 3d month. + +[524] Perhaps a proverbial phrase, having the force of 'I nurture thee +as thy own mother did.' + +[525] Constituting the host of Ishtar, which is elsewhere referred to, +_e.g._, IVR. 2d Ed. pt. 61, col. i. 27. + +[526] Lit., 'the future or later things like the former.' + +[527] Published by S. A. Strong, _Beiträge zur Assyriologie_, ii. +627-33. + +[528] The opening lines, containing a reference to the Gimirrites, are +imperfectly preserved. + +[529] _I.e._, he is the greatest scion of the reigning dynasty. + +[530] 'Lord of the court'--a title of Ashur. + +[531] As a protection, just as Jahwe appears in a pillar of cloud to +protect his people. + +[532] IVR. 2d Ed. 61, col. vi. 47-52. + +[533] See I Kings, xxii. 23. + +[534] Strong, _Beiträge zur Assyriologie_, ii. 628, 629. + +[535] Published and translated by S. A. Strong, _Transactions of the +Ninth International Oriental Congress_ (1893), ii. 199-208. + +[536] Supplied from the context, through comparison with similar +compositions. + +[537] Lit., 'my soul cannot overcome.' + +[538] The composition continues in this strain, Ashurbanabal and Nabu +speaking alternately. + +[539] See Tiele, _Babyl.-Assyr. Geschichte_, pp. 371 _seq_. + +[540] George Smith, _Annals of Ashurbanabal_, p. 121. + +[541] Rassam Cylinder, VR. col. v. ll. 95-103. + +[542] George Smith, _Annals of Ashurbanabal_, pp. 119-121. + +[543] With maternal kindness. + +[544] Lit., 'look up.' + +[545] Rassam Cylinder, col ii. ll. 98 _seq._ + +[546] _Ib._ col. iii. ll. 122-124. + +[547] _E.g._, IVR. 59, no. 2, 21b. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +VARIOUS CLASSES OF OMENS. + + +There is a close connection between the various branches of the +religious literature of Babylonia and Assyria that we have hitherto been +considering. The magic incantations are, as we have seen, a form of +prayer. On the other hand, prayers, whether hymns or confessions of sin +with an appeal for relief from suffering or distress, or embodying the +petition for a divine response to some question or questions, are never +entirely dissociated from incantations, and are invariably based upon +the same beliefs that give to the element of magic such a prominent +place in the religion. The omens form part of this same order of +beliefs. The connecting link between incantations and omens is the sense +of mystery impressed upon man by two orders of phenomena--the phenomena +of his own life and the phenomena of the things about him. In his own +life, nothing was more mysterious to him than the power of speech. It is +doubtful whether he recognized that the animals communicated with one +another by means of the sounds that they emitted; but even if he did, +the great gap separating such means of communication from the power +residing in the combination of sounds, of which he could avail himself, +must have been all the more impressive. In view of this, it is not +difficult to understand that a magic force was attributed to words as +such. Of course, a somewhat advanced degree of culture must have been +reached before such a belief would be given a definite form of +expression; but even in the simplest form of social organization the +notion of _authority_ necessarily exists, and authority is inseparable +from words. The chief commands, and the conclusion is naturally drawn +that the words he utters are imbued with the power to force obedience. +These two factors--the mystery of speech and the practical demonstration +of the power residing in words--are sufficient to account for the part +played by incantations among all nations at a certain stage of their +religious development; and once introduced, the conservatism attaching +to religious rites would ensure their continuance even after the popular +religious beliefs had passed far beyond the stage in question. The +modifications introduced into the incantations would be nigh endless. +There would develop a tendency to greater complications in the +combination of words. At the same time their literary form would be +improved. Prayers and hymns reflecting advanced religious sentiments +would be produced, but the magic element connected with the words as +such would not for that reason be lost sight of. The efficacy of such +prayers would still depend upon their being uttered in the right manner +and--what is equally to the point--by the right person. Corresponding to +the chief in secular affairs--who alone can pronounce words that give +evidence of their power by the results produced--is the priest in +religious affairs to whom, as the mediator between the gods and men, the +secret is entrusted of uttering the right words in the right way, so as +to produce the desired results, to force, as it were, obedience from the +gods, as a chief forces obedience from his subjects. In a more advanced +stage of religious culture, the position of the priest is no less +powerful and important. When incantations yield to prayers in the proper +sense, or are combined with prayers, it is only the priests who can make +the prayers effective by their interceding in some way with the gods, +whether by adding their appeal to that of the supplicant, or by the +performance of the rites accompanying prayer, or by their aid in leading +the worshipper into the presence of the deity and standing with him +before the throne of grace. + +When man turns from a contemplation of self to the things around him, +there is added to the sense of the mysterious which is aroused in him, +the feeling of his own weakness which is borne in upon him with +overpowering force. He cannot fail to realize how dependent he is upon +the sun, the moon, the rain, and the storm. At every step he takes +dangers beset his path. The animal world is at times hostile, at times +friendly; but whether the one or the other, it is essential for him to +carefully _note_ all that is going on around him. Every happening or +sight of an unusual character arouses now his sense of fear, and again +his hope. He learns to attach special importance to deviations from the +normal course of things. There must be a reason for the exception from +the rule. It betokens something, and, concerned as man primarily is for +his own welfare, he naturally comes to connect both the regular +phenomena of nature as well as the deviations, the normal traits and +habits of the animal world as well as peculiar features occasionally +occurring, with his own fate. To forestall the future was his only +safeguard against the dangers in store for him. It was of the utmost +importance to him to know what was coming or, at all events, to be on +the lookout for _something_, in order to be in a proper frame to receive +either the benefits or to meet the difficulties of the situation. + +His powers of observation--upon which man in a primitive state depended +almost entirely for his sustenance--were thus further strengthened by +the necessity of protecting himself, so far as possible, against the +uncertainties of the future. Nothing would escape him. The movement of +the stars and planets, their position at different seasons and periods, +the appearance of the clouds, an eclipse, the conditions of the streams, +an earthquake, the direction of the winds, storms, the flight of birds, +the barking of dogs, the movements of snakes and serpents, peculiar +marks on the bodies of children, of adults and animals, monstrosities +among mankind or the brute creation, the meeting with certain persons or +animals, the rustling of leaves, the change of seasons, the lustre of +precious stones, all attracted man's attention. Whatever he saw might +portend something to him, in fact _did_ portend something; hence the one +great aim and ideal of his life was to _see_ everything. Seeing meant +foreseeing, and the man who could see everything--the _seer par +excellence_, who could also understand what he saw--held in his hands +the key that would unlock the secrets of the future. He possessed the +means of forecasting events. + +Apart, then, from the interpretation of omens in connection with +sacrifices and incantations, the individual had to be on the outlook at +all times for signs and portents. To neglect them would entail serious +consequences. + +This wider aspect of omens accounts for the extensive omen literature +that arose in Babylonia and Assyria. Fully one-fourth of the portion of +Ashurbanabal's library that has been discovered consists of omens,[548] +tablets of various size in which explanations are afforded of all +physical peculiarities to be observed in animals and men, of natural +phenomena, of the position and movements of the planets and stars, of +the incidents and accidents of public and private life,--in short, of +all possible occurrences and situations. + +As yet but a small proportion of this literature has been published, and +a thorough understanding of it is impossible until systematic +publications shall have been issued. Meanwhile it is safe to assert +that, as in the case of incantations and prayers, the omens were +generally combined into series by the Babylonian and Assyrian scribes. + + +Omens From Planets and Stars. + +Ihering observes[549] that the stars were observed by the Babylonians in +the interest of navigation. While this is true, yet the chief motive in +the development of astronomy in the Euphrates Valley was the belief that +the movements of the heavenly bodies portended something that was +important for man to know. That the stars served as guides to the +mariner was only an additional reason for attaching great importance to +the heavenly phenomena. Scientific observations were but means to an +end; and the end was invariably the derivation of omens from the +movements and position of the planets and stars. When, therefore, we +find the astronomers sending reports to their royal masters apparently +of a purely scientific character, we may be certain that although no +omens are mentioned, both parties had omens in mind. The astronomical +reports, of which quite a number have already been published,[550] may +therefore be reckoned as part of the omen literature. The vernal equinox +was a period of much significance. The astronomer royal accordingly +reports:[551] + + On the sixth day of Nisan,[552] + Day and night were balanced. + There were six double hours of day, + Six double hours of night. + May Nabu and Marduk + Be gracious to the king, my lord. + +On another occasion the equinox took place on the 15th of Nisan,[553] +and accordingly this is reported. Again, the appearance of the new moon +was anxiously looked for each month, and the king is informed whether or +not it was seen on the 29th or 30th day of the month.[554] + + A watch we kept + On the twenty-ninth day, + The moon we saw. + May Nabu and Marduk + Be gracious to the king, my lord. + From Nabuâ of the city of Ashur. + +An extraordinary event, such as an eclipse, is made the subject of a +more elaborate report. The Babylonian astronomers had developed their +scientific attainments to the point of calculating the time when an +eclipse of the sun or the moon would take place. As this period +approached, they watched for the eclipse. We have an interesting +specimen of a report in which the astronomer announces that an expected +eclipse for which a watch was kept for three days did not appear.[555] +Another addressed to an official reads:[556] + + To the Agriculturist,[557] my lord, + Thy servant Nabushumiddin, + An officer of Nineveh, + May Nabu and Marduk be gracious + To the Agriculturist, my lord. + The fourteenth day we kept a watch for the moon. + The moon suffered an eclipse. + +The reports pass over into indications of omens with an ease which shows +that the observations of the astronomers were made with this ulterior +motive in view. A report which forms a supplement to one above +translated furnishes the interpretation given to the vernal +equinox:[558] + + The moon and sun are balanced, + The subjects will be faithful,[559] + The king of the land will reign for a long time. + +The complement, then, to the purely scientific observations is furnished +by these official communications to the kings and others, setting forth +in response, no doubt, to commands or inquiries, the meaning of any +particular phenomenon, or of the position of the planets, or of any of +the stars at any time, or of their movements. Of such communications we +have a large number. They illustrate the great attention that was paid +to details in the observation of the heavenly bodies. The moon as the +basis of the calendrical system occupies the first place in these +reports. Its movements were more varied than those of the sun. Through +its phases, its appearance and disappearance at stated intervals, a safe +point of departure was obtained for time calculations. While the sun +through its daily course regulated the divisions of the day, the moon by +its phases fixed the division of weeks and months. The moon never +appeared quite the same on two successive nights nor in the same part of +the heavens. The more variety, the more significance--was a principle of +general application in the interpretation of omens. Whether the +Babylonians also recognized an influence of the moon on the tides, we +have no certain means of determining, but it is eminently likely that +trained as their astronomers were in careful observation, this was the +case. But apart from this, there were many events in public and private +affairs that appeared to them to stand in close connection with the +movements of the orb of night. Nothing that occurred being regarded as +accidental, the conclusion was forced upon the Babylonians that the time +when something was undertaken was of significance. The fact that certain +undertakings succeeded, while others failed, was most easily explained +upon the theory that there were periods favorable for the action +involved and periods unfavorable. The gathering of past experience thus +becomes a guiding principle in the interpretation of the movements of +the moon; and what applies to the moon applies, of course, to the other +planets and to the stars. No doubt other factors are involved, such as +association of ideas; but it is evident from a careful study of the omen +literature that conclusions drawn from what appears to us as the +accidental relation of past occurrences to the phenomena presented by +the planets and stars constituted fully three-fourths of the wisdom of +the Euphratean augurs. The same report, of which a portion has already +been quoted,[560] continues after interpreting the meaning of the +equinox with a diagnosis of other concurrent conditions:[561] + + Sun and moon are seen apart,[562] + The king of the country will manifest wisdom.[563] + On the fourteenth day sun and moon are seen together, + There will be loyalty in the land, + The gods of Babylonia are favorably inclined, + The soldiery will be in accord with the king's desire, + The cattle of Babylonia will pasture in safety.[564] + From Ishtar-shumeresh. + +The same conditions appearing on another day may portend precisely the +reverse. So another report informs the king:[565] + + On the fifteenth day the sun and moon are seen together, + A powerful enemy raises his weapons against the land, + The enemy will smash the great gate of the city, + The star Anu appears bright, + The enemy will devastate. + +It is quite evident that such reports must have been sent in response to +royal orders asking for the meaning of existing conditions or of +conditions that may be observed on certain days. At times the +prognostications assume a remarkable degree of definiteness which forms +a striking contrast to the general vagueness of the oracles. An +official, Balasi, reports[566] on one occasion regarding the +significance of the moon appearing unexpectedly: + + The moon is seen out of season, + Crops will be small. + On the twelfth day the moon is seen together with the sun.[567] + Contrary to the calculated time, + The moon and sun appear together, + A strong enemy will devastate the land. + The king of Babylonia will be forced to submit to his enemy. + On the twelfth day, the moon with the sun is seen, + On the twelfth day is seen. + Evil is in store for Babylonia. + It is a favorable sign for Elam and the west land, + But surely unfavorable for Babylonia. + +The reports were not always concerned with political affairs. Frequently +there is a reference to lions and hyenas that might be expected to make +their appearance because of certain natural phenomena. Often crops are +referred to, and according as the conditions are favorable or not, +fertility or famine is predicted in the official reports. On other +occasions the astrologers venture the very safe prognostication that +male children will be born or that there will be miscarriages, though it +seems likely that in such cases the forecast is intended for the affairs +of the palace alone. + +We have seen[568] what great importance was attached by the Babylonians +to eclipses. It will be appropriate, therefore, to give a specimen of an +astrologer's report in reference to such a phenomenon:[569] + + The moon disappeared,[570] evil will settle in the land. + The moon, contrary to calculation, disappeared. + An eclipse has taken place. + On the twenty-ninth day the moon disappeared + And the sun on the day of the eclipse entered the circle.[571] + It is an eclipse of Elam.[572] + If in the month of Kislev,[573] an eclipse is observed + That encircles (?) the sun and the moon disappears, + Upon the observation of the eclipse, + Then may the king be exalted. + May the heart of the king, my lord, rejoice. + From Khushi-ilu, the servant of the king, the eponym. + +Another report reads:[574] + + To the king, my lord, + Thy servant Ishtar-iddinabal, + The chief of the astronomers of Arbela. + May Nabu, Marduk, Ishtar of Arbela + Be gracious to the king, my lord, + On the twenty-ninth day a watch we kept. + At the observatory clouds, + The moon we did not see. + +This report was sent on the second day of the month of Shebat.[575] From +these specimens and others, it is evident that reports regarding the +appearance or non-appearance of the new moon were regularly sent. But in +addition to this, the kings sent to the observatory on numerous other +occasions for information with reference to the significance of certain +phenomena. + +As in the case of the moon, so also for the sun and the stars, reports +were transmitted that served as guides in directing the kings in their +affairs. So on one occasion Nabu-mushesi forecasts that[576] + + If the 'great lion' star is dark, + It is favorable for the country. + If the 'king' star is dark, + The chamberlain[577] (?) of the palace dies. + +The official character of these reports is one of their significant +features. Their great variety is an indication of the frequent occasions +on which the kings consulted the astrologers. No important enterprise +was undertaken without first ascertaining what phenomena might be looked +for on the day fixed for any action, and what these phenomena portended. +In the case of the Assyrian reports, it is natural to find many +allusions to foreign nations, since war occupied so much of the time and +energies of the Assyrian rulers. But we have seen that for private +affairs the astrologers were also consulted, as well as for the internal +affairs of the country. The reports illustrate the practical application +of what became known in the ancient world as "Chaldaean wisdom." If, +however, we would know the source whence the astrologers derived the +knowledge which they furnished in their reports, we must turn to the +long lists prepared by the priests, in which all possible phenomena +connected with the planets and stars were noted and their meaning +indicated. These compilations constitute the 'Priestly Codes' of the +Babylonians, and, as already intimated, they were combined just as the +incantations and prayers, into series. Many such series must have +existed at one time in Babylonia. A great temple was incomplete without +its observatory, and we are warranted in concluding that every great +religious center of the Euphrates Valley had its collection of omen +tablets. The natural ambition of the priests was to make such a series +as complete as possible. The larger the number of observations it +contained, the greater the possibility of finding an answer to the +question put to them. To these lists additions would constantly be made, +and, if we may judge from the manner of literary composition that +prevailed among the ancient Hebrews and later among the Arabs, the work +of the compilers of omen series consisted essentially in combining +whatever material they could obtain, and adding such observations as +they themselves had made. While, therefore, the omen code of one place +might differ in details from that of another, not only would the +underlying principles be the same in all, but each series would +represent an aggregation of experiences and observations drawn from +various quarters. + +A large omen series of which as yet only fragments have been +published[578] bears the title 'Illumination of Bel.' It is estimated +that this astrological code embraced more than one hundred tablets. From +the fragments published, the general method employed in the preparation +of the series can be gathered. To the moon and to the sun, to each of +the planets, and to the important stars a separate section was assigned. +In this section the peculiarities, regular and irregular, connected with +each of the bodies were noted, their appearance and disappearance, the +conditions prevailing at rising and at setting, the relationship of the +moon to the sun or to a star, of the stars to one another and to the +ecliptic, were set forth. Since, however, the time when a phenomenon +connected with a planet or star was as important as the phenomenon +itself, observations were entered for the various months of the year and +for various days in each month. The days were not arbitrarily chosen, +but, as there is every reason to believe, selected on the basis of past +experience. Similarly the interpretations of the phenomena were founded +on the actual occurrence of certain events at certain times when the +conditions indicated actually existed. A single occurrence might suffice +for predicating a connection between the event and the phenomenon. The +coincidence would constitute an observation, but the omen would +naturally gain additional force if it was based on a repeated +observation of the same phenomenon on the same day of the same month. +But such a case would be rare, and the effort of the astrologers would +be directed simply towards gathering as many observations of phenomena +as possible. They would rest content when they had found a single +connection between the phenomenon and the event. Their success in giving +an answer to a question put to them as to what might happen on a certain +day, fixed for battle or for laying the foundations of an edifice, or +for dedicating a temple, for setting out on an expedition, or for any +undertaking whatsoever, would depend on the completeness of their lists, +and correspondingly the interpretation of a phenomenon occurring on any +day would entail no difficulties if in their consultation lists the +phenomenon would be recorded. + +The 22d tablet of the series 'Illumination of Bel' deals with the +important subject of eclipses. It contains 88 lines, and furnishes us +with a good specimen of the class of omens under consideration. It +begins[579] with eclipses that may take place during the first month, +and runs along through the twelve months of the year. The 14th, 15th, +16th, 20th, and 21st days of the month are those set down when eclipses +have been observed. The official character of the omens is indicated by +their repeated references to the nations with which Babylonia--and later +Assyria--came into contact, and to the fate in store for the rulers of +the country. For the third month, the tablet notes: + + In the month of Sivan, an eclipse happening on the 14th day, + proceeding from east to west, beginning with the middle + watch,[580] and ending with the morning watch, the shadow being + seen in the east--the side of obscuration--furnishes an + omen[581] for the king of Dilmun.[582] The king of Dilmun is + slain. + + An eclipse happening on the 15th day, the king of Dilmun is + slain, and some one seizes the throne. + + An eclipse happening on the 16th day, the king is deposed and + slain, and a worthless person seizes the throne. + + An eclipse happening on the 20th day, rains descend from heaven, + and the canals are flooded. + + An eclipse happening on the 21st day, sorrow and despair in the + land. The land is full of corpses. + +The eclipses for the fourth month furnish omens for the king of +Guti--another district with which Babylonia and Assyria had frequent +dealings. + + An eclipse happening in the month of Tammuz on the 14th day, + proceeding from the west to the south, beginning with the first + watch and ending with the middle watch, the shadow being seen in + the west--the side of obscuration--furnishes an omen for the + king of Guti. Overthrow of Guti by force, followed by complete + submission. + + An eclipse happening on the 15th day[583], rains descend from + heaven, floods come upon the land, famine in the land. + + An eclipse happening on the 16th day, women have miscarriages. + + An eclipse happening on the 20th day, storms set in and famine; + afterwards for a year storms destroy property[584]. + + An eclipse happening on the 21st day, the armies of the king + revolt and deliver him into the hands of enemies. + +The eclipses of the following month deal with several countries. + + An eclipse in the month of Ab[585] on the 14th day, proceeding + from the south to the east, beginning with the first watch, or + with the morning watch, and ending at sunrise, the shadow being + seen in the south--the side of obscuration--furnishes an omen + for the king of Umliash. The soldiery are engaged in severe + conflicts for a year, and are slain by force of arms. + + An eclipse happening on the 15th day[586], the king dies, and + rains descend from heaven, and floods fill the canals. + + An eclipse happening on the 16th day, the king of Babylonia + dies. Pestilence[587] feeds upon the country. + + An eclipse happening on the 20th day, the king of the + Hittites[588] in person (?) seizes the throne. + + An eclipse happening on the 21st day, a deity strikes (?) the + king, and fire consumes king and land. + +From these specimens, the general principle of the section is apparent. +Since eclipses portend public and political disasters of some kind, the +compiler has carefully gathered oracles given on previous occasions to +some ruler, or observations of the events that occurred at the time of +the recorded eclipses. The apparently restricted application of the +omens was no hindrance to their practical use. In the event of an +astrologer being consulted with regard to the significance of an eclipse +on a certain day, his list would furnish a safe basis for further +prognostications, suitable to the political conditions that prevailed. +But in order to meet all contingencies, other lists furnishing further +omens for eclipses were added. The 22d tablet of the 'Illumination of +Bel' series is followed by one[589] which, while dealing with the same +subject, approaches it somewhat differently, and is based on a different +principle. It begins again with the first month, and in twelve +paragraphs takes up in succession the months of the year. Choosing for +comparison the same three months, the third, fourth, and fifth, which we +selected in the case of the 22d tablet, it will be seen that, while the +references are again to public affairs, the prognostications are of a +more general character and of wider applicability. + + If in the 3d month an eclipse takes place on the 14th day, rains + will descend and flood the canals. Storms will cause + inundations. The soldiery of Babylonia will destroy the country. + An eclipse on the 15th day indicates that king against king will + send troops[590]. The king of legions dies. An eclipse on the + 16th day signifies that the king will be slain, and that some + one will seize the throne.[591] An eclipse on the 20th day means + that the king will hand his throne to his son. An eclipse + happening on the 21st day portends rain,[592] and an invasion of + the enemy's land. + + For the 4th month an eclipse on the 14th day portends that rains + will descend and the canals will be flooded. Rains will cause + inundations. There will be famine. A large country will be + reduced to a small one. An eclipse on the 15th day portends that + rains will descend, canals will be flooded, and there will be + famine in the land. An eclipse on the 16th day portends famine + for a year. An eclipse on the 20th day portends destruction of + the king and his army. An eclipse happening on the 21st day + indicates that there will be a strong wind that will destroy the + riches of the sea.[593] + + For the 5th month an eclipse on the 14th day portends rains and + flooding of canals. The crops will be good and king will send + peace to king.[594] An eclipse on the 15th day portends + destructive war. The land will be filled with corpses. An + eclipse on the 16th day indicates that pregnant women will be + happily delivered of their offspring. An eclipse on the 20th day + portends that lions will cause terror and that reptiles will + appear; an eclipse on the 21st day that destruction (?) will + overtake the riches of the sea.[593] + +The vagueness of many of the prognostications is in all probabilities +intentional, just as we found to be the case in most of the oracles +announced to the kings. To predict rains during the rainy months was +comparatively safe. The storms which visited Babylonia annually brought +with them destruction of cattle. They conditioned the fertility of the +country, but pestilence was often caused by the evaporation of the +waters. Again, military expeditions were usually undertaken in the +spring of the year before the great heat set in, and in a country like +Assyria, it was safe to hazard a vague prediction that hostilities would +ensue, and that some district would be diminished. + +What may be called the 'eclectic' character of the omen series under +consideration thus becomes apparent. The lists consisted, on the one +hand, of omens obtained on certain occasions and with reference to some +specific circumstance, such as a campaign against some country, and, on +the other hand, of prognostications of a more general character, based +on the general climatic conditions of the country, and referring to +events of frequent occurrence. All that the scribes in preparing the +series were concerned with, was to collect as many omens as they could, +and to arrange them in some convenient order. Just as they prepared +lists referring to military events, so they put together others in which +some other theme was treated. The reports and omen tablets thus +complement one another. The latter are based on the former, and the +former were obtained by the interpretation of phenomena, furnished by +the tablets and applied to the particular case submitted to the priests. +We need not, of course, suppose that _all_ prognostications found in the +series, especially in those parts of it which are of a more general +character, were based upon reports actually made, any more than that the +official reports to the kings even in later days were always based upon +a consultation of some series of tablets. Individual judgment, both in +compiling a series and in interpreting phenomena, must at all times have +played some part. The reports and the series also embody to some extent +the results of experience not previously put to writing; but these +considerations do not alter the general proposition set forth in this +chapter as to the practical purpose served by the omen series as well as +by the reports, and the pragmatic origin of both. + +The importance of eclipses gave to omens connected with such events a +special significance. Eclipses, however, were after all rare events, and +while because of their rarity they always portended something of great +moment, still the ordinary phenomena were the ones that had to be +studied by the astrologers with great care in order to obtain a rational +view of the relationship between the phenomena of nature and the fate of +the individual or of the state. Again, eclipses, as a general thing, +pointed to a public disaster of some kind, and this recognized belief +lightened the task of the priest considerably in this instance. In the +case of ordinary phenomena it was much more difficult to find the +connection between cause and effect; and in the vast majority of +instances when kings and individuals sought the temples for omens, the +heavens must have presented a normal and not an abnormal appearance. + +What answers were the priests to give to the questions put to them? Was +it a favorable period for undertaking a military campaign? On what day +should the king set out? Was the day fixed on by the council of war +favorable for a battle? On what day should the foundation for the temple +or palace be laid? Will the sick person recover? Should one set out on a +proposed journey? Is the day fixed for a marriage auspicious? + +Recognizing by experience that the same thing undertaken at different +times turned out differently, in the one case being brought to a +successful issue, in the other followed by misfortune, the conclusion +was forced upon the popular mind (as already set forth above) that the +day on which something was done or was to be done was of great moment. + +But how did one day differ from the other? That was the question for the +priests to determine. During the hours that the sun was in control, the +clouds produced constant changes in the appearance of the heavens, but +because of their irregular character, these changes impressed the +Babylonians less forcibly than the striking changes that the nights +showed. The planets and stars never appeared alike on two successive +nights. There was always some change in the position of some of the +heavenly bodies. To these changes, then, the priests directed their +attention. In the variations presented by the heavens at night they saw +a potent reason for the varying results produced by the same act +undertaken at different times. + +If it made a difference at what moment something was done, that +difference could only be determined by observing the variations that one +night presented from the other. The astrologers observed that many of +the stars were, or seemed to be, fixed in their orbits; others rose and +set like the sun and moon, and appeared in different parts of the +heavens at different seasons of the year. The regularity of these +changes made it possible to study the course of these stars, and as +knowledge progressed, to determine also in advance where a particular +body would be seen at a certain time. + +The planets accordingly were the bodies to which the astrologers +especially directed their attention. It has been conjectured with some +show of probability that one of the purposes served by the lofty seven +staged towers,[595] which were attached to many of the great temples, +was for the better observation of the movements of the planets. The +official standing of the astrologers is indicated by the references in +texts to the 'court astrologer.' + +However this may be, there is no doubt that at all the large temples and +at many of the smaller ones, observations of the planets were recorded. + +The collection of these observations formed the manuals for the priests +in answering many of the questions put to them. Each of the great +planets was identified (by a process of thought that we will have +occasion to describe) with some deity, though this was not done until +the attempt was also made to gather the astrological knowledge of the +day into some kind of consistent system. Our own names of the planets, +as handed down to us through the Greeks and Romans, are but the +classical equivalents of the Babylonian deities.[596] + +Jupiter is Marduk, the head of the Babylonian pantheon. Venus is the +Babylonian Ishtar. Mars is Nergal, the god of war and pestilence. +Mercury is Nabu, the god of wisdom and the messenger of the gods, and +Saturn is Ninib. + +Among the astrological texts preserved, Ishtar-Venus figures more +prominently than the other planets. The appearance of Ishtar during each +month and for various days of the month was noted, and then interpreted, +partly on the basis of past experience, but also by other factors that +for the most part escape us. A tablet, furnishing omens derived from the +position of the planet Venus and which may belong to the series +'Illumination of Bel,' deals with the periods of the disappearance of +Venus as evening star, and her reappearance as morning star, and _vice +versa_[597]. + + In the month of Tammuz (4th month) Venus disappeared on the 25th + day at sunset, for seven days was hidden[598], and on the 2d day + of Ab (5th month) was seen at sunrise. Rains in the land. + Destruction of[599] ... + + In the month of Adar (12th month) Venus disappeared on the 25th + day at sunrise. For a year (?) weapons are wielded[600] (?), + gold[599] ... + + In the month of Marcheshwan (8th month), 10th day, Venus + disappeared at sunrise, for two months and six days was hidden, + and reappeared on the 16th day of Tebet (10th month). There will + be abundant crops. + + In the month of Elul (6th month), 26th day, Venus disappeared at + sunset, for eleven days was hidden, and in the second[601] Elul, + on the 7th day, reappeared at sunset. The heart of the land is + good.[6] + + In the month of Nisan (1st month), on the 9th day, Venus + disappeared at sunsets[602] (?), and for five months and sixteen + days was hidden, and reappeared in the month of Elul (6th + month), on the 25th day, at sunset. The heart of the land is + good. + + In the month of Ab (5th month), 10th day, Venus disappeared at + sunset[603] (?), and for two[604] months and sixteen days was + hidden, and reappeared on the 26th day of Marcheshwan (8th + month). Rains in the land. + + In the month of Nisan, 2d day, Venus appeared at sunrise. There + will be distress in the land. + + If Venus is stationary to the 6th day of Kislev (9th month) at + sunrise, and then disappears on the 7th day of Kislev, and is + hidden for three months to reappear on the 8th day of Adar (12th + month) at sunset, it indicates that king against king will send + hostility. + + In the month of Kislev (9th month), 10th day, Venus appeared at + sunrise. Lack of corn and hay in the land. If she remains in + position up to the 14th day of Ab (5th month) at sunrise, and + then on the 15th day disappears, and for three months is hidden, + and on the 15th day of Marcheshwan (8th month) rises at sunset, + the crops of the land will be good. + +A colophon informs us that the tablet in question embodies a series of +observations of the movements of Venus recorded by Babylonian scholars. +It was evidently the purpose of the compilers to commit to writing as +many variations in the appearance and disappearance of the planet as +possible. The omens must either have been furnished at one time or they +embody actual occurrences that were observed in connection with the +observation recorded. In either case the omens served as guides for the +priests in their replies to inquiries. An omen once furnished or an +event once observed as having taken place under given conditions of a +planet served for all times. + +The omen lists for the other planets were arranged on the same principle +as the Venus list. The motions of the planets were carefully observed. +It was noted whether they rose brilliantly or with a pale color. Their +position towards other stars was determined, and much more the like. +Besides the planets, various stars that were distinguished by their +brilliancy, as Sirius, Antares, Regulus, and also comets, were included +in the sphere of astronomical calculations, and furnished omens to the +priests. + +These omens, so far as we may judge from the texts at present published, +all hinge around the same series of events that are referred to in the +illustrations given,--rain, crops, war, distress, the country's +prosperity, the king's welfare or misfortune. + +Another piece of evidence is thus furnished for the hypothesis that +these lists are based upon reports made to royal masters, and that the +reports again are obtained from the lists prepared for public and +political needs. We must not, however, conclude from this fact that the +observation of heavenly phenomena was of no significance at all for the +private individual, but only that the position of the king and the +general welfare of the country were regarded of larger moment. + +Just as the gods were held responsible chiefly for the larger affairs of +this world, the trifles being relegated to the spirits and demons,[605] +so the planets and stars, as symbols of the gods, were regarded as +auguries for the chief of the country rather than for the miscellaneous +population, and more for the general welfare than for individual +prosperity. The individual shared in the omen furnished, in so far as +his well-being was dependent upon such important contingencies as +whether there was to be war or peace, good crops or bad. A population so +largely engaged in agriculture as the Babylonians were, would be +satisfied if they could be reassured as to the outcome of their work in +the fields. Ihering has properly emphasized the strong hold that the +conception of communal interests obtained in Babylonia.[606] This +conception is reflected in the prominence given to public and political +affairs in the omen lists and 'omen' reports. Agriculture was the primal +factor in producing this conception in the south; war which united the +population, even though military service was forced upon the people, was +the second factor; and in Assyria, where military expeditions occupied a +much larger share of public attention than in Babylonia, war became the +chief factor in keeping alive the thought of national solidarity. + + +Omen Calendars. + +There was still another reason why the king and with him public affairs, +received such prominence in the omen texts. As the nation's ruler he was +not only an important personage by virtue of his power over his +subjects, but also by virtue of his close relationship to the gods. The +theory of the 'divine right of kings' was rigidly adhered to in +Babylonia and Assyria. When the monarchs speak of themselves as +nominated by this or that god to be the ruler of the country, this was +not a mere phrase. The king was the vicar of the deity on earth, his +representative who enjoyed divine favor and who was admitted into the +confidence of the gods. In earlier days priestly functions were +indissolubly associated with kingship. The oldest kings of Assyria call +themselves 'the priests of Ashur,' and it is only as with the growth of +political power a differentiation of functions takes place that the +priest, as the mediator between the deity and his subjects, becomes +distinct from the secular ruler. + +The further development of this process led to the curious but perfectly +natural anomaly that the king, from being originally identical with the +priest, becomes in large measure dependent upon the latter in his +relations to the gods. In the more advanced stages of the religious +cult, the king requires the service of a priest to act as mediator +between himself and the gods, precisely as all of his subjects need this +mediatorship. The king cannot obtain an oracle directly. He must send to +the temple and inquire of the priests. The priest must intercede for the +king when he throws himself upon the mercy of an angered god or goddess. +The royal sacrifice is not acceptable unless the priest stands by the +side of the king. + +Still there are traces left of the old direct relationship existing +between the king and his gods. A god sometimes reveals himself directly +to a ruler. Ishtar appears in a dream and gives him directions. Another +and more significant trace of this older relationship is to be found in +the importance assigned to the religious conduct of the king. If an +individual offends a deity, the individual alone suffers, or at the most +his family is involved in the punishment inflicted; but if the king +sins, the whole country suffers, and correspondingly the king's +atonement and reconciliation with the gods is essential for dispelling +some national calamity. Frazer has shown by his admirable +investigations[607] that this view of kingship is common to many nations +of antiquity. While it did not lead among the Babylonians and Assyrians +to that extreme which is best illustrated by Japan, where the Mikado, by +virtue of his divine right, is hedged in with prescribed formalities +that make him almost a prisoner, so closely is he watched by his +attendants lest any mistake be made by him which is certain to entail +serious consequences for the country, still the priests had to see to it +that the rulers performed their duties towards the gods in the +prescribed manner and with all possible accuracy. + +The conduct of the king was of special significance at periods when for +some reason or other, the gods were not favorably disposed. Partly on +the basis of actual observation that eclipses (which were especially +feared) had occurred on certain days of the month, partly as a +consequence of the belief that the change in the moon's phase augured +something good or evil for humanity, and in part perhaps through the +coincidence that on a certain day of the month, mishaps of some kind had +occurred several times, certain months and certain days of each month +were regarded as favorable, while others were unfavorable. Some months +and some days were suitable for dedicating a building, others were not. +On some days an oracle might be sought, on others not. Some days were +days of rejoicing, on others again mourning was appropriate. Advantage +had to be taken of the favorable days to keep the deity in good humor, +and it was equally important on the unfavorable ones to exercise great +care not to do aught which might arouse the anger of a god, ready to be +incensed. It is the king who can best accomplish the one thing and avoid +the other. To him, as standing nearer the deity than any private +individual, the country looked for safety and protection. Calendars were +prepared for each month of the year, in which the peculiar character of +each day was noted and instructions added what was to be done on each +day. These instructions all have reference to the king and to the king +alone. A complete calendar for the intercalated month of Elul has been +preserved.[608] It may serve as an example of the branch of the omen +literature to which it belongs. + +The thirty days of each month are taken up in succession. The deity to +which each day is sacred is indicated, and various sacrifices or +precautions prescribed. + +A curious feature of this calendar was that, since it was the hope to +make every day 'favorable,' each day was called so, even when it is +evident that it was not. + + For the 1st day of Elul the second,[609] sacred to Anu and Bel, + a favorable day. When the moon makes its appearance in this + month, the king of many peoples brings his gift, a gazelle + together with fruit, ... his gift to Shamash, lord of the + countries, and to Sin, the great god, he gives. Sacrifices he + offers, and his prayer to his god[610] is acceptable. + + On the 2d day sacred to goddesses, a favorable day. The king + brings his gift to Shamash, the lord[611] of countries. To Sin, + the great god, he offers sacrifices. His prayer to the god is + acceptable. + + On the 3d day, a day of supplication to Marduk and Sarpanitum, a + favorable day. At night, in the presence of Marduk and + Ishtar,[612] the king brings his gift. Sacrifices he is to offer + so that his prayer may be acceptable. + + On the 6th day, sacred to Ramman and Belit,[613] a favorable + day. The king, with prayer and supplication (?), at night in the + presence of Ramman, offers his gift. Sacrifices he is to bring + so that his prayer may be acceptable. + + On the 7th day, supplication to Marduk and Sarpanitum, a + favorable day (_sc._ may it be). An evil day. The shepherd of + many nations is not to eat meat roasted by the fire, or any food + prepared by the fire. The clothes of his body he is not to + change, fine dress (?) he is not to put on. Sacrifices he is not + to bring, nor is the king to ride in his chariot. He is not to + hold court nor is the priest to seek an oracle for him in the + holy of holies.[614] The physician is not to be brought to the + sick room.[615] The day is not suitable for invoking + curses.[616] At night, in the presence of Marduk and Ishtar, the + king is to bring his gift. Then he is to offer sacrifices so + that his prayer may be acceptable. + +This 7th day, it will be observed, is expressly called an evil day. It +is evident, therefore, that the phrase 'favorable day' in the first line +expresses a hope and not a fact, or is added to indicate the manner in +which the day can be converted into a favorable one. Just as the 7th +day, so the 14th, 21st, and 28th are called evil days, and the same +ceremonies are prescribed for the king on these days. These days were +evidently chosen as corresponding to the phases of the moon. But besides +these four days, a fifth, namely, the 19th, is singled out in the same +fashion. The comparison with the Biblical Sabbath naturally suggests +itself. The choice of the 7th day and of the corresponding ones rests, +of course, in both instances upon the lunar calendar, and there is also +this similarity between the Sabbath of the Hebrews and the 'evil day' of +the Babylonians, that the precautions prescribed in the Pentateuchal +codes--against kindling fires, against leaving one's home, against any +productive labor--point to the Hebrew Sabbath as having been at its +origin an 'inauspicious day,' on which it was dangerous to show oneself +or to call the deity's attention to one's existence. Despite the +attempts made to change this day to one of 'joy,' as Isaiah would have +it,[617] the Hebrew Sabbath continued to retain for a long time as a +trace of its origin, a rather severe and sombre aspect. + +A striking difference, however, between the Babylonian and the Hebrew +rites is the absence in the latter of the theory that the atonement of a +single individual suffices for the community. The precautions prescribed +for the Sabbath are binding upon every one. Emphasis is laid in the +Pentateuch upon the fact that the whole people is holy, whereas among +the Babylonians the king alone is holy. He alone is to abstain from his +ordinary acts, to conduct himself on the evil day with becoming +humility, to put on no fineries, not to indulge in dainty food,[618] not +to appear in royal state, neither to appeal to the gods (for they will +not hear them), nor even to interfere with their workings by calling in +human aid against the demon of disease, who may have been sent as the +messenger of one of the gods. It is only at the close of the day that he +can bring a sacrifice which will be acceptable. The king, by observing +these precautions, insures the welfare of his people. The gods cared +little for individual piety, but they kept a jealous eye on their +earthly representative. His appeals were heard if properly presented and +if presented at the right time, but woe to the people whose king has +aroused the divine anger. Just as his acts of penitence have a +representative character, so the gifts and sacrifices and supplications +mentioned in the calendar are offered by the king on behalf of the whole +people. + +For the remaining days of Elul, the ordinances have much the same +character as those instanced. The variation consists chiefly in the god +or gods to whom the days are sacred. Now it is Nabu and his consort +Tashmitum--on the 4th, 8th, and 17th days--to whom gifts and prayers are +brought; again Ninib and his consort Gula, on the 9th,[619]--or Gula +alone, on the 19th. To Marduk and Sarpanitum the 16th day is assigned, +besides the 3d and 7th days as above set forth; to Ramman and his +consort the 6th, to the old Bel and Belit the 5th, the 12th, the 25th, +and to Nergal and Bau the 27th. At times two male deities are in +association. So Anu and Bel for the 1st and the 30th day, Ea and Nergal +for the 28th, Sin and Shamash for the 18th, 20th, 21st, and 22d, or two +goddesses, as Tashmitum and Sarpanitum, or a god alone, as Ea for the +26th, or Sin alone for the 13th, and once--the 29th day--Sin and Shamash +are combined with the miscellaneous group of Igigi and Anunnaki. All the +great gods are thus represented in the calendar. The basis on which the +days are assigned still escapes us. It is hard to believe that any +strict uniformity existed in this respect in the cults attached to the +various Babylonian temples. Preference would be shown in each center to +the chief god worshipped there, while to others would be assigned a +position corresponding to some theological system devised by the +priests. Uniformity and consistency are two elements that must not be +looked for in the omen literature of any people. The very fact that +omens have some rational basis, namely, observation and experience, is +the very reason why the omen lists and omen calendars of one place +should differ from those of another, and precisely to the same degree +that observation and experience differ. + +The intercalated months, by virtue of their extraordinary character, had +perhaps a special significance, but every day of the year had an +importance of some kind. This is shown by a Babylonian calendar, +fortunately preserved in great part,[620] in which every day of the year +is included, and either its character noted or some precautions +prescribed. The indications in this calendar are marked by their +brevity, and impress one as memoranda, intended as a guide to the +priests. + +The calendar consists of twelve columns. At the head of each column +stands the name of one of the months. One or, at the most, two lines are +devoted to each day of the month, the days being ranged in succession +from one to thirty. For a series of days in the 2d month the indications +are: + + 21st day, hostility. + 22d day, judgment favorable, invoking of curses. + 23d day, heart not good. + 24th day, gladness of heart. + 25th day, wife not to be approached, heart not good. + 26th day, secret. + +Such indications it is evident are intelligible only to the initiated. +With the help of the more complete calendars, such as the one above +explained, we can in most cases determine what is meant by these +memoranda. A note like 'hostility' is an omen that the gods are +unfavorably inclined on that day. The 'judgment' referred to on the 22d +day is the oracle. The day in question is suitable for obtaining a +response to a question put to the deity, and a favorable occasion for +invoking curses upon the enemy. It will be recalled that the 7th day of +the second intercalated Elul is put down as one when it is not advisable +to secure the ill will of the god against the enemy. An expression like +'heart not good' is explained by the contrast 'heart glad.' The 23d day +of the month is a day of sorrow, the 24th one on which one may be +cheerful without arousing the jealousy of the gods or demons. The 25th +is again an unfavorable day in which, as a precaution, sexual +intercourse is prohibited. Lastly, the word rendered 'secret'[621] is +the same one that we came across in the precautions prescribed for the +7th day of the second Elul, where we are told that the priest is not to +enter the 'secret' place. This term appears to describe the 'holy of +holies' in the Babylonian temples where the oracles were obtained. The +single word 'secret' was a sufficient indication for the priest that on +the day in question he might enter the mysterious chamber of the temple +without trepidation. + +Many of the days of the year are simply set down as 'favorable' or +'unfavorable,' while others were noted as days portending 'distress,' +'trouble,' 'tears,' 'injury,' 'everything favorable,' 'darkness,' 'moon +obscured,' and the like. Of special interest are the prohibitions +regarding food on certain days. On the 9th day of the 2d month "fish is +not to be eaten or sickness will ensue." Swine's meat is forbidden on +the 30th day of the 5th month, and in this case the particular kind of +sickness--disease of the joints--is specified that will ensue in case of +disobedience. On another day, the 25th of the 7th month, beef as well as +pork is forbidden, while on the 10th day of the 8th month and the 27th +day of the 6th month, dates are forbidden as a precaution against eye +disease. One is not to cross a stream[622] on the 20th day of the 5th +month; on certain days one is not to sell grain; other days are again +noted as specially favorable for military movements. + +Some of the precautions prescribed in this calendar may have been meant +for the populace in general, such as the order not to cross a stream or +to strike a bargain. The belief in lucky and unlucky days has a distinct +popular flavor, but it is doubtful whether the ordinary public consulted +the priests, as a general thing, in order to find out what days were +lucky and what not. It is more plausible to assume that the priests +embodied in their official calendars some of the notions that arose +among the people, and gave to them an official sanction. + +There are a considerable number of references to the king in the +complete calendar under consideration, and we are permitted to assume, +therefore, that the calendar served as a further guide for the priests +in their instructions to the king. The allusion to oracles, curses, and +weapons points in this same direction, and when, as in a number of +instances, a day is described as one on which Shamash or some other god +is 'angry,' it is in all probabilities against the ruler rather than +against private individuals that the god's displeasure has been +manifested. A similar official and public character is borne by another +calendar, where months alone are indicated and their significance +interpreted.[623] The twelve months are arranged in as many columns. +Under each column the indications 'favorable' or 'not' are entered, +while at the right end of the tablet the specifications are added for +what undertakings the month is, or is not, favorable. One of these +specifications is "the soldiery to make an attack upon a hostile city," +and upon referring to the list of months, we learn that the 2d, 6th, +7th, 8th, and 12th months are favorable for such an undertaking, but the +others are 'not.' Again, the 1st, 3d, 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th +are 'favorable' for "the entrance of any army upon foreign soil," but +the remainder 'not.' The other specifications refer likewise to the +movements of the armies. Such a calendar was evidently drawn up on the +basis of omens, for a specific purpose, and, we may add, for some +specific expedition to serve as a guide to the military commander. In +the same way, calendars were drawn up devoted to indications regarding +crops and for other purposes of public interest. To a more limited +extent, private affairs are also touched upon. + +To enter upon a further discussion of details is unnecessary at this +point, and would carry us too far from the main purpose of this chapter, +which is to point out the diverse ways in which the belief in omens is +illustrated by the religious literature of the Babylonians. + +It is sufficient to have made clear that the oracles and dreams, the +lists of omens derived from eclipses, the works on the planets and stars +and the calendars, all have the same origin due to observation of +coincidences, to past experience, and to a variety of combinations, some +logical and some fanciful, of supposed relationships between cause and +effect; and not only the same origin, but the lists and calendars served +also the same main purpose of guides for the priests in replying to the +questions put to them by their royal masters and in forwarding +instructions to the ruler for the regulation of his own conduct so that +he and his people might enjoy the protection and good will of the gods. +But the observation of the phenomena of the heavens, while playing +perhaps the most prominent part in the derivation of omens, was not the +only resource at the command of the priests for prognosticating the +future. Almost daily, strange signs might be observed among men and +animals, and whatever was strange was of necessity fraught with some +meaning. It was the business of the priest to discover that meaning. + + +Omens From Terrestrial Phenomena. + +Monstrosities, human and animal, and all species of malformations +aroused attention. The rarer their occurrence, the greater the +significance attached to them. In addition to this, the movements of +animals, the flight of birds, the appearance of snakes at certain +places, of locusts, lions, the actions of dogs, the direction of the +winds, the state of rivers, and all possible accidents and experiences +that men may encounter in their house, in the street, in crossing +streams, and in sleep were observed. Everything in any way unusual was +important, and even common occurrences were of some significance. The +extensive omen literature that was produced in Babylonia is an +indication of the extent to which men's lives were hedged in by the +belief in portents. Several thousand tablets in the portion of +Ashurbanabal's library that has been rescued from oblivion through +modern excavations, deal with omens of this general class. Several +distinct series, some embracing over one hundred tablets, have already +been distinguished. One of these series deals with all kinds of +peculiarities that occur in human infants and in the young of animals; +another with the things that may happen to a man; a third with the +movements of various animals, and more the like. As yet but a small +portion of these tablets have been published,[624] but thanks to the +indications given by Dr. Bezold in his great catalogue of the Kouyunjik +Collection, a fair idea of the general character of the Babylonian omen +literature may be formed. On what principle the omens were derived, it +is again difficult to determine in detail, but that some logical +principles controlled the interpretations cannot be doubted. + +Jevons has shown[625] that in "sympathetic magic,"--of which the +interpretation of omens is an offshoot,--the same logical methods are +followed as in modern science. The famous 'Chaldean wisdom,' which is to +be looked for in this widespread omen literature, would not have created +so deep an impression on the ancient world, if the theologians of the +Euphrates Valley, in incorporating primitive magic in the official +religion, had not been successful in giving to their interpretations of +occurrences in nature and in the animal world, the appearance, at least, +of a consistent science. + +Taking up as our first illustration the series devoted to birth +portents, it is interesting to observe the system followed in presenting +the various phases of the general subject. A broad distinction is drawn +between significant phenomena in the case of human infants and in the +case of the young of animals. + +About a dozen tablets are taken up with an enumeration of omens +connected with new-born children, and one gains the impression from the +vast number of portents included in the lists that originally every +birth portended something. The fact that births were of daily occurrence +did not remove the sense of mystery aroused by this sudden appearance of +a new life. Every part of the body was embraced in the omens: the ears, +eyes, mouth, nose, lips, arms, hands, feet, fingers, toes, breast, +generatory organs. Attention was directed to the shapes of these various +members and organs. The ears of a child might suggest the ears of a dog +or of a lion or of a swine, and similarly the nose, mouth, lips, hands, +or feet might present a peculiar appearance. A single member or the +features in general might be small or abnormally large. All these +peculiarities meant something; and since few if any children are born +without presenting some peculiarities in some part of the body, it would +seem as though the intention of the compilers of the series was to +provide a complete handbook for the interpretation of signs connected +with the birth of children. Naturally the total absence of some member +of the body in case of the new-born or any malformation was a sign of +especial significance. Hence we are told what was portended by a child +born without hands or feet or ears or lips, or with only one of these +members, or with only one eye, or with no mouth or no tongue, or with +six fingers on one or on both hands, or six toes on one or on both feet, +or without generatory organs.[626] + +The rarer the phenomenon, the greater the significance is, as we have +seen, a general principle in the science of augury. The birth of twins +accordingly plays an important rôle in the series. In fact, the opening +tablet is devoted in part to this phase of the subject. We are told, for +example, that[627] + + If a woman gives birth to twins, one male and one female, it is + an unfavorable omen. The land is in favor[628], but that house + (wherein the child was born) will be reduced. + +And again, + + If a woman gives birth to twins, and both are brought out + alive(?),[629] but the right hand of one is lacking, the ruler + (?) will be killed by force, the land will be diminished.... + + If a woman gives birth to twins, and both are brought out alive + (?), but neither of them have right hands, the produce of the + country will be consumed by the enemy. + + If a woman gives birth to twins, and both are brought out alive + (?), but the right foot of one is missing, an enemy will for one + year disturb the fixed order of the country.[630] + +It will be observed that these omens bear on public as well as private +affairs. The part played by public matters in them varies, but that the +king and the country are so frequently introduced is an indication again +of the official character given to these omen tablets. Only priests +whose chief concern was with the court and the general welfare would +have been impelled to mingle in this curious way the fate of the +individual with that of the country at large. The birth of twins in +itself is an omen for the house where the event occurs; but twins that +are monstrosities, with a foot or a hand lacking, portend something of +import to the general welfare. + +The tablet proceeds, after finishing one phase of the subject, with +omens to be derived from infants whose features resemble those of +certain animals. In this case again we will see that the mind of the +compiler is now directed towards the fate of the individual and again +toward the ruler or the country. In the 2d tablet of the series we read +that + + If a woman gives birth to a child with a lion's head,[631] a + strong king will rule in the land. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with a dog's head, the city in + his district[632] will be in distress, and evil will be in the + country. + + ... + + If a woman gives birth to a child with a swine's head, offspring + and possession (?) will increase in that house. + + ... + + If a woman gives birth to a child with a bird's head, that land + will be destroyed. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with a serpent's head, for + thirty days (?) Nin-Gishzida[633] will bring a famine in the + land, and Gilgamesh[634] will rule as king in the land. + +In the same tablet[635] such monstrosities are taken up as children born +with two heads, with a double pair of eyes, or with the eyes misplaced, +with two mouths or more than two lips. The two heads, strange enough, +generally portend good fortune, though not invariably. Thus an infant +with two heads is an omen of strength for the country; and again + + If a woman gives birth to a child with two heads, two mouths, + but the regular number of eyes, hands, and feet[636], it is an + omen of vigorous life [for the country, but the son] will seize + the king his father and kill him. + +But + + If a woman gives birth to a child with two heads and two mouths, + and the two hands and two feet are between them[637], disease + will settle upon that city (where the monstrosity was born). + +If the deformity consists in the misplacement of certain organs, the +omen is invariably bad. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with two eyes on the left + side, it is a sign that the gods are angry against the land, and + the land will be destroyed. + +And again, + + If a woman gives birth to a child with three eyes on the left + side and one on the right, the gods will fill the land with + corpses. + +The third tablet proceeds with other parts of the body. It begins with a +list of peculiarities observed in regard to the ears. The resemblance of +certain features in children to the corresponding features of animals is +an observation made by many nations. In modern times Lavater, it will be +recalled, based his study of human physiognomy in part upon the +resemblance of the nose, eyes, mouth, and ears, and general shape of the +head to the features of such animals as the lion, jackass, dog, and +swine. We may well believe, therefore, that when the Babylonians refer +to a child with a lion's or a dog's ear, they had in mind merely a +resemblance, but did not mean that the child actually had the ear of a +lion or dog or the like. + +At times the connection between the omen and its interpretation is quite +obvious. In a portion of this same series we are told that[638] + + If a woman gives birth to a child with a lion-like ear, a mighty + king will arise in the land. + +It will be recalled that a 'lion head' portends the same, and it is +evident that in both cases the lion suggests strength. We are in the +presence of the same order of ideas that controls the belief in +'sympathetic magic.' The corollary to 'like produces like' is 'like +means like.' In other cases, the logic underlying the interpretation of +the omen must be sought for in views connected with some accompanying +feature. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with the right ear missing, + the days of the ruler will be long. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with the left ear missing, + distress will enter the land and weaken it. + +While in general the absence of any part of the body is a sign of +distress for the country and individual by a perfectly natural +association of ideas, yet this general principle is modified by the +further consideration that 'right' is a good omen and 'left' a bad one. +But this consideration which makes the absence of the 'right' ear a good +omen may again be offset by the entrance of a third factor. So we are +told that + + If a woman gives birth to a child with a small[639] right ear, + the house of the man[640] will be destroyed. + +The omen of misfortune in this case is the deformity in the organ, and +the fact that the more important right ear is deformed, so far from +mitigating the force of the omen, accentuates its consequences. + +If a deformed right ear is disastrous, we are prepared to learn that + + If a woman gives birth to a child with both ears short, the + house of the man will be utterly rooted out. + +No less than eleven varieties of deformed ears are enumerated. It must +not be supposed, however, that the factors involved in this omen science +are always or even generally so simple. In most cases the connection +between the sign and the conclusion drawn, is not clear to us because of +the multiplicity of factors involved. Further publication and study of +omen texts will no doubt make some points clear which are now obscure, +but we cannot expect ever to find out all the factors that were taken +into account by the populace and the schoolmen, in proposing and +accepting certain interpretations of certain omens, any more than we can +fathom the reasons for the similar superstition found among other +nations[641] of antiquity and modern times. Recognizing certain +principles in some of the omens, we are justified in concluding that +whatever else determined the interpretation of omens, caprice did not +enter into consideration, but rather an association of ideas that +escapes us, simply because our logic differs from the logic of primitive +peoples in certain important particulars. + +The list of peculiarities occurring in the case of babes continues as +follows: + + If a woman gives birth to a child whose mouth is shaped like a + bird's, the country will be stirred up. + + If a woman gives birth to a child without any mouth, the + mistress of the house will die. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with the right nostril + lacking, misfortune is portending. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with both nostrils lacking, + the land will witness distress, and disease will destroy the + house of the man. + + If a woman gives birth to a child whose jaw is lacking, the days + of the ruler will be long, but the house of the man will be + destroyed. + + If a woman gives birth to a child whose lower jaw is lacking, + the ground will not bear fruit during the year. + +It will be observed that, while most of the portents are evil, the ruler +of the land is here generally vouchsafed immunity. The priests had to be +somewhat on their guard lest by the very terror that they aroused, the +hold of the rulers over the people might be loosened. Moreover, the +rulers were sufficiently hedged in by their positions, as we have seen, +and were in no danger of regarding themselves as safe from the anger of +the gods. + +Still quite frequently even the king is involved in the evil prophecy. +The portion of the series dealing with portents derived from deformed +hands and feet contains instances of this kind. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with the right hand lacking, + the land advances to destruction. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with both hands lacking, the + city will witness no more births, and the land will be utterly + destroyed. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with the fingers of the right + hand lacking, the ruler will be captured by his enemy. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with six toes on the right + foot, through distress (?), the house of the man will perish. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with six very small toes on + the left foot, distress (?) will come to pass. + + If a woman gives birth to a child with six toes on the right + foot, some disaster is portending. + +Altogether no less than ninety kinds of human deformities in the various +parts of the body are enumerated and interpreted. + +The significance of the portents is naturally increased if the woman who +gives birth to a monstrosity happens to belong to the royal house. In +such a case, the omen has direct bearings on national affairs. The good +or evil sign affects the country exclusively. From a tablet of this +nature,[642] belonging to a different series than the one we have been +considering, we learn that six toes on the right foot or six on the left +foot mean defeat, whereas six toes on both feet mean victory. Royal +twins were a good omen, and so also a royal child born with teeth or +with hair on its face or with unusually developed features. + +The same desire to find some meaning in deviations from normal types led +to the careful observation of deformities or peculiarities in the case +of the young of domestic animals. In the fifth tablet of the series that +we have chosen as an illustration, the compiler passes from babes to the +offspring of domestic animals. From the opening line, which is all that +has been published as yet,[643] and which reads: + + If in the flock[644] a dog is born, weapons will destroy life + and the king will not be triumphant + +it would appear that the first subject taken up was the anomalous unions +among animals, which naturally aroused attention when they occurred. + +A number of tablets--at least seven--follow in which monstrosities +occurring among the young of sheep are noted. + +The series passes on to signs to be observed among colts. From this +point on, the series is too defective (so far as published) to warrant +any further deductions; but it is safe to suppose that, as the young of +ewes and mares were considered in special sections, so the young of +swine and of cows were taken up in succession. The whole series would +thus aim to cover that section of the animal kingdom that concerned man +most,--his own offspring, and the young of those animals by which he was +surrounded. + +In these omens derived from the young of domestic animals, we are again +overwhelmed at the mass of contingencies included by the priests in +their compilations. Just as in the case of omens derived from infants, +so here the parts of the body are taken up one after the other. All +possible, and one is inclined to add various impossible, variations from +the normal types are noted. The omen varies as the female throws off +one, two, three, or whatever number of young ones up to ten. For +example:[645] + + If among the sheep, five young ones are born, it is a sign of + devastation in the land. The owner of the sheep dies, and his + house is destroyed. + +This is the omen in the case that the litter consists of five young +ones, all normal. But if anomalies occur, as, _e.g._, + + If five young ones are born, one with a bull's head, one with a + lion's head, one with a dog's head, and one with a sheep's head, + there will be a series of devastations in the land. + +Again, + + If seven young are thrown off, three male and four female, that + man[646] will perish. + +And so if eight are born, it is a bad sign for the king who, we are +told, "will be driven out of the country through sedition." The +variations are nigh endless. + + If in the flock, young ones are thrown off with five legs, it is + a sign of distress in the land. The house of the man will perish + and his stalls will be swept away. + + If the young ones have six legs, the population will decrease + and devastation will settle over the country. + +Having finished with litters, the series proceeds to peculiar marks +found on single specimens; lambs that have a head and tail shaped like a +lion or that have a lion's head and a mane like that of an ass, or a +head like a bird's, or like a swine, and so through a long and rather +tiresome list. + +Malformations in the shape or position of members of the animal, +particularly the mouth, ears, tongue, tail, and eyes, or the absence of +any one or of several of these parts were fraught with an importance +corresponding to these symptoms among new-born babes. + + If a young one has its ears on one side, and its head is twisted + (?), and it has no mouth, the ruler will cut off the supply of + water from his enemy. + +In this instance the 'twisting' and the absence of the mouth appear to +suggest the act of turning a canal into a different direction, so as to +isolate a besieged city. When the text goes on to declare that + + If the young one has its ears at its neck,[647] the ruler will + be without judgment, + +it is the association of ideas between 'ears' and 'judgment,'[648] that +supplies the link. A misplaced ear is equivalent to misdirected +judgment. + +Consistent with this interpretation, the next line informs us that + + If the young one has its ears below the neck,[649] the union of + the country is weakened. + +Such glimpses into the peculiar thought controlling these omens are +perhaps all that we will be able to obtain at least for a long time to +come. For the rest, comparative studies with the omens of the other +nations will alone serve to determine the multitudinous factors involved +in the interpretations of the signs. + +Before leaving the subject, however, a few more illustrations may be +offered. Another portion of the same tablet--the eleventh--continues the +omens derived from peculiarities in the ears of lambkins: + + If the young one has no right ear, the rule of the king will + come to an end, his palace will be uprooted, and the population + of the city will be swept away, the king will lose judgment, ... + the produce of the country will be small, the enemy will cut off + the supply of water. + + If the left ear of the young one is missing, the deity will hear + the prayer of the king, the king will capture his enemy's land, + and the palace of the enemy will be destroyed, the enemy will + lack judgment, the produce of the enemy's land will be taken + away and everything will be plundered (?). + + If the right ear of the young one falls off, the stall[650] will + be destroyed. + + If the left ear of the young one falls off, the stall will be + increased, the stall[651] of the enemy will be destroyed. + + If the right ear of the young one is split (?), that stall will + be destroyed, the enemy (?) will advance against the city. + + If the left ear of the young one is split (?), that stall will + be increased, the king[652] will advance against the enemy's + land. + +In all these cases it will be observed that a defect in the right ear or +an accident happening to it is an evil omen, whereas the same thing +occurring in the case of the left is a favorable indication. The greater +importance of the right side of anything evidently suggests in this case +the interpretation offered, and yet this principle, as we have seen, is +far from being of universal application. It depends upon _what_ happens +to the right ear. Above, we have seen that an unusually large ear +betokens some good fortune, and in the tablet under consideration, +illustrations are afforded of accidents to the right ear which furnish a +good omen, while the same accident in the case of the left ear is +regarded as a bad omen. + +Our text continues: + + If the right ear of the young one is shrunk (?), the house of + the owner will prosper. + + If the left ear is shrunk, the house of the owner will perish. + + If the right ear is torn off, the house of the owner will + prosper. + + If the left ear is torn off, the house of the owner will perish. + +But immediately following this we have again an evil omen for the right +ear and a favorable one for the left. Three more tablets are taken up +with omens associated with all manner of peculiarities in the formation +of the ears, head, lips, mouth, and feet of lambkins, and it is not +until the fifteenth tablet of the series is reached that another +subject, the young of mares, is introduced. + +The prognostications in the case of colts have about the same character +as those in the case of lambkins. The same signs are singled out for +mention, and the omens are not only, just as in the illustrations +adduced, evenly divided between the fate of the country and its ruler, +and of the owner of the colt or mare, but we can also observe a +consistent application of the same principles, so far as these +principles may be detected. A few illustrations will make this +clear:[653] + + If a colt has no right legs, the house[654] will be destroyed. + + If a colt has no left legs, the days of the ruler will be long. + + If a colt has no legs, the country will be destroyed. + + If a colt has the right leg shortened,[655] ... his stall[4] + will be destroyed. + + If a colt has the left leg shortened, the stall[656] will be + destroyed + + ... + + If a colt has no hoof on the right foreleg, the wife will cause + trouble to her husband. + + If a colt has no hoofs at all, there will be dissensions (?) + within the country, and the enemy will enter the ruler's land. + +In this way, twenty-one omens derived from as many varieties of strange +formations in the legs of colts are enumerated. As in the case of +lambkins, so for colts, the appearance of twins is endowed with a +special significance. + + If a mare gives birth to twins, male and female, and each has + only one eye, the enemy triumphs and devastates Babylonia. + + If the male or female colt has a mane like a lion, the country + will be reduced. + + If the male or female colt has a dog's hoof, the country will be + reduced. + + If the male or female colt has a lion's claw, the country will + be enlarged. + + If the male or female colt has a dog's head, the woman's[657] + life will be bad. The country will be reduced. + + If the male or female colt has a lion's head, the ruler will be + strong. + + If both colts, the male and female, resemble lions, the ruler + over his enemies prevails (?). + + If both colts, male and female, resemble dogs, the ruler over + his enemy's country prevails (?). + + If either a male or female colt is born resembling a lion, the + king will be strong. + + If either a male or female colt resembles a dog, herds of cattle + will die, and there will be famine. + + If a colt is born without a head, its master will be strong. + + If a colt is born without eyes, the god Bel will bring about a + change of dynasty. + + If a colt is born without feet, the king increases his army and + a slaughter will ensue. + + If a colt is born without ears, for three years the gods will + reduce the land. + + If a colt is born without a tail, the ruler will die. + +In conclusion it may be observed that, apart from the unusual character +of these freaks which would suffice to attribute a special import to +them, the notions current among the Babylonians, as among so many people +of a period when creatures existed, the various parts of which were +compounded of different animals, may be regarded as an additional factor +that served to add force to the class of omens we are considering. The +monsters guarding the approaches to temples and palaces[658] were but +one form which this popular belief assumed, and when a colt was observed +to have a lion's or a dog's claw, an ocular demonstration was afforded +which at once strengthened and served to maintain a belief that at +bottom is naught but a crude and primitive form of a theory of +evolution. In a dim way man always felt the unity of the animal world. +Animals resembled one another, and man had some features in common with +animals. What more natural than to conclude that at some period, the +animals were composite creatures, and that even mankind and the animal +world were once blended together. + +The prevailing religious and semi-mythological ideas, accordingly, enter +as factors in the significance that was attached to infants or to the +young of animals, serving as illustrations of 'hybrid' formations. + + +Omens from the Actions of Animals. + +The same order of ideas, only still further extended, may be detected in +the sacredness attached to certain animals by so many nations of +antiquity. It is now generally admitted that this 'sacredness' has two +sides. A sacred animal may be 'taboo,' that is, so sacred that it must +not be touched, much less killed or eaten; and, on the other hand, its +original sanctity may lead people to regard it as "unclean," something +again to be avoided, because of the power to do evil involved in the +primitive conception of 'sacredness.'[659] + +The swine and the dog are illustrations of this double nature of +sanctity among the Semites. The former was sacred to some of the +inhabitants of "Syria."[660] The Babylonians, as we have seen, abstained +from eating it on certain days of the year, while the Hebrews and Arabs +regarded it as an absolute 'taboo.' + +The dog to this day is in the Orient an "unclean" animal, and yet it is +forbidden to do dogs any injury. If, then, we find the Babylonians +attaching significance to the movements of this animal, it is obvious +that by them, too, the dog was regarded as, in some way, sacred. It was +an 'animal of omen,' sometimes good, at other times bad. A tablet +informs us[661] that: + + If a yellow dog enters a palace, it is a sign of a distressful + fate for the palace. + + If a speckled dog enters a palace, the palace[662] will give + peace to the enemy. + + If a dog enters a palace and some one kills him, the peace of + the palace will be disturbed. + + If a dog enters a palace and crouches on the couch, no one will + enjoy that palace in peace. + + If a dog enters a palace and crouches on the throne, that palace + will suffer a distressful fate. + + If a dog enters a palace and lies on a large bowl, the palace + will secure peace from the enemy. + +There follow omens in case dogs enter a sacred edifice: + + If a dog enters a temple, the gods will not enlarge the land. + + If a white dog enters a temple, the foundation of that temple + will be firm. + + If a black dog enters a temple, the foundation of that temple + will not be firm. + + If a brown[663] dog enters a temple, that temple will witness + justice. + + If a yellow dog enters a temple, that temple will[664] witness + justice. + + If a speckled dog enters a temple, the gods will show favor to + that temple. + + If dogs gather together and enter a temple, the city's peace + will be disturbed. + +The juxtaposition of palace and temple is an indication that a large +measure of sanctity was attached to the former as the dwelling-place of +one who stood near to the gods. The omens, accordingly, in the case of +both palace and temple are again concerned with public affairs. But from +the same tablet we learn that an equal degree of significance was +attached to the actions of dogs when they entered private dwellings. +Precautions must have been taken against the presence of dogs in that +part of the house which was reserved for a man's family, for we are +told:[665] + + A dog entering a man's house was an omen that the ultimate fate + of that house would be destruction by fire. + +Care had to be taken lest dogs defiled a person or any part of the +house. The omens varied again according to the color of the dog. + + If a white dog defiles[666] a man, destruction will seize him. + + If a black dog defiles a man, sickness will seize him. + + If a brown dog defiles a man, that man will perish. + + If a dog defiles a man's couch, a severe sickness will seize + that man. + + If a dog defiles a man's chair, the man will not survive the + year. + + If a dog defiles a man's bowl,[667] a deity will show anger + towards the man. + +On the other hand, dogs were not to be driven out of the streets. Their +presence in the roads was essential to the welfare of the place. Hence +an omen reads: + + If dogs do not enter the highway,[668] destruction from an enemy + will visit the city. + +Through Diodorus, Jamblichus, and other ancient writers we know that the +Babylonians and Assyrians attached importance to the movements of other +animals, notably serpents, birds, and certain insects. The symbols on +the boundary stones which have been referred to[669] are based on this +belief. The serpent figures prominently among these symbols. In the +Babylonian deluge story, the dove, raven, and swallow are introduced. Of +these, the swallow appears to be the bird whose flight was most +carefully observed. The sign which represents this bird in the cuneiform +syllabary also signifies 'fate.'[670] The mischief wrought by swarms of +insects, as grasshoppers and locusts, the danger lurking in the bites of +scorpions sufficiently explain the importance attached to the actions of +these animals. The mysterious appearance and disappearance of serpents +and their strange twistings added an element in their case that +increased the awe they inspired, while if Ihering be correct,[671] the +omens derived from the flight of birds are a survival of the migratory +period in the history of a nation, when birds served as a natural guide +in choosing the easiest course to pass from one place to another. A +large number of tablets in Ashurbanabal's library treat of the +significance attached to the action of these various animals, and it is +likely that these tablets form part of a large series, of which the +illustrations above adduced regarding the movements of dogs form a part. +In this series, the application of the omens to individuals is more +strongly emphasized than in the series of birth portents. Naturally so, +for it was the individual as a general thing who encountered the signs. +In the case of the appearance of a serpent or snake, for example, the +omen consisted in the fact that a certain person beheld it, and that +person was involved in the consequences. Fine distinctions are again +introduced that illustrate the intricacies of the system of +interpretation perfected in Babylonia. If a snake passes from the right +to the left side of a man, it means one thing; if from the left to the +right, another; if the man who sees a snake does not tread upon it, the +omen is different than in the case when he attempts to crush it. Again +the omen varies according to the occupation of the man who encountered a +snake. If he be a gardener, the appearance of the snake means something +different than in the case of his being a sailor. + +The place where the animal appears is also of import, whether in the +street, the house, or the temple, and again, the time of its appearance, +in what month or on what day. In the same way, an endless variety of +omens are derived from the appearance of certain birds, the direction of +their flight, their fluttering around the head of a man or entering a +man's house. So, _e.g._, + + If a raven[672] enters a man's house, that man will secure + whatever he desires. + +And again: + + If a bird throws a bit of meat or anything into a man's house, + that man will secure a large fortune. + +The omens from the appearance of flocks of birds in a town bore, as +appears natural, upon public affairs rather than upon the fate of +individuals, and similarly the appearance of birds in a temple was an +omen for the whole country. + +The public or private character of the omens was thus dependent in large +measure upon the question whether the phenomena appeared to an +individual directly or to the population of a place in general. Meeting +a snake or scorpion in the course of a walk through the fields was an +individual omen, and similarly the actions of sheep in a man's stall, +whereas, a mad bull rushing through the city was a general omen. So we +are told that + + If sheep in the stalls do not bleat (?), that stall will be + destroyed. + +Whereas[673] + + A bull crouching at the gate of a city is an omen that the enemy + will capture that gate. + + A bull goring an ox in the city is an unfavorable omen for the + city, but if the bull enters the precincts of an individual, it + is favorable for the individual. + +A series of omens derived from the appearance of locusts again +illustrates this principle. When the insects enter private precincts, +the individual and his immediate surroundings are affected.[674] + + If black and speckled locusts appear in a man's house, the + master of the house will die. + + If black and yellow locusts appear in a man's house, the + supports of that house will fall. + + If large white locusts appear in a man's house, that house will + be destroyed and the owner will be in distress. + + If white and brown locusts appear in a man's house, that house + will be destroyed. + + If small white and brown locusts appear in a man's house, the + house will be destroyed and the owner will be in distress. + + If yellow locusts appear in a man's house, the supports of that + house will fall and the owner of the house will be unlucky. + + If yellow-winged locusts appear in a man's house, the master of + the house will die and that house will be overthrown. + + +Omens From Dreams. + +It made little difference whether one encountered something while awake +or saw it in one's dream. In fact, what one saw while asleep had as a +general thing more importance. A special god of dreams, Makhir, is often +referred to in the religious texts, and this is but another way of +expressing the belief that the dreams were sent to a man as omens. An +unusually wide scope was afforded to the compilers of omen series in +their interpretations of dreams, for what might not a man see in visions +of the night? If a lion[675] appears to a man, it means that the man +will carry out his purpose; if a jackal, it signifies that he will +secure favor in the eyes of the gods; a dog portends sorrow; a mountain +goat, that the man's son will die of some disease; a stag, that his +daughter will die; and so through a long list. + +Again we are told[676] that + + If (in a dream) a date appears on a man's head,[677] it means + that that man will be in distress. + + If a fish appears on a man's head, that man will be powerful. + + If a mountain appears on a man's head, that man will be without + a rival. + + If salt appears on a man's head, his house will be well + protected (?). + +Similarly, interpretations are offered for the apparition of the dead or +of demons, in dreams. The book of Daniel affords an illustration of the +importance attached to dreams in Babylonia, and of the science developed +out of the interpretations. The sarcastic touch introduced by the +compiler of the book,[678] who represents Nebuchadnezzar as demanding of +his priests not merely to interpret his dream, but to tell him what he +dreamed, is intended to illustrate the limitations of the far-famed +'Chaldean wisdom.' It is also interesting to note in connection with the +illustrations adduced, that the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar and +Belshazzar[679] in the book of Daniel are so largely concerned with +apparitions of animals. + +The omens taken from dreams, together with the accidents that occurred +to an individual, or the phenomena occurring in a man's house, afford us +an insight into the purely popular phases of the science of augury. +While eclipses and the movements of planets bear chiefly and almost +exclusively on public affairs, and even birth portents frequently +portend something to the ruler or to the country, it was through such +omens as partook of a purely personal character that the intentions of +the gods towards the individual were made manifest. By means of omens, +the bond between the individual and the gods was not, indeed, +established, but in large measure maintained. Here was a phase of the +religion that touched each individual closely. What a person saw, what +he dreamed, what happened to him, what appeared in his house or among +the members of his household was of significance to him. To know what +every phenomenon portended was essential to his welfare; and we may feel +certain that the relations of the individual to the priests, so far as +these existed, consisted largely in obtaining from the latter the +interpretation of the omens that he encountered. On the other hand, the +power of the priests over the populace was due to the popular belief in +portents, and the attention given by the theologians to the collection +of exhaustive omen series is a proof that the priests knew how to use +their power. + +These "Dream Books" must have been very numerous. The success of the +priests here depended even more than in other branches of the omen +literature upon exhausting, so far as possible, all contingencies. No +doubt they were guided here also by two factors: association of ideas, +and past experience through making of a single coincidence between a +dream and some occurrence, a principle of general application. Some of +the omens from dreams, however, appear to have themselves formed part of +a larger series dealing in general with + + +Omens From Individual Experiences. + +If one may judge from the specimens furnished by Dr. Bezold in his +catalogue, this series was unusually extensive, embracing a large number +of subjects connected with human activity,--a man's work in the field, +his actions in commercial affairs, incidents of travel on sea or land, +his relations to his kindred--the dead as well as the living--disease +and death, down to such apparent trifles as the conditions of the walls +of his house. Cracks in the wall were an omen; meeting a snake in the +highway was an omen. A fall was an omen; dropping an instrument was an +omen; in short, it is difficult to say what was not an omen. The +character of the omens in this series does not differ in any essential +particulars from those of other series. The important feature of the +series is that it affords another and perhaps the most striking +illustration of that phase of the omen literature which concerns the +individual directly, and, it seems safe to add, exclusively. + +Take, for example, omens connected with symptoms occurring in certain +diseases. We are told that + + If the right breast is brown, it is a fatal (?) sign. + + If both breasts are brown, there will be no recovery. + + If the left breast is green, the sickness will be severe. + +The symptoms affect the individual alone. Through this series we are +thus enabled to determine more definitely the boundary line between +omens involving the affairs of the country and king, and those involving +the individual. A phenomenon affecting an individual, or appearing to +him alone, or brought about through some action of his of a purely +private character, carries in its train an omen of significance for +himself or his immediate surroundings; but the moment that these rather +narrow limits are transcended, the fate of the individual becomes more +or less closely bound up with the fortunes of the population and of the +ruler of the country in general. The series also illustrates, perhaps +better than any other, the control exercised by popular beliefs over the +acts of the individual. For we may conclude, that if work on certain +days or traveling at certain periods or the appearance of certain +animals indicated something unfavorable to a man, he would studiously +avoid bringing misfortune upon himself and observe the precautions +involved in the interpretation of the vast mass of the accidents and +incidents of existence. The task was a difficult one, indeed, impossible +of being carried out to perfection, but this would not hinder him from +making the attempt. He was satisfied if he warded off at least a fair +number of unfavorable omens. Correspondingly, he would endeavor to so +regulate his course as to encounter as large a number as possible of +omens that were favorable to him. In this way his life would be spent +with a constant thought of the gods and spirits, who controlled all +things in this world. The popular belief in omens made it incumbent upon +the individual not to lose sight at any time of his dependence upon +powers over which he had but a limited control. + +A certain phase of his religion thus entered largely into his life. That +phase would occupy him by day and by night. It was a part of his +religion which literally engaged him "upon lying down at night, and upon +rising up, while sitting in the house, and while walking on the way." +If, despite all his efforts, misfortune came,--and misfortunes, of +course, came constantly,--there was no other recourse but to throw +himself upon the mercy of some god or gods. The gods, especially Marduk, +Ishtar, Shamash, and Ramman, by putting 'grace' into the omens, could at +any time change them into favorable indications. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[548] Illustrated by the four volumes of Bezold's _Catalogue of the +Koujunjik_, Collection of the British Museum (London, 1889-96). + +[549] _Vorgeschichte der Indo-Europaer_, pp. 221 _seq_. + +[550] _E.g._, IIIR. 51. + +[551] _Ib._ no. 1. + +[552] The 1st month of the year. + +[553] IIIR. 51. no. 2. + +[554] _Ib._ no. 3. + +[555] IIIR. 51, no. 9. + +[556] _Ib._ no. 7. + +[557] What the station of this official was we are not told. + +[558] IIIR. 58, no. 7. + +[559] Lit., 'true speech in the mouth of the people,' _i.e._, there will +be no sedition. + +[560] IIIR. 58, no. 7. + +[561] _Ib._ no. 6. + +[562] Are not seen at the same time. + +[563] His decision will be wise. + +[564] Safe from attacks. + +[565] IIIR. 58, no. 13. + +[566] _Ib._ no. 12. + +[567] This appears to be the unusual occurrence involved. + +[568] See above, pp. 281, 332. + +[569] IIIR. 58, no. 14. + +[570] _I.e._, contrary to calculation. + +[571] The shadow. + +[572] Favorable to Elam (so Oppert translates). + +[573] 9th month. + +[574] IIIR. 51, no. 5. + +[575] 11th month. + +[576] IIIR. 59, no. 13. + +[577] Some palace official is mentioned. + +[578] _E.g._, IIIR. 52, no. 2; 60 and 61. Professor Craig of the +University of Michigan is now preparing for publication all the +fragments of this series. (See his _Assyrian and Babylonian Religious +Texts_, ii. 7.) + +[579] IIIR. 60. The first eleven lines are broken off. + +[580] _I.e._, of the night. The night, it will be recalled, was divided +into three watches of four hours each. + +[581] Lit., a 'divine decision (or oracle) is given.' + +[582] An island near the head of the Persian Gulf, often referred to in +the historical texts. See Tiele, _Babyl.-Assyr. Gesch._ p. 88, etc. + +[583] Under the same circumstances. + +[584] Lit., 'cattle'; but cattle appears to be used for 'property' in +general, just as our English word 'chattel.' + +[585] 5th month. + +[586] Under the same circumstances. + +[587] Lit., Nergal--the personification of pestilence and death. + +[588] Repeated in the text by an error of the scribe. + +[589] III R. 60, col. ii. 90 to col. iii. 24. + +[590] _I.e._, there will be war. One is reminded of the modern +superstition which associates war with the 'northern light' in the +heavens. + +[591] _I.e._, there will be sedition. + +[592] So a variant text. + +[593] _I.e._, will play havoc with the Inhabitants of the deep. + +[594] _I.e._, there will be peace. + +[595] See the chapter on "The Temples of Babylonia and Assyria." + +[596] See Jensen, _Kosmologie der Babylonier_, pp. 134-139. + +[597] IIIR. 63. + +[598] Lit., "delayed in the heavens." + +[599] Tablet defective. + +[600] _I.e._, there is war. + +[601] Intercalated month. + +[602] _I.e._, it is a good sign. + +[603] Tablet defective. + +[604] Text erroneously 'one month.' + +[605] See above, p. 183. + +[606] See Ihering, _Vorgeschichte der Indo-Europaer_, pp. 182 _seq._ + +[607] See _The Golden Bough_, passim. + +[608] IV Rawlinson, pls. 32, 33. + +[609] _I.e._, the Intercalated Elul. After the 6th month (Elul) and +after the 12th (Adar), a month was intercalated at certain intervals in +order to bring the solar and lunar years into conjunction. + +[610] Lit., 'raising of his hand to a god'--the attitude in prayer. + +[611] Text erroneously 'mistress.' + +[612] Here and elsewhere Ishtar is used in a generic sense for 'chief +goddess'; in the present case Sarpanitum. See above, pp. 82, 151, 206. + +[613] 'Belit,' as 'mistress' in general. + +[614] Lit., 'place of secrecy,' the reference being to that portion of +the temple where the god sat enthroned. + +[615] _I.e._, of the palace. + +[616] _I.e._, upon one's enemies. + +[617] Isaiah, lviii. 13. + +[618] Meat, just as wine, was considered at all times a symbol of joy in +the Orient. + +[619] Perhaps also the 24th. + +[620] V Rawlinson, pls. 48, 49. + +[621] The plural is used, but in a collective sense. + +[622] The Euphrates or Tigris is no doubt meant. + +[623] IIIR. 52, no. 3, reverse. + +[624] The most extensive publication of omens is Boissier's _Documents +Assyriens Relatifs aux Présages_, of which two volumes have appeared. +Boissier's method of publication is not altogether satisfactory. + +[625] _Introduction to the History of Religions_, pp. 28-35. + +[626] A particularly bad omen. See IIIR. 65, 22, obverse. + +[627] Boissler, _Documents Assyriens Relatifs aux Présages_, pp. 110 +_seq._ Boissier has published portions of some twenty tablets of the +series, _ib._ pp. 110-181. + +[628] _I.e._, will not suffer. + +[629] The phrase used is obscure. My translation is offered as a +conjecture. + +[630] _I.e._, an enemy will keep the land in turmoil. + +[631] _I.e._, like a lion. Elsewhere the preposition 'like' is used. + +[632] Where the child is born. + +[633] A solar deity; see above, p. 99. Reference to minor deities are +frequent in these omen texts. + +[634] The reference appears to be to some misfortune that will be +brought about through the solar deity Gilgamesh. + +[635] Boissier, _Documents, etc._, pp. 118-120. + +[636] _I.e._, only two. + +[637] Between the two heads, _I.e._, the hands and feet are misplaced. + +[638] IIIR. 65, no. 1. + +[639] Abnormally small. + +[640] _I.e._, the father or master. + +[641] The Egyptians carried the observation and interpretation of omens +to quite as high a degree as the Babylonians and Assyrians. See, _e.g._, +Chabas, _Mélanges Égyptologiques_, 3^e série, tome ii.; Wiedemann's +_Religion of Ancient Egypt_, p. 263. + +[642] Lenormant, _Choix des Textes Cuneiformes_, no. 87. + +[643] Occurring at the end of the fourth tablet, as an aid for the +correct arrangement of the series. IIIR 65, no. 1, reverse, l. 28. + +[644] Lit., 'stall,' which includes sheep, oxen, and swine. + +[645] Boissier, _Documents, etc._, pp. 132, 133. + +[646] _I.e._, the owner of the stall. A variant reads 'king' instead of +'man.' + +[647] _I.e._, misplaced. + +[648] In Babylonian, 'ear' is a synonym of 'understanding.' + +[649] Still further misplaced. + +[650] Where the young one was born. + +[651] _I.e._, the flocks. + +[652] Boissler's text has 'man,'--probably in error for 'king.' + +[653] IIIR. 65, no. 2, obverse. + +[654] Of the master. + +[655] Lit., 'cut off.' + +[656] Of the owner. + +[657] The wife of the owner of the mare appears to be meant. + +[658] See above, p. 138. + +[659] See Jevons, _Introduction to the History of Religion_, chapters +vi.-ix. + +[660] Robertson Smith; _Religion of the Semites_, pp. 143, 273. + +[661] Lenormant, _Choix des Textes Cuneiformes,_ no. 89; Boissier, +_Documents, etc._, p. 104. + +[662] _I.e._, the ruler of the palace. + +[663] Lit., 'dark colored.' + +[664] 'Not,' perhaps omitted. + +[665] Boissier, p. 103. + +[666] By vomiting on him. + +[667] Out of which one eats. + +[668] _I.e._, keep away from it. + +[669] See p. 182. + +[670] According to Hilprecht (_Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, I. part 2, +p. 35), 'a goose or similar water-bird' was originally pictured by the +sign, though he admits that the picture was 'later' used for swallow. + +[671] _Vorgeschichte der Indo-Europaer,_ pp. 451-55. + +[672] The term used is _Unagga_, Bezold's _Catalogue of the Koujunjik +Collection_, p. 1841. See Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 153. + +[673] Bezold, _Catalogue_, p. 1710. + +[674] Boissier, _Documents, etc_., pp. 3, 4. + +[675] Bezold, _Catalogue_, pp. 1437, 1438. + +[676] Bezold, _ib._ p. 918. + +[677] _I.e._, over him. + +[678] Chapter ii. 4-6. + +[679] Chapter ii. 31-35, and vii. 2-12. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +THE COSMOLOGY OF THE BABYLONIANS. + + +Various traditions were current in Babylonia regarding the manner in +which the universe came into existence. The labors of the theologians to +systematize these traditions did not succeed in bringing about their +unification. Somewhat like in the Book of Genesis, where two versions of +the creation story have been combined by some editor,[680] so portions +of what were clearly two independent versions have been found among the +remains of Babylonian literature. But whereas in the Old Testament the +two versions are presented in combination so as to form a harmonic +whole, the two Babylonian versions continued to exist side by side. +There is no reason to suppose that the versions were limited to two. In +fact, a variant to an important episode in the creation story has been +discovered which points to a third version.[681] + +The suggestion has been thrown out that these various versions arose in +the various religious centers of the Euphrates Valley. So far as the +editing of the versions is concerned, the suggestion is worthy of +consideration, for it is hardly reasonable to suppose that the +theological schools of one and the same place should have developed more +than one cosmological system. The traditions themselves, however, apart +from the literary form which they eventually assumed, need not have been +limited to certain districts nor have been peculiar to the place where +the systematization took place. Nothing is more common than the +interchange of myths and popular traditions. They travel from one place +to the other, and contradictory accounts of one and the same event may +be circulated, and find credence in one and the same place. + +The two distinct Babylonian versions of the creation of the world that +have up to the present time been found, have come to us in a fragmentary +form. Of the one, indeed, only some forty lines exist, and these are +introduced incidentally in an incantation text;[682] of the other +version, portions of six tablets[683] have been recovered; while of two +fragments it is doubtful[684] whether they belong to this same version +or represent a third version, as does certainly a fragment containing a +variant account of the episode described in the fourth tablet of the +larger group. The fragments of the longer version--in all 23--enable us +to form a tolerably complete picture of the Babylonian cosmology, and +with the help of numerous allusions in historical, religious and +astronomical texts and in classical writers, we can furthermore fill out +some of the gaps. + +Taking up the longer version, which must for the present serve as our +chief source for the cosmology of the Babylonians, it is important to +note at the outset that the series constitutes, in reality, a grand hymn +in honor of Marduk. The account of the beginning of things and of the +order of creation is but incidental to an episode which is intended to +illustrate the greatness of Marduk, the head of the Babylonian pantheon. +This episode is the conquest of a great monster known as Tiâmat,--a +personification, as we shall see, of primaeval chaos. What follows upon +this episode, likewise turns upon the overshadowing personality of +Marduk. This prominence given to Marduk points of course to Babylon as +the place where the early traditions received their literary form. +Instead of designating the series as a 'Creation Epic' it would be quite +as appropriate to call it 'The Epic of Marduk.' + +The god of Babylon is the hero of the story. To him the creation of the +heavenly bodies is ascribed. It is he who brings order and light into +the world. He supplants the rôles originally belonging to other gods. +Bel and Ea give way to him. Anu and the other great gods cheerfully +acknowledge Marduk's power. The early traditions have all been colored +by the endeavor to glorify Marduk; and since Marduk is one of the latest +of the gods to come into prominence, we must descend some centuries +below Hammurabi before reaching a period when Marduk's position was so +generally recognized as to lead to a transformation of popular +traditions at the hands of the theologians. + +The evident purpose of the 'epic' to glorify Marduk also accounts for +the imperfect manner in which the creation of the universe is recounted. +Only the general points are touched upon. Many details are omitted which +in a cosmological epic, composed for the specific purpose of setting +forth the order of creation, would hardly have been wanting. In this +respect, the Babylonian version again resembles the Biblical account of +creation, which is similarly marked by its brevity, and is as +significant for its omissions as for what it contains. + +It but remains before passing on to an analysis of the 'epic' to note +the great care bestowed upon its literary form. This is evidenced not +only by the poetic diction, but by its metrical form,--a point to which +Budge was the first to direct attention[685] and which Zimmern[686] +clearly established. Each line consists of two divisions, and as a +general thing four or eight lines constitute a stanza. The principle of +parallelism, so characteristic of Biblical poetry, is also introduced, +though not consistently carried out. + +The epic was known from its opening words as the series 'when above.' +Through this name we are certain of possessing a portion of the first +tablet--but alas! only a portion. A fragment of fifteen lines and these +imperfectly preserved is all that has as yet been found. So far as +decipherable, it reads: + + There was a time when above the heaven was not named.[687] + Below, the earth bore no name. + Apsu was there, the original, their begettor,[2] + Mummu [and] Tiâmat, the mother of them all.[688] + But their waters[689] were gathered together in a mass. + No field was marked off, no marsh[690] was seen. + When none of the gods was as yet produced, + No name mentioned, no fate determined, + Then were created the gods in their totality. + Lakhmu and Lakhamu, were created. + Days went by[5] ... + Anshar and Kishar were created. + Many days elapsed[691] ... + Anu [Bel and Ea were created].[692] + Anshar, Anu (?) ... + +At this point the fragment breaks off. + +Brief as it is, it affords a clear view of the manner in which the +Babylonians regarded the beginning of things. Water was the primaeval +element. 'Apsu' is the personified great 'ocean'--the 'Deep' that covers +everything. With Apsu there is associated Tiâmat. Tiâmat is the +equivalent of the Hebrew T'hôm,[693] which occurs in the second verse of +the opening chapter of Genesis, and which is, like Apsu, the +personification of the 'watery deep.' Apsu and Tiâmat are, accordingly, +synonymous. The combination of the two may be regarded as due to the +introduction of the theological doctrine which we have seen plays so +prominent a part in the systematized pantheon, namely, the association +of the male and female principle in everything connected with activity +or with the life of the universe. Apsu represents the male and Tiâmat +the female principle of the primaeval universe. It does not follow from +this that the two conceptions are wholly dissociated from popular +traditions. Theological systems, it will be found, are always attached +at some point to popular and often to primitive beliefs. + +Tiâmat was popularly pictured as a huge monster of a forbidding aspect. +Traces of a similar conception connected with T'hôm are to be met with +in the poetry of the Old and New Testament.[694] The 'Rahab' and +'Leviathan' and the 'Dragon' of the apocalypse belong to the same order +of ideas that produced Tiâmat. All these monsters represent a popular +attempt to picture the chaotic condition that prevailed before the great +gods obtained control and established the order of heavenly and +terrestrial phenomena. The belief that water was the original element +existing in the universe and the 'source' of everything, may also have +had its rise in the popular mind. It was suggested in the Euphrates +Valley, in part, by the long-continued rainy season, as a result of +which the entire region was annually flooded. The dry land and +vegetation appeared, only after the waters had receded. The yearly +phenomenon brought home to the minds of the Babylonians, a picture of +primaeval chaos. + +In the schools of theology that arose with the advance of culture, these +two notions--water as the first element and a general conception of +chaos--were worked out with the result that Apsu and Tiâmat became +mythical beings whose dominion preceded that of the gods. Further than +this the questionings of the schoolmen did not go. They conceived of a +time when neither the upper firmament nor the dry land existed and when +the gods were not yet placed in control, but they could not conceive of +a time when there was 'nothing' at all. This cosmological theory which +we may deduce from the fragment of the first tablet of the creation +series is confirmed by the accounts that have come down to us--chiefly +through Damascius--of the treatment of the subject by Berosus.[695] +Damascius explicitly places the Babylonians among those nations who fail +to carry back the universe to an ultimate single source. There is +nothing earlier than the two beings--Apsu and Tiâmat.[696] + +The massing together of the primaeval waters completes the picture of +chaos in the cuneiform account. From the popular side, the commingling +corresponds to the _Tôhû wa Bôhû_ of the Book of Genesis, but for the +Babylonian theologians, this embrace of Apsu and Tiâmat becomes a symbol +of 'sexual' union.[697] As the outcome of this union, the gods are +produced. This dependence of the gods upon Apsu and Tiâmat is but +vaguely indicated. Another theory appears to have existed according to +which the gods were contemporaneous with primaeval chaos. The vagueness +may therefore be the result of a compromise between conflicting schools +of thought. However this may be, the moment that the gods appear, a +conflict ensues between them and Apsu-Tiâmat. This conflict represents +the evolution from chaos to order. But before taking up this phase of +the epic, a few words must be said as to the names of the gods +mentioned, and as to the order in which they occur. + +There are three classes of deities enumerated. The first two classes +consist, each, of a pair of deities while the third is the well-known +triad of the old Babylonian theology. Between the creation of each class +a long period elapses--a circumstance that may be regarded as an +evidence of the originally independent character of each class. Now it +has recently been shown[698] that Lakhamu is the feminine of Lakhmu. The +first class of deities is, therefore, an illustration again of the +conventional male and female principles introduced into the current +theology. While there are references to Lakhmu and Lakhamu in the +religious texts,[699] particularly in incantations, these two deities +play no part whatsoever in the active pantheon, as revealed by the +historical texts. In popular tradition,[700] Lakhmu survived as a name +of a mythical monster. + +Alexander Polyhistor[701] quotes Berosus as saying in his book on +Babylonia that the first result of the mixture of water and +chaos--_i.e._, of Apsu and Tiâmat--was the production of monsters partly +human, partly bestial. The winged bulls and lions that guarded the +approaches to temples and palaces are illustrations of this old notion, +and it is to this class of mythical beings that Lakhmu belongs. The +schools of theology, seizing hold of this popular tradition, add again +to Lakhmu a female mate and convert the tradition into a symbol of the +first step in the evolution of order out of the original chaos. Lakhmu +and Lakhamu are made to stand for an entire class of beings that are the +offspring of Apsu and Tiâmat. This class does not differ essentially +from Apsu and Tiâmat, nor from the 'Leviathan,' the 'Dragon,' the winged +serpents, and the winged bulls that are all emanations of the same order +of ideas. Accordingly, we find Lakhmu and Lakhamu associated with Tiâmat +when the conflict with the gods begins. They are products of chaos and +yet at the same time contemporary with chaos,--monsters not so fierce as +Tiâmat, but withal monsters who had to be subdued before the planets and +the stars, vegetation and man could appear. + +The introduction of Anshar and Kishar as intermediate between the +monsters and the triad of gods appears to be due entirely to the attempt +at theological systematization that clearly stamps the creation epic as +the conscious work of schoolmen, though shaped, as must always be borne +in mind, out of the material furnished by popular tradition. In +connection with the etymology and original form of the chief of the +Assyrian pantheon,[702] the suggestion was made that the introduction of +Anshar into the creation epic is a concession made to the prominence +that Ashur acquired in the north. We are now able to put this suggestion +in a more definite form. The pantheon of the north, as we have seen, was +derived from the south. Not that all the gods of the south are +worshipped in the north, but those that are worshipped in the north are +also found in the south, and originate there. The distinctive features +of Ashur are due to the political conditions that were developed in +Assyria, but the unfolding of the conceptions connected with this god +which make him the characteristic deity of Assyria, indeed, the only +distinctive Assyrian figure in the Assyrian pantheon, does not preclude +the possibility, of the southern origin of Ashur. + +If, as has been made plausible by Hommel, Nineveh, the later capital of +the Assyrian empire, represents a settlement made by inhabitants of a +Nineveh situated in the south, there is no reason why a southern deity +bearing the name Anshar should not have been transferred from the south +to the north. The attempt has been made[703] to explain the change from +Anshar to Ashur. The later name Ashur, because of its ominous character, +effectually effaced the earlier one in popular thought. The introduction +of the older form Anshar, not merely in the first tablet of the creation +series, but, as we shall presently see, elsewhere, confirms the view of +a southern origin for Ashur, and also points to the great antiquity of +the Anshar-Ashur cult. It is not uncommon to find colonies more +conservative in matters of religious thought and custom than the +motherland, and there is nothing improbable in the interesting +conclusion thus reached that Ashur, the head of an empire, so much later +in point of time than Babylonia, should turn out to be an older deity +than the chief personage in the Babylonian pantheon after the days of +Hammurabi. + +But while Anshar-Ashur under this view is a figure surviving from an +ancient period, he is transformed by association with a complementary +deity Kishar into a symbol, just as we have found to be the case with +Lakhmu. By a play upon his name, resting upon an arbitrary division of +Anshar into _An_ and _Shar_, the deity becomes the 'one that embraces +all that is above.' The element _An_ is the same that we have in _Anu_, +and is the 'ideographic'[704] form for 'high' and 'heaven.' _Shar_ +signifies 'totality' and has some connection with a well-known +Babylonian word for 'king.' The natural consort to an all-embracing +upper power is a power that 'embraces all that is below'; and since _Ki_ +is the ideographic form for 'earth,' it is evident that Ki-Shar is a +creation of the theologians, introduced in order to supply Anshar with +an appropriate associate. The two in combination represent a pair like +Lakhmu and Lakhamu. As the latter pair embrace the world of monsters, so +Anshar and Kishar stand in the theological system for the older order of +gods, a class of deities antecedent to the series of which Anu, Bel, and +Ea are the representatives. Besides the antiquity of Anshar and the +factor involved in the play upon the name, the prominence of the Ashur +cult in the north also entered into play (as already suggested) in +securing for Anshar-Ashur, a place in the systematized cosmology. The +Babylonian priests, while always emphasizing the predominance of Marduk, +could not entirely resist the influences that came to them from the +north. Ashur was not accorded a place in the Babylonian cult, but he +could not be ignored altogether. Moreover, Assyria had her priests and +schools, and we are permitted to see in the introduction of Anshar in +the creation epic, a concession that reflects the influence, no doubt +indirect, and in part perhaps unconscious, but for all that, the decided +influence of the north over the south. The part played by Anshar in the +most important episode of the creation epic will be found to further +strengthen this view.[705] + +Kishar, at all events, forms no part of either the Babylonian or of the +active Assyrian pantheon. She does not occur in historical or religious +texts. Her existence is purely theoretical--a creation of the schools +without any warrant in popular tradition, so far as we can see. A tablet +is fortunately preserved[706] (though only in part) which enables us to +come a step nearer towards determining the character of the series of +powers regarded as antecedent to the well-known deities. In this tablet, +no less than ten pairs of deities are enumerated that are expressly +noted as 'Father-mother of Anu,' that is, as antecedent to Anu.[707] +Among these we find Anshar and Kishar, and by their side, such pairs as +Anshar-gal, _i.e._, 'great totality of what is on high,' and Kishar-gal, +_i.e._, 'great totality of what is below,' Enshar and Ninshar, _i.e._, +'lord' and 'mistress,' respectively, of 'all there is,' Du'ar and Da'ur, +forms of a stem which may signify 'perpetuity,' Alala, _i.e._, +'strength,' and a consort Belili. Lakhmu and Lakhamu are also found in +the list. While some of the names are quite obscure, and the composition +of the list is due to the scholastic spirit emanating from the schools +of theology, the fact that some of the deities, as Alala, Belili, Lakhmu +and Lakhamu, occur in incantations shows that the theologians were +guided in part by dimmed traditions of some deities that were worshipped +prior to the ones whose cult became prominent in historic times. Anshar, +Alala, Belili, Lakhmu, and Du'ar were such deities. To each of these an +associate was given, in accord with the established doctrine of +'duality' that characterizes the more advanced of the ancient Semitic +cults in general. Others, like Anshar-gal and Enshar, seem to be pure +abstractions--perhaps only 'variants' of Anshar, and the number ten may +have some mystical significance that escapes us. So much, at all events, +seems certain that even the old Babylonian pantheon, as revealed by the +oldest historical texts, represents a comparatively advanced stage of +the religion when some still older gods had already yielded to others +and a system was already in part produced which left out of +consideration these older deities. This is indicated by the occurrence +of the triad Anu, Bel, and Ea as early as the days of Gudea,[708] and it +is this triad which in the creation epic follows upon the older series +symbolized by Anshar and Kishar. The later 'theology' found a solution +of the problem by assuming four series of deities represented by Apsu +and Tiâmat, by Lakhmu and Lakhamu, by Anshar and Kishar, and by the +triad Anu, Bel, and Ea. + +In a vague way, as we have seen, Apsu and Tiâmat are the progenitors of +Lakhmu and Lakhamu. The priority, again, of Lakhmu and Lakhamu, as well +as of Anshar and Kishar, is expressed by making them 'ancestors' of Anu, +Bel and Ea. While in the list above referred to, Lakhmu and Lakhamu are +put in a class with Anshar and Kishar, in the creation epic they form a +separate class, and Delitzsch has justly recognized,[709] in this +separation, the intention of the compilers to emphasize an advance in +the evolution of chaos to order, which is the keynote of the Babylonian +cosmology. Lakhmu and Lakhamu represent the 'monster' world where +creatures are produced in strange confusion, whereas Anshar and Kishar +indicate a division of the universe into two _distinct_ and sharply +defined parts. The splitting of 'chaos' is the first step towards its +final disappearance. + +The creation of Anshar and Kishar marks indeed the beginning of a severe +conquest which ends in the overthrow of Tiâmat, and while in the present +form of the epic, the contest is not decided before Anu, Bel, and Ea and +the chief deities of the historic pantheon are created, one can see +traces of an earlier form of the tradition in which Anshar--perhaps with +some associates--is the chief figure in the strife. + +Of the first tablet, we have two further fragments supplementing one +another, in which the beginnings of this terrible conflict are +described. With Apsu and Tiâmat there are associated a variety of +monsters who prepare themselves for the fray. The existence of these +associates shows that the 'epic' does not aim to account for the real +origin of things, but only for the origin of the _order_ of the +universe. At the beginning there was chaos, but 'chaos,' so far from +representing emptiness (as came to be the case under a monotheistic +conception of the universe) was on the contrary marked by a +superabundant fullness. + +Through Alexander Polyhistor,[710] as already mentioned, we obtain a +satisfactory description of this period of chaos as furnished by +Berosus. At the time when all was darkness and water, there flourished +strange monsters, human beings with wings, beings with two heads, male +and female, hybrid formations, half-man, half-animal, with horns of rams +and horses' hoofs, bulls with human faces, dogs with fourfold bodies +ending in fish tails, horses with heads of dogs, and various other +monstrosities. + +This account of Berosus is now confirmed by the cuneiform records. The +associates of Tiâmat are described in a manner that leaves no doubt as +to their being the monsters referred to. We are told that + + Ummu-Khubur,[711] the creator of everything, added + Strong warriors, creating great serpents, + Sharp of tooth, merciless in attack. + With poison in place of blood, she filled their bodies. + Furious vipers she clothed with terror, + Fitted them out with awful splendor, made them high of stature(?) + That their countenance might inspire terror and arouse horror, + Their bodies inflated, their attack irresistible. + She set up basilisks (?) great serpents and monsters[712] + A great monster, a mad dog, a scorpion-man + A raging monster, a fish-man, a great bull, + Carrying merciless weapons, not dreading battle. + +In all, eleven monstrous beings are created by Tiâmat for the great +conquest. At their head she places a being Kingu, whom she raises to the +dignity of a consort. + +The formal installation of Kingu is described as follows: + + She raised Kingu among them to be their chief. + To march at the head of the forces, to lead the assembly. + To command the weapons to strike, to give the orders for the fray. + To be the first in war, supreme in triumph. + She ordained him and clothed him with authority (?). + +Tiâmat then addresses Kingu directly: + + Through my word to thee, I have made thee the greatest among the gods. + The rule over all the gods I have placed in thy hand. + The greatest shalt thou be, thou, my consort, my only one. + +Tiâmat thereupon + + Gives him the tablets of fate, hangs them on his breast, and + dismisses him. + 'Thy command be invincible, thy order authoritative.'[713] + +The plan of procedure, it would appear, is the result of a council of +war held by Apsu and Tiâmat, who feel themselves powerless to carry on +the contest by themselves. The portion of the tablet[714] in which this +council is recounted is in so bad a condition that but little can be +made out of it. Associated with Apsu and Tiâmat in council, is a being +Mummu, and since Damascius expressly notes on the direct authority of +Berosus that Apsu and Tiâmat produced a son Moumis,[715] there is every +reason to believe that Mummu represents this offspring. In the +subsequent narrative, however, neither Apsu nor Mummu play any part. +Tiâmat has transferred to Kingu and the eleven monsters all authority, +and it is only after they are defeated that Tiâmat--but Tiâmat +alone--enters the fray. + +The rage of Tiâmat is directed against Anshar, Kishar, and their +offspring. Anu, Bel, and Ea, while standing at the head of the latter, +are not the only gods introduced. When the contest begins, all the great +gods and also the minor ones are in existence. + +The cause of Tiâmat's rage is indicated, though vaguely, in the portions +preserved. In the opening lines of the epic there is a reference to the +time 'when fates were not yet decided.' The decision of fates is in the +Babylonian theology one of the chief functions of the gods. It +constitutes the mainspring of their power. To decide fates is +practically to control the arrangement of the universe--to establish +order. It is this function which arouses the natural opposition of +Tiâmat and her brood, for Tiâmat feels that once the gods are in +control, her sway must come to an end. On the part of the gods there is +great terror. They are anxious to conciliate Tiâmat and are not actuated +by any motives of rivalry. Order is not aggressive. It is chaos which +manifests opposition to 'order.' In the second tablet of the series, +Anshar sends his son Anu with a message to Tiâmat: + + Go and step before Tiâmat. + May her liver be pacified, her heart softened. + +Anu obeys, but at the sight of Tiâmat's awful visage takes flight. It is +unfortunate that the second tablet is so badly preserved. We are +dependent largely upon conjecture for what follows the failure of Anu's +mission. From references in subsequent tablets, it seems certain that +Anshar sends out Ea as a second messenger and that Ea also fails. Tiâmat +is determined upon destroying the gods, or at least upon keeping from +them the 'decision of fates.' Anshar, it will be seen, stands at the +head of the pantheon, and it seems natural that he, and not one of his +offspring, should be the final victor. This indeed appears to have been +the original form of the myth or at least one form of it. In a second +form it was Bel to whom the victory was ascribed, and this Bel of the +triad, we have seen, was En-lil, the chief god of Nippur; but both +Anshar and Bel must give way to the patron deity of the city of +Babylon--Marduk. Anshar-Ashur, the head of the Assyrian pantheon, could +not be tolerated by the Babylonian priests as a power superior to +Marduk. On the other hand, Anshar could not be set aside, for he +survived in popular tradition. The result is a compromise. Marduk gains +the victory over Tiâmat, but is commissioned to do so by the assembly of +the gods, including Anshar. As for the older Bel, he voluntarily +transfers to Marduk his name. In this way, the god Bel of the triad +becomes one with Marduk. + +Perhaps in one religious center and at a time when Ea was the chief god, +still another version existed which assigned the triumph to Ea, for as +will be pointed out, traditions waver between assigning to Ea or to +Bel-Marduk so fundamental a function as the creation of mankind. In +short, the present form of the creation epic is 'eclectic' and embodies +what the Germans call a _tendenz_. To each of the great gods, Anshar, +Anu, Bel, and Ea, some part in the contest is assigned, but the greatest +rôle belongs to Marduk. + +The second tablet closes with Anshar's decision to send his son Marduk +against Tiâmat: + + Marduk heard the word of his father. + His heart rejoiced and to his father he spoke. + +With joyous heart he is ready to proceed to the contest, but he at once +makes good his claim to supreme control in case he is victorious. He +addresses the assembled gods: + + When I shall have become your avenger, + Binding Tiâmat and saving your life, + Then come in a body, + In Ubshu-kenna,[716] let yourselves down joyfully, + My authority instead of yours will assume control, + Unchangeable shall be whatever I do, + Irrevocable and irresistible, be the command of my lips. + +The declaration foreshadows the result. + +The third tablet is taken up with the preliminaries for the great +contest, and is interesting chiefly because of the insight it affords us +into Babylonian methods of literary composition. Anshar sends Gaga[717] +to the hostile camp with the formal announcement of Marduk's readiness +to take up the cause of the gods. Gaga does not face Tiâmat directly, +but leaves the message with Lakhmu and Lakhamu: + + Go Gaga, messenger (?) joy of my liver, + To Lakhmu and Lakhamu I will send thee. + +The message proper begins as follows: + + Anshar your son has sent me, + The desire of his heart he has entrusted to me. + Tiâmat, our mother is full of hate towards us, + With all her might she is bitterly enraged. + +The eleven associates that Tiâmat has ranged on her side are again +enumerated, together with the appointment of Kingu as chief of the +terror-inspiring army. Gaga comes to Lakhmu and Lakhamu and delivers the +message verbatim, so that altogether this portion of the narrative is +repeated no less than four times.[718] The same tendency towards +repetition is met with in the Gilgamesh epic and in the best of the +literary productions of Babylonia. It may be ascribed to the influence +exerted by the religious hymns and incantations where repetition, as we +have seen, is also common, though serving a good purpose. + +The message concludes: + + I sent Anu, he could not endure her[719] presence. + Ea[720] was afraid and took to flight. + Marduk has stepped forward, the chief of the gods, your son, + To proceed against Tiâmat, he has set his mind. + +Marduk's declaration is then repeated. + +Upon hearing the message Lakhmu and Lakhamu and "all the Igigi"[721] are +distressed, but are powerless to avert the coming disaster. The formal +declaration of war having been sent, the followers of Anshar assemble at +a meal which is realistically described: + + They ate bread, they drank wine. + The sweet wine took away their senses. + They became drunk, and their bodies swelled up. + +With this description the third tablet closes. + +The meal symbolizes the solemn gathering of the gods. At its conclusion, +so it would seem, Marduk is formally installed as the leader to proceed +against Tiâmat. The gods vie with one another in showering honors upon +Marduk. They encourage him for the fight by praising his unique powers: + + Thou art honored among the great gods, + Thy destiny is unique, thy command is Anu.[722] + Marduk, thou art honored among the great gods, + Thy destiny is unique, thy command is Anu, + Henceforth thy order is absolute. + To elevate and to lower is in thy hands, + What issues from thee is fixed, thy order cannot be opposed, + None among the gods may trespass upon thy dominion. + + ... + + Thy weapons will never be vanquished; they will shatter thy enemies. + O lord! grant life to him who trusts in thee, + But destroy the life of the god who plots evil. + +As a proof of the power thus entrusted to Marduk, the gods give the +latter a 'sign.' Marduk performs a miracle. A garment is placed in the +midst of the gods. + + Command that the dress disappear! + Then command that the dress return! + +Marduk proceeds to the test. + + As he gave the command, the dress disappeared. + He spoke again and the dress was there. + +This 'sign,' which reminds one of Yahwe's signs to Moses as a proof of +the latter's power,[723] is to be regarded as an indication that +"destruction and creation" are in Marduk's hands. The gods rejoice at +the exhibition of Marduk's power. In chorus they exclaim, "Marduk is +king." The insignia of royalty, throne, sceptre, and authority are +conferred upon him. + + Now go against Tiâmat, cut off her life, + Let the winds carry her blood to hidden regions.[724] + +Marduk thereupon fashions his weapons for the fray. Myth and realism are +strangely intertwined in the description of these weapons. Bow and +quiver, the lance and club are mentioned, together with the storm and +the lightning flash. In addition to this he + + Constructs a net wherewith to enclose the life of Tiâmat. + The four winds he grasped so that she could not escape.[725] + The south and north winds, the east and west winds + He brought to the net, which was the gift of his father Anu. + +His outfit is not yet complete. + + He creates a destructive wind, a storm, a hurricane, + Making of the four winds, seven[726] destructive and fatal ones; + Then he let loose the winds he created, the seven, + To destroy the life[727] of Tiâmat, they followed after him. + +Marduk, taking his most powerful weapon in his hand,[728] mounts his +chariot, which is driven by fiery steeds. The picture thus furnished of +the god, standing upright in his chariot, with his weapons hung about +him and the seven winds following in his wake, is most impressive. + +He makes straight for the hostile camp. The sight of the god inspires +terror on all sides. + + The lord comes nearer with his eye fixed upon Tiâmat, + Piercing with his glance (?) Kingu her consort. + +Kingu starts back in alarm. He cannot endure the 'majestic halo' which +surrounds Marduk. Kingu's associates--the monsters--are terrified at +their leader's discomfiture. Tiâmat alone does not lose her courage. + +Marduk, brandishing his great weapon, addresses Tiâmat: + + Why hast thou set thy mind upon stirring up destructive contest? + +He reproaches her for the hatred she has shown towards the gods, and +boldly calls her out to the contest: + + Stand up! I and thou, come let us fight. + +Tiâmat's rage at this challenge is superbly pictured: + + When Tiâmat heard these words + She acted as possessed, her senses left her; + Tiâmat shrieked wild and loud, + Trembling and shaking down to her foundations. + She pronounced an incantation, uttered her sacred formula. + +Marduk is undismayed: + + Then Tiâmat and Marduk, chief of the gods, advanced towards one + another. + They advanced to the contest, drew nigh for fight. + +The fight and discomfiture of Tiâmat are next described: + + The lord spread out his net in order to enclose her. + The destructive wind, which was behind him, he sent forth into her + face. + As Tiâmat opened her mouth full wide, + He[729] drove in the destructive wind, so that she could not close + her lips. + The strong winds inflated her stomach. + Her heart was beset,[730] she opened still wider her mouth,[731] + He seized the spear and plunged it into her stomach, + He pierced her entrails, he tore through her heart, + He seized hold of her and put an end to her life, + He threw down her carcass and stepped upon her. + +The method employed by Marduk is so graphically described that no +comment is necessary. After having vanquished Tiâmat, the valiant Marduk +attacks her associates. They try to flee, but he captures them +all--including Kingu--without much difficulty and puts them into his +great net. Most important of all, he tears the tablets of fate from +Kingu and places them on his breast. This act marks the final victory. +Henceforth, the gods with Marduk--and no longer Tiâmat and her +brood--decree the fate of the universe. There is great rejoicing among +the gods, who heap presents and offerings upon Marduk. As the vanquisher +of chaos, Marduk is naturally singled out to be the establisher of the +fixed form and order of the universe. The close of the fourth tablet +describes this work of the god, and the subject is continued in the +following ones. Unfortunately, these tablets are badly preserved, so +that we are far from having a complete view of the various acts of +Marduk. He begins by taking the carcass of Tiâmat and cutting it in +half. + + He cuts her like one does a flattened fish into two halves. + +Previous to this he had trampled upon her and smashed her skull, as we +are expressly told, so that the comparison of the monster, thus pressed +out, to a flattened fish is appropriate. + +He splits her lengthwise. + + The one half he fashioned as a covering for the heavens, + Attaching a bolt and placing there a guardian, + With orders not to permit the waters to come out. + +It is evident that the canopy of heaven is meant. Such is the enormous +size of Tiâmat that one-half of her body flattened out so as to serve as +a curtain, is stretched across the heavens to keep the 'upper +waters'--'the waters above the firmament' as the Book of Genesis puts +it--from coming down. To ensure the execution of this design, a bolt is +drawn in front of the canopy and a guardian placed there, like at a city +wall, to prevent any one or anything from coming out. + +This act corresponds closely to the creation of a "firmament" in the +first chapter of Genesis. The interpretation is borne out by the +statement of Alexander Polyhistor who, quoting from Berosus, states that +out of one-half of Tiâmat the heavens were made.[732] The further +statement that out of the other half the earth was fashioned is not +definitely stated in our version of the creation. The narrative proceeds +as follows: + + He passed through the heavens, he inspected the expanse.[733] + +To understand this phrase, we must consider the general character of the +"epic," which is, as we have already seen, a composite production, +formed of popular elements and of more advanced speculations. The +popular element is the interpretation of the storms and rains that +regularly visit the Euphrates Valley before the summer season sets in, +as a conflict between a monster and the solar deity Marduk. After a +struggle, winds at last drive the waters back; Tiâmat is vanquished by +the entrance of the 'bad wind' into her body. The sun appears in the +heavens and runs across the expanse, passing in his course over the +entire vault. The conflict, which in the scholastic system of the +theologians is placed at the beginning of things, is in reality a +phenomenon of annual occurrence. The endeavor to make Marduk more than +what he originally was--a solar deity--leads to the introduction of a +variety of episodes that properly belong to a different class of +deities. For all that, the original rôle of Marduk is not obscured. +Marduk's passage across the heavens is a trace of the popular phases of +the nature myth, and while in one sense, it is appropriately introduced +after the fashioning of the expanse, it more properly follows +immediately upon the conflict with Tiâmat. In short, we have reached a +point in the narrative where the nature myth symbolizing the annual +succession of the seasons blends with a cosmological system which is the +product of comparatively advanced schools of thought, in such a manner +as to render it difficult to draw the line where myth ends and +cosmological system begins. For the moment, the nature myth controls the +course of the narrative. The sun, upon running its course across the +heavens, appears to drop into the great ocean, which the Babylonians, in +common with many ancient nations, imagined to surround and to pass +underneath the earth. + +Hence the next act undertaken by Marduk is the regulation of the course +of this subterranean sea. The name given to this sea was Apsu. Marduk +however does not create the Apsu. It is in existence at the beginning of +things, but he places it under the control of Ea. + + In front of Apsu, he prepared the dwelling of Nu-dimmud.[734] + +This Apsu, as we learn from other sources,[735] flows on all sides of +the earth, and since it also fills the hollow under the earth, the +latter in reality rests upon the Apsu. Ea is frequently called "the lord +of Apsu," but the creation epic, in assigning to Marduk the privilege of +preparing the dwelling of Ea, reverses the true order of things, which +may still be seen in the common belief that made Marduk the son of Ea. +Marduk, the sun rising up out of the ocean, becomes the offspring of Ea, +and even the political supremacy of Marduk could not set aside the +prerogatives of Ea in the popular mind. In the cosmological system, +however, as developed in the schools, such an attempt was made. While +recognizing the 'deep' as the domain of Ea, the theologians saved +Marduk's honor by having him take a part in fixing Ea's dwelling and in +determining its limitations. + +With the carcass of Tiâmat stretched across the upper firmament and +safely guarded, and with the Apsu under control, the way is clear for +the formation of the earth. This act in the drama of creation is +referred to in the following lines, though in a manner, that is not free +from obscurity. The earth is pictured as a great structure placed over +the Apsu and corresponding in dimension with it--at least in one +direction. + + The lord measured out the structure of Apsu. + Corresponding to it, he fashioned a great structure[736] Esharra. + +Esharra is a poetical designation of the earth and signifies, as Jensen +has satisfactorily shown, "house of fullness"[737] or "house of +fertility." The earth is regarded as a great structure, and placed as it +is over the Apsu, its size is dependent upon the latter. Its measurement +from one end to the other cannot exceed the width of the Apsu, nor can +it be any narrower. The ends of the earth span the great Apsu. The +following line specifies the shape given to Esharra: + + The great structure Esharra, which he made as a heavenly vault. + +The earth is not a sphere according to Babylonian ideas, but a hollow +hemisphere having an appearance exactly like the vault of heaven, but +placed in position beneath the heavenly canopy. As a hemisphere it +suggests the picture of a mountain, rising at one end, mounting to a +culminating point, and descending at the other end. Hence by the side of +Esharra, another name by which the earth was known was Ekur, that is, +'the mountain house.' + +Diodorus Seculus, in speaking of the Babylonian cosmology, employs a +happy illustration. He says that according to Babylonian notions the +world is a "boat turned upside down." The kind of boat meant is, as +Lenormant recognized,[738] the deep-bottomed round skiff with curved +edges that is still used for carrying loads across and along the +Euphrates and Tigris, the same kind of boat that the compilers of +Genesis had in view when describing Noah's Ark. The appearance in +outline thus presented by the three divisions of the universe--the +heavens, the earth, and the waters--would be that of two heavy rainbows, +one beneath the other at some distance apart, resting upon a large body +of water that flows around the horizons of both rainbows, and also fills +the hollow of the second one.[739] The upper 'rainbow' is formed by +one-half of the carcass of Tiâmat stretched across in semi-circular +shape; the lower one is the great structure Esharra made by Marduk, +while the Apsu underneath is the dwelling of Ea. The creation epic, it +may be noted once more, takes much for granted. Its chief aim being to +glorify Marduk, but little emphasis is laid upon details of interest to +us. The parcelling out of these three divisions among Anu, Bel, and Ea +is therefore merely alluded to in the closing line of the fourth tablet: + + He established the districts[740] of Anu, Bel, and Ea. + +The narrative assumes what we know from other sources, that the heavens +constitute the domain of Anu, Esharra belongs to Bel, while Apsu belongs +to Ea. + +The mention of the triad takes us away from popular myth to the +scholastic system as devised by the theologians. The establishment of +the triad in full control marks the introduction of fixed order into the +universe. All traces of Tiâmat have disappeared. Anu, Bel, and Ea +symbolize the eternal laws of the universe. + +There are, as we have seen, two factors involved in the rôle assigned to +Marduk in the version of the creation epic under consideration,--one the +original character of the god as a solar deity, the other the later +position of the god as the head of the Babylonian pantheon. In the +'epic,' the fight of Marduk with Tiâmat belongs to Marduk as a solar +deity. The myth is based, as was above suggested,[741] upon the annual +phenomenon witnessed in Babylonia when the whole valley is flooded and +storms sweep across the plains. The sun is obscured. A conflict is going +on between the waters and storms, on the one hand, and the sun, on the +other hand. The latter finally is victorious. Marduk subdues Tiâmat, +fixes limitations to the 'upper and lower waters,' and triumphantly +marches across the heavens from one end to the other, as general +overseer. + +This nature myth was admirably adapted to serve as the point of +departure for the enlargement of the rôle of Marduk, rendered necessary +by the advancement of the god to the head of the pantheon. Everything +had to be ascribed to Marduk. Not merely humanity, but the gods also had +to acknowledge, and acknowledge freely, the supremacy of Marduk. + +The solar deity thus becomes a power at whose command the laws of the +universe are established, the earth created and all that is on it. In +thus making Marduk the single creator, the theologians were as much +under the influence of Marduk's political supremacy, as they helped to +confirm that supremacy by their system. With this object in view, the +annual phenomenon was transformed into an account of what happened 'once +upon a time.' + +What impressed the thinkers most in the universe was the regular working +of the laws of nature. Ascribing these laws to Marduk, they naturally +pictured the beginnings of things as a lawless period. Into the old and +popular Marduk-Tiâmat nature myth, certain touches were thus introduced +that changed its entire character. This once done, it was a +comparatively simple matter to follow up the conflict of Marduk and +Tiâmat by a series of acts on Marduk's part, completing the work of +general creation. The old nature myth ended with the conquest of the +rains and storm and the establishment of the sun's regular course, +precisely as the deluge story in Genesis, which contains echoes of the +Marduk-Tiâmat myth, ends with the promulgation of the fixed laws of the +universe.[742] + +What follows upon this episode in the Babylonian epic is the elaboration +of the central theme, worked out in the schools of Babylonian thought +and intended, on the one hand, to illustrate Marduk's position as +creator and, on the other, to formulate the details of the cosmological +system. + +With the fifth tablet, therefore, we leave the domain of popular myth +completely and pass into the domain of cosmological speculation. +Fragmentary as the fifth tablet is, enough is preserved to show that it +assumes the perfection of the zodiacal system of the Babylonian schools +and the complete regulation[743] of the calendar. In this zodiacal +system, as has been intimated and as will be more fully set forth in a +special chapter, the planets and stars are identified with the gods. The +gods have their 'stations' and their 'pictures' in the starry sky. The +stars are the 'drawings' or 'designs of heaven.' It is Marduk again who +is represented as arranging these stations: + + He established the stations for the great gods.[744] + The stars, their likeness,[745] he set up as constellations.[746] + He fixed the year and marked the divisions.[747] + The twelve months he divided among three stars. + From the beginning of the year till the close (?) + He established the station of Nibir[748] to indicate their boundary. + So that there might be no deviation nor wandering away from the course + He established with him,[749] the stations of Bel and Ea. + +An epitome of the astronomical science of the Babylonians is comprised +in these lines. The gods being identified with stars and each of the +latter having its place in the heavens 'to establish the stations for +the great gods' is equivalent to putting the stars in position. The +regulation of the year forms part of the astronomical science. The three +stars that constitute 'divisions' to aid in marking off the months are +Nibir, Bel, and Ea. That the Babylonians had such a system as is here +outlined is confirmed by Diodorus Seculus.[750] The position of Nibir, +or Jupiter, whose course keeps closer to the ecliptic than that of any +other planet, served as an important guide in calendrical calculations. +The stars are represented as clinging to their course through +maintaining their relationship to Nibir, while at the side of Nibir and +as additional guides, Bel is identified with the north pole of the +equator and Ea with a star in the extreme southern heavens, to be sought +for, perhaps, in the constellation Argo. The description concludes: + + He attached large gates to both sides, + Made the bolt secure to the left and right. + +The heavens are thus made firm by two gates, fastened with bolts and +placed at either end. Through one of these gates the sun passes out in +the morning, and at evening enters into the other. But the most +important body in the heavens is the moon. Its functions are described +in an interesting way: + + In the midst[751] he made the zenith[752] (?) + Nannar[753] he caused to go forth and handed over to him[5] the night. + He fixed him[754] as the luminary of night to mark off the days. + +The passage is made clear by a reference to the Book of Genesis, i. 16, +where we are told that the moon was created 'for the rule of night.' A +distinction between the Biblical and the cuneiform cosmology at this +point is no less significant. While according to Babylonian ideas, the +moon alone, or at most the moon with the stars, regulates the days, the +Hebrew version makes the moon and sun together the basis for the +regulation of the 'days and years.' The sun according to Babylonian +notions does not properly belong to the heavens, since it passes daily +beyond the limits of the latter. The sun, therefore, plays an +insignificant part in the calendrical system in comparison with the +moon. + +Marduk addresses the moon, specifying its duties, what position it is to +occupy towards the sun at certain periods during the monthly course, and +the like. The tablet at this point becomes defective, and before the +address comes to an end, we are left entirely in the lurch. To speculate +as to the further contents of the fifth tablet and of the sixth (of +which nothing has as yet been found) seems idle. Zimmern supposes that +after the heavenly phenomena had been disposed of, the formation of the +dry land and of the seas was taken up, and Delitzsch is of the opinion +that in the sixth tablet the creation of plants and trees and animals +was also recounted. I venture to question whether the creation of the +'dry land and seas' was specifically mentioned. Esharra, the earth, is +in existence and the Apsu appears to include all waters, but that the +epic treated of the creation of plant and animal life and then of the +creation of man is eminently likely. We have indeed a fragment of a +tablet[755] in which the creation of the 'cattle of the field, beasts of +the field, and creeping things of the field' is referred to; but since +it is the 'gods who in unison' are there represented as having created +the animal kingdom, it is hardly likely that the fragment forms part of +our 'epic' in which all deeds are ascribed to Marduk. It belongs in all +probability to a different cosmological version, but so much can be +concluded from it, that the Babylonians ascribed the creation of animals +to some divine power or powers; and that therefore our 'epic' must have +contained a section in which this act was assigned to Marduk. + +A similar variation exists with reference to the tradition of the +creation of mankind. There are distinct traces that the belief was +current in parts of Babylonia which made Ea the creation of +mankind.[756] Ea, it will be recalled, is the 'god of humanity' _par +excellence_, and yet in the seventh (and probably closing) tablet of the +series, Marduk is spoken of as the one "who created mankind."[757] + +Variant traditions of this kind point to the existence of various +centers of culture and thought in rivalry with one another. The great +paean to Marduk would have been sadly incomplete had it not contained an +account of the creation of mankind--the crowning work of the +universe--by the head of the Babylonian pantheon. It is possible, +therefore, that a tablet containing the address of a deity to mankind +belongs to our series[758] and embodies orders and warnings given by +Marduk after the creation of man, just as he addresses the moon after +establishing it in the heavens. Purity of heart is enjoined as pleasing +to the deity. Prayer and supplication and prostration are also +commanded. It is said that + + Fear of god begets mercy, + Sacrifice prolongs life, + And prayer dissolves sin. + +The tablet continues in this strain. It is perhaps not the kind of +address that we would expect Marduk to make after the act of creation, +but for the present we must content ourselves with this conjecture, as +also with the supposition that the creation of mankind constituted the +final act in the great drama in which Marduk is the hero. + +When Marduk's work is finished, the Igigi gather around him in +adoration. This scene is described in a tablet which for the present we +may regard[759] as the close of the series. No less than fifty names are +bestowed upon him by the gods, the number fifty corresponding according +to some traditions to the number of the Igigi. Marduk accordingly +absorbs the qualities of all the gods. Such is the purpose of this +tablet. The diction is at times exceedingly impressive. + + God of pure life, they called [him] in the third place, the bearer of + purification. + God of favorable wind,[760] lord of response[761] and of mercy, + Creator of abundance and fullness, granter of blessings, + Who increases the things that were small, + Whose favorable wind we experienced in sore distress. + Thus let them[762] speak and glorify and be obedient to him. + +The gods recall with gratitude Marduk's service in vanquishing Tiâmat. +Marduk is also praised for the mercy he showed towards the associates of +Tiâmat, whom he merely captured without putting them to death. + + As the god of the shining crown in the fourth place, let them + [_i.e._, mankind] exalt him. + The lord of cleansing incantation, the restorer of the dead to life, + Who showed mercy towards the captured gods, + Removed the yoke from the gods who were hostile to him. + +A later fancy identified the 'captured gods' with eleven of the heavenly +constellations.[763] + +Mankind is enjoined not to forget Marduk + + Who created mankind out of kindness towards them, + The merciful one, with whom is the power of giving life. + May his deeds remain and never be forgotten + By humanity, created by his hands. + +Among other names assigned to him are 'the one who knows the heart of +the gods,' 'who gathers the gods together,' 'who rules in truth and +justice.' In allusion again to his contest with Tiâmat, he is called +'the destroyer of the enemy and of all wicked ones,' 'who frustrates +their plans.' + +With the help of a pun upon his having 'pierced' Tiâmat; he is called +Nibir, _i.e._, the planet Jupiter.[764] + + Nibir be his name, who took hold of the life of Tiâmat. + The course of the stars of heaven may he direct. + May he pasture all of the gods like sheep.[765] + +But the climax is reached when, upon hearing what the Igigi have done, +the great gods, father Bel and father Ea cheerfully bestow their own +names upon Marduk. + + Because he created the heavens and formed the earth + 'Lord of Lands'[766] father Bel called his name. + When he heard of all the names that the Igigi bestowed + Ea's liver rejoiced + That they had bestowed exalted names upon his son. + "He as I--Ea be his name. + The control of my commands be entrusted to him. + To him my orders shall be transmitted." + +The historical background to this transference of the name of Bel has +been dwelt upon in a previous chapter.[767] This "Marduk hymn" is to +justify the transference of the rôle of the older Bel of Nippur to the +younger god Marduk. Throughout, the tablet describing the contest of +Marduk with Tiâmat, Marduk is called Bel,[768] and while this name is +used in the generic sense of "lord," the transference of the name of Bel +to Marduk is evidently introduced to account for his assuming the +prerogatives belonging to another god. The original 'lord' was En-lil of +Nippur. The sacred significance of ancient Nippur made its patron deity +the most important rival of Marduk. Bel could not be disposed of as Ea, +who by virtue of his mythological relationships to Marduk--a solar +deity--could be retained as the father of Marduk. There was nothing left +but for Marduk to take the place of Bel. The constant introduction of +the epithet 'Bel' into the Tiâmat story points to an older version in +which Bel was the hero. In popular traditions, Bel continued to be +pictured as armed with mighty weapons,[769] and, though ready to inflict +severe punishment for disobedience to his commands, he engages in +contests for the benefit of mankind. The earth being his special sphere +of action, what more natural than that he should have had a prominent +share in adapting it as a habitation for mankind. He would be directly +interested in fighting the powers of darkness. + +In the weapons that Marduk employs, particularly the lightning and the +winds which belong to an atmospheric god rather than a solar deity, we +may discern traces of the older narrative which has been combined with +the Marduk-Tiâmat nature myth.[770] It may be that Kingu represents +Bel's particular rival. In the narrative, it will be recalled, the +contest with Tiâmat is sharply separated from that with Kingu and his +associates. The division that thus suggests itself between Marduk and +Tiâmat, on the one hand, Bel and the monsters with Kingu at their head, +on the other, may certainly be termed a natural one. The solar deity +Marduk disposed of the storms and rains of the winter, whereas, a god of +"that which is below,"[771] _i.e._, the earth and the atmosphere +immediately above the earth, would appropriately be represented as +ridding the earth of the monsters in order to prepare it as a habitation +for mankind. Ea was not such a serious rival to Marduk as the older Bel. +Political rivalry between Nippur and Babylonia probably contributed +towards the disposition to have Marduk completely absorb the rôle of +Bel, whereas, this rivalry being absent in the case of Eridu (the +original seat of Ea worship) and Babylon, the mythological relations +between Ea and Marduk led, as already pointed out, in a perfectly +natural way to making Marduk the son of Ea. Still, while cheerfully +acknowledged by Ea as his equal, it is evident that in older traditions +Ea was far superior to Marduk, and the latter replaces Ea as he does +Bel. The real creator of mankind, according to certain traditions, is +Ea, just as in all probabilities a third tradition existed which arose +in Nippur giving to Bel that distinction. It is necessary, therefore, +for Ea to declare that Marduk's name (_i.e._, his power) is the same as +Ea. The alteration of the traditions is thus justified by a harmonistic +theology. Marduk has triumphed over Bel and Ea. The god of Babylon +reigns supreme, his sway acknowledged by those whom he supplants. +Marduk's declaration that in the event of his vanquishing Tiâmat he will +assume authority over all the gods is thus formally confirmed. The epic +closes grandiloquently: + + With fifty names, the great gods + According to their fifty names, proclaimed the supremacy of his + course. + +The compiler has added to the epic what Delitzsch appropriately +designates an 'epilogue,'--a declaration of affection for Marduk. The +epilogue consists of three stanzas. All mankind--royalty and +subjects--are called upon to bear in mind Marduk's glorious deeds, +achieved for the benefit of the world. + + Let the wise and intelligent together ponder over it. + Let the father relate it and teach it to his son.[772] + To leader and shepherd[773] be it told. + Let all rejoice in the lord of gods, Marduk + That he may cause his land to prosper and grant it peace. + His word is firm, his order irrevocable. + What issues from his mouth, no god can alter. + +Marduk's anger, the poet says in closing, terrifies even the gods, but +he is a god upon whose mercy one may rely, though he punishes the +evil-doer. + +Bearing in mind the general nature of the creation epic we have +discussed, we must of course in our conclusions distinguish between +those elements in it which reflect the intent of the compiler or +compilers to glorify Marduk at the expense of other gods and such parts +as bear the stamp of being generally accepted beliefs. Setting aside, +therefore, the special rôle assigned to Marduk, we find that the +Babylonians never developed a theory of real beginnings. The _creatio ex +nihilo_ was a thought beyond the grasp even of the schools. There was +always _something_, and indeed there was always a _great deal_--as much +perhaps at the beginning of things as at any other time. But there was +no cosmic order. Instead of a doctrine of creation, we have a doctrine +of evolution from chaos to the imposition of eternal laws. The +manifestation of these laws was seen first of all in the movements of +the heavenly bodies. There was a great expanse, presenting the +appearance of a stretched-out curtain or a covering to which the stars +and moon were attached. Along this expanse the wandering stars moved +with a certain regularity. The moon, too, had its course mapped out and +the sun appeared in this expanse daily, as an overseer, passing along +the whole of it. This wonderful system was the first to be perfected, +and to the solar deity,[774] which seemed to control everything, was +ascribed the distinction of having introduced the heavenly order. This +notion we may well believe was of popular origin, though elaborated in +the schools to conform to a developed astrological science. + +The stars and moon never passed beyond certain limits, and, accordingly, +the view was developed which gave to the canopy of heaven fixed +boundaries. At each end of the canopy was a great gate, properly +guarded. Through one of these the sun passed in rising out of the ocean, +through the other it passed out when it had run its course. Learned +speculation could not improve upon this popular fancy. As the heavens +had their limitations, so also the great bodies of water were kept in +check by laws, which, though eternal, were yet not quite as inexorable +as those controlling the heavenly bodies. The yearly overflow of the +Euphrates and Tigris was too serious a matter to be overlooked, and we +shall see in a following chapter[775] how this phenomenon was +interpreted as a rivalry between Bel and Ea, deliberately caused by the +former in anger toward mankind. Still, as a general thing, the 'deep,' +presided over by Ea, kept within the limits assigned to it. The waters +above the canopy were under rigid control, and the lower waters flowed +around the earth and underneath it, and bordered the canopy of heaven at +its two ends. + +The earth itself was a vast hollow structure, erected as a "place of +fertility" under the canopy of heaven and resting on the great 'deep.' +Its vegetation was the gift of the gods. 'Fertility' summed up the law +fixed for the earth. Much as in the Book of Genesis, "to multiply and +increase" was the order proclaimed for the life with which the earth was +filled. + +The creation of mankind was the last act in the great drama. Assigned in +some traditions to Ea, in others as it would seem to Bel, the transfer +of the traditions to Marduk is the deliberate work of the schools of +theological thought. The essential point for us is that mankind, +according to all traditions, is the product of the gods. In some form or +other, this belief was popularly held everywhere. Its original form, +however, is obscured beyond recognition by the theory which it is made +to serve. + +A second version of the course of creation[776] agrees in the main with +the first one, but adds some points of interest. In this version, +likewise, Marduk is assigned the most important rôle--an evidence that +it was produced under similar influences as the larger epic. So far as +preserved, the second version differs from the first in its brevity and +in the prominence given to such themes as the development of animal life +and the growth of civilization. It fills out to a certain degree the +gaps in the first version, due to the fragmentary condition of the fifth +tablet and the loss of the sixth. The brevity of the second version is +due in part to the fact that it is introduced into an incantation text, +and, what is more, incidentally introduced. + +It begins as does the larger epic with the statement regarding the +period when the present phenomena of the universe were not yet in +existence, but it specifies the period in a manner which gives a +somewhat more definite character to the conception of this ancient time. + + The bright house of the gods was not yet built on the bright place, + No reed grew and no tree was formed, + No brick was laid nor any brick edifice[777] reared, + No house erected, no city built, + No city reared, no conglomeration[778] formed. + Nippur was not reared, E-Kur[779] not erected. + Erech was not reared, E-Anna[780] not erected. + The deep[781] not formed, Eridu[782] not reared. + The bright house, the house of the gods not yet constructed as a + dwelling. + The world[783] was all a sea. + +Again it will be observed that neither popular nor scholastic +speculation can picture the beginning of things in any other way than as +an absence of things characteristic of the _order_ of the universe. + +The bright[784] house of the gods corresponds to Eshara and the canopy +of heaven in the first version. The gods are again identified with the +stars, and it is in the heavens--the bright place--that the gods +dwell.[785] The reference to the absence of vegetation agrees closely +with the corresponding passage in the larger creation epic. The +limitations of the cosmological speculations of the Babylonians find a +striking illustration in the manner in which the beginnings of human +culture are placed on a level with the beginnings of heavenly and +terrestrial phenomena. Nippur, Erech, and Eridu, which are thus shown to +be the oldest religious centers of the Euphrates Valley, were +indissolubly associated in the minds of the people with the beginning of +order in the universe. Such was the antiquity of those cities as seats +of the great gods, Bel, Ishtar, and Ea, that the time when they did not +exist was not differentiated from the creation of the heavens and of +plant life. This conception is more clearly emphasized by the +parallelism implied between Eridu and the 'deep.' The 'formation' of +Apsu corresponds to the 'structure' made by Marduk according to the +first version, as the seat of Ea. The waters were not created by Marduk, +but they were confined by him within a certain space. In a vague way, +the 'deep' itself rested in a vast tub. The waters flowed freely and yet +not without limitation. + +The contest with Tiâmat is not referred to in this second version, and +this may be taken as an indication that the 'nature' myth was not an +ingredient part of cosmological speculations, but only introduced into +the first version because of its associations with Marduk. + +The appearance of dry land is described somewhat vaguely as follows: + + There was a channel[786] within the sea. + At that time Eridu was erected, E-Sagila[787] was built, + E-Sagila in the midst of the 'deep,' where the god of the glorious + abode[788] dwells. + +The mention of the channel appears to imply that the waters were +permitted to flow off in a certain direction. + +The conception would then be similar to the view expressed in Genesis, +where the dry land appears in consequence of the waters being 'gathered' +into one place.[789] The temple at Eridu is regarded as synonymous with +the city, as the temples E-Kur and E-Anna are synonymous with Nippur and +Erech respectively. Eridu at the head of the Persian Gulf, which for the +Babylonians was the beginning of the great 'Okeanos' surrounding the +world,[790] is the first dry land to appear and hence the oldest place +in the world. At this point in the narrative a line is interpolated +which clearly betrays the lateness of the version. The mention of +E-Sagila suggests to a Babylonian, naturally, the great temple of Marduk +in the city of Babylon--'the lofty house.' Local pride and the desire to +connect Babylon with the beginning of things leads to the insertion: + + Babylon was reared, E-Sagila built. + +With this mention of Babylon, the connecting link is established which +leads easily to the glorification of Babylon and Marduk. The thought +once introduced is not abandoned. The rest of the narrative, so far as +preserved, is concerned with Marduk. Eridu alone is beyond his +jurisdiction. Everything else, vegetation, mankind, rivers, animals, and +all cities, including even Nippur and Erech, are Marduk's work. + + The Anunnaki[791] he[792] created together + And bestowed glorious epithets upon the glorious city, the seat dear + to their heart. + +The 'glorious city' is Eridu, though the compiler would have us apply it +to Babylon. + +With the founding of Eridu, a limit was fixed for the 'deep.' The rest +of the dry land is formed according to the theory of the writer by the +extension of this place. + + Marduk constructed an enclosure around the waters, + He made dust and heaped it up within the enclosure.[793] + +The _naïveté_ of the conception justifies us in regarding it as of +popular origin, incorporated by the theologians into their system. + +But this land is created primarily for the benefit of the gods. + + That the gods might dwell in the place dear to their heart. + +Naturally not all of the gods are meant,--perhaps only the +Anunnaki,--for the great gods dwell in heaven. The creation of mankind +is next described, and is boldly ascribed to Marduk. + + Mankind he created.[794] + +In the following line, however, we come across a trace again of an older +tradition, which has been embodied in the narrative in a rather awkward +manner. Associated with Marduk in the creation of mankind is a goddess +Aruru. + + The goddess Aruru created the seed of men together with him.[795] + +We encounter this goddess Aruru in the Gilgamesh epic,[796] where she is +represented as creating a human being,--Eabani; and, curiously enough, +she creates him in agreement with the Biblical tradition, out of a lump +of clay. It has already been pointed out that according to one tradition +Ea is the creator of mankind,[797] and the conjecture has also been +advanced that at Nippur, Bel was so regarded. In Aruru we have evidently +a figure to whom another tradition, that arose in some district, +ascribed the honor of having created mankind. The Gilgamesh story is +connected with the city of Erech, and it is probable that the tale--at +least in part--originated there. It becomes plausible, therefore, to +trace the tradition ascribing the creation of man to Aruru to the same +place. A passage in the Deluge story, which forms an episode of the +Gilgamesh epic, adds some force to this conjecture. After the dreadful +deluge has come, Ishtar breaks out in wild lament that mankind, her +offspring, has perished: "What I created, where is it?"[798] She is +called 'the mistress of the gods,'[799] and if Jensen is correct in an +ingenious restoration of a defective text,[800] Aruru is given the same +epithet in a lexicographical tablet. The Ishtar occurring in the +Gilgamesh story is the old Ishtar of Erech. I venture to suggest, +therefore, that Aruru and Ishtar of Erech are one and the same +personage. Ishtar is, of course, as has been pointed out, merely a +generic name[801] for the 'great goddess' worshipped under many forms. +The more specific name by which Ishtar of Erech was known was Nanâ, but +Nanâ again is nothing but an epithet, meaning, as the Babylonians +themselves interpreted it, the 'lady' _par excellence_. Have we perhaps +in Aruru the real name of the old goddess of Erech? At all events, the +occurrence of Aruru in this second 'creation' story points to her as +belonging to the district of which Erech was the center. In this way, +each one of the three most ancient sacred towns of Babylonia would have +its 'creator,'--Bel in Nippur, Ea in Eridu, and Aruru in Erech. The +chief deity of Erech, it will be recalled, was always a goddess,--a +circumstance that supports the association of Aruru with that place. +Aruru being a goddess, it was not so easy to have Marduk take up her +rôle, as he supplanted Bel. Again, Erech and Babylon were not political +rivals to the degree that Nippur and Babylon were. Accordingly a +compromise was effected, as in the case of Marduk and Ea. Aruru is +associated with Marduk. She creates mankind with Marduk, and it would +seem to be a consequence of this association that the name of Marduk's +real consort, Sarpanitum, is playfully but with intent interpreted by +the Babylonian pedants as 'seed-producing.'[802] + +Our second version thus turns out to be, like the first, an adaptation +of old traditions to new conditions. Babylon and Marduk are designedly +introduced. In the original form Nippur, Eridu, and Erech alone figured, +and presumably, therefore, only the deities of these three places. Among +them the work of creation was in some way parceled out. This +distribution may itself have been the result of a combination of +independent traditions. In any early combination, however, we may feel +certain that Marduk was not introduced. + +After this incidental mention of Aruru, the narrative passes back +undisturbed to Marduk. + + The animals of the field, the living creatures of the field he + created, + The Tigris and Euphrates he formed in their places, gave them good + names, + Soil (?), grass, the marsh, reed, and forest he created, + The verdure of the field he produced, + The lands, the marsh, and thicket, + The wild cow with her young, the young wild ox, + The ewe with her young, the sheep of the fold, + Parks and forests, + The goat and wild goat he brought forth. + +The text at this point becomes defective, but we can still make out that +the clay as building material is created by Marduk, and that he +constructs houses and rears cities. Corresponding to the opening lines, +we may supply several lines as follows: + + Houses he erected, cities he built, + Cities he built, dwellings he prepared, + Nippur he built, E-Kur he erected, + Erech he built, E-Anna he erected. + +Here the break in the tablet begins. + +The new points derived from this second version are, (_a_) the details +in the creation of the animal and plant world, (_b_) the mention of +Aruru as the mother of mankind, and (_c_) the inclusion of human culture +in the story of the 'beginnings.' + +Before leaving the subject, a brief comparison of these two versions +with the opening chapters of Genesis is called for. That the Hebrew and +Babylonian traditions spring from a common source is so evident as to +require no further proof. The agreements are too close to be accidental. +At the same time, the variations in detail point to independent +elaboration of the traditions on the part of the Hebrews and +Babylonians. + +A direct borrowing from the Babylonians has not taken place, and while +the Babylonian records are in all probabilities much older than the +Hebrew, the latter again contain elements, as Gunkel has shown, of a +more primitive character than the Babylonian production. This +relationship can only be satisfactorily explained on the assumption that +the Hebrews possessed the traditions upon which the Genesis narrative +rests long before the period of the Babylonian exile, when the story +appears, indeed, to have received its final and present shape. The +essential features of the Babylonian cosmology formed part of a stock of +traditions that Hebrews and Babylonians (and probably others) received +from some common source or, to put it more vaguely, held in common from +a period, the limits of which can no longer be determined. While the two +Babylonian versions agree in the main, embodying the same general +traditions regarding the creation of the heavenly bodies and containing +the same general conception of an evolution in the world from confusion +and caprice to order, and the establishment of law, the variations in +regard to the terrestrial phenomena must not be overlooked. According to +the first version, mankind appears as the last episode of creation; in +the second, mankind precedes vegetation and animal life. + +If we now take up the two versions of creation found in Genesis, we will +see that the same differences may be observed. According to the first, +the so-called Elohistic version,[803] mankind is not created until the +last day of creation; according to the second,[804] the so-called +Yahwistic version, mankind is first created, then a garden is made and +trees are planted. After that, the beasts of the field and the birds of +heaven are called into existence. + +The resemblance of the second Babylonian version to the Yahwistic +version extends even to certain phrases which they have in common. The +opening words of the Yahwist-- + + And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of + the field had yet sprung up-- + +might serve almost as a translation of the second line of the Babylonian +counterpart. The reference to the Tigris and Euphrates in the second +Babylonian version reminds one of the four streams mentioned in the +Yahwistic version, two of which are likewise the Tigris and Euphrates. +Again, Tiâmat is mentioned only in the first Babylonian version, and +T'hôm similarly only in the Elohistic version; while, on the other hand, +the building of cities is included in the Yahwistic version,[805] as it +forms part of the second Babylonian version. The points mentioned +suffice to show that the Elohistic version is closely related to the +larger creation epic of the Babylonians, while the Yahwistic +version--more concise, too, than the Elohistic--agrees to an astonishing +degree with the second and more concise Babylonian record. + +The conclusion, therefore, is justified that the variations between the +Babylonian versions rest upon varying traditions that must have arisen +in different places. The attempt was made to combine these traditions by +the Babylonians, and among the Hebrews we may see the result of a +similar attempt in the first two or, more strictly speaking, in the +first three chapters of Genesis. At the same time, the manner in which +both traditions have been worked over by the Hebrew compilers of Genesis +precludes, as has been pointed out, the theory of a direct borrowing +from cuneiform documents. The climatic conditions involved in the Hebrew +versions are those peculiar to Babylonia. It is in Babylonia that the +thought would naturally arise of making the world begin with the close +of the storms and rains in the spring. The Terahites must therefore have +brought these cosmological traditions with them upon migrating from the +Euphrates Valley to the Jordan district. + +The traditions retained their hold through all the vicissitudes that the +people underwent. The intercourse, political and commercial, between +Palestine and Mesopotamia was uninterrupted, as we now know, from at +least the fifteenth century before our era down to the taking of +Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and this constant intercourse was no doubt +an important factor in maintaining the life of the old traditions that +bound the two peoples together. The so-called Babylonian exile brought +Hebrews and Babylonians once more side by side. Under the stimulus of +this direct contact, the final shape was given by Hebrew writers to +their cosmological speculations. Yahwe is assigned the rôle of +Bel-Marduk, the division of the work of creation into six days is +definitely made,[806] and some further modifications introduced. While, +as emphasized, this final shape is due to the independent elaboration of +the common traditions, and, what is even more to the point, shows an +independent _interpretation_ of the traditions, it is by no means +impossible, but on the contrary quite probable, that the final compilers +of the Hebrew versions had before them the cuneiform tablets, embodying +the literary form given to the traditions by Babylonian writers.[807] +Such a circumstance, while not implying direct borrowing, would account +for the close parallels existing between the two Hebrew and the two +Babylonian versions, and would also furnish a motive to the Hebrew +writers for embodying _two_ versions in their narrative. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[680] The so-called Elohistic version, Gen. i. 1-ii. 4; the Yahwistic +version, Gen. ii. 5-24. Traces have been found in various portions of +the Old Testament of other popular versions regarding creation. See +Gunkel, _Schöpfung und Chaos_, pp. 29-114, 119-121. + +[681] Gunkel, _ib._ pp. 28, 29. What Sayce (_e.g._, _Rec. of the Past_, +N. S., I. 147, 148) calls the 'Cuthaean legend of the creation' +contains, similarly, a variant description of Tiâmat and her brood. + +[682] Published by Pinches, _Journal Royal Asiat. Soc._, 1891, pp. +393-408. + +[683] Complete publication by Delitzsch, _Das Babylonische +Weltschöpfungsepos_ (Leipzig, 1896) with elaborate commentary. + +[684] See Zimmern in Gunkel's _Schöpfung und Chaos_, pp. 415, 416, and +on the other side, Delitzsch, _Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos_, p. 20. +Zimmern's doubts are justified. + +[685] _Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._ vi. 7. + +[686] _Zeits. f. Assyr._ viii. 121-124. Delitzsch, in his _Babylonische +Weltschöpfungsepos_, pp. 61-68, has elaborately set forth the principles +of the poetic composition. See also D. H. Mueller, _Die Propheten in +ihrer ursprünglichen Form_, pp. 5-14. + +[687] _I.e._, did not exist. To be 'called' or to 'bear a name' meant to +be called into existence. + +[688] _I.e._, of the waters. + +[689] _I.e._, of heaven and earth. + +[690] The word used is obscure. Jensen and Zimmern render "reed." +Delitzsch, I think, comes nearer the real meaning with "marsh." See +Haupt's translation, _Proc. Amer. Oriental Soc._, 1896, p. 161. + +[691] Delitzsch supplies a parallel phrase like "periods elapsed." + +[692] Supplied from Damascius' extract of the work of Berosus on +Babylonia. See Cory, _Ancient Fragments_, p. 92; Delitzsch, +_Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos_, p. 94. + +[693] The _ô_ is represented in Babylonian by _â_, and the ending _at_ +in Tiâmat is an affix which stamps the Babylonian name as feminine. +T'hôm in Hebrew is likewise a feminine noun, but it should be noted that +at a certain stage in the development of the Semitic languages, the +feminine is hardly distinguishable from the plural and collective. + +[694] Gunkel, _Schöpfung und Chaos_, pp. 29-82, 379-398. + +[695] For our purposes it is sufficient to refer for the relations +existing between Damascius and the cuneiform records to Smith's +_Chaldaeische Genesis_, pp. 63-66, to Lenormant's _Essai de Commentaire +sur les fragments Cosmogoniques de Berose_, pp. 67 _seq._, and to +Jensen's _Kosmologie der Babylonier_, pp. 270-272. + +[696] The names are given by Damascius as _Apasôn_ and _Tauthe_. + +[697] Suggested by Professor Haupt (Schrader, _Cuneiform Inscriptions +and the Old Testament_, p. 7). + +[698] Hommel, _Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._, xviii. 19. + +[699] See Jensen, _Kosmologie_, pp. 224, 225. + +[700] Agumkakrimi Inscription (VR. 33, iv. 50); Nabonnedos (Cylinder, +VR. 64, ll. 16, 17). + +[701] Cory's _Ancient Fragments_, p. 58. + +[702] See above, pp. 198, 199. + +[703] See above, pp. 198, 199. + +[704] I avoid the term "Sumerian" here, because I feel convinced that +the play on Anshar is of an entirely artificial character and has no +philological basis. + +[705] See below, pp. 421-423. + +[706] IIR. 54, no. 3. + +[707] For a different interpretation of the phrase, see Jensen, +_Kosmologie_, pp. 273, 274. + +[708] See p. 107. + +[709] _Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos_, p. 94. + +[710] Cory's _Ancient Fragments_, p. 58. + +[711] An epithet descriptive of Tiâmat. "Ummu" is "mother" and "khubur" +signifies "hollow"; "mother of the hollow" would be a poetic expression +for "source of the deep," and an appropriate term to apply to Tiâmat. It +has nothing to do with Omoroka. The latter, as Wright has shown, is a +corruption of "O Marduk" (_Zeits. f. Assyr_. x. 71-74). + +[712] The word used is Lakhami, the plural of Lakhamu. + +[713] This scene, the description of the monsters and the installation +of Kingu, occurs four times in the 'Epic.' See p. 424. + +[714] Delitzsch, _Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos_, p. 25. + +[715] Cory, _ib._ p. 92. + +[716] "The chamber of fates" where Marduk sits on New Year's Day and +decides the fate of mankind for the ensuing year. Jensen and Zimmern +read _upshugina_, but see Delitzsch, _Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos,_ +p. 135. + +[717] The deity is mentioned by Sennacherib (Meissner-Host, +_Bauinschriften_, p. 108). See above, p. 238. + +[718] In the first tablet, in the second in connection with the mission +of Anu, and twice in the third in connection with Marduk's visit. + +[719] Tiâmat's presence. + +[720] Called Nudimmud. Delitzsch, _Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos_, p. +99, questions the identity with Ea, but his skepticism is unwarranted, +though the title is also used of Bel. + +[721] Here used to comprise the army of Tiâmat. + +[722] _I.e._, thy power is equal to that of Anu. + +[723] Exod. iv. 2-8; other parallels might be adduced. + +[724] _I.e._, far off. + +[725] _I.e._, that a wind might not carry her off. + +[726] Adding three to the ordinary winds from the four directions. + +[727] For the explanation of the term used in the +original--_kirbish_--see Delitzsch's excellent remarks, _Babylonische +Weltschöpfungsepos._ pp. 132-134. + +[728] Lit., 'storm,'--perhaps the thunderbolt, as Delitzsch suggests. + +[729] Marduk. + +[730] She lost her reason. + +[731] Gasping, as it were, for breath. + +[732] Cory's _Ancient Fragments_, p. 49. + +[733] Lit., 'places,' here used as a synonym for 'heavens,' as an +Assyrian commentator expressly states. See Delitzsch's remarks +(_Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos_, p. 147) against Jensen's and +Zimmern's interpretation. + +[734] _I.e._, Ea. See above, p. 424, note 3. + +[735] The complete proof is brought by Jensen, _Kosmologie_, pp. +246-253. + +[736] To render the word used as "Palace" (so Delitzsch), while not +incorrect, is somewhat misleading. + +[737] _Kosmologie_, p. 199. + +[738] _Magie und Wahrsagekunst der Chaldaer_, p. 163. + +[739] See the illustration in Jensen's _Kosmologie_, pl. 3. + +[740] The word used also means "cities." A Babylonian district is naught +but an extended city. + +[741] See p. 429. + +[742] Gen. viii. 22. + +[743] See above, p. 370, and chapter xxii. + +[744] _I.e._, for each of the great gods. + +[745] _I.e._, of the gods. + +[746] A particular group of stars--the _mashi_ stars--is mentioned, but +the term seems to be used in a rather general sense. I cannot share +Delitzsch's extreme skepticism with regard to the interpretation of the +fifth tablet. Jensen seems to have solved the chief difficulties. + +[747] Jensen and Zimmern interpret "he drew the pictures," referring the +phrase to the contours of the stars; but the parallelism speaks in favor +of connecting the words with the "year." The divisions of the year or +seasons seem to be meant. + +[748] _I.e._, the planet Marduk, or Jupiter. + +[749] _I.e._, with Nibir. + +[750] See Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 354. George Smith already interpreted +the passage in this way. + +[751] _I.e._, of the heavens. Delitzsch renders "Schwerpunkt." + +[752] Text _elàti_. Jensen, Zimmern, and Halévy translate "zenith," but +Delitzsch questions this. + +[753] The moon-god. + +[754] _I.e._, the moon. + +[755] Published by Delitzsch, _Assyrische Lesestücke_ (3d edition), p. +94. + +[756] See the proof as put together by Jensen, _Kosmologie_, pp. 293, +294. + +[757] Line 15. + +[758] So Delitzsch, _Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos_, pp. 19, 20. + +[759] Following Delitzsch, _Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos_, pp. 20, +21. I pass over two fragments which Delitzsch adds to our 'epic.' They +are not sufficiently clear to be utilized for our purposes. Delitzsch +may be right with regard to no. 20, but if so, it forms part or another +version of the Marduk-Tiâmat episode. No. 19, treating of the bow of +Marduk (?), does not seem to belong to our series. + +[760] A standing phrase for "favor" in general. + +[761] To prayer. + +[762] The gods or the Igigi. + +[763] See p. 486 and Gunkel's note, _Schöpfung und Chaos_, p. 26. + +[764] See above, p. 434. The play is between Nibir (as though from the +stem _ebêru_) and _itebbiru_ ("he pierced"), a form of _ebêru_, and +meaning 'to pass through.' + +[765] This metaphor is carried over into astronomical science. The +planets are known as "wandering sheep." See p. 459. + +[766] _Bêl matâte_. + +[767] See p. 118. + +[768] Similarly in another version of the contest published by +Delitzsch, _Assyr. Wörterbuch_, p. 390. + +[769] See p. 54. + +[770] Tiele (_Gesch. der Religion im Alterthum_, I. 176) assigns to +Marduk a double character, making him both a god of light and a god of +storms, but I venture to think that the latter attribute represents the +transference of En-lil's power to Marduk. + +[771] So Bel is called in contrast to Anu. See p. 53. + +[772] One is reminded of the Biblical injunction with regard to the Laws +of Yahwe, Deut. vi. 7: "Thou shall teach them to thy sons and speak +constantly of them." + +[773] _I.e._, to the kings who are frequently called 'shepherds' in the +historical texts. + +[774] Or, according to the earlier view, to an atmospheric god. + +[775] "The Gilgamesh Epic." + +[776] First published by Pinches, _Journal of the Royal Asiatic +Society_, 1891, pp. 393-408. + +[777] Clay, it will be recalled, was the building material in Babylonia. + +[778] The word in the text is generally applied to "a mass" of animals, +but also to human productions. See Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwörterbuch_, +p. 467. + +[779] Bel's temple at Nippur. + +[780] Temple of Ishtar at Erech or Uruk. + +[781] _I.e._, Apsu. + +[782] City sacred to Ea at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. + +[783] Lit., 'totality of lands.' + +[784] Zimmern's rendering (Gunkel, _Schöpfung und Chaos_, p. 419) +"sacred" (instead of 'bright') misses the point. + +[785] _Cf._ S. A. Smith, Miscellaneous, K. 2866, l. 8, "the great gods +dwelling in the heaven of Anu." The reference, therefore, cannot be to +"the gathering place of the gods," where the fates of mankind are +decided. + +[786] The original has _ratum_. Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwörterbuch_, p. +663, compares Hebrew _rahat_, "trough." Zimmern (Gunkel, _Schöpfung und +Chaos_, p. 419) translates "Bewegung," but on what grounds I do not +know. The passage is obscure; the text possibly defective. + +[787] If the reading E-Sagila is original. It is here used as the name +of Ea's temple in Eridu, but it is of course possible that E-Sagila has +been deliberately introduced to enhance the glory of Marduk's temple in +Babylon. + +[788] Ea. + +[789] Gen. i. 9. + +[790] See Haupt, _Wo lag das Paradies_, p. 7 (_Ueber Land und Meer_, +1894-95, no. 15, Sonderabdruck), who furnishes numerous illustrations of +the indefinite geographical notions of the ancients. + +[791] The group of celestial beings. + +[792] _I.e._, Marduk. + +[793] Read _a-ma-mi_. + +[794] Zimmern purposes to connect this line with the preceding, but the +sense in that case is not at all clear. + +[795] _I.e._, with Marduk. + +[796] Haupt's edition, p. 8, l. 34. + +[797] See above, p. 437. + +[798] Haupt, _ib._ p. 139, l. 116. + +[799] _Ib._ l. 111. + +[800] _Kosmologie_, p. 294, note 1. + +[801] See p. 82. + +[802] _Zerbanitum_, as though compounded of _zer_ (seed), and _bani_ +(create). See p. 121. + +[803] Gen. i. 1-ii. 4, embodied in the "Priestly Code." + +[804] Gen. ii. 4 and extending in reality as far as iv. 25. + +[805] Gen. iii. 17. + +[806] See Gunkel, _Schöpfung und Chaos_, p. 13. + +[807] On the acquaintance of Hebrew writers of the Babylonian exile with +cuneiform literature and on the influence exercised by the latter, see +D. H. Mueller, _Ezechielstudien_. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +THE ZODIACAL SYSTEM OF THE BABYLONIANS. + +Planets, Stars, and Calendar. + + +It will be appropriate at this point, to give a brief account of the +astronomical system as developed by the Babylonian scholars. The system +forms a part of the Babylonian cosmology. The 'creation' narratives we +have been considering are based upon the system, and the omen literature +is full of allusions to it. Moreover, the understanding of some of the +purely religious doctrines of the Babylonians is dependent upon a proper +conception of the curious astrological speculations which from Babylonia +made their way to the Greeks, and have left their traces in the +astronomy of the present time. + +The stars were regarded by the Babylonians as pictorial designs on the +heavens. A conception of this kind is the outcome of popular fancy, and +has its parallel among other nations of antiquity. We pass beyond the +popular stage, however, when we find the stars described as the 'writing +of heaven.'[808] Such a term is the product of the schools, and finds a +ready explanation if we remember that the cuneiform script, like other +scripts, was in its first stages pictorial. The Babylonian scholars not +only knew this, but so well did they know it that writing continued to +be regarded by them as picture drawing. The characters used by them were +'likenesses'[809] long after they had passed beyond the stage when they +bore any resemblance to the pictures they originally represented. The +expression 'writing of heaven' was, therefore, equivalent to 'picture of +heaven.' The heavens themselves being regarded as a fixed vault, it +followed that the movements observed there were caused by the stars +changing their position; and the regular characters of these movements +within certain periods led to speaking of the movements of the heavenly +bodies as their 'courses.' It was furthermore apparent, even to a +superficial observer, that some of the stars seemed fixed to their +places, while others moved about. A distinction was thus drawn between +wandering stars or planets and fixed stars. Groups of stars, the single +members of which appeared in a constant relationship to one another, +were distinguished partly by natural observation and partly as a +convenient means of obtaining a general view of the starry canopy. It +was such a group that more particularly justified the view which +regarded the stars as pictorial designs. A line drawn so as to connect +the stars of the group turned out to be a design of some sort. On omen +tablets, geometrical figures are often found[810] and interpreted as +omens, and it is plausible to suppose that the outlines presented by the +stars of a group first suggested the idea of attaching significance to +combinations of lines and curves. To connect these outlines with the +pictures that formed the starting-point for the development of the +script was again a perfectly natural procedure, although a scholastic +one. The investigations of Delitzsch have shown that the more than four +hundred cuneiform characters in use can be reduced to a comparatively +small number of 'outlines' of pictures--to about forty-five. The +subjects of these 'outlines' are all familiar ones,--sun, moon, stars, +mountain, man, the parts of the human body, animals, plants, and +utensils.[811] Association of ideas led to giving to the outlines +presented by the groups of stars, a similar interpretation. The factor +of imagination, of course, entered into play, but it is also likely that +the comparison of these heavenly figures with the pictures of the script +was the controlling factor that led to identifying a certain group of +stars with a bull, another with a scorpion, a third with a ram, a fourth +with a fish, still another with a pig, and more the like. That animals +were chosen was due to the influence of animistic theories, and the +rather fantastic shape of the animals distinguished led to further +speculations. So, eleven constellations, that is to say, the entire +zodiac with the exception of the bull--the sign of Marduk--were +identified with the eleven monsters forming the host of Tiâmat. The +passage in the Marduk-Tiâmat myth[812] which speaks of the capture of +these monsters through Marduk appears to have suggested this +identification, which, fanciful though it is, has a scholastic rather +than a popular aspect. Jensen (to whom, together with Epping and +Strassmaier,[813] most of our knowledge of this subject is due) has +shown[814] that of the twelve constellations in our modern zodiac, the +greater number are identical with those distinguished by the +Babylonians; and while it is probable that two or three of our +constellations are of occidental origin, the zodiacal system as a whole +is the product of the Babylonian schools of astronomy. From Babylonia +the system made its way to the west and through western, more +particularly through Greek, influence back again to India and the +distant east. The number of constellations distinguished by the +Babylonian astronomers has not yet been definitely ascertained. They +certainly recognized more than twelve. Further investigations may show +that they knew of most of the forty-eight constellations enumerated by +Ptolemy. + +The general regularity of the courses taken by the sun, moon, and +planets made it a comparatively simple matter to map out the limits +within which these bodies moved. These limits impressed the Babylonians, +as we have seen, with the thought of the eternal and unchangeable laws +under which the planets stood. The laws regulating terrestrial +phenomena, did not appear to be so rigid. There were symptoms of +caprice, so that the order of the earth has the appearance of being an +afterthought, suggested by the absolute order prevailing in the heavens. +Comets, meteors, and eclipses alone seemed to interrupt this absolute +order. As science advanced, it was found that even eclipses fell within +the province of law. The course of astronomical science was thus clearly +marked out--the determination of these laws. + +The path taken by the sun served as a guide and as a means of +comparison. Anu being both the chief god of heaven and the +personification of heaven,[815] the sun's ecliptic became known as the +'way of Anu.' The division of this ecliptic into certain sections, +determined by the constellations within the belt of the ecliptic, was +the next step. The course of the moon and planets was determined with +reference to the sun's ecliptic, and gradually a zodiacal system was +evolved, the perfection of which is best exemplified by the fact that so +much of the astronomical language of the present time is the same as +that used by the ancient astronomers of the Euphrates Valley. + +The sun and moon being regarded as deities, under the influence of +primitive animistic ideas,[816] the stars would also come to be looked +upon as divine. The ideograph designating a 'star' and which is prefixed +as a determinative to the names of stars, consists of the sign for god +repeated three times;[817] and in the case of those stars which are +identified with particular deities, the simple determinative for god is +employed. To regard the stars in general as gods is a consequence of +animistic notions; but the further steps in the process which led to +connecting the planets and certain other stars with particular deities +who originally had nothing to do with the stars, fall within the +province of scholastic theory. + +As the jurisdiction of gods originally worshipped in a limited district +increased, a difficulty naturally arose among the more advanced minds as +to the exact place where the deity dwelt. This difficulty would be +accentuated in the case of a god like Marduk becoming the chief god of +the whole Babylonian Empire. His ardent worshippers would certainly not +content themselves with the notion that a single edifice, even though it +be his great temple at Babylon, could contain him. Again, the +development of a pantheon, systematized, and in which the various gods +worshipped in Babylonia came to occupy fixed relationships to one +another, would lead to the view of putting all the gods in one place. +The sun and moon being in the heavens, the most natural place to assign +to the gods as a dwelling-place was in the region where Shamash and Sin +(as every one could see for himself) had their seats. The doctrine thus +arose that the great gods dwell in the 'heaven of Anu.' A doctrine of +this kind would be intelligible to the general populace, but it is +doubtful whether a belief which involved the establishment of a direct +connection between the most prominent stars--the planets with the chief +gods--ever enjoyed popular favor in Babylonia. The association is marked +by an artificiality and a certain arbitrariness that stamps it not only +as the product of theological schools, but as a thought that would +remain confined to a limited circle of the population. Jensen +suggests[818] that the planets may at one time have been merely regarded +as standing under the influence of the great gods, and that a planet +from being regarded as the star _controlled_ by Marduk, became +identified with Marduk. It seems more plausible that the association +should have been direct. Even though the Babylonians may not have had +any knowledge of the relative mass of the planets, in some way Jupiter +must have appeared to them as the largest of the planets, and for this +reason was identified with the head of the Babylonian pantheon, Marduk. +In the creation epic, as we have seen, Jupiter-Marduk, under the name of +Nibir, is represented as exercising a control over all the stars. +Mythological associations appear to have played a part in identifying +the planet Venus with the goddess Ishtar. A widely spread nature +myth,[819] symbolizing the change of seasons, represents Ishtar, the +personification of fertility, the great mother of all that manifests +life, as proceeding to the region of darkness and remaining there for +some time. The disappearance of the planet Venus at certain seasons, as +morning star to reappear as evening star, suggested the identification +of this planet with Ishtar. From these two examples we may conclude that +the process which resulted in the identification of Saturn with Ninib, +Mars with Nergal, Mercury with Nabu rested similarly on an association +of ideas, derived from certain conceptions held of the gods involved. In +regard to Ninib and Nergal it is of some importance to bear in mind +that, like Marduk, they are at their origin solar deities, Ninib +representing in the perfected theological system the morning sun, Marduk +the sun of the early spring, and Nergal the mid-day sun and summer +solstice.[820] The position of the planets Saturn and Mars, accordingly, +with reference to the sun at certain periods of the year, may well have +been a factor in the association of ideas involved. + +The position of the sun, as the general overseer of the planets, led to +the application of an interesting metaphor to express the relationship +between the sun and the planets. Just as the human chiefs or kings were +called 'shepherds,'--a metaphor suggested, no doubt, by agricultural +life,--so the planets were commonly known as 'sheep' or, as Jensen +suggests,[821] 'wandering sheep,' and it is rather curious that +Mars-Nergal should have been designated as the 'sheep'[822] _par +excellence_. The 'service' in which the planets stood to the sun is +exemplified by another term applied to them, which designates them as +the mediators carrying out the orders of their superior. + +Lastly, it may be noted that each planet receives a variety of names and +epithets in the astronomical texts,--a circumstance that points to the +composite character of the developed planetary system of the +Babylonians. Some of these names are of so distinctive a character as to +justify the conclusion that they arose in the different centers where +astronomical schools existed. + +The process involved in the development of the system is thus +complicated by factors introducing views originally confined to certain +districts, and it becomes doubtful whether we will ever be able to trace +all the steps involved in the process. + +Corresponding to the unique position occupied by the superior triad Anu, +Bel, and Ea in the theological system, a special place was assigned to +them in the astronomical system. Anu is the pole star of the ecliptic, +Bel the pole star of the equator, while Ea in the southern heavens was +identified, according to Jensen,[823] with a star in the constellation +Argo. Anu, Bel, and Ea represented the three most prominent fixed stars, +but by the side of these a large number of other stars were +distinguished and many of them identified with some deity. For some of +these stars the modern equivalents have been ascertained through recent +researches;[824] others still remain to be determined. + +The astronomical science of the Babylonians thus resolves itself into +these natural divisions: + + (1) the constellations, especially those of the zodiac, + (2) the five great planets, + (3) the fixed stars, Anu, Bel, and Ea, + (4) miscellaneous stars, and + (5) the sun and moon. + +The rivalry between the two great luminaries ends in a superior rank +being accorded to the sun. Natural and indeed inevitable as this +conclusion was, the scientific theory in the Euphrates Valley was +presumably influenced to some extent by the circumstance that the head +of the pantheon was a solar deity. We have seen that the tradition of +this original character of Marduk survived in the popular mind. + +Of the sun but little need be said here. As represented in the creation +story, he was freer in his movements than any of the planets. He passed +across the heavens daily as an overseer to see that everything was +maintained in good order. As in Greek mythology, the sun was represented +as riding in a chariot drawn by horses.[825] Scientific speculation +advanced but little upon these popular fancies. The course that the sun +took on the ecliptic was determined, and the ecliptic itself served as +the guide for determining the position and movements of the stars. Under +the growing influence of the Marduk cult and of such deities as Ninib, +Nergal, and Nabu, associated with Marduk mythologically or politically, +the old moon worship lost much of its prestige; but in astronomical +science, the former independent rank of the moon is still in large +measure preserved. In the enumeration of the planets the moon is +mentioned first.[826] The moon is not a 'sheep' belonging to the flock +of Shamash. The importance of the moon in the regulation of the calendar +saved her from this fate. The beginning of the calendrical system, +indeed, may well have been of popular origin. Ihering[827] is of the +opinion that agricultural occupations made the marking off of time a +popular necessity, and this view is borne out by the early epithets of +the months among the Babylonians,[828] which, as among the Hebrews, are +connected with agriculture and the life of the agriculturist. The later +names also bear traces of the same train of thoughts. Leaving aside +details into which it is needless to enter here, the part of the +calendar which touches upon the religion of the Babylonians is the +sacred character given to the months by making each one devoted to some +god or gods. In this association there may be observed the same curious +mixture of several factors that controlled the identification of the +planets with the gods. The theory underlying the pantheon and certain +mythological conceptions are two of the factors that can be clearly seen +at work. The triad Anu, Bel, and Ea are accorded the first rank.[829] + +The first month, Nisan, is sacred to Anu and Bel. + +The second, Iyar, is sacred to Ea as the "lord of humanity." + +Then follows Sin to whom, as the first-born of Bel,[830] the third +month, Siwan, is devoted. + +The four succeeding months are parceled out among deities closely +connected with one another,--Ninib, Nin-gishzida, Ishtar, and Shamash. +Of these, Ninib and Nin-gishzida are solar deities. Ninib, as the +morning sun, symbolizes the approach of the summer season, while +Nin-gishzida, another solar deity,[831] represents an advance in this +season. To them, therefore, the fourth and fifth months, Tammuz (or +Du'zu) and Ab respectively, are sacred. Ishtar is the goddess of +fertility, and the sixth month, which represents the culmination of the +summer season, is accordingly devoted to her. As the last of the group +comes Shamash himself, to whom the seventh month, Tishri (or Tashritum), +is sacred. Marduk and Nergal come next, the eighth month, +Marcheshwan,[832] being sacred to the former, the ninth Kislev to the +great warrior Nergal. The factors here involved are not clear, nor do we +know why the tenth month is sacred to Papsukal--perhaps here used as an +epithet of Nabu--to Anu, and to Ishtar. The eleventh month, the height +of the rainy season and known as the "month of the course of +rainstorms," is appropriately made sacred to Ramman, 'the god of +storms.' The last month, Adar, falling within the rainy season is +presided over by the seven evil spirits. Lastly, an interesting trace of +Assyrian influence is to be seen in devoting to Ashur, "the father of +the gods," the intercalated month, the second Adar. This introduction of +Ashur points to the late addition of this intercalated month, and makes +it probable also that the intercalation is the work of astronomers +standing under Assyrian authority. A second intercalated month is Elul +the second. This month is sacred to Anu and Bel, just like Nisan, the +first month. The list, therefore, begins anew with the intercalated +month. Such a procedure is natural, and one is inclined to conclude that +the intercalated Elul is of Babylonian origin and older than the +intercalated Adar. + +It does not appear that the female consorts of the gods shared in the +honors thus bestowed upon the male deities. Variations from the list as +given also occur. So Ashurbanabal calls the seventh month, Elul, the +month of 'the king of gods Ashur,'[833] while Sargon[834] assigns the +fourth month to the 'servant of Gibil,' the fire-god, by which +Nin-gishzida is meant, and the third month he calls the month of "the +god of brick structures."[835] + +In fact, the assigning of the months to the gods appears to partake more +or less of an arbitrary character. Absolute uniformity probably did not +prevail throughout Babylonia until a comparatively late period. Nor does +it appear that any popular significance was attached to the sacred +character thus given to the months. It was the work of the schools, as +are most of the features involved in the elaboration of the calendar. + +In somewhat closer touch with popular notions and popular observances +were the names of the months. Confining ourselves to the later +names,--the forms in which they were transmitted during the period of +the Babylonian exile to the Jews,[836]--we find that the first month +which, as we shall see, was marked by sacred observances in the temples +of Marduk and Nabu at Babylon and Borsippa was designated +ideographically as 'the month of the sanctuary,' the third as the period +of 'brick-making,' the fifth as the 'fiery' month, the sixth as the +month of the 'mission of Ishtar'--a reference to the goddess' descent +into the region of darkness. Designations like 'taking (_i.e._, +scattering) seed' for the fourth month, 'copious fertility' for the +ninth month, 'grain-cutting' period for the twelfth, and 'opening of +dams'[837] for the eighth contain distinct references to agriculture. +The name 'destructive rain' for the eleventh month is suggested by +climatic conditions. Still obscure is the designation of the seventh +month as the month of the 'resplendent mound,'[838] and so also is the +designation of the second month.[839] + +The calendar is thus shown to be the product of the same general order +of religious ideas that we have detected in the zodiacal and planetary +systems. Its growth must have been gradual, for its composite character +is one of its most striking features. The task was no easy one to bring +the lunar year into proper conjunction with the solar year, and there +are grounds for believing that prior to the division of the year into +twelve parts, there was a year of ten months corresponding to a simpler, +perhaps a decimal, system, which appears to have preceded the elaborate +sexagesimal system.[840] + +However this may be, the point of importance for our purposes is to +detect the extension of religious ideas into the domain of science, and, +on the other hand, to note the reaction of scientific theories on the +development of religious thought. The cosmology of the Babylonians +results from the continued play of these two factors. Hence the strange +mixture of popular notions and fancies with comparatively advanced +theological speculations and still more advanced scientific theories +that is found in the cosmological system. Even mysticism is given a +scientific aspect in Babylonia. The identification of the gods with the +stars arises, as we have seen, from a scientific impulse, and it is a +scientific spirit again that leads to the introduction of the gods into +the mathematics of the day.[841] A number is assigned to each of the +chief gods. And, though such a procedure has its natural outcome in +Cabbalistic tendencies, we can still discern in the ideas that lead to +this association of numbers with gods, influences at work that emanated +from the astronomical schools. Thus the moon-god Sin is identified with +the number thirty, suggested by the days of the ordinary month. Ishtar, +the daughter of Sin, is number fifteen, the half of thirty. The unit in +the sexagesimal--the number sixty--is assigned to Anu, the chief of the +triad, while the other two members, Bel and Ea, follow as fifty and +forty respectively. The dependence of this species of identification +upon the calendrical system is made manifest by the inferior rank given +to the sun, which receives the number twenty, the decimal next to that +assigned to Sin, while Ramman, the third member of the second +triad,[842] is identified with ten.[843] Absolute consistency in this +process is, of course, as little to be expected as in other +semi-mystical aspects of the science of the Babylonians; nor is it +necessary for our purposes to enter upon the further consequences +resulting from this combination of gods with numbers. The association of +ideas involved in the combination furnishes another and rather striking +illustration of the close contact between science and religion in the +remarkable culture of the Euphrates Valley. + +There was no conflict between science and religion in ancient Babylonia. +Each reacted on the other, but the two factors were at all times closely +united in perfect harmony,--a harmony so perfect, indeed, as to be +impressive despite its _naïveté_. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[808] _E.g._, IR. 52, no. 3, col. ii. l. 2; IIR. 38, 27b. + +[809] The Greek name for the letters of the alphabet--_symbolon_, +_i.e._, a "likeness"--illustrates the same view of the pictorial origin +of writing. + +[810] For illustrations, see Lenomant, _Magie und Wahrsagekunst der +Chaldaer_, pp. 520-523. + +[811] See the summary on pp. 198, 199, of Delitzsch, _Ursprung der +Keilschriftzeichen._ + +[812] See p. 436. + +[813] Epping and Strassmaier, _Astronomisches aus Babylon_ (Freiburg, +1889). + +[814] _Kosmologie_, pp. 57-95. See especially the summary, pp. 82-84. + +[815] See p. 89. + +[816] See p. 48. + +[817] On this ideograph, see Jensen, _Kosmologie_ pp. 43, 44. + +[818] _Kosmologie_, p. 134. + +[819] See the following chapter on "The Gilgamesh Epic," and chapter +xxv, "The Views of the Babylonians and Assyrians of the Life after +Death." + +[820] Jensen, _ib._ p. 140. See above, p. 67. + +[821] _bibbu._ + +[822] _Ib._ p. 99. + +[823] _Ib._ p. 27. + +[824] See especially Jensen's _Kosmologie_, pp. 46-57 and 144-160. + +[825] Jensen, _ib._ pp. 108, 109. + +[826] The constant order is moon, sun, Marduk, Ishtar, Ninib, Nergal, +Nabu. _E.g._, IIR. 48, 48-34a-b. + +[827] _Vorgeschichte der Indo-Europaer_, pp. 151 _seq._ + +[828] On the older and later names of the Babylonians, see Meissner, +_Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes_, v. 180, 181, and on the +general subject of the Babylonian months, Muss-Arnolt's valuable +articles in the _Journal of Biblical Literature_, xi. 72-94 and 160-176. + +[829] IVR. pl. 33. + +[830] En-lil. + +[831] See above, p. 99. + +[832] Lit., 'Arakh-shamnu,' _i.e._, month eight. + +[833] Rassam, Cylinder, col. lii. l. 32. + +[834] Cylinder, Inscription l. 61. + +[835] _Ib._ l. 58,--a rather curious title of Sin. + +[836] The Talmud preserves the tradition of the Babylonian origin of the +Hebrew calendar (_Ierusalem Talmud Rosh-Hashshanâ_, l. 1). + +[837] For the irrigation of the fields. + +[838] In some way indicative of its sacred character. It is to be noted +that this month--Tishri--is the festival month among the Hebrews and +originally also among the Arabs. The 'mound' is a reference to the +temples which were erected on natural or artificial eminences. + +[839] The latter is described by a series of ideographs, "herd" and "to +prosper." Is there perhaps a reference to cows giving birth to calves in +this month, the early spring? For another, but improbable, explanation, +see _Babylonian and Oriental Record_, iv. 37. + +[840] Lehmann (_Actes du 8^eme Congrès Internationel des Orientalists_, +Leiden, 1891, i. 169, note) admits the probability of an earlier and +more natural system. + +[841] Lotz, _Quaestiones de Historia Sabbati_, pp. 27-29. + +[842] Sin, Shamash, and Ramman. See pp. 108, 163. + +[843] See for other combinations Lotz _ib._, and compare, _e.g._, VR. +36, where the number ten is associated with a large number of +gods,--Anu, Anatum, Bel, Ishtar, etc. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +THE GILGAMESH EPIC. + + +We have seen[844] that the religion of Babylonia permeates all branches +of literature, so that it is not always possible to draw a sharp +dividing line between sacred and secular productions. + +To account for this, it is but necessary to bear in mind what the +previous chapters have aimed to make clear, that religion furnished the +stimulus for the unfolding of intellectual life, and that the literary +and scientific productions represent the work of men primarily +interested in religion. The significance attached as omens to heavenly +phenomena led by degrees to the elaborate astronomical system outlined +in the previous chapter. But the astronomers of Babylonia were priests, +and indeed the same priests who compiled the hymns and incantations. +What is true of astronomy applies to medicine, so far as medicine had an +existence independent of incantations, and also to law. The physician +was a priest, as was the judge and likewise the scribe. + +It is natural, therefore, to find that what may be called the great +national epic of the Babylonians was of a religious character. The +interpretation given to the traditions of the past was religious. The +distant past blended with the phenomena of nature in such a way as to +form a strange combination of poetry and realism. But thanks to this +combination, which is essentially a process of the popular mind, the +production that we are about to consider brings us much closer to the +popular phases of the Babylonian religion than does the cosmology or the +zodiacal system. + +After all, a nation is much more interested in its heroes and in its own +beginnings, than in the beginnings of things in general. Some +speculation regarding the origin of the universe is perhaps inevitable +the moment that the spirit of inquiry arises, but these speculations are +soon entrusted into the hands of a minority,--the thinkers, the priests, +the astronomers,--who elaborate a system that gradually separates itself +from popular thought and exercises little influence upon the development +of religious ideas among the masses. + +The Book of Genesis passes rapidly over the creation of stars, plants, +and animals, as though anxious to reach the history of man, and when it +comes to the traditions regarding the ancestors of the Hebrews, the +details are dwelt upon at length and pictured with a loving hand. +Similarly among the Babylonians, there is a freshness about the story of +the adventures of a great hero of the past that presents a contrast to +the rather abstruse speculations embodied in the creation epic. In this +story, in which a variety of ancient traditions have been combined, +there is comparatively little trace of the scholastic spirit, and +although, as we shall see, the story has been given its final shape +under the same influences that determined the other branches of +religious literature, the form has not obscured the popular character of +the material out of which the story has been constructed. + +The name of the hero of the story was for a long time a puzzle to +scholars. Written invariably in ideographic fashion, the provisional +reading Izdubar[845] was the only safe recourse until a few years ago, +when Pinches discovered in a lexicographical tablet the equation + + Izdubar = Gilgamesh.[846] + +The equation proved that the Babylonians and Assyrians identified the +hero with a legendary king, Gilgamos, who is mentioned by Aelian.[847] +To be sure, what Aelian tells of this hero is not found in the Izdubar +epic, and appears to have originally been recounted of another legendary +personage, Etana.[848] There is therefore a reasonable doubt whether the +identification made by Babylonian scholars represents an old tradition +or is merely a late conjecture arising at a time when the traditions of +Izdubar were confused with those of Etana. Still, since Etana appears to +be a phonetic reading and can be explained etymologically in a +satisfactory manner, the presumption is in favor of connecting Gilgamesh +with the hero of the great epic. For the present, therefore, we may +accept the identification and assume that in Aelian, as well as in the +sources whence he drew his information, Izdubar-Gilgamesh has been +confused with Etana.[849] + +The ideographic form of the name is preceded invariably by the +determinative for deity, but the three elements composing the name, +_iz_, _du_, and _bar_, are exceedingly obscure. The first element is a +very common determinative, preceding objects made of wood or any hard +substance. The word for weapon is always written with this +determinative; and since Izdubar is essentially a warrior, one should +expect _dubar_ to represent some kind of a weapon that he carries. On +seal cylinders Gilgamesh appears armed with a large lance.[850] However +this may be, Jeremias' proposition to render the name as "divine judge +of earthly affairs"[851] is untenable, and the same may be said of other +conjectures. + +The fact that the name is written with the determinative for deity must +not lead us to a purely mythical interpretation of the epic. There was a +strong tendency in Babylonia to regard the early kings as gods. Dungi +and Gudea, who are far from being the earliest rulers in the Euphrates +Valley, appear in tablets with the determinative for deity attached to +their names,[852] and it would be natural, therefore, that a hero +belonging to a remote period should likewise be deified. There can be no +doubt that there is a historical background to the Gilgamesh epic, and +there is equally no reason to question the existence of an ancient king +or hero who bore the name Gilgamesh. The deification of the hero +superinduced the introduction of mythical elements. It was an easy +process also, that led to tales which arose as popular symbols of +occurrences in nature, being likewise brought into connection with a +hero, who was at the same time a god. + +The Gilgamesh epic thus takes shape as a compound of faint historical +tradition and of nature myths. The deified hero becomes more +particularly a solar deity. The popularity of the hero-god is attested +by the introduction of his name in incantations,[853] and by special +hymns being composed in his honor. One of these hymns,[854] of a +penitential character, is interesting as illustrating the survival of +the recollection of his human origin. Gilgamesh is addressed by a +penitent, who seeks healing from disease: + + O Gilgamesh, great king, judge of the Anunnaki, + Prince, great oracle[855] of mankind, + Overseer of all regions, ruler of the world, lord of what is on earth, + Thou dost judge and, like a god, thou givest decisions,[856] + Thou art established on the earth, thou fulfillest judgment, + Thy judgment is unchangeable, thy [command is not revoked], + Thou dost inquire, thou commandest, thou judgest, thou seest, and + thou directest. + Shamash has entrusted into thy hand sceptre and decision. + +It will be observed that Gilgamesh is appealed to as a 'king' and +'prince.' His dominion is the earth, and the emphasis placed upon this +circumstance is significant. In accord with this peculiar province of +the god, the hymn continues: + + Kings, chiefs, and princes bow before thee, + Thou seest their laws, thou presidest over their decisions. + +At the same time, his dependence upon Shamash is emphasized. As a minor +solar deity, he receives his powers from the great judge Shamash. This +double character of Gilgamesh furnishes the key to the interpretation of +the epic in which he is the central figure. + +The poem in its final shape comprised twelve tablets of about three +thousand lines. Unfortunately only about half of the epic has been found +up to the present time. The numerous fragments represent at least four +distinct copies, all belonging to the library of Ashurbanabal. To +Professor Paul Haupt we are indebted for a practically complete +publication of the fragments of the epic;[857] and it is likewise owing, +chiefly, to Professor Haupt that the sequence in the incidents of the +epic as well as the general interpretation of the composition has been +established.[858] + +The center of action in the first tablets of the series and in the +oldest portions of the epic is the ancient city Uruk, or Erech, in +southern Babylonia, invariably spoken of as _Uruk supûri_, that is, the +'walled' or fortified Uruk. A special significance attaches to this +epithet. It was the characteristic of every ancient town, for reasons +which Ihering has brilliantly set forth,[859] to be walled.[860] The +designation of Uruk as 'walled,' therefore, stamps it as a city, but +that the term was added, also points to the great antiquity of the +place,--to a period when towns as distinguished from mere agricultural +villages were sufficiently rare to warrant some special nomenclature. +From other sources the great age of Uruk is confirmed, and +Hilprecht[861] is of the opinion that it was the capitol of a kingdom +contemporaneous with the earliest period of Babylonian history. A +lexicographical tablet[862] informs us that Uruk was specially well +fortified. It was known as the place of seven walls and, in view of the +cosmic significance of the number seven among the Babylonians, Jensen +supposes[863] that the city's walls are an imitation of the seven +concentric zones into which the world was divided. However this may be, +a city so ancient and so well fortified must have played a most +important part in old Babylonian history, second only in importance, if +not equal, to Nippur. The continued influence of the Ishtar or Nanâ cult +of Erech also illustrates the significance of the place. It is natural, +therefore, to find traditions surviving of the history of the place. + +The first tablet of the Gilgamesh epic contains such a reminiscence. The +city is hard pressed by an enemy. The misfortune appears to be sent as a +punishment for some offence.[864] Everything is in a state of confusion. +Asses and cows destroy their young. Men weep and women sigh. The gods +and spirits of "walled Uruk" have become hostile forces. For three years +the enemy lays siege to the place. The gates of the city remain closed. +Who the enemy is we are not told, and such is the fragmentary condition +of the tablet that we are left to conjecture the outcome of the city's +distress. + +In the second tablet, Gilgamesh is introduced as a hero of superior +strength and in control of Uruk. Is he the savior of the city or its +conqueror? One is inclined to assume the latter, for the inhabitants of +Uruk are represented as complaining that Gilgamesh has taken away the +sons and daughters of the place. From a passage in a subsequent tablet +it appears that Uruk is not the native place of the hero, but +Marada.[865] Moreover, the name Gilgamesh is not Babylonian, so that the +present evidence speaks in favor of regarding the first episode in the +epic as a reminiscence of the extension of Gilgamesh's dominion by the +conquest of Uruk. When this event took place we have no means of +determining with even a remote degree of probability. The representation +of Gilgamesh on very ancient seal cylinders[866] warrants us in passing +beyond the third millennium, but more than this can hardly be said. + +Gilgamesh is a hero of irresistible power. The inhabitants of Uruk +appeal for help to Aruru, who has created Gilgamesh: + + He has no rival.... + Thy inhabitants [appeal for aid?]. + Gilgamesh does not leave a son to his father. + Day and night,... + He, the ruler of walled Uruk,... + He, their ruler,... + The strong, the preëminent, the cunning,... + Gilgamesh does not leave the virgin to [her mother], + The daughter to her warrior, the wife to her husband. + The gods [of heaven] hear their cry. + They cry aloud to Aruru, "Thou hast created him, + Now create a rival (?) to him, equal to taking up the fight against + him (?)." + +So much at least is clear from the badly mutilated lines that Gilgamesh +has played sad havoc with the inhabitants of Uruk. In personal combat, +as it would appear, he has triumphed over the warriors of the place. The +son is taken away from his father, the virgins are taken captive, +warriors and husbands are snatched from those dear to them. Aruru is +here appealed to as the creator of mankind.[867] She who has created the +hero is asked to produce some one who can successfully resist Gilgamesh. +Aruru proceeds to do so. + + Aruru, upon hearing this, forms a man of Anu.[868] + Aruru washes her hands, takes a bit of clay, and throws it on the + ground. + She creates Eabani, a hero, a lofty offspring, the possession of + Ninib.[869] + +This creature Eabani is described as having a body covered with hair. He +has long flowing locks and lives with the animals about him. + + Eating herbs with gazelles, + Drinking from a trough with cattle, + Sporting with the creatures of the waters. + +The description evidently recalls man living in a savage state, and, to +judge from illustrations of Eabani on seal cylinders, the mythological +fancy of the period when strange monsters existed of hybrid formation, +half-man, half-beast, has influenced the conception of this strange +creature who is to combat the invincible Gilgamesh. But Gilgamesh +frustrates the plan. He sends a messenger known as _Sâdu_, that is, 'the +hunter,' and described as a "wicked man," to ensnare Eabani.[870] For +three days in succession, the hunter sees Eabani drinking at the trough +with the cattle, but is unable to catch him. The sight of this 'wild man +of the woods' frightens the hunter. He returns to Gilgamesh for further +instructions. + +Gilgamesh spoke to the hunter: + + Go, hunter mine, and take with thee Ukhat + When the cattle comes to the trough, + Let her tear off her dress and disclose her nakedness. + He[871] will see her and approach her. + His cattle, which grew up on his field, will forsake him. + +_Ukhatu_ is a name for a harlot devoted to the worship of Ishtar. Other +names for such devotees are _Kharimtu_[872] and _Kizritu_.[873] +Elsewhere the city Uruk is called "the dwelling of Anu and Ishtar, the +city of the _Kizréti_, _Ukháti_, and _Kharimâti_"[874] and in a +subsequent tablet of the Gilgamesh epic[875] these three classes of +harlots are introduced as the attendants of Ishtar, obedient to her +call. The conclusion is therefore justified that Uruk was one of the +centers--perhaps the center--of the obscene rites to which +Herodotus[876] has several references. Several other incidental +allusions in cuneiform literature to the sacred prostitution carried on +at Babylonian temples confirm Herodotus' statement in general,[877] +although the rite never assumed the large proportions that he reports. + +On the other hand, Herodotus does not appear to have understood the +religious significance of the custom that he designates as 'shameful.' +The name given to the harlot among Babylonians and Hebrews,[878] +_Kadishtu_ or _K'deshâ_, that is, 'the sacred one,' is sufficient +evidence that, at its origin, the rite was not the product of obscene +tendencies, but due to naïve conceptions connected with the worship of +Ishtar as the goddess of fertility. + +The introduction of Ukhat, however, as an aid to carry out the designs +of Gilgamesh is devoid of religious significance, and one is inclined to +regard the Eabani episode, or at least certain portions of it, as having +had at one time an existence quite independent of Gilgamesh's +adventures. The description of Eabani is, as we have seen, based upon +mythological ideas. The creation of Eabani recalls the Biblical +tradition of the formation of the first man, and Ukhat appears to be the +Babylonian equivalent to the Biblical Eve, who through her charms +entices Eabani away from the gazelles and cattle,[879] and brings him to +Uruk, the symbol of civilized existence. + +It is significant that in the Biblical narrative, the sexual instinct +and the beginnings of culture as symbolized by the tree of knowledge are +closely associated. According to rabbinical traditions, the serpent is +the symbol of the sexual passion.[880] + +Eve obtains control of Adam with the aid of this passion. In the episode +of Eabani, Ukhat, and the hunter--who, be it noted, plays the part of +the tempter--we seem to have an ancient legend forming part of some +tradition regarding the beginnings of man's history, and which has been +brought into connection with the Gilgamesh epic,--when and how, it is +impossible, of course, to say. + +The hunter follows the instructions of Gilgamesh. Eabani falls a victim +to Ukhat's attractions. + + Ukhat exposed her breast, revealed her nakedness, took off her + clothing. + Unabashed she enticed him. + +The details of the meeting are described with a frank simplicity that +points again to the antiquity of the legend. + + For six days and seven nights Eabani enjoyed the love of Ukhat. + After he had satiated himself with her charms, + He turned his countenance to his cattle. + The reposing gazelles saw Eabani, + The cattle of the field turned away from him. + Eabani was startled and grew faint, + His limbs grew stiff as his cattle ran off. + +But Ukhat has gained control of him. He gives up the thought of gazelles +and cattle, and returns to enjoy the love of Ukhat. His senses return, + + And he again turns in love, enthralled at the feet of the harlot, + Looks up into her face and listens as the woman speaks to him. + The woman[881] speaks to Eabani: + "Lofty art thou, Eabani, like to a god. + Why dost thou lie with the beasts? + Come, I will bring thee to walled Uruk, + To the glorious house,[882] the dwelling of Anu and Ishtar, + To the seat of Gilgamesh, perfect in power, + Surpassing men in strength, like a mountain bull." + +It would appear from these lines that previous to the coming of Ukhat, +Eabani had satisfied his desire on the beasts. In Ukhat, however, he +found a worthier mate, and he accordingly abandons his former associates +to cling to her. + + He yields and obeys her command. + In the wisdom of his heart he recognized a companion.[883] + +In the continuation of the story Eabani becomes the companion of +Gilgamesh, but I venture to think that the title was transferred in the +development of the epic from Ukhat, to whom it originally belonged. It +is she who awakens in Eabani a sense of dignity which made him superior +to the animals. The word translated 'companion'[884] may be +appropriately applied to Ukhat. Eabani clings to her, as Adam does to +Eve after she 'is brought'[885] to him. Ukhat becomes Eabani's +'companion,' just as Eve becomes the 'helpmate' of Adam. + +These considerations strengthen the supposition that the Eabani-Ukhat +episode is quite distinct from the career of Gilgamesh. Had the epic +originated in Babylon or Nippur, Eabani and Ukhat would have been +brought to Babylon or Nippur. As it is, Eabani asks Ukhat to conduct him + + To the glorious dwelling, the sacred seat of Anu and Ishtar, + To the seat of Gilgamesh, perfect in power, + Surpassing men in strength like a mountain bull. + +Unfortunately, the tablet at this point is defective,[886] and the +following three tablets are represented by small fragments only, from +which it is exceedingly difficult to determine more than the general +course of the narrative. + +Ukhat and Eabani proceed to Uruk. There is an interesting reference to +'a festival' and to festive garments,[887] but whether, as would appear, +Ukhat and Eabani are the ones who clothe themselves[888] upon reaching +Uruk or whether, as Jeremias believes, a festival was being celebrated +at the place it is impossible to say. Eabani is warned in a dream not to +undertake a test of strength with Gilgamesh,[889] + + Whose power is stronger than thine, + Who rests not, ... neither by day or night. + O Eabani, change thy ... + Shamash loves Gilgamesh, + Anu, Bel, and Ea have given him wisdom. + Before thou comest from the mountain + Gilgamesh in Uruk will see thy dream.[890] + +Dreams play an important part in the epic. They constitute the regular +means of communication between man and the gods, so regular that at +times the compilers of the epic do not find it necessary to specify the +fact, but take it for granted. To Gilgamesh, Eabani's coming is revealed +and he asks his mother Aruru to interpret the dream. + +The third and fourth tablets take us back to the history of Uruk. +Gilgamesh, aided by his patron Shamash, succeeds in gaining Eabani as a +'companion' in a contest that is to be waged against Khumbaba, who +threatens Uruk. The name of this enemy is Elamitic, and it has been +customary to refer the campaign against him to the tradition recorded by +Berosus of a native uprising against Elamitic rule, which took place +about 2400 B.C.[891] It must be said, however, that there is no +satisfactory evidence for this supposition. Elam, lying to the east of +the Euphrates, was at all times a serious menace to Babylonia. +Hostilities with Elam are frequent before and after the days of +Hammurabi. If Gilgamesh, as seems certain, is a Cassite,[892] the +conflict between him and Khumbaba would represent a rivalry among +Cassitic or Elamitic hordes for the possession of Uruk and of the +surrounding district. While the Cassites do not come to the front till +the eighteenth century, at which time the center of their kingdom is +Nippur, there is every reason to believe that they were settled in the +Euphrates Valley long before that period. The course of conquest--as of +civilization in Babylonia--being from the south to the north, we would +be justified in looking for the Cassites in Uruk before they extended +their dominion to Nippur. At all events, the conflict between Gilgamesh +and Khumbaba must be referred to a much more ancient period than the +rise of the city of Babylon as a political center. + +Shamash and Gilgamesh promise Eabani royal honors if he will join +friendship with them. + + Come, and on a great couch, + On a fine couch he[893] will place thee. + He will give thee a seat to the left. + The rulers of the earth will kiss thy feet. + All the people of Uruk will crouch before thee. + +Eabani consents, and in company with Gilgamesh proceeds to the fortress +of Khumbaba. It is a long and hard road that they have to travel. The +terror inspired by Khumbaba is compared to that aroused by a violent +storm, but Gilgamesh receives assurances, in no less than three dreams, +that he will come forth unharmed out of the ordeal. + +The fortress of Khumbaba is situated in a grove of wonderful grandeur, +in the midst of which there is a large cedar, affording shade and +diffusing a sweet odor. The description reminds one forcibly of the +garden of Eden, and the question suggests itself whether in this episode +of the Gilgamesh epic, we have not again a composite production due to +the combination of Gilgamesh's adventures with the traditions regarding +Eabani. Unfortunately the description of the contest with Khumbaba is +missing. There is a reference to the tyrant's death,[894] but that is +all. In the sixth tablet, Gilgamesh is celebrated as the victor and not +Eabani. We may conclude, therefore, that the episode belongs originally +to Gilgamesh's career, and that Eabani has been introduced into it. On +the other hand, for Eabani to be placed in a beautiful garden would be a +natural consequence of his deserting the gazelles and cattle,--the +reward, as it were, of his clinging to Ukhat. Separating the composite +elements of the epic in this way, we have as distinct episodes in +Gilgamesh's career, the conquest of Uruk and of other places,[895] and +his successful campaign against Khumbaba. With this story there has been +combined a popular tradition of man's early savage state, his departure +from this condition through the sexual passion aroused by Ukhat, who +becomes his 'companion,' and with whom or through whom he is led to a +beautiful garden as a habitation. + +The sixth tablet introduces a third element into the epic,--a +mythological one. The goddess Ishtar pleads for the love of Gilgamesh. +She is attracted to him by his achievements and his personality. The +tablet begins with a description of the celebration of Gilgamesh's +victory. The hero exchanges his blood-stained clothes for white +garments, polishes his weapons, and places a crown on his head. + + To secure the grace of Gilgamesh, the exalted Ishtar raises her eyes. + Come, Gilgamesh, be my husband, + Thy love[896] grant me as a gift, + Be thou my husband and I will be thy wife + I will place thee on a chariot of lapis lazuli and gold, + With wheels of gold and horns of sapphire (?) + Drawn by great ... steeds (?). + With sweet odor of cedars enter our house. + Upon entering our house, + ... will kiss thy feet. + Kings, lords, and princes will be submissive to thee, + Products of mountain and land, they will bring as tribute to thee. + +Ishtar appears here as the goddess of love and fertility. As such she +promises Gilgamesh also abundance of herds. But Gilgamesh rejects the +offer, giving as his reason the sad fate encountered by these who were +victims of Ishtar's love: + + Tammuz, the consort of thy youth (?), + Thou causest to weep every year. + The bright-colored _allallu_ bird thou didst love. + Thou didst crush him and break his pinions. + In the woods he stands and laments, "O my pinions!" + Thou didst love a lion of perfect strength, + Seven and seven times[897] thou didst bury him in the corners (?), + Thou didst love a horse superior in the fray, + With whip and spur[898] thou didst urge him on, + Thou didst force him on for seven double hours,[899] + Thou didst force him on when wearied and thirsty; + His mother Silili thou madest weep. + +In this way Gilgamesh proceeds to upbraid the goddess, instancing, in +addition, her cruel treatment of a shepherd, and apparently also of a +giant, whom she changed to a dwarf. The allusions, while obscure, are +all of a mythological character. The weeping of Tammuz symbolizes the +decay of vegetation after the summer season. The misfortunes that +afflict the bird, lion, and horse similarly indicate the loss of beauty +and strength, which is the universal fate of those who once enjoyed +those attributes. Ishtar, as the great mother, produces life and +strength, but she is unable to make life and strength permanent. Popular +belief makes her responsible for decay and death, since life and +fertility appear to be in her hand. Gilgamesh, as a popular hero, is +brought into association by popular traditions with Ishtar, as he is +brought into relationships with Eabani and Ukhat. A factor in this +association was the necessity of accounting for Gilgamesh's death. As a +hero, the favorite of the gods and invincible in battle, he ought to +enjoy the privilege of the gods--immortality. The question had to be +answered how he came to forego this distinction. The insult he offers to +Ishtar is the answer to this question. Knowing that Ishtar, although the +giver of life, does not grant a continuance of it, he who is produced by +Aruru will have nothing to do with the great goddess. But his refusal +leads to a dire punishment, more disastrous even than the alliance with +Ishtar, which would have culminated in his being eventually shorn of his +strength. + +Ishtar, determined that Gilgamesh should not escape her, flies in rage +to her father Anu, the god of heaven, and tells of the manner in which +she has been treated. Anu comforts her. Yielding to Ishtar's request he +creates a divine bull, known as Alû, _i.e._, the strong or supreme +one,[900] who is to destroy Gilgamesh. At this point in the narrative +Eabani is again introduced. Gilgamesh and Eabani together proceed to the +contest with the bull, as they formerly proceeded against Khumbaba. On +seal cylinders this fight is frequently pictured.[901] In agreement with +the description in the narrative, Eabani takes hold of the tail of the +animal, while Gilgamesh despatches him by driving a spear into the +bull's heart. Ishtar's plan is thus frustrated. + + Ishtar mounts the wall of walled Uruk. + In violent rage she pronounces a curse: + "Cursed be Gilgamesh, who has enraged me, + Who has killed the divine bull." + +Eabani adds insult to injury by challenging the goddess. + + Eabani, upon hearing these words of Ishtar, + Takes the carcass (?) of the divine bull and throws it into her face. + Woe to thee! I will subdue thee, + I will do to thee as I have done to him.[902] + +The mythological motives that prompted the introduction of Ishtar into +this tablet now become apparent. The division of the epic into twelve +parts is due to scholastic influences. It is certainly not accidental +that the calendar also consists of twelve months. While it is by no +means the case that each tablet corresponds to some month, still in the +case of the sixth and, as we shall see, in the case of the seventh and +eleventh tablets, this correspondence is certain. The sixth month is +designated as the month of the "Mission of Ishtar." What this mission is +we shall see in a subsequent chapter.[903] In this month was celebrated +a festival to Tammuz, the young bridegroom of Ishtar, who is slain by +the goddess. The prophet Ezekiel gives us a picture of the weeping for +Tammuz,[904] which formed the chief ceremony of the day. + +It is this character of the month that accounts not only for the +introduction of the Ishtar episode in the sixth tablet, but which finds +further illustrations in the mourning which Ishtar and her attendants +indulge in after the death of the divine bull. + + Ishtar assembled the Kizréti, + Ukhâlti and Kharimâti. + Over the carcass of Alû they raised a lamentation. + +These three classes of sacred prostitutes have already been dwelt +upon.[905] With more material at our disposal regarding the cult of +Ishtar or Nanâ of Erech, we would be in a position to specify the +character of the rites performed at this temple. The statements of +Herodotus and of other writers suffice, however, to show that the three +terms represent classes of priestesses attached to the temple. In this +respect the Ishtar cult of Erech was not unique, for we have references +to priestesses elsewhere. However, the function of the priestess in +religious history differs materially from that of the priest. She is not +a mediator between the god and his subjects, nor is she a representative +of the deity. It is as a 'witch,' that by virtue of the association of +ideas above set forth,[906] she is able to determine the intentions of +the gods. Her power to do harm is supplemented by her ability to furnish +oracles. In this capacity we have already come across her,[907] and we +may assume that giving oracles constituted a chief function of the +priestess in Babylonia. It was furthermore natural to conclude that as a +'witch' and 'oracle-giver,' the priestess belonged to the deity from +whom she derived her power. When we come to the cult of a goddess like +Ishtar, who is the symbol of fertility, observances that illustrated +this central notion would naturally form an ingredient part of that +'sympathetic magic,'--the imitation of an action in order to produce the +reality--which dominates so large a proportion of early religious +ceremonialism. Among many nations the mysterious aspects of woman's +fertility lead to rites that by a perversion of their original import +appear to be obscene.[908] In the reference to the three classes of +sacred prostitutes, we have an evidence that the Babylonian worship +formed no exception to the rule. But with this proposition that the +prostitutes were priestesses attached to the Ishtar cult and who look +part in ceremonies intended to symbolize fertility, we must for the +present rest content. + +Gilgamesh, secure in his victory, proceeds to offer the horns of the +divine bull to his patron Lugal-Marada, the 'king' of Marad, and who +appears to be identical with Shamash himself. The offering is +accompanied by gifts to the sanctuary of precious stones and oil. There +is general rejoicing. + +The episode of Gilgamesh's contest with the bull also belongs to the +mythological phases of the epic. The bull is in Babylonian +mythology[909] as among other nations a symbol of the storm. It is in +his rôle as a solar deity that Gilgamesh triumphs over the storm sent by +Anu, that is, from on high. In the following chapter, we will come +across another form of this same myth suggested evidently, as was the +fight of Marduk with Tiâmat, by the annual storms raging in Babylonia. +Gilgamesh triumphs as does Marduk, but when once the summer solstice, +which represents the sun's triumph, is past, the decline of the sun's +strength begins to set in. This is indicated by the subsequent course of +the narrative. + +The scene of rejoicing at Gilgamesh's triumph is changed to one of +sadness. Eabani is snatched away from Gilgamesh. The few fragments of +the seventh and eighth tablets do not suffice for determining exactly in +what way this happened, but Ishtar is evidently the cause of the +misfortune. A fatal illness, it would seem, seizes hold of +Eabani,--whether as the result of a further contest or directly sent, it +is impossible to say. For twelve days he lingers and then is taken away. +As usual, the catastrophe is foreseen in dreams. For a third time[910] +he sees a vision of fire and lightning, which forebodes the end. + +The fragmentary condition of the epic at this point is particularly +unfortunate. There is a reference to Nippur,[911] of which it would be +important to know the purpose. + +The relationship between Gilgamesh and Eabani would be much clearer if +the seventh and eighth tablets were preserved in good condition. The +disappearance of Eabani before the end of the epic confirms, however, +the view here maintained, that the career of Eabani was originally quite +independent of Gilgamesh's adventures. His death is as superfluous as is +his association with Eabani. In all critical moments Gilgamesh appears +to stand alone. He conquers Uruk, and it is he who celebrates the +victory of the divine bull. The subsequent course of the narrative after +Eabani's death, except for the frequent mention of Gilgamesh's lament +for his companion, proceeds undisturbed. Moreover, Eabani's punishment +appears to be identical with that meted out to Gilgamesh. The latter is +also stricken with disease, but in his case, the disease has a meaning +that fits in with the mythological phases of the epic. The seventh +month--the one following the summer solstice--marks the beginning of a +turning-point in the year. As the year advances, vegetation diminishes, +and the conclusion was naturally drawn that the sun upon whom vegetation +depended had lost some of his force. This loss of strength is pictured +as a disease with which the sun is afflicted. In this way, the seventh +tablet--and possibly also the eighth--continues the nature myth embodied +in the sixth. + +Haupt has ingeniously conjectured that the sickness which affects +Gilgamesh is of a venereal character. The hero wanders about in search +of healing. His suffering is increased by his deep sorrow over the loss +of his 'companion.' The death of Eabani presages his own destruction, +and he dreads the dreary fate in store for him. The ninth tablet +introduces us to this situation. + + Gilgamesh weeps for his companion Eabani. + In distress he is stretched out on the ground.[912] + 'I will not die like Eabani. + Sorrow has entered my body. + Through fear of death, I lie stretched out on the ground.' + +He determines to seek out a mysterious personage, whom he calls +Parnapishtim,[913] the son of Kidin-Marduk.[914] This personage has in +some way escaped the fate of mankind and enjoys immortal life. He is +called the "distant one." His dwelling is far off, "at the confluence of +the streams." The road to the place is full of dangers, but Gilgamesh, +undaunted, undertakes the journey. The hero himself furnishes the +description. + + I came to a glen at night, + Lions I saw and was afraid. + I raised my head and prayed to Sin. + To the leader (?) of the gods my prayer came. + [He heard my prayer (?)], and was gracious to me. + +On many seal cylinders and on monuments, Gilgamesh is pictured in the +act of fighting with or strangling a lion. In the preserved portions of +the epic no reference to this contest has been found.[915] We should +look for it at this point of the narrative. The following lines contain +a reference to weapons,--ax and sword,--and in so far justify the +supposition that some contest takes place. But the text is too mutilated +to warrant further conjectures. After escaping from the danger +occasioned by the lions, Gilgamesh comes to the mountain Mashu, which is +described as a place of terrors, the entrance to which is guarded by +'scorpion-men.' + + He reached the mountain Mashu, + Whose exit is daily guarded, ... + Whose back extends to the dam of heaven, + And whose breast[916] reaches to Aralû;[917] + Scorpion-men guard its gate, + Of terror-inspiring aspect, whose appearance is deadly, + Of awful splendor, shattering mountains. + At sunrise and sunset they keep guard over the sun. + +It will be recalled that the earth is pictured by the Babylonians as a +mountain. The description of Mashu is dependent upon this conception. +The mountain seems to be coextensive with the earth. The dam of heaven +is the point near which the sun rises, and if the scorpion-men guard the +sun at sunrise and sunset, the mountain must extend across to the gate +through which the sun passes at night to dip into the great _Apsu_.[918] + +Aralû is situated under the earth, and Mashu, reaching down to Aralû, +must be again coextensive with the earth in this direction. The +description of Mashu accordingly is a reflex of the cosmological +conceptions developed in Babylonia. The scorpion-men pictured on seal +cylinders[919] belong to the mythical monsters, half-man, half-beast, +with which the world was peopled at the beginning of things. However, +there is also an historical background to the description. The name +Mashu appears in texts as the Arabian desert to the west and southwest +of the Euphrates Valley.[920] It is called a land of dryness, where +neither birds nor gazelles nor wild asses are found. Even the bold +Assyrian armies hesitated before passing through this region. In the +light of the early relationships between Babylonia and Arabia,[921] this +reference to Mashu may embody a tradition of some expedition to Southern +Arabia.[922] Beyond Mashu lay a great sea,--perhaps the Arabian +Sea,--which Gilgamesh is obliged to cross ere he reaches his goal. + +Gilgamesh is terrified at the sight of these scorpion-men but the latter +have received notice of his coming and permit him to pass through the +gate. + + A scorpion-man addresses his wife: + "He who comes to us is of divine appearance." + +The wife of the scorpion-man agrees that Gilgamesh is in part divine, +but she adds that in part he is human. In further conversation, the +scorpion-man announces that it is by express command of the gods that +Gilgamesh has come to the mountain. Gilgamesh approaches and tells the +scorpion-man of his purpose. The hero, recovering his courage, is not +held back by the description that the scorpion-man gives him of the +dangers that beset the one who ventures to enter the dreadful district. +The gate is opened and the journey begins. + + He gropes his way for one double hour, + With dense darkness enclosing him on all sides. + He gropes his way for two double hours, + With dense darkness enclosing him on all sides. + +After traversing a distance of twenty-four hours' march, Gilgamesh +beholds a tree of splendid appearance, decorated with precious stones +and bearing beautiful fruit. Finally he reaches the sea, where the +maiden Sabitum has her palace and throne. Upon seeing the hero, the +maiden locks the gates of her palace and will not permit Gilgamesh to +pass across the sea. Gilgamesh pleads with Sabitum, tells of the loss of +his friend Eabani, 'who has become dust,'[923] and whose fate he does +not wish to share. + + Gilgamesh speaks to Sabitum: + "[Now] Sabitum, which is the way to Parnapishtim? + If it is possible, let me cross the ocean. + If it is not possible, let me stretch myself on the ground."[924] + Sabitum speaks to Gilgamesh: + "O Gilgamesh! there has never been a ferry, + And no one has ever crossed the ocean. + Shamash, the hero, has crossed it, but except Shamash, who can cross + it? + Difficult is the passage, very difficult the path. + Impassible (?) the waters of death that are guarded by a bolt. + How canst thou, O Gilgamesh, traverse the ocean? + And after thou hast crossed the waters of death, what wilt thou do?" + +Sabitum then tells Gilgamesh that there is one possibility of his +accomplishing his task. If Ardi-Ea,[925] the ferryman[926] of +Parnapishtim, will take Gilgamesh across, well and good; if not, he must +abandon all hope. + +The ocean, though not expressly called _Apsu_, is evidently identical +with the great body of waters supposed to both surround the earth and to +flow beneath it.[927] The reference to 'the waters of death' thus +becomes clear. The gathering-place of the dead being under the earth, +near to the _Apsu_, the great 'Okeanos' forms a means of approach to the +nether world. It is into this ocean, forming part of the _Apsu_, that +the sun dips at evening and through which it passes during the night. +The scene between Gilgamesh and Sabitum accordingly is suggested, in +part, by the same cosmological conceptions that condition the +description of the mountain Mashu. + +Sabitum herself is a figure that still awaits satisfactory explanation. +She is called the goddess Siduri.[928] The name of this goddess is found +as an element in proper names, but of her traits we know nothing. +Sabitum appears originally to have been a term descriptive of her, and +Hommel[929] may be right in explaining the name as 'the one from +Sabu,'[930] and in taking the latter as the name of a district in +Arabia. It is tempting to think of the famous Saba in Southern Arabia. +Obedient to the advice of Sabitum, Gilgamesh tells Ardi-Ea his story and +also his desire. + + Now Ardi-Ea, which is the way to [Parnapishtim?]. + If it is possible, let me cross the ocean, + And if not possible, let me lie outstretched on the ground. + +Ardi-Ea consents, and tells Gilgamesh to take his ax, to go into the +woods, and to cut down a large pole that may serve as a rudder. + + Gilgamesh, upon hearing this, + Takes an ax in his hand, ... + Goes to the wood and makes a rudder five gar[931] long. + Gilgamesh and Ardi-Ea mount the ship. + + ... + + The ship tosses from side to side. + After a course of one month and fifteen days, on the third day[932] + Ardi-Ea reaches the waters of death. + +This appears to be the most dangerous part of the voyage. Ardi-Ea urges +Gilgamesh to cling to the rudder, and counts the strokes he is to +take.[933] The waters are not extensive, for only twelve strokes are +enumerated; but the current is so strong that it is with the utmost +difficulty that Gilgamesh succeeds in passing through them. At last, +Gilgamesh is face to face with Parnapishtim. The latter is astonished to +see a living person come across the waters. Gilgamesh addresses +Parnapishtim from the ship, recounts his deeds, among which we +distinguish[934] the killing of a panther, of Alû, of the divine bull, +and of Khumbaba. The death of Eabani is also dwelt upon, and then +Gilgamesh pleads with Parnapishtim, tells him of the long, difficult way +that he has traveled, and of all that he has encountered on the road. + + Difficult lands I passed through, + All seas I crossed. + +Parnapishtim expresses his sympathy: + + Gilgamesh has filled his heart with woe, + But neither gods nor men [can help him (?)]. + +Parnapishtim thereupon addresses Gilgamesh, showing him how impossible +it is for any mortal to escape death. The inexorable law will prevail as +long as 'houses continue to be built,' as long as 'friendships' and +'hostilities' prevail, as long 'as the waters fill (?) the sea.' The +Anunnaki, the great gods, and the goddess Mammitum, the creators of +everything + + Determine death and life. + No one knows the days of death.[935] + +At this point Gilgamesh propounds a most natural question: How comes it, +if what Parnapishtim says is true, that the latter is alive, while +possessing all the traits of a human being? The eleventh tablet of the +epic begins: + + Gilgamesh speaks to him, to Parnapishtim, the far-removed: + "I gaze at thee in amazement, Parnapishtim. + Thy appearance is normal. As I am, so art thou. + Thy entire nature[936] is normal. As I am, so art thou. + Thou art completely equipped for the fray.[937] + Armor[938] (?) thou hast placed upon thee. + Tell me how thou didst come to obtain eternal life among the gods." + +In reply, Parnapishtim tells the story of his escape from the common +fate of mankind. The story is a long one and has no connection with the +career of Gilgamesh. It embodies a recollection of a rain-storm that +once visited a city, causing a general destruction, but from which +Parnapishtim and his family miraculously escaped. The main purport of +the tale is not to emphasize this miracle, but the far greater one that, +after having been saved from the catastrophe, Parnapishtim should also +have been granted immortal life. The moral, however, is that the +exception proves the rule. With this tradition of the destruction of a +certain place, there has been combined a nature myth symbolizing the +annual overflow of the Euphrates, and the temporary disappearance of all +land that this inundation brought about, prior to the elaborate canal +system that was developed in the valley. It is the same myth that we +have come across in the creation epic and which, as we have seen, was +instrumental in moulding the advanced cosmological conceptions of the +Babylonians. + +In Parnapishtim's tale, the myth is given a more popular form. There is +no attempt made to impart a scholastic interpretation to it. In keeping +with what we have seen to be the general character of the Gilgamesh +epic, the episode introduced at this point embodies popular traditions +and, on the whole, popular conceptions. The spirit of the whole epic is +the same that we find in the Thousand and One Nights or in the Arabian +romance of Antar. + +The oriental love of story-telling has produced the Gilgamesh epic and, +like a true story, it grows in length, the oftener it is told. Gilgamesh +is merely a peg upon which various current traditions and myths are +hung. Hence the combination of Gilgamesh's adventures with those of +Eabani, and hence also the association of Gilgamesh with Parnapishtim. A +trace, perhaps, of scholastic influence may be seen in the purport of +Parnapishtim's narrative to prove the hopelessness of man's securing +immortality; and yet, while the theology of the schools may thus have +had some share in giving to the tale of Parnapishtim its present shape, +the problem presented by Gilgamesh's adventures is a popular rather than +a scholastic one. Even to the primitive mind, for whom life rather than +death constitutes the great mystery to be solved, the question would +suggest itself whether death is an absolutely necessary phase through +which man must pass. The sun, moon, and stars do not die, the streams +have perpetual life; and since all manifestations of life were looked at +from one point of view, why should not man also remain alive? Beyond +some touches in the narrative, we may, therefore, regard Parnapishtim's +story, together with the 'lesson' it teaches, as an interesting trace of +the early theology as it took shape in the popular mind. What adds +interest to the story that Parnapishtim tells, is its close resemblance +to the Biblical story of the Deluge. It also recalls the destruction of +Sodom, and we shall have occasion[939] to show the significance of these +points of contact. Bearing in mind the independent character of the +Parnapishtim episode, and the motives that led to its being incorporated +in the adventures of Gilgamesh, we may proceed with our analysis of this +interesting eleventh tablet. Thanks to the labors of Haupt, the numerous +fragments of it representing several copies, have been pieced together +so as to form an almost complete text.[940] In reply to Gilgamesh's +queries, + + Parnapishtim spoke to Gilgamesh: + "I will tell thee, Gilgamesh, the secret story, + And the secret of the gods I will tell thee. + The city Shurippak, a city which, as thou knowest, + Lies on the Euphrates, + That city was old,[941] for the gods thereof, + Decided to bring a rainstorm upon it. + All of the great gods, Anu, their father, + Their counsellor, the warrior Bel, + The herald Ninib, + Their leader En-nugi, + The lord of unsearchable wisdom, Ea, was with them, + To proclaim their resolve to the reed-huts. + Reed-hut, reed-hut, wall, wall! + Reed-hut, hear! Wall, give ear!" + +The ordinary houses of Babylonia were constructed of reeds, while the +temples and palaces were built of hard-baked clay. "Reed-hut" and "clay +structure," thus embracing the architecture of the country, are +poetically used to designate the inhabitants of Shurippak. The address +to the huts and structures has been appropriately compared by Professor +Haupt to the opening words of Isaiah's prophecies.[942] + + Hear, Heavens! and give ear, Earth! + +Ea's words are intended as a warning to the people of Shurippak. The +warning comes appropriately from Ea as the god of humanity, who +according to some traditions is also the creator of mankind, and who is +the teacher and protector of mankind. Opposed to Ea is Bel, the old Bel +of Nippur, who is represented as favoring the destruction of humanity. +The story in this way reflects a rivalry between the Ea and Bel cults. + +Of Shurippak, against which the anger of the gods is enkindled, we +unfortunately know nothing,[943] but it is fair to assume that there was +an ancient city of that name, and which was destroyed by an overflow of +the Euphrates during the rainy season. The city need not necessarily +have been one of much importance. Its sad fate would naturally have +impressed itself upon the memory of the people, and given rise to +legends precisely as the disappearance of Sodom[944] or of the +destruction of the tribes of Ad and Thamud gave rise to fantastic +stories among Hebrews and Arabs respectively.[945] + +Ea, not content with the general warning, sends a special message to +Parnapishtim, one of the inhabitants of Shurippak. + + O man of Shurippak, son of Kidin-Marduk![946] + Erect a structure,[947] build a ship, + Abandon your goods, look after the souls,[948] + Throw aside your possessions, and save your life, + Load the ship with all kinds of living things. + +The god then tells Parnapishtim in what manner to build the ship. Its +dimensions should be carefully measured. Its breadth and depth should be +equal, and when it is finished, Parnapishtim is to float it. The warning +from Ea comes to him in a dream, as we learn from a subsequent part of +the story. Parnapishtim does not deem it necessary to dwell upon this, +for it is only through dreams that the gods communicate with kings and +heroes. + +Parnapishtim declares his readiness to obey the orders of Ea, but like +Moses upon receiving the command of Yahwe, he asks what he should say +when people question him. + + What shall I answer the city, the people, and the elders? + +Ea replies: + + Thus answer and speak to them: + Bel has cast me out in his hatred, + So that I can no longer dwell in your city. + On Bel's territory I dare no longer show my face; + Therefore, I go to the 'deep' to dwell with Ea my lord. + +Bel's domain is the earth, while Ea controls the watery elements. Bel's +hostility to mankind is limited to the inhabitants of the dry land. The +moment that Parnapishtim enters Ea's domain he is safe. The answer thus +not only furnishes the real motive for the building of the ship, but +further illustrates the purport of the narrative in its present form. It +is a glorification of Ea at the expense of Bel, and it is not difficult +to detect the thought underlying the story that the evils afflicting +mankind on earth are due to the hostility of the 'chief demon,'[949] who +becomes the controller of the earth and of the atmosphere immediately +above the earth. Ea's answer is not intended to be equivocal, for he +further orders Parnapishtim to announce to his fellow-citizens the +coming destruction. + + Over you a rainstorm will come, + Men, birds, and beasts will perish. + +The following line[950] is defective, but it appears to except from the +general destruction the fish as the inhabitants of the domain controlled +by Ea. The time when the catastrophe is to take place is vaguely +indicated. + + When Shamash will bring on the time, then the lord of the whirlstorm + Will cause destruction to rain upon you in the evening. + +The 'lord of the whirlstorm' is Ramman, and the reference to this deity +specifies the manner in which the catastrophe will be brought about. As +in the Biblical story, 'the windows of heaven are to be opened,' the +rains will come down, driven by the winds that are to be let loose. It +has been supposed that because the ship of Parnapishtim drifts to the +north that the storm came from the south.[951] No stress, however, is +laid upon the question of direction in the Babylonian narrative. The +phenomenon of a whirlstorm with rain is of ordinary occurrence; its +violence alone makes it an exceptional event, but--be it noted--not a +miraculous one. Nor are we justified in attributing the deluge to the +rush of waters from the Persian Gulf, for this sheet of water is +particularly sacred to Ea as the beginning of the "great deep." It would +be an insult to Ea's dignity to suppose that he is unable to govern his +own territory. The catastrophe comes from above, from Ramman and his +associates who act at the instigation of the belligerent Bel. + +Parnapishtim begins at once to build the ship. He gathers his material, +and on the fifth day is ready to construct the hull. The ship resembles +the ordinary craft still used on the Euphrates. It is a flat-bottomed +skiff with upturned edges. On this shell the real 'house'[952] of +Parnapishtim is placed. The structure is accurately described. Its +height is one hundred and twenty cubits, and its breadth is the same, in +accordance with the express orders given by Ea. No less than six floors +are erected, one above the other. + + Then I built six stories,[953] + So that the whole consisted of seven apartments. + The interior[954] I divided into nine parts. + +The structure may properly be called a 'house boat,' and its elaborate +character appears from the fact that it contains no less than +sixty-three compartments. Parnapishtim carefully provides plugs to fill +out all crevices, and furthermore smears a large quantity of bitumen +without and within. + + I provided a pole,[955] and all that was necessary, + Six _sar_[956] of bitumen[957] I smeared on the outside,[958] + Three _sar_ of pitch [I smeared] on the inside. + +He also has a large quantity of oil placed on the boat, oxen, jars +filled with mead[959] oil, and wine for a festival, which he institutes +at the completion of the structure. The preparations are on a large +scale, as for the great New Year's Day celebrated in Babylonia. The ship +is launched, and, if Professor Haupt is correct in his interpretation, +the ship took water to the extent of two-thirds of its height. + + The side of the ship dipped two-thirds into water. + +Parnapishtim now proceeds to take his family and chattels on board. + + All that I had, I loaded on the ship. + With all the silver that I had, I loaded it, + With all the gold that I had, I loaded it, + With living creatures of all kinds I loaded it. + I brought on board my whole family and household, + Cattle of the field, beasts of the field, workmen,--all this I took + on board. + +Parnapishtim is ready to enter the ship, but he waits until the time +fixed for the storm arrives. + + When the time came + For the lord of the whirlstorm to rain down destruction, + I gazed at the earth, + I was terrified at its sight, + I entered the ship, and closed the door. + To the captain of the ship, to Puzur-Shadurabu,[960] the sailor, + I entrusted the structure[961] with all its contents. + +The description of the storm follows, in diction at once impressive and +forcible. + + Upon the first appearance of dawn, + There arose from the horizon dark clouds, + Within which Ramman caused his thunder to resound. + Nabu and Sharru[962] marched at the front, + The destroyers passed across mountains and land, + Dibbarra[963] lets loose the....[964] + Ninib advances in furious hostility. + The Anunnaki raise torches, + Whose sheen illumines the universe, + As Ramman's whirlwind sweeps the heavens, + And all light is changed to darkness. + +The destructive elements, thunder, lightning, storm, rain, are thus let +loose. The dreadful storm lasts for seven days. The terror of men and +gods is splendidly portrayed. + + Brother does not look after brother, + Men care not for another. In the heavens, + Even the gods are terrified at the storm. + They take refuge in the heaven of Anu.[965] + The gods cowered like dogs at the edge of the heavens. + +With this description the climax in the narrative is reached. The +reaction begins. Ishtar is the first to bewail the destruction that has +been brought about, and her example is followed by others of the gods. + + Ishtar groans like a woman in throes, + The lofty goddess cries with loud voice, + The world of old has become a mass of clay.[966] + +Ishtar appears here in the rôle of the mother of mankind. She feels that +she has none but herself to blame for the catastrophe, for, as one of +the great gods, she must have been present at the council when the storm +was decided on, and must have countenanced it. She therefore reproaches +herself: + + That I should have assented[967] to this evil among the gods! + That when I assented to this evil, + I was for the destruction of my own creatures![968] + What I created, where is it? + Like so many fish, it[969] fills the sea. + +From the words of Ishtar it would appear that the storm had assumed +larger dimensions than the gods, or at least than some of them, had +anticipated. At the beginning of the episode, Shurippak alone is +mentioned, and Ishtar apparently wishes to say that when she agreed to +the bringing on of the storm, she was not aware that she was decreeing +the destruction of all mankind. It is evident that two distinct +traditions have been welded together in the present form of the +Babylonian document, one recalling the destruction of a single city, the +other embodying in mythological form the destructive rains of Babylonia +that were wont to annually flood the entire country before the canal +system was perfected. + +Some particularly destructive season may have formed an additional +factor in the combination of the traditions. At all events, the storm +appears to have got beyond the control of the gods, and none but Bel +approves of the widespread havoc that has been wrought. It is no unusual +phenomenon in ancient religions to find the gods powerless to control +occurrences that they themselves produced. The Anunnaki--even more +directly implicated than Ishtar in bringing on the catastrophe--join the +goddess in her lament at the complete destruction wrought. + + The gods, together with the Anunnaki, wept with her. + The gods, in their depression, sat down to weep, + Pressed their lips together, were overwhelmed with grief (?). + The storm could no longer be quieted. + For six days and nights + Wind, rain-storm, hurricane swept along; + When the seventh day arrived, the storm began to moderate, + Which had waged a contest like a great host. + The sea quieted down, wind and rain-storm ceased. + +Parnapishtim then gazes at the destruction. + + Bitterly weeping I looked at the sea, + For all mankind had been turned to clay.[970] + In place of dams, everything had become a marsh. + I opened a hole so as to let the light fall upon my face, + And dumbfounded, I sat down and wept. + Tears flowed down my face. + I looked in all directions,--naught but sea. + +But soon the waters began to diminish. + + After twelve double hours[971] an island appeared, + The ship approached the mountain Nisir. + +The name given to the first promontory to appear is significant. _Nisir_ +signifies 'protection' or 'salvation.' The houseboat clings to this +spot. + + At this mountain, the mountain Nisir, the boat stuck fast. + +For six days the boat remains in the same position. At the beginning of +the seventh day, Parnapishtim endeavors to ascertain whether the waters +have abated sufficiently to permit him to leave the boat. + + When the seventh day approached + I sent forth a dove. + The dove flew about + But, finding no resting place, returned; + Then I sent forth a swallow. + The swallow flew about + But, finding no resting place, returned; + Then I sent forth a raven. + The raven flew off, and, seeing that the waters had decreased, + Cautiously[972] (?) waded in the mud, but did not return. + +Parnapishtim is satisfied, leaves the ship, and brings a sacrifice to +the gods on the top of the mountain. In seven large bowls he places +calamus, cedarwood, and incense. + + The gods inhaled the odor, + The gods inhaled the sweet odor, + The gods gathered like flies around the sacrificer. + +A solemn scene ensues. Ishtar, the 'mistress of the gods,' swears by the +necklace given to her by her father, Anu, that she will never forget +these days. + + Let the gods come to the sacrifice,[973] + But Bel must not come to the sacrifice; + Since, without consultation,[974] he caused the rain-storm, + And handed over my creation[975] to destruction. + +Bel thus appears to be the one who alone knew of the extent which the +destruction was destined to reach. The annihilation of all mankind was +his work, undertaken without consulting his associates. The latter were +aware only of the intended destruction of a single place,--Shurippak. + +At this moment Bel approaches. He does not deny his deed, but is enraged +that the planned destruction should not have been complete, since +Parnapishtim and his household have escaped. + + As Bel approached + And saw the ship, he was enraged, + Filled with anger against the gods--the Igigi. + 'What person has escaped (?)? + No one was to survive the destruction.' + +Ninib reveals the fact of Ea's interference: + + Ninib opened his mouth and spoke, spoke to the belligerent Bel: + "Who but Ea could have done this? + For is it not Ea who knows all arts?" + +Ea appeals to Bel: + + Ea opened his mouth and spoke, spoke to the belligerent Bel: + "Thou art the belligerent leader of the gods, + But why didst thou, without consultation, bring on the rainstorm? + Punish the sinner for his sins, + Punish the evil-doer for his evil deeds, + But be merciful so as not to root out completely, + Be considerate not to destroy everything." + +The terrors inspired by the deluge are well portrayed in the +continuation of Ea's speech. He tells Bel that he should have brought on +anything but a deluge. + + Instead of bringing on a deluge, + Let lions come and diminish mankind.[976] + Instead of bringing on a deluge, + Let tigers come and diminish mankind. + Instead of bringing on a deluge, + Let famine come and smite the land. + Instead of bringing on a deluge, + Let pestilence[977] come and waste the land. + +Ea then confesses that through his instigation Parnapishtim was saved. + + While I did not reveal the decision of the great gods, + I sent Adra-Khasis[978] a dream which told him of the decision of the + gods. + +It is a misconception to regard this answer of the god as equivocal. Ea +means to say that he did not interfere with the divine decree. He simply +told Parnapishtim to build a ship, leaving to the latter to divine the +reason. Ea, it is true, tells Parnapishtim of Bel's hatred, but he does +not reveal the secret of the gods. After Ea's effective speech Bel is +reconciled, and the scene closes dramatically, as follows: + + Bel came to his senses, + Stepped on board of the ship, + Took me by the hand and lifted me up, + Brought up my wife, and caused her to kneel at my side, + Turned towards us, stepped between us, and blessed us. + 'Hitherto Parnapishtim was human,[979] + But now Parnapishtim and his wife shall be gods like us.[980] + Parnapishtim shall dwell in the distance, at the confluence of the + streams.' + Then they took me and placed me in the distance, at the confluence of + the streams. + +The streams are, according to Haupt,[981] the four rivers--Euphrates, +Tigris, Karun, and Kercha, which at one time emptied their waters +independently into the Persian Gulf. Parnapishtim's dwelling-place is +identical with the traditional Paradise of the Babylonians and Hebrews. + +It will be proper before leaving the subject, to dwell briefly upon the +points of contact between this Babylonian tale and the Biblical +narrative of the Deluge. The source of the tradition must be sought in +the Euphrates Valley. The ark of Noah can only be understood in the +light of methods of navigation prevailing in Babylonia; and it is in +Babylonia, and not Palestine, that the phenomenon was annually seen of +large portions of land disappearing from view. + +The Babylonian tale is to be differentiated, as already suggested, into +two parts,--the destruction of Shurippak and the annual phenomenon of +the overflow of the Euphrates. The combination of these two elements +results in the impression conveyed by Parnapishtim's narrative that the +rain-storm took on larger dimensions than was originally anticipated by +the gods. The Biblical narrative is based upon this combination, but +discarding those portions of the tale which are of purely local interest +makes the story of a deluge, a medium for illustrating the favor shown +by Yahwe towards the righteous man, as represented by Noah. The Biblical +narrative ends, as does the Babylonian counterpart, with the assurance +that a deluge will not sweep over the earth again; but viewed from a +monotheistic aspect, this promise is interpreted as signifying the +establishment of eternal laws,--a thought that is wholly foreign to the +purpose of the Babylonian narrative. + +The slight variations between the Biblical and Babylonian narratives, +and upon which it is needless to dwell, justify the conclusion that the +Hebrew story is not directly borrowed from the Babylonian version.[982] +The divergences are just of the character that will arise through the +independent development and the independent interpretation of a common +tradition. The destruction of Shurippak has a Biblical parallel in the +destruction of Sodom[983] and of the surrounding district. Sodom, like +Shurippak, is a city full of wickedness. Lot and his household are saved +through direct intervention, just as Parnapishtim and his family escape +through the intervention of Ea. Moreover, there are traces in the Sodom +narrative of a tradition which once gave a larger character to it, +involving the destruction of all mankind,[984] much as the destruction +of Shurippak is enlarged by Babylonian traditions into a general +annihilation of mankind. It is to be noted, too, that no emphasis is +laid upon Lot's piety, and in this respect, as in others, Parnapishtim +bears more resemblance to Lot than to Noah. + +The hostility between Bel and Ea, which we have seen plays a part in the +Babylonian narrative, belongs to the larger mythological element in the +episode, not to the specific Shurippak incident. Bel, as the god whose +dominion includes the atmosphere above the earth, controls the 'upper +waters.' At his instigation these waters descend and bring destruction +with them. But Ea's dominion--the 'deep' and the streams--are beneficent +powers. The descent of the upper waters is in the nature of an attack +upon Ea's kingdom. It is through Ea that the mischief produced by Bel is +again made good. Such a conception falls within the domain of popular +mythology. An ancient rivalry between Nippur, the seat of Bel and Eridu +(or some other seat of Ea worship), may also have entered as a factor, +if not in giving rise to the story, at least in maintaining it. If this +be so, the story would belong to a period earlier than Hammurabi,[985] +since with the ascendancy of Babylon and of Marduk, the general tendency +of religious thought is towards imbuing the gods with a kindly spirit +towards one another, joining issues, as in the creation epic, for the +glorification of Marduk. The absence of Marduk from the deluge story is +another indication of the antiquity of the tradition. + +Coming back now to the epic, Parnapishtim, whose sympathy has been +aroused by the sight of Gilgamesh, makes an attempt to heal the hero of +his illness. + + The life that thou seekest, thou wilt obtain. Now sleep! + +Gilgamesh falls into a heavy stupor, and continues in this state for six +days and seven nights. An interesting dialogue ensues between +Parnapishtim and his wife. + + Parnapishtim says to his wife: + "Look at the man whose desire is life. + Sleep has fallen upon him like a storm." + Says the wife to Parnapishtim: + "Transform him, let the man eat of the charm-root,[986] + Let him return, restored in health, on the road that he came. + Through the gage let him pass out, back to his country." + Parnapishtim says to his wife: + "The torture of the man pains thee. + Cook the food[987] for him and place it at his head." + +It is interesting to note that the woman appears as the exorciser of the +disease. The wife of Parnapishtim--whose name is not mentioned as little +as is the wife of Noah or Lot--proceeds to prepare the magic food. A +plant of some kind is taken and elaborately treated. + + While he[988] slept on board of his ship, + She cooked the food and placed it at his head. + While he[988] slept on board of his vessel, + Firstly, his food ... ; + Secondly, it was peeled; + Thirdly, moistened; + Fourthly, his bowl (?) was cleansed; + Fifthly, _Shiba_[989] was added; + Sixthly, it was cooked; + Seventhly, of a sudden the man was transformed and ate the magic + food.[990] + +Gilgamesh awakes and asks what has been done to him. Parnapishtim tells +him. But Gilgamesh is not completely healed. His body is still covered +with sores. The magic potion must be followed by immersion into the +fountain of life. Parnapishtim instructs Ardi-Ea to convey Gilgamesh to +this fountain. He speaks to the ferryman. + + The man whom thou hast brought is covered with sores. + The eruption on his skin has destroyed the beauty of his body. + Take him, O Ardi-Ea, to the place of purification, + To wash his sores in the water, that he may become white as snow. + Let the ocean carry off the eruption on his skin, + That his body may become pure.[991] + Let his turban be renewed and the garment that covers his nakedness. + +Ardi-Ea carries out these instructions and Gilgamesh at last is healed. +The hero is now ready to return to his land. But though returning in +restored health, he is not proof against death. Parnapishtim, at the +suggestion of his wife, reveals the 'secret of life' to Gilgamesh just +before the latter's departure. The ship is brought nearer to the shore, +and Parnapishtim tells Gilgamesh of a plant that wounds as a thistle, +but which possesses wonderful power. Gilgamesh departs on the ship, and +with the help of Ardi-Ea finds this plant, which is called 'the +restoration of old age to youth.' It is a long journey to the place. The +plant grows at the side or at the bottom of a fountain. Gilgamesh +secures it, but scarcely have his hands grasped the plant when it slips +out of his hand and is snatched away by a demon that takes on the form +of a serpent. All is lost! Gilgamesh sits down and weeps bitter tears. +He pours out his woe to Ardi-Ea, but there is nothing left except to +return to Uruk. He reaches the city in safely. His mission--the search +for immortality--has failed. Though healed from his disease, the fate of +mankind--old age and death--is in store for him. With the return to Uruk +the eleventh tablet ends. It but remains, before passing on, to note +that the narrative of the deluge in this tablet is connected with the +character of the eleventh month, which is called the 'month of rain.' We +may conclude from this that the mythological element in the story--the +annual overflow--predominates the local incident of the destruction of +Shurippak. Gilgamesh, we must bear in mind, has nothing to do with +either the local tale or the myth, except to give to both an +interpretation that was originally foreign to the composite narrative. + +In the twelfth tablet--which is in large part obscure--we find Gilgamesh +wandering from one temple to the other, from the temple of Bel to that +of Ea, lamenting for Eabani, and asking, again and again, what has +become of his companion. What has been his fate since he was taken away +from the land of the living? The hero, now convinced, as it seems, that +death will come to him, and reconciled in a measure to his fate, seeks +to learn another secret,--the secret of existence after death. He +appeals to the gods of the nether world to grant him at least a sight of +Eabani. Nergal, the chief of this pantheon, consents. + + ... he opened the earth, + And the spirit[992] of Eabani + He caused to rise up like a wind. + +Gilgamesh puts his question to Eabani: + + Tell me, my companion, tell me, my companion, + The nature of the land which thou hast experienced, oh! tell me. + +Eabani replies: + + I cannot tell thee, my friend, I cannot tell thee! + +He seems to feel that Gilgamesh could not endure the description. The +life after death, as will be shown in a subsequent chapter, is not +pictured by the Babylonians as joyous. Eabani reveals glimpses of the +sad conditions that prevail there. It is the domain of the terrible +Allatu, and Etana[993] is named among those who dwell in this region. +Eabani bewails his fate.[994] He curses Ukhat, whom, together with Sadu, +he holds responsible for having brought death upon him. In Genesis, it +will be recalled, death likewise is viewed as the consequence of Adam's +yielding to the allurements of Eve. Special significance, too, attaches +to the further parallel to be drawn between Adam's punishment and +Eabani's fate. + + Dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return + +applies to Eabani as well as to Adam. He was formed of clay, as we have +seen,[995] and when he dies he is 'turned to clay.'[996] Still the +fortunes awaiting those who die are not alike. Those who die in battle +seem to enjoy special privileges, provided, however, they are properly +buried and there is some one to make them comfortable in their last hour +and to look after them when dead. Such persons are happy in comparison +with the fate in store for those who are neglected by the living. The +one who is properly cared for, who + + On a soft couch rests, + Drinking pure water, + Who dies in battle, as you and I have seen,[997] + His father and mother supporting his head, + His wife[998] ... at his side,-- + +the spirit of such a one is at rest. The circumstances attending death +presage in a measure the individual's life after death. + + But he whose corpse remains in the field, + As you and I have seen, + His spirit[999] has no rest in the earth. + The one whose spirit is not cared for by any one, + As you and I have seen, + He is consumed by gnawing hunger, by a longing for food. + What is left on the street he is obliged to eat.[1000] + +To be left unburied was the greatest misfortune that could happen to a +dead person. + +With this sentiment the epic closes. Gilgamesh must rest content with +the unsatisfactory consolation that Eabani offers him. Man must die, and +Gilgamesh cannot escape the universal fate. Let him hope for and, if +possible, provide for proper burial when death does overtake him. He +will then, at least, not suffer the pangs of hunger in the world of +spirits to which he must go. + +The twelfth tablet exhibits somewhat more traces of the theology of the +schools than the others. Eabani's speech, while conveying sentiments +that thoroughly represent the popular beliefs of Babylonia, is couched +in terms that give to the address the character of a formal declaration +of doctrines. The conjuring up of the spirit of Eabani is also a feature +that appears to be due to theological influences, and the whole episode +of Gilgamesh's wandering from place to place seeking for information +appears to be a 'doublet' suggested by the hero's wanderings, as +narrated in the ninth and tenth tablets. + +The problem propounded in the earlier tablets--the search for +immortality--is, as has been shown, a perfectly natural one and of +popular origin, but the problem with which Gilgamesh wrestles in the +twelfth tablet,--the secret of the life after death,--while suggested by +the other, belongs rather to the domain of theological and mystic +speculation. This aspect of the twelfth tablet is borne out also by the +fact that the problem is not solved. The epic ends as unsatisfactorily +as the Book of Job or Ecclesiastes. There is a tone of despair in the +final speech of Eabani, which savors of the schools of advanced thought +in Babylonia. For the problem of immortality, a definite solution at +least is offered. Man can reach old age; he may be snatched for a time +from the grasp of death, as Gilgamesh was through the efforts of +Parnapishtim, but he only deludes himself by indulging in hopes of +immortal life. 'Man must die' is the refrain that rings in our ears. The +plant of 'eternal youth' slips out of one's hand at the very moment that +one believes to have secured it. + +The Gilgamesh epic, as we have it, thus turns out to be a composite +production. Gilgamesh, a popular hero of antiquity, becomes a medium for +the perpetuation of various popular traditions and myths. The adventures +of his career are combined with the early history of man. Of actual +deeds performed by Gilgamesh, and which belong to Gilgamesh's career as +a hero, warrior, and ruler, we have only four,--the conquest of Erech, +his victory over Khumbaba, the killing of the divine bull, and the +strangling of the lion.[1001] The story of Eabani, Ukhat, and Sadu is +independent of Gilgamesh's career, and so also is the story of his +wanderings to Mashu and his encounter with Parnapishtim. Gilgamesh is +brought into association with Eabani by what may be called, a natural +process of assimilation. The life of the hero is placed back at the +beginning of things, and in this way Gilgamesh is brought into direct +contact with legends of man's early fortunes, with ancient historical +reminiscences, as well as with nature-myths that symbolize the change of +seasons and the annual inundations. + +Popular philosophy also enters into the life of the hero. Regarded as a +god and yet of human origin, Gilgamesh becomes an appropriate +illustration for determining the line that marks off man's career from +the indefinite extension of activity that is a trait of the gods. +Gilgamesh revolts against the universal law of decay and is punished. He +is relieved from suffering, but cannot escape the doom of death. The +sixth tablet marks an important division in the epic. The Ishtar and +Sabitum episodes and the narrative of Parnapishtim--itself a compound of +two independent tales, one semi-historical, the other a +nature-myth--represent accretions that may refer to a time when +Gilgamesh had become little more than a name,--a type of mankind in +general. Finally, scholastic speculation takes hold of Gilgamesh, and +makes him the medium for illustrating another and more advanced problem +that is of intense interest to mankind,--the secret of death. Death is +inevitable, but what does death mean? The problem is not solved. The +close of the eleventh tablet suggests that Gilgamesh will die. The +twelfth tablet adds nothing to the situation--except a moral. Proper +burial is essential to the comparative well-being of the dead. + +The fact that Gilgamesh is viewed as a type in the latter half of this +remarkable specimen of Babylonian literature justifies us in speaking of +it, under proper qualification, as a 'national epic.' But it must be +remembered that Gilgamesh himself belongs to a section of Babylonia +only, and not to the whole of it; and it is rather curious that one, of +whom it can be said with certainty that he is not even a native of +Babylonia, should become the personage to whom popular fancy was pleased +to attach traditions and myths that are distinctively Babylonian in +character and origin. + +The story of Gilgamesh was carried beyond the confines of +Babylonia.[1002] Gilgamesh, to be sure, is not identical with the +Biblical Nimrod,[1003] but the Gilgamesh story has evidently influenced +the description given in the tenth chapter of Genesis of Nimrod, who is +viewed as the type of Babylonian power and of the extension of +Babylonian culture to the north. + +The Gilgamesh epic is not a solar myth, as was once supposed,[1004] nor +is the Biblical story of Samson a pure myth, but Gilgamesh becomes a +solar deity, and it is hardly accidental that Samson, or to give the +Hebrew form of the name, Shimshon, is a variant form of +_Shamash_[1005]--the name of the sun in Babylonian and Hebrew. The +Biblical Samson appears to be modelled upon the character of Gilgamesh. +Both are heroes, both conquerors, both strangle a lion, and both are +wooed by a woman, the one by Delila, the other by Ishtar, and both +through a woman are shorn of their strength. The historical traits are +of course different. As for the relationships of the Gilgamesh epic to +the Hercules story, the authority of Wilamowitz-Möllendorf[1006] is +against an oriental origin of the Greek tale, and yet such parallels as +Hercules' fight with a lion, his conquest of death, his journey and +search for immortality (which in contrast to Gilgamesh he secures), +certainly point to an influence exercised by the oriental tale upon the +Greek story. It is not surprising that the elements contributed through +this influence have been so modified in the process of adaptation to the +purely Greek elements of the Hercules story, and, above all, to the +Greek spirit, as to obscure their eastern origin.[1007] Most curious as +illustrating the continued popularity of the Gilgamesh story in the +Orient is the incorporation of portions of the epic in the career of +Alexander the Great.[1008] In Greek, Syriac, and Rabbinical writings, +Alexander is depicted as wandering through a region[1009] of darkness +and terror in search of the 'water of life.' He encounters strange +beings, reaches the sea, but, like Gilgamesh, fails to secure +immortality. Such were the profound changes wrought by Alexander's +conquests that popular fancy, guided by a correct instinct of +appreciation of his career, converted the historical Alexander into a +legendary hero of vast dimensions.[1010] The process that produced the +Gilgamesh epic is repeated, only on a larger scale, in the case of +Alexander. Not one country, but the entire ancient culture +world,--Babylonia, Persia, Egypt, Arabia, Judea, and Syria,--combine to +form the legendary Alexander. Each country contributes its share of +popular legends, myths, and traditions. Babylonia offers as her tribute +the exploits of Gilgamesh, which it transfers in part to Alexander. The +national hero becomes the type of the 'great man,' and as with new +conditions, a new favorite, representative of the new era, arises to +take the place of an older one, the old is made to survive in the new. +Gilgamesh lives again in Alexander, just as traits of the legendary +Alexander pass down to subsequent heroes. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[844] See above, pp. 245-247. + +[845] Or Gishdubar or Gishtubar. + +[846] _Babylonian and Oriental Record_, iv. 264. For previous readings +of the name, see Jeremias' article on 'Izdubar' in Roscher's +_Ausführliches Lexicon der Griechischen und Römischen Mythologie_, ii. +col. 773, 774. + +[847] _Historia Animalum_, xii. 21. + +[848] See p. 524. + +[849] In the Oriental legends of Alexander the Great, this confusion is +further illustrated. To Alexander are attached stories belonging to both +Izdubar and Etana. See Meissner's _Alexander and Gilgamos_, pp. 13-17 +(Leipzig, 1894). + +[850] See, _e.g._, Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in Babylonia and +Assyria_, i. 84. + +[851] Article 'Izdubar,' col. 776; see Delitzsch, _Handwörterbuch_, p. +678. Hommel (_e.g._, _Altisraelitische Ueberlieferung_, p. 39) regards +Gilgamesh as a contraction from Gibil (the fire-god) and Gam (or Gab), +together with _ish_, an 'Elamitic' ending. If the name is Elamitic, one +should hardly expect a Babylonian deity entering as one of the elements. + +[852] See above, p. 167. + +[853] See above, p. 284. + +[854] Haupt's _Das Babylonische Nimrodepos_, p. 93. + +[855] Lit., 'he who is applied to for giving a decision.' + +[856] _Ta-par-ra-as_. + +[857] _Das Babylonische Nimrodepos_ (Leipzig, 1884-91). This edition +includes all but the twelfth tablet, which was published by Haupt in the +_Beiträge zur Assyriologie_, i. 48-79. For other publications of Haupt +on the Gilgamesh epic, see the Bibliography, § 6. The identification +with the Biblical Nimrod is now definitely abandoned by scholars, though +the picture drawn of Nimrod is influenced by the traditions regarding +Gilgamesh. See p. 515. + +[858] The best general work on the epic (based on Haupt's edition) is A. +Jeremias' _Izdubar-Nimrod_ (Leipzig, 1891), a reprint with additions, of +his article on 'Izdubar' in Roscher's _Ausführliches Lexicon der +Griechischen und Römischen Mythologie_ ii. + +[859] _Vorgeschichte der Indo-Europaer_, p. 112. + +[860] The words for 'city' in the Semitic languages embody this idea. + +[861] _Old Babylonian Inscription_, i. 2, p. 48. + +[862] IIR. 50, 55-57; VR. 41, 17, 18. An interesting reference to the +wall of Frech occurs Hilprecht, _ib._ i. 1, no. 26. + +[863] _Kosmologie_, p. 172. + +[864] Jeremias' _Izdubar-Nimrod_, p. 15, conjectures that the death of +the king has evoked distress, but that is highly improbable. That the +fragment under consideration belongs to the beginning of the epic is +tolerably certain, though not absolutely so. + +[865] Sixth tablet, l. 192. He brings offerings to Lugal-Marada, _i.e._, +the king of Marada--a solar deity. See p. 486. + +[866] Heuzey, _Sceaux inédits des Rois d'Agade_ (_Revue d'Assyriologie_, +iv. 3, p. 9). + +[867] See above, p. 448. + +[868] _Anu_ here used in the generic sense of 'lofty,' 'divine.' The +phrase is equivalent to the Biblical 'image of God.' + +[869] A phrase in some way again indicative of Eabani's likeness to a +deity. + +[870] That Gilgamesh undertakes this, and not the gods acting in the +interest of Uruk (as Jeremias and others assume), follows from a passage +in Haupt's edition, pp. 10, 40. + +[871] Eabani. + +[872] Identical with our own word "harem." + +[873] Perhaps "ensnarer." + +[874] So in the "Dibbarra" legend. See p. 531 and Delitzsch, +_Handwörterbuch_, p. 41. + +[875] Sixth tablet, ll. 184, 185. + +[876] Book 1. §§ 181, 182, 199. + +[877] See Jeremias' _Izdubar-Nimrod_, pp. 59, 60; Nikel, _Herodot und +die Keilschriftforschung_, pp. 84-86. + +[878] The protest of the Pentateuch (Deut. xxiii. 18) against the +_K'deshâ_, as also against the 'male devotee' (_Kadesh_), shows the +continued popularity of the rites. + +[879] It is to be noted that in the Yahwistic narrative, Adam is in +close communication with the animals about him (Gen. ii. 20). It is +tempting also to connect the Hebrew form of Eve, _Khauwâ_ (or _Khauwat_) +in some way with Ukhat, not etymologically of course, but as suggestive +of a dependence of one upon the other,--the Hebrew upon the Babylonian +term. Professor Stade (_Zeits. f. Alttest. Wiss._, 1897, p. 210) +commenting upon Gen. ii. 20, points out that Yahwe's motive for asking +Adam to name the animals was the hope that he would find a 'helpmate' +among them. In the light of the Babylonian story of Eabani living with +animals, Stade's suggestion receives a striking illustration. + +[880] See Trumbull, _The Threshold Covenant_, p. 239. + +[881] _Kharimtu_. In Arabic the word is likewise used for 'woman' in +general. + +[882] The temple at Uruk is meant. + +[883] Jeremias translates 'seeks a friend,' and refers the words to +Gilgamesh, but there is nothing in the narrative to justify us in +assuming that Eabani was thinking of the hero. + +[884] It is used as a synonym of _tappu_ 'associate,' Delitzsch, +_Handwörterbuch_, p. 10. Ideographically, it is composed of two +elements, 'strength' and 'acquire.' 'Companion in arms' is the +fellowship originally meant. + +[885] The Hebrew verb (Gen. ii. 22) expresses sexual union and precisely +the same verb is used in the cuneiform narrative when Eabani comes to +Ukhat (Haupt's edition, p. 11, l. 21). + +[886] We can still distinguish (Haupt, 12, 47) 'I will fetch him.' +Jeremias' rendering, "I will fight with him," is erroneous. + +[887] Haupt, 13, 7-8. + +[888] Cf. Gen. iii. 5 and 21. + +[889] The text of the following lines restored by combining Haupt, p. +13, with a supplementary fragment published by Jeremias' +_Izdubar-Nimrod_, pl. 3. + +[890] _I.e._, he will be told about thy dream through the wisdom given +to him. + +[891] See, _e.g._, Jeremias' _Izdubar-Nimrod_, p. 21. + +[892] So, _e.g._, Hommel (_Altisraelitische Ueberlieferung_, p. 35). He +is certainly not a native of Babylonia. + +[893] Gilgamesh. + +[894] Haupt, p. 26. + +[895] A city Ganganna is mentioned in the first tablet (Haupt, pp. 51, +6). + +[896] So Haupt, _Beiträge zur Assyriologie_, i. 112. + +[897] _I.e._, again and again. + +[898] This is the general sense of the three terms used. + +[899] _I.e._, an army's march of fourteen hours. See pp. 490, 503, 521. + +[900] The same word appears in incantation texts as a term for a class +of demons. + +[901] See, _e.g._, Jeremias' _Izdubar-Nimrod_, p. 26. + +[902] _I.e._, to the bull. + +[903] Chapter XXV. + +[904] Ez. viii. 14. + +[905] See above, p. 475. + +[906] See p. 267. + +[907] See above, p. 234. + +[908] Trumbull, _The Threshold Covenant_, chapter vii. + +[909] See p. 536. + +[910] Or as a third dream. It will be recalled that in a previous +portion of the epic (p. 481), Gilgamesh has three dreams in succession. + +[911] Haupt, pp. 45, 53. + +[912] Attitude of despair. + +[913] _I.e._, 'offspring of life.' I adopt Delitzsch's reading of the +name. Zimmern and Jensen prefer _Sitnapishtim_, but see Haupt's remarks +on the objections to this reading in Schrader, _Keilinschriften und das +Alte Testament_ (3d edition) _a. l._ At the recent Eleventh +International Congress of Orientalists, Scheil presented a tablet +dealing with the deluge narrative. If his reading is correct, the +evidence would be final for the form Pirnapishtim, formerly proposed by +Zimmern (_Babylonische Busspsalmen_, p. 26). See p. 507, note 1. + +[914] "Client of Marduk." The name Marduk appears here under the +ideographic designation _Tutu_. The identification with Marduk may be +due to later traditions. + +[915] Jeremias' suggestion (_Indubar-Nimrod_, p. 18) that the fight with +the lion belongs to the first tablet, where mention is made of a wild +animal of some kind, is not acceptable. + +[916] _I.e._, inner side. + +[917] The name of the cave underneath the earth where the dead dwell. + +[918] See above, p. 443. + +[919] See, _e.g._, Jeremias' _Izdubar-Nimrod_, p. 28. + +[920] See the passages in Delitzsch, _Wo Lag das Paradies_, pp. 242, +243. + +[921] See above, p. 39, and Hommel's full discussion, _Altisraelitische +Ueberlieferung_, chapter iii. + +[922] Hommel (_Altisraelitische Ueberlieferung_, pp. 35, 37) suggests a +migration of Cassites from Elam to Eastern Africa. + +[923] Haupt, pp. 12, 67. + +[924] Attitude of despair. + +[925] _I.e._ 'servant of Ea.' The reading Ardi-Ea is preferable to +Arad-Ea. + +[926] Lit., 'sailor.' + +[927] See above, p. 443. + +[928] Haupt, pp. 64, 36; 65, 1. + +[929] _Altisraelitische Ueberlieferung_, p. 35. + +[930] _Tum_ is the feminine ending. + +[931] A large measure. + +[932] Of the week? Hommel and others interpret that Gilgamesh +accomplishes the 'forty-five days' journey' in three days. + +[933] This I take to be the meaning of the numbers introduced at this +point. + +[934] The text is badly mutilated. + +[935] There is no limit to the rule of death. Death alone is 'immortal.' + +[936] As Haupt correctly interprets. + +[937] This appears to be the sense of this rather obscure line. + +[938] Read [sir-la]-am? + +[939] See below, p. 507. + +[940] The restored text in Haupt's edition of the _Nimrodepos_, pp. +134-149. + +[941] Zimmern ingeniously suggests _la bir_, "not pure," instead of the +rendering 'old.' + +[942] Isaiah i. 1. + +[943] See Jensen's remarks, _Kosmologie_, p. 387. There is no reference +to Shurippak in IIR. 46, 1, as Haupt has shown (see his note in the 3rd +edition of Schrader's _Keilinscriften und das Alte Testament_). + +[944] Gen. xix. + +[945] Hughes, _Dictionary of Islam_, _sub_ "Ad" and "Salih". + +[946] See above, p. 488, note 2. + +[947] Lit., 'construct a house'; house is used for any kind of structure +in general. + +[948] _I.e._, let your property go and save your family. + +[949] See above, p. 53. + +[950] L. 45. + +[951] Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 368; Jeremias, _Izdubar-Nimrod_, p. 37. + +[952] See above, p. 496, note 6. + +[953] Or decks (so Haupt). + +[954] Of each story or deck. + +[955] Poles are used to this day to propel the crafts on the Euphrates. + +[956] The largest measure. + +[957] The same word (_kupru_) is used as in Gen. vi. 14. + +[958] Some part of the outside of the structure is designated. + +[959] Haupt translates "Sesammeth." + +[960] "Puzur" signifies 'hidden,' 'protected.' "Shadu rabu," _i.e._, +'great mountain,' is a title of Bel and of other gods (see above, pp. 56 +and 278). Here, probably, Shamash is meant. + +[961] Lit. 'great house' or 'palace.' + +[962] _I.e._, 'king,' frequently found as a title of Marduk in +astronomical texts (Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 145). + +[963] The god of war and pestilence. + +[964] "Tar-gul-le," some mischievous forces. + +[965] The highest part of heaven. + +[966] _I.e._, has been destroyed. + +[967] Lit., 'spoken' or 'ordered.' + +[968] Lit., 'my mankind.' + +[969] _I.e._, Mankind. + +[970] From which they were made. See pp. 448 and 511. + +[971] See p. 482, note 4. + +[972] Haupt and Delitzsch render _ikkal_, 'ate,' as though from _akâlu_, +but this is hardly in place. I take the stem of the word to be _nakâlu_. + +[973] To have a share in it. + +[974] Jensen and Haupt translate "inconsiderately," but this rendering +misses the point. + +[975] Lit., 'my humanity.' + +[976] Not destroy it altogether. + +[977] Lit. 'the god Dibbarra.' + +[978] _I.e._, the 'very clever' or 'very pious,' an epithet given to +Parnapishtim. The inverted form, _Khasis-adra_, was distorted into +_Xisusthros_, which appears in the writers dependent upon Berosus as the +name of the hero of the Babylonian deluge. See, _e.g._, Cory's _Ancient +Fragments_, pp. 52, 54, 60, etc. The epithet appears also in the Legend +of Etana (pp. 523, 524), where it is applied to a 'wise' young eagle. + +[979] _I.e._, mortal. + +[980] _I.e._, immortal. _Cf._ Gen. iii. 22. + +[981] _Wo Lag das Paradies_ (_Ueber Land und Meer_, 1894-95, no. 15). + +[982] The Hebrew account, it must be remembered, consists of two +narratives dovetailed into one another. According to the one +version--the Yahwistic--the rainstorm continued for forty days and forty +nights; according to the other--the priestly narrative--one hundred and +fifty days pass before the waters began to diminish and a year elapses +before Noah leaves the ark. The Yahwistic narrative lays stress upon the +ritualistic distinction of clean and unclean animals, but on the whole, +the Yahwistic version approaches closer to the Babylonian tale. Evidence +has now been furnished that among the Babylonians, too, more than one +version of the tradition existed. At the Eleventh International Congress +of Orientalists (September, 1897), Scheil presented a tablet, dating +from the days of Hammurabi, in which the story of a deluge is narrated +in a manner quite different from the Gilgamesh epic. The tablet also +furnishes the phonetic reading _pï-ïr_, and Scheil is of the opinion +that these two syllables form the first element in the name of the hero. +Unfortunately, the tablet is badly mutilated at this point, so that the +question of the reading is not absolutely certain. See p. 488, note 2. +[The reading Ut-napishtim is now generally adopted.] + +[983] Gen. xix. + +[984] Note the phrase in Gen. xix. 31, "there is no one on earth," and +see Pietschman, _Geschichte der Phonizier_, p. 115. + +[985] That the story was current as early as Hammurabi is now +established by Scheil's fragment (see note 2 on preceding page). + +[986] The word used is _tû_ which means a charm or incantation in +general. + +[987] Made of the charm root. + +[988] Gilgamesh. + +[989] _I.e._, 'old age,' the name given to some plant of magic power. + +[990] _Tû._ + +[991] Lit., 'good.' + +[992] _Utukku_--the name, it will be recalled, given to a class of +demons. See p. 260. + +[993] See p. 518. + +[994] Haupt, _Beiträge zur Assyriologie_, i. 318, 319, has made it +plausible that pp. 16-19 of his edition belong to the twelfth tablet of +the epic, though perhaps to a different edition of the epic, as Jeremias +suggests (_Izdubar-Nimrod_, p. 43). + +[995] See above, p. 474. + +[996] Haupt's edition, pp. 67, 12. + +[997] Lit., 'thou hast seen it, I have seen it.' + +[998] Text defective. Jeremias conjectures "kneeling." + +[999] _Ekimmu_, another name for a class of demons. See p. 260. + +[1000] The correct translation of these lines we owe to Haupt (_Beiträge +zur Assyriologie_, i. 69, 70). + +[1001] The reference to the killing of a panther in the tenth tablet +(Haupt, p. 71, 6) is too obscure to be taken into consideration. +Gilgamesh's fight with a 'buffalo' (so Ward, "Babylonian Gods in +Babylonian Art," _Proc. Amer. Or. Soc._, May, 1890, p. xv) is pictured +on seal cylinders. No doubt, various deeds of Gilgamesh were recounted +in the missing portions of the epic, and it is also quite likely that +besides the stories in the epic, others were current of Gilgamesh to +which a literary form was never given. + +[1002] The Parnapishtim episode passed on to the Arabs, where the hero +of the deluge appears under the name of Khadir--a corruption of +Adra-Khasis. See Lidzbarski, "Wer ist Chadir?" _Zeits. f. Assyr._ vii. +109-112, who also suggests that Ahasverus, 'the Wandering Jew,' is a +corruption of Adrakhasis. + +[1003] It will be recalled that Nimrod is termed a 'mighty hunter' +(_säid_). This suggests a comparison with Sadu, 'the hunter,' in the +Gilgamesh epic. See above, p. 475. + +[1004] Originally suggested by H. C. Rawlinson. + +[1005] The ending _ôn_ is an emphatic affix--frequent in proper names. + +[1006] _Euripides' Herakles_, Einleitung. + +[1007] On this subject see the Introduction to Berard's _De l'origine +des cultes Arcadiens_, and for a further discussion of the relationships +between Izdubar and Hercules, see Jeremias' _Izdubar-Nimrod_, pp. 70-73, +or his article in Roscher's _Ausführliches Lexicon der Griechischen und +Römischen Mythologie_, ii. 821-823. + +[1008] Meissner, _Alexander und Gilgamos_ (Leipzig, 1894), pp. 13-17. + +[1009] In the Greek and other versions, the mountain Musas or Masis is +mentioned,--that is, _Mashu_, as in the Gilgamesh epic. See p. 488. + +[1010] See especially Budge, _The Life and Exploits of Alexander the +Great_ (London, Introduction, 1896); Nöldeke, _Beiträge zur Geschichte +des Alexander-Romans_ (Vienna, 1890) and Gaster, _An Old Hebrew Romance +of Alexander_ (_Journal Royal Asiat. Soc._, 1897, pp. 485-498). + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +MYTHS AND LEGENDS. + + +Not many years ago the impression appeared to be well founded that the +Semites were poor in the production of myths and legends as compared, +for example, to the Hindus or Greeks. The religious literature of the +Babylonians, originating undoubtedly with the Semitic inhabitants of the +Euphrates Valley, reverses the impression. The 'creation' and +'Gilgamesh' epics suffice, not merely for what they contain, but for +what they imply, to accord to Babylonian mythology a high rank; but in +addition to these epics we have a large number of tales of gods, +demigods, demons, and spirits that illustrate the capacity of the +Babylonians for the production of myths. Indeed, there is no longer any +reason for doubting that the Babylonian mythology exercised considerable +influence upon that of the Greeks. Further discoveries and researches +may show that distant India also felt at an early period the +intellectual stimulus emanating from the Euphrates Valley. At all +events, many of the features found in Babylonian myths and legends bear +so striking a resemblance to those occurring in lands lying to the east +and west of Babylonia, that a study of Aryan mythology is sadly +deficient which does not take into account the material furnished by +cuneiform literature. How extensive the Babylonian mythology was must +remain for the present a matter of conjecture, but it is easier to err +on the side of underestimation than on the side of exaggeration. If it +be remembered that by far the smaller portion only of Ashurbanabal's +library has been recovered, and that of the various literary collections +that were gathered in the religious centers of the south, scarcely +anything has as yet been found, it is certainly remarkable that we +should be in possession of an elaborate tale of a demi-god, Etana, of an +extensive legend recounting the deeds of the war and plague-god +Dibbarra, and of two genuine storm myths, while the indications in Dr. +Bezold's catalogue of the Kouyunjik collection justify us in adding to +the list several other myths and legends, among the still unpublished +tablets of the British Museum.[1011] These myths and legends have a +twofold value for us, a direct value because of the popular religious +ideas contained in them, and an indirect value by virtue of the +interpretation given to these ideas by the compilers. In the literary +form that the popular productions received, the influence of those who +guided the religious thought into its proper channels is to be clearly +seen. + + +The Etana Legend. + +It will be recalled that we came across a hero Etana in the Gilgamesh +epic.[1012] The name of the hero is Semitic, and signifies +'strong.'[1013] An identical name appears in the Old Testament,[1014] +and it is possible that the Babylonian Etana represents, like Gilgamesh, +some ancient historical person of whom a dim tradition has survived +among other nations besides the Babylonians. The deeds recounted of him, +however, place the hero entirely in the domain of myth. His patron is +Shamash, the sun-god, and in popular tradition he becomes a member of +the pantheon of the nether world. + +In the portions of the Etana legend preserved,[1015] two episodes are +detailed in the hero's career, one regarding the birth of a son, the +other a miraculous journey. The former episode justifies the assumption +of a historical starting-point for the legend of Etana.[1016] Among many +nations the birth of a hero or of a hero's son is pictured as taking +place under great difficulties. Etana's wife is in distress because she +is unable to bring to the world a child which she has conceived. Etana +appeals to Shamash. Through the mediation of the priests he has offered +sacrifices, and he now prays to Shamash to show him the "plant of +birth." + + The oracles[1017] have completed my sacrifices, + They have completed my free-will offerings to the gods. + O Lord, let thy mouth command, + And give me the plant of birth, + Reveal to me the plant of birth, + Bring forth the fruit, grant me an offspring. + +Of Shamash's reply only one line is preserved intact, in which he tells +Etana: + + Take the road, ascend the mountain. + +It is presumably upon the mountain that the plant grows whose magical +power will insure the happy delivery of the expected offspring. Harper +calls attention to a remarkable parallel to this incident which is found +in the Armenian and Mandaean legends of the birth of Rustem, the son of +Sal. The latter's wife is unable to deliver her child because of its +size. Sal, who was reared by an eagle, has in his possession a pinion of +the eagle, by means of which he can, when in distress, invoke the +presence of the bird. The father throws the pinion into the fire, and +the eagle appears. The latter gives the mother a medicinal potion, and +the child is cut out of the womb. Etana, like Rustem, is accompanied by +an eagle, and it would appear that the eagle aids Etana in obtaining the +plant.[1018] The eagle, in many mythologies, is a symbol of the sun, and +it is plausible to conclude that the bird is sent to Etana at the +instigation of Shamash. Who the son is that Etana expects we are not +told, and naturally from a single episode like this--and one so +fragmentarily preserved--no safe conclusions may be drawn. But the epic +(if we may apply this term) must have recounted some achievements of +Etana, and as the 'strong' one, his deeds must have borne some +resemblance to those of Gilgamesh. The birth of the son, it is +furthermore fair to presume, took place towards the end of Etana's +career, when his own life was drawing to a close. If a fragment[1019] of +the tale were only better preserved, we would have an episode of Etana's +earlier career. But such is the condition of this fragment that, at the +most, it can be said that Etana is engaged in some conflict against a +city, in which Ishtar, Bel, the Anunnaki, the Igigi, and some minor +gods, as En-ninna, Sibittum, are involved. The Etana series, as we learn +from the colophon to this fragment, was known by a designation in which +a city[1020] occurs, and it may be that this is the city against which +Etana, aided by the gods, proceeds. Leaving this aside, it is fortunate +that we have at least another episode in Etana's career which enables us +to establish the connecting link between the hero as an historical +personage and as a god or demi-god. As Gilgamesh offers an insult to +Ishtar, so Etana encounters the ill-will of the great goddess, though +through no direct offense. The eagle tempts Etana to mount with him into +the upper regions. Etana is represented as giving, in part, an account +of this adventure, in the first person. The gates of the upper regions +are opened, and Etana is terrified at the majestic sight which greets +him. He sees a throne, and throws himself on his countenance in terror. +The gates are significantly designated as the gate of Anu, Bel, and Ea, +and the gate of Sin, Shamash, Ramman, and Ishtar. The introduction of +the two classes of the theological triads[1021] reveals the influence of +a scholastic elaboration of some popular myth. The eagle reassures +Etana, and addresses him as follows: + + My friend lift up (?) [thy countenance], + Come and let me carry thee to the heaven [of Anu]. + On my breast place thy breast, + On my pinion place thy palms, + On my side place thy side. + +Etana obeys, and thus, securely attached to the eagle, begins the daring +journey. They fly for the space of a double hour,[1022] when + + The eagle addresses Etana: + Look, my friend, how the earth appears; + Look at the sea and at its side, the house of wisdom;[1023] + The earth appears as a mountain, the sea has become a pool (?). + A second double hour he (_i.e._, the eagle) carried him on high. + The eagle spoke to Etana: + Look, my friend, how the earth appears; + The sea is a mere belt (?) around the earth. + A third double hour he carried him on high. + The eagle spoke to Etana: + Look, my friend, how the earth appears; + The sea is a mere gardener's ditch.[1024] + +In this way they reach the gate of Anu, Bel, and Ea in safety, where +they take a rest. The eagle is not yet satisfied, and urges Etana to +follow him to the domain of Ishtar. + + Come, my friend [let me carry thee to Ishtar], + With Ishtar, the mistress [of the gods, thou shall dwell], + In the glory of Ishtar, the mistress of the gods, [thou shall sit?]. + On my side place thy side, + On my pinion place thy palms. + +The gods, it will be seen, dwell on high in accordance with the view +developed by astronomical speculations.[1025] Anu, Bel, and Ea are here +evidently identified with the fixed stars bearing their names,[1026] +while under Ishtar the planet Ishtar-Venus is meant. Etana yields to the +eagle's suggestion. They mount still higher. Earth and ocean grow still +smaller, the former appearing only as large as 'a garden bed,' the +latter like 'a courtyard.' For three double hours they fly. Etana +appears to warn the eagle to desist from his rash intention, but the +warning comes too late. Etana and the eagle are thrown down from the +lofty regions. With lightning speed the descent takes place, until the +two reach the ground. The further course of the narrative is obscure. +Was Etana punished by being sent to the nether world, where we find him +in the Gilgamesh epic?[1027] There is a reference, unfortunately quite +obscure, to the death of Etana, and perhaps to his shade,[1028] in a +portion of the tablet. One certainly expects both Etana and the eagle to +be punished for their rash act, but until we can determine with +certainty what became of both, and with what purport the tale is +introduced into the career of Etana, the question must be left open, as +also the possibility of a connection between this flight of Etana and +the similar Greek myth of Ganymede. The introduction of the eagle points +clearly to the mythological character of the tale, but flights of eagles +occur so frequently in the myths and legends of various nations that no +great stress is to be laid upon further parallels that might be +adduced.[1029] The story found in Aelian and which has already been +referred to[1030] alone calls for mention here. According to this story, +Gilgamesh, whose birth is feared by his cruel grandfather Sokkaros, king +of Babylonia, is thrown from the tower where his mother was imprisoned +and in which he was born, but in falling is caught by an eagle and taken +to a gardener who rears the child. The eagle being the associate of +Etana, the suspicion is justified that the child thus miraculously saved +is in reality Etana and not Gilgamesh. At all events, there must be some +connection between the story of Aelian and the Babylonian legend under +consideration. The fate of the eagle is recounted in another tablet of +the Etana series,[1031] which again furnishes an episode paralleled in +the mythologies of other nations. + +The eagle has lost favor with Shamash. Enmity has arisen between the +eagle and the serpent, and, curiously enough, the latter stands under +the protection of the sun-god. What the cause of the enmity between +eagle and serpent was, may have been recounted in a missing portion of +the tablet. The eagle forms a plan of destroying the serpent's brood. He +is warned against this act by a young eagle, who is designated as a +'very clever young one.' + + Do not eat, O my father, the net of Shamash is laid (?); + The trap, the ban of Shamash, will fall upon thee and catch thee. + Who transgresses the law of Shamash, from him Shamash will exact + revenge. + +But the eagle, we are told, paid no heed to the warning. + + He descended and ate of the young of the serpent. + +The serpent appeals to Shamash. He tells the sun-god of the cruel deed +of the eagle: + + See, O Shamash, the evil that he has done to me. + Help (?), O Shamash, thy net is the broad earth. + Thy trap is the distant heavens. + Who can escape thy net?[1032] + Zu,[1033] the worker of evil, the source of evil [did not + escape?[1034]]. + +Shamash responds to the appeal: + + Upon his hearing the lament of the serpent, + Shamash opened his mouth and spoke to the serpent: + Go and ascend the mountain; + The carcass of a wild ox make thy hiding-place. + Open him, tear open his belly. + Make a dwelling place [of his belly]. + All the birds of heaven will come down; + The eagle with them will come down. + + ... + + Upon penetrating to the meat he will hastily proceed, + Making for the hidden parts.[1035] + As soon as he has reached the inside,[1036] seize him by his wing, + Tear out his wing, his feather (?), his pinion, + Tear him to pieces, and throw him into a corner, + To die a death of hunger and thirst. + +This devilish plan is successfully carried out. With considerable skill +the narrative describes how the eagle, suspecting some mischief, did not +join the other birds, but when he saw that they escaped without harm +felt reassured. He tells his brood: + + Come, let us go and let us also pounce down upon the carcass of + the wild ox and eat, we too. + +The eagle is again warned by his "very clever" offspring. The rest of +his brood join in the appeal, but + + He did not hearken to them, and obeyed not the advice of his brood, + He swooped down and stood upon the wild ox. + +Still, he is not entirely free from suspicion, and the narrative +continues: + + The eagle inspected the carcass, looking carefully to the front and + behind him. + He again inspected the carcass, looking carefully to the front and + behind him. + +Detecting nothing to justify his suspicions, he digs his beak into the +carcass, but scarcely has he done so when the serpent seizes hold of +him. The eagle cries for mercy, and promises the serpent a present of +whatever he desires. The serpent is relentless. To release the eagle +would be to play false to Shamash. + + If I release thee ... + Thy punishment will be transferred to me. + +Thus the serpent justifies what he is about to do. In accordance with +the instructions of the sun-god, the eagle is stripped of his wings and +feathers, and left to die a miserable death. In its present form this +tale of the eagle and serpent forms part of the Etana story.[1037] +Jeremias is right in questioning whether it originally had anything to +do with Etana.[1038] Two distinct stories have been combined, much as in +the Gilgamesh epic several tales have been thrown together. The +association of Etana with the eagle suggests the introduction of the +episode of the eagle's discomfiture. If one may judge of the two +episodes related of Etana, he is not a personage regarded with favor by +the compilers. In both episodes we find him in distress. His flight with +the eagle is regarded as a defiance of the gods, though more blame +attaches to the eagle than to him. Shamash can hardly have regarded with +favor the ambition of a human being to mount to the dwelling of the +gods. Gilgamesh makes no such attempt, and Parnapishtim is not carried +on high, but to "the confluence of the streams." Gilgamesh, it will also +be recalled, is unable to pass to the nether world where Eabani is +placed, and in the following chapter we will come across a tale intended +to illustrate the impossibility of any one ever returning from the +hollow under the earth where the dead dwell. The story of Etana appears, +therefore, to emphasize the equal impossibility for any mortal to ascend +to the dwelling of the gods. Etana is deified, but he belongs +permanently to the region where all mortals go after their career on +earth is ended,--the nether world. One gains the impression, therefore, +that Etana is a hero of antiquity who is not approved of by the +Babylonian priests. Similarly, the conflict between the eagle and the +serpent suggests an opposition to the view which makes the eagle the +symbol and messenger of Shamash. The eagle recalls the winged disc, the +symbol of Ashur,[1039] and the eagle occurs also as a standard among the +Hittites,[1040] with whom, as we know, the Babylonians came into +contact. The story of Shamash, himself, laying the trap for the eagle +looks like a myth produced with some specific intent, an illustration of +legitimate sun-worship against rival cults. As a matter of course, in +the case of such a myth, it is difficult to say where its popular +character ends and the speculative or scholastic theory begins. But +whatever may have been the original purport of the tale, for our +purposes its significance consists in the view unfolded of Shamash as +the one who wreaks vengeance on the evil-doer. Shamash appears in the +episode in the rôle of the just judge that characterizes him in the +hymns and incantations. Etana's reliance upon the eagle leads to +disgrace and defeat. In a representation of the hero's flight on a seal +cylinder,[1041] the disapproval of the act is indicated by the addition +of two dogs in a crouching position, their gaze directed towards the +bird. The dogs are a symbol of the solar-god Marduk.[1042] + + +The Legend of Dibbarra. + +Of more direct religious import is a story recounted in a series +comprising five tablets of the deeds of the war and plague-god whose +name is provisionally read Dibbarra.[1043] He is a solar deity +identified in the theological system of the Babylonians with Nergal, but +originally distinct and in all probability one of the numerous local +solar deities of Babylonia like Nin-girsu and Nin-gishzida, Ishum and +others, whose rôles are absorbed by one or the other of the four great +solar deities,--Shamash, Marduk, Ninib, and Nergal. Nergal representing +the sun of midday and of the summer solstice, which brings in its wake +destruction of various kinds, it was appropriate that a god who came to +be specifically viewed as the god who causes disease should be regarded +as an aspect of the terrible Nergal. In the legend that we are about to +consider, Dibbarra appears as the god of war. He is designated as the +'warrior.' The name of the god is written ideographically with a sign +that has the meaning of 'servant' and 'man.' To this sign the phonetic +complement _ra_ is added. In view of a passage in a lexicographical +tablet, according to which the name of the god is designated as the +equivalent of the god Gir-ra, Jensen concluded that the name was to be +read Gira, and Delitzsch[1044] is inclined to follow him. A difficulty, +however, arises through the circumstance that the element _Gir_ in the +name Gir-ra is itself an ideograph. In any case, the designation of the +god as a 'servant' shows that he is described here by an epithet,[1045] +and not by his real name, which is to be sought rather in the sense of +'strong,' that is one of the meanings of the ideograph _gir_. The +epithet 'servant' belongs to the period when the god took his place in +the theological system as one of the attendants of the great Nergal, +just as the plague-god is himself accompanied by a god Ishum, who acts +as a kind of messenger or attendant to him. It should be added that what +little evidence there was for the conventional reading Dibbarra[1046] +has now been dispelled, so that but for the desire to avoid useless +additions to the nomenclature of the Babylonian deities, the form Gir-ra +would have been introduced here, as for the present preferable. + +Where the cult of Dibbarra centered we do not know, but that he presided +over a district that must have played a prominent part at some period of +Babylonian history is shown by the elaborate legend of his deeds for +which, as in the case of Gilgamesh and Etana, we are justified in +assuming an historical background. In fact, the legend of Dibbarra is +naught but a poetic and semi-mythical disguise for severe conflicts +waged against certain Babylonian cities by some rival power that had its +seat likewise in the Euphrates Valley. + +Of the five tablets, but four fragments have as yet been found in such a +condition as to be utilized. The longest of these contains an address to +Dibbarra by his faithful attendant Ishum, in which the power of the +war-god is praised and some of his deeds recounted. + + [The sons of] Babylon were (as) birds + And thou their falconer. + In a net thou didst catch them, enclose them, and destroy them, + O! Warrior Dibbara, + Leaving the city,[1047] thou didst pass to the outside, + Taking on the form of a lion, thou didst enter the palace. + The people saw thee and drew (?) their weapons. + +The reference in these lines is to an attack upon the city of Babylon. +The war-god is pictured as striking out in all directions, imprisoning +the inhabitants of Babylon within the city walls, working havoc outside +of the city, and not stopping short at entering the palace. The metaphor +of the war-god taking on the form of a lion confirms the identification +of Dibbarra with Nergal, who is generally pictured as a lion. + +In the following lines the enemy who makes this attack on Babylon is +introduced. He is designated as a 'governor,' and Dibbarra is +represented as giving him certain instructions to carry out. The title +'governor' given to this enemy may be taken as an indication that the +epic deals with the rivalry existing among the states of Babylonia, each +represented by its capital. Ishum continues his address to Dibbarra: + + The heart of the governor, intent upon taking vengeance on Babylon, + was enraged, + For capturing the possessions of the enemy, he sends out his army, + Filled with enmity towards the people. + +Dibbarra is represented as addressing this governor: + + In the city whither I send thee, + Thou shall fear no one, nor have compassion. + Kill the young and old alike, + The tender suckling likewise--spare no one. + The treasures of Babylon carry off as booty. + +Ishum continues his narrative: + + The royal host was gathered together and entered the city. + The bow was strung, the sword unsheathed. + Thou didst blunt[1048] (?) the weapons of the soldiers, + The servitors of Anu and Dagan. + Their blood thou caused to flow like torrents of water through the + city's highways. + Thou didst tear open their intestines, and cause the stream to carry + them off. + +Dagan is here used for Bel,[1049] and the phrase 'servitors of Anu and +Dagan' embraces the inhabitants of Babylon. Marduk, the lord of Babylon, +is enraged at the sight, but apparently is powerless. + + The great lord Marduk saw it and cried "Alas!" + His senses left him. + A violent curse issued from his mouth. + +At this point the tablet is defective, and when it again becomes +intelligible we find Ishum describing an attack of Dibbarra upon another +of the great centers of the Euphrates Valley--the city of Uruk. Uruk is +called the 'dwelling of Anu and Ishtar,' the city of the _Kizrêti_, +_Ukhâti_, and _Kharimâti_[1050]--the sacred harlots. Uruk suffers the +same fate as Babylon: + + A cruel and wicked governor thou didst place over them, + Who brought misery upon them, broke down (?) their laws. + Ishtar was enraged and filled with anger because of Uruk. + +Her opposition, however, is as powerless to stem Dibbarra's attack as +was Marduk's grief at the onslaught on Babylon. + +Dibbarra's greed is insatiable. Ishum continues his address to him: + + O warrior Dibbarra, thou dost dispatch the just, + Thou dost dispatch the unjust, + Who sins against thee, thou dost dispatch, + And the one who does not sin against thee thou dost dispatch. + +The following lines reveal the purpose of Ishum's long speech. A war +more terrible even than the conflicts recounted is planned by Ishum, one +that is to involve all creation and extend to the higher regions. Ishum +asks Dibbarra's consent to the fearful destruction held in view: + + The brightness of Shul-pauddu[1051] I will destroy. + The root of the tree I will tear out + That it no longer blossom; + Against the dwelling of the king of gods, I will proceed.... + The warrior Dibbarra heard him.[1052] + The speech of Ishum was pleasant to him as fine oil, + And thus the warrior Dibbarra spoke: + Sea-coast [against] sea-coast, Subartu against Subartu, Assyrian + against Assyrian, + Elamite against Elamite, + Cassite against Cassite, + Sutaean against Sutaean, + Kuthaean against Kuthaean, + Lullubite against Lullubite, + Country against country, house against house, man against man. + Brother is to show no mercy towards brother; they shall kill one + another. + +The lines remind one of the description in the Gilgamesh epic of the +terror aroused by the deluge,[1053] and one might be tempted to combine +Dibbarra's speech with the preceding words of Ishum, and interpret this +part of the Dibbarra legend as another phase of the same nature myth, +which enters as a factor in the narrative of the Deluge. However, the +continuation of Dibbarra's speech shows that a great military conflict +is foretold. The countries named are those adjacent to Babylonia, and +the intention of the writer is evidently to imply that the whole world +is to be stirred up. This fearful state of hostility is to continue +until + + After a time the Akkadian will come, + Overthrow all and conquer all of them. + +Akkad, it will be recalled, is a name for Babylonia. The triumph of +Babylon is foretold in these lines. The Akkadian is, therefore, none +other than Hammurabi, who succeeds in obtaining the supremacy over the +entire Euphrates Valley, and whose successors for many centuries claimed +control of the four quarters of the world. + +It is evident from this 'prophecy' that the Dibbarra legend received its +final shape under influences emanating from Babylon, precisely as we +found to be the case in the 'creation' story and in the Gilgamesh epic. +The hostility that precedes the coming of Hammurabi points to the +violence of the conflicts in which that warrior was engaged, while the +exaggeration of this hostility shows how strong and permanent the +impression of Hammurabi's achievements must have been. The designation +of the conqueror as the Akkadian gives him to a certain extent the +character of a Messiah, who is to inaugurate an era of peace, and whose +coming will appease the grim Dibbarra. It is by no means impossible that +Hebrew and Christian conceptions of a general warfare which is to +precede the golden age of peace are influenced by the Babylonian legend +under consideration. + +Dibbarra gives his consent to Ishum's plan: + + Go, Ishum, carry out the word thou hast spoken in accordance with thy + desire. + +Ishum proceeds to do so. The mountain Khi-khi is the first to be +attacked. + + Ishum directed his countenance to the mountain Khi-khi. + The god Sibi,[1054] a warrior without rival, + Stormed behind him. + The warrior[1055] arrived at the mountain Khi-khi. + He raised his hand, destroyed the mountain. + He levelled the mountain Khi-khi to the ground. + The vineyards in the forest of Khashur he destroyed. + +In a geographical list[1056] a mountain Khi-khi, belonging to the +Amoritic country, is mentioned, and a mountain Khashur described as a +cedar district. There can be, therefore, no doubt that some military +expedition to western lands is recounted in our tablet. The continuation +of the narrative is lost, all but a small fragment,[1057] which tells of +the destruction of a city--otherwise unknown--called Inmarmaru. At the +instigation of Dibbarra, Ishum enters this city and destroys it. The +outrages committed are described at some length. Ea, the god of +humanity, hears of the havoc wrought. He is 'filled with wrath.' +Unfortunately, the fragment is too mutilated to permit us to ascertain +what steps Ea takes against Dibbarra. Marduk is also mentioned in this +connection. Under the circumstances, one can only conjecture that in the +missing portions of this tablet, and perhaps also in two others, the +wars preceding the advent of the Akkadian[1058] are recounted in poetic +and semi-mythical form. If this conjecture is justified, the main +purport at least of the Dibbarra legend becomes clear. It is a +collection of war-songs recalling the Hebrew anthology, "Battles of +Yahwe,"[1059] in which the military exploits of the Hebrews were +poetically set forth. + +The closing tablet of the Dibbarra legend is preserved,[1060] though +only in part. It describes the appeasement of the dreadful war-god. All +the gods, together with the Igigi and Anunnaki, are gathered around +Dibbarra, who addresses them: + + Listen all of you to my words. + Because of sin did I formerly plan evil, + My heart was enraged and I swept peoples away. + +He tells how he destroyed the flocks and devastated the fruits in the +fields, how he swept over the lands, punishing the just and the wicked +alike, and sparing no one. Ishum takes up the strain and urges Dibbarra +to desist from his wrath: + + Do thou appease the gods of the land, who were angry, + May fruits (?) and corn[1061] flourish, + May mountains and seas bring their produce. + +The era of peace and prosperity is thus inaugurated, and the legend +closes with solemn assurances from Dibbarra that he will bless and +protect those who properly honor him. + + He who glorifies my name will rule the world. + Who proclaims the glory of my power + Will be without a rival. + The singer who sings [of my deeds] will not die through pestilence. + To kings and nobles his words will be pleasing. + The writer who preserves them will escape from the grasp of the enemy. + In the temple where the people proclaim my name + I will open his ear;[1062] + In the house where this tablet is set up, though war[1063] may rage, + And god Sibi work havoc, + Sword and pestilence will not touch him--he will dwell in safety. + Let this song resound forever and endure for eternity. + Let all lands hear it and proclaim my power. + Let the inhabitants of all places learn to glorify my name. + +This closing address represents a late addition to the poem that +somewhat modifies its original import. Wars did not cease with the +establishment of Babylon's control. Many conflicts arose, but on the +whole, Babylonia was an empire of peace. The people were inclined +towards a life of ease, and the development of commerce served as a +wholesome check against too frequent military disturbances. The +war-songs, as a glorification of the nation's past, retained their +popularity, but the lesson drawn from the songs was the great blessing +that peace and freedom from turmoil brought with them. For the warlike +Assyrians, Dibbarra enraged may have been a more popular figure, but to +the peace-loving Babylonian, the appeased Dibbarra appealed with greater +force. The story of Dibbarra's deeds became in this way in the course of +time an object lesson, a kind of religious allegory handed down from one +generation to the other as an illustration of the horrors of war and of +violence in general. With the tendency--so characteristic of the +Babylonian religion[1064]--for great gods to absorb the rôles of minor +ones, Nergal became the god of war _par excellence_, while Dibbarra, +Ishum, and Sibi were chiefly viewed as powers responsible for such forms +of violence as pestilence and distress. To ensure the favor of a god of +pestilence was of importance for every individual, and one of the safest +means of obtaining this favor was to sing his praises, to recall his +power,--to glorify him and thus to keep him, as it were, in good humor. +What better means of accomplishing this than to have the record of his +deeds constantly before one's eyes? The British Museum contains two +specimens of tablets on which a portion of the Dibbarra legend is +inscribed, and which are pierced with holes in a manner as to leave no +doubt[1065] that the tablets were intended to be hung up in houses with +a view of securing protection from Dibbarra and his associates. The +reference in the closing lines of the story: + + The house where this tablet is set up, + +thus becomes clear. As the Hebrews were commanded, in order to secure +the protection of Yahwe, to write his law + + On the doorposts of the house,[1066] + +so the Babylonians were instructed by their priests to hang tablets in +their homes--probably at the entrance--on which Dibbarra was glorified. +Naturally, it was impossible to inscribe the whole story on a little +tablet, just as it was impossible to place the entire law of Yahwe on +the doorposts. In both cases a significant extract served as a part, +representative of the whole. In the case of the Dibbarra legend, the +closing portion was selected, which emphasized the necessity of keeping +the deeds of Dibbarra and the greatness of his power in mind. Like the +Gilgamesh epic, so the Dibbarra legend was to be taught by the father to +his son. The scribes were enjoined to teach the story to the people. The +poets were to make it the subject of their songs, and kings and nobles +were not exempt from the obligation to listen to the tale. + + +The Myth of the Storm-God Zu. + +Birds and bulls were to the Babylonians the symbols of storms and +clouds. In the Gilgamesh epic, it will be recalled, Anu sends a divine +bull to engage in a contest with Gilgamesh.[1067] The text of the epic +being unfortunately defective, we have no definite indication of the +character of the attack to be made upon the hero by the messenger from +the god of heaven; but since storms and disease are the two chief +weapons in the hands of the gods, and inasmuch as Gilgamesh in a later +section of the epic is struck down by disease, it is more than likely +that the bull represents a storm that is to sweep the hero and his +companion off the earth. The winged bulls placed at the entrance of +palaces embody the same idea, and in addition to the explanation for +these fantastic figures above[1068] suggested, it is noteworthy that the +two types of animals chosen for this symbolical decoration of edifices, +the bull and the lion, again illustrate the same two means at the +disposal of the gods for the punishment of man, the bull representing +the storms, and the lion being the symbol of Nergal, who is the god of +pestilence, as well as of war and of violent destruction in general. + +A storm-god symbolized under the form of a bird is Zu. The underlying +stem of the word conveys the notion of strength and violence. How bulls +came to be chosen as symbols of storms is not altogether clear. Possibly +the element of "strength" formed the connecting link in the chain of the +association of ideas. In the case of birds, on the other hand, the +association is to be sought in the appearance of the clouds during a +storm moving across the heavens like a flock of birds. In the Etana +legend, a reference occurs to Zu, who, as it would appear, is unable to +escape from the control of the supreme judge Shamash.[1069] Zu is there +called the chief worker of evil--a kind of arch satan. A story has been +found which illustrates an attempt made by the bird Zu to break loose +from the control of the sun. A storm was viewed as a conflict between +the clouds and the sun, much as an eclipse symbolized a revolt in the +heavens. The myth represents the conflict as taking place between Zu and +En-lil, the Bel of Nippur. The latter holds in his possession the +tablets of fate, by means of which he enjoys supreme authority over men +and gods. Zu's jealousy is aroused, and he plans to tear these tablets +from En-lil. The tablets of fate, it will be recalled, play an important +part in the Marduk-Tiâmat episode.[1070] Kingu--the symbol of chaos, +like Tiâmat--wears them on his breast, but he is obliged to yield them +to the conqueror of Tiâmat and of her brood, who replaces 'chaos' by +'order.' This conqueror was originally Bel of Nippur, and the Zu myth in +representing En-lil as holding the tablets of fate confirms the view +above set forth,[1071] according to which the original Tiâmat tale has +been modified by the substitution of Marduk for the old Bel. But the +story, while thus admitting the legitimacy of En-lil's claim to supreme +power, is yet so constructed as to contribute to the glory of Marduk. +The attack of the Zu-bird was suggested--as the Tiâmat myth--by the +annual storms that work such havoc in Babylonia. The forces of 'chaos' +are let loose, and an attempt is made to overthrow the 'order' of the +world, symbolized by the tablets of fate which En-lil holds in his +possession. Whoever has these tablets is invincible. But En-lil is +unable to resist the attack of Zu. The tablets are taken away from him, +and it is left for Marduk to recapture them. The tablets once in +Marduk's possession, En-lil's supremacy comes to an end, and the triumph +of Marduk is complete. To substantiate this interpretation of the myth, +an analysis of the text is necessary. The beginning of the story is +unfortunately missing. It appears to have been devoted to a +glorification of the god who controls the fate of the universe. The +second column opens as follows: + + And the oracles of all the gods he determined. + +From the context it is clear that Bel of Nippur is meant. Up to this +point, the myth reflects the old view according to which it was En-lil +who succeeded in overcoming Tiâmat or at any rate, in snatching the +tablets of fate from the breast of Kingu. Nippur's god lays claim to +being the one who established 'order' in the universe. His authority +could only be threatened if he were robbed of the tablets which +symbolize absolute control over the course of affairs. Zu boldly +attempts this: + + His eyes saw the mark of rulership, + The crown of his[1072] sovereignty, the garment of his[1072] divinity. + Zu saw the divine tablets of fate. + He looked at the father of the gods, the god of Dur-an-ki,[1073] + Desire for rulership seizes hold of his heart.[1074] + 'I will take the tablets of the gods + And decree the decisions [of all the gods.] + I will establish my throne, I will proclaim laws. + I will give all orders to all the Igigi.' + +Zu proceeds to the dwelling-place of En-lil and waits for a favorable +moment to make an attack. + + His heart was bent on the contest. + With his gaze directed toward the entrance of the dwelling,[1075] he + awaits for the beginning of day. + As En-lil poured forth the brilliant waters, + Took his seat on his throne and put on his crown, + He[1076] snatched the tablets of fate out of his hands, + Seized the authority--the promulgation of laws. + Thereupon Zu flew off and hid himself in his mountain. + +On seal cylinders a god is frequently pictured pouring forth streams of +water from jars placed on his shoulders. This is generally the sun-god, +but the symbol also seems to belong to other deities[1077] and is +appropriate to Bel of Nippur, who as the god of the atmosphere above the +earth, controls the upper waters. As long as these are poured out by +him, they are beneficent; but once beyond his control, the blessing of +rain is turned into the curse of a deluge and storm, flooding the fields +and sweeping away the habitations of men. This misfortune happens when +Zu robs En-lil of the tablets by means of which law and order are +established. En-lil is powerless. The bold act of Zu causes +consternation among the gods. Anu calls upon some one to pursue Zu and +capture him. The bird dwells in an inaccessible recess in the mountains, +and the gods are afraid to approach his nest. The scene that ensues +reminds us of the episode of the creation epic, where Anshar calls upon +Anu, Bel, and Ea in turn to subdue Tiâmat. + + Anu opens his mouth and speaks, + Addressing the gods his children: + 'Who will force Zu to submit + And thus make his name great among the inhabitants of the whole + world?' + +Ramman the storm-god _par excellence_ is first called upon by the +assembled gods: + + 'Ramman the chief,' they cried, 'the son of Anu.' + Anu communicated to him[1078] the order.[1079] + 'Go, my son Ramman, conqueror who yields to no one, + Subdue Zu with thy weapon,[1080] + That thy name be glorified in the assembly of the great gods. + Thou shall be without a rival among the gods thy brothers.' + +Anu furthermore promises Ramman that if he triumphs, lofty shrines will +be erected in his honor in many cities. + + 'Temples will be built in thy honor, + In all quarters of the world thy cities[1081] will be situated, + Thy cities[1082] will reach up to Ekur.[1083] + Show thyself strong among the gods, so that thy name be powerful.' + +Ramman, however, is afraid of the contest. + + Ramman answered the speech, + Addressing his father Anu: + 'My father, who can proceed to the inaccessible mountain? + Who is there like Zu among the gods, thy children?' + +He furthermore pleads that Zu, who has the tablets of fate in his hands, +is invincible. He has the power to decree the fates of the gods, and all +must bow to his will. At this point, unfortunately, the text becomes +defective. Anu calls upon two other gods to take up the contest with Zu. +The name of one of these is altogether lost; the second is called +Bar,[1084] and is designated as an offspring of Ishtar. Both these +deities decline, answering Anu in precisely the same manner as Ramman. +What finally happens we are left to conjecture. Harper[1085] supposes +that Shamash is finally called upon by Anu and accepts the challenge. He +bases this opinion upon the passage in the Dibbarra legend[1086] where +the serpent, appealing to Shamash, extols the sun-god's power by +declaring that even Zu could not escape the net of Shamash. There are, +however, grave objections to this view. In the first place, the passage +in question occurs in a defective part of the text, and Harper +himself[1087] is not certain of the restoration that he proposes.[1088] +Secondly, if Shamash conquers Zu, we should expect the sun-god to have +the tablets of fate in his possession. Such, however, is not the case, +and the only god besides En-lil who is represented in the religious +literature of the Babylonians as holding the tablets is Marduk. +Moreover, in a hymn to Marduk, which Harper himself quotes,[1089] the +bird Zu is referred to as among the evil forces captured by Marduk. In +view of this, there seems no reason to question that, in the present +form of the Zu myth, Marduk was introduced as the hero, precisely as, in +the present form of the Tiâmat episode, Marduk successfully carries out +a deed from which the other gods shrink in fear. The theological purport +of the myth thus becomes clear. It is to account for the fact that +Marduk holds the tablets which were originally in the hands of En-lil. +Marduk supplants the old Bel. In the Tiâmat episode his name is +substituted for that of En-lil, and the latter is represented as giving +his consent to the transfer of his name to the god of Babylon. In the Zu +myth, En-lil's claim to the supreme control of the laws and fate of the +universe is freely acknowledged, but, En-lil being unable to resist the +attack of Zu, it was left for Marduk to capture the bird and thus +acquire by his own efforts what the old Bel had lost through lack of +strength. Babylon replaces Nippur as the center of power in the +Euphrates Valley, and the god of Babylon, naturally, was imbued by his +worshippers with prerogatives that originally belonged to the rival god +of Nippur.[1090] + +If this view is correct, Harper's interpretation must be abandoned. The +Zu myth does not represent, as he supposes, an attack upon Marduk as the +symbol of the early morning sun, but upon En-lil, the Bel of Nippur, as +the one who, by virtue of having the tablets of fate in his possession, +controls the laws of the universe and fixes the fate of the gods and of +mankind. The annual rain-storm passing apparently beyond the control of +the gods is viewed as a revolt against En-lil's authority. It is left +for Marduk to reëstablish order, and in return, he retains control of +the precious tablets. That the conception of Marduk as a solar deity +constitutes a factor in the myth is not, of course, to be denied, +precisely as in the Tiâmat myth, the solar character of Marduk plays an +important part. The sun triumphs over the storms. Rain and wind are +obliged at last to yield their authority to the former. But for the +theologians of Babylon, the position of Marduk as the head of the +pantheon was a much more important factor. The myth served to show how +Marduk came to supplant the rôle of the old Bel of Nippur. + +Viewed in this light, the Zu myth appears in more senses than one as a +pendant to the Marduk-Tiâmat episode. Not only do both symbolize the +same natural phenomenon, but in both, Bel of Nippur was originally the +central figure of the pantheon, and in both Marduk replaces Bel. The Zu +myth is made to account in a somewhat more respectful, conciliatory +manner for the position of Marduk as the head of the pantheon. Instead +of setting aside En-lil altogether, as was done by the compilers of the +Tiâmat myth, Marduk conquers for himself the supremacy that his +followers claimed for him. The contradictions between the two myths need +not disturb us. As variant versions of a tale intended to account for +one and the same fact,--the supremacy of Marduk,--they may well have +arisen even in the same place. Such inconsistencies as the assumption, +in the Zu version of the nature myth, that En-lil is the original +establisher of order in the world, as against the Tiâmat version where +Marduk snatches the tablets of fate directly from Kingu, are inevitable +when stories that arose among the people are taken in hand by +theologians and modified and adapted to serve doctrines developed under +scholastic influences. + + +The Adapa Legend. + +The myths and legends that we have so far considered--including the +creation and Gilgamesh epics--will have illustrated two important +points: firstly, the manner in which historical occurrences were clothed +in mythical form and interwoven with purely legendary tales, and, +secondly, the way in which nature myths were treated to teach certain +doctrines. The story of Gilgamesh is an illustration of the hopelessness +of a mortal's attempt to secure the kind of immortal life which is the +prerogative of the gods. Popular tales, illustrative of the climatic +conditions of Babylonia, serve as a means of unfolding a doctrine of +evolution and of impressing upon the people a theological system of +beliefs regarding the relationship of the gods to one another. A +collection of war-songs is given a semi-mythical form, and the original +purport of the collection is modified to serve as a talisman against +misfortunes. In the case of these legends it is necessary and, as we +have seen, also possible to distinguish between their original and +present form and to separate the story, as in the case of the Gilgamesh +epic, into its component parts. + +The legend that we are about to consider proves that this process of the +adaptation of popular myths begins at a very early period. The text was +found on the cuneiform tablets discovered at El-Amarna in Egypt.[1091] +Since the El-Amarna tablets date from the fifteenth century B.C., we +have a proof of the compilation of the legend in question at this date. +The legend is again suggested by the storms which visited Babylonia, but +instead of a pure nature-myth, we have a tale which concerns the +relationship between the gods and mankind. In its present form, it is an +object lesson dealing with the same problem that we came across in the +Gilgamesh epic and that we will meet again in another form,--the problem +of immortality. + +The beginning of the story, as in the case of the Zu myth, is missing, +but we are in a position to restore at least the general context. A +fisherman, Adapa, is engaged in plying his trade when a storm arises. +Adapa is designated as the son of Ea. The place where he is fishing is +spoken of as 'the sea.' The Persian Gulf is meant, and this body of +water (as the beginning of the great Okeanos) being sacred to Ea,[1092] +the description of Adapa as the son of Ea is a way of conveying the idea +that, like Parnapishtim, he stands under the protection of Ea. The +story, like most legends, assumes a period of close intercourse between +gods and men, a time when the relationship involved in being 'a son of a +god' had a literal force which was lost to a more advanced generation. +Adapa, accordingly, is portrayed as fishing for the 'house of his lord,' +_i.e._, for Ea. When the storm breaks loose the fisherman, though a +mortal, subdues the fierce element. The storm comes from the south, the +direction from which the most destructive winds came to Babylonia. The +south wind is pictured, as in the Zu myth, under the form of a bird. The +wind sweeps Adapa into the waters, but, since this element is controlled +by Adapa's father,--the god Ea,--Adapa succeeds in mastering the south +wind, and, as we learn from the course of the narrative, in breaking the +wings of the storm-bird. When the tablet becomes intelligible we find +Adapa engaged in this contest with the south wind.[1093] + + The south wind blew and drove him[1094] under the water. Into + the dwelling-place[1095] [of the fish] it engulfs him. 'O south + wind, thou hast overwhelmed me with thy cruelty (?). Thy wings I + will break.' + +Adapa's threat is carried out. + + Even as he spoke the wings of the south wind were broken. For + seven days the south wind did not blow across the land. + +Seven is to be interpreted as a round number, as in the Deluge story, +and indicates a rather long, though indefinite, period. Anu, the god of +heaven, is astonished at this long-continued disappearance of the south +wind, and asks a messenger of his, who is called the god Ilabrat, for +the cause. Anu inquires: + + "Why has the south wind not blown for seven days across the + land?" His messenger Ilabrat answered him: "My lord! Adapa, the + son of Ea, has broken the wings of the south wind." + +Of this god Ilabrat nothing is known. The interpretation of his name is +doubtful.[1096] He probably is one of the numerous local gods who was +absorbed by some more powerful one and who thus came to have a position +of inferior rank in the pantheon. + +Anu, upon hearing the news, is enraged, and cries for 'help' against an +interference in his domain. He denounces Adapa in solemn assembly, and +demands his presence of Ea, in whose domain Adapa has taken refuge. The +text at this point is defective, but one can gather that Ea, who +constitutes himself Adapa's protector, warns the latter, as he warned +Parnapishtim. He advises him to present himself at the throne of Anu for +trial, and to secure the intervention of two gods, Tammuz and Gishzida, +who are stationed at the gate of heaven, Anu's dwelling-place. To +accomplish this, Adapa is to clothe himself in garments of mourning, and +when the doorkeepers ask him the reason for his mourning, he is to +answer: + + ... Two gods have disappeared from our earth, therefore do I + appear thus. + +And when he is asked: + + "Who are the two gods who have disappeared from the earth?" + + Tammuz and Gishzida will look at one another; they will sigh and + speak a favorable word before Anu, and the glorious countenance + of Anu they will show thee. + +Tammuz and Gishzida will know that they are meant. The mourning of Adapa +will be regarded as a sign of reverence for the two gods, whose sympathy +and good-will will thus be secured. + +The introduction of Tammuz and Gishzida introduces a widely spread +nature-myth into the story. Gishzida is identical with Nin-gishzida, a +solar deity whom we came across in the old Babylonian pantheon.[1097] +Tammuz similarly is a solar deity. Both represent local solar cults. At +a later period, Nin-gishzida is entirely absorbed by Ninib, but the +Adapa legend affords us a glimpse of the god still occupying an +independent, though already inferior, position. The Babylonian +calendar[1098] designates the fifth month as sacred to Gishzida, while +the fourth month is named for Tammuz. The two deities, therefore, take +their place in the systematized pantheon as symbolical of the phases of +the sun peculiar to its approach to the summer solstice. The +disappearance of the two gods signifies the decline of the year after +the summer solstice. Of Tammuz, the popular myth related that it was +Ishtar,[1099] represented as his consort, who carried him off. Since the +disappearance of Gishzida embodies precisely the same idea as that of +Tammuz, it was natural that the story should in time have been told only +of the one. The annual mourning for Tammuz was maintained in Babylonia +to a very late period. The Adapa legend shows us that at one time the +festival was celebrated in honor of the two related deities. The Tammuz +festival was celebrated just before the summer solstice set in, so that +the mourning was followed immediately by rejoicing at the reappearance +of the god whose coming heralded the culmination of vegetation. + +The destructive storms take place during the winter, when Tammuz and +Gishzida have disappeared. Adapa's mourning is thus an indication of the +season of the year when his encounter with the south wind took place. +Since Adapa succeeds in overcoming the destructive wind, the wintry +season has passed by. Summer is approaching. The time for celebrating +both the fast and the festival of the two solar deities has arrived. +Tammuz and Gishzida, the gods of spring, accordingly stand at Adapa's +side, ready to plead his cause before Anu. So much being clear, we may +advance a step further in the interpretation of the legend. By the side +of Tammuz and Gishzida, there is still a third solar deity who belongs +to the spring of the year,--Marduk, who, by virtue of his later position +as the head of the pantheon, sets aside his two fellows and becomes the +solar god of spring _par excellence_. Marduk, it will be recalled, is +commonly designated as the son of Ea,[1100] and we have seen that, apart +from political considerations, the sun rising out of the ocean--the +domain of Ea--was a factor in this association. Adapa dwells at the sea, +and is forced into the ocean by the south wind, in the same way that the +sun dips into the great 'Okeanos' every evening. The identification of +Adapa with Marduk[1101] thus becomes apparent, and as a matter of fact +the Babylonian scribes of later times[1102] accepted this +identification. + +The basis of the Adapa legend is, therefore, the nature-myth of the +annual fight of the sun with the violent elements of nature. At the same +time, other ideas have been introduced into it, and Adapa himself, while +playing the rôle of Marduk, is yet not entirely confounded with this +god. His name is never written with the determinative for deity. +Moreover, the nature-myth is soon lost sight of, in order to make room +for an entirely different order of ideas. The real purport of the legend +in its present form is foreshadowed by the further advice that Ea offers +to Adapa: + + When thou comest before Anu they will offer thee food of death. + Do not eat. They will offer thee waters of death. Do not drink. + They will offer thee a garment. Put it on. They will offer thee + oil. Anoint thyself. The order that I give thee do not neglect. + The word that I speak to thee take to heart. The messenger of + Anu approached.[1103] 'Adapa has broken the wings of the south + wind. Deliver him into my hands....' + +Ea obeys the order, delivers up Adapa, and everything happens as was +foretold. + + Upon mounting to heaven and on his approach to the gate of Anu, + Tammuz and Gishzida were stationed at the gate of Anu. They saw + Adapa and cried 'Help,[1104] Lord! Why art thou thus attired? + For whom hast thou put on mourning?'[1105] + +Adapa replies: + + 'Two gods have disappeared from the earth, therefore do I wear a + mourning garment.' + + 'Who are the two gods who have disappeared from the earth?' + + Tammuz and Gishzida looked at one another, broke out in lament. + 'O Adapa! Step before King Anu.' As he approached, Anu saw him + and cried out to him: + + 'Come, Adapa, why hast thou broken the wings of the south wind?' + + Adapa answered Anu: 'My lord! For the house of my lord[1106] I + was fishing in the midst of the sea. The waters lay still around + me, when the south wind began to blow and forced me underneath. + Into the dwelling of the fish it drove me. In the anger of my + heart [I broke the wings of the south wind].' + +Tammuz and Gishzida thereupon intercede with Anu on behalf of Adapa, and +succeed in appeasing the god's wrath. If the story ended here, we would +have a pure nature-myth--the same myth in a different form that we +encountered in the Creation epic, in the Deluge story, and in the Zu +legend. Adapa would be merely a designation of Marduk and nothing more. +The sun triumphs over the storms, and the only objectionable feature in +the tale--to a Babylonian--would be the degradation involved in obliging +Marduk to secure the intercession of other gods. But this feature of +itself suggests that the nature-myth has been embodied in the legend, +but does not constitute the whole of it. A second element and one +entirely independent in its character has been added to the myth. + +Anu is appeased, but he is astonished at Ea's patronage of Adapa, as a +result of which a mortal has actually appeared in a place set aside for +the gods. + + Why did Ea permit an impure mortal to see the interior of heaven + and earth? He made him great and gave him fame.[1107] + +The privilege accorded to Adapa appears to alarm the gods. As among the +Greeks and other nations, so also the Babylonian deities were not free +from jealousy at the power and achievements of humanity. Adapa, having +viewed the secrets of heaven and earth, there was nothing left for the +gods but to admit him into their circle. The narrative accordingly +continues: + + 'Now what shall we grant him? Offer him food of life, that he + may eat of it.' They brought it to him, but he did not eat. + Waters of life they brought him, but he did not drink. A garment + they brought him. He put it on. Oil they brought him. He + anointed himself. + +Adapa follows the instructions of Ea, but the latter, it will be +recalled, tells Adapa that food and water of _death_ will be offered +him. It is Ea, therefore, who, although the god of humanity, and who, +moreover, according to the tradition involved in the Adapa legend, is +the creator of mankind, who prevents his creatures from gaining +immortality. The situation is very much the same that we find in the +third chapter of Genesis, when God, who creates man, takes precautions +lest mortals eat of the tree of life and 'live forever.' The problem +presented by the Hebrew and Babylonian stories is the same: why should +not man, who is descended from the gods, who is created in the likeness +of a god, who by virtue of his intellect can peer into the secrets of +heaven and earth, who stands superior to the rest of creation, who, to +use the psalmist's figure, is only 'a scale lower than god,' why should +he not be like the gods and live forever? The Hebrew legend solves the +problem in a franker way than does the Babylonian. God, while as anxious +as Ea to keep man from eating of the tree of life, cautions Adam against +the act, whereas Ea practises a deception in order to prevent man from +eating. That in both tales eternal life is contained in food points +again (as we have found to be the case with the Biblical narratives of +Creation and of the Deluge) to a common source for the two traditions. +Similarly the phrase 'waters of life' is a figure of speech of frequent +occurrence in Biblical literature in both the Old and the New +Testaments. It is no argument against a common source for the Hebrew and +Babylonian stories explaining how man came to forego immortality, that +the waters of life should be found in the one and not in the other. If +we assume with Gunkel[1108] that the stories embodied in the first +chapters of Genesis were long current among the Hebrews before they were +given a permanent form, the adaptation of old traditions to an entirely +new order of beliefs involves a casting aside of features that could not +be used and a discarding of such as seemed superfluous. The striking +departures in the case of the Hebrew legends from their Babylonian +counterparts are as full of significance as the striking agreements +between the two. The departures and agreements must both be accounted +for. For both there are reasons. So, to emphasize only one point, in a +monotheistic solution of the problem under consideration, there was no +place for any conflict among the gods. In Genesis God simply wills that +man should not eat of the tree of life. In the Adapa legend the gods, +including Anu, are willing to grant a mortal the food and water of life, +simply because they believe that Ea, the creator of man, wishes him to +have it. Accordingly, Anu and his associates are represented at the +close of the legend as being grieved that Adapa should have foregone the +privilege. + + Anu looked at him[1109] and lamented over him. 'Come, Adapa, why + didst thou not eat and not drink? Now thou canst not live.' + +Adapa replies, unconscious of the deception practised on him: + + 'Ea, my lord, commanded me not to eat and not to drink.' + +Adapa returns to the earth. What his subsequent fate is we do not know, +for the tablet here comes to an end. It is possible that he learns what +Ea has done, and that the god gives him the reason for the deception +practised. A scene of this kind could not find a place in the Hebrew +version that emphasizes the supreme authority of a power besides whom +none other was recognized. God acts alone. + +Adam, it will be recalled, after eating of the fruit of the tree of +knowledge, makes a garment for himself. There can be no doubt that there +is a close connection between this tradition and the feature in the +Adapa legend, where Adapa, who has been shown the 'secrets of heaven and +earth,'--that is, has acquired knowledge,--is commanded by Ea to put on +the garment that is offered him. The anointing oneself with oil, though +an essential part of the toilet in the ancient and modern Orient, was +discarded in the Hebrew tale as a superfluous feature. The idea conveyed +by the use of oil was the same as the one indicated in clothing one's +nakedness. Both are symbols of civilization which man is permitted to +attain, but his development stops there. He cannot secure eternal life. + +On the other hand, in comparing the Hebrew and Babylonian versions of +the problem of knowledge and immortality, one cannot help being struck +by the pessimistic tone of the former as against the more consolatory +spirit of the latter. God does not want man to attain even +knowledge.[1110] He secures it in disobedience to the divine will, +whereas Ea willingly grants him the knowledge of all there is in heaven +and earth. In this way the Hebrew and Babylonian mind, each developed +the common tradition in its own way. + +Leaving the comparison aside and coming back for a moment to the Adapa +story, it is interesting to observe that as we have two tales, both +intended to explain the position of Marduk at the head of the pantheon, +the one by making him the conqueror of Tiâmat and forcing from Kingu the +tablets of fate, the other by representing him as recovering from Zu the +tablets which En-lil, who originally held them, could not protect +against the storm-bird, so we have two solutions offered for the problem +of immortality. The one in the Gilgamesh epic, where the hero is told of +the plant of life, succeeds in finding it, but as he is about to eat the +'food' loses his grasp upon it. The exertions of man are in vain. True, +there is Parnapishtim, a mortal who with his wife has obtained immortal +life. He is the exception that proves the rule. Moreover, it is Bel, and +not Ea, who places Parnapishtim 'at the confluence of streams,' there to +live forever, and Bel does this as a proof of his pacification, a kind +of indemnity offered to Ea for having destroyed the offspring of the god +of humanity. The Adapa legend attacks the problem more seriously. Ea, +the same god who has created man, endowed him with wisdom, bestowed all +manner of benefits upon him, Ea, who protects humanity against Anu, +against Bel, and other gods, Ea himself deceives man. Evidently the +lesson that the Babylonian theologians intended to teach through the +Adapa legend was, that it was not good for man to 'live forever.' Ea +himself prevents it. That is the point of the story. Anu and the other +gods are satisfied, but Ea does not desire it, and Ea's decision cannot +be to the disadvantage of mankind, so dearly beloved by him. With this +conclusion humanity must be content--and be resigned to the inevitable. + +Of the various legends that we have been considering, the story of Adapa +is perhaps the most significant, and none the less so for the manner in +which a philosophical problem has been grafted on to a nature-myth. +Adapa is made to play the rôle of Marduk, and it is nothing short of +remarkable that at so early a period as the one to which the existence +of the story can be traced back, a nature-myth should have been diverted +from its original purpose and adapted to the end that the Adapa story +serves in its present form. The process involved in this adaptation is a +complicated one. The story serves as an evidence of the intellectual +activity displayed in the schools of theological thought that must have +flourished for many centuries before a story like that of Adapa could +have been produced out of a nature-myth. Hardly less remarkable is it +that the theologians and scribes of later times no longer understood the +story, for otherwise they would not have identified Adapa with Marduk +through the superficial circumstance that he is introduced into the +story instead of Marduk, or some other solar deity allied to Marduk. + +The Adapa legend takes us back to the beginning of man's career--to the +time when, as in the early chapters of Genesis, man stood closer to the +gods than at a later time, the time when there was a constant +intercourse between man and the gods, and more especially between man +and his protector, Ea. The story forms part of a stock of traditions of +which we have another specimen in the Eabani-Ukhat episode, incorporated +in the Gilgamesh epic.[1111] No doubt when the treasures still existing +in the British Museum shall have been thoroughly examined and as +additional remains of the religious literature of the Babylonians will +be brought to light, we will find further traces of these early +traditions as well as of other myths. Those that we have discussed in +this and in the preceding chapters illustrate the system adopted by the +priests in elaborating these traditions and myths and in adapting them +to serve as illustrations of certain doctrines and beliefs. We may also +feel tolerably confident that the religious ideas conveyed through these +various epics and legends and myths fairly represent both the popular +and the advanced thought, as it unfolded itself in the course of time. +By the aid of these specimens of the religious literature, we have been +enabled to analyze the views of the Babylonians regarding the creation +of the world, its structure, and government. We have obtained an insight +into the problems of life and death which engaged the Babylonian +thinkers, and we have noted some of the solutions offered for these +problems. In a consideration of the views held by the Babylonians and +Assyrians of the life after death, to which we now turn, it will again +be a specimen of the religious literature that will serve as our main +guide. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1011] Some of these were already indicated (but only indicated) by +George Smith in his _Chaldaeische Genesis_ (German translation), pp. +136-142. It is the merit of Dr. E. J. Harper to have prepared an +excellent publication of the material contained in Smith's work, pp. +103-120, under the title "Die Babylonischen Legenden von Etana, Zu, +Adapa und Dibbarra" (Delitzsch and Haupt's _Beiträge zur Assyriologie_, +ii. 390-521). Additional material is furnished by two publications of +mine: (_a_) a monograph, "A Fragment of the Dibbarra Epic" (Boston, +1891), and (_b_) "A New Fragment of the Babylonian Etana Legend" +(Delitzsch and Haupt's _Beiträge zur Assyriologie_, iii. 363-381). See +also Friedrich Jeremias in Chantepie de la Saussaye's _Lehrbuch der +Religionsgeschichte_ (2nd edition), i. 218-221. + +[1012] See above, p. 511. + +[1013] See my remarks in Delitzsch and Haupt's _Beiträge zur +Assyriologie_, iii. 376. + +[1014] I Kings, v. 11. + +[1015] Harper in Delitzsch and Haupt's _Beiträge zur Assyriologie_, ii. +391-408. + +[1016] _Ib._ pp. 405 _seq._ + +[1017] Lit., 'the Inquirers,' a designation of the priests in their +capacity of oracle-seekers. + +[1018] The matter is not certain because of the sad condition of the +fragments. + +[1019] K. 2606, Harper, _ib._ pp. 399, 400. + +[1020] Only a part of the name, _I-si_, is preserved. + +[1021] See pp. 108, 163. + +[1022] _I.e._, an army's march of two hours. + +[1023] The dwelling of Ea. See Meissner, _Alexander and Gilgamos_, p. +17. + +[1024] _I.e._, still smaller. + +[1025] See above, p. 458. + +[1026] See p. 460. + +[1027] See p. 511. + +[1028] Harper, _ib._. p. 404, note. + +[1029] See Harper, _ib._. pp. 406, 407. + +[1030] See above, p. 469. + +[1031] Harper, pp. 392-394. + +[1032] _I.e._, one cannot escape from Shamash, since he traverses all +space. + +[1033] A personification of the storm. See below, pp. 537 _seq._ The +line is very obscure owing to the break in the tablet. + +[1034] So Harper, but see pp. 541, 542. + +[1035] _I.e._, he will dig his beak into the juicy part of the meat. + +[1036] Of the carcass. + +[1037] As shown by the colophon of K. 2606, and also by the fact that K. +1547, which contains on the obverse the tale, contains on the reverse +Etana's prayer to Shamash. + +[1038] De la Saussaye's _Lehrbuch der Religionsgeschichte_ (2nd +edition), i. 218. + +[1039] See above, p. 195. + +[1040] Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in Sardinia, Phoenicia, +Judea, Syria, and Asia Minor_, ii. 176. + +[1041] Pinches, _Babylonian and Assyrian Cylinders, etc., of Sir Henry +Peak_, no. 18. _Cf._ Harper, _ib._ p. 408. + +[1042] A lexicographical tablet, IIR. 56, col. iii. 22-35, mentions four +dogs of Marduk. + +[1043] See p. 232. + +[1044] See Harper, _ib._ p. 426. + +[1045] The _ra_ is either a phonetic complement to the ideograph or is +perhaps added to suggest to the reader the identification with Gir-ra. + +[1046] Namely, the connection with Hebrew _deber_, 'pestilence.' _Cf._ +Harper, _ib._ p. 426. + +[1047] Babylon. + +[1048] Text obscure. "Sharpen badly" seems to be the idiomatic phrase +used. + +[1049] See above, p. 154. + +[1050] See p. 475. + +[1051] A solar deity. See p. 99. + +[1052] Ishum. + +[1053] See above, p. 501. + +[1054] _I.e._, seven. A collective personification of the seven evil +spirits. + +[1055] Ishum. + +[1056] IIR. 51, 19c and 4a. Khashur is also used as a name for the +cedar. See Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwörterbuch_, p. 295a. + +[1057] The one published by the writer. + +[1058] Hammurabi is the conqueror of Palestine mentioned in Gen. xlv. +under the name Amraphel. See, _e.g._, Hommel, _Altisraelitische +Ueberlieferung_, p. 106. + +[1059] Num. xxi. 14. The 'song of Deborah' (Judges, v.) belongs to this +collection. For further specimens of Babylonian war-songs, see Hommel, +_ib._ pp. 180-190,--all dealing with the memorable Hammurabi period. + +[1060] K. 1282, Harper, _ib._, pp. 432 _seq._, and King's fragment, +_Zeitschrift für Assyriologie_, xl. 60, 61. + +[1061] The gods of vegetation are mentioned. + +[1062] _I.e._, give wisdom to the one who honors me. + +[1063] Text 'Dibbarra.' + +[1064] See above, p. 114. + +[1065] As Mr. King has shown (_Zeitschrift für Assyriologie_, xi. 53). +See above, p. 269. + +[1066] Deut. vi. 9. + +[1067] See p. 483. + +[1068] See p. 263. + +[1069] See p. 525. + +[1070] See p. 420, 428. + +[1071] See pp. 439 _seq._ + +[1072] _I.e._, En-lil's. + +[1073] _I.e._, 'the bond of heaven and earth,' the name probably of a +temple-tower in Nippur, sacred to En-lil. + +[1074] Zu's heart. These two lines are repeated. + +[1075] The word _Kissu_ applies more especially to the dwelling places +of the gods. Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwörterbuch_, p. 349b. + +[1076] Zu. + +[1077] See _e.g._, Ward, _Seal Cylinders of the Metropolitan Museum of +Art_, p. 12. + +[1078] Ramman. + +[1079] These two lines are repeated. + +[1080] The thunderbolt. + +[1081] Cities sacred to thee. + +[1082] _I.e._, the sacred edifices in these cities. + +[1083] The lofty dwelling of the gods is here meant. See chapter xxvii. + +[1084] Ideographic reading--the ideograph signifies 'shrine.' The verbal +stem _barâru_ means 'to shine.' + +[1085] See p. 414. + +[1086] See p. 525. + +[1087] See p. 400. + +[1088] It is quite possible that the line in question declares that Zu +is in collusion with the eagle, against whom the serpent seeks the +assistance of Shamash. + +[1089] See p. 417. + +[1090] It is hardly possible that the illustration on seal cylinders +mentioned by Ward, _ib._ pp. 13, 14, represents the Zu bird brought +before a deity for punishment; and certainly not before Shamash, who +only enters into the story in so far as Marduk is a solar deity. + +[1091] Published by Winckler and Abel, _Der Thontafelfund von +El-Amarna_, iii. 166a, b; translated also by Harper, _ib._ pp. 420, 421. + +[1092] See above, p. 63. + +[1093] My rendering is given in continuous lines. The legend is in +narrative, not in poetic form. + +[1094] Adapa. + +[1095] Lit., 'house.' + +[1096] Neither Delitzsch's suggestion 'god of dwellings' nor Harper's +'god thou art strong' is acceptable. + +[1097] See p. 99. + +[1098] See p. 462. + +[1099] See the following chapter. + +[1100] See pp. 139 _seq._ + +[1101] First suggested by Zimmern. + +[1102] Of the eighth century. See Harper, _ib._ p. 424. + +[1103] To Ea. + +[1104] Anu, it will be recalled, utters the same cry. See p. 546. + +[1105] Referring to his garments of mourning. + +[1106] _I.e._, Ea. + +[1107] I follow Zimmern's rendition of the line. + +[1108] _Schöpfung und Chaos_, pp. 168 _seq._ + +[1109] Adapa. + +[1110] The phrase 'knowledge of good and evil' (Gen. ii. 17) is simply +an expression equivalent to our 'everything,' or to the Babylonian +'secrets of heaven and earth.' + +[1111] See pp. 476 _seq._ Sayce has even gone so far as to suggest an +identification of Adapa (by reading Adawa) with the Biblical Adam, but +this conjecture is untenable. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +THE VIEWS OF LIFE AFTER DEATH. + + +The problem of immortality, we have seen, engaged the serious attention +of the Babylonian theologians. While the solutions they had to offer +could hardly have been satisfactory either to themselves or to the +masses, it must not be supposed that the denial of immortality to man +involved the total extinction of conscious vitality. Neither the people +nor the leaders of religious thought ever faced the possibility of the +total annihilation of what once was called into existence. Death was a +passage to another kind of life, and the denial of immortality merely +emphasized the impossibility of escaping the change in existence brought +about by death. The gods alone do not pass from one phase of existence +to the other. Death was mysterious, but not more mysterious than life. +The Babylonian religion does not transcend the stage of belief, +characteristic of primitive culture everywhere, which cannot conceive of +the possibility of life coming to an absolute end. Life of some kind and +in some form was always presupposed. So far as man was concerned, +created by some god,--Bel, Ea, Aruru, or Ishtar, according to the +various traditions that were current,[1112]--no divine fiat could wipe +out what was endowed with life and the power of reproduction. + +No doubt, the impossibility for the individual to conceive of himself as +forever deprived of consciousness, was at the bottom of the primitive +theory of the perpetuity of existence in some form. Among ancient +religions, Buddhism alone frees itself from this theory and unfolds a +bold doctrine of the possibility of a complete annihilation. The +question, however, whether the continuity of existence was a blessing or +a curse was raised by many ancient nations. The Babylonians are among +these who are inclined to take a gloomy view of the passage from this +world to the existence in store for humanity after death, and the +religious leaders were either powerless or disinclined to controvert +this view. + + +Location and Names of the Gathering Place of the Dead. + +We have already had occasion[1113] to refer to the great cave underneath +the earth in which the dead were supposed to dwell, and since the earth +itself was regarded as a mountain, the cave is pictured as a hollow +within, or rather underneath, a mountain. A conception of this kind must +have arisen among a people that was once familiar with a mountainous +district. The settlers of the Euphrates Valley brought the belief with +them from an earlier mountain home. The cave, moreover, points to +cave-dwelling and to cave-burial as conditions that prevailed at one +time among the populace, precisely as the imitation of the mountain with +its caves in the case of the Egyptian pyramids, is due to similar +influences. To this cave various names are assigned in the literature of +the Babylonians,--some of popular origin, others reflecting scholastic +views. The most common name is Aralû.[1114] We also find the term 'house +of Aralû.'[1115] The etymology of the term is obscure. Aralû was +pictured as a vast place, dark and gloomy. It is sometimes called a +land, sometimes a great house. The approach to it was difficult. It lay +in the lowest part of the mountain that represented the earth, not far +from the hollow underneath the mountain into which the 'Apsu' flowed. +Surrounded by seven walls and strongly guarded, it was a place to which +no living person could go and from which no mortal could ever depart +after once entering it. To Aralû all went whose existence in this world +had come to an end. Another name which specifies the relationship of +Aralû to the world is Ekur or 'mountain house' of the dead. Ekur is one +of the names for the earth,[1116] but is applied more particularly to +that part of the mountain, also known as Kharsag[1117]-kurkura, _i.e._, +'the mountain of all lands' where the gods were born. Before the later +speculative view was developed, according to which the gods, or most of +them, have their seats in heaven,[1118] it was on this mountain also +that the gods were supposed to dwell. Hence Ekur became also one of the +names for temple,[1119] as the seat of a god. The dwelling of the dead +was regarded as a part of the 'great mountain.' It belonged to Ekur, and +the fact that it was designated simply as Ekur,[1120] is a valuable +indication that the dead were brought into close association with the +gods. This association is also indicated by the later use of Aralû as +the designation of the mountain within which the district of the dead, +Aralû proper, lay[1121]--synonymous, therefore, with Ekur. We shall see +in the course of this chapter that the dead are placed even more than +the living under the direct supervision of the gods. + +A third name for the nether world which conveys an important addition to +the views held regarding the dead, was Shuâlu. Jensen, it is true, +following Bertin, questions the existence of this term in +Babylonian,[1122] but one does not see how the evidence of the passages +in the lexicographical tablets can be set aside in the way that he +proposes. Zimmern[1123] does not appear to be convinced by Jensen's +arguments and regards the question as an open one. Jensen's method of +disposing of Shuâlu, besides being open to serious objections, fails to +account for the fact that Shuâlu is brought into association with +various Babylonian terms and ideographs for the grave.[1124] This cannot +be accidental. That the term has hitherto been found only in +lexicographical tablets need not surprise us. Aralû, too, is of rare +occurrence in the religious texts. The priests appear to avoid the names +for the nether world, which were of ill omen, and preferred to describe +the place by some epithet, as 'land without return,' or 'dark dwelling,' +or 'great city,' and the like. Of such descriptive terms we have a large +number.[1125] The stem underlying Shuâlu signifies 'to ask.' Shuâlu is a +place of inquiry,[1126] and the inquiry meant is of the nature of a +religious oracle. The name, accordingly, is an indication of the power +accorded to the dead, to aid the living by furnishing them with answers +to questions, just as the gods furnish oracles through the mediation of +the priests.[1127] The Old Testament supplies us with an admirable +illustration of the method of obtaining oracles through the dead. Saul, +when he desires to know what the outcome of a battle is to be, seeks out +a sorceress, and through her calls up the dead Samuel[1128] and puts the +question to him. Similarly, in the Gilgamesh epic, the hero, with the +aid of Nergal, obtains a sight of Eabani[1129] and plies him with +questions. The belief, therefore, in this power of the dead was common +to Babylonians and Hebrews, and, no doubt, was shared by other branches +of the Semites. It is natural, therefore, to find the Babylonian term +Shuâlu paralleled by the Hebrew Sheôl, which is the common designation +in the Old Testament for the dwelling-place of the dead.[1130] How +widespread the custom was among Babylonians of inquiring 'through the +living of the dead'[1131] it is difficult, in default of satisfactory +evidence, to say. The growing power of the priests as mediators between +men and gods must have acted as a check to such practices. The priests, +as the inquirers,[1132] naturally proceeded direct to the particular god +whose representative they claimed to be, and the development of an +elaborate ceremonial in the temples in connection with the oracles[1133] +was a further factor that must have influenced the gradual abandonment +of the custom, at least as an element of the _official_ cult. Moreover, +the belief itself belongs in the domain of ancestor worship, and in +historical times we find but little trace of such worship among the +Babylonians. We may, therefore, associate the custom with the earliest +period of the Babylonian religion. This view carries with it the +antiquity of the term Shuâlu. Like Aralû and the designation Ekur, it +embodies the close association of the dead with the gods. The dead not +only dwell near the gods, but, like the gods, they can direct the +affairs of mankind. Their answers to questions put to them have divine +justification. From this view of the dead to the deification of the +latter is but a short step. It does not, of course, follow, from the +fact that Shuâlu or Sheôl is the place of 'oracles,' that all the dead +have the power to furnish oracles or can be invoked for this purpose. +Correspondingly, if we find that the Babylonians did deify their dead, +it does not mean that at one time all the dead were regarded as gods. +Popular legends are concerned only with the heroes, with the popular +favorites--not with the great masses. Eabani, who appears to Gilgamesh, +is a hero, and so is Samuel. As a matter of fact, we have so far only +found evidence that the ancient rulers whose memory lingered in the +minds of the people were regarded by later generations as gods. So the +names of Dungi and Gudea[1134] are written on tablets that belong to the +centuries immediately following their reign, with the determinative that +is placed before the names of gods. Festivals were celebrated in honor +of these kings, sacrifices were offered to them, and their images were +placed in temples.[1135] Again, Gimil-Sin (c. 2500 B.C.), of the second +dynasty of Ur, appears to have been deified during his lifetime, and +there was a temple in Lagash which was named after him.[1136] No doubt +other kings will be found who were similarly honored. We may expect to +come across a god Hammurabi some day. Gilgamesh is, as we have seen, a +historical personage whose career has been so thoroughly amalgamated +with nature-myths that he ends by becoming a solar deity who is invoked +in incantations. + +The tendency to connect legendary and mythical incidents with ancient +rulers is part and parcel of this process of deification. Of an ancient +king, Sargon,[1137] a story was related how he was exposed in a boat, +and, 'knowing neither father nor mother,' was found by a ferryman. The +exploits of this king and of his successor, Naram-Sin, were incorporated +in an omen text[1138]--a circumstance that again illustrates how the +popular fancy connected the heroes of the past with its religious +interests. Still, there is no more reason to question the historical +reality of Sargon[1139] than to question the existence of Moses, because +a story of his early youth is narrated in Exodus[1140] which forms a +curious parallel to the Sargon legend, or to question the existence of a +personage by the name of Abraham, because an Abrahamitic cult arose that +continues to the present day.[1141] + +This close association of the dead with the gods, upon which the +deification of the dead rests, may be regarded as a legacy of the +earliest period of the Babylonian religion, of the time when the +intercourse between the gods and the living was also direct. The belief +and rites connected with the dead constitute the most conservative +elements in the religion of a people. The organized cult affects the +living chiefly. So far as the latter are concerned, the rise of a +priesthood to whom the religious needs of the people are entrusted, +removes the living from that immediate contact with the gods which we +note in the traditions of every people regarding the beginnings of +mankind. The priests have no power over the dead. The dead require no +'mediator.' Hence, those who dwell in Aralû return to the early state of +mankind when gods and mankind 'walked together.' + +Another name that is of frequent occurrence in religious texts is +Kigallu, which describes the nether world as a district of great extent, +situated within the earth.[1142] The chief goddess of the nether world +is commonly known as the 'queen of Kigallu.' Furthermore, Irkalla, which +was interpreted by the Babylonian theologians as 'great city' (or +'district'), is used both as a designation for the dwelling-place of the +dead and for the consort of the queen of Aralû.[1143] + +Beside the names for the nether world above discussed, a large number of +epithets and metaphors are found in the religious texts. The place to +which the dead go is called the 'dark dwelling,' 'the land from which +there is no return,' 'house of death,' 'the great city,' 'the deep +land,' and, since Nergal, the ruler of the lower world, was the patron +of the city Cuthah[1144] (or Kutu), the name Cuthah was also used as a +designation for Aralû. Lastly, it is interesting to note that in +poetical usage the words for 'grave'[1145] were also employed to +describe the nether world. The question raised by this metaphor as to +the relationship between the grave and the lower world can best be +discussed when we come to consider the funeral rites.[1146] + + +The Condition of the Dead and the Impossibility of an Escape from Aralû. + +Among the remains of Babylonian literature there is a remarkable +production, which furnishes us with an admirable view of the fate in +store for those who have left this world.[1147] The composition is based +upon a nature-myth, symbolizing the change of seasons. Ishtar, the great +mother goddess, the goddess of fertility who produces vegetation, is, as +we saw in the Gilgamesh epic,[1148] also the one who brings about the +decline of vegetation. The change in nature that takes place after the +summer solstice is passed and the crops have ripened was variously +interpreted. According to one, and, as it would seem, the favorite, +tradition, the goddess is represented as herself destroying the solar +deity, Tammuz, whom she had chosen as a consort. Repentant and weeping, +Ishtar passes to the lower world in search of her youthful husband,--the +symbol of the sun on its approach to the summer solstice. While Ishtar +is in the lower world, all fertility ceases, in the fields, as well as +in the animal kingdom. At last Ishtar reappears, and nature is joyous +once more. In the Semitic Orient there are only two seasons:[1149] +winter, or the rainy season, and summer, or the dry season. The myth +was, therefore, a symbol of the great contrast that the two seasons +presented to one another. Under various forms and numerous disguises, we +find the myth among several branches of the Semites, as well as in Egypt +and among Aryans who came into contact with Semitic ideas.[1150] A +festival celebrated in honor of Tammuz by the Babylonians is one +expression of many that the myth received. The designation of the sixth +month as "the mission of Ishtar"[1151] is another. This myth was adapted +by the theologians to illustrate the doctrines that were developed +regarding the kind of existence led by the dead. The literary method +adopted is the same that characterizes the elaboration of the Adapa myth +and of the myths incorporated into the Gilgamesh epic. The story forms +the point of departure, but its original purport is set aside to a +greater or less degree, necessary modifications are introduced, and the +moral or lesson is distinctly indicated. In the case of the production +that we are about to consider, the story of Ishtar's visit to the nether +world is told--perhaps by a priest--to a person who seeks consolation. A +dear relative has departed this life, and a survivor,--a brother, +apparently,--is anxious to know whether the dead will ever come back +again. The situation reminds one of Gilgamesh seeking out Eabani,[1152] +with this difference: that, whereas Gilgamesh, aided by Nergal, is +accorded a sight of his friend, the ordinary mourner must content +himself with the answer given to him. But what Gilgamesh is not +permitted to hear,[1153] the mourner is told. A description is given him +of how the dead fare in Aralû. + +The problem, however, is somewhat different in the story of the descent +of Ishtar, from the one propounded in the twelfth tablet of the +Gilgamesh epic. The question uppermost in the mind of the mourner is +"Will the dead return?" The condition of the dead, which is most +prominent in Gilgamesh's mind, is secondary. Both questions, however, +are answered, and both answers are hopelessly sad. The nether world is +joyless. Even the goddess Ishtar is badly treated upon entering it. The +place is synonymous with inactivity and decay; and, though the goddess +returns, the conclusion drawn is that the exception proves the +inexorable rule. A goddess may escape, but mortals are doomed to +everlasting sojourn, or rather imprisonment, in the realm presided over +by Allatu and her consort Nergal. The tale begins with a description of +the land to which Ishtar proceeds: + + To the land whence there is no return, the land of darkness (?)[1154] + Ishtar, the daughter of Sin, turned her mind, + The daughter of Sin turned her mind; + To the house of darkness, the dwelling of Irkalla, + To the house whence no one issues who has once entered it. + To the road from which there is no return, when once it has been + trodden. + To the house whose inhabitants[1155] are deprived of light. + The place where dust is their[1156] nourishment, their food clay. + They[1157] have no light, dwelling in dense darkness. + And they are clothed like birds, in a garment of feathers; + Where over gate and bolt, dust is scattered. + +Ishtar, it will be observed, is here called the daughter of the +moon-god, whereas in the Gilgamesh epic she appears as the daughter of +Anu, the god of heaven. Both designations reflect the views developed in +the schools, and prove that the story has been produced under scholastic +influences. The goddess has her place in the heavens, in the planet +bearing her name, and the designation of this planet as the daughter of +Sin can only be understood in connection with the astronomical system, +in which the moon plays so prominent a rôle[1158] and becomes the father +of all the great gods (except Shamash) who constitute the lesser +luminaries of the night. + +Irkalla is one of the names[1159] for a god of the nether world, who is +regarded as the associate of Allatu. The dwelling is elsewhere spoken of +as a 'great palace' in which Allatu and her consort Nergal have their +thrones. A gloomier place than the one described in these opening lines +of the story cannot well be imagined. The picture reflects the popular +views, and up to this point, the doctrines of the school are in +agreement with the early beliefs. The description of the lower world is +evidently suggested by the grave or the cave in which the dead were +laid. The reference to dust and clay as the food of the dead shows that +the doctrine taught in the Gilgamesh epic,[1160] of man's being formed +of clay and returning to clay, was the common one. This view helps us to +understand how the words for grave came to be used as synonyms for the +nether world. The dead being placed below the earth, they were actually +conveyed within the realm of which Aralû was a part, and since it became +customary for the Babylonians to bury their dead together, the cities of +the dead that thus arose could easily be imagined to constitute the +kingdom presided over by Allatu and Nergal. At this point, however, the +speculations of the schools begin to diverge from the popular notions. +We may well question whether the Babylonian populace ever attempted to +make clear to itself in what form the dead continued their existence. It +may be that the argument from dreams, as the basis for the primitive +belief in the continuation of life, in some form, after death has been +too hard pressed,[1161] but certainly the appearance of the dead in the +dreams of the living must have produced a profound impression, and since +the dead appeared in the same form that they had while alive, the +conclusion was natural that, even though the body decayed, a vague +outline remained that bore the same relation to the _corpus_ as the +shadow to the figure casting it. Two remarkable chapters in the Old +Testament[1162] illustrate this popular view prevailing in Babylonia, as +to the condition of the dead in the nether world. The prophets Isaiah +and Ezekiel both portray the dead as having the same form that they +possessed while alive. The kings have their crowns on their heads; the +warriors lie with their swords girded about them. The dead Eabani, it +will be recalled, appears to Gilgamesh and is at once recognized by the +latter. What distinguishes the dead from the living is their inactivity. +They lie in Aralû without doing anything. Everything there is in a state +of neglect and decay. The dead can speak, but the Babylonians probably +believed, like the Hebrews, that the dead talk in whispers, or chirp +like birds.[1163] The dead are weak,[1164] and, therefore, unless others +attend to their needs, they suffer pangs of hunger, or must content +themselves with 'dust and clay' as their food. Tender care during the +last moments of life was essential to comparative well-being in +Aralû.[1165] The person who goes to Aralû in sorrow and neglect will +continue sorrowful and neglected. + +The theologians, while accepting these views in general, passed beyond +them in an important particular. They could not reconcile the evident +dissolution of the body with a continuation of even a shadowy outline. +When a man died, the 'spirit,' which, according to the animistic theory, +lodged somewhere within the body and produced the manifestations of +life, sought for refuge in some other substance. The ease with which +birds moved from one place to another suggested these beings as the ones +in which the dislodged spirit found a home. The Babylonian thinkers were +not alone in developing the view that the dead assumed the form of +birds. Parallels to the pictures of the dead in the story of Ishtar's +descent may be found in Egypt and elsewhere.[1166] But what is important +for our purposes is the consideration that, in Babylonia at least, the +view in question is not the popular one, but the result of speculations +about a problem that appeals only to those who make the attempt, at +least, to clarify their ideas regarding the mystery of death. The next +section of the story affords us a picture of the entrance to Aralû: + + When Ishtar arrived at the gate of the land without return, + She spoke to the watchman of the gate: + Ho! watchman--open thy gate. + Open thy gate that I may enter. + If thou dost not open the gate, if thou refusest me admission, + I will smash the door, break the bolt. + I will smash the threshold, force open the portals. + I will raise up the dead to eat the living + Until the dead outnumber the living. + +The entrance to the nether world is strongly guarded. From other sources +we learn that there was a 'spy'--perhaps identical with the +watchman--stationed at the portal of the lower world, who reports all +happenings to the queen Allatu through Namtar, the god (or spirit) of +pestilence. The watchman is to prevent the living from entering, and +also the dead from escaping. + +The violence of Ishtar is an interesting touch in the narrative. As a +goddess, she resents any opposition to her desires. Her anxiety to enter +Aralû indicates that the original form of the myth, which must have +represented the descent as forced and not voluntary, has been modified +by the introduction of a new factor,--the search for her dead consort, +Tammuz. The character of Ishtar as the goddess of war[1167] may also +have influenced this portrayal of her rage. In her violence, she +threatens a conflict between the dead and the living. The former will +destroy[1168] the latter, as a victorious army butchers the hostile +host. The watchman endeavors to pacify the enraged Ishtar: + + The watchman opened his mouth and spoke. + Spoke to the great Ishtar: + Hold, O mistress, do not destroy them.[1169] + I will go and mention thy name to the queen Allatu. + +Allatu is grieved upon hearing the news of Ishtar's arrival, for +Ishtar's disappearance from the world means death. + + I must weep for the masters who forsake their consorts. + I must weep for the wives who are torn from their husbands' side. + For the children I must weep who are snatched away (?) before their + time. + Go, watchman, open thy gate. + Deal with her according to the ancient laws. + +The scene that follows embodies, again, views of the nether world as +developed in the schools. Corresponding to the seven zones surrounding +the earth,[1170] the nether world is pictured as enclosed by seven +gates. Through these Ishtar must pass, before she is ushered into the +presence of Allatu. + + The watchman went and opened his gate. + Enter, O mistress, welcome in Cuthah.[1171] + The great house[1172] of the land without return greets thee.[1173] + Through the first gate he led her, and boldly removed the great crown + from her head. + Why, O watchman, dost thou remove the great crown from my head? + Enter, O mistress, such are the laws of Allatu. + +At the second gate, he removes the earrings of the goddess; at the +third, her necklace is taken away, and, similarly, at each succeeding +gate, a portion of her dress, the ornaments on her breast, her belt of +precious stones, her bracelets, until, when the seventh gate is reached, +the covering over her loins is removed, and she stands naked before +Allatu. At each gate Ishtar asks the same question, why the watchman +strips her, and the same answer is given. + +The removal of one ornament after the other symbolizes, evidently, the +gradual decay of vegetation, not, as has been supposed, that the dead +enter Aralû naked. + +Allatu calls upon her messenger, Namtar, to strike the goddess with +disease in all parts of her body. The disease expresses the same idea as +the removal of the ornaments,--decay of strength. There follows a +description of the desolation on earth during Ishtar's sojourn with +Allatu. Productivity comes to a standstill. + + The ox does not mount the cow, the ass does not bend over the she-ass. + +Among mankind, likewise, fertility ceases. The gods lament the absence +of Ishtar and the fate that overtook her. The astronomical conception of +Ishtar as the planet Venus, at this point, is apparent. The gods +complain. + + Ishtar has descended to the earth, and has not come up. + +As a planet, Ishtar's seat is in the heavens. The disappearance of the +planet has been combined with the nature-myth of the decay of +vegetation. As the evening star, Venus dips down into the west, to +reappear after a long interval in the east. The astral character of +Ishtar dominates the latter half of the story in its present form. It is +not the goddess of love and fertility nor the goddess of war who is +rescued from her prison by Ea, but the planet Ishtar. Shamash is +informed of the disaster by his servant, Pap-sukal.[1174] The sun-god +proceeds for aid to Sin and Ea. The latter furnishes relief. The sun +enters Ea's domain every evening, and, since it is in the west that the +planet sinks like the sun, the association of ideas becomes apparent +which suggests Ea as the savior and the sun as the mediator. + + Ea created in his wisdom a male being. + He formed Uddushu-namir, a divine servant. + Go, Uddushu-namir, to the gate of the land without return, turn thy + face. + The seven gates of the land without return will be opened before thee. + Allatu will see thee and welcome thee + After her heart is pacified, her spirit[1175] brightened. + Invoke against her the name of the great gods. + Raise thy countenance, to Sukhal-ziku direct thy attention. + Come, mistress, grant me Sukhal-ziku, that I may drink[1176] + therefrom. + +Ea appears here again in the rôle of Creator.[1177] The name of the +mysterious being created by Ea signifies 'renewal of light.' The +incident, it will be seen, is wholly symbolical. A touch of mysticism +has also been introduced. Sukhal-ziku is a compound of a word meaning +'to sprinkle' and another which may mean 'grotto.'[1178] Sukhal-ziku +appears, therefore, to be the name for a mysterious fountain, the waters +of which restore the dead to life. + +Uddushu-namir having pronounced the name of the gods before Allatu, and +having thus secured their aid, his request is in the nature of an order. +But the request must not be interpreted literally, as though the waters +were intended for him. It is for the sake of Ishtar that he desires to +have the use of Sukhal-ziku. Allatu understands Uddushu-namir's speech +in this sense, and is enraged at the order to yield up Ishtar. + + Allalu, upon hearing this, + Smote her sides and bit her finger.[1179] + Thou hast demanded of me a request that should not be requested. + Come, Uddushu-namir, I will curse thee with a terrible curse. + Food from the gutters of the city be thy nourishment. + The sewers (?) of the city be thy drink. + The shadow of the wall be thy seat. + The threshold be thy dwelling. + Exile and banishment break thy strength. + +The force of the curse lies in the closing words. Uddushu-namir is to be +an outcast. He will not be permitted to enter either city or house, but +must remain at the wall or stop at the threshold. Properly prepared food +and drink are to be denied him. He shall starve or perish miserably. + +But the mission of Uddushu-namir has been accomplished. Allatu may curse +as she pleases; the order of Ea must be obeyed. + + The goddess Allalu opened her mouth and spoke. + To Namtar, her messenger, she addressed an order: + Go, Namtar, smash the true palace.[1180] + Break down the threshold, destroy the door-posts (?). + Bring out the Anunnaki and place them on golden thrones. + Besprinkle Ishtar with the waters of life and take her from me. + +Namtar obeys the order. Ishtar is led through the seven gates. At each +one, the articles taken from her on her entrance are returned: at the +first, the loin cloth; at the second, the bracelets and ankle rings, and +so on, until she emerges in her full beauty. + +The close of the story thus brings to our gaze once more Ishtar as +goddess of fertility, who gradually brings vegetation, strength, and +productivity back again. This curious mixture in the story of the astral +Ishtar,--the creation of the astronomers,--and the popular Ishtar, is a +trait which shows how the old nature-myth has been elaborated in passing +through the hands of the _literati_. The various steps in the process +can still be seen. In the original form, the goddess must have been +forced into an exile to the nether world, the exile symbolizing the +wintry season when fertility and productivity[1181] come to an end. +Ishtar is stripped of her glory. She comes to Allatu, who grieves at her +approach, but imprisons her in the 'great house,' and refuses to yield +her up, until forced to do so by order of the gods. A similar story must +have been told of Tammuz, the sun-god, who is also the god of +vegetation. The two stories were combined. Ishtar marries Tammuz, and +then destroys him. The goddess produces fertility, but cannot maintain +it. Tammuz goes to the nether world. Ishtar repents, bewails her loss, +and goes to seek for her consort and to rescue him. In rage she advances +to Allatu, threatens to smash the door and break the lock unless +admitted. The story in this form must have ended in the restoration of +Tammuz. The identification of Ishtar with the planet Venus introduced a +new factor. The disappearance of the planet fitted in well with the +original nature-myth. The combination of the Ishtar-Tammuz story with +this factor resulted in the tale as we have it now. The enraged Ishtar +is the one who seeks for her consort. The Ishtar who is forced to give +up her ornaments is the old goddess who falls into the hands of Allatu. +During her absence, production comes to a standstill; decay sets in. The +Ishtar who is rescued by Ea through the mediation of the 'Renewal of +Light' is the astral Ishtar, as developed by the astronomers, and, +finally, the Ishtar who receives her ornaments back again and comes to +the upper world, is once more the goddess of vegetation, rescued from +her exile to new glory. Up to this point, Tammuz has not been mentioned +in the story. In the advice, however, that is given at the conclusion of +the tale to mourners, the consort of Ishtar is introduced. + + If she[1182] will not grant her redemption,[1183] turn to her[1184] + [thy countenance?] + To Tammuz, her youthful consort, + Pour out pure waters, costly oil [offer him?]. + +The mourners are furthermore instructed to institute a formal +lamentation. The Ukhâti,[1185] the priestesses of Ishtar, are to sing +dirges; flutes are to accompany the song. The thought intended, +apparently, to be conveyed is that if Allatu will not give up the dead, +the surviving relatives should endeavor to secure the good grace of +Ishtar and Tammuz, who succeeded in subduing Allatu. + +The closing lines are rendered obscure by a reference to the goddess +Belili, who appears to be the sister of Tammuz. The reference assumes +the knowledge of a tale in which the goddess was represented as breaking +a costly vessel adorned with precious stones, in sign of her grief for +the lost Tammuz. Suitable mourning for Tammuz, therefore, will secure +the sympathy of Belili also. The story thus ends with a warning to all +who mourn for their dead to remember Tammuz, to observe the rites set +aside for the festival celebrated in his honor. + +Bearing in mind the tentative character of any interpretation for the +closing lines, we may mention Jeremias'[1186] supposition that it is a +deceased sister who addresses her sorrowing brother at the end of the +story. + + My only brother, let me not perish. + On the day of Tammuz, play for me on the flute of lapis lazuli, + together with the lyre[1187] of pearl play for me. + Together let the professional dirge singers, male and female, play + for me, + That the dead may arise and inhale the incense of offerings. + +The lines impress one as snatches from a dirge, sung or recited in +memory of the dead, and introduced here as an appropriate illustration +of the conclusion to be drawn from the tale. At all events, the +consolation that the mourner receives lies in this thought,--the dead +can hear the lamentation. The survivors are called upon not to forget +the dead. When the festival of Tammuz comes, let them combine with the +weeping for the god, a dirge in memory of the dead. Let them pray to +Ishtar and Tammuz. If remembered by the living, the dead will at least +enjoy the offerings made to them, regain, as it were, a temporary sense +of life; but more cannot with certainty be hoped for. + +The outlook for the dead, it will be seen, is not hopeful. Their +condition is at best a tolerable one. What we may glean from other +sources but confirms the general impression, conveyed by the opening and +closing lines of the Ishtar story, or makes the picture a still gloomier +one. The day of death is a day of sorrow, 'the day without mercy.' The +word for corpse conveys the idea that things have 'come to an end.' +Whenever death is referred to in the literature, it is described as an +unmitigated evil. A dirge introduced into an impressive hymn to +Nergal[1188] laments the fate of him who + + ... has descended to the breast of the earth, + Satiated,[1189] [he has gone] to the land of the dead. + Full of lament on the day that he encountered sorrow, + In the month which does not bring to completion the year,[1190] + On the road of destruction for mankind, + To the wailing-place (?), + The hero [has gone], to the distant invisible land. + +We must not be misled by an epithet bestowed upon several gods, Marduk, +Ninib, and Gula, of 'the restorer of the dead to life,' into the belief +that the dead could be brought back from Aralû. These epithets appear +chiefly in incantations and hymns addressed to the gods for some +specific purpose, such as deliverance of a sufferer from disease. The +gods are appealed to against the demons, whose grasp means death. Ninib +and Gula are viewed as gods of healing.[1191] To be cured through their +aid was to be snatched from the jaws of death. Moreover, Ninib and +Marduk, as solar deities, symbolize the sun of spring, which brings +about the revivification of nature. The return of vegetation suggests +the thought that Ninib and Marduk have filled with new life what +appeared to be dead. The trees that seemed entirely dead blossom forth; +the bare earth is covered with verdure. Similarly, the suffering +individual stricken with disease could be awakened to new life. It is +this 'restoration' which lies in the power of the gods, but once a man +has been carried off to Aralû, no god can bring him back to this earth. + +An apparent exception to the rule, according to which all mankind +eventually comes to Aralû, is formed by Parnapishtim and his wife, who +dwell in a place vaguely described as 'distant,' situated at the +'confluence of the streams.' The place, as was pointed out in a previous +chapter,[1192] lies in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf, and, since it +can only be reached by water, the natural conclusion is that it is an +island. The temptation is strong to compare the dwelling of Parnapishtim +with the belief found among the Greeks and other nations, of 'an island +of the blessed.' This has been done by Jeremias[1193] and others. +However, we must bear in mind that the point in Parnapishtim's narrative +is that he and his wife do _not die_. They are removed to the distant +place by the gods and continue to live there. Again, we do not learn of +any other person who inhabits this island. If to these considerations we +add, that the name Parnapishtim signifies 'offspring of life,' that his +wife's name is not mentioned, that we are not told what becomes of his +family and servants, who are also saved from the deluge, it is evident +that the incident of Parnapishtim's escape is an allegory, introduced +into the story as a dramatic means of teaching the doctrine which we +have seen dominates the tale,--that man, ordinarily, cannot secure +immortal life. + +If there is any connection between the island where Parnapishtim dwells +and the Greek conception of 'an island of the blessed,' it is a trace of +foreign influence in Babylonian mythology. There is nothing to show that +among the Babylonians, either among the populace or in the schools, a +belief arose in a 'paradise' whither privileged persons were transported +after death, nor is any distinction made by them between the good and +the bad, so far as the future habitation is concerned. All mankind, +kings and subjects, virtuous and wicked, go to Aralû. Those who have +obtained the good will of the gods receive their reward in this world, +by a life of happiness and of good health. The gods can ward off +disease, or, rather, since disease (as all ills and misfortunes) is a +punishment sent by some god or demon, forgiveness can be secured, the +proof of which will consist in the restoration of the sick to health, +but the moment that death ensues the control of the gods ends. To the +Babylonians, the words of the Psalmist,[1194] "who praises thee, O God, +in Sheol?" came home with terrible force. They expressed, admirably, the +Babylonian view of the limitations of divine power. The dead do not +praise the gods, simply because it would be useless. The concern of the +gods is with the living. + +We are fortunate in possessing a pictorial representation of the nether +world that confirms the view to be derived from a study of the religious +literature. A number of years ago, Clermont-Ganneau directed attention +to a remarkable bronze tablet which was purchased at Hamath in northern +Syria.[1195] The art was clearly Babylonian, and there was no reason to +question the genuineness of the production. Quite recently a duplicate +has been found at Zurghul, in Babylonia,[1196] so that all suspicions +are removed. The bronze tablet contains on the one side, the figure of a +monster with a lion-like face and body, but provided with huge wings. +Standing erect, his head rises above the tablet, his fore legs rest on +the edge, and the demon is thus represented in the attitude of looking +over to the other side of the tablet. At the side of the monster, are +two heads of hideous appearance. + +The illustrations on the reverse are devoted to a portrayal of a funeral +ceremony, and of the general aspects of the nether world. There are five +distinct divisions,[1197] marked off from one another by four heavy +lines drawn across the tablet. In the first division appear the symbols +of the chief gods of the Assyrian pantheon, Marduk, Nabu, Sin, Ishtar, +Shamash, Ramman, etc.[1198] These gods, as inhabiting the heaven, are +placed at the head of the tablet. Next come seven evil spirits figured +as various animals,[1199] who, as inferior to the gods, and perhaps also +as messengers of the latter, are assigned a place midway between heaven +and earth. In the third section, there is pictured the funeral ceremony +proper. A dead body lies on a couch. Two rather strange figures, but +apparently priests, have taken up a position, one at each end of the +funeral bier, performing some rite of purification. One of the priests +has a robe of fish scales and is bearded; the other is smooth-faced and +clothed in a long garment. Censers are placed near the priests. The +latter appear at the same time to be protecting the body against two +demons whose threatening gestures suggest that they are endeavoring to +secure possession of the dead.[1200] These demons may be the special +messengers of the gods of the nether world, who have brought about the +death of their victim. Below this scene, we come to a view of the nether +world. The division is much larger than any of the others. Two hideous +figures dominate the scene, both of fantastic shape, and evidently so +portrayed as to suggest the horror of the nether world. One of these +figures[1201] stands erect in a menacing attitude; the other is resting +in a kneeling position on a horse.[1202] The second figure is a +representation of the chief goddess of the nether world--Allatu. The +demon at her side would then be the special messenger of this goddess, +Namtar. The goddess has her two arms extended, in the act of strangling +a serpent. The act symbolizes her strength. Her face is that of a +lioness, and she is suckling two young lions at her breasts. If it be +recalled that Nergal, the chief god of the lower world, is also pictured +as a lion,[1203] it seems but natural to conclude that the monster +covering the one side of the tablet is none other than the consort of +Allatu, the heads on either side of him representing his attendants. At +the left side of Allatu are a series of objects,--a jar, bowl, an +arrowhead (?), a trident, which, as being buried with the dead, are +symbols of the grave. The goddess and the demon at her side direct their +gaze towards these objects. + +The nether world reaches down to the Apsu,--the 'deep' that flows +underneath the earth. This is indicated in the design by placing the +horse, on which the goddess rests, in a bark. The bark, again, is of +fantastic shape, the one end terminating in the head of a serpent, the +other in that of some other animal,--perhaps a bull. The bark reaches +into the fifth division,[1204] which is a picture of flowing water with +fish swimming from the left to the right, as an indication of the +direction in which the water flows. At the verge of the water stand two +trees.[1205] What these trees symbolize is not known, and there are +other details in the third and fourth sections that still escape us. For +our purposes, it is sufficient to note: (_a_) that the sections +represent in a general way the divisions of the universe, the heavens, +the atmosphere, the earth, the nether world, and the deep;[1206] (_b_) +that the nether world is in the interior of the earth, reaching down to +Apsu; and (_c_) that this interior is pictured as a place full of +horrors, and is presided over by gods and demons of great strength and +fierceness. + +Such being the view of the nether world, it is natural that the living +should regard with dread, not only the place but also its inhabitants. +The gloom that surrounded the latter reacted on their disposition. In +general, the dead were not favorably disposed towards the living, and +they were inclined to use what power they had to work evil rather than +for good. In this respect they resembled the demons, and it is +noticeable that an important class of demons was known by the name +_ekimmu_, which is one of the common terms for the shades of the dead. +This fear of the dead, which is the natural corollary to the reverence +felt for them, enters as an important factor in the honors paid by the +living to the memory of the deceased. To provide the dead with food and +drink, to recall their virtues in dirges, to bring sacrifices in their +honor,--such rites were practised, as much from a desire to secure the +favor of the dead and to ward off their evil designs as from motives of +piety, which, of course, were not absent. The dead who was not properly +cared for by his surviving relatives would take his revenge upon the +living by plaguing them as only a demon could. The demons that infested +graveyards were in some way identified with the 'spirits,' or perhaps +messengers, of the dead, who, in their anger towards the living, lay in +wait for an attack upon those against whom they had a grudge. + + +The Pantheon of Aralû. + +We have seen how the mystery coupled with death led to the view which +brought the dead into more direct relationship with the gods. Closely +allied with this view is the power ascribed to the dead to work evil or +good and, like the gods, to furnish oracles. This power once +acknowledged, it was but a short step to the deification of the dead, +or, rather, of such personalities who in life exercised authority, by +virtue of their position or innate qualities. On the other hand, the +gloominess of the nether world, the sad condition of its inhabitants, +the impossibility of an escape or a return to this world, necessarily +suggested to the Babylonians that the gods worshipped by the living had +no control over the fate of the dead. The gods, to be sure, were at +times wrathful, but, on the whole, they were well disposed towards +mankind. When angry, they could be pacified, and it was impossible to +believe that they should deliberately consign their creatures to such a +sad lot as awaited those who went down to Aralû. The gods who ruled the +dead must be different from those who directed the fate of the living. A +special pantheon for the nether world was thus developed. Such deities +as Marduk, Ea, Nabu, Shamash, or Ashur, who acted, each in his way, as +protectors of mankind, could find no place in this pantheon; but a god +like Nergal, who symbolized the midday sun, and the sun of the summer +solstice that brought misery and fever to the inhabitants of the +Euphrates Valley; Nergal, who became the god of violent destruction in +general, and, more particularly, the god of war, the god whose emblem +was the lion, who was cruel and of forbidding aspect,--such a god was +admirably adapted to rule those who could only look forward to a +miserable imprisonment in a region filled with horror. Nergal, +therefore, became the chief god of the pantheon of the lower world. + +In the religious texts, the cruel aspects of this god are almost +exclusively emphasized. He is the one god towards whom no love is felt, +for he is a god without mercy. The fierce aspects of the solar Nergal +are accentuated in Nergal, the chief of the pantheon of Aralû. He +becomes even more ferocious than he already was, as a god of war. His +battle is with all mankind. He is greedy for victims to be forever +enclosed in his great and gloomy domain. Destruction is his one and +single object; nothing can withstand his attack. Armed with a sword, his +favorite time for stalking about is at night, when he strikes his +unerring blows. Horrible demons of pestilence and of all manner of +disease constitute his train, who are sent out by him on missions of +death. The favorite titles by which he is known appear in a hymn[1207] +addressed to him, as god of the lower world. He is invoked as the + + Warrior, strong whirlwind, sweeping the hostile land,[1208] + Warrior, ruler of Aralû. + +Another hymn[1209] describes him as a + + Great warrior who is firm as the earth. + Superior as heaven and earth art thou, + + ... + + What is there in the deep that thou dost not secure? + What is there in the deep that thou dost not clutch? + +While references to the local character of the god as patron of Cuthah +survive, the name Cuthah itself becomes synonymous with the nether +world. The old solar deity is completely overshadowed by the terrible +ruler of the lower world. It is due to this that the real consort of the +local Nergal, the goddess Laz, is rarely mentioned in the religious +literature. The priests, when they spoke of Nergal, had in mind always +the companionship with Allatu. But the association of ideas which thus +led to assigning a god who was originally a solar deity, a place in the +lower world bears the impress of the schools. The popular development of +Nergal ceased, when he became the local god of Cuthah. It is only as an +outgrowth of the systematized pantheon that we can understand the +transformation involved in making of a local deity, the head of a +pantheon that is itself an outcome of the later phases assumed by the +religion. + +The problem suggested by this transformation was recognized by the +theologians. A curious tale was found among the El-Amarna tablets which +endeavors to account for Nergal's presence in the world of the dead. +Unfortunately, the tablet on which the story is inscribed is so badly +mutilated that we can hardly gather more than the general +outlines.[1210] A conflict has arisen between the gods on high and a +goddess who has her seat in the lower world. This goddess is none other +than Allatu. She is described as Eresh-Kigal,[1211] _i.e._, queen of +Kigal or of the nether world. The scene reminds us of the contest +between the gods and Tiâmat, as embodied in the creation epic. The gods +choose Nergal as their leader. Assisted by fourteen companions, whose +names--'fever,' 'fiery heart,' 'lightning sender'--remind us again of +the eleven monsters that constitute Tiâmat's assistants,[1212] Nergal +proceeds to the lower world, and knocks at the gate for admission. +Namtar, the plague-demon, acts as the messenger. He announces the +arrival of Nergal to Allatu. The latter is obliged to admit Nergal, just +as in the story of Ishtar's descent, she is forced to receive Ishtar. +Fourteen gates of the lower world are mentioned. At each one, Nergal +stations one of his companions and passes on to the house of Allatu. He +seizes the goddess, drags her from her throne, and is about to kill her +when she appeals for mercy. She breaks out in tears, offers herself in +marriage if Nergal will spare her. + + You shall be my husband and I will be your wife. + The tablets of wisdom I will lay in your hands. + You shall be master and I mistress. + +Nergal accepts the condition, kisses Allatu, and wipes away her tears. + +One cannot resist the conclusion that the tale is, as already suggested, +an imitation of the Marduk-Tiâmat episode. Allatu is a female like +Tiâmat. Nergal acts for the gods just as Marduk does. The attendants of +Nergal are suggested by the monsters accompanying Tiâmat; the tables of +wisdom which Nergal receives, correspond to the tablets of fate which +Marduk snatches from Kingu.[1213] But while the conflict between Marduk +and Tiâmat is an intelligible nature-myth, symbolizing the annual +rainstorms that sweep over Babylonia, there is no such interpretation +possible in the contest between Nergal and Allatu. The story is not even +a glorification of a local deity, for Nergal appears solely in the rôle +of a solar deity. The attendants given to him--heat, lightning, and +disease--are the popular traits in the story; but with the chief +characters in the old nature-myth changed,--Marduk or the original Bel +replaced by Nergal, and Tiâmat by Allatu,--the story loses its popular +aspect, and becomes a medium for illustrating a doctrine of the schools. +If this view of the tale be correct, we would incidentally have a proof +(for which there is other evidence) that as early as the fifteenth +century, the Marduk-Tiâmat story had already received a definite shape. +But the most valuable conclusion to be drawn from the Nergal-Allatu tale +is that, according to the popular conceptions, the real and older head +of the pantheon of the lower world was a goddess, and not a god. + +Allatu takes precedence of Nergal. In the story of Ishtar's descent to +the lower world, a trace of the earlier view survives. Allatu is +introduced as the ruler of the lower world. Nergal plays no part. Viewed +in this light, the design of the tale we have just discussed becomes +still more evident. It was inconsistent with the prominence assigned to +male deities in the systematized pantheon, that the chief deity of the +lower world should be a female. Allatu could not be set aside, for the +belief in her power was too strongly imbedded in the popular mind; but a +male consort could be given her who might rule with her. Another factor +that may have entered into play in the adaptation of the Marduk-Tiâmat +story to Nergal and Allatu, and that gave to the adaptation more +plausibility, was the disappearance of the summer sun after he had done +his work. Nergal did not exert his power during the whole year, and even +as the sun of midday, he was not in control all day. When he +disappeared, there was only one place to which he could go. + +As of Tarmmuz and of other solar deities,[1214] it was probably related +of Nergal, also, that he was carried to the lower world. This popular +basis for the presence of Nergal in the lower world may have served as a +point of departure for the scholastic development of Nergal. However, +the tale of Nergal and Allatu goes far beyond the length of popular +belief in making Nergal conquer Allatu, and force himself, in a measure, +into her place. Before Nergal appears on the scene, a god, Ninazu, was +regarded as the consort of Allatu.[1215] + +The conception which gives the Babylonian Hades a queen as ruler is of +popular origin, in contrast to the scholastic aspect of Nergal as the +later king of the lower region. Jensen is of the opinion that the +feminine gender of the word for earth in Babylonian superinduced the +belief that the ruler of the kingdom situated within the earth was a +woman. Allatu would, according to this view, be a personification of the +'earth.' But a factor that also enters into play is the notion of +productivity and fertility which gave rise to the conception of the +great mother-goddess, Ishtar.[1216] Allatu is correlated to Ishtar. From +the earth comes vegetation. The origin of mankind, too, is traced to the +earth, and to the earth mankind ultimately returns.[1217] Hence, the +receiver of life is a goddess equally with the giver of life, and +indeed, Ishtar and Allatu are but the two aspects of one and the same +phenomenon.[1218] Allatu signifies 'strength.' The name is related to +the Arabic _Allah_ and the Hebrew _Eloah_ and _Elohim_. The same +meaning--strength, power, rule--attaches to many of the names of the +gods of the Semites: Adôn, Etana, Baal, El, and the like.[1219] It is +interesting to note that the chief goddess of Arabia is _Allat_[1220]--a +name identical with our Allatu. + +The bronze relief above described furnished us with a picture of this +queen of the lower world. The gloom enveloping the region controls this +picture. Allatu is of as forbidding an aspect as Tiâmat. She is warlike +and ferocious. When enraged, her anger knows no bounds. Her chief +attendants are the terrible Namtar and a scribe--also a female--known as +Belit-seri. Of these two personages, Namtar, the personification of +disease, is a popular conception, whereas the addition of a scribe +points again to the influence of the schools. Marduk, the chief god of +the living, has a scribe who writes down, at the god's dictation, the +fate decreed for individuals. Corresponding to this, the ruler of the +lower world has a scribe who writes down on the tablets of wisdom the +decrees of the goddess, and, at a later stage, the decrees of Nergal as +well. Belit-seri, whose name signifies 'mistress of the field,' was +originally a goddess of vegetation, some local deity who has been +reduced to the rank of an attendant upon a greater one; and it is +significant that almost all the members of the nether-world pantheon are +in some way connected with vegetation. + +Tammuz, of whose position in this pantheon we have already had occasion +to speak, is the god of spring vegetation. Another solar deity, +Nin-gishzida,[1221] who is associated in the Adapa legend with Tammuz, +is the deity who presides over the growth of trees. En-meshara, who also +belongs to the court of Nergal and Allatu, appears to represent +vegetation in general. To these may be added Girra (or Gira), who +originally, as it would appear, a god of vegetation, is eventually +identified with Dibbarra,[1222] Gil, whom Jensen[1223] regards as 'the +god of foliage,' and Belili, the sister of Tammuz.[1224] Of this group +of deities, Tammuz and Nin-gishzida are the most important. In the Adapa +legend, it will be recalled, they are stationed as guardians in heaven. +As solar deities, they properly belong there. Like Nergal, they have +been transferred to the nether world; and in the case of all three, the +process that led to the change appears to have been the same. The trees +blossom, bear fruit, and then decay; the fields are clothed in glory, +and then shorn of their strength. The decay of vegetation was popularly +figured as due to the weakness[1225] of the god who produced the +fertility. Tammuz has been deceived by Ishtar; Nin-gishzida has been +carried off to the lower world. In the month of Tebet,--the tenth +month,--there was celebrated a festival of mourning for the lost +En-meshara. It is the time of the winter solstice. A similar fate must +have overtaken Belit-seri, Girra, and Gil. For a time, at least, they +are hidden in the realm of Allatu. Of all these deities, stories were no +doubt current that formed so many variations of one and the same theme, +symbolizing their disappearance and the hoped-for return, the same story +that we encounter in the myth of Venus and Adonis, in the myth of +Osiris, and, in some guise or other, among many other nations of the +ancient world. Of Girra, it may be well to remember that he is viewed +merely as a form of Nergal in the later texts. Belili, it will be +recalled, is associated with Tammuz in the story of Ishtar's +journey.[1226] She is not, however, the consort of the god, but his +sister. The antiquity of her cult follows from the occurrence of her +name in the list of gods antecedent to Anu,[1227] and where Alala is +entered as her consort. Whatever else the relationship of 'sister' to +Tammuz means, it certainly indicates that Belili belongs to the deities +of vegetation, and it may be that she will turn out to be identical with +Belit-seri, which is merely the designation of some goddess, and not a +real name.[1228] One is inclined also to suspect some, albeit remote, +connection between Alala, the consort of Belili, and the Alallu bird who +is spoken of in the Gilgamesh epic as having been deprived of her +pinions by Ishtar.[1229] In the tale, Tammuz, the Alallu bird, a lion, +and a horse are successively introduced as those once loved and then +deceived by Ishtar. The lion is, as has been several times indicated, +the symbol of Nergal; the horse appears in the Hades relief above +described as the animal upon which Allatu is seated, and it seems +legitimate, therefore, to seek for Alallu also in the nether world. +While it may be that a long process intervened, before such a species of +symbolization was brought about as the representation of an ancient +deity in the guise of a bird, still, if it will be recalled that Zu is a +deity, pictured as a bird,[1230] there is every reason to interpret the +bird Alallu merely as the symbol of some deity, just as the lion is +certainly such a symbol. + +Jensen would add Etana to the list of gods of vegetation who form part +of Allatu's court. While the etymology he proposes for the name is not +acceptable, there is no doubt that to Etana, like Gilgamesh, the +character of a solar deity has been imparted. His presence in the nether +world is due to the story of his flight with the eagle and the +fall.[1231] If he falls from heaven, he naturally enters the realm of +Allatu, and it is possible that the story in its original form was +suggested by a myth illustrating the change of seasons. The question, +however, must for the present remain an open one. + +A god associated with the nether world who again appears to be a solar +deity is Nin-azu. His name points to his being 'the god of healing.' A +text states[1232] that Allatu is his consort. Such a relationship to the +chief goddess of the nether world may be regarded as a survival of the +period when Nergal had not yet been assigned to this place. The +introduction of a distinctly beneficent god into the pantheon of the +lower world, and as second in rank, shows also that the gloomy +conception of the lower world was one that developed gradually. Tammuz, +Nin-gishzida, and the like are held enthralled by Allatu, and remain in +the nether world against their will; but if Allatu chooses as her +consort a 'god of healing,' she must have been viewed as a goddess who +could at times, at least, be actuated by kindly motives. The phase of +the sun symbolized by Nin-azu is, as in the case of Tammuz and others, +the sun of the springtime and of the morning. If it be recalled that +Gula, the great goddess of healing, is the consort of Ninib,[1233] it +will be clear that Nin-azu must be closely related to Ninib--and is, +indeed, identified with the latter.[1234] With Nergal in control, +Nin-azu had to yield his privilege to be the husband of Allatu. The +substitute of the fierce sun of the summer solstice for the sun of +spring is a most interesting symptom of the direction taken by the +Babylonian beliefs, regarding the fate of the dead. It may be that in +the earlier period, when more optimistic views of Aralû were current, +Gula, who is called the one 'who restores the dead to life,' may have +had a place in the pantheon of the lower world; not that the Babylonians +at any time believed in the return of the dead, but because the living +could be saved from the clutches of death. Ninib and Gula, as gods of +spring, furnished the spectacle of such a miracle in the return of +vegetation. In this sense, we have seen that Marduk, the god of spring, +was also addressed as 'the restorer to life.' But while the +revivification of nature controls the conception of gods of healing, +like Nin-azu, Ninib, and Gula, the extension of the idea would lead, +naturally, to the association of these gods with the ruler of the nether +world, at a time when it was still believed that this ruler could be +moved by appeals to loosen her hold upon those whom she was about to +drag to her kingdom. But it is important always to bear in mind that +beyond this apparent restoration of the dead to life, the Babylonians at +no time went. + +In the Ishtar story[1235] a god Irkalla is introduced. Jeremias[1236] +takes this as one of the names of Allatu, but this is unlikely.[1237] +From other sources[1238] we know that Irkalla is one of the names of the +nether world. It is in some way connected with Urugal,[1239] _i.e._, +'great city,' which is also a common designation for the dwelling-place +of the dead. Hence, Irkalla is an epithet describing a deity as 'the god +of the great city.' The Babylonian scholars, who were fond of plays upon +words, brought the name Nergal, as though compounded of Ne-uru-gal +(_i.e._, 'ruler of the great city'), into connection with Uru-gal, and +thus identified Irkalla with Nergal. But, originally, some other god +must have been meant, since Allatu appears as the sole ruler of the +lower world in the Ishtar story, unless, indeed, we are to assume that +the name has been introduced at a late period as a concession to Nergal. +It is more plausible that a god like Nin-azu was understood under 'the +god of the great city.' Besides these gods, there is another series of +beings who belong to Allatu's court,--the demons who are directly +responsible for death in the world. Of this series, Namtar is the chief +and the representative. As the one who gathers in the living to the dark +abode, it is natural that he should be pictured as guardian at the gates +of the great palace of Allatu. But by the side of Namtar stand a large +number of demons, whose task is similar to that of their chief. A +text[1240] calls the entire group of demons,--the demon of wasting +disease, the demon of fever, the demon of erysipelas,[1241] and the +like,--'the offspring of Aralû,' 'the sons and messengers of Namtar, the +bearers of destruction for Allatu.' These demons are sent out from Aralû +to plague the living, but once they have brought their victims to Aralû, +their task is done. They do not trouble the dead. The latter stand, as +we have seen, under the direct control of the gods.[1242] + +The story of Ishtar's descent to the lower world[1243] shows us that the +group of spirits known as the Anunnaki, also, belong to the court of +Nergal and Allatu. Ramman-nirari I. already designates the Anunnaki as +belonging to the earth,[1244] though it is an indication of the +vagueness of the notions connected with the group that in hymns, both +the Anunnaki and the Igigi are designated as offspring of Anu,--the god +of heaven.[1245] They are not exclusively at the service of Nergal and +Allatu. Bel, Ninib, Marduk, and Ishtar also send them out on missions. +Evidently, the fact that their chief function was to injure mankind +suggested the doctrine which gave them a place in the lower world with +the demons. The distinction between Anunnaki and the Igigi is not +sharply maintained in the religious literature. Though Ramman-nirari +places the Igigi in heaven, it is not impossible that a later view +transferred them, like the Anunnaki, to the lower world. There were, of +course, some misfortunes that were sent against mankind from on +high--Ramman was a god who required such messengers as the Igigi, and +besides the Igigi, there were other spirits sent out from above. But, as +in the course of time the general doctrine was developed which made the +gods, on the whole, favorably inclined towards man, while the evil was +ascribed to the demons[1246]--as occupying the lower rank of divine +beings--we note the tendency also to ascribe the ills that humanity is +heir to, to the forces that dwell under the earth,--to Nergal and Allatu +and to those who did their bidding. Probably, Lakhmu and Lakhamu were +also regarded, at least by the theologians, as part of Allatu's court, +just as Alala and Belili[1247] were so regarded. + +The confusion resulting from the double position of Nergal in the +religious literature, as the deity of the summer solstice and as the +chief of the nether-world pantheon, raises a doubt whether some gods who +are closely associated with Nergal are to be placed on high with the +gods or have their seats below with Nergal. Among these, three require +mention here: Dibbarra, Gibil, and Ishum. Of these, the first two are +directly identified with Nergal in the systematized pantheon[1248], +while Ishum is closely associated with Nergal, or appears as the +attendant of Dibbarra[1249]. These gods, symbolizing violent destruction +through war and fire, are evidently related to the Nergal of the upper +world,--to Nergal, the solar deity; but in the later stages of the +religion, the Nergal of the lower world almost completely sets aside the +earlier conception. It is, therefore, likely that deities who stand so +close to the terrible god as those under consideration, were also +regarded as having a position near his throne in the lower world. + +The pantheon of Aralû thus assumes considerable dimensions. At the same +time, we observe the same tendency towards concentration of power in +this pantheon as we have seen was the case in the pantheon of the upper +world[1250]. As in Babylonia there are practically only a few +gods,--Marduk, Nabu, Ishtar, Shamash, and Sin,--who exercised +considerable control; and, as in Assyria we find this tendency still +more accentuated in the supreme rank accorded to Ashur, so in the lower +world Nergal and Allatu are the real rulers. The other gods, and, +naturally, also the demons, occupy inferior positions. As messengers, +guardians, spies, or attendants, they group themselves around the throne +of the two rulers. A noticeable feature, however, in the pantheon of the +lower world consists in the high position held by the consort of the +head of the pantheon. Allatu does not sink to the insignificant rank of +being merely a pale reflection of Nergal, as do the consorts of Marduk, +Shamash, Ashur, and the like[1251]. As a trace of the earlier supreme +control exercised by her, she continues to reign with her husband. In +the popular mind, indeed, despite the influence of theological +doctrines, Allatu continues to be more prominent than Nergal. Nergal is +obliged to abide by the compact he made with Allatu. He rules _with_ +her, but not over her. The theology of the schools did not venture to +set Allatu aside altogether; and this limitation in the development of +the doctrine that elsewhere gave the male principle the supremacy over +the female, may be taken as a valuable indication of the +counter-influence, exercised by deeply rooted popular beliefs, over the +theoretical elaboration of the religion at the hands of the religious +guides. + + +The Tombs and the Burial Customs. + +Our knowledge of the customs observed by the Babylonians and Assyrians +in disposing of their dead leaves much to be desired. Most of the graves +discovered in the ruins of Babylonian cities belong to the Persian or to +the Greek period. In some cases,[1252] where we have reason to believe +that older graves have been found, it is almost impossible to estimate +their age. Recently, the expedition of the University of Pennsylvania to +Nippur has unearthed remains that appear to belong to an older period, +though nothing can be dated with any degree of certainty earlier than +2500 B.C.[1253] Still, with proper caution, even the material belonging +to a later period may be used for the older periods. Burial customs, as +has already been emphasized, constitute the most conservative elements +in a religion. Such rites are much less liable to change than the cult +of the gods. Foreign invasion would not affect the funeral rites, even +where other religious customs are altered. Even so violent a change as +that produced by the introduction of Mohammedanism into Mesopotamia has +not removed traces of the old Babylonian religion. Dr. Peters has shown +that the district in the Euphrates Valley selected by the modern Arabs +and Persians for the interment of their dead[1254] derives its sanctity +from the days of the old Babylonian kingdom, and many of the customs +observed by the modern Moslems tally with the funeral rites of ancient +Babylonia.[1255] That the dead were always buried, and that cremation +was practically unknown, may now be regarded as certain. The conception +of Aralû, which, we have seen, belongs to the most ancient period of +religion, is only intelligible upon the assumption that burial was the +prevailing custom. On one of the oldest monuments of Babylonian +art,--the stele of vultures,--earth-burial is represented.[1256] A few +years ago, some German scholars[1257] claimed to have furnished the +proof that the Babylonians cremated their dead. But, in the first place, +the age of the tombs found by them was not clearly established; and, +secondly, it was not certain whether the charred remains of human bodies +were due to intentional burning or accidental destruction by fire, at +the time that the city explored by the German scholars was destroyed. +The fact that, as the explorers themselves observed, the bodies were not +completely burned argues in favor of the latter supposition. The +explanation offered by Koldewey[1258] for this peculiar condition of the +remains--that the burning was symbolical, and, therefore, not +complete--is unsatisfactory in every particular. There can be no doubt +that some, at least, of the tombs discovered at Warka by Loftus[1259] +belong to the period before the conquest of the country by Cyrus, and +this is certainly the case with many of the tombs discovered at Nippur. +Nowhere do we find traces of burning of bodies.[1260] If it should turn +out that cremation prevailed for a certain period, the fashion, we may +feel certain, was due to foreign influences, but it is more than +questionable whether it was ever introduced at all. Certainly, +earth-burial is the characteristically Babylonian (and general Semitic) +method of disposing of the dead. + +The characteristic feature of the Babylonian tombs is their simplicity. +The dead body, which was often covered with palm woods, was placed +generally on the side--though occasionally on the back--on a board of +wood, or wrapped in a mat of reeds or palm fibers, and covered with a +tub-shaped clay dish. On the dish there was frequently an ornamental +design, but beyond this, there was no attempt at decoration. The body +was frequently pressed together in order to be brought within the +compass of the dish. Sometimes, the knees were pulled up or the body +placed in a semi-sitting posture, and there are indications that the +bodies were often divided into two or three parts prior to burial. On +the stele of vultures,[1261] representing the triumph of Eannatum over +his enemies, attendants are seen building a mound over the symmetrically +arranged bodies of the king's soldiers slain in battle. The monument +belongs to the most ancient period of Babylonian history, and we are +justified, therefore, in regarding this method of earth-burial as the +oldest in vogue. The dead, it would seem, are placed on the ground, or +near the surface, and covered with a mound. This custom would account +for the use of a dish to cover the body after it became customary to +place the dead in small houses or vaults built for the purpose. The +shape of the dish, or tub, recalls the earth-mound over the dead, and +the tenacity of conventional methods is apparent in the modern custom, +even among Western nations, of raising a mound over the grave, even +though the body is placed at a depth of six feet and more below the +surface. A modification of the form of coffin was the jar into which the +body was forced. To do this, still greater violence had to be employed. +Instead of one jar, two were also used, the body placed partly in one, +partly in the other, and the two were then joined with bitumen. In the +Persian period, a slipper-shaped coffin was used, into which the body +was inserted through an aperture at one end; but there is no evidence +that the Babylonians employed this method. With the bodies, various +objects were interred, many of which had a special significance. Except, +perhaps, at a very early period[1262] the dead were not buried naked, +but covered with a garment. The seal cylinder, which, as Herodotus tells +us,[1263] every person of position carried about his person, and which, +when impressed on a clay tablet, served as his signature, was buried +with the dead as an ornament that had a personal value. The staff which +the man was in the habit of carrying is found in the grave, and also +such weapons as arrowheads and spears. Various ornaments of copper, +iron, gold, and stone, rings, necklaces or bands of gold were probably +placed with the dead as a sign of affection, not because of any belief +that the deceased needed these objects. Toys, too, are found in the +graves, and we may assume that these were placed in the tombs of +children. The frequent presence of shells in the tombs is still +unexplained. On the other hand, remains of food, dates, grain, poultry, +and fish, that have been found in graves belonging to various periods, +may be regarded as a proof for the existence of the belief that the dead +could suffer pangs of hunger. The closing lines of the Gilgamesh +epic,[1264] where the fate of the neglected dead is portrayed, confirms +this view. But such remains are more frequent in the early graves than +in those of a later time. Animal sacrifices at the grave appear to be +very old.[1265] Offerings of food and water were made to the dead, not +only at the time of the burial, but afterwards by surviving relatives. +The son performs the office of pouring out water to the memory of his +father.[1266] The close of the legend of Ishtar's journey suggests that +the festival of Tammuz was selected as an 'All-Souls' day. The weeping +for the lost Tammuz served as an appropriate link for combining with the +mourning for the god the lament for the dead. The water jar is never +absent in the old Babylonian tombs, and by the side of the jar the bowl +of clay or bronze is found, and which probably served the same purpose +as a drinking utensil for the dead. How early it became customary to +bury the dead together we do not know. It may be that at one time they +were buried beneath the dwellings that they occupied when alive, under +the threshold or in the walls;[1267] but the conception of Aralû as a +great gathering-place of the dead would hardly have arisen, unless the +'city of the dead' by the side of the 'city of the living' had become an +established custom. We are, therefore, justified in assuming that as the +villages grew into towns, the huddling together of the living suggested +placing the dead together in a portion of the town set aside for the +purpose. In comparison with the elaborate constructions in the Egyptian +cities of the dead, the Babylonian necropolis was a shabby affair. +Vaults, rarely more than five feet high, served as the place where the +dead were deposited. These vaults were constructed of bricks, and an +extended series of them gave to the necropolis the appearance of little +houses, suggestive of primitive mud huts. This simplicity, due in the +first instance to the lack of stone as building material in Babylonia, +corresponded to the very simple character which the dwelling-house +retained. The one-story type of dwelling, with simple partitions, +prevailed to the latest period. It was only in the temples and palaces +that architectural skill was developed. In Assyria, although soft stone +was accessible, the example of Babylonia was slavishly followed. It is +due to this that so few traces of private houses have been found in the +Mesopotamian explorations,[1268] and the almost primitive character of +the graves--more primitive, by virtue of the strength of the +conservative instinct in everything connected with the dead, than the +dwellings of the living--readily accounts for their nearly complete +destruction. Simple as the houses of the dead were, they were yet +carefully guarded against the invasion of air and dust; and even after +centuries of neglect the contents are found to be perfectly dry. + +The explorations at Nippur show that the tub and bowl forms of the +coffin continued to be used during the period extending from Hammurabi +to Nabonnedos. In later times, it would appear, the custom of placing +food and drink with the dead fell into disuse.[1269] We may perhaps find +that, as was the case in Egypt, symbolical representations of food--a +clay plate with the food modeled in clay--took the place of the old +custom. Fewer utensils, too, are found in the graves of the later +period; but, on the other hand, ornaments increase, until, when we reach +the Persian and Greek periods, mirrors are quite common, and golden +veils are placed over the dead, while handsome earrings, breastpins, and +necklaces indicate the growth of this luxurious display. The clay +coffins, too, are beautifully glazed and ornamented with elaborate +designs. A trace of foreign--perhaps Graeco-Egyptian--influence may be +seen in the human head modeled on the coffin. Naturally, at all times +the different ranks occupied by the dead involved more or less +modifications of the prevailing customs. The rich were placed in more +carefully built vaults than the poor. The coverings and ornaments varied +with the station of the deceased; but in general it may be said that, +during the earlier periods of Babylonian-Assyrian history, simplicity +was the rule, and the objects placed in the tombs were more carefully +chosen with reference to the needs of the dead and the career that he +led while living, while the tendency in later times was away from the +religious beliefs that gave rise to the funeral customs, and in the +direction of luxury and display. This development, however, is +independent of _proper_ burial, upon which, as we have already had +occasion to see, great stress was at all times laid. The greatest +misfortune that could happen to a dead person was for his body to remain +overground, or to be removed from the tomb and exposed to the light of +day. In the early monument of Babylonian art,--the 'stele of +vultures,'[1270]--already referred to, the dead foes are punished by +being stripped of their clothing and exposed to the attack of vultures, +who are seen carrying off human heads, legs, and arms. To emphasize the +contrast, the king's soldiers are portrayed as being buried in +symmetrical rows, the head of each body being covered by the feet of the +body in the row above. When the Babylonian and Assyrian kings wish to +curse the one who might venture to destroy the monuments set up by them, +they know of nothing stronger than to express the hope + + That his body may be cast aside, + No grave be his lot.[1271] + +The kings punished their enemies by leaving their bodies to rot in the +sun, or they exposed them on poles as a warning to rebels. Ashurbanabal +on one occasion speaks of having scattered the corpses of the enemy's +host 'like thorns and thistles' over the battlefield.[1272] The corpses +of the Babylonians who had aided in the rebellion against the king were +given 'to dogs, swine, to the birds of heaven, to the fish of the sea' +as food.[1273] The same king takes pleasure in relating that he +destroyed the graves of Elamitic kings and dragged the bodies from their +resting-place[1274] to Assyria. Their shades, he adds, were thus +unprotected. No food could be tendered them and no sacrifices offered in +their honor. Sennacherib, after he has crushed a rebellion that broke +out in Babylonia, takes a terrible revenge upon the instigator of the +opposition, Mardukbaliddin, by removing the bodies of the latter's +ancestors from the vaults wherein they were deposited. The bones of an +enemy are enumerated by Ashurbanabal among the spoil secured by +him.[1275] The mutilation of the dead body was also a terrible +punishment to the dead,[1276] and we are told that the person who +disturbed a grave is not to be permitted to enter the temple. The +desecration of the grave affected not only the individual whose rest was +thus disturbed, and who, in consequence, suffered pangs of hunger and +other miseries, but reached the survivors as well. The unburied or +disentombed shade assumed the form of a demon,[1277] and afflicted the +living. + +Of the ceremonies incidental to burial, the bronze tablet above +described affords us at least a glimpse. The dead were placed on a bier +and wrapped in some kind of a cover. Priests were called in to perform +rites of purification. One of the priests, it will be recalled,[1278] is +clad in a fish costume. The fish is the symbol of Ea, the god of the +deep, who becomes the chief deity appealed to in incantations involving +the use of water. The priest assumes the rôle of Ea, as it were, by the +symbolical dress that he puts on. The rites appear to consist of the +burning of incense and the sprinkling of water. It does not of course +follow that everywhere the same custom was observed, but we may at least +be certain that the priest played an important part in the last honors +paid to the dead. The purification was intended to protect the dead from +the evil spirits that infest the grave. The demons of disease, it is +true, could no longer trouble him. They had done their work as +messengers of Allatu. But there were other demons who were greedy for +the blood and flesh of the dead. Though the dead had passed out of the +control of the gods, the latter had at least the power to restrain the +demons from disturbing the peace of the grave. + +In the earlier days, when the bodies were placed on the ground or only a +short distance below it, the building of the grave-mound was a ceremony +to which importance was attached. In the stele of vultures, attendants +are portrayed--perhaps priests--with baskets on their heads, containing +the earth to be placed over the fallen soldiers.[1279] These attendants +are bare to the waist. The removal of the garments is probably a sign of +mourning, just as among the Hebrews and other Semites it was customary +to put on the primitive loin-cloth[1280] as a sign of grief. In somewhat +later times, we find sorrowing relatives tearing their clothing[1281]-- +originally tearing off their clothing--and cutting their hair as signs +of mourning. + +The formal lament for the dead was another ceremony upon which stress +was laid. It lasted from three to seven days.[1282] The professional +wailers, male and female, can be traced back to the earliest days of +Babylonian history. Gudea speaks of them.[1283] It would appear that at +this early period persons were engaged, as is the case to this day in +the Orient, to sing dirges in memory of the dead.[1284] The function is +one that belongs naturally to priests and priestesses; and, while in the +course of time, the connection with the temple of those who acted as +wailers became less formal, it is doubtful whether that connection was +ever entirely cut off. The 'dirge singers, male and female,' referred to +in the story of Ishtar's journey[1285] were in the service of some +temple. The hymns to Nergal[1286] may be taken as samples of the +Babylonian dirges. + +The praise of Nergal and Allatu was combined with the lament for the sad +fate of the dead. Gilgamesh weeping for his friend Eabani[1287] +furnishes an illustration. Gilgamesh is described as stretched out on +the ground. The same custom is referred to in the inscriptions of +Cyrus,[1288] and it is interesting to note that a similar mode of +manifesting grief still prevails in the modern Orient. In the Babylonian +dirges, it would seem, the references to the virtues of the deceased +(which are prominently introduced into the dirges of the present day) +were few. The refrain forms a regular feature of these dirges,--an +indication that, as is still the case in the Orient, there was a leader +who sang the dirge, while the chorus chimed in at the proper moment. The +principle of the stanza of two lines, one long and one short, that, as +Budde has shown,[1289] controls the wailing songs in the Old Testament +(including the Book of Lamentations, which is based upon this very +custom of lamenting the dead), may be detected in the Babylonian +compositions. The accompaniment of musical instruments to the dirges +also appears to be a very old custom in Babylonia. In the story of +Ishtar's journey the wailers are called upon to strike their +instruments. What kind of instruments were used in ancient times we do +not know. In the Assyrian period, the harp and flute appear to be the +most common.[1290] + +At the time that food and drink were placed with the dead in the grave, +some arrangements must have been made for renewing the nourishment. +Entrances to tombs have been found,[1291] and Koldewey[1292] is of the +opinion that the clay drains found in quantities in the tombs, served as +well to secure a supply of fresh water for the dead. The wailing for the +dead took place not only immediately after death, but subsequently. +Ashurbanabal speaks of visiting the graves of his ancestors. He appears +at the tomb with rent garments, pours out a libation to the memory of +the dead, and offers up a prayer addressed to them. We have every reason +to believe that the graves were frequently visited by the survivors. The +festival of Tammuz became an occasion[1293] when the memory of those who +had entered Aralû was recalled. + +While there are many details connected with the ceremonies for the dead +still to be determined, what has been ascertained illustrates how +closely and consistently these ceremonies followed the views held by the +Babylonians and Assyrians regarding the life after death. Everything +connected with death is gloomy. The grave is as dark as Aralû; the +funeral rites consist of dirges that lament not so much the loss +sustained by the living as the sad fate in store for the dead. Not a ray +of sunshine illumines the darkness that surrounds these rites. All that +is hoped for is to protect the dead against the attack of demons greedy +for human flesh, to secure rest for the body, and to guard the dead +against hunger and thirst. + +It is almost startling to note, to what a degree the views embodied in +Old Testament writings regarding the fate of the dead, coincide with +Babylonian conceptions. The descriptions of Sheol found in Job, in the +Psalms, in Isaiah, Ezekiel, and elsewhere are hardly to be distinguished +from those that we have encountered in Babylonian literature. For +Job,[1294] Sheol is + + The land of darkness and deep shadows. + The land of densest gloom and not of light. + Even where there is a gleam, there it is as dark night.[1295] + +The description might serve as a paraphrase of the opening lines in the +story of Ishtar's journey. The Hebrew Sheol is situated, like the +Babylonian Aralû, deep down in the earth.[1296] It is pictured as a +cavern. The entrance to it is through gates that are provided with +bolts. Sheol is described as a land filled with dust. Silence reigns +supreme. It is the gathering-place of all the living, without exception. +He who sinks into Sheol does not rise up again. + + He does not return to his house. + His place knows him no more.[1297] + +It is, clearly, 'a land without return,' as the Babylonians conceived +it. The condition of the dead in Sheol is sad, precisely as the +Babylonians pictured the life in Aralû. The dead are designated by a +name[1298] that indicates their weak condition. They can only talk in +whispers or they chirp like birds. Their gait is unsteady. In general, +they are pictured as lying quiet, doomed to inactivity. Death is +lamented as an evil. The dead have passed out of the control of Yahwe, +whose concern is with the living. Yahwe's blessings are meted out in +this world, but not in Sheol. These blessings consist chiefly of long +life and plenty of offspring. The dead need not praise Yahwe. +Ecclesiastes--although a late composition--expresses the old popular +view in the summary of the fate of the dead,[1299] when it is said that +the dead know nothing of what is going on. Their memory is gone; they +neither love nor hate, and they are devoid of any ambition. There is no +planning, no wisdom, no judgment in Sheol. + +Like the Babylonians, the Hebrews also believed that the condition of +the individual at the time of death was an index of the condition in +store for him in Sheol. He who goes to Sheol in sorrow is pursued by +sorrow after death. Jacob does not want to go down to Sheol in +sorrow,[1300] because he knows that in that case sorrow will be his fate +after death. To die neglected by one's family was fatal to one's +well-being in Sheol. Life in Sheol was a continuation, in a measure, of +the earthly existence. Hence, the warrior is buried with his weapons; +the prophet is recognized by his cloak; the kings wear their crowns; the +people of various lands are known by their dress.[1301] Even +deformities, as lameness, follow the individual into the grave. On the +other hand, while the dead were weak and generally inactive, although +capable of suffering, they were also regarded by the Hebrews as +possessing powers superior to those of the living. As among the +Babylonians, the dead stand so close to the higher powers as to be +themselves possessed of divine qualities. Schwally aptly characterizes +this apparent contradiction by saying 'that the dead are _Refâ'îm_ +(weak), but, at the same time, _Elohîm_, _i.e._ divine beings.'[1302] +Yahwe has no power over the dead, but they receive some of his +qualities. They are invoked by the living. The dead can furnish oracles, +precisely as Yahwe can. They not only appear to the living in dreams, +but their shades can be raised up from Sheol. A certain amount of +worship was certainly paid to the dead by the ancient Hebrews. + +Naturally, these popular views were subjected to considerable +modification with the development of the religion of the Hebrews. While +many features remained, as is shown by the occurrence of the primitive +conception of Sheol in comparatively late productions, in one important +particular, more especially, did the spread of an advanced ethical +monotheism lead to a complete departure from the Babylonian conceptions. +While, in the popular mind, the belief that there was no escape from +Sheol continued for a long time, this belief was inconsistent with the +conception of a Divine Being, who, as creator and sole ruler of the +universe, had control of the dead as well as the living. As long as +Yahwe was merely one god among many, no exception was made of the rule +that the concern of the gods was with the living; but Yahwe as the one +and only god, could not be pictured as limited in his scope. He was a +god for the dead, as well as for the living. The so-called song of +Hannah[1303] expresses the new view when it praises Yahwe as the one +'who kills and restores to life, who leads to Sheol, and who can lead +out of it.' Such a description of Yahwe is totally different from the +Babylonians' praise of Ninib, Gula, or Marduk as the 'restorer of the +dead to life,' which simply meant that these gods could restrain Allatu. +The power to snatch the individual from the grasp of Sheol was also +ascribed to the national god, Yahwe. Elijah's restoration of the widow's +child[1304] to life is an instance of this power, and Jonah,[1305] who +praises Yahwe for having delivered him when the gates of Sheol already +seemed bolted, may not have had anything more in mind than what the +Babylonians meant; but when the Psalmist, to indicate the universal rule +of Yahwe, exclaims + + If I mount to heaven, thou art there, + If I make Sheol my couch, thou art there,[1306] + +the departure from the old Hebrew and Babylonian views of the limitation +of divine power is clearly marked. The inconsistency between the view +held of Yahwe and the limitation of his power was not, however, always +recognized. Hence, even in late portions of the Old Testament, we find +views of the life after death that are closely allied to the popular +notions prevailing in the earlier productions. It is not, indeed, till +we reach a period bordering close on our era that the conflict between +the old and the new is brought to a decided issue in the disputes of the +sects that arose in Palestine.[1307] The doctrines of retribution and of +the resurrection of the dead are the inevitable consequences of the +later ethical faith and finally triumph; but the old views, which bring +the ancient Hebrews into such close connection with the Babylonians, +left their impress in the vagueness that for a long time characterized +these doctrines, even after their promulgation. The persistency of the +old beliefs is a proof of the strong hold that they acquired, as also of +the close bond uniting, at one time and for a long period, Hebrews and +Babylonians. What applies to the beliefs regarding the dead holds good +also for the rites. Many a modern Jewish custom[1308] still bears +witness to the original identity of the Hebrew and Babylonian methods of +disposing of and caring for the dead. + +There is but one explanation for this close agreement,--the same +explanation that was given for the identity of traditions regarding the +creation of the world, and for the various other points of contact +between the two peoples that we have met with. When the Hebrew clans +left their homes in the Euphrates Valley, they carried with them the +traditions, beliefs, and customs that were current in that district, and +which they shared with the Babylonians. Under new surroundings, some new +features were added to the traditions and beliefs, but the additions did +not obscure the distinctive character impressed upon them by Babylonian +contact. We now know that relations with Babylonia were never entirely +broken off by the Hebrews. The old traditions survived all vicissitudes. +They were adapted to totally changed phases of belief, but the kernel +still remained Babylonian. Beliefs were modified, new doctrines arose; +but, with a happy inconsistency, the old was embodied in the new. Hence +it happens, that in order to understand the Hebrews, their religion, +their customs, and even their manner of thought, we must turn to +Babylonia. + +Further discoveries beneath the mounds of Mesopotamia and further +researches in Babylonian literature will add more evidence to the +indebtedness of the Hebrews to Babylonia. It will be found that in the +sacrificial ordinances of the Pentateuch, in the legal regulations, in +methods of justice and punishment, Babylonian models were largely +followed, or, what is an equal testimony to Babylonian influence, an +opposition to Babylonian methods was dominant. It is not strange that +when by a curious fate, the Hebrews were once more carried back to the +'great river of Babylon,'[1309] the people felt so thoroughly at home +there. It was only the poets and some ardent patriots who hung their +harps on the willows and sighed for a return to Zion. The Jewish +population steadily increased in Babylonia, and soon also the +intellectual activity of Babylonian Jews outstripped that of +Palestine.[1310] The finishing touches to the structure of Judaism were +given in Babylonia--on the soil where the foundations were laid. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1112] See above, p. 448. + +[1113] See pp. 487, 489, 511, 512. + +[1114] Or Arallu. + +[1115] IIR. 61, 18. Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 220, takes this as the name +of a temple; but, since Aralû was pictured as a 'great house,' there is +no reason why the designation should not refer to the nether world. + +[1116] See the admirable argument in Jensen, _Kosmologie_, pp. 185-195. + +[1117] Or, more fully, Kharsag-gal-kurkura, 'great mountain of all +lands.' + +[1118] See above, p. 458. + +[1119] See the following chapter. + +[1120] See the passages in Jeremias' _Die Babylonisch-Assyrischen +Vorstellungen vom Leben nach dem Tode_, p. 62. + +[1121] Sargon Annals, I. 156. Jensen's interpretation of the passage +(_Kosmologie_, p. 231) is forced, as is also his explanation of IIR. 51, +11a, where a mountain Aralû is clearly designated. + +[1122] _Kosmologie_, pp. 222-224. + +[1123] Gunkel's _Schöpfung und Chaos_, p. 154, note 5. + +[1124] In an article on 'Shuâlu' published in the _American Journal of +Semitic Languages_ (xiv.), I have set forth my reasons for accepting +this word as a Babylonian term for the nether world. + +[1125] In the later portions of the Old Testament, the use of Sheol is +also avoided. See the passages in Schwally, _Das Leben nach dem Tode +nach den Vorstellungen des Alten Israels_, pp. 59, 60. + +[1126] Not 'Ort der Entscheidung,' as Jeremias, _ib._ p. 109, proposes. + +[1127] See above, p. 329. + +[1128] I Sam. xxviii. 11. + +[1129] See p. 511. + +[1130] See Schwally, _ib._ pp. 59-63. + +[1131] Isaiah, viii. 19. + +[1132] One of the names for the priest in Babylonia is Shâ'ilu, _i.e._, +'inquirer,' and the corresponding Hebrew word Shô'êl is similarly used +in a few passages of the Old Testament; _e.g._, Deut. xviii. 11; Micah, +vii. 3. See an article by the writer on "The Stem Shâ'al and the Name of +Samuel," in a forthcoming number of the _Journal of the Society of +Biblical Literature_. + +[1133] See above, pp. 333 _seq._ + +[1134] See p. 167. + +[1135] See above, p. 167, and Scheit, _Le Culte de Gudea_, etc. +(_Recueil des Travaux_, xviii. 64 _seq._) + +[1136] Thureau-Dangin, _Le Culte des Rois dans la periode +Prebabylonienne_ (_Recueil des Travaux_, etc., xix. 486). + +[1137] See above, p. 36. The text is published IIIR. pl. 4, no. 7. +Recently, Mr. Pinches has published a variant version of this story +(_Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._ xviii. 257, 258). + +[1138] IVR. 34. + +[1139] In view of recent discussions of the subject, it is important to +note that Tiele already fifteen years ago recognized that Sargon was a +historical personage. See his remarks, _Babyl. Assyr. Gesch._, p. 112. + +[1140] Chapter ii. + +[1141] See Winterbotham, "The Cult of Father Abraham," in the +_Expositor_, 1897, pp. 177-186. + +[1142] See Jensen's _Kosmologie_, p. 215, and Meissner, +_Altbabylonisches Privatrecht_, p. 21. The word is used for the +foundation of a building, and is an indication, therefore, of the great +depth at which the nether world was placed. + +[1143] See below, p. 567, and Jensen's _Kosmologie_, p. 259. + +[1144] See pp. 65, 66. + +[1145] _Kabru_ and _Gegunu_ ('dark place'). + +[1146] See also below, pp. 566, 567. + +[1147] Published IV Rawlinson (2nd edition), pl. 31. + +[1148] See p. 483. + +[1149] The Old Testament recognizes only two seasons, summer and winter. +See, _e.g._, Gen. viii. 22. + +[1150] See the discussion in Robertson Smith's _Religions of the +Semites_, pp. 391-394; and also Farnall, _The Cults of the Greek +States_, ii. 644-649. + +[1151] See above, p. 484. + +[1152] See above, p. 510. + +[1153] _I.e._, according to one version (p. 511). Another version of +this part of the Gilgamesh epic, which, however, is influenced by the +tale of Ishtar's visit, is published in Haupt's _Nimrodepos_, pp. 16-19. +In this version Eabani gives Gilgamesh a description of Aralû, which +tallies with the one found in the Ishtar tale. + +[1154] Text defective. Jeremias' suggestion, "the land that thou +knowest," misses the point. The person addressed does not know the land. +'Decay' is Schrader's conjecture (_Die Höllenfahrt der Istar_, p. 24). +See Haupt's _Nimrodepos_, pp. 17, 40, and Delitzsch's _Assyr. +Wörterbuch_, p. 321, note. + +[1155] Lit., 'the one who has entered it.' + +[1156] _I.e._, of the inhabitants. + +[1157] The inhabitants. + +[1158] See p. 461. + +[1159] See below, p. 591. + +[1160] See pp. 502, 511. + +[1161] Particularly by Herbert Spencer and his followers. + +[1162] Isaiah, xiv 9-20, and Ezekiel, xxxii. 18-31. In Isaiah, the +Babylonian Aralû is specifically described, while Ezekiel writes under +the influence of Babylonian ideas. + +[1163] Isaiah, viii. 19. + +[1164] The Hebrew word for 'the dead,' _refâim_, conveys this idea. + +[1165] See p. 512. + +[1166] See Sara Y. Stevenson, "On Certain Symbols used in the Decoration +of Some Potsherds from Daphne and Naukratis" (Philadelphia, 1892), p. 8. + +[1167] See above, p. 83. + +[1168] 'Eating' appears to be a metaphor for destruction in general. + +[1169] The portals (?). + +[1170] Jensen, _Kosmologie_, pp. 173 _seq_. + +[1171] Here used as an epithet of the nether world. See above, p. 563. + +[1172] Or 'palace.' The lower world, it will be recalled, is pictured as +a house or a country. Here the two terms are combined. See Delitzsch, +_Assyr. Wörterbuch_, p. 341. + +[1173] The phrases used are the ordinary terms of greeting. See, _e.g._, +VR. 65, 17b. + +[1174] Gibil-Nusku may be meant. See the hymn, p. 278. Pap-sukal is a +title of Nabu (p. 130), but also of other gods. + +[1175] Lit., 'liver.' + +[1176] For the translation of these lines see Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. +233. + +[1177] See above, p. 441. + +[1178] So Jeremias' _Vorstellungen_, etc.; see p. 39. _Zikutu_ from the +same stem means a 'drinking bowl.' + +[1179] A biting of the lips is elsewhere introduced as a figure. See the +author's monograph, "A Fragment of the Babylonian Dibbarra Epic," p. 14. + +[1180] See Delitzsch, _Assyr. Wörterbuch_, p. 341. + +[1181] So far as the domestic animals are concerned, it is true that +they throw off their young in the spring. The reference to a similar +interruption in the case of mankind (see above, p. 571) may embody the +recollection of a period when a regular pairing season and breeding time +existed among mankind. See Westermarck, _The History of Human Marriage_, +pp. 27 _seq._ + +[1182] Allatu. + +[1183] _I.e._, of the dead person. + +[1184] Ishtar. + +[1185] See p. 475. + +[1186] _Vorstellungen_, pp. 6-8. + +[1187] Some instrument is mentioned. + +[1188] IVR. 30, no. 3, obverse 23-35. + +[1189] The word is explained by a gloss, 'Shamash has made him great.' + +[1190] _I.e._, the month in which one dies. + +[1191] See p. 175. + +[1192] See pp. 505, 506. + +[1193] _Vorstellungen_, p. 81. + +[1194] Psalms, vi. 6. + +[1195] _L'Enfer Assyrien_ (_Revue Archaeologique_, 1879, pp. 337-349). +See also Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in Chaldaea and Assyria_, +I. 349 _seq._ + +[1196] Described by Schell in the _Recucil de Travaux_, etc., xx. nos. 1 +and 2. Schell regards the Zurghul duplicate as older than the other. + +[1197] Only four on the Zurghul duplicate. + +[1198] For the interpretation of these symbols, see Luschan, +_Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli_, pp. 17-27, and Scheil's article. On the +Zurghul tablet there are eight symbols, while the other contains nine. + +[1199] See pp. 263, 264. A text IVR. 5, col. i. compares each of the +seven spirits to some animal. On the duplicate six demons are placed in +the second division and the seventh in the third. + +[1200] On the duplicate those two demons do not occur. + +[1201] Schell thinks that the face is that of a dog. + +[1202] On the Zurghul duplicate the horse is not pictured. + +[1203] See p. 529. + +[1204] This division is not marked in the duplicate from Zurghul. + +[1205] Not occurring on the duplicate. + +[1206] Scheil questions whether the divisions have this purpose. While +perhaps not much stress is laid by the artist upon this symbolism, its +existence can hardly be questioned. Note the five divisions of the +universe in Smith's _Miscellaneous Texts_, p. 16. The water certainly +represents the Apsu. Allatu rests upon the bark. We do not find among +the Babylonians (as Scheil supposes) the view that the dead are conveyed +across a sheet of water to the nether world. The dead are buried, and by +virtue of this fact enter Aralû, which is in the earth. Egyptian +influence is possible, but unlikely. + +[1207] IVR. 26, no. 1. + +[1208] _I.e._, the nether world. + +[1209] IVR. 30, no. 1; obverse 5, 14. + +[1210] See Jensen's valuable articles, "The Queen in the Babylonian +Hades and her Consort," in the _Sunday School Times_, March 13 and 20, +1897. The text is published, Winckler and Abel, _Der Thontafelfund von +El-Amarna,_ iii. 164, 165. + +[1211] Written phonetically _e-ri-ish_. The word is entered as a synonym +of _sharratum_, 'queen,' VR. 28, no. 2; obverse 31. This phonetic +writing furnishes the reading for _Nin_ in Nin-Klgal. + +[1212] See pp. 418, 419. + +[1213] See p. 428. + +[1214] See below, p. 588 _seq._ + +[1215] See below, p. 590. + +[1216] See above, p. 79. + +[1217] See pp. 448, 511. + +[1218] See Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_, ii. 627. + +[1219] See the reference in note 3 to p. 519. + +[1220] Wellhausen, _Reste Arabischen Heidenthums_, pp. 28, 29. That the +Syro-Arabian _Allat_ resembles Ishtar rather than Allatu, points again +to the original identity of the two goddesses. + +[1221] See p. 546 _seq._ + +[1222] See below, p. 594, note 1, and Jensen's _Kosmologie_, pp. 145, +480, 483, 487. + +[1223] _Sunday School Times_, 1897, p. 139. + +[1224] See p. 574. + +[1225] See Frazer, _The Golden Bough_, i. 240 _seq._ and 274, 275. + +[1226] See p. 574. + +[1227] See p. 417. + +[1228] Cheyne (_Expository Times_, 1897, pp. 423, 424) ingeniously +regards _Belili_ as the source of the Hebrew word _Beliyaal_ or +_Belial_, which, by a species of popular etymology, is written by the +ancient Hebrew scholars as though compounded of two Hebrew words +signifying 'without return.' The popular etymology is valuable as +confirming the proposition to place Belili in the pantheon of the lower +world. From its original meaning, the word became a poetical term in +Hebrew for 'worthless,' 'useless,' and the like, _e.g._, in the +well-known phrase "Sons of Belial." + +[1229] See p. 482. + +[1230] See p. 537. + +[1231] See above, p. 523. + +[1232] IIR. 59; reverse 33-35. + +[1233] See above, p. 175. + +[1234] IIR. 57, 51a, a star, Nin-azu, is entered as one of the names of +the planet Ninib. + +[1235] See above, p. 565. The name occurs also in Haupt's _Nimrodepos_, +pp. 19, 29. + +[1236] _Vorstellungen_, p. 68. + +[1237] The name of the goddess is written throughout the story +Nin-Kigal; _i.e._, 'queen of the nether world.' Nin-Eresh. See p. 584, +note 2. + +[1238] Smith, _Miscellaneous Texts_, p. 16. + +[1239] Jensen, _Kosmologie_, p. 259, note. + +[1240] IVR. 1, col. i. 12; col iii. 8-10. + +[1241] _Te'û_. See IVR. 22, 512, and Bartels, _Zeitschrift für +Assyriologie_, viii. 179-184. + +[1242] See above, pp. 183, 560. + +[1243] Obverse ll. 33, 37. + +[1244] See above, p. 185. + +[1245] See p. 186. + +[1246] See p. 183. + +[1247] See pp. 417, 598. + +[1248] Jensen's _Kosmologie_, pp. 483, 484. In the new fragment of the +Deluge story discovered by Scheil (referred to above, p. 507, and now +published in the _Recueil de Travaux_, xix. no. 3) the word +_di-ib-ba-ra_ occurs, and the context shows that it means 'destruction.' +In view of this, the question is again opened as to the reading of the +name of the god of war and pestilence. The identification of this god +with Girra (pp. 528, 588) may belong to a late period. + +[1249] See p. 529. + +[1250] See pp. 111, 171, 190. + +[1251] See chapter v. + +[1252] So at Zurghul (or Zerghul) and el-Hibba. See Koldewey in +_Zeitschrift für Assyriologie_, ii. 403-430. + +[1253] See the valuable chapter in Peters' work on _Nippur_, ii. +214-234. + +[1254] _Proceedings of the American Oriental Society_, 1896, p. 166. The +dead are often conveyed hundreds of miles to be interred in Nejef and +Kerbela. + +[1255] Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 325, 326. + +[1256] See below, p. 597. + +[1257] Koldewey, _Zeitschrift für Assyriologie_, ii. 406 _seq._ + +[1258] _Ib._ + +[1259] _Travels and Researches in Chaldaea and Susiana_, chapter xviii. + +[1260] Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 234. Other mounds examined by Peters +between Warka and Nippur bear out the conclusion. + +[1261] De Sarzec, _Découvertes en Chaldée_, pl. 3. + +[1262] On the stele of vultures, the dead are naked. + +[1263] Book I, § 195. + +[1264] See p. 512. + +[1265] Such sacrifices are pictured on the stele of vultures. + +[1266] IIIR. 43, col. iv. l. 20; Belser, _Beiträge zur Assyriologie_, +ll. 175, 18; Pinches, _Babylonian Texts_, p. 18. + +[1267] For this custom see Trumbull, _The Threshold Covenant_, p. 25; +Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 202, 203. + +[1268] Recently, Scheil has discovered some private dwellings at +Abu-Habba, which will be described in his forthcoming volume on his +explorations at that place. See also Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 200, 201. + +[1269] Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 220. + +[1270] See p. 597. The date of the monument is prior to Sargon; _i.e._, +earlier than 3800 B.C. + +[1271] VR. 61, col. vi. ll. 54, 55. + +[1272] Rassam Cylinder, col. iii. l. 40. + +[1273] Rassam Cylinder, col. iv. ll. 74-76. + +[1274] _Ib._ col. vi. ll. 70-76. + +[1275] Rassam Cylinder, col. iii. l. 64. The favorite mutilation was the +cutting off of the head. On one of the sculptured slabs from the palace +of Ashurbanabal, a pyramid of heads is portrayed. The cutting off of the +hands, the lips, the nose, and the male organ, as well as the flaying of +the skin, were also practised. (See Sennacherib's account IR. 42, col. +vi. ll. 1-6; Rassam Cylinder (Ashurbanabal), ii. 4 and iv. 136.) + +[1276] Rassam Cylinder, col. vii. ll. 46-48. + +[1277] _ekimmu_. See p. 580. + +[1278] See p. 578. + +[1279] Heuzey offers another explanation of the scene which is less +plausible. (See De Sarzec, _Découvertes en Chaldée_, p. 98.) + +[1280] Hebrew word _Sak_. The other rite of mourning among the Hebrews, +the putting of earth on the head (_e.g._, I Sam. iv. 12; II Sam. i. 2 +and xv. 32; Neh. ix. 1), is a survival of the method of burial as +portrayed in the 'stele of vultures.' The earth was originally placed in +a basket on the head and used to cover the dead body. + +[1281] The mourning garb mentioned in the Adapa legend (p. 546) is +probably a 'torn' garment. + +[1282] Hagen, _Cyrus-Texte_ (_Beiträge zur Assyriologie_, ii. 219, 223). + +[1283] Inscription B, col. v. ll. 3-5. + +[1284] Lane, _Modern Egyptians_, ll. 286. + +[1285] See p. 575. + +[1286] _Ib._ + +[1287] See p. 487. + +[1288] Hagen, _Cyrus-Texte_, _ib._ and p. 248. + +[1289] "The Folk-Song of Israel," _The New World_, ii. 35; also his +article "Das Hebräische Klagelied," _Zeitschrift für Alttestamentliche +Wissenschaft_, ii. 1-52. + +[1290] In Egypt at present the tambourine is used to accompany the +dirges (Lane, _ib._ p. 278). + +[1291] Peter's _Nippur_, ii. 173, and elsewhere. + +[1292] _Zeitschrift für Assyriologie_, ii. 414. + +[1293] See above, p. 575. + +[1294] Job, x. 21, 22. + +[1295] _I.e._, the darkness is so dense that no light can remove it. + +[1296] See the references in Schwally, _Das Leben nach dem Tode nach den +Vorstellungen des Alten Israels_, pp. 59-68, and Jeremias' +_Vorstellungen_, pp. 106-116. + +[1297] Job, vii. 10. + +[1298] _Refâ'îm_. + +[1299] Chapter ix. 5-10. + +[1300] Gen. xlii. 38. + +[1301] Incidentally, a proof that the dead were not buried naked. + +[1302] _Das Leben nach dem Tode_, etc, p. 67. + +[1303] I Sam. ii. Recognized by the critics as an insertion. See Budde, +_Die Bücher Richter und Samuel_, p. 197. + +[1304] I Kings, xvii. 21, 22. + +[1305] Chapter ii. 7. + +[1306] Psalms, cxxxix. 8; a very late production. + +[1307] Schürer, _A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus +Christ_, vol. II. Division li. pp. 38, 39, 179-181. + +[1308] _E.g._, the custom still in vogue among Orthodox Jews of placing +the body wrapped in a shroud upon a board, instead of in a coffin. + +[1309] Professor Haupt has recently shown (in a paper read before the +American Oriental Society, April, 1897, and before the Eleventh +International Congress of Orientalists, September, 1897) that such is +the meaning of the phrase, Psalms, cxxxvii. 1, which is ordinarily +translated 'rivers of Babylon.' + +[1310] The Talmud of Babylonia, and not the Talmud of Palestine, became +the authoritative work in the Jewish Church. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +THE TEMPLES AND THE CULT. + + +The religious architecture of Babylonia and Assyria is of interest +chiefly as an expression of the religious earnestness of rulers and +people, and only in a minor degree as a manifestation of artistic +instincts. The lack of a picturesque building material in the Euphrates +Valley was sufficient to check the development of such instincts. +Important as the adaptation of the clay soil of Babylonia for simple +construction was for the growth of Babylonian culture, the limitations +to the employment of bricks as a building material are no less +significant. Ihering has endeavored to show[1311] by an argument that is +certainly brilliant and almost convincing, that the settlement of +Semites in a district, the soil of which could be so readily used to +replace the primitive habitations of man by solid structures, made the +Semites the teachers of the Aryans in almost everything that pertains to +civilization. House-building produced the art of measuring, led to more +elaborate furnishings of the habitation, created various trades, +introduced social distinctions, necessitated divisions of time, and gave +the stimulus to commercial intercourse. But, on the other hand, the +artistic possibilities of brick structures were soon exhausted. The +house could be indefinitely extended in length and even height, but such +an extension only added to the monotonous effect. With clay as a +building material, so readily moulded into any desired shape, and that +could be baked, if need be, by the action of the sun without the use of +fire, it was almost as easy to build a large house as a small one. But +the addition of rooms and wings and stories which differentiated the +house from the palace and the palace from the temple, served to make +hugeness the index of grandeur. The best specimens of the religious +architecture of Babylonia and Assyria are characterized by such +hugeness. A proportionate increase of external beauty could only be +secured by a modification of architectural style; but the conservative +instincts of the people discouraged any deviation from the conventional +shapes of the temples, which appear indeed to have been firmly +established long before the days of Hammurabi. The influence of +conventionality finds a striking illustration in the manner in which the +temples of Assyria follow Babylonian models. Soft and hard stone +suitable for permanent structures was easily procured in the mountainous +district adjacent to Assyria. The Assyrians used this material for +statues, altars, and for the slabs with which they decorated the +exterior and interior walls of their great edifices. Had they also +employed it as a building material, we should have had the development +of new architectural styles; but the Assyrians, so dependent in +everything pertaining to culture upon the south, could not cut +themselves loose from ancient traditions, and continued to erect huge +piles of brick, as the homage most pleasing in the eyes of their gods. +The Book of Genesis characterized the central idea of the Babylonian and +Assyrian temples when it represented the people gathered in the valley +of Shinar--that is, Babylonia--as saying: 'Come, let us build a city and +a tower that shall reach up to heaven.'[1312] The Babylonian and +Assyrian kings pride themselves upon the height of their temples. +Employing, indeed, almost the very same phrase that we find in the Old +Testament, they boast of having made the tops of their sacred edifices +as high as 'heaven.'[1313] The temple was to be in the literal sense of +the word a 'high place.' But, apart from the factor of natural growth, +there was a special reason why the Babylonians aimed to make their +sacred edifices high. The oldest temple of Babylonia at the present time +known to us, the temple of Bel at Nippur, bears the characteristic name +of E-Kur, 'mountain house.' The name is more than a metaphor. The sacred +edifices of Babylonia were intended as a matter of fact to be imitations +of mountains. It is Jensen's merit to have suggested the explanation for +this rather surprising ideal of the Babylonian temple.[1314] According +to Babylonian notions, it will be recalled, the earth is pictured as a +huge mountain. Among other names, the earth is called E-Kur, 'mountain +house.' The popular and early theology conceived the gods as sprung from +the earth. They are born in Kharsag-kurkura,[1315] 'the mountain of all +lands,' which is again naught but a designation for the earth, though at +a later period some particular part of the earth, some mountain peak, +may have been pictured as the birthplace of the gods, much as among the +Indians, Persians, and Greeks we find a particular mountain singled out +as the one on which the gods dwell. The transfer of the gods or of some +of them to places in the heavens was, as we saw,[1316] a scholastic +theory, and not a popular belief. It was a natural association of ideas, +accordingly, that led the Babylonians to give to their temples the form +of the dwelling which they ascribed to their gods. The temple, in so far +as it was erected to serve as a habitation for the god and an homage to +him, was to be the reproduction of the cosmic E-Kur,--'a mountain house' +on a small scale, a miniature Kharsag-kurkura. In confirmation of this +view, it is sufficient to point out that E-Kur is not merely the name of +the temple to Bel at Nippur, but is frequently used as a designation for +temple in general; and, moreover, a plural is formed of the word which +is used for divinities.[1317] In Assyria we find one of the oldest +temples bearing the name E-kharsag-kurkura,[1318] that stamps the +edifice as the reproduction of the 'mountain of all lands'; and there +are other temples that likewise bear names[1319] in which the idea of a +mountain is introduced. + +To produce the mountain effect, a mound of earth was piled up and on +this mound a terrace was formed that served as the foundation plane for +the temple proper, but it was perfectly natural also that instead of +making the edifice consist of one story, a second was superimposed on +the first so as to heighten the resemblance to a mountain. The outcome +of this ideal was the so-called staged tower, known as the _zikkurat_. +The name signifies simply a 'high' edifice, and embodies the same idea +that led the Canaanites and Hebrews to call their temples 'high +places.'[1320] + +The oldest zikkurat as yet found is the one excavated by Drs. Peters and +Haynes at Nippur,[1321] the age of which can be traced back to the +second dynasty of Ur--about 2700 B.C. This appears to have consisted of +three stages, one superimposed on the other. There is a reference to a +zikkurat in the inscriptions of Gudea that may be several centuries +older; but since beneath the zikkurat at Nippur remains of an earlier +building were found, it is a question whether the staged tower +represents the oldest type of a Babylonian temple. At no time does any +special stress appear to have been laid upon the number of stories of +which the zikkurat was to consist. It is not until a comparatively late +period that rivalry among the rulers and natural ambition led to the +increase of the superimposed stages until the number seven was reached. +The older zikkurats were imposing chiefly because of the elevation of +the terrace on which they were erected, and inasmuch as the ideal of the +temple is realized to all practical purposes by the erection of a high +edifice on an elevated mound, the chief stress was laid upon the height +of the terrace. The terrace, in a certain sense, is the original +zikkurat--the real 'high place'--and the temple of one story naturally +precedes the staged tower, and may have remained the type for some time +before the more elaborate structure was evolved. However this may be, we +are justified in associating the mountain _motif_ with the beginnings of +religious architecture in the Euphrates Valley, precisely as the +underlying cosmic notions belong to the earliest period of which we have +any knowledge. That the staged tower when once evolved was regarded as +the most satisfactory expression of the religious ideas follows from the +fact that all the large centers of Babylonia had a zikkurat of some kind +dedicated to the patron deity, and probably many of the smaller places +likewise. A list of zikkurats[1322] furnishes the names of no less than +twenty; and while all of the important places are included, there are +others which do not appear to have played an important part in either +the religious or political history of the country, and which +nevertheless had their zikkurat. To judge from the fact that in this +list several names of zikkurat are connected with one and the same +place, more than one zikkurat, indeed, could be found in a large +religious center.[1323] + + +The Construction and Character of the Zikkurats. + +The zikkurat was quadrangular in shape. The orientation of the four +corners towards the four cardinal points was only approximate.[1324] +Inasmuch as the rulers of Babylonia from a very early period call +themselves 'king of the four regions,'[1325] it has been supposed that +the quadrangular shape was chosen designedly; but there is no proof that +any stress was laid upon symbolism of this kind, or upon the orientation +of the corners of the sacred edifices. More attention was bestowed upon +making the brick structure huge and massive. + +The height of the zikkurats varied. Those at Nippur and Ur[1326] appear +to have been about 90 feet high, while the tower at Borsippa which Sir +Henry Rawlinson carefully examined[1327] attained a height of 140 feet. +The base of this zikkurat, which may be regarded as a specimen of the +tower in its most elaborate form, was a quadrangular mass 272 feet +square and 26 feet high. The second and third stories were of equal +height, but the square mass diminished with each story by 42 feet. The +height of the four upper stories was 15 feet each. At the same time, the +mass diminished steadily at the rate of 42 feet, so that the seventh +story consisted of a mass of only 20 feet square. Sargon's zikkurat at +Khorsabad (the suburb of Nineveh) was about the same height. + +The average number of stages of the zikkurat appears to have been three, +as at Nippur and Ur, or four, as at Larsa.[1328] In the pictorial +representations of the towers,[1329] we similarly find either three or +four. In these smaller zikkurats, the height of each tower, as in the +first three stories of the tower at Borsippa, appears to have been +alike; but the mass diminished in proportion in order to secure a space +for a staircase leading from one story to the other. This method of +ascent was older than the winding balustrade, which was better adapted +to the more elaborate structures of later times. No doubt, as the towers +increased in height, other variations were introduced--as, _e.g._, in +the proportions of the stories--without interfering with the essential +principle of the zikkurat. + +The ungainly appearance presented by the huge towers was somewhat +relieved by decorations of the friezes and by the judicious use of +color. Enameled bricks of bright hues, such as yellow and blue,[1330] +became common, and in the case of some of the towers it would appear +that a different color was chosen for each story. Whether all the bricks +in each story were colored or only those at the edge, or, perhaps, some +rows, it is impossible to say. From Herodotus' description of the seven +concentric walls of Ecbatana,[1331] in which each wall was distinguished +by a certain color, the conclusion has been drawn that the same +colors--white, black, scarlet, blue, orange, silver, and gold--were +employed by the Babylonians for the stages of their towers; but there is +no satisfactory evidence that this was the case. That these colors were +brought into connection with the planets, as some scholars have +supposed, is highly improbable. + +As already pointed out, no special stress seems to have been laid upon +the number of stories of which the zikkurat consisted, but the natural +result of ambition and rivalry among builders tended towards an increase +of the height, and this end could be most readily attained by adding to +the number of stories. Still, there may have been some symbolism which +led to the choice of three, four, or seven stories, inasmuch as these +numbers have a sacred import among so many nations.[1332] For the number +seven, the influence of cosmological associations is quite clear. The +two most famous of the zikkurats of seven stages were those in Babylon +and in Borsippa, opposite Babylon. The latter bears the significant name +E-ur-imin-an-ki,[1333] _i.e._, 'the house of the seven directions of +heaven and earth.' The 'seven directions' were interpreted by the +Babylonian theologians as a reference to the seven great celestial +bodies,--the sun and moon and the five planets Ishtar, Marduk, Ninib, +Nergal, and Nabu.[1334] To each of these gods one story was supposed to +be dedicated, and the tower thus became a cosmological symbol, +elaborating in theological fashion the fundamental idea of the zikkurat +as a reproduction of the dwelling-place of the gods. The identification +of the five gods with the planets is a proof of the scholastic character +of the interpretation, and hence of its comparatively late origin. This +interpretation of the number seven, however, was not the only one +proposed in the Babylonian schools. Two much older towers than those of +Babylon and Borsippa bear names in which 'seven' is introduced. One of +these is the zikkurat to Nin-girsu at Lagash, which Gudea[1335] +describes as 'the house of seven divisions of the world'; the other, the +tower at Uruk,[1336] which bore the name 'house of seven zones.' The +reference in both cases is, as Jensen has shown,[1337] to the seven +concentric zones into which the earth was divided by the Babylonians. It +is a conception that we encounter in India and Persia, and that survives +in the seven 'climates' into which the world was divided by Greek and +Arabic geographers. It seems clear that this interpretation of the +number seven is older than the one which identified each story with one +of the planets.[1338] Both interpretations have a scholastic aspect, +however, and the very fact that there are two interpretations, justifies +the suspicion that neither furnishes the _real_ explanation why the +number seven was chosen. + +It by no means follows from the names borne by the zikkurats at Lagash +and Uruk that they actually consisted of seven stories. The 'seven +divisions' and the 'seven zones' are merely terms equivalent to +'universe.' The names given to the towers would have been equally +appropriate if they consisted--as they probably did--of fewer stories +than seven. But, on the other hand, the introduction of the number seven +into the names may be regarded as a factor which influenced ambitious +builders to make the number of stories seven. Over and above this, +however, seven was chosen, primarily, because it was a large number, +and, secondly, because it was a sacred number,--sacred in part because +large, since 'largeness' and 'sacredness' are correlated ideas in the +popular phases of early religious thought. In the same way, it is +because seven was popularly sacred that the world was divided into seven +zones and that the planets were fixed at seven, not _vice versa_. + +The opinion of some scholars[1339] that the zikkurats were used for +astronomical observations remains a pure conjecture, of which it cannot +even be said that it has probability in its favor. It is certain that +the astronomical observations, since they were conducted by the priests, +were made in the temple precincts; but a small room at the top of a +pyramid difficult of access seems hardly a spot adapted for the purpose. +Moreover, the sacred character of the zikkurat speaks against the +supposition that it should have been put to such constant use, and for +purposes not directly connected with the cult. In the numerous +astronomical reports that we have, there is not a single reference from +which one could conclude that the observations reported were made from +the top of a zikkurat. + +But, on the other hand, it would appear that as the zikkurat developed +from a one-story edifice into a tower, and as the number of the stages +increased, the zikkurat assumed more of an ornamental character. While +the ascent of the tower continued to be regarded to the latest days as a +sacred duty, pleasing in the eyes of the deity, for the ordinary and +more practical purposes of the cult, other buildings were erected near +the tower. Within the temple area and bordering on it there were smaller +shrines, while in front of the zikkurat there was a large open place, +where the pilgrims who flocked to the sacred city, congregated. The +sacrifices which formed the essential feature of worship were brought, +not at the top of the zikkurat, but on altars that were erected at the +base. + +The ideographic designation of the zikkurat as a 'conspicuous +house,'[1340] which accords admirably with the motive ascribed in the +eleventh chapter of Genesis to the builders of a zikkurat to erect an +edifice that "could be seen," supports the view here taken of the more +decorative position which the staged tower came to occupy,--an homage to +the gods rather than a place where they were to be worshipped, something +that suggested the dwelling-place of a god, to be visited only +occasionally by the worshipper--in short, a monument forming part of a +religious sanctuary, but not coextensive with the sanctuary. The +differentiation that thus arose between the dwelling-place of the god +and the place where he was to be worshipped is a perfectly natural one. +To emphasize the fact that the zikkurat was the temple for the god, a +small room was built at the top of the zikkurat,[1341] and it was a +direct consequence of this same distinction between a temple for the +gods and a temple for actual worship that led to assigning to zikkurats +special names, and such as differed from the designation of the sacred +quarter of which the zikkurat formed the most conspicuous feature. + +Thus the name E-Kur, 'mountain house,' though evidently an appropriate +designation for the zikkurat, becomes the term for the sacred area which +included in time a large series of buildings used for the cult, whereas +the zikkurat itself receives the special name of 'house of +oracle';[1342] and similarly in the case of the various other religious +centers of Babylonia, the name of the zikkurat is distinct from that of +the sacred quarter--the temple in the broader sense. + +The special position which the zikkurat thus came to occupy is, of +course, merely an outcome of the growth of the religious centers of the +country, and involves no departure from the religious ideals of earlier +days. The distinction is much of the same order as we find in the case +of the Hebrew temple at Jerusalem, where the court in which the +worshippers gathered was distinct from the 'holy of holies,' which was +originally regarded as the dwelling of Yahwe, and in later times was +viewed as the spot where he manifested himself. The name 'house of +oracle' given to the zikkurat at Nippur is a valuable indication of the +special sanctity that continued to be attached to the staged tower. + + +The Temple and the Sacred Quarter. + +But the zikkurat, while the most characteristic expression of the +religious spirit of Babylonia, was by no means the only kind of sacred +edifice that prevailed. + +The excavations at Nippur have afforded us for the first time a general +view of a sacred quarter in an ancient Babylonian city. The extent of +the quarter was considerable. Dr. Peters' estimate is eight areas for +the zikkurat and surrounding structures, and to this we may add several +acres more, since beyond the limits of the great terrace there were +buildings to the southeast and southwest, used for religious purposes. +It is likely that the extent of E-Sagila at Babylon was even greater. +Outside of the temple area at Nippur, Peters[1343] and Haynes unearthed +a court of considerable size, lined with brick columns. The court was +open to the sky, but the columns supported a roof which was apparently +of wood. Similar courts have been found elsewhere, so that we are +justified in regarding the Nippur structure as characteristic of the +architecture of Babylonia. The court was attached to an edifice of +considerable size, which contained among other things rooms in which the +temple records were kept. The entrance to the court was by a large +gateway, supported on each side by a brick column, double the diameter +of those that surrounded the court. While the nature of the building is +not perfectly clear, still the presence of the temple archives and the +gateway make it probable that the structure was used in connection with +the cult of some deity worshipped at Nippur. Lending weight to this +supposition are the points of resemblance between this structure and the +sacred edifices of the ancient Hebrews and Arabs. A court of sixty +columns--made of wood, quadrangular in shape, with the supports and tops +of metal--was the characteristic feature of the tabernacle.[1344] Within +this court, open to the sky, the people gathered for worship. The altar +and the basin for ablutions stood in the court, while the holy tent +containing the ark was set up near the eastern end of the place. +Similarly at Mecca,[1345] the Kaaba, the pulpit, and the sacred fountain +are grouped within a space enclosed on all sides by colonnades. Again, +surrounding the Solomonic temple on three sides was a spacious court. +This court was enclosed with colonnades.[1346] It may well be, +therefore, that the edifice around or near the fine court of columns at +Nippur was a sacred structure, erected in honor of some deity. The two +large brick columns at the entrance to the Nippur court are paralleled +in the case of the Solomonic temple by the two large columns, known as +Yakhin and Boaz, that stood at the gateway. These names are as yet +unexplained. Their symbolic character, apart from other evidence, may be +concluded from the circumstance that, as Schick has shown,[1347] the +columns stood free, and did not serve as a support for any part of the +gateway.[1348] There is no need, therefore, for any hesitation in +comparing these two columns, whose presence in the Solomonic structure +is certainly due to foreign influence, to those found at Nippur.[1349] + +That the columns at Nippur were erected in accordance with recognized +custom follows from De Sarzec's discovery of two enormous round columns +within the sacred quarter of Lagash.[1350] In the light of Peters' +excavations, the significance of the columns at Lagash becomes clear. +Unfortunately, De Sarzec's excavations at Lagash at the point of the +mound in question were interrupted, but he gives reasons for believing +that other columns existed near the two large ones found by him.[1351] +There is, therefore, every reason to conclude that at Lagash, as at +Nippur and no doubt elsewhere, the two columns belonged to a great +gateway leading into a large court of columns. That these columns served +a symbolic purpose in the Babylonian temple as they did at Jerusalem, +cannot be maintained with certainty, but is eminently likely. + +The court of columns was surrounded by a series of rooms. If the view +taken of the building is correct, these rooms were used for the temple +administration. However this may be, there can be no doubt that the +structures of various size found around the zikkurat at Nippur served as +dwellings for the priests and the temple attendants, as stalls for the +temple cattle, as shops for the manufacture and sale of votive objects, +and the like. Within the temple area proper were the schools where young +priests were trained to be scribes, and received instructions in the +doctrines and rites. The astronomical observatories, too, were situated +near the temple. The schools served, as they still do in the orient, as +the gathering-place of the mature scholars. The systematized pantheon, +and the cosmological and astronomical systems represent the outcome of +the intellectual activity that manifested itself within the sacred +quarters of the cities of Babylonia. The execution of justice being in +the hands of the priests, the sacred area also contained the rooms where +the judges sat. It is interesting to note that Gudea mentions a hall of +judgment in the temple to Nin-girsu at Lagash. The number of such +buildings attached to the temple precinct varied, of course, according +to the needs and growth of each place. In Nippur, the numbers appear to +have been very large. We may assume, likewise, that at Sippar, Uruk, Ur, +and Larsa the zikkurat was the center of a considerable group of +buildings, while at Babylon in the days of her greatest power, the +temple area of E-Sagila must have presented the appearance of a little +city by itself, shut off from the rest of the town by a wall which +invariably enclosed the sacred quarter. Within this large wall there +were smaller ones, marking the several divisions of the temple +buildings. The construction of the smaller edifices does not appear to +have varied from the ordinary form chosen for the one-story +dwelling-houses in the city proper. The material used for all +structures--the large and the small ones--was brick. In earlier times +the bricks were merely dried in the sun. The buildings, as a +consequence, suffered much from the influence of the heat and rain, and +required frequent repairs. Often the tower would crumble away, and an +entirely new edifice would have to be erected. The later custom of +kiln-dried bricks was an improvement, and still more solidity was +insured when the exterior series of brick was glazed. In the older +buildings, the bricks were merely piled together, without cement. +Afterwards straw was mixed with the clay, but as early as Gudea's days +the bitumen, abounding in the valley, became the common cement employed +in all edifices of importance. Wood was used in the case of smaller +sanctuaries (as also in palaces) for the roof, and the kings often refer +with pride to the efforts they made to obtain the precious cedars of the +Lebanon forests for their building enterprises. The decoration was +confined largely to the façades, the doors, and the floors. A pleasing +effect also was produced by the judicious distribution of glazed and +enameled bricks in the walls. Colors were used with still greater +lavishness in the decorations of the interior. The brilliancy was +heightened by the use of precious stones and gold and silver for the +walls and floors and ceilings. The aim of the builders was, as they +constantly tell us, to make the buildings as brilliant as the sunlight. +The decorations of the brick walls and floors suggest textile patterns, +and to account for this, some scholars have supposed that prior to the +use of colored bricks, it was customary to cover the walls and floors of +temples and palaces with draperies and rugs. The suggestion lacks proof, +but has much in its favor. In exterior architecture no profound changes +were ever introduced, but within the prescribed limits, the builders did +their utmost to make their edifices testimonials of their zeal and +power. They imported gold, copper, and diorite from the Sinai peninsula +and Arabia, precious stones from Armenia and the Upper Euphrates, wood +from Bahrein and from various parts of the Amanus range, and so all +quarters of the ancient world of culture were ransacked for +contributions to add to the splendor of the Babylonian and Assyrian +cities. Much care was bestowed in the course of time upon the portals. +The wooden gates were covered with bronze, in which art of decoration +great skill was developed.[1352] The columns of stone appear only in +Assyrian edifices as decorations in the front of palaces, supporting a +portal or portico that projects from the temple proper.[1353] The +introduction appears to be due to foreign influence, perhaps +Hittite.[1354] + +To determine the interior arrangement of a sacred structure, we have two +small Assyrian temples, excavated by Layard at Nimrod, to serve as our +guide.[1355] A long hall constituted the chief feature. At the extreme +end of this hall was a small room, in which stood a statue of the god to +whom the temple was dedicated. This room, known as the _papakhu_ or +_parakku_, was the most sacred part of the temple, and it is doubtful +whether any but the king or the highest officials had access to it. +Certainly, no one could approach the presence of the deity without the +mediation of a priest. Both terms for this room convey the idea of its +being "shut off"[1356] from the rest of the building, precisely as the +holy of holies in the temple of Jerusalem containing the ark, was +separated from the central hall. Gudea[1357] describes the papakhu as +the "dark" (or inner) chamber. + +We are fortunate in having a pictorial representation of such a papakhu. +A stone tablet found at Sippar[1358] represents Shamash seated in the +"holy of holies" of the temple E-Babbara. The god sits on a low throne. +In front of him is an altar table on which rests a wheel with radiant +spokes,--a symbol of the sun-god. Into this sanctuary the worshipper, +who is none other than the king Nabubaliddin, is led by a priest. The +king is at pains to tell us in the inscription attached to the design, +that he was careful to restore the image of Shamash after an ancient +model, and his motive in adding an illustration to this tablet is that +future builders may have no excuse for not being equally careful. We +may, therefore, take the illustration as a sample of the general +character of the sacred chambers in the Babylonian and Assyrian temples +in the great centers. The papakhu was decorated with great lavishness. +The floors and walls and also the ceiling were studded with precious +stones. We may believe Herodotus[1359] when he tells us that the statue +of Marduk in his temple at Babylon and the table in front of it was of +gold. It was to the papakhu that the priests retired when they desired +to obtain an oracle direct from the god; and as in the course of time +the sanctity of the spot increased, we may well suppose that the +occasions when the deity was directly approached in his papakhu became +rarer. Through the influence of the schools attached to the Marduk cult +at Babylon, the New Year's Festival--the character of which we will have +occasion to explain later on--came to be regarded as the season most +appropriate for approaching the oracular chamber. During this festival, +Marduk was supposed to decide the fate of mankind for the whole year, +and the intercession of the priests on the occasion was fraught with +great importance. + +A special significance, moreover, came to be attached to the sacred +chamber in the Marduk temple. Complementing in a measure, the +cosmological associations that have been noted in connection with the +zikkurat, the papakhu of Marduk was regarded as an imitation of a +cosmical 'sacred chamber.' As the zikkurat represented the mountain on +which the gods were born and where they were once supposed to dwell, so +the sacred room was regarded as the reproduction of a portion of the +great mountain where the gods assembled in solemn council. This council +chamber was situated at the eastern end of the great mountain, and was +known as Du-azagga, that is, 'brilliant chamber.' The chamber itself +constituted the innermost recess of the eastern limit of the mountain, +and the special part of the mountain in which it lay was known as +Ubshu-kenna, written with the ideographic equivalents to 'assembly +room.' It will be apparent that such a view of the papakhu is the result +of theological speculation, and is not due, as is the conception of the +zikkurat, to popular beliefs. + +The assembly of the gods presupposes a systematization of the pantheon, +and the fact that it is only the papakhu in Marduk's temple which is +known as Du-azagga[1360] is a sufficient indication of the influences at +work which produced this conception. In the creation epic, there is a +reference to the Ubshu-kenna[1361] which shows the main purpose of a +divine assembly in the eyes of the priests of Babylon. The gods meet +there in order to do homage to Marduk. They gather around the victorious +vanquisher of Tiâmat, as the princes gather round the throne of the +supreme ruler,--the king of Babylon and of Babylonia. + +One can see, however, that, as is generally the case with theological +doctrines, there is a popular starting-point from which these views were +developed. The Du-azagga is older than the Ubshu-kenna. Situated in the +extreme east, the 'brilliant chamber' is evidently the place whence the +sun rises in the morning. A hymn to Shamash[1362] expressly speaks of +the sun rising out of the Du-azagga, and, since the sun also appears to +rise up out of the ocean, the Du-azagga is placed at a point close to +the great Apsu, which flows underneath the mountain. In confirmation of +this view, a syllabary[1363] identifies the Du-azagga with the Apsu. +Marduk, by virtue of his original quality as a solar deity, would +naturally be pictured as coming forth from Du-azagga. In this sense the +title Mar-Du-azaga,[1364] 'son of Du-azagga,' is applied to him, just as +he is called Mar-Apsi, the son of Apsu. But the same conception would +hold good of Shamash, of Ninib, and of some other solar deities, though +not of all. That Du-azagga came to be especially associated with Marduk +is due simply to the preëminent rank that he came to occupy. Whether +there was also a popular basis for the conception of an Ubshu-kenna, an +'assembly room' of the gods, is a question more difficult to answer. +Certainly, the view that the gods gathered together in one place belongs +to an age which attempted to fix, at least in some measure, the +relationship of the divine beings to one another. The popular phase of +the conception of a general assembly house could, in any case, hardly +have proceeded further than the assumption of some particular part of +the great mountain, where the gods were wont to come together. The +connection of this assembly place with the Du-azagga is distinctly the +work of the theologians of Babylon. In their desire to make Marduk the +central figure of the pantheon, they bring all the gods to his side. The +Ubshu-kenna is thus transferred to the region whence the sun issues on +his daily journey. The 'chamber' of Marduk becomes the most sacred spot +in this region, and the Ubshu-kenna the general name for the region +itself. As Marduk in Babylon was surrounded by his court, so in +Ubshu-kenna the gods assemble to pay homage to the one freely +acknowledged by them as the greatest, and who is pictured as sitting on +his throne in Du-azagga. The further speculation which brought the gods +together yearly on the occasion of the great Marduk festival belongs +likewise, and as a matter of course, to the period when Marduk's sway +was undisputed. + +The ideas that were thus attached to the papakhu in E-Sagila are a +valuable indication of the sanctity attached to that part of the temple +where the god sat enthroned. In a general way, what holds good of +Marduk's papakhu applies to every sacred chamber in a temple, and no +doubt views were once current of the papakhu of Bel at Nippur and of the +'holy of holies' in E-Babbara[1365] and elsewhere that formed in some +measure, a parallel to what the Marduk priests told of their favorite +sanctuary. + +Coming back now to the large hall which led into the papakhu, the +absence of bas-reliefs in this hall in the case of the Assyrian temples +excavated by Layard, suggests that the walls of this hall were not lined +with sculptured slabs, as was the case in the large rooms of the +palaces; and we may conclude that in Babylonian temples, likewise, the +decoration of the walls was confined as a general thing to enameled +bricks, interspersed, perhaps, with metallic panels, and that +mythological scenes--such as the contest with Tiâmat or Gilgamesh's +adventures--were only occasionally portrayed. An aim which, as the +rulers themselves tell us in their inscriptions, they always kept in +view was to make both the exterior and interior of the temples +resplendent with brilliant coloring--"brilliant as the sun." At the +entrances to the Assyrian temples stood lions, chiseled out of soft +limestone or the harder alabaster. At Telloh various fragments of large +lion heads were found,[1366] so that there is every reason not only to +trace this custom to Babylonia, but to carry it back to a very early +period. Besides the lion, a favorite religious symbol, as we have +seen,[1367] was the bull, and, since Nebuchadnezzar speaks of retaining +the "bull" statue of the old temple to Nanâ (or Ishtar) at Erech, we may +suppose that the representation of colossal bulls at the entrances to +the temples also belongs to the characteristic features of Babylonian +religious architecture. The lion, it will be recalled, is more +particularly the symbol of Nergal, but he appears originally, like the +bull, to have been a symbol of other gods as well--perhaps, indeed, of +the gods in general. Similarly, the eagle, which becomes the special +symbol of Ashur, appears prominently on the monuments of Entemena[1368] +and other ancient rulers, centuries before the Ashur cult comes into +prominence. + +In the large court in front of the zikkurats there stood the jars used +in connection with the cult, and the presence of these jars furthermore +suggests that there was an altar in the great court, precisely as in the +case of the Solomonic temple.[1369] In the larger of the temples found +by Layard, there was a smaller hall in front of the large one. We may +assume that the same was the case with the larger temples of Babylonia, +and this three-fold division of the interior,--the vestibule, or +_pronaos_, the main hall, or _naos_, and the papakhu,--further warrants +the comparison of a Babylonian sacred edifice with the Solomonic +temple,[1370] where likewise we have the vestibule, the hall known as +the 'holy' part, and the 'holy of holies,' the one leading into the +other. As to the further disposition of the rooms in the main temple, we +must be content to wait for further excavations. What we know is +sufficient to warrant the supposition that there was practical +uniformity in the interior arrangement of the Babylonian and Assyrian +temples. What variation there existed was probably confined to the +decoration of the walls, doorways, and to the façades. Meanwhile, it is +something to have reached general results. The zikkurat was surrounded +by a varying number of shrines that were used as places of assembly for +worshippers. The latter gathered also in the large court in front of the +zikkurat, where the chief altar probably stood.[1371] In the large halls +of the shrines, there were in all probabilities likewise altars. It +seems natural to suppose that the hall of judgment, mentioned already in +Gudea's inscription,[1372] was attached to some shrine. Besides the +zikkurats and shrines, there were smaller structures used as dwellings +for the priests and temple officials, for storehouses, for the archives, +and as stalls for the animals to be used in the sacrifices. At Nippur a +smithy was found near the temple precinct. There were workshops near the +temple where the furnishings for the temple, such as the curtains and +the utensils, were made, and there were magazines where votive tablets +and offerings were manufactured and sold. The number of these structures +varied, naturally, in each religious center, and increased in proportion +to the growth of the center. The zikkurat, the great court, the shrines, +and the smaller structures formed a sacred precinct, and it was this +precinct as a whole that constituted the temple in the larger sense, and +received some appropriate name. Thus E-Kur at Nippur, E-Sagila at +Babylon, E-Zida at Borsippa are used to denote the entire sacred +precinct in these cities, and not merely the chief structure. The +zikkurat always had a special name of its own. + +A factor that contributed largely to the growth of the sacred precinct +in the large centers was the circumstance that the political importance +of such centers as Nippur, Lagash, Ur, Babylon, and Nineveh led the +rulers to group around the worship of the chief deity, the cult of the +minor ones who constituted the family or the court of the chief god. The +kings measured their importance by the number of the gods upon whose +assistance they could rely. The priests came to the assistance of the +kings in connecting the gods of the royal pantheon in such a way, as to +satisfy the pride of both their royal and divine masters.[1373] The +ambition of the kings, more especially of the Assyrian empire, led also +to the addition of foreign deities to the pantheon. For these also +shrines were built within or near the sacred precinct. + +Gudea sets the example for his successors by parading a large pantheon +at the close of his inscriptions,[1374] and a list of temples in Lagash, +recently published by Scheil,[1375] shows that most, if not all, of the +gods invoked by the ruler had a sanctuary erected in his or her honor. +There were, as we have seen, several quarters in Lagash, and therefore +several sacred precincts, so that we cannot be certain that all of these +sanctuaries stood in one and the same quarter. But, since the list in +question furnishes the name of no less than thirteen sacred edifices, we +are certain that as many as four or five smaller chapels surrounded the +precinct in which stood the great temple E-Ninnu, sacred to Gudea's +chief god Ningirsu-Ninib. + +The list is headed by the sanctuary to Nin-girsu. There follow temples +to Bau, to Nin-gishzida, Nin-mar, Ninâ, Dumuzi-zu-aba, Nin-si-a, +Ga-tum-dug known to us from the inscriptions of Gudea, besides others, +like Shabra (?), Nin-sun, Nin-tu, that appear here for the first time. +In Nippur, we find traces of the worship of Belit (or Nin-lil), of +Ninib, and of Nusku, though with the exception of the first named, the +worship of these gods has not been traced back further than the days of +the Cassite dynasty. Subsequent excavations may, of course, change the +present aspect; but one gains the impression from the most ancient +inscriptions found at Nippur that at an early period Bel was a god much +like the Hebrew Yahwe, "jealous" of having others at his side. Such a +conception would help to account for the title 'lord' being applied to +him above all others, and also aids us in understanding the lasting +impression he made upon the people of Babylonia,--an impression so +profound that when the time came for En-lil to yield his supremacy to +Marduk, no better means could be found of emphasizing the latter's +authority, than by transferring to him the names and titles of the older +Bel.[1376] In this respect, however, Nippur was an exception, and in +later times the Bel cult was affected by the same influences that led +Gudea to group around the sanctuary to Nin-girsu, edifices sacred to +other gods and goddesses. Lugalzaggisi[1377] of Erech enumerates an +extensive pantheon,[1378] which contains most of the chief deities, and +from which we may conclude that the temple of Nanâ was similarly the +center of a large precinct in which the cult of other deities was +carried on. When we come to the cult of Marduk at Babylon and of Nabu at +Borsippa, the inscriptions, chiefly those of Nebuchadnezzar, come to our +aid in showing us the arrangement of the various chapels that were +comprised within the sacred precincts of E-Sagila and E-Zida, +respectively. In the first place, the close relationship between Marduk +and Nabu was emphasized by placing a papakhu to Nabu in the precinct of +E-Sagila, which--built in imitation of E-Zida at Borsippa--was called by +the same name.[1379] This papakhu, it would seem, was independent of a +special temple to Nabu known as E-Makh-tila, and which lay in Borsippa. +The consort of Marduk, Sarpanitum, likewise had her temple in Babylon, +and naturally close to the chief sanctuary of Marduk.[1380] Ea, the +father of Marduk, had a small sanctuary known as E-kar-zaginna in the +sacred precinct.[1381] It does not follow, of course, that all the +temples in a center like Babylon or Borsippa were concentrated in one +place. Indeed, when Nebuchadnezzar speaks of three temples to Gula being +erected in Borsippa,[1382] it is certain that they could not have been +within the precinct of E-Zida, and so the temples to Shamash and Ramman, +Sin and Ishtar, as well as to Nabu in Babylon, had an independent +position; but we are at least warranted in concluding that they were not +far removed from E-Sagila, and so, likewise, the numerous temples +enumerated by Nebuchadnezzar as erected or improved by him in Borsippa +were not far distant from Nabu's sanctuary,--the famous E-Zida. The +palaces of the kings were also erected near the temples. In Babylon, we +know that before Nebuchadnezzar's days, the palace stood so close to +E-Sagila that an enlargement of it was impossible without encroaching on +the sacred quarter.[1383] The tendency to combine with the worship of +the chief god, the cult of others is as characteristic of Assyrian +rulers as of their Babylonian predecessors. We are fortunate in +possessing an extensive list,[1384] enumerating the various deities +worshipped in the temples of Assyria, and the occasions on which they +are to be invoked. The information to be gained from this list is all +the more welcome since the Assyrian kings are chiefly interested in +transmitting an account of their military expeditions, and tell us +comparatively little of the religious edifices in their capitols. From +this list we learn that in the old temple sacred to Anu and +Ramman,[1385] in the city of Ashur--the oldest Assyrian temple known to +us,[1386]--some twenty deities were worshipped. Images at least of these +deities must have stood in the temple;[1387] but, since there is a +distinct reference _zikkurats_[1388] in the list, for some of them +special sanctuaries of some kind must have been erected within the +precinct. From the same list we learn that there was a temple to +Marduk[1389] in Ashur in which the cult of the Shamash, Sarpanitum, +Ramman, Ninib, Anunit was also carried on; similarly, in the temples of +Ashur, of Gula, and of Ninib, other gods were worshipped. Provisions of +some kind for the cult of these deities must have been made, and one +cannot escape the conclusion that in the Assyrian capitols, the sacred +precincts likewise covered considerable territory, and that the tendency +existed towards a steady increase of the structures erected in +connection with the cult of the patron deity. Sennacherib proudly +describes Nineveh as the city which contained the shrines of all gods +and goddesses.[1390] + + +The Names of the Zikkurats and Temples. + +We have seen that every sacred edifice had a special name by which it +was known. This custom belongs to the oldest period of Babylonian +history, and continues to the latest. Through these names, to which, no +doubt, considerable significance was attached, we obtain a valuable +insight into the religious spirit of the Babylonians; but it is +important to note that the custom does not appear to have been as +general[1391] in Assyria, where the temples are simply known as the +house of this or that god or goddess. Of special interest are those +names which were suggested by the original design of the temples. Such +are E-Kur, 'the mountain house' at Nippur, E-kharsag-kurkura, 'the house +of the mountain of all lands,' the name of several temples.[1392] The +same idea finds expression also in such names as E-kharsag-ella, or +'house of the glorious mountain,' the name of a temple to Gula in +Babylon; E-kharsag, 'the mountain house,' a temple in Ur;[1393] +E-khur-makh, 'the house of the great mountain,' which a text[1394] +declares to be equivalent to E-kharsag-kalama. Closely allied with these +names are those indicating in one way or the other, the height or +greatness of the buildings, as the general aim of the builders. +Prominent among such names are E-Sagila, 'the lofty house,' the famous +temple and temple area at Babylon; E-makh, 'the great house,' a chapel +to Nin-kharsag, situated perhaps within E-Sagila; E-gal-makh, 'the great +palace,' an old temple in Ur; E-anna, 'the heavenly house,' that is, the +house reaching up to heaven, which is the name of the temple of Ishtar +or Nanâ at Erech; E-lgi-e-nir-kidur-makh,[1395] 'the tower of the great +dwelling' sacred to Ninni at Kish. To the same class belong such +designations as E-dur-an-ki, 'the link of heaven and earth,'[1396] the +name of a zikkurat at Larsa; E-an-dadia, 'the house reaching to heaven,' +the zikkurat at Agade; E-pa, 'the summit house,' the zikkurat to +Nin-girsu at Lagash; E-gubba-an-ki, 'the point of heaven and earth,' one +of the names of the zikkurat in Dilbat; E-dim-anna, 'the house of +heavenly construction,' the chapel to Sin within the precinct of E-Zida +at Borsippa,--a name that again conveys the notion of an edifice +reaching up to heaven. The names of the zikkurats at Erech and Borsippa, +'the house of seven zones' and 'the house of the seven divisions of +heaven and earth,' respectively, while conveying, as we saw,[1397] +cosmological conceptions of a more specific character, may still be +reckoned in the class of names that embody the leading purpose of the +tower in Babylonia, as may also a name like E-temen-an-ki, 'the +foundation stone of heaven and earth,' assigned to the zikkurat to +Marduk in Babylonia. + +The sacred edifice, as the dwelling of the god to whom it is dedicated, +leads to such names as E-Zida, 'the true house or fixed house,'[1398] +the famous temple to Nabu in Borsippa; E-dur-gina,[1399] 'the house of +the established seat,' a temple of Bel-sarbi[1400] in Baz; +E-ki-dur[1401]-garza, 'the sacred dwelling,' a temple to Nin-lil-anna in +Babylon; E-kua, 'the dwelling-house,' the name of the papakhu of Marduk +in E-Sagila; E-gi-umunna, 'the permanent dwelling'; E-esh[1402]-gi, a +shrine to Nin-girsu at Lagash with the same meaning, 'permanent house.' + +Another class is formed by such names as are suggested by the attributes +of the deity to whom the edifices are dedicated. Such are E-babbara, +'the brilliant house,' which, as the name of the temples to Shamash at +Sippar and Larsa, recalls at once the character of the sun-god. +Similarly, E-gish-shir-gal, 'the house of the great luminary,' was an +appropriate name for the temple to the moon-god at Ur. The staff or +sceptre being the symbol of the god Nabu, suggests as the name of a +sanctuary to him in Babylonia, the name E-pad-kalama-suma, 'the house of +him who gives the sceptre of the world,' while the character of Shamash +as the god of justice finds an expression in the name E-ditar-kalama, +'the house of the universal judge,' given to his temple or chapel in +Babylon. The association of the number fifty with Ningirsu-Ninib leads +to the name E-ninnu, 'house of fifty,'[1403] for his temple in Lagash. +Again, the position of Anu in the pantheon accounts for the name E-adda, +'house of the father,' given to his temple, just as E-nin-makh, 'the +house of the great lady,' the name of a chapel in Babylon, at once +recalls a goddess like Ishtar. Other names that describe a temple by +epithets of the gods to whom they are sacred, are E-nun-makh, 'the house +of the great lord,' descriptive of Sin; E-me-te-ur-sagga, 'the house of +the glory of the warrior,' a temple sacred to Zamama-Ninib; E-U-gal, +'the house of the great lord,' a temple to En-lil. A name like E-edinna, +'house of the field,' a temple to the consort of Shamash at Sippar, may +also have been suggested by some attribute of the goddess.[1404] + +Lastly, we have a class of names that might be described as purely +ornamental, or as embodying a pious wish. Of such we have a large +number. Examples of this class are E-tila, 'house of life.' Names +extolling the glory and splendor of the temples are common. In a list of +temples[1405] we find such designations as 'house of light,' 'house of +the brilliant precinct,' 'great place,' 'lofty and brilliant +wall,'[1406] 'house of great splendor,' 'the splendor of heaven and +earth,' 'house without a rival,' 'light of Shamash.' The seat of +Sarpanitum in E-Sagila, is known as 'the gate of widespread splendor'; +E-salgisa, 'the treasury,' as the name of a temple in Girsu, may belong +here. A temple to Gula in Sippar was called E-ulla; that is, 'the +beautiful house.' The old temple to Sin at Harran bore the significant +name E-khulkhul, 'house of joys,' while the pious wish of the worshipper +is again expressed in the name 'threshold of long life,' given to the +zikkurat in Sippar.[1407] Among a series of names,[1408] illustrating +the religious sentiments of the people are the following: 'the heart of +Shamash,' 'the house of hearkening to prayers,'[1409] 'the house full of +joy,' 'the brilliant house,' 'the life of the world,' 'the place of +fates,' and the like. + +These various classes of names are a valuable index of the varied and +often remarkable conceptions held of the gods. To call a temple, for +example, 'court of the world'[1410] may have been due originally to a +haughty presumption on the part of some one deeply attached to some god; +but such a name must also have led to regarding the god as not limited +in his affections to a particular district. Whatever tendencies existed +in Babylonia and Assyria towards universalistic conceptions of the +divine beings were brought out in the temple names, and in part may have +been advanced by these names. The custom still surviving in the Jewish +Church of giving names to synagogues may be traced back to a Babylonian +prototype.[1411] + + +The History of the Temples. + +The history of the temples takes us back to the earliest period of +Babylonian history, and the temples of Assyria likewise date from the +small beginnings of the Assyrian power. The oldest inscriptions of +Mesopotamian rulers commemorate their services as builders of temples. +Naram-Sin and Sargon glory in the title 'builder of the temple of En-lil +in Nippur.' Of the rulers of the first period of Babylonian history, it +so happens that we know more of Gudea than of any other. We may feel +certain that he but follows the example of his predecessors, in devoting +so large a share of his energies to temple building. Hammurabi is an +active builder of sanctuaries, and so on, through the period of Assyrian +supremacy down to the closing days of the Babylonian monarchy, the +thoughts of the rulers were directed towards honoring the gods by +improving, restoring, rebuilding, or enlarging the sanctuaries, as well +as by endowing them with rich gifts and votive offerings. The Assyrian +kings, though perhaps more concerned with embellishing their palaces, do +not neglect the seats of the gods. Anxious to maintain the connection +between their kingdom and the old cities of the south, the Assyrian +monarchs were fond of paying homage to the time-honored sanctuaries of +Babylonia. This feeling, which is of course shared by the Babylonian +rulers, results in bringing about the continuity of the Babylonian and +Assyrian religion. If, despite the changes that the religious doctrines +underwent, despite the new interpretations given to old myths and +legends, despite the profound changes introduced into the relationship +of the gods to one another through the systematization of the pantheon, +if, despite all this, the Babylonians and Assyrians--leaders and +people--continued to feel that they were following the religion of their +forefathers, it was due to the maintenance of the old sanctuaries. We +can actually trace the history of some of these sanctuaries for a period +of over 3000 years. In their restorations, the later builders were +careful not to offend the memory of their predecessors. They sought out +the old dedicatory inscriptions, and took steps to preserve them. They +rejoiced when they came upon the old foundation stones. In their +restorations they were careful to follow original designs; and likewise +in the cult, so far from deviating from established custom, they +strongly emphasized their desire to restore the cult to its original +character, wherever an interruption for one reason or the other had +taken place. In all this, the rulers were acting in accord with the +popular instincts, for the masses clung tenaciously to the old +sanctuaries, as affording an unfailing means of protection against the +ills and accidents of life. + +To enumerate all the temples of Babylonia and Assyria would be both an +impossible and a useless task. Besides those mentioned in the historical +texts and in the legal literature, we have long lists of temples +prepared by the pedagogues. Some of these lists have been +published;[1412] others are to be found among the unpublished material +in the British Museum collections.[1413] It is doubtful whether even +these catalogues were exhaustive, or aimed at being so; moreover, a +large number of gods are known to us only from the lists of the +pedagogues.[1414] So, to mention some, taken from a valuable list[1415] +which gives chiefly the names of foreign gods, together with the places +where they were worshipped, we learn of such gods as Lagamal, Magarida, +Lasimu, A-ishtu, Bulala, Katnu, Kannu, Kishshat, Kanishurra, Khiraitum. +Knowing, as we do, that at various periods foreign deities were +introduced into Babylonia and Assyria,[1416] it was necessary to make +some provision for their cult; and, while no doubt most of these minor +deities and foreign gods were represented only by statues placed in some +temple or temple precinct, it is equally certain that some had a shrine +or sanctuary of some kind specially erected in their honor. In hymns, +too, deities are mentioned that are otherwise unknown. So in a litany, +published by Craig,[1417] a long series of gods is introduced. Some are +identical with those included in the list just referred to,[1418] others +appear here for the first time, as Mishiru, Kilili Ishi-milku. Epithets +also occur in lists and hymns, that appear to belong to deities +otherwise unknown. We are safe, therefore, in estimating the number of +temples, zikkurats, and smaller shrines in Babylonia and Assyria to have +reached high into the hundreds. Sanctuaries must have covered the +Euphrates Valley like a network. By virtue of the older culture of the +south and the greater importance that Babylonia always enjoyed from a +religious point of view, the sanctuaries of the south were much more +numerous than those of the north. For our purposes, it is sufficient to +indicate some of the most important of the temples of the south and +north. The oldest known to us at present is the frequently mentioned +temple of E-Kur at Nippur, sacred to En-lil or the older Bel. Its +history can be carried back to a period beyond 4000 B.C.; how far beyond +cannot be determined until the early chronology is better known than at +present. We know, however, that from the time of Sargon[1419] and +probably even much earlier, the rulers who had control of Nippur devoted +themselves to the embellishment of the temple area. Climatic conditions +necessitated frequent repairs. The temple also suffered occasionally +through political tumults, but with each century the religious +importance of E-Kur was increased. Ur-Bau, we have seen, about 2700 +B.C., erected a zikkurat in the temple area. Some centuries later we +find Bur-Sin repairing the zikkurat and adding a shrine near the main +structure. As the political fortunes of Nippur varied, so E-Kur had its +ups and downs. Under the Cassitic rule, an attempt was made to recover +for Nippur the position which it formerly occupied, but which had now +passed over to Babylon. It was of little avail. Bel had to yield to +Marduk, and yet, despite the means that the priests of Marduk took to +transfer Bel's prerogatives to the new head of the pantheon, the rulers +would not risk the anger of Bel by a neglect of E-Kur. Kurigalzu, a king +of the Cassite dynasty (_c._ 1400 B.C.) brings back from Elam[1420] a +votive object which, originally deposited by Dungi in the Ishtar temple +at Erech, was carried to Susa by an Elamitic conqueror about 900 years +before Kurigalzu. The latter deposits this object not in Marduk's temple +at Babylon, but in Bel's sanctuary at Nippur. During the entire Cassitic +period, the kings continued to build or make repairs in the temple +precinct, and almost every ruler is represented by more or less costly +votive offerings made to Bel's sanctuary. In this way, we can follow the +history of the temple down to the Assyrian period. In the twelfth +century the religious supremacy of E-Kur yields permanently to E-Sagila. +The temple is sacked, part of it is destroyed, and it was left to rulers +of the north like Esarhaddon and Ashurbanabal to once more restore E-Kur +and its dependencies to its former proportions. These kings, especially +the latter, devote much time and energy in rebuilding the zikkurat and +in erecting various buildings connected with the temple administration. +Under the new Babylonian dynasty, however, E-Kur was again destroyed, +and this time by the ruthless hands of southern rulers. Nebuchadnezzar, +so devoted to Marduk and Nabu, appears to have regarded E-Kur as a +serious rival to E-Sagila and E-Zida. Some traces of building operations +at E-Kur appear to date from the Persian period, but, practically, the +history of E-Kur comes to an end at the close of the seventh century. +The sanctity of the place, however, remained; a portion of the old city +becomes a favorite burial site, while other parts continue to be +inhabited till the twelfth century of our era. The city of Bel becomes +the seat of a Christian bishop, and Jewish schools take the place once +occupied by the "star-gazers of Chaldea." + +The history of E-Kur, so intimately bound up with political events, may +be taken as an index of the fortunes that befell the other prominent +sanctuaries of Babylonia. + +The foundation of the Shamash temple at Sippar, and known as E-Babbara, +'the brilliant house,' can likewise be traced as far back as the days of +Naram-Sin. At that time there was already a sanctuary to Anunit within +the precincts of E-Babbara. Members of the Cassite dynasty devote +themselves to the restoration of this sanctuary. Through a subsequent +invasion of the nomads, the cult was interrupted and the great statue of +Shamash destroyed. Several attempts are made to reorganize the cult, but +it was left for Nabubaliddin in the tenth century to restore E-Babbara +to its former prestige. Esarhaddon and Ashurbanabal, who pay homage to +the old Bel at Nippur, also devote themselves to Shamash at Sippar. They +restore such portions of it as had suffered from the lapse of time and +from other causes. Nebuchadnezzar is obliged to rebuild parts of +E-Babbara, and the last king of Babylonia, Nabonnedos, is so active in +his building operations at Sippar that he arouses the anger of the +priests of Babylon, who feel that their ruler is neglecting the +sanctuaries of Marduk and Nabu. It is through Nabonnedos[1421] and +Nabubaliddin,[1422] chiefly, that we learn many of the details of the +history of E-Babbara during this long period. + +Of the other important temples that date from the early period of +Babylonian history, we must content ourselves with brief indications. + +The temple to Shamash at Larsa, while not quite as old as that of +Sippar, was quite as famous. Its name was likewise E-Babbara. It is +first mentioned in the inscriptions of Ur-Bau (_c._ 2700 B.C.), and it +continues to enjoy the favor of the rulers till the Persian +conquest.[1423] + +The two chief places for the moon-cult were Ur and Harran. The name of +Sin's temple[1424] at the former place was E-Gish-shir-gal, 'the house +of the great light'; at the latter, E-khulklul, 'the house of joys.' +Around both sanctuaries, but particularly around the former, cluster +sacred traditions. We have seen that the moon-cult at an early period +enjoyed greater importance than sun-worship. The temples of Sin were +centers of intellectual activity. It is in these places that we may +expect some day to find elaborate astronomical and astrological records. +Harran, indeed, does not appear at any time to have played any political +rôle[1425] (though it was overrun occasionally by nomads), so that the +significance of the place is due almost entirely to the presence of the +great temple at the place. It is Nabonnedos,[1426] again, who endeavors +to restore the ancient prestige of the sanctuary at Harran. E-anna, 'the +lofty house,' was the name of Ishtar's famous temple at Erech. The +mention of this temple in one of the creation narratives[1427] and the +part played by Ishtar of Erech in the Gilgamesh epic are sufficient +indications of the significance of this structure. Historical +inscriptions from the earliest period to the days of Ashurbanabal and +Nebuchadnezzar come to our further aid in illustrating the continued +popularity of the Ishtar cult in E-anna. The Ishtar who survives in +Babylonia and Assyria is practically the Ishtar of Erech,--that is, +Nanâ.[1428] + +Passing by such sanctuaries as E-shid-lam, sacred to Nergal at Cuthah, +and coming to E-Sagila and E-Zida, the two great temples of Babylon and +Borsippa, respectively, it is of course evident from the close +connection between political development and religious supremacy, that +Marduk's seat of worship occupies a unique position from the days of +Hammurabi to the downfall of Babylonia. While the history of E-Sagila +and E-Zida cannot be traced back further than the reign of Hammurabi, +the temples themselves are considerably older. Previous to the rise of +the city of Babylon as the political center, the Nabu cult in E-Zida +must have been more prominent than the worship of Marduk in E-Sagila. +Marduk was merely one solar deity among several, and a minor one at +that, whereas the attributes of wisdom given to Nabu point to the +intellectual importance that Borsippa had acquired. The Nabu cult was +combined with the worship of Marduk simply because it could not be +suppressed. At various times, as we have seen,[1429] Nabu formed a +serious rival to Marduk, and it will be recalled that up to a late +period we find Nabu given the preference to Marduk in official +documents.[1430] The inseparable association of E-Sagila and E-Zida is a +tribute to Nabu which, we may feel certain, the priests of Marduk did +not offer willingly. But this association becomes the leading feature in +the history of the two temples. To pay homage to Marduk and Nabu meant +something quite different from making a pilgrimage to the seat of Bel or +presenting a gift to the Shamash sanctuary at Sippar. It was an +acknowledgment of Babylonia's prestige. The Assyrian rulers regarded it +as both a privilege and a solemn duty to come to Babylon and invoke the +protection of Marduk and Nabu. In E-Sagila the installation of the +rulers over Babylonia took place, and a visit to Marduk's temple was +incomplete without a pilgrimage across the river to E-Zida. The +influence exerted by these two temples upon the whole course of +Babylonian history from the third millennium on, can hardly be +overestimated. From the schools grouped around E-Sagila and E-Zida, went +forth the decrees that shaped the doctrinal development of the religion +of Babylonia and Assyria. In these schools, the ancient wisdom was +molded into the shape in which we find it in the literary remains of the +Euphrates Valley. Here the past was interpreted and the intellectual +future of the country projected. The thought of E-Sagila and E-Zida must +have stored up emotions in the breast of a Babylonian and Assyrian, that +can only be compared to a pious Mohammedan's enthusiasm for Mecca, or +the longing of an ardent Hebrew for Jerusalem. The hymns to Marduk and +Nabu voice this emotion. There is a fervency in the prayers of +Nebuchadnezzar which marks them off from the somewhat perfunctory +invocations of the Assyrian kings to Ashur and Ishtar. An appreciation +of the position of E-Sagila and E-Zida in Babylonian history is an +essential condition to an understanding of the Babylonian-Assyrian +religion. The priests of Marduk could view with equanimity the rise and +growth of Assyria's power. The influence of E-Sagila and E-Zida was not +affected by such a shifting of the political kaleidoscope. Babylon +remained the religious center of the country. When one day, a Persian +conqueror--Cyrus--entered the precincts of E-Sagila, his first step was +to acknowledge Marduk and Nabu as the supreme powers in the world; and +the successors of Alexander continue to glory in the title 'adorner of +E-Sagila and E-Zida.'[1431] With the same zeal that distinguishes a good +Babylonian, Antiochus Soter hastens to connect his reign with the two +temples by busying himself with their enlargement and beautification. +There was no better way in which he could indicate, at the same time, +his political control over the country. + +One more factor contributing to the general influence of the Babylonian +temples remains to be noted. In the course of time, all the great +temples in the large centers became large financial establishments. The +sources whence the temples derived their wealth were various. The kings +both of Babylonia and Assyria took frequent occasions to endow the +sanctuaries with lands or other gifts. At times, the endowment took the +form of certain quantities of wine, corn, oil, fruits, and the like, for +which annual provision is made; at times, the harvest derived from a +piece of property is set aside for the benefit of the temple. In other +ways, too, the temples acquired large holdings, through purchases of +land made from the income accruing to it, and from the tithes which it +became customary to collect. This property was either farmed through the +authorities of the temple for the direct benefit of the sanctuary, or +was rented out to private parties under favorable conditions. We learn +of large bodies of laborers indentured to temples, as well as of slaves +owned or controlled by the temples. These workmen were engaged for +various purposes,--for building operations, for service in the fields, +for working raw material, such as wool, into finished products, and much +more the like. But, more than this, the temples engaged directly in +commercial affairs, lending sums of money and receiving interest. In +some sanctuaries, a thriving business of barter and exchange was carried +on. Crops are sold, houses are rented by the temple agents, and there +was scarcely an avenue of commerce into which the temples did not enter. +An active business was also carried on in the manufacture and sale of +idols, votive offerings, amulets, and the like. A very large number of +the legal documents found in the Babylonian mounds deal with the +business affairs of the temples.[1432] Such a state of affairs naturally +contributed towards making the temples important establishments and +towards increasing the influence of the priests over the people. + +The temples of Assyria play a minor part in the religious life of rulers +and people. True, grand structures were reared in Ashur, Calah, Nineveh, +and Arbela, and no important step was taken by the kings without +consulting Ashur, Ishtar, or Ramman through the mediation of the +priests. The great cities of Assyria also become intellectual centers. +The priests of Arbela created a school of theological thought, but all +these efforts were but weak imitations of the example furnished by the +temples of the south. Even Ashurbanabal, whose ambition was to make +Nineveh the center of religious and intellectual progress, failed of his +purpose. His empire soon fell to decay, and with that decay Nineveh +disappears from the stage of history. Babylon and Borsippa, however, +remain, and continue to hand down to succeeding generations, the wisdom +of the past. + + +The Sacred Objects in the Temples,--Altars, Vases, Images, Basins, +Ships. + +The earliest altars were made of the same material as the zikkurats and +sanctuaries. One found at Nippur at an exceedingly low level was of +sun-dried bricks.[1433] How early this material was replaced by stone, +we are not in a position to say. Gudea, who imports diorite from the +Sinai Peninsula to make statues[1434] of himself, presumably uses a +similar material for the sacred furnishings of his temples, though +custom and conventionality may have maintained the use of the older clay +material for some time. In Assyria, altars of limestone and alabaster +became the prevailing types. The shape and size of the altars varied +considerably. The oldest known to us, the one found at Nippur, was about +twelve feet long and half as wide. The upper surface was surrounded by a +rim of bitumen.[1435] Assyrian altars now in the British museum are from +two to three feet high. The ornamentation of the corners of the rim of +the altar led to giving the altar the appearance of horns.[1436] The +base of the altar was either a solid piece with a circular or oblong +plate resting on it, or the table rested on a tripod.[1437] The latter +species was well adapted for being transported from place to place by +the Assyrian kings, who naturally were anxious to maintain the worship +of Ashur and of other gods while on their military expeditions. Much +care was spent upon the ornamentation of the altars, and, if we may +believe Herodotus, the great altars at Babylon were made of gold.[1438] +In front of the altars stood large vases or jars of terra cotta, used +for ablutions and other purposes in connection with the sacrifices. Two +such jars, one behind the other, were found at Nippur. They were +ornamented with rope patterns, and the depth at which they were found is +an indication of the antiquity and stability of the forms of worship in +the Babylonian temples. It may be proper to recall that in the Solomonic +temple, likewise, there were a series of jars that stood near the great +altar in the large court.[1439] + +A piece of furniture to which great religious importance was attached +was a great basin known as 'apsu,'--the name, it will be recalled, for +'the deep.' The name indicates that it was a symbolical representation +of the domain of Ea. In Gudea's days the symbol is already known,[1440] +and it continues in use to the end of the Babylonian empire. The +zikkurat itself being, as we saw, an attempt to reproduce the shape of +the earth, the representation of the 'apsu' would suggest itself as a +natural accessory to the temple. The zikkurat and the basin together +would thus become living symbols of the current cosmological +conceptions. Gudea already regards the zikkurat as a symbol. To make the +ascent is a virtuous deed.[1441] The thought of adding a symbol of the +apsu belongs, accordingly, to the period when this view of the zikkurat +was generally recognized. The shape of the 'sea' was oblong or round. It +was cut of large blocks of stone and was elaborately decorated. One of +the oldest[1442] has a frieze of female figures on it, holding in their +outstretched hands flagons from which they pour water. In Marduk's +temple we learn that there were two basins,--a larger and a smaller one. +The comparison with the great 'sea' that stood in the court of Solomon's +temple naturally suggests itself, and there can be little doubt that the +latter is an imitation of a Babylonian model. + +Another sacred object in the construction of which much care was taken +was the ship in which the deity was carried in solemn procession. It is +again in the inscriptions of Gudea[1443] that we come across the first +mention of this ship. This ruler tells us that he built the 'beloved +ship' for Nin-girsu, and gave it the name Kar-nuna-ta-uddua, the ship of +'the one that rises up out of the dam of the deep.' The ship of Nabu is +of considerable size, and is fitted out with a captain and crew, has +masts and compartments.[1444] The ship resembled a moon's crescent, not +differing much, therefore, from the ordinary flatbottomed Babylonian +boat with upturned edges. Through Nebuchadnezzar[1445] we learn that +these ships were brilliantly studded with precious stones, their +compartments handsomely fitted out, and that in them the gods were +carried in solemn procession on the festivals celebrated in their +honor.[1446] A long list[1447] of such ships shows that it was a symbol +that belonged to all the great gods. The ships of Nin-lil, Ea, Marduk, +Sin, Shamash, Nabu, Ninib, Bau, Nin-gal, and of others are specially +mentioned. A custom of this kind of carrying the gods in ships must have +originated, of course, among a maritime people. We may trace it back, +therefore, to the very early period when the sacred cities of Babylonia +lay on the Persian Gulf. The use of the ships also suggests, that the +solemn procession of the gods was originally on water and not on land, +and it is likely that this excursion of the gods symbolized some homage +to the chief water-deity, Ea. However this may be, the early +significance became lost, but the custom survived in Babylonia of +carrying the gods about in this way. In Assyria, less wedded to ancient +tradition, we find statues of the gods seated on thrones or standing +upright, carried directly on the shoulders of men.[1448] In Egypt sacred +ships are very common, and it is interesting to note as a survival of +the old Babylonian and Egyptian custom that an annual gift sent by the +khedive of Egypt to Mecca consists of a tabernacle, known as Mahmal, +that presents the outlines of a ship.[1449] The ark of the Hebrews +appears, similarly, to have been originally a ship of some kind. + +The ships of the Babylonian gods had names given to them, just as the +towers and sanctuaries had their names. The name of Nin-girsu's ship has +already been mentioned. Marduk's ship was appropriately known as +Ma-ku-a, 'the ship of the dwelling.'[1450] Similarly, a ship of the god +Sin was called 'ship of light,' reminding one of the name of the great +temple to the moon-god at Ur, 'the house of the great luminary.' The +ship of Nin-gal, the consort of Sin, was called 'the lesser light.' +Bau's ship was described by an epithet of the goddess as 'the ship of +the brilliant offspring,' the reference being to the descent of the +goddess from father Anu.[1451] These illustrations will suffice to show +the dependence of the names of the ships upon the names of the temples, +with this important difference, however, that the names of the ships are +chosen from a closer association with the gods to whom they belong. So a +ship of En-lil was known simply as 'the ship of Bel,' and the ship of +Naru,[1452] the river-god, was called 'the ship of the Malku (or royal) +canal'[1453]--an indication, at the same time, of the place where the +cult of Naru was carried on. + + +The Priests and Priestesses. + +At a certain stage in the religious development of a people, the +priesthood is closely linked to political leadership. The earliest form +of government in the Euphrates Valley is theocratic, and we can still +discern some of the steps in the process that led to the differentiation +of the priest from the secular ruler. To the latest times, the kings +retain among their titles some[1454] which have reference to the +religious functions once exercised by them. The king who continued to be +regarded as the representative of a god, nominated by some deity to a +lofty position of trust and power, stood nearer to the gods than his +subjects. In a certain sense, the king remained the priest _par +excellence_. Hence the prominent part played by the ruler in the +religious literature of the country. A large proportion of the hymns +were composed for royalty. The most elaborate ritual dealt with the +endeavor to secure oracles that might serve as a guide for the rulers. +Astronomical reports were made and long series of omen tablets prepared +for the use of the royal household. The calendars furnished regulations +for the conduct of the kings. A ceremonial error, an offence against the +gods on the part of the kings, was certain of being followed by +disastrous consequences for the whole country. + +But even the smallest sanctuaries required some service, and it was not +long before the religious interests were entrusted into the hands of +those who devoted themselves to administering the affairs of the +temples. The guardians of the shrines became the priests in fact, long +before the priesthood of the rulers became little more than a theory; +and as the temples grew to larger proportions, the service was divided +up among various classes of priests. + +The general name for priests was _shangû_, which, by a plausible +etymology suggested by Jensen,[1455] indicates the function of the +priest as the one who presides over the sacrifices. But this function +represents only one phase of the priestly office in Babylonia, and not +the most important one, by any means. For the people, the priest was +primarily the one who could drive evil demons out of the body of the +person smitten with disease, who could thwart the power of wizards and +witches, who could ward off the attacks of mischievous spirits, or who +could prognosticate the future and determine the intention or the will +of the gods. The offering of sacrifices was one of the means to +accomplish this end, but it is significant that many of the names used +to designate the priestly classes have reference to the priest's +position as the exorciser of evil spirits or his power to secure a +divine oracle or to foretell the future, and not to his function as +sacrificer. Such names are _mashmashu_, the general term for 'the +charmer'; _kalû_, so called, perhaps, as the 'restrainer' of the demons, +the one who keeps them in check; _lagaru_, a synonym of kalu; _makhkhû_, +'soothsayer'; _surrû_, a term which is still obscure; _shâilu_, the +'inquirer,' who obtains an oracle through the dead or through the gods; +_mushêlu_, 'necromancer'; _âshipu_ or _ishippu_, 'sorcerer.'[1456] These +names probably do not exhaust the various kinds of 'magicians' that were +to be found among the Babylonian priests. In the eighteenth chapter of +Deuteronomy, no less than eleven classes of magic workers are +enumerated, and there can be little doubt but that the Pentateuchal +opposition against the necromancers, sorcerers, soothsayers, and the +like is aimed chiefly against Babylonish customs. We have seen in +previous chapters how largely the element of magic enters into the +religious rites and literature of the Babylonian-Assyrian religion and +how persistent an element it is. For the masses, the priest remained +essentially a _mashmashu_. But we have also names like _ramku_ and +_nisakku_, 'libation pourer,' which emphasize the sacrificial functions +of the priest; and in an interesting list of temple servitors,[1457] +'the dirge singers' are introduced as a special class, and appropriately +designated as _munambû_, 'wailer,' and _lallaru_, 'howler.' Of some +terms in this list, like _asinnu_, it is doubtful whether they indicate +a special class of priests or are terms for servitors in general, +attached to a temple; in the case of others, like _nâsh pilakki_, 'ax +carrier,' we do not know exactly of what nature the service was.[1458] +Lastly, priests in their capacity as scribes[1459] and as judges[1460] +formed another distinct class, though it should be noted that in Assyria +we meet with scribes occasionally who are not priests.[1461] + +The range thus covered by the temple service,--magic, oracles, +sacrifices, the lament for the dead, and the judiciary,--is exceedingly +large. The subdivisions, no doubt, varied in each center. In the smaller +sanctuaries, those who offered the sacrifices may also have served as +soothsayers and dirge singers, and the judicial functions may likewise +have been in the same hands as those who performed other services. On +the other hand, in a temple like E-Sagila the classes and subclasses +must have been very numerous. Of the details of the organization we as +yet know very little. There was a high priest, known as the +_shangam-makhû_,[1462] and from the existence of a title like +_sur-makhû_,--that is, the chief _surrû_,[1463]--we may conclude that +each class of priests had its chief likewise. With the natural tendency +in ancient civilizations for professions to become vested in families, +the priests in the course of time became a caste; but there is no reason +to believe that entrance into this caste was only possible through the +accident of birth. That instruction in the reading and writing of the +cuneiform characters, and hence the introduction into the literature, +was open to others than the scions of priests is shown by the presence +in the legal literature of formal contracts for instruction between +teachers and pupils who belong to the 'laity.' These pupils could become +scribes and judges, and their standing as 'priests' represented merely +the Babylonian equivalent to a modern university degree. For such +service as the bewailing of the dead and as musicians, persons were +initiated who were taken from various classes and likewise for the +menial duties of the temples, and it is only when we come to the more +distinctive priestly functions, like the exorcising of evil spirits, +securing an oracle, or performing sacrifices, that the rules limiting +these privileges to certain families were iron bound. As among the +Hebrews and other nations, stress was laid also upon freedom from +physical blemishes in the case of the priests. The leper, we learn, was +not fit for the priesthood.[1464] In the astronomical reports that were +spoken of in a previous chapter,[1465] there are references to the +'watches' kept by the astronomers. These watches, however, were probably +not observed for astronomical purposes alone, but represent the time +division, as among the Hebrews, for the temple service. There were three +night watches among the Babylonians,[1466] and, in all probability, +therefore, three day watches likewise. Relays of priests were appointed +in the large sanctuaries for service during the continuance of each +watch, and we may some day find that the Hebrews obtained their number +of twenty-four priests for each 'watch' from a custom prevailing in some +Babylonian temple. + +An interesting feature of the Babylonian priesthood is the position +occupied by the woman. In the historical texts from the days of +Hammurabi onward, the references to women attached to the service of +temples are not infrequent. Gudea expressly mentions the 'wailing +women,' and there is every reason to believe that the female wailers, +like the male ones, belong to some priestly class. Again, examples of +women as exorcisers and as furnishing oracles[1467] may be instanced in +Babylonia as well as in Assyria, and we have also references to female +musicians as late as the days of Ashurbanabal. A specially significant +rôle was played by the priestesses in Ishtar's temple at Erech, and +probably at other places where the cult of the great mother goddess was +carried on. The Ishtar priestess was known by the general term of +Kadishtu,--that is, 'the holy one,'--or Ishtaritum, 'devoted to Ishtar'; +but, from the various other names for the sacred harlot that we come +across,[1468] it would appear that the priestesses were divided into +various classes, precisely like the priests. That in the ceremonies of +initiation at Erech, and perhaps elsewhere, some rites were observed +that on the surface appeared obscene is eminently likely; but there is +no evidence that obscene rites, as instanced by Herodotus, formed part +of the _regular_ cult of the goddess. Except in the case of the Ishtar +worship, the general observation may be made that the position of the +priestess is more prominent in the early period of Babylonian history +than in the days when the culture and power of Babylonia and Assyria +reached its zenith. + + +Sacrifices and Votive Offerings. + +The researches of Robertson Smith[1469] and of others have shown that +the oldest Semitic view of sacrifice was that of a meal, shared by the +worshipper with the deity to be honored or propitiated. Dependent as we +are in the case of the Babylonian-Assyrian religion for our knowledge of +sacrifices upon incidental references in historical or religious texts, +it is not possible to say how far the Semitic dwellers of the Euphrates +Valley were influenced by the primitive conception of sacrifice. +Historical and votive inscriptions and a religious literature +belong to a comparatively advanced stage of culture, and earlier views +of sacrifice that may have existed were necessarily modified in the +process of adaptation to later conditions. The organization of an +elaborate cult with priests and numerous temple servitors changes the +sacrifices into a means of income for the temple. The deity's +representatives receive the share originally intended for the deity +himself; and, instead of sanctifying the offering to a god by contact +with the sacred element fire, the temple accepts the offering for its +own use. It is likely, however, that among the Babylonians, as among the +Hebrews, certain parts of the animal which were not fit to eat[1470] +were burned as a symbolical homage to a god. No references have as yet +been found pointing to any special sanctity that was attached to the +blood; but it is eminently likely that the blood was regarded at all +times as the special property of the gods, and was poured on the altar. +The two kinds of sacrifice--animals and vegetable products--date from +the earliest period of the Babylonian religion of which we have any +knowledge. In a long list of offerings, Gudea[1471] includes oxen, +sheep, goats, lambs, fish, birds (as eagles, cranes,[1472] etc.), and +also such products as dates, milk, and greens. From other sources we may +add gazelles, date wine, butter, cream, honey, garlic, corn, herbs, oil, +spices, and incense. Stress is laid upon the quality of the +sacrifice.[1473] The animals must be without blemish, and if well +nurtured, they would be all the more pleasing in the sight of the gods. +The omission of dogs and swine is not accidental. Under that double +aspect of sanctity which we find among the Babylonians as among so many +nations, certain animals were too sacred to be offered, and, on the +other hand, they were regarded as unclean.[1474] In treating of the omen +texts we already had occasion to speak of the peculiar ideas attached to +the dog by the Babylonians,[1475] and there is sufficient evidence to +show that the boar likewise was viewed as a sacred animal, at least in +certain parts of Babylonia.[1476] No certain traces of human sacrifices +have been found, either in Babylonian literature or in artistic +representations.[1477] If the rite was ever practised among the +Babylonians or Assyrians it must have been at a very early +period--earlier than any of which we as yet have any knowledge. On the +other hand, a trace of some primitive form of tree worship may be +recognized in the representation, so frequent on seal cylinders and +monuments, of curious figures, in part human, in part animal, standing +in front of the palm tree.[1478] The symbol belongs to Assyria as well +as to Babylonia. In some of the designs the figures--human heads and +bodies but furnished with large wings--appear to be in the act of +artificially fertilizing the palm tree by scattering the male blossom +over the female palm. This plausible interpretation first suggested by +E. B. Tylor[1479] carries with it the conclusion that the importance of +palm culture in the Euphrates Valley not only gave the palm the +character of a sacred tree, but lent to the symbol a wider significance +to a more advanced age, as illustrating fertility and blessings in +general. The scene, reproduced in almost endless variations in which +both trees and figures become conventionalized, came to be regarded as a +symbol of adoration and worship in general. As such, it survived in +religious art and continued to be pictured on seal cylinders to a late +age. + +The occasions on which sacrifices were brought were frequent. If the +gods were to be consulted for the purpose of obtaining an oracle, +elaborate offerings formed a necessary preliminary. In this case, the +animals presented at the altar served a double purpose.[1480] They +constituted a means of propitiating the god in favor of the petitioner, +and at the same time the inspection of certain parts of the animal +served as an omen in determining what was the will of the god appealed +to. When the foundations were to be laid for a temple or a palace, it +was especially important to secure the favor of the gods by suitable +offerings, and, similarly, when a canal was to be built or any other +work of a public character undertaken. Again, upon the dedication of a +sacred edifice or of a palace, or upon completing the work of +restoration of a temple, sheep and oxen in abundance were offered to the +gods, as well as various kinds of birds and the produce of the orchards +and fields. The Babylonian rulers appear to have accompanied their +sacrifices on such occasions with prayers, and in a previous chapter we +had occasion to discuss some of these dedicatory invocations.[1481] In +the Assyrian inscriptions, prayers are specifically referred to only as +being offered before setting out on an expedition, before a battle, or +when the kings find themselves in distress,[1482] so that if the +Babylonian custom likewise prevailed in Assyria, it did not form a +necessary part of the sacrificial ritual. The sacrifice as a pure homage +is illustrated by the zeal which the Assyrian kings manifest towards +honoring the great temples of the south. The northern rulers were +anxious at all times to reconcile the southern population to Assyrian +control, and it was no doubt gratifying to the south to find +Tiglathpileser II.,[1483] upon entering the ancient centers like Sippar, +Nippur, Babylon, Borsippa, Cuthah, Kish, Dilbat, and Erech, proceeding +to the temples in those places in order to offer his sacrifices. The +example of Tiglathpileser is followed by his successors down through the +time of Ashurbanabal. As often as the Assyrian monarchs may have had +occasion to proceed to Babylonia--and the occasions were frequent, owing +to the constant disposition of the south to throw off the hated +yoke--they emphasized their devotion to Marduk, Nabu, En-lil, Shamash, +and the other gods who had their seats in the south. Sargon[1484] goes +so far in this homage as to pose as the reorganizer of the cults of +Sippar, Nippur, Borsippa, and Babylon, and of restoring the income to +temples in other places.[1485] But there was another side to this homage +that must not be overlooked. By sacrificing in the Babylonian temples, +the Assyrian rulers indicated their political control over the south. +Such homage as they manifested was the exclusive privilege of legitimate +rulers, and it was important for the Assyrians to legitimize their +control over the south. + +A phase of sacrifice is represented by the libations of oil and wine to +which frequent references are found in the historical texts. It appears +to have been customary to anoint the foundation stones of temples and +palaces with oil and wine. Over the thresholds, too, and over the +stones--bearing commemorative or votive inscriptions--libations of oil, +honey, and wine were poured. + +Nebopolassar[1486] speaks of placing sweet herbs under the walls, and +Nabonnedos[1487] pours oil over the bolts and doors, as well as on the +thresholds of the Shamash temple at Sippar, and fills the temple with +the aroma of frankincense. Much importance was attached to this rite, +and the kings take frequent occasion to adjure their successors who may +in the course of restoring edifices come across stones bearing the +record of former builders, to anoint these stones with oil and offer +sacrifices.[1488] Thus, Nabonnedos,[1489] when he finds the inscription +of Ashurbanabal in the Shamash temple at Sippar, carefully obeys the +injunction. The rite bears all the marks of great antiquity. The +instances of its occurrence in the Old Testament--notably in the case of +Jacob's act of pouring oil over the holy stone at Bethel[1490]--confirm +this view; and the interpretation for the rite suggested by Robertson +Smith[1491] that the oil was originally the fat of the sacrificed animal +smeared over an object or a person, as a means of investing them with +sanctity, accounts satisfactorily for the invariable juxtaposition in +the cuneiform texts of sacrificial offerings with the anointing of the +inscribed stones. + +We have no evidence that the rulers of Babylonia and Assyria were +anointed with oil on their installation, though it is not improbable +that such was the case. The use of the oil in this case is but a +modification of the same rite, which, it is to be noted, loses some of +its ancient force by the spread of the custom in the Orient of unguents +as a part of the toilet.[1492] The use of odorous herbs, which, we have +seen, were placed under the walls, and of honey and wine, which were +poured over bolts,[1493] is also directly connected with the sacrificial +cult. + +The libation in its purer form appears in the custom of the Assyrian +kings of pouring wine over the animal slain by them in the hunt. The act +is intended to secure divine favor towards a deed which involved the +destruction of something that by all ancient nations was held sacred, +namely, life. Even a despot of Assyria felt that to wantonly destroy +life could not be safely undertaken without making sure of the consent +of the gods. Significantly enough, Ashurbanabal offers his libations +after the lion or bull hunts to Ishtar as the "goddess of battle."[1494] +The animal is sanctified by being devoted to a goddess, just as the +victims in a battle constitute the conqueror's homage offered to the +gods who came to his assistance. + +Sacrifices with libations are so frequently represented on the seal +cylinder that this testimony alone would suffice to vouch for the +importance attached to this rite in the cult. One of the most archaic +specimens of Babylonian art[1495] represents a worshipper, entirely +naked, pouring a libation into a large cup which stands on an altar. +Behind the altar sits a goddess who is probably  or Malkâtu, the +consort of the sun-god. The naked worshipper is by no means an uncommon +figure in the early Babylonian art,[1496] and it would appear that at +one time it was customary to remove one's garments preliminary to +stepping into the god's presence, just as among the Arabs the cult of +the Caaba in Mecca was conducted by the worshippers at an early period +without their clothes.[1497] The custom so frequently referred to in the +Old Testament to remove one's shoes upon entering sacred territory,--a +custom still observed by the modern Muslim, who leaves his shoes outside +of the Mosque,--may be regarded as an indication that at an earlier +period people removed their garments as well as the sandals. It may be +that the order to take off the sandal alone, as recorded in the Old +Testament, is nothing but a euphemistic phrase (suggested by a more +refined age) to strip oneself. Certainly, when we find that in the days +of Saul, the seers went about naked, there can no longer be any doubt +that there was a time when the Hebrews, too, like the Arabs and +Babylonians, entered the holy presence naked. + +The institution of daily sacrifices is vouched for in the case of the +larger religious centers like Babylonia, Borsippa, Sippar, Cuthah, as +well as Nineveh for the late periods. Nebuchadnezzar, for example, tells +us[1498] that he provided for a sacrifice of six lambs daily in the +temple E-shidlam at Cuthah, sacred to Nergal and Laz; while for Nabu's +temple at Borsippa, the daily sacrifices were arranged on a still larger +scale, and included two fattened bulls of perfect form, sixteen smaller +animals, besides offerings of fish, birds, leek, various kinds of wine, +honey, cream, and the finest oil,--all intended, as the king tells us, +for the table of Nabu and his consort. No doubt the daily official +sacrifices at Marduk's temple were even more elaborate. The custom of +regular sacrifices in the larger temples may be traced back to an early +period. The technical terms for such sacrifices are _sattûku_ and +_ginû_. Both terms convey the idea of being "fixed," perpetual,[1499] +and suggest a comparison with the Pentateuchal institution of the +_tamîd_,[1500] _i.e._, the daily sacrifice. Whenever the kings in their +inscriptions mention the regular sacrifices, it is in almost all cases +with reference to their reinstitution of an old custom that had been +allowed to fall into neglect (owing to political disturbances which +always affected the temples), and not as an innovation. Innovations were +limited to increasing the amounts of these regular sacrifices. So, for +example, Nabubaliddin restores and increases the _ginê_ of the great +temple E-babbara at Sippar.[1501] But regular sacrifices do not +necessarily involve daily offerings. The same terms, _ginû_ and +_sattûku_, are applied frequently to monthly offerings, and except in +the large religious centers, regular sacrifices were in all +probabilities brought on certain days of each month, and not daily. The +days thus singled out, as will be shown further on, differed for various +sanctuaries. It would be important if we could determine the share in +these regular sacrifices taken by the people at large, but the material +at hand does not suffice for settling the question. There are frequent +references to tithes in the clay tablets forming part of the archives of +temples, and monthly tributes are also mentioned. We certainly may +conclude from these references that the people were taxed in some way +for the support of the temples. Ashurbanabal in one place speaks of +reimposing upon the population of the south the provision for the +_sattûku_ and _ginû_ due to Ashur and Belit[1502] and the gods of +Assyria; but, for all that, it is not certain that the regular +sacrifices at the temples partook of a popular character. One gains the +impression that, except on the occasions when the people came to the +sanctuaries for individual purposes, the masses as such had but +comparatively little share in it. In this respect the cult of the +Hebrews, which has so many points in common with the Babylonian ritual +as to justify the hypothesis that the details of sacrificial regulations +in the priestly code are largely derived from practices in Babylonian +temples, was more democratic. Closely attached as the Babylonians were +to their sanctuaries, the regular sacrifices do not appear to have been +an active factor in maintaining this attachment. A more decidedly +popular character is apparent in the votive offerings made to the +temples. These offerings cover a wide range. Rulers and people alike +felt prompted to make gifts to the sanctuaries on special occasions, +either as a direct homage to the gods or with the avowed purpose and +hope of securing divine favor or divine intercession. + +The statues of themselves which the rulers from the days of Gudea[1503] +on were fond of erecting were dedicated by them as offerings to the +gods, and this avowed aim tempers, in a measure, the vanity which no +doubt was the mainspring of their action. The statues were placed in the +temples, and from Gudea[1504] we learn of the elaborate ceremonies +connected with the dedication of one of the king's colossal blocks of +diorite. For seven days all manual labor was interrupted in Lagash. +Masters and slaves shared in the festivities. The temple of Nin-girsu is +sanctified anew by purification rites, and the statue is formally +presented to the god amidst sacrifices and offerings of rich gifts. The +account given in the Book of Daniel[1505] of the dedication of +Nebuchadnezzar's statue may be regarded as an equally authentic picture +of a custom that survived to the closing days of the Babylonian +monarchy, except that we have no proof that divine honors were paid to +these statues.[1506] The front, sides, and back of Gudea's images were +covered with inscriptions, partly of a commemorative character, but in +part, also, conveying a dedication to Nin-girsu. Similarly, the steles +of the Assyrian kings, set up by them either in the temples or on the +highways beyond the confines of Assyria, and which had images of the +rulers sculptured on them in high relief, were covered with +inscriptions, devoted primarily to celebrating the deeds of the kings; +but, since the victories of the armies were ascribed to the assistance +furnished by the gods, an homage to Ashur or some other deity was +involved in the recital. That the gods were accorded a minor share of +the glory was but in keeping with the pride of the Assyrian rulers, who +were less affected than the rulers of the south by the votive character +of the statues. + +Both Babylonians and Assyrians, however, unite in making images of the +gods as a distinct homage, and in giving elaborate presents of gold, +silver, precious stones, costly woods, and garments to the sanctuaries +as votive offerings to the gods. These presents were used in the +decoration of temples and shrines, as well as of the statues of the gods +or as direct contributions to the temple treasury. Celebrations of +victories were chosen as particularly appropriate occasions for making +such votive offerings. So Agumkakrimi, upon bringing back to E-Sagila +the statues of Marduk and Sarpanitum that had been taken away by +ruthless hands, bestows rich gifts upon the temples and describes[1507] +at great length the costly garments embroidered with gold and studded +with precious stones that were hung on Marduk and his consort. Equally +vivid is the description of the high, conical-shaped caps, made of lapis +lazuli and gold, and decorated, furthermore, with various kinds of +stones, that were placed on the heads of the deities. Garments for the +statues of the gods appear to have been favorite votive offerings at all +times. Nabubaliddin, in restoring the cult of Shamash at Sippar, makes +provisions for an elaborate outfit of garments,[1508] specifying +different garments for various periods of the year. It would appear from +this that for the various festive occasions of the year, the garments of +the gods were changed, much as in other religions--including the +Catholic Church--the officiating priests are robed in different garments +on the various festive or solemn occasions. + +Votive tablets or discs of lapis lazuli, agate, turquoise, gold, silver, +copper, antimony, and other metals with dedicatory inscriptions were +deposited in the temples. What particular purpose they served we do not +know. As a specimen of the more common formula on these tablets, a lapis +lazuli tablet of Nippur may be chosen. It is offered by a Cassite king, +and reads[1509] as follows: + + To Bel + His lord + Kadashman-Turgu + For his life + Presented. + +A knob-shaped object[1510] of fine limestone contains a dedication in +similar phrases to Marduk. It is offered by Bel-epush, who is probably +identical with a Babylonian ruler of this name in the seventh +century,--a contemporary of Sennacherib:[1511] + + To Marduk, his lord + Bel-epush for the preservation of his life + Made and presented. + +Kings, however, do not appear to be the only ones for whom these votive +offerings were prepared. A dedication to a personage otherwise unknown +and to all appearances a layman reads:[1512] + + To Ea,[1513] his lord, Bel-zir, + Son of Ea-Bân, + For the preservation of his life + Made and presented. + +The formulas are thus seen to be conventional ones, though occasionally +the inscription is somewhat longer. So, for example, Nazi-Maruttash, +another Cassite king, puts a little prayer on a votive offering: + + [To Bel, his lord] + Nazi-Maruttash, + Son of Kurigalzu, + To hearken to his supplication, + To be favorable to his prayer, + To accept his entreaty, + To lengthen his days, + [He made and presented]. + +This inscription appears, as Dr. Hilprecht informs us,[1514] on an ax +made of imitation lapis lazuli.[1515] Other votive inscriptions are +found on rings and on knobs of ivory or magnesite.[1516] These various +designs no doubt all had some symbolical significance. The ring suggests +some ultimate connection between votive offerings and amulets. The seal +cylinders, we know, although put to practical use in impressing the +design on a clay tablet as a substitute for a personal signature, were +also regarded as amulets, and this accounts for the frequency with which +scenes of religious worship were introduced as designs on the cylinders. +The ring is distinctly an amulet in Babylonia as elsewhere, and hence it +is by no means improbable that the custom of carrying little inscribed +tablets, discs, or knobs about the person as a protection against +mischances preceded the use of such tablets as votive offerings to be +placed in a temple. + +A very common votive object in Babylonia, especially in the earlier +period, was the clay cone. Such cones were found in large numbers at +Lagash, while at Nippur Peters came across what may be safely regarded +as a magazine where such cones (and other votive objects) were +manufactured in large numbers.[1517] The cones of Gudea bear +conventional inscriptions of a votive character addressed to Nin-girsu. +In other temples, other gods were similarly remembered. It has been +customary to regard these cones as phallic symbols;[1518] but it should +be noted that not only is the evidence for this lacking, but that what +we know of the popular practices of the Babylonians does not warrant us +in assuming any widespread phallic symbolism. The point of the cones +suggests rather that the objects were intended to be stuck into the +ground or into walls. At Lagash De Sarzec found, besides cones, a large +number of copper statuettes[1519] of gods and goddesses and of +animals,--chiefly bulls,--all terminating in a sharp point or attached +to a cone-shaped object. Others again are clearly human figures, either +male personages holding the cone in their hands,[1520] or females +holding baskets on their heads,--the customary attitude of making an +offering. These curious statuettes frequently bear inscriptions of a +votive character, and there can be no doubt that they were used to be +stuck into some substance. At one place, De Sarzec found a series set up +in concentric circles[1521] in the corners of an edifice and under the +floor. Heuzey is of the opinion that these statuettes thus arranged were +to serve as a warning for the demons, but it is more in keeping with the +general character of the Babylonian religion to look upon these objects +simply as votive offerings placed at various parts of a building as a +means of securing the favor of the gods. The cone, I venture to think, +is merely the conventionalized shape of a votive object originally +intended to be stuck into some part of a sacred building. The large +quantity of cones that have been found at Lagash, Nippur, and elsewhere +is an indication of their popular use. It is not improbable that at one +time, and, at all events, in certain temples, the cones and statuettes +represented the common votive offerings with which worshippers provided +themselves upon entering the sacred precinct. To facilitate the +reproduction of the statuettes, moulds were used,--another indication of +the widespread use of these objects. Clay figures of gods and goddesses +were also made in moulds or modelled by hand and served as votive +offerings. At Nippur, the images represent chiefly Bel and Belit,[1522] +either separately or in combination; but figurines of Ishtar have also +been found.[1523] In some the goddess is represented as suckling a +child. Often she is pictured as naked, clasping her breasts or her womb. +The attitude which was suggested by the character of the goddess as the +promoter of fertility appears to have been too obscene to a more refined +age, and, accordingly, we find in later times the sexual parts +suppressed or the figure properly clothed. The character of these +figurines varied naturally with each religious center, and even in the +same center modifications were introduced. + +Whether these clay figurines, cones, and metallic statuettes were also +placed by individuals in their dwellings, like the "plague" +tablets,[1524] we cannot as yet definitely say, but it is more than +likely that such was the case. The _teraphim_ familiar to us from the +references in the Old Testament,[1525] and evidently used as talismans, +belong to the class of votive offerings under consideration. The +figurines and cones, and also (though to a smaller degree) the copper +statuettes, thus introduce us to the popular phases of the cult. As +symbols of homage they appear to have survived to a late period, and +their use as talismans did not materially affect their character as +offerings, made by the people upon seeking the sanctuaries. The more +costly objects, as vases,[1526] artistically worked weapons, handsome +"seas" bowls, altars, and statues of the gods and other furniture for +the temples were left to the rulers. Such offerings were made with great +pomp. They were formally dedicated by large processions of priests, with +the accompaniment of hymns and music. The kings of Assyria presented the +captured gods as votive gifts pleasing to their deity.[1527] They bring +back with them from their campaigns the beams of the edifices that they +destroyed and offer them to Ishtar.[1528] Upon coming to Babylonia, they +do not fail to bring presents of gold, silver, precious stones, copper, +iron, purple, precious garments, and scented woods to Marduk and +Sarpanitum, to Nabu and Tashmitum, and the other great gods.[1529] The +first fruits of extensive groves are offered by Ashurnasirbal to Ashur +and the temples of his land.[1530] The rulers of Assyria vie with the +kings of Babylonia in presenting gardens[1531] and lands to the gods as +votive offerings; but for all that, in ancient Babylonia and Assyria, as +among other peoples of antiquity, the more fervent religious spirit was +manifested in the small tokens of the masses, whose attachment to the +temples was of a different order from that which prompted the rulers of +the north and south to a display, in which vanity and the desire to +manifest their power play a larger part as one generation succeeds the +other. + + +Festivals. + +We have seen[1532] that in the developed system of the Babylonian +religion, every day of the year had some significance, and that certain +days in each month--so, _e.g._, the 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st, and 28th--had +a special significance. It has also been pointed out that in different +religious centers, the days singled out for special significance +differed. In view of this, we must be prepared to find that the festival +days were not the same in all parts of Babylonia, nor necessarily +identical in the various periods of Babylonian and Assyrian history. + +The common name for festival was _isinnu_. If we may judge from the use +of _assinnu_ as a general name for priest,[1533]--a servant of a +deity,--the underlying stem appears to signify simply 'to serve.' +Another name that reveals more as to the character of the Babylonian +festivals is _tashiltu_, which is used as a synonym for 'joy, delight.' +The festivals were indeed joyous occasions, marked by abundance of +offerings and merry-making, though, as we shall see, the somber note in +the rejoicings was not absent. The kings dedicate their temples and +palaces amidst manifestation of rejoicing. They pray that the gods may +occupy the dwellings prepared for them "in joy and jubilance,"[1534] and +the reference to festivals in the historical texts are all of such a +character as to make us feel that the Babylonian could appreciate the +Biblical injunction to "rejoice"[1535] in the divine presence, on the +occasions set apart as, in a peculiar sense, sacred. + +Defective as our knowledge of the ancient Babylonian festivals still is, +the material at our disposal shows that at a comparatively early period, +there was one day in the year on which a festival was celebrated in +honor of a god or goddess that had a more important character than any +other. In the developed zodiacal system of Babylonia each month is +sacred to a deity.[1536] This system was perfected under the direct +influence of the theological schools of Babylonia, but so much of it, at +all events, rests upon ancient traditions which assigns a month to each +god; and since Marduk is not accorded the first place, but takes his +position in a group of solar deities, and since, moreover, these solar +deities have a position in the calendar which accords with their +specific solar character,[1537] we may proceed a step further and assume +with some confidence that the Babylonian scholars were guided--in large +part, at least--by ancient traditions in parceling out the months as +they did. Anu, Bel, and Ea, it is true, may have been assigned to the +first three months because of the preëminent position of these three +gods as a special triad; but even here the antiquity of the triad +furnishes a guarantee that the association of some month with some deity +belongs to a very ancient period of Babylonian history. This being the +case, it would be natural that the first day of the month sacred to a +deity would be regarded as his or her festival _par excellence_, and in +the case of the cult of a deity spreading beyond its original limits, +this festival would assume a more general character. On this day the +people would come from all parts of the district within which the cult +was carried on, to pay their homage to the god or goddess. In the days +of Gudea, we find Bau occupying this superior rank. Her festival had +assumed such importance as to serve for reckoning the commencement of +the year. + +Hence it became known simply as the day of zag-muku,[1538] that is, the +New Year's Day.[1539] Whether this festival of Bau was recognized as the +New Year's Day throughout Babylonia, we do not know, but it must have +been observed in a considerably extensive district, or Gudea would have +made the attempt to give some festival connected with his favorite deity +Nin-girsu this character. As it is, he can only combine Bau's festival +with the cult of Nin-girsu, by making the New Year's Day the occasion of +a symbolical marriage between the god and the goddess. Nin-girsu is +represented as offering marriage gifts to Bau,[1540] on the Zagmuku. How +early Bau came to occupy so significant a rank has not been ascertained. +It is her quality as the 'great mother,' as the goddess of fertility and +abundance,[1541] rather than any political supremacy of the district in +which she was worshipped, that constitutes the chief factor in giving +Bau this preëminence, just as we have found in the case of the other +great goddesses of Babylonia,--Ninâ, Nanâ, Ishtar,--specific traits and +not political importance lending them the significance they acquired. + +At one time we may well suppose that the festival of En-lil at Nippur, +which brought worshippers from all parts of Babylonia, was recognized as +a 'New Year's Day,' and we may some day find evidence that at a still +earlier period the first day of a month sacred to some other god,--Sin +or Shamash or Nanâ-Ishtar of Erech,--was recognized in some districts as +the starting-point for the year; but to an agricultural community, the +spring, when the seeds are sown, or the fall, after the harvest has been +gathered, are the two most natural periods for reckoning the beginning +of the year. Since we know that at the time when Babylon acquired her +supremacy the year began in the spring, the conservatism attaching to +religious observances makes it more than probable that Bau's festival +also fell in the spring. + +After the ancient religious and political centers of the south yielded +their privileges to Babylon, it was natural for the priests of Marduk to +covet the honor of the New Year's festival for the new head of the +pantheon. Accordingly, we find the Zagmuku transformed into a Marduk +festival. That it did not originally belong to Marduk follows from the +fact that it was celebrated in the month of Nisan,--the first +month,--whereas the month sacred to Marduk was Arakh-shamna (or +Marcheshwan),--the eighth month. The deliberate transfer of the Zagmuku +to Marduk is also indicated by the fact that the festival of Nisan has +another name by which it is more commonly designated,--Akitu.[1542] The +name seems to have been originally a general term for a festival, and it +is natural that Marduk's festival should have come to be known as _the_ +festival, just as among the Hebrews the annual fall pilgrimage to the +sanctuary at Jerusalem became known as _the_ Hag,--the pilgrimage _par +excellence_. To distinguish it from other festivals, Marduk's festival +is sometimes spoken of as the "great" or the "lofty" Akitu. The first +day was properly the Zagmuku, whereas the Akitu itself extended at +least over the first eleven days of Nisan[1543] and may indeed have +lasted the entire month; but Zagmuku was also used for the festival +period. The New Year's Day was marked by a solemn procession. The +union of Nabu and Marduk was symbolized by a visit which the former +paid to his father, the chief of the Babylonian pantheon. In his ship, +magnificently fitted out,[1544] Nabu was carried along the street known +as Ai-ibur-shabû,[1545] leading from Borsippa across the Euphrates to +Babylon. + +The street was handsomely paved,[1546] and everything was done to +heighten the impressiveness of the ceremony. The visit of Nabu marked +the homage of the gods to Marduk; and Nabu set the example for other +gods, who were all supposed to assemble in E-Sagila during the great +festival. We have already pointed out that the cult of Nabu at Borsippa +at one time was regarded with greater sanctity than the Marduk worship +in Babylon. As a concession to the former supremacy of Nabu, the priests +of E-Sagila, carrying the statue of Marduk, escorted Nabu back to +Borsippa. The return visit raises the suspicion that it was originally +Marduk who was obliged to pay an annual homage to Nabu. + +However this may be, the double ceremony became to such an extent the +noteworthy feature of the Zagmuku or Akitu that when the chroniclers +wish to indicate that, because of political disturbances, the festival +was not celebrated, they use the simple formula: + + Nabu did not come to Babylon. + Bel [_i.e._, Marduk] did not march out.[1547] + +The Akitu festival brought worshippers from all parts of Babylonia and +Assyria to the capitol. Kings and subjects alike paid their devotions to +Marduk. The former approached the divine presence directly, and, seizing +hold of the hands of Marduk's statue, were admitted into a kind of +covenant with the god. The ceremony became the formal rite of royal +installation in Babylonia. "To seize the hands of Bel" was equivalent to +legitimizing one's claim to the throne of Babylonia, and the chroniclers +of the south consistently decline to recognize Assyrian rulers as kings +of Babylonia until they have come to Babylon and "seized the hands of +Bel."[1548] That this ceremony was annually performed by the kings of +Babylonia after the union of the southern states is quite certain. It +marked a renewal of the pledge between the king and his god. The +Assyrian kings, however, contented themselves with a single visit. Of +Tiglathpileser II.[1549] and Sargon,[1550] we know that they came to +Babylonia for the purpose of performing the old ceremony; and others did +the same. + +The eighth and eleventh days of the festival month were invested with +special sanctity. On these days all the gods were brought together in +the "chamber of fates" of Marduk's temple. In symbolical imitation of +the assembly of the gods in Ubshu-kenna,[1551] Marduk sits on his throne +and the gods are represented as standing in humble submission before +him, while he decrees the fates of mankind for the coming year. The +Zagmuku festival in its developed form has striking points of +resemblance to the Jewish New Year's Day. On this day, according to the +popular Jewish tradition, God sits in judgment with a book before Him in +which He inscribes the fate of mankind. Nine days of probation are +allowed, and on the tenth day--the Day of Atonement--the fates are +sealed. The Jewish New Year is known as Rôsh-hash-shanâ,[1552] which is +an exact equivalent of the Babylonian _rêsh shatti_ (or zag-muku). A +difference, however, between the Babylonian and the Jewish festival is +that the latter is celebrated in the seventh month. It is not correct, +therefore, to assume that the Hebrews borrowed their Rôsh-hash-shanâ +from the Babylonians. Even after they adopted the Babylonian +calendar,[1553] they continued to regard the seventh month--the harvest +month--as the beginning of the year. That among the Babylonians the +seventh month also had a sacred character may be concluded from the +meaning of the ideographs with which the name is written.[1554] The +question may, therefore, be raised whether at an earlier period and in +some religious center--Nippur, Sippar, or perhaps Ur--the seventh month +may not have been celebrated as the Zagmuku. At all events, we must for +the present assume that the Hebrews developed their New Year's Day, +which they may have originally received from Babylonia, independently of +Marduk's festival, though, since the Rôsh-hash-shanâ does not come into +prominence among the Jews until the period of the so-called Babylonian +exile, the possibility of a direct Babylonian influence in the _later_ +conceptions connected with the day cannot be denied.[1555] + +Of the other festivals of the Babylonians and Assyrians but few details +are known. Several references have already been made to the Tammuz +festival.[1556] Originally a solar festival, celebrated in the fourth +month at the approach of the summer solstice, it became through the +association of ideas suggested by the mourning of Ishtar for her lost +consort Tammuz a kind of 'All Souls' Day,' on which the people +remembered their dead. Dirges were sung by the wailing women to the +accompaniment of musical instruments; offerings were made to the dead, +and it is plausible to assume that visits were paid to the graves. The +mourning was followed by a festival of rejoicing, symbolizing the return +of the solar-god. The Tammuz festival appears to have had a strong hold +upon the masses, by reason of the popularity of the Tammuz myth; nor was +it limited to the Babylonians. Among the Phoenicians the cult of Tammuz, +known by his title Adôn (whence Adonis), was maintained to a late +period, and the Hebrews, likewise, as late as the days of Ezekiel,[1557] +commemorated with rites of mourning the lost Tammuz. The calendar of the +Jewish Church still marks the 17th day of Tammuz as a fast, and Houtsma +has shown[1558] that the association of the day with the capture of +Jerusalem by the Romans represents merely the attempt to give an ancient +festival a worthier interpretation. The day was originally connected +with the Tammuz cult. Eerdmans[1559] has recently endeavored to show +that the festival of Hosein, celebrated by the Shiitic sect of +Mohammedanism in memory of the tragic death of the son of Ali, is in +reality a survival of the Babylonian-Phoenician Tammuz festival. The +spread of the Tammuz-Adonis myth and cult to the Greeks[1560] is but +another indication of the popularity of this ancient Semitic festival. + +The old Zagmuku festival in honor of Bau and the Tammuz festival, +celebrated in spring and summer, respectively, are also closely +associated with agricultural life. The spring as the seedtime is, as we +have seen, a natural period for beginning the calculation of the New +Year, while a first harvest of the wheat and barley is reaped in +Babylonia at the time of the summer solstice. We should expect, +therefore, to find a third festival in the fall, at the close of the +harvest and just before the winter rains set in. The seventh +month--Tishri--was a sacred month among the ancient Hebrews as well as +among the Babylonians, but up to the present no distinct traces of a +festival period in Tishri have been found in Babylonian texts. We must +content ourselves, therefore, with the conjecture, above thrown out, +that an Akitu was originally celebrated in this month at some ancient +religious center of the Euphrates Valley. Further publications of +cuneiform texts may throw light upon this point. The unpublished +material in European and American museums harbors many surprises. + +In Ashurbanabal's annals[1561] there is an interesting reference to a +festival celebrated in honor of the goddess Gula, the goddess of +healing,[1562] on the twelfth day of Iyyar, the second month. The +festival is described ideographically as Si-gar,[1563] but from the fact +that the same ideographs are used elsewhere to describe a day sacred to +Sin and Shamash,[1564] it would appear that Si-gar is not a specific +appellation, but a general name again for festival. This month Iyyar and +this particular day, as a "favorable one," is chosen by Ashurbanabal for +his installation as king of Assyria. The same month is selected for a +formal pilgrimage to Babylonia for the purpose of restoring to E-Sagila +a statue of Marduk that a previous Assyrian king had taken from its +place,[1565] and Lehmann is probably correct in concluding[1566] that +this month of Iyyar was a particularly sacred one in Assyria, emphasized +with intent perhaps by the kings, as an offset against the sacredness of +Nisan in Babylonia. + +Festivals in honor of Ninib were celebrated in Calah in the months of +Elul--the sixth month--and Shabat--the eleventh month.[1567] The sixth +month, it will be recalled, is sacred to Ishtar.[1568] Ninib being a +solar deity, his festival in Elul was evidently of a solar character. +From Ashurbanabal,[1569] again, we learn that the 25th day of Siwan--the +third month--was sacred to Belit of Babylon, and on that day a +procession took place in her honor. The Belit meant is Sarpanitum in her +original and independent rôle as a goddess of fertility. The statue of +the goddess, carried about, presumably in her ship, formed the chief +feature of the procession. Ashurbanabal chooses this "favorable" day as +the one on which to break up camp in the course of one of his military +expeditions. We would naturally expect to find a festival month devoted +to the god Ashur in Assyria. This month was Elul--the sixth month.[1570] +The choice of this month lends weight to the supposition that Ashur was +originally a solar deity.[1571] The honors once paid to Ninib in Calah +in this month could thus easily be transferred to the head of the +Assyrian pantheon. Although in the calendar the sixth month is sacred to +Ishtar, her festival was celebrated in the fifth month, known as +Ab.[1572] This lack of correspondence between the calendar and the +festivals is an indication of the greater antiquity of the latter. + +In the great temple to Shamash at Sippar, there appear to have been +several days that were marked by religious observances. +Nabubaliddin[1573] (ninth century) emphasizes that he presented rich +garments to the temple for use on six days of the year,--the 7th day of +Nisan (first month), 10th of Iyyar (second month), 3rd of Elul (sixth +month), 7th of Tishri (seventh month), 15th of Arakh-shamna (or +Marcheshwan, eighth month), and the 15th of Adar (twelfth month). These +garments are given to Shamash, to his consort Malkatu, and to +Bunene.[1574] Since from a passage in a Babylonian chronicle[1575] it +appears that it was customary for Shamash on his festival to leave his +temple, we may conclude that the garments were put on Shamash and his +associates, for the solemn procession on the six days in question. + +The festivals in Nisan and Elul are distinctly of a solar character. The +choice of two other months immediately following Nisan and Elul cannot +be accidental. The interval of thirty-three days between the Nisan and +Iyyar festivals and thirty-four days between the Elul and Tishri +festivals may represent a sacred period.[1576] Tishri, moreover, as has +been pointed out, is a sacred month in a peculiar sense. Marcheshwan, it +may be well to bear in mind, is sacred to Marduk,--a solar deity,--while +the 15th of Adar, curiously enough, is an old solar festival that, +modified and connected with historical reminiscences, became popular +among the Jews of Persia and Babylonia during the Persian supremacy in +the Semitic Orient, and survives to this day under the name of the Purim +festival.[1577] At all events, the six days may be safely regarded as +connected in some way, direct or indirect, with solar worships, and it +is natural to find that in so prominent a center of sun-worship as +Sippar, _all_ the solar festivals were properly and solemnly observed. + +It is disappointing that up to the present so little has been +ascertained of the details of the moon-cult--the great rival to Shamash +worship--in the old cities of Ur and Harran. In the Babylonian calendar, +the third month--Siwan--is sacred to Sin, but since, as we have found, +the festivals in honor of the gods do not always correspond to the +assignment of the months, we cannot be certain that in this month a +special festival in honor of Sin was observed. Lastly, besides the +regular and fixed festivals, the kings, and more especially the Assyrian +rulers, did not hesitate to institute special festivals in memory of +some event that contributed to their glory. Agumkakrimi[1578] instituted +a festival upon restoring the statues of Marduk and Sarpanitum to +Babylon, and Sargon does the same upon restoring the palace at +Calah.[1579] Dedications of temples and palaces were in general marked +by festivities, and so when the kings return in triumph from their wars, +laden with spoils and captives, popular rejoicings were instituted. But +such festivals were merely sporadic, and, while marked by religious +ceremonies, were chiefly occasions of general jollification combined +with homage to the rulers. Such a festival was not called an _isinnu_, +but a _nigatu_,[1580]--a 'merrymaking.'[1581] More directly connected +with the cult was a ceremony observed in Assyria upon the installation +of an official, known as the _limmu_, who during his year of service +enjoyed the privilege of having official documents dated with his +name.[1582] The ceremony involved a running[1583] of some kind, and +reminds one of the running between the two hills Marwa and Safa in Mekka +that forms part of the religious observances in connection with a visit +to the Kaaba.[1584] The name of the ceremony appears to have been puru +(or buru). To connect this word with the Jewish festival of Purim, as +Sayce proposes,[1585] is wholly unwarranted. The character of the Puru +ceremony points to its being an ancient custom, the real significance of +which in the course of time became lost. Fast days instituted for +periods of distress might also be added to the cult, but these, too, +like the special festivals, were not permanent institutions. For such +occasions many of the penitential psalms which were discussed in a +previous chapter[1586] were composed. To conciliate angered gods whose +temples had been devastated in days of turmoil, atonement and +purification rites were observed. So Ashurbanabal[1587] upon his +conquest of Babylonian cities tells us that he pacified the gods of the +south with penitential psalms and purified the temples by magic rites; +and Nabubaliddin,[1588] incidental to his restoration of the Shamash +cult at Sippar, refers to an interesting ceremony of purification, which +consisted in his taking water and washing his mouth according to the +purification ritual of Ea and Marduk,[1589] preliminary to bringing +sacrifices to Shamash in his shrine. Sippar had been overrun by +nomads,[1590] the temple had been defiled, and before sacrifices could +again be offered, the sacred edifice and sacred quarter had to be +purified. The king's action was a symbol of this purification. Many such +customs must have been in vogue in Babylonia and Assyria. Some--and +these were the oldest--were of popular origin. On the seal cylinders +there is frequently represented a pole or a conventionalized form of a +tree, generally in connection with a design illustrating the worship of +a deity.[1591] This symbol is clearly a survival of some tree +worship[1592] that was once popular. The comparison with the _ashera_ or +pole worship among Phoenicians and Hebrews[1593] is fully justified, and +is a proof of the great antiquity of the symbol, which, without becoming +a formal part of the later cult, retained in some measure a hold upon +the popular mind. Other symbols and customs were introduced under the +influence of the doctrines unfolded in the schools of thought in the +various intellectual centers, and as an expression of the teachings of +the priests. The cult of Babylonia, even more so than the literature, is +a compound of these two factors,--popular beliefs and the theological +elaboration and systematization of these beliefs. In the course of this +elaboration, many new ideas and new rites were introduced. The official +cult passed in some important particulars far beyond popular practices. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1311] _Vorgeschichte der Indo-Europaer_, pp. 126-141. + +[1312] Gen. xi. 4. + +[1313] _E.g._, Tiglathpileser I., col. vii. ll. 102, 103; Meissner, +_Altbabylonisches Privatrecht_, no. 46; Nebopolassar Cylinder +(Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 1, pls. 32, 33), col. i. +l. 38. Or 'as high as mountains'; _e.g._, Nebuchadnezzar II., IR. 58, +col. viii. ll. 61-63; and so frequently the Neo-Babylonian kings. + +[1314] _Kosmologie_, pp. 185-195. + +[1315] Or _Kharsag-gal-kurkura_; see p. 558. + +[1316] See p. 458. + +[1317] _Ekurrâti_; Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwörterbuch_, p. 718b. + +[1318] IR. 35, no. 3, 22. + +[1319] See below. + +[1320] Hebrew _Bamôth_. Through the opposition of the Hebrew prophets, +the term acquires distasteful associations that were originally foreign +to it. + +[1321] See Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 124 _seq._ + +[1322] IIR. 50, obverse. + +[1323] Perhaps, however, these several names all designate a single +zikkurat. + +[1324] Peters' _Nippur_, i. 246; ii. 120. + +[1325] For the meaning of this phrase, see Winckler's _Altorientalische +Forschungen_, iii. 208-222, and Jensen's _Kosmologie_, p. 167. + +[1326] From Heuzey's note in De Sarzec, _Décourveries en Chaldée_, p. +31, it would appear that at Lagash there was a zikkurat of modest +proportions, but Dr. Peters informs me that from his observations at +Telloh, he questions whether the building in question represents a +zikkurat at all, though, as we know from other sources, a zikkurat +existed there in the days of Gudea. + +[1327] _Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society_, xviii. + +[1328] Of Sargon's zikkurat at Khorsabad, also, only four stories have +been found. Perrot and Chiplez (_History of Art in Chaldaea and +Assyria_, i. 388) suppose that there may have been seven. + +[1329] _E.g._ Perrot and Chiplez, _ib._ p. 128. Hommel, _Geschichte +Babyloniens und Assyriens_, p. 19. + +[1330] Peters (_Nippur_, i. 214) found many yellow-colored bricks at +Borsippa. + +[1331] Book I, § 98. + +[1332] See a paper by E. W. Hopkins on _The Holy Numbers of the +Rig-Veda_ (Oriental Studies, Boston, 1894, pp. 141-147). + +[1333] Written ideographically, as the names of the zikkurats and of all +sacred edifices invariably are. + +[1334] See above, p. 459. + +[1335] Inscription G, col. i. l. 14; D, col. ii. l. 11. + +[1336] IIR. 50; obverse 20. See p. 472. + +[1337] _Kosmologie_, pp. 171-174. + +[1338] The suggestion is worthy of consideration whether the name 'seven +directions of heaven and earth' may not also point to a conception of +seven zones dividing the _heavens_ as well as the earth. One is reminded +of the 'seven' heavens of Arabic theology. + +[1339] So _e.g._, Kaulen, _Assyrien und Babylonien_ (3d edition), p. 58; +Vigouroux, _La Bible et les Découvertes Modernes_ (4th edition), i. 358. + +[1340] Lit., 'house to be seen,' _Igi-e-nir_. See, _e.g._, VR. 29, no. +4, 40, and Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwörterbuch_, p. 262. + +[1341] So at Babylon, at least, according to Herodotus. Traces of such a +room were also found in connection with the zikkurat at Nippur (Peters, +_Nippur_, ii. 122.) + +[1342] _Bit pirishti_. IIR. 50, obverse, 6. Another name (or perhaps the +name of a second zikkurat at Nippur; see p. 616, note 2) is +_Im-kharsag_, _i.e._, 'mountain of awe.' Peters' rendering (_Nippur_, +ii. 122) of the names is inaccurate. + +[1343] Peters' _Nippur_, ii. chapter vi. + +[1344] Schick, _Die Stiftschütte, der Tempel, und der Tempelplatz der +Jetztzeit_, pp. 8, 9. + +[1345] Snouck-Hurgronje _Mekka_ (Atlas, pl. 1). The present structure, +though comparatively modern, is built after ancient models. + +[1346] Schick, _ib._ pp. 125-131. + +[1347] _Die Stiftshütte, der Tempel, und der Tempelplatz der Jeiztzeit_, +p. 82. + +[1348] On the significance of the gate in sacred edifices, see Trumbull, +_The Threshold Covenant_, pp. 102-108. + +[1349] Dr. Peters is of the opinion that at the entrance to the temple +area proper at Nippur there also stood two large columns. + +[1350] _Découvertes en Chaldée_, pp. 62-64. Heuzey, in a valuable note, +already suggests the comparison with the two columns of Solomon's which +is here maintained on the basis of the excavations at Nippur. + +[1351] _Ib._ p. 64. + +[1352] The best example for Assyria is furnished by the magnificent +bronze gates of Balawat, now in The British Museum. See Birch and +Pinches, _The Bronze Ornaments of the Palace Gates of Balawat_ (London, +1881). + +[1353] See the illustrations in Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in +Chaldea and Assyria_, i. 142, 143. + +[1354] So Puchstein and Friedrich, but see Meissner-Rost, _Noch einmal +das Bithillâni und die Assyrische Säule_ (Leipzig, 1893). + +[1355] _Discoveries among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon_, plan 2. + +[1356] Papakhu for Pakhpakhu, from the stem _pakhû_, "to close." +Parakku, from Parâku, "to shut off, to lock." + +[1357] Inscription D, col. ii. l. 9. + +[1358] V. Rawlinson, pl. 60. + +[1359] Book i. sec. 183. + +[1360] See the chief passage, IR. 54, col. ii, ll. 54-65; another name +is E-Kua, 'dwelling.' + +[1361] See p. 423. + +[1362] VR. 50, col. i. l. 5. + +[1363] VR. 41, No. 1, Rev. 18. + +[1364] IVR. 57, 24a. Jensen's suggestion (_Kosmologie_, p. 242) to read +Mar-duku is out of the question. + +[1365] What Jensen says (_Kosmologie_, p. 10) of the temple at Sippar +would apply to the papakhu in the temple, rather than to the whole +structure. + +[1366] De Sarzec, _Découvertes en Chaldée_, pls. 24, 25 _bis_, etc. + +[1367] See p. 537. + +[1368] De Sarzec, _Découvertes en Chaldée_, pls. 4, 4 _bis_ and 43 +_bis_. On the latter, bulls, lions, and eagle in combination. + +[1369] See p. 653. + +[1370] See the plan in Schick, _Die Stiftshütte_, pl. 5. Layard +(_Discoveries among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon_, pp. 642-648) +points out some analogies between the constructions at Nimrod and +Solomon's buildings, but what he says applies chiefly to the palaces. + +[1371] Herodotus, book i. sec. 183, speaks of two altars outside of the +temple of Marduk in Babylon. In the case of so important a structure, +the number of altars was naturally more numerous. + +[1372] See Heuzey's note in De Sarzec's _Découvertes en Chaldée_, p. 65. + +[1373] See pp. 109 _seq._ + +[1374] See p. 106. + +[1375] _Recueil des Travaux_, etc., xvii. 39. + +[1376] See pp. 140 _seq._ + +[1377] The date of this king has recently been pushed down by +Thureau-Dangin, considerably later than the date assigned to him by +Hilprecht (_Revue Semitique_, v. 265-269). + +[1378] See p. 110. + +[1379] Nebuchadnezzar, IR. 65, col. i. ll. 34, 35. + +[1380] This is to be concluded from Nebuchadnezzar, ib. l. 32. + +[1381] See Tiele's note, _Zeitschrift für Assyriologie_, ii. 184, note. + +[1382] IR. 55, col. iv. ll. 54-57. + +[1383] See Tiele, _Zeitschrift für Assyriologie_, ii. 190. + +[1384] III Rawlinson, pl. 66. The list also contains objects in the +temples used for the cult. + +[1385] IIIR. 66. obverse, col. ii. ll. 2-25. + +[1386] See p. 207. + +[1387] The sign for image occurs in connection with some of the gods. + +[1388] The term can hardly be used here in the strict sense of 'towers,' +but appears to have become a general word for a sacred structure. + +[1389] _Ib._ col. iii. ll. 22-34. + +[1390] Meissner-Rost, _Bauinschriften Sanherib's_, p. 7. + +[1391] See, _e.g._, the list IIIR. 66. An exception is formed by the +temple to Ramman in the city of Asshur, which has a special name. See +the following note. + +[1392] Including the one to Ramman in Asshur. + +[1393] IR. 2. nos. 11, 2. + +[1394] IIR, 50, obverse 13. + +[1395] Lge-e-nir = zikkurat; Kidur = shubtu (dwelling); Makh = rabu +(great). + +[1396] The name approaches closely to the conception of a zikkurat in +the Book of Genesis, as a 'ladder' connecting heaven and earth. Gen. +xxviii. 12. + +[1397] See above, p. 619. + +[1398] The ideas 'true, fixed, established, eternal' are all expressed +by the element _Zida_. + +[1399] I adopt this reading as the one generally used. + +[1400] See above, p. 242. + +[1401] Or _tush_. Cf. Brünnow, Sign List, no. 10523. + +[1402] Or _ab_. See Jensen, _Keils Bibl._ 3, i. pp. 15, 173. + +[1403] See above, p. 57. + +[1404] Compare the name 'Belit-seri,' 'mistress of the fields,' as the +name of a goddess who belongs to the pantheon of the lower world. See p. +588. + +[1405] IIR. 61, nos. 1, 2, 6. + +[1406] Text, _Kar_, _i.e._, 'dam,' 'wall,' or 'quay.' + +[1407] IIR. 50, l. 8. + +[1408] Bezold Catalogue, etc., p. 1776. + +[1409] One is reminded of Isaiah's sentiment (lvi. 7) regarding the +temple of Yahwe, which is to be called 'a house of prayer for the +world.' + +[1410] Lit., 'enclosure.' + +[1411] The synagogue is called a 'house' just as the Babylonian temple +is, and among names of synagogues (or of congregations) in modern times +that form close parallels to the names of Babylonian temples may be +instanced 'house of prayer,' 'glory of Israel,' 'tree of life.' The +custom of naming Christian churches after the apostles represents a +further development along the order of ideas current in Babylonia. + +[1412] _E.g._, IIR. 50 (zikkurats); IIR. 61; IIIR. 66. + +[1413] See Bezold Catalogue, etc., p. 1776 and elsewhere. + +[1414] _E.g._, IIR. 54-60; IIIR. 67-69; VR. 43, 46. + +[1415] IIR. 60, no. 1, obverse. + +[1416] See p. 172. Some of the gods invoked by Sennacherib (see p. 238), +as Gaga, Sherua, and perhaps also Khani, are foreign deities. + +[1417] Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts, i. 56-59. + +[1418] As Lagamal, Kanishurra. + +[1419] See Peters' _Nippur_, ii. chapter x, "The History of Nippur." + +[1420] _Ib._ ll. 260. (Published in Hilprecht's _Old Babylonian +Inscriptions_, I. 1. pl. 21, no. 43. See also pl. 8, no. 15.) + +[1421] VR. 63. + +[1422] VR. pls. 60, 61. + +[1423] So, _e.g._, as late as the days of Nebopolassar (Scheil, _Recueil +des Travaux_, xviii. 16). + +[1424] Besides this temple, there were two others, perhaps only chapels, +dedicated to Sin at Ur: (_a_) E-te-im-ila (mentioned first by Ur-Bau, +IR. pl. 1, no. 4), and (_b_) E-Kharsag (mentioned first by Dungi, IR. 2, +II. no. 2). The zikkurat at Ur had, of course, a special name (IIR. 50, +obverse 18). + +[1425] See Nöldeke, _Zeitschrift für Assyriologie_, xi. 107-109. +Hilprecht's theory (_Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 2, 55) has not +been accepted by scholars. + +[1426] VR. 64, col. i. 3-9; col. ii. 46. + +[1427] See p. 444. + +[1428] See p. 81. + +[1429] See pp. 126 _seq._ + +[1430] See p. 129. + +[1431] So Antiochus Soter, VR. 66, col. i. l. 3. + +[1432] For a further account of the financial side of the temple +establishments, see Peiser's excellent remarks in his _Babylonische +Verträge des Berliner Museums_, pp. xvii-xxix. + +[1433] Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 2, p. 24. + +[1434] Nine magnificent diorite statues of Gudea were found by De Sarzec +at Telloh. + +[1435] Ashes--the trace of sacrifices--were also found on the altar. + +[1436] See the illustrations in Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in +Chaldea_, etc., i. 143, 255. Similar horns existed on the Hebrew and +Ph[oe]nician altars. + +[1437] See the illustrations in Perrot and Chiplez, _ib._, i. 194, 256, +257. On seal cylinders altar titles are frequently represented. + +[1438] Book i. sec. 183. + +[1439] See Schick, _Die Stiftshütte_, etc., pp. 119 _seq._ + +[1440] _Keils Bibl._ 3, 1, p. 13; see also p. 89. + +[1441] Inscription G, col 1. ll. 15-17. See p. 621. + +[1442] Described in De Sarzec's _Découvertes en Chaldée_, pp. 216, 217. +For other specimens, see _ib._ pp. 106, 171; and see also Hilprecht, +_Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 2. p. 39, note. + +[1443] Inscription D, col. iii, 1-12. + +[1444] See Winckler's note, _Keils Bibl._ 3, 2, p. 16. + +[1445] IR. 54, col. iii. l. 10. + +[1446] _Ib._ 55, col. iv. l. 1, 2. + +[1447] IIR. 61. no. 2, obverse. + +[1448] See Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in Chaldea and Assyria_, +i. 75, 76. + +[1449] See the illustration in Snouck-Hurgronje _Mekka_, pl. V. + +[1450] _I.e._, of the god, E-Kua being the name of the sacred chamber in +Marduk's temple at Babylon. See p. 629, note 1. + +[1451] See p. 60. + +[1452] See p. 282. + +[1453] The largest canal in Babylonia. + +[1454] _E.g._, _ishakku_. + +[1455] _Sha_ and _nakû_, _i.e._, 'the one over the sacrifice.' +_Zeitschrift für Assyriologie_, vii., 174, note. + +[1456] That these terms represent classes of priests is indicated by the +fact that the abstract derivatives shangûtu, kalûtu, ishippûtu, and also +ramkûtu (see below) are used as general terms for priesthood. + +[1457] IIR. 32, no. 3. + +[1458] 'A spear carrier of Marduk' occurs in contract tablets. + +[1459] _Dupsharru_. + +[1460] _Daianu_. + +[1461] _E.g._, IIIR. 48, no. 6, ll. 26, 27. + +[1462] _Shangu_ = priest; _makhu_ = great. + +[1463] See above, p. 657. + +[1464] Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwörterbuch_, p. 149b. + +[1465] See pp. 356 _seq._ + +[1466] On these night watches, see Delitzsch's article in the +_Zeitschrift für Keilschriftforschung_, ll. 284-294. + +[1467] See above, pp. 267, 343. + +[1468] _Kharimtu_, _Kisritu_, _Ukhatu_, _Shamuktu_. See IIR, 32, no. 2, +ll. 31-36, and above, pp. 475, 484. + +[1469] See his article on "Sacrifice" in the 9th edition of the +_Encyclopaedia Britannica_ and his _Religion of the Semites_, Lectures +VI-XI. + +[1470] So in the regulations of the priestly code (Lev. iii. 14-17). + +[1471] Inscription G, cols, iii-vi. + +[1472] Hardly 'roosters,' as Jensen (_Kosmologie_, p. 517) proposes. + +[1473] See, _e.g._, Gudea, Inscription F, cols. iii, iv. + +[1474] See on this general subject Marillier's admirable articles, "La +Place du Totemisme dans l'evolution religieuse" (_Revue de l'Histoire +des Religions_, xxxvi). + +[1475] See pp. 397, 398. + +[1476] See Peters' _Nippur_, ll. 131, and Hilprecht, _Cuneiform Texts_, +ix. pl. xiii. + +[1477] See Ward, "On Some Babylonian Cylinders supposed to represent +Human Sacrifices" (_Proc. Amer. Oriental Soc._ May, 1888, pp. +xxvlii-xxx). + +[1478] See, _e.g._, Layard, _Monuments of Nineveh_, 1st series, pls. 7, +23; Place, _Nineve et l'Assyrie_, pl. 46, etc. + +[1479] "The Winged Figures of the Assyrian and Other Ancient Monuments," +_Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._ xii. 383-393; see also Bonavia, "The Sacred +Trees of the Assyrian Monuments," _Babylonian and Oriental Record_, +vols. iii, iv, whose conclusions, however, are not always acceptable. + +[1480] See chapter xix, "Oracles and Omens." + +[1481] See pp. 295-299. + +[1482] See, _e.g._, Sennacherib, IR. 47, col. v. ll. 50-54; +Ashurbanabal, Rassam Cylinder, col. ii. l. 116, and col. iv. l. 9. + +[1483] IIR. 67, 11, 12. + +[1484] Cylinder, l. 4. + +[1485] Winckler, _Die Keilschrifttexte Sargon's Prunkinschrift_, ll. +134, 135. + +[1486] Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 1, pl. 33, col. ii. +ll. 54-56. + +[1487] VR. 65, col. ii. l. 13. + +[1488] See, _e.g._, Tiglathpileser I., IR. 16, col. viii. ll. 56, 57; +Sennacherib, IR. 47, col. vi. l. 67-71. + +[1489] VR. 64, col. ii. ll. 43-45. + +[1490] Gen. xxviii. 18. + +[1491] _Religion of the Semites_, p. 364. + +[1492] See Robertson Smith, ib. p. 215. + +[1493] VR. 61, col. iv. ll. 33, 34. + +[1494] IR. 7, no. ix. + +[1495] Heuzey in De Sarzec's _Découvertes en Chaldée_, p. 209. + +[1496] Several examples occur in De Sarzec's _Découvertes en Chaldée_. +See also Ward, _Proc. Amer. Oriental Soc._, May, 1888, p. xxix, and +Peters' _Nippur_, ii. pl. 2. + +[1497] Wellhausen, _Reste Arabischen Heidenthums_, p. 106. + +[1498] Grotefend Cylinder, col. li. ll. 36-39. + +[1499] They are also used in the sense of any permanent provision for a +temple through an endowment. + +[1500] Lit., 'the steady' sacrifice. See the technical employment, Dan. +viii. 11. + +[1501] VR. 61, col. iv. l. 48-col v. l. 6; see also Ashurbanabal, Rassam +Cylinder, col. iv. l. 90. + +[1502] Belit here used for Ashur's consort; see p. 226. + +[1503] See p. 652. + +[1504] Inscription B, cols. vii-viii. + +[1505] Chapter iii. 1-7. + +[1506] This touch appears to have been added by the Hebrew writer. +Nebuchadnezzar is but a disguise for Antiochus Epiphanes. + +[1507] VR. 33, col. ii. l. 22-col. iii. l. 12. + +[1508] VR. 61, col. vi. ll. 1-13. + +[1509] Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 1, pl. 23, no. 62. + +[1510] In the museum at Copenhagen. Described by Knudtzon in the _Zeits. +f. Assyr._, xil. 255. + +[1511] Tiele, _Babylonisch-Assyrische Geschichte_, p. 287. + +[1512] In the Berlin Museum (Knudtzon, _ib._). It is also on a knob +which contains remains of an iron stick, to which, evidently, the knob +was fastened. + +[1513] Written A-e. + +[1514] Hilprecht, _Old Babylonian Inscriptions_, i. 1, p. 58. + +[1515] In reality, glass colored with cobalt. On this production of +false lapis lazuli, see Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 134. + +[1516] For examples, see Hilprecht, _ib._, pl. 18, no. 34; pl. 23, nos. +56, 57; pl. 25, nos. 66, 69; pl. 26, no. 70. + +[1517] Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 77, 133. + +[1518] So, _e.g._, Peters' _Nippur_, ii. 237, 238, 378, 379. + +[1519] De Sarzec, _Découvertes en Chaldée_, pls. 1 bis and 28. + +[1520] The opinion has been advanced that the personage who holds the +cone-shaped object is the fire-god turning the fire drill, but this is +highly improbable. + +[1521] _Découvertes en Chaldée_, p. 239. + +[1522] Peters' _Nippur_ ii. 376, and Hilprecht, _Cuneiform Texts_, ix. +pl. 12. + +[1523] Peters _ib._ pp. 374, 375. + +[1524] See p. 536. + +[1525] _E.g._, Gen. xxxi. 19. + +[1526] See the specimens and descriptions in _Découvertes en Chaldée_, +pl. 44 and p. 234. + +[1527] Tiglathpileser I. (IR. 12, col. iv. l. 23) presents twenty-five +gods of the land of Sugi. + +[1528] Ashurnasirbal, IR. 25, col. iii. ll. 91, 92. + +[1529] Winckler, _Die Keilschrifttexte Sargon's Prunkinschrift_, ll. +141-143. + +[1530] IR. 27, 8-10. + +[1531] VR. 60, col. ii. ll. 11-16. + +[1532] See pp. 373-383. + +[1533] See above, p. 658. + +[1534] This is a standing phrase in the inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar, +as well as of other kings. See Delitzsch, _Assyr. Handwörterbuch_, p. +270b. + +[1535] Deut. xii. 18; xvi. 14, etc. + +[1536] See pp. 462, 463. + +[1537] See _ib._ + +[1538] Or zag-mu. Gudea, Inscription G, col. iii. In the later +inscriptions we find zag-mu-ku. The _k_ or _ku_ appears to be an +afformative. See Amlaud, _Zeits. f. Assyr._ iii. 41. The reading +za-am-mu-ku is found, IR. 67, col. i. l. 34. + +[1539] _rêsh shatti_. See p. 681. + +[1540] Inscription G, _ib._, and Inscription D, col. ii. ll. 1-9. See +also p. 59. + +[1541] See above, _ib._ + +[1542] See, _e.g._, Pognon Wadi Brissa, col. ix. ll. 12-18. + +[1543] This follows from a passage in Nebuchadnezzar's Inscription, IR. +54, col. ii. l. 57. + +[1544] See p. 654. + +[1545] Signifying 'may the enemy not wax strong.' + +[1546] See Nebuchadnezzar's Inscription, IR. 56, col v. ll. 38-54. + +[1547] So, _e.g._ during the closing years of Nabonnedos' reign. +Winckler, _Untersuchungen zur Altorient. Gesch._ i. 154; obv. 6 (7th +year); 11 (9th year); 20 (10th year); 24 (11th year). + +[1548] On the meaning and importance of the rite, see Winckler, _Zeits. +f. Assyr._ ii. 302-304, and Lehmann's _Shamash-shumukin_, pp. 44-53. + +[1549] Eponym List, IIR. 52, no. 1 obv. 45. + +[1550] Winckler, _Die Keilschrifttexte Sargon's_, pp. 52, 124; of +Ashurbanabal, the chronicler tells us that he proceeded to Babylonia in +the month of Iyyar, but, this not being the proper month, he did not +"seize the hands of Bel." See also Winckler, _ib._ p. xxxvi, note. + +[1551] See pp. 423 and 629 _seq._ + +[1552] _I.e._, 'The beginning of the year.' See on this subject Karppe's +article, _Revue Semitique_, ii. 146-151. + +[1553] See p. 464. + +[1554] See _ib._, note 3. + +[1555] The opinion of many scholars that the Rôsh hash-shanâ dates from +the Babylonian exile because not referred to in the Book of Deuteronomy +is open to serious objections. The festival has traces of antiquity +(like the Day of Atonement), and appears to have been _revived_ during +the captivity, under Babylonian influence. + +[1556] See especially pp. 484 and 575. + +[1557] Ezekiel, viii. 14. There is probably a reference also to the +Tammuz festival in Zech, xii. 10, 11. The interpretation offered by +Robertson Smith (_Religion of the Semites_, p. 392, note) for the +mourning rites appears strained. + +[1558] _Over de Israelietische Vastendagen_ (Amsterdam, 1897, pp. 4-6; +12-17). + +[1559] _Zeits. f. Assyr._ ix. 290 _seq._ + +[1560] See Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_, ii. 648 _seq._ + +[1561] Rassam Cylinder, col. i. ll. 11, 12. + +[1562] See pp. 105 and 173 _seq._ + +[1563] The readings Suni-gar and Shum-gar (so Jensen, _Keils Bibl._ ii. +155) are also possible. + +[1564] IVR. 32, 49b, where the 20th day of the intercalated Elul is so +designated. An official--'the great Si-gar'--is mentioned in a +list,--IIR. 31, no. 5, 33a. + +[1565] See the discussion (and passages) in Lehmann's +_Shamash-shumukin_, pp. 43 _seq._ One is tempted to conclude that +Marduk's statue was removed to Nineveh, not in a spirit of vandalism, +but in order to enable Assyrian kings to 'seize the hands of Bel' +without proceeding to E-Sagila. The Babylonians, no doubt, were offended +by such an act, and in order to conciliate them, Ashurbanabal, who +pursues a mild policy towards the south, orders the statue to be +restored at the time that he appoints his brother Shamash-shumukin as +governor of the southern provinces. + +[1566] _Ib._ p. 53, note. + +[1567] Ashurnasirbal's Inscription, IR. 23, col. ii. l. 134. + +[1568] See above, p. 462. + +[1569] Rassam Cylinder, col. viii. ll. 96-100. + +[1570] George Smith, _The History of Ashurbanipal_, p. 126 (Cylinder B, +col. v. l. 77). See also Rassam Cylinder, col. iii. l. 32. + +[1571] See above, pp. 195, 196. + +[1572] See Ashurbanabal Cylinder B, col. v. l. 16 (_Keils Bibl._ ii. +248; also Meissner, _Beiträge zum Altbabylonischen Privatrecht_, no. 14, +p. 23). + +[1573] VR. 61. col. v. l. 51-vi. l. 8. + +[1574] See above, pp. 74 and 176. + +[1575] Winckler, _Zeits. f. Assyr._ ii. 155 (col. ii. l. 41). + +[1576] One is reminded of the sanctity attaching in the Jewish ritual to +the "counting" of the seven weeks intervening between Passover (the old +Nisan festival) and Pentecost (an old summer festival). See Deut. xvi. +9. The 33d day of this period has a special significance in the Jewish +Church. + +[1577] The non-Jewish origin of the Purim festival is generally accepted +by critical scholars. Lagarde (_Purim--Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der +Religions_) endeavors to trace it back to a Persian fire festival; +Zimmern (_Zeits. f. Alt. Wiss._, 1891, pp. 160 _seq._) connects it with +the Babylonian Zagmuku. Sayce's supposition (_Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch._ +xix. 280, 281) is not to be taken seriously. The origin of the Jewish +feast and fast of Purim is still obscure. The fact that there is both a +fast (14th Adar) and a festival (15th Adar) is a safe indication of +antiquity. Zimmern's view of a possible relationship between Purim and +Zagmuku is untenable, but that there is a connection between Purim and +_some_ Babylonian festival follows from the fact that the two chief +personages in the Book of Esther--namely, Mordecai and Esther--bear +names identical with the two Babylonian deities, Marduk and Ishtar. This +cannot be an accident. On the other hand, Haman and Vashti, according to +Jensen (_Wiener Zeits. f.d. Kunde des Morgenlandes_, vi. 70), are +Elamitic names of deities corresponding to the Babylonian Marduk and +Ishtar. The case for Vashti is not clearly made out by Jensen, but, for +all that, it is certain that the Babylonian elements in the institution +have been combined with some bits of Persian mythology. The historical +setting is the work of the Jewish compiler of the tale, that has of +course some historical basis. See now Toy, _Esther as a Babylonian +Goddess_ (_The New World_, vi. 130-145). + +[1578] VR. 33, col. v. l. 40. + +[1579] Winckler, _Die Keilschrifttexte Sargon's_, p. 172 and p. xxvi, +note. + +[1580] _E.g._, Sargon's _Annals_, l. 179; Cylinder, l. 20, VR. 33, col. +v. l. 40 (_nigatu_). + +[1581] Not necessarily 'music festival,' as Delitzsch proposes (_Assyr. +Handw._, p. 447a). + +[1582] For examples, see the Assyrian contract tablets translated by +Peiser, _Keils Bibl._ iv. 98 and _passim._ + +[1583] See the passage Shalmanaser obelisk, ll. 174, 175, and Peiser's +comment, _Keils Bibl._ iv. 106, note. + +[1584] Burton, _A Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina_, iii. chapter vii. + +[1585] See above, p. 686. + +[1586] Chapter xviii. + +[1587] Rassam Cylinder, col. iv. ll. 86-89. + +[1588] VR. 61, col. ii. ll. 22-27. + +[1589] Ea and Marduk, it will be recalled, are the chief gods invoked in +magic rites involving purification. See pp. 275, 276. + +[1590] See p. 646. + +[1591] See numerous examples in Menant's _Collection de Clercq_ (Paris, +1888). + +[1592] See above, p. 662. + +[1593] Stade, _Geschichte des Volkes Israel_, i. 458 seq. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +CONCLUSION. + +General Estimate and Influence. + + +In forming a general estimate of a religion, one's verdict will largely +depend upon the point of view from which the religion in question is +regarded. It is manifestly unjust and illogical to apply modern +standards to an ancient religion, not that such a religion would +necessarily suffer by the comparison involved, but because of the +totally different conditions under which religion developed in antiquity +from those prevailing in modern times. The close association, nay, the +inseparable bond, between religion and the state is only one of several +determining factors that might be adduced, while the small scope +permitted to individualism in matters of religious belief and practice +in a country like Babylonia or Assyria was fraught with such peculiar +results that all comparisons, even with other religions of antiquity, +could only obscure and not illumine our judgment. + +There are manifestly three phases of the religion of Babylonia and +Assyria that need to be considered in reaching some general conclusions +as to the character and rank to be accorded to it,--the doctrines, the +rites, and the ethics. So far as the pantheon is concerned, the +limitations in the development of doctrines connected with it were +reached when the union of the several Euphratean states was permanently +effected under Hammurabi. Marduk, a solar deity, takes his place as the +head of the pantheon by virtue of the preëminent place occupied by his +patron city,--Babylon. The other great gods, each representing some +religious center that at one time or the other rose to importance, +grouped themselves around Marduk, as the princes and nobles gather +around a supreme monarch. A certain measure of independence was reserved +for the great mother goddess Ishtar, who, worshipped under various names +as the symbol of fertility, plenty, and strength, is not so decidedly +affected by the change as deities like En-lil, Shamash, Sin, and Ea, who +could at any time become rivals of Marduk. As the position of Marduk, +however, became more and more assured without danger of being shaken, +the feeling of rivalry in his relations to the other gods began to +disappear. Marduk's supremacy no longer being questioned, there was no +necessity to curtail the homage paid to Shamash at Sippar or to En-lil +at Nippur; hence the religious importance of the old centers is not +diminished by the surpassing glory of Babylon. There was room for all. +Marduk's toleration is the best evidence of his unquestioned headship. + +The centralization of political power and of religious supremacy is +concomitant with the focussing of intellectual life in Babylon. The +priests of Marduk set the fashion in theological thought. So far as +possible, the ancient traditions and myths were reshaped so as to +contribute to the glory of Marduk. The chief part in the work of +creation is assigned to him. The storm-god En-lil is set aside to make +room for the solar deity Marduk. But, despite such efforts, the old +tales, once committed to writing on the practically imperishable clay, +survived, if not in the minds of the people, at least in the archives of +the ancient temples. + +The antiquity of literature in Babylonia was the factor that prevented +the cult from acquiring a uniform character in the various parts of the +empire. The priests of Nippur, of Sippar, of Eridu, of Erech, Cuthah, +Ur, and other places began long before the period of Hammurabi to +compile, on the basis of past experience and as a guide for future +needs, omen lists, incantation formulas, and sacrificial rituals. These +collections created orthodox standards, and these standards, once +acknowledged, the natural conservatism attaching to religious customs +was sufficient to maintain their continuance. The uniformity of doctrine +was thus offset by variations in the cult; and the policy adopted by +both Babylonian and Assyrian rulers, in permitting each center to remain +undisturbed, and in freely recognizing the religious independence of +each, prevented the Babylonian and Assyrian religion from falling into +the state of stagnation which would otherwise have been its fate. + +In the views taken of the relationship between the gods and men, no +notable advances were made when once the ethical spirit was infused into +the religious beliefs. The problem of good and evil was solved in a +simple fashion. By the side of the great gods there existed a large, +almost infinite number of spirits and demons, who were generally held +responsible for the evils affecting mankind.[1594] These demons and +spirits were in many cases gods 'fallen from grace,'--minor local +deities who, unable to maintain themselves in the face of the growing +popularity of the great gods, sank to an inferior position as +messengers, forced to do the will of their masters and who could be +controlled by the latter. But the intercession of the priests was +essential to obtaining divine help against the mischievous workings of +the spirits. Even the kings, though originally standing very close to +the gods, could not dispense with the services of the priests, and by +virtue of their conspicuous position had to exercise greater precautions +than the masses not to offend the gods, by errors of commission or +omission in the cult. The priests held the secret that could secure +freedom from ills and promote the comparative well-being of rulers and +subjects. They alone knew what incantations to use for each case that +was brought before them, in what way the sacrifices were to be brought, +when the deity should be approached, and why divine anger had manifested +itself. The intellectual leadership thus acquired by the priests, in +addition to their control of religious affairs, was an additional factor +in maintaining orthodox standards of belief when once they had become +fixed. In the doctrines of life after death, this influence of the +priesthood is distinctly seen. The popular notions were systematized, +but the priests, true to their rule as conservators, did not pass beyond +primitive conceptions. Some weak attempts at a philosophical view of the +problem of death are attempted in the Gilgamesh epic as finally put +together under the influence of the Babylonian schools of thought,[1595] +but the leaders shared with the people the sense of hopelessness when +picturing the life in the great hollow Aralû. It is in the hymns and +prayers, rather than in the cosmology and eschatology, that the +spiritual aspirations of the priests (and to a limited degree of the +masses) manifest themselves. In these productions, whether existing +independently or incorporated into incantation rituals, we see the +religion of Babylonia at its best. A strong emphasis is placed upon the +doctrine that misfortunes and ills come as a punishment for sins of +commission or omission. It is true that no distinction is drawn between +ceremonial errors and real misdeeds, but the sense of guilt is aroused +by the priests in the minds of those who come to the temples, seeking +relief from the attacks of the evil spirits, or the bewitchment of +sorcerers. + +It is in this doctrine of guilt, as revealed through the magical texts, +that we must seek both for the starting-point of the development of an +ethical system (so far as such a system existed among the Babylonians), +and also for the limitations of this system. The aim of the priests to +observe the right ceremonies, to pronounce the right words in order to +accomplish their aim, reacted on rulers and subjects, and led them to +make the pleasure of the gods the goal of life. With fear of the gods, +upon which stress is always laid,[1596] there is thus associated an +equally strong love[1597] of the divine powers. Obedience to the gods is +primarily inculcated as a means of securing their protection and +blessing; but the fear of the gods, we are told, is the cause of +joy;[1598] and the Babylonians passed far beyond the stage of making the +satisfaction of one's own desires the standard of right and wrong. A +penitential psalm declares[1599] that what is pleasing to oneself may be +sinful in the eyes of a god. + +The kings pride themselves upon being the promoters of justice. Even the +Assyrian rulers, who impress one while conducting their wars as bereft +of all softer emotions, declare that their highest aim is to spread +plenty and happiness.[1600] Sennacherib calls himself a king who 'loves +righteousness,'[1601] and he, as well as his predecessors and +successors, busies himself with actually restoring the rights of those +of his subjects who have been wrongfully deprived of their possessions. + +The standard of private morality was high both in Babylonia and Assyria. +The legal and commercial tablets reveal that proper consideration was +given to the treatment of woman--a most satisfactory index of ethical +conditions.[1602] She could hold property and dispose of it. Before the +courts, her status did not differ materially from that of the male +population. The husband could not divorce his wife without sufficient +cause, and children owed obedience to the mother as well as to the +father.[1603] Polygamy, as a matter of course, prevailed, but it is an +error to suppose that polygamy is inconsistent with high ideals of +family life, even though it does not lead to the highest ideals. + +Hatred, lying, cheating, using false measures, removing boundaries, +adultery, insincerity are denounced in the incantation texts,[1604] and +in accord with this standard, we see in the records of lawsuits and +agreements between parties[1605] clear indications of the stringent laws +that prevailed in order to protect citizens against infringement of +their rights. It comes as a surprise, but also as a welcome testimony to +the efficacy of justice in Assyria, to find Ashurbanabal emphasizing the +fact that he established ordinances so that the strong should do no harm +to the weak.[1606] + +The institution of slavery flourished in Babylonia and Assyria +throughout all periods of their history,[1607] but there were various +grades of slaves. Some classes differed but little from that of +servants, indentured for a longer or shorter period for certain +services. The temple slaves appear to have largely belonged to this +class. Mild treatment of slaves is enjoined and was the rule. The slaves +are often the confidential agents of their masters who attend to the +business affairs of the latter. We find slaves holding property in their +own right. Contracts entered into by them are legal and binding. +Injuries inflicted upon them by their masters are punished, and they are +protected against losses and mishaps encountered while in service. While +we have no evidence to show that the laws of Assyria were on a lower +ethical plane than those of Babylonia, still, as the pupils and +imitators of the Babylonians in almost everything pertaining to culture +and religion, the general tone of life in Assyria was hardly as high as +in the south. The warlike spirit of the rulers is but a symptom of the +fiercer character of the people. + +The tendency towards monotheism in the religion of Babylonia and Assyria +has been referred to. We must remember that it was only a tendency. No +decided steps in this direction were ever taken. Both in the south and +in the north, this tendency is but the expression of the preëminent rank +accorded to Marduk and Ashur, respectively. The independent existence of +two heads in the combined pantheon was sufficient to prevent the +infusion of an ethical spirit into this monotheistic tendency; and +unless a monotheistic conception of the universe is interpreted in an +ethical sense, monotheism (or monolatry) has no great superiority, +either religiously or philosophically, over polytheism. + +From the standpoint of religious doctrine, accordingly, the religion of +Babylonia and Assyria does not occupy a unique position. In this +respect, the Egyptian religion reaches a higher level. For all that, the +influence exerted by the religion that developed in the Euphrates Valley +was profound and lasting. We have had occasion in various chapters of +this work to point out the close analogies existing between the +thoughts, tradition, and practices of the Hebrews and the +Babylonians.[1608] A proper study of the Hebrew religion is closely +bound up with an investigation of the religious antiquities of +Babylonia; and as our knowledge of these antiquities increases, it will +be found that not only are Hebrews and Babylonians equipped with many +common possessions when starting out upon their intellectual careers, +but that, at different times and in diverse ways, the stimulus to +religious advance came to the Hebrews from the ancient centers of +thought and worship in the Euphrates Valley. This influence was +particularly strong during the period of Jewish history known as +Babylonian exile. The finishing touches to the structure of +Judaism--given on Babylonian soil[1609]--reveal the Babylonian +trademark. Ezekiel, in many respects the most characteristic Jewish +figure of the exile, is steeped in Babylonian theology and mysticism; +and the profound influence of Ezekiel is recognized by modern +scholarship in the religious spirit that characterizes the Jews upon the +reorganization of their commonwealth. + +It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that what Babylonia gave to +others was always the best she had to offer. Degrading tendencies, too, +found an entrance into post-exilic Judaism through Babylonian influence. +Close contact of Jews with Babylonians served to make the former more +accessible to the popular beliefs in incantations and in the power of +demons than they would otherwise have been. Not that the Jews (as little +as any other people) were ever entirely free from superstitious +practices; but, living in an atmosphere charged, so to speak, with magic +and astrology, it was inevitable that even the best among them should be +infected by customs that they daily witnessed. In the Babylonian Talmud, +the references to evil spirits are numerous. Specific incantations are +introduced, and an elaborate system of angelology and demonology forms a +feature of Talmudical Judaism in which, by the side of Persian +influences,[1610] we may detect equally strong traces of Babylonian +ideas. In the upper strata of the ruins of Nippur, hundreds of clay +bowls were found, inscribed with Jewish inscriptions, in the Aramaic +dialect that was spoken by the Babylonian Jews.[1611] Similar bowls were +found elsewhere in the mounds of the Euphrates Valley.[1612] These bowls +indicate the presence of Jews in various parts of the country.[1613] +Placed in the graves as a protection for the dead against evil spirits, +the inscriptions contain formulas of denunciation against the demons +that constitute a striking parallel to the incantation texts of ancient +Babylonia. Some of the demons are identical with those occurring in +these texts, and by the side of the inscriptions, there are +illustrations[1614] and magical designs to which parallels exist on the +Babylonian tablets. + +This custom of endeavoring to secure protection for the dead through the +power of the curses and propitiatory phrases inscribed on bowls +continued in vogue as late as the ninth century at the least, and +perhaps considerably later. There are indications also that Babylonian +ideas found an entrance into the Jewish Kabbala,--the strange mystic +system of the middle ages, the sources of which are to be sought in the +apocalyptic chapters of Ezekiel and Daniel. + +Christianity as well as Judaism felt the fascination of the mystic lore +of Babylonia. Gunkel[1615] has demonstrated the Babylonian origin of the +myth embodied in the twelfth chapter of Revelations. This myth is but +another form of the Marduk-Tiâmat contest, which, it will be recalled, +is the chief episode in the Babylonian creation 'epic.'[1616] More +significant is the influence exerted by the religious ideas of Babylonia +upon the various Gnostic sects that arose within the Christian Church. +That the source of Gnosticism was to be sought in Mesopotamia was always +recognized by scholars, but until the discovery of Babylonian +literature, it was customary to seek for Jewish influences in the +formation of the various Gnostic sects. Kessler[1617] was the first to +demonstrate clearly the dependence of the leading ideas of Gnosticism +upon the Babylonian cosmology and the conceptions developed with +reference to the gods. More recently, Anz[1618] has undertaken a renewed +investigation of the subject, and, approaching the theme from various +points of view, reaches conclusions confirmatory of Kessler's thesis. +All of the Gnostic sects have certain fundamental doctrines in common, +such as the dwelling of God in the abyss,[1619] the migration of the +soul after death through seven zones, the emanation of aeons from a +supreme aeon.[1620] All these doctrines exhibit such close affinities +with Babylonian ideas as to warrant the assertion that the religion of +Babylonia survives in Gnosticism; and since, as we know, Babylonian +culture and customs maintained an undisturbed existence almost to the +threshold of our era, there is no need to go back to the older periods +of the Babylonian religion to find the connecting link, uniting +Gnosticism with the Babylonian religion. The spread and influence of the +Gnostic sects was notoriously wide. It is sufficient to recall the chief +centers of Gnostic schools of thought in Antioch, Edessa, and Alexandria +and the various branches of the powerful sect of the Ophites. The +influence of these schools extended into Greece and Rome. While the +Gnostic sects disappear in the sixth century, the influence of +Gnosticism can be followed down to the twelfth century,--a significant +testimony to the enduring qualities of Babylonian doctrines. + +In the ancient world, prior to the rise of Christianity, Egypt, Persia, +and Greece felt the influence of the Babylonian religion. Budge[1621] is +of the opinion that many of the magic practices carried on in the +Egyptian temples are to be traced back to the incantation rituals +perfected by the Babylonian priests. In view of the early contact +between Egypt and Babylonia, as revealed by the El-Amarna tablets, there +were certainly abundant opportunities for the infusion of Babylonian +views and customs into Egyptian cults. In Persia, the Mithra cult +reveals the unmistakable influence of Babylonian conceptions;[1622] and +if it be recalled what a degree of importance the mysteries connected +with this cult acquired among the Romans, another link will be added +connecting the ramifications of ancient culture with the civilization of +the Euphrates Valley. The strong admixture of Semitic elements both in +early Greek mythology and in Grecian cults is now so generally admitted +by scholars as to require no further comment.[1623] These Semitic +elements are to a large extent more specifically Babylonian. The spread +of the Gilgamesh epic and of the Ishtar cult into Asia Minor and Greece +may be instanced as illustrations of Babylonian influence; and granting +that the Phoenicians acted largely as the mediators in carrying these +ideas to the Greek settlements, still there must have been influences at +work long before this direct contact with Semitic culture that prepared +the way for the ready acceptance which Semitic conceptions and Semitic +practices found. The time has not yet come for pronouncing an opinion as +to the influence exerted by Babylonia upon lands in the distant East. +The theory of DeLacouperie[1624] and Ball, which proposes to trace the +Chinese script to the hieroglyphic system of Babylonia, is still to be +tested. Early commercial contact between the Euphrates Valley and India +is maintained as a probable theory by several scholars,[1625] and the +possibility, therefore, of the spread of the religious ideas of +Babylonia to the distant East is not to be rejected. Patient research +and the additional discoveries (which are constantly being made) will +alone place us in a position some day to give a definite answer to the +question. Whatever that answer may be, the verdict as to the high +quality and profound influence of the religion that arose in the valley +of the Euphrates and that flourished for several millenniums will not be +altered. + +To show the general indebtedness of Grecian, Roman, mediaeval, and even +modern civilization to Babylonian culture lies beyond the range of this +work, but the profound impression made upon the ancient world by the +remarkable manifestations of religious thought in Babylonia and by the +religious activity that prevailed in that region is but an index of the +influence that must have been exerted in other directions by the varied +intellectual activity that converted a district, exposed to the by no +means tender mercies of the elements, into one of the most notable +illustrations of the power and achievements of man. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1594] See above, pp. 183, 266. + +[1595] See pp. 513 _seq._ + +[1596] Babylonian and Assyrian kings alike speak constantly of their +fear of the gods. See the passages in Delitzsch's _Assyrisches +Handwörterbuch_, pp. 526, 527, to which many more could be added. + +[1597] See, _e.g._, Nebuchadnezzar, IR. 53, col. i, l. 31. + +[1598] IVR. 60, B obv. 25. + +[1599] IVR. 60, C obv. 14. + +[1600] So Sargon cylinder, ll. 34-42. + +[1601] IR. 37, col. i. l. 4. + +[1602] See the writer's remarks in _Oriental Studies of the Oriental +Club of Philadelphia_, pp. 119-121. + +[1603] See the so-called family laws (as early as the days of Hammurabi) +in Meissner's _Beiträge zum Altbabylonischen Privatrecht_, p. 15, where +the punishment in the case of the son who casts aside his mother is +specifically referred to. + +[1604] See, _e.g._ p. 291. + +[1605] See the admirable discussions on Babylonian jurisprudence in +Kohler and Pelser's _Aus dem Babylonischen Rechtsleben_ (parts i.-iii., +Leipzig, 1890-97). + +[1606] S. A. Strong in _Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society_, 1891, p. +460. + +[1607] See on this subject Meissner, _De Servitute Babylonico-Assyriaca_ +pp. 3, 4, 40-49. + +[1608] See especially chapters xxi., xxv., and xxvi. + +[1609] See p. 611. + +[1610] See Kohut, _Die Jûdische Angelologie und Dämanologie in ihrer +Abhängigkeit vom Parsismus_ (Leipzig, 1866). + +[1611] Peters' _Nippur_, pp. 182, 395. + +[1612] See, _e.g._, Layard, _Nineveh and Babylon_ (New York edition, +1853), p. 509. + +[1613] On the extent of the settlements of Jews in Nippur, see +Hilprecht, _Cuneiform Texts_, ix. 27, 28. + +[1614] So, _e.g._, on some of the bowls in the University of +Pennsylvania collection, crude pictures of Bel-Marduk and Ishtar are +portrayed. + +[1615] _Schöpfung und Chaos_, pp. 381-397. + +[1616] See pp. 432 _seq._ + +[1617] "Ueber Gnosis und die Altbabylonlsche Religion," _Verhandlungen +des fünften Orientalisten Congress_, 1881, ii. 288-305. + +[1618] _Zur Frage nach dem Ursprung des Gnostizismus_ (Leipzig, 1897). + +[1619] _I.e._, Ea dwelling in the Apsu. See p. 430. + +[1620] Anu, the source of all gods. See p. 417. + +[1621] _The Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great_, pp. xii. _seq_. + +[1622] See Anz, as above, pp. 78-85. + +[1623] R. Brown, _Semitic Influence in Hellenic Mythology_ (London, +1898). + +[1624] _Western Origin of the Early Chinese Civilization_ (London, +1894). + +[1625] A paper on this subject was announced by Jas. Kennedy at the +Eleventh International Congress of Orientalists. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY. + +NOTE. + + +The bibliography is arranged in nine sections, the order adopted +corresponding to the broad subdivisions of the book. The beginning is +therefore made: + +(1) With references to the most important or most useful publications, +dealing with the excavations conducted in Babylonia and Assyria, the +method of decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions, the general +history of Babylonia and Assyria, and the general aspects of the +Babylonian-Assyrian culture. This section corresponds to the first two +chapters of the book. + +(2) The second section is devoted to books, monographs, articles, and +chapters in books, dealing with the general subject of the +Babylonian-Assyrian religion. + +In neither of these two sections have I aimed at being exhaustive, +though the second will be found, I think, to include almost everything +of any value. + +The detailed bibliography begins with the following section. +Corresponding again to the treatment of the subject in the book, I take +up in succession: + +(3) The Pantheon. + +(4) Religious Texts. + +(5) Cosmology. + +(6) Gilgamesh Epic (including the Deluge episode). + +(7) Beliefs and Customs (Views of Life after Death, Funeral Rites, +Legends, Ethics, etc.). + +(8) Temples and Cult. + +(9) Bearings of the Babylonian-Assyrian Religion on the Old Testament, +and General Influence Exerted by the Religion. + +Of these seven sections, all but the last aim at being exhaustive. It +was not always easy to decide into what division a particular reference +belonged, but I have been generally guided by the needs of students for +whom this portion of the bibliography is particularly intended. + +The fifth and sixth sections should be taken together; and similarly the +seventh and eighth, while the fourth section should of course be +consulted in connection with the third, fifth, sixth, seventh, and +eighth. + +Under each section the authors named are arranged in alphabetical order. +Occasionally, I have added some comments to the reference given, as a +guide or a warning to students. In a subject like Assyriology, where new +discoveries are constantly being made and progress in the interpretation +of texts is steadily going on, it is inevitable that views and +translations should be subject to modification--sometimes slight, but +frequently significant. I have endeavored to avoid repetition of +references. In a few cases this was unavoidable. In the second section +portions of books are referred to, which by virtue of their character as +very general works had to be assigned a place also in the first section. +Two or three of the references in the fourth section had to be repeated +elsewhere; and I should also add that there are a few references which I +have been unable to verify. + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY. + + +The following abbreviations are employed: + +AB = Assyriologische Bibliothek, ed. by Friedrich Delitzsch and Paul + Haupt. +AD = Andover Review. +AI = Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres. +AJP = American Journal of Philology. +AJT = American Journal of Theology. +AJSL = American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures. +AL = Delitzsch's Assyrische Lesestücke (3d ed.) +APC = Annales de Philosophie Chrétienne. +BA = Beiträge zur Assyriologie. +BAZ = Beilage zur Allgemeinen Zeitung (Munich). +BOR = Babylonian and Oriental Record. +BW = Biblical World. +CR = Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres. +DR = Deutsche Rundschau. +DRe = Deutsche Revue. +ET = Expository Times. +FLJ = Folk Lore Journal. +H = Hebraica. +IAQR = Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review. +ICO = International Congress of Orientalists. +JA = Journal Asiatique. +JAOS = Journal of the American Oriental Society. +JHUC = Johns Hopkins University Circulars. +JRAS = Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. +JTVI = Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute. +KAA = Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen (Amsterdam). +KAW = Königliche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. +M = Museon. +MVG = Miltheilungen der Vorderasiatischen Gesellschaft. +OTS = Old Testament Student. +PAOS = Proceedings of the American Oriental Society. +PR = Presbyterian Review. +PSBA = Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. +R = Rawlinson's 'Selection from the miscellaneous Inscriptions of + Western Asia.' (London 1861-1891.) 5 vols. +RA = Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Orientale. +RAr = Revue Archéologique. +RB = Revue Biblique. +RC = Revue Critique. +RHR = Revue de l'Histoire des Religions. +RIA = Royal Irish Academy. +RP = Records of the Past. +RR = Revue des Religions. +RS = Revue Semitique. +RT = Recueil de Travaux relatifs à la Philologie et à l'Archéologie + Egyptiennes et Assyriennes. +SST = Sunday School Times. +TSBA = Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. +TZ = Theologische Zeitblätter. +WZKM = Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes. +ZA = Zeitschrift für Assyriologie. +ZATW = Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. +ZDMG = Zeitschrift der Deutsch-Morgenländischen Gesellschaft. +ZK = Zeitschrift für Keilschriftforschung. + +Periodicals, the volumes of which correspond to years, are quoted by the +years; others, by the volumes, or by series, or by series and volumes. + +Roman numerals indicate volumes, except in the case of PAOS, where they +indicate pages; Arabic numerals indicate pages or plates. + + +I. + +Excavations.--Method of Decipherment.--History of Babylonia and +Assyria.--Origin and General Aspects of Babylonian And Assyrian +Culture.--General Bibliography. + + +(_a_) _Excavations and Decipherment._ + +Kaulen, Fr.--Assyrien und Babylonien nach den neuesten Entdeckungen. +(4th ed. Freiburg 1891.) + + [Popular account of excavations, method of decipherment, + Babylonian literature and architecture. A work in English of + this character is much to be desired. See also Hommel, + F.--Geschichte Babyloniens und Assyriens. Berlin 1885. pp. + 30-134; Evetts, B. A.--New Light on the Holy Land. London 1891. + pp. 79-129.] + + +(_b_) _History._ + +Duncker, Max.--Geschichte des Alterthums. Vols. I. and II, (5th ed. +Berlin 1878.) + + [Also English translation of earlier edition.] + +Hommel, F.--Geschichte Babyloniens und Assyriens. (Berlin 1885.) + +---- Geschichte des alten Morgenlandes. (Stuttgart 1895.) + + [Chapters I., IV.-VIII.] + +Lenormant, François [and Ernest Babelon].--Histoire ancienne de +l'Orient. Vol. IV. (9th ed. Paris 1885.) + +Maspero, G.--The Dawn of Civilization: Egypt and Chaldaea. (London +1894.) + +---- The Struggle of the Nations: Egypt, Syria, and Assyria. (London +1896.) + + [Replacing earlier historical works of this author.] + +Meyer, Ed.--Geschichte des Alterthums. Vol. 1. (Stuttgart 1884.) + +Muerdter und Delitzsch.--Kurzgefasste Geschichte Babyloniens und +Assyriens. (2d ed. Stuttgart 1891.) + +Ragozin, Z.--(1) The Story of Chaldea. (2) The Story of Assyria. (New +York 1886-1887.) + +Rawlinson, George.--The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern +World. Vols. I.-III. (4th ed. London 1879.) + + [Antiquated, but still of some use.] + +Rogers, R. W.--Outlines of the History of Early Babylonia. (Leipzig +1895.) + +Schmidt, Valdemar.--Assyriens og Aegyptens gamle Historie. (Copenhagen +1872-1877.) + + [pp. 347-461] + +Tiele, C. P.--Babylonisch-Assyrische Geschichte. (Gotha 1886.) + + [The best history that has as yet been published.] + +Wachsmuth, Curt.--Einleitung in das Studium der alten Geschichte. +(Leipzig 1895.) + + [pp. 365-403 "Babylonier und Assyrier,"--indication of ancient + and modern sources for the study.] + +Winckler, Hugo.--Geschichte Babyloniens und Assyriens. (Leipzig 1892.) + + +(_c_) _Origin and General Aspects of Babylonian-Assyrian Culture._ + +Baumstark, A.--Babylon and Babylonia. + + [In Pauly-Wissowa's Real Encyclopaedie, II. cols. 2667-2718.] + +Bezold, C.--Assyria. + + [_Ib._ II. cols. 1751-1771.] + +Hommel, F.--Der Babylonische Ursprung der Aegyptischen Kultur. (Munich +1892.) + +Ihering, Rudolph Von.--Vorgeschichte der Indo-Europäer. (Leipzig 1894.) +2tes Buch, 'Arier und Semiten,' pp. 93-305. + + [A most suggestive sketch of the development and influence of + Babylonian culture; also in English translation, 'The Evolution + of the Aryan.' New York 1897.] + +Nikel, Johannes.--Herodot und die Keilschriftforschung. (Paderborn +1896.) + +Peiser, F. E.--Skizze der Babylonischen Gesellschaft. (Berlin 1896.) + + [Brief but capital sketch of Babylonian culture and social + life.] + + +(_d_) _Bibliography._ + +Bezold, C.--Kurzgefasster Ueberblick über die Babylonisch-Assyrische +Literatur. (Leipzig 1886.) + + [A new edition is needed of this most valuable work.] + +Delitzsch, Friedrich.--'Litteratura' in the appendix to his 'Assyrian +Grammar.' (London 1889.) pp. 55-78. + +Kaulen, Fr.--Assyrien und Babylonien (as above), pp. 248-266. + +Lincke, A.--Bericht über die Fortschritte der Assyriologie in den Jahren +1886-1893. (Leipzig 1894.) + +Full bibliographical reports are given in: + +(1) The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures +(University of Chicago; quarterly). + +(2) Jahrbücher für Geschichte, ed. by I. Jastrow and E. Berner (Berlin; +annual). + +(3) Orientalische Bibliographie, ed. by Lucian Scherman (Berlin; +semi-annual). + +(4) Zeitschrift für Assyriologie, ed. by C. Bezold (Munich; quarterly). + +(5) Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Orientale, ed. by J. Oppert +and E. Ledrain (Paris; published at irregular intervals). + + +II. + +General Works and Articles on the Religion of Babylonia and Assyria. + + +Berger, P.--'Assyrie' in Lichtenberger's 'Encyclopédie des Sciences +Religieuses.' + +Boscawen, W. St. Chad.--Lectures on the Religion of Babylonia [abstract] +BOR III. 118-120, 150-163. + +---- The Religion of Babylonia in 'Religious Systems of the World.' +(Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 1896. pp. 15-25.) + +Delitzsch, Friedrich.--The Religion of the Kassites. H 1885. 189-191. + + [From Delitzsch's 'Sprache der Kossaer.' Leipzig 1884. pp. + 51-54.] + +Eerdmans, B. D.--Babylonian-Assyrian Religion. + + [In 'Progress,' a publication issued by the University + Association, Chicago, Ill. 3d series, No. 6 (1897), pp. + 403-415.] + +Finzi, Felice.--Ricerche per lo Studio dell' Antichita Assira. (Rome +1872.) Libro Secondo. Mitologia, pp. 433-554. + + [General sketch of the religion, more particularly of the + pantheon and legends of Babylonia and Assyria.] + +Guyard, S.--Bulletin de la Religion Assyro-Babylonienne. RHR I. 327-345; +V. 253-278. + +Halévy, Joseph.--La Religion des Anciens Babyloniens et son plus recent +historien M. Sayce. RHR XVII. 169-218. + + [Elaborate review of Sayce's work on the 'Religion of the + Babylonians,' with summary of Halévy's own views.] + +Heuzey, Leon.--Description of Monuments in De Sarzec's 'Découvertes en +Chaldée.' (Paris 1889-1891.) pp. 77-240. + + [Contains much valuable information on religious art, votive + objects, representations of religious ceremonies. The + publication is not yet complete.] + +Hewitt, J. F.--Early History of Northern India, Part III. JRAS, 1889, +527-583. + + [An attempt to trace the origin of Indian civilization to + emigrants from southern Babylonia. The investigation has little + value.] + +Hincks, Edward.--On the Assyrian Mythology. RIA Transactions XXII. +Polite Literature, 1854, 405-422. + +Hommel, F.--Die Semitischen Völker und Sprachen. (Leipzig 1883.) pp. +356-396. Die Religion der alten Babylonier, pp. 266-356. Sprache und +Literatur der Sumero-Akkadier. + + [Specimens of hymns and incantations.] + +Jeremias, Friedrich.--'Die Babylonier und Assyrier' in Chantepie de la +Saussaye's 'Lehrbuch der Religionsgeschichte.' (2d ed. Freiburg 1897.) +I. 163-221. + + [An excellent sketch of the Babylonian-Assyrian religion.] + +Lenormant, François.--Les Sciences Occultes en Asie. I. La Magie chez +les Chaldéens et les Origines Accadiennes. II. La Divination et la +Science des Présages chez les Chaldéens. (Paris 1874-1875.) + + [Also in English translation (in part) under the title + 'Chaldaean Magic.' London 1877.] + +Loisy, A.--Études sur la Religion Chaldéo-Assyrienne. (RR, 1890-1892.) + + [Seven articles.] + +Meyer, Ed.--Geschichte des Alterthums. I. 174-183. (Stuttgart 1884.) + +Mürdter und Delitzsch.--Kurzgefasste Geschichte Babyloniens und +Assyriens. (2d ed. Stuttgart 1891.) pp. 23-53. + +Oppert, J.--'Babylone et Chaldée' in Lichtenberger's 'Encyclopedie des +Sciences Religieuses.' + +Pinches, T. G.--The Religious Ideas of the Babylonians. JTVI XXVIII. +1-22. + +Pressensè, E. de.--La Religion Chaldéo-Assyrienne. RHR XIV. 73-94. + +Rawlinson, George.--The Religions of the Ancient World. (New York 1883.) + + [Chapter II.--The Religion of the Assyrians and Babylonians.] + +---- The Religion of Assyria in 'Religious Systems of the World.' (Swan +Sonnenschein & Co. London 1896.) pp. 26-41. + +Rawlinson, H. C.--The Religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians. + + [In George Rawlinson's 'The History of Herodotus.' London 1859. + Vol. I. Essay X.] + +Sayce, A. H.--The Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by the +Religion of the Ancient Babylonians. (London 1887.) + + [Brilliant and suggestive, but unreliable in details. The + translations attached to the volume are to be accepted with + caution. See Halévy's elaborate review, RHR XVII. 169-218.] + +Strong, S. A.--Die Religion der Babylonier. + + [Announced to appear.] + +Schwally, F.--'Die Religion der Babylonier und Assyrier,' in Friedrich +von Hellwald's 'Kulturgeschichte in ihrer natürlichen Entwicklung bis +zur Gegenwart.' (4th ed. Leipzig 1896.) I. 423-433. + +Tiele, C. P.--Babylonisch-Assyrische Geschichte. (1886.) pp. 515-557. +Religion: Die Mythologie und Glaubenslehre. + +---- Vergelijkende Geschiedenis der Aegyptische en Mesopotamische +Godsdiensten. (Amsterdam 1869.) pp. 282-413. De Godsdienst van Babel en +Assur. + + [French translation (abridged) by G. Collins, 'Histoire Comparée + des Anciennes Religions de l'Egypte et des Peuples Semitiques.' + Paris 1882, pp. 145-255. La Religion de Babylonie et de + l'Assyrie. Also English translation by J. Ballingue. 1882.] + +---- Geschichte der Religion im Alterthum bis auf Alexander den Grossen. +(Gotha 1895.) I. 127-216. Die Religion in Babylonien und Assyrien. + + [Also in Dutch. Amsterdam 1893.] + + +III. + +Pantheon, Gods, Spirits, Heroes. + + +Ball, C. J.--Tammuz, the Swine-god. PSBA XVI. 195-200. + +Barton, G. A.--The Semitic Ishtar Cult. H IX. 131-165; X. 1-73. + +---- Was Ilu Ever a Distinct Deity in Babylonia? H X. 206, 207. + +Bezold, C.--A Cuneiform List of Gods. PSBA XI. 173, 174; see also IX. +377. + +---- Note on the god Addu or Daddu. _Ib._ p. 377. + +---- Ueber Keilinschriftliche Babylonisch-Assyrische Göttertypen. ZA IX. +114-125, 405-409. + +Chwolson, D. A.--Ueber Tammûz und die Menschenverehrung bei den alten +Babyloniern. (St. Petersburg 1860.) + +De Cara, Caesare.--Identificazione d'Iside e d'Osiride con Ishtar ed +Ashur. 8th ICO, Section Semitique 2^me Fasc, 275-278. + +Delitzche, Friedrich.--Article on 'Thammuz' in 'Calwer, Bibellexikon.' +(Calw und Stuttgart 1885.) + +---- Articles on Dagon, Merodach, Nebo, Nergal, Nisroch, Rimmon. _Ib._ + +Eerdmans, B.--Goddess  (or Malkatu) in 'Melekdienst en Vereering von +Hemellichamen in Israel's Assyrische Periode.' (Leiden 1891.) pp. 73-82. + +Guyard, S.--Le Dieu Assyrien Ninib. RC, 1879, 1^er Mars. + +Hoffmann, G.--Neue und Alte Götter (Nin-gal, Nusku, Ea, Nabu, Gibil, +Ninib, Nergal, Sin). ZA XI. 258-292. + + [Chiefly discussions of symbols of these deities found upon seal + cylinders.] + +Hommell, Fritz.--Die Identität der ältesten Babylonischen und +Aegyptischen Göttergenealogie und der Babylonische Ursprung der +Aegyptischen Kultur. 9th ICO II. 218-244. + +---- Note on Ninib. PSBA XIX. 312-314. + +Jastrow, Morris, Jr.--On the Assyrian Kuduru and the Ring of the Sun-god +in the Abu-Habba Tablet. PAOS, Oct. 1888. XCV.-XCVIII. + +Jensen, P.--Ueber einige Sumero-Akkadische und Babylonisch-Assyrische +Götternamen. ZA, 1886. I. 1-24. + + [Anshar, Ashur, Igigi, Dûzu, or Tammuz. _Cf._ Schrader's + remarks, _ib._ pp. 209-217.] + +---- Die Götter Amurru und Ashratu. ZA XI. 302-305. + +---- Nik(k)al-Sharratu; Sharratu in Harran. ZA XI. 293-301. + +Jeremias, A.--Articles on Ashur, Marduk, Nebo, Nergal, Shamash, Sin, +Tammuz in Roscher's 'Ausführliches Lexikon der Griechischen und +Römischen Mythologie.' + + [Articles on Adar, Anu, Anunnaki, Ea, Etana announced to appear + in the supplement to Roscher's 'Ausführliches Lexikon,' etc.] + +Lenormant, François.--Il mito di Adone-Tammuz nei documenti cuneiformi. +4th ICO, 1878. I. 143-173. + +---- Sur le nom de Tammuz. 1st ICO II. 149-165. + +---- Les Dieux de Babylone et de l'Assyrie. (Paris 1877.) + +Luzzato, P.--L'Existence d'un Dieu Assyrien nommé Semiramis. JA, 4th +Series, XVII. 465-480. + +Lyon, D. G.--Was there at the Head of the Babylonian Pantheon a Deity +bearing the Name El? PAOS, May 1883, clxiv.-clxviii. + +---- The Pantheon of Assurbanipal. PAOS, Oct. 1888, xciv., xcv. + +Menant, J.--Le Mythe de Dagon. RHR XI. 295-301. + + [Also in 'Les Pierres Gravées de la Haute Asie. Recherches de la + Glyptique Orientale.' Paris 1883.] + +---- Le Panthéon Assyro-Chaldéen. Les Beltis. RHR VIII. 489-519. + + [The representation of goddesses engraved on seal cylinders. See + also 'Les Pierres Gravées de la Haute Asie,' etc., as above.] + +Meyer, Eduard.--Articles Baal and Astarte (with references to Bel and +Ishtar) in Roscher's 'Ausführliches Lexikon der Griechischen und +Römischen Mythologie.' + +Nicolsky, M. V.--La Déesse des Cylindres et des Statuettes +Babyloniennes. RAr, 3^me série, XX. 36-43. + +Offord, J.--The Nude Goddess in Assyro-Babylonian Art. PSPA XVIII. 156, +157. + +Oppert, Jules.--La Vraie Assimilation de la Divinité de Tello. CR, 1884, +231-233. + +---- Le Dieu de Sirtella [_i.e._, Lagash]. ZK II. 261, 262. + + [M. Oppert accepts the reading Nin-girsu first proposed by + Arthur Amlaud. Ib. pp. 151, 152.] + +---- Adad. ZA IX. 310-314. + + [Discussion of pronunciation. See also Hilprecht, 'Assyriaca,' + pp. 76-78, and Jastrow, AJSL XII. 143.] + +Pinches, Theo. G.--Note upon the divine name Â. PSBA XIII. 25-27, 42-56. + +---- Was Ninib the Most High God of Salem? Ib. XVI. 225-229. + +---- The Pronunciation of the Name of the Plague-god, Urra not Dibbarra. +BOR I. 207, 208. + + [See Scheil, RT. XX. 57.] + +---- A Bilingual List of Assyrian Gods. Academy, 1887, No. 816. + + [See Evetts, _ib._ No. 819.] + +Rawlinson, H. C.--Notes on Captain Durand's Report upon the Islands of +Bahrein. JRAS, 1880, 201-227. + + [Contains important remarks on the origin of Ea worship at the + Persian Gulf, pp. 202-208.] + +Reisner, George.--The Different Classes of Babylonian Spirits. PAOS, +April 1892, cxcv., cxcvi. + +Revillout, E. and V.--Istar Taribi. BOR II. 57-59. + +Robiou, F. A.--A Study on Egyptian and Babylonian Triads. IAQR, 1894. + +Sayce, A. H.--Who was Dagon? SST, 1893, No. 21. + +---- The God Ramman. ZA II. 331, 332. + +Scheil, Fr. V.--Le Dieu-roi Bur-Sin Planète. ZA XII. 265, 266. + +---- Ishtar sous la symbole de la vache. RT XX. 62. + +---- Le Culte de Gudea. RT XVIII. 64-74. + +Schrader, E.--Die Göttin Ishtar als Malkatu und Sharratu. ZA III. +353-364; IV. 74, 75 + +---- Die Malkat hash-Shamayim und ihr Aramäisch-Assyrisches Aequivalent. +KAW Sitzungsberichte, 1886, 477-491. + + [See also Stade in ZATW VI. 123-132; 289-339; and Kuenen KAA + Afdeeling 'Letterkunde,' 1888, 157-189.] + +Talbot, H. Fox.--The Legend of Ishtar Descending to Hades. TSBA II. +179-212. See also RPI, 141-149. + +Thureau-Daugin, Fr.--La Lecture de l'Idéogramme AN-IM (Ramman). JA, 9th +Series, II. 385-393. + + [See also Oppert, _ib._ pp. 393-396.] + +Tiele, C. P.--- La Déesse Ishtar surtout dans le mythe Babylonien. 6th +ICO, Part II. Section I. 493-506. + + [See also discussion in the Comptes Rendus of the Congress, pp. + 87-91.] + +---- Die Beteekenis van Ea en zijn verkoudung tot Marduk en Nabû. KAA +Verslagen en Mededeelingen 'Letterkunde,' 1887, 67-81. + +Ward, W. H.--The Babylonian Gods in Babylonian Art. PAOS, May 1890, +xv.-xviii. + +---- Was there a Babylonian Gate-god? Academy, 1888, No. 847. + +Winckler, H.--Die Istar von Nineve in Egypten. MVG I. 286-289. + +Witte, J. de.--Sur le nom de Thamouz attribué à Adonis. M, 1887, 81 +_seq._ + +Zehnpfund, R.--Altbabylonische Götter und Heldensagen. BAZ, 1891, Nos. +39, 40, 52, 56, 63. + + +IV. + +Religious Texts. + +_Hymns, Incantations, Omens, Oracles, Prayers, Legends, Myths, Votive +Texts._ + +Ball, C. J.--A Bilingual Hymn (IVR 46, 5-19) PSBA XV. 51-54. + +---- A Babylonian Ritual Text. JRAS, 1892, 841-853. + +Banks, E. J.--Sumerisch-Babylonische Hymnen der von George Reisner +herausgegebenen Sammlung, umschrieben, übersetzt und erklärt. (Breslau +1897.) + +Barton, G. A.--Esarhaddon's Account of the Restoration of Ishtar's +Temple at Erech. PAOS, May 1891, cxxx.-cxxxii. + +Bertin, G.--Akkadian Hymn to the Setting Sun. RP, new series, II. +190-193. + +Bezold, C.--Remarks on Some Unpublished Cuneiform Syllabaries with +Respect to Prayers and Incantations written in Interlinear Form. PSBA X. +418-423. + +---- Translation and Analysis of a Hymn to the Sun-god (Sp III.). RA I. +157-161. + +Boissier, Alfred.--Deux Documents Assyriens relatifs aux Présages. RS I. +63-70, 168-172. + +---- Documents Assyriens relatifs aux Présages. + + [Vols. I. and II., Paris 1894-1897. Vol. III. announced.] + +---- Notes d'Assyriologie. RS VI. 143-151. + + [Two texts--a Prayer and an Incantation.] + +Boscawen, W. St. Chad.--The Babylonian Legend of the Serpent Tempter. +BOR IV. 251-255. + +---- Babylonian Teraphim. BOR I. 39, 40. + +---- The Legend of the Tower of Babel. RP III. 129-132; also in the TSBA +V. 303-312. + + [The interpretation is erroneous.] + +Brünnow, R.--Assyrian Hymns. ZA IV. 1-40, 225-258; V. 55-80. + + [Hymns to Shamash, Marduk, and Ishtar.] + +Budge, Ernest A.--Assyrian Incantations to Fire and Water. RP XI. +133-138; also in TSBA VI. 420-435. + +Craig, Jas. A.--Prayer of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal. H X. 75-87. + +---- Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts, Vols. I. and II. (Leipzig +1895-1897.) AB XIII. + + [Announces also volumes of texts (1) Prayers to Shamash and + Ramman, and (2) Series 'Illumination of Bel.'] + +---- K 69 (a hymn). ZA XI. 276. + +---- An Assyrian Incantation to the God Sin, cir. 650 B.C. H XI. +101-109. + +Delattre, A. J.--The Oracles Given in Favor of Esarhaddon. RP, new +series, III. 25-31; see also BOR III. 25-31. + +Delitzsch, Friedrich.--Babylonisch-Assyrisches Psalmbuch. + + [Announced to appear in the 'Abhandlungen der königlichen + Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig.'] + +---- Assyrische Lesestücke. (Leipzig 1885. 3d ed.) + + [Contains a selection of religious texts as follows: pp. 93-99, + Creation tablets; 99-104, Deluge episode; 117, 118, Oracle to + Esarhaddon; 130-132, Incantations; 134-136, Hymn to Ishtar.] + +Evetts, B. T. A.--An Assyrian Religious Text. PSBA X. 478, 479 and two +plates. + + [Apparently a royal prayer.] + +Halévy, J.--Assyrian Fragments. RP XI. 157-162. + + [Part of a hymn, of a penitential psalm, etc.] + +---- Documents religieux de l'Assyrie et de la Babylonie. (Paris 1882.) + +---- Textes religieux Babyloniens en double Redaction. RS IV. 150-160, +245-251, 344-348. + +---- 'Les Inscriptions peints de Citium' in 'Mélanges de Critique et +d'Histoire,' pp. 165-196. + + [Translation in large part and discussion of Ishtar's descent + into the nether world.] + +Harper, Edward T.--Die Babylonischen Legenden von Etana, Zu, Adapa und +Dibbarra. BA II. 390-521. + + [See also Academy 1891, No. 976.] + +Haupt, Paul.--Akkadische und Sumerische Keilschrifttexte. (Leipzig +1881-1882.) + + [Contains pp. 75-79, 82-106 Incantations; 79, 115-131 Hymns and + Psalms.] + +Jastrow, Morris, Jr.--A fragment of the Babylonian "Dibbarra" Epic. +Publications of the University of Pennsylvania. Series in Philology, +Literature, and Archaeology, Vol. 1., No. 2. (Boston 1891.) + +---- A new Fragment of the Babylonian Etana Legend. BA III. 363-384. + +Jensen, P.--De Incantamentorum Sumerico-Assyrorum seriei quae dicitur +"surbu" Tabula VI. ZK I. 279-322; II. 15-61; also 306-311, 416-425. + + [Appeared as a revised and separate publication under same title + with the addition of the words "commentatio Philologica." + Munich, Straub, 1885.] + +---- Hymnen auf das Wiedererscheinen der drei grossen Lichtgötter. ZA +II. 76-94, 191-204. + + [Hymns to Sin, Shamash, and Ishtar. A volume by Jensen, + embodying translation of religious texts is in course of + preparation for Schrader's 'Keitschriftliche Bibliothek.'] + +Jeremias, A.--Die Höllenfahrt der Ishtar. Eine altbabylonische +Beschwörungslegende. (Munich 1886.) + +King, L. W.--Babylonian Magic and Sorcery, being 'the Prayers of the +Lifting of the Hand.' (London 1896.) + +---- New Fragments of the Dibbarra Legend. ZA XI. 50-62. + +Knudtzon, J. A.--Assyrische Gebete an den Sonnengott für Staat und +königliches Haus aus der Zeit Asarhaddons und Assurbanipals. Band I. +Autographierte Texte; Band II. Einleitung, Umschrift und Erklärung +Verzeichnisse. (Leipzig 1893.) + +Lenormant, François.--Chaldaean Hymns to the Sun. RP X. 119-128. + +---- Hymne au Soleil. Texte primitif Accadien. JA, 7^th Series, XII. +378; XIII. 1-98; postscriptum _ib_. XIV. 264, 265. + +---- Une Incantation Magique Chaldéenne. RAr, 2^d Series, XXXIV. +254-262. + +---- Lettres Assyriologiques. 2^me Série Études Accadiennes, Vols. II. +and III. (Paris 1874-1879.) + + [Contains numerous hymns and incantations accompanied by a + French translation.] + +---- Translations of religious texts in 'Les Origines de l'Histoire +d'après la Bible et les Traditions des Peuples orientaux.' (Paris +1880-1882.) 2 vols. + +Lyon, D. G.--Assyrian and Babylonian Royal Prayers. PAOS, October 1888. +XCIII., XCIV. + +---- On a Sacrificial Tablet from Sippar. PAOS, May 1886, xxx. + +Messerschmidt, L.--Tabula VA. Th. 246, Babylonica Museï Berolinensis +primum editur commentarioque instruitur. (Kirchhain 1896.) + + [A hymn.] + +Oppert, J.--'Chants et Invocations' in Eichoff and David 'Chef +d'[oe]uvres litteraires de l'Inde, de la Perse, de l'Egypte et de la +Chine.' (Paris.) II. 211-219. + + [Translations of selected prayers, hymns, and incantations.] + +---- Fragments Mythologiques. (Paris 1882.) + + [Reprints of several articles.] + +---- Translation of III. Rawlinson, pl. 65, in JA, 6^th Series, XVIII. +449-453. + +---- Hymnes en Sumerien et en Accadien ou Assyrien, 1st ICO. II. +217-224. + + [A hymn to Ishtar in dialogue form.] + +---- Le Champ Sacré de la Déesse Ninâ. CR, 1893, 326-344. See also ZA +VII. 360-374. + + [Contains important remarks about the goddess Ninâ, in + connection with the text published by Hilprecht, 'Old Babylonian + Inscriptions', I. 1, pls. 30, 31.] + +---- Traduction de Quelques Textes Assyriens.... Louange du Dieu Nibir +et de ses sept Attributions. 4th ICO I. 233-235. + +---- L'Immortalité de l'âme chez les Chaldéens. (Paris 1875.) + + [Legend of Ishtar's descent to the lower world.] + +---- Chant en Sumerien et en Assyrien sur une épidémie. JA, 7^th Series, +I. 289-293. + + [Translation of tablet K 1284 (incantation against Namtar) and + of IIR 19.] + +---- Notice sur d'anciennes formules d'Incantation et autres dans une +langue antérieure au Babylonien. JA, 7^th Series, I. 113-122. + + [Translation of II Rawl. 17, 18.] + +---- Babylonian legends found at Khorsabad. RP XI. 41-44. + + [See also translations of various religious texts in 'Expedition + Scientifique en Mesopotamie,' pp. 328-350.] + +Peiser, F. E.--Ein Satz in den Beschwörungsformeln. ZA II. 102, 103. + +Pinches, T. G.--An Erechite's Lament. RP, new series, I. 84, 85. + + [A penitential psalm with historical references; see also BOR I, + 21-23.] + +---- The Oracle of Ishtar of Arbela. RP XI. 59-72; also RP, new series, +V. 129-140. + +---- Sin-Gashid's Gift to the Temple Ê-Ana. BOR I. 8-11. See also RP, +new series, I. 78-83. + +---- and E. A. W. Budge.--Some New Texts in the Babylonian Character, +relating Principally to the Restoration of Temples. PSBA, 1884. pp. +179-182. + +Rawlinson, H. C.--A Selection from the Miscellaneous Inscriptions of +Western Asia. Vol. IV. 2d ed. revised (and with additions) by T. G. +Pinches. (London 1891.) + + [This fourth volume of the publications of tablets in the + British Museum is almost exclusively devoted to religious texts. + In the other volumes some texts of this character will be found + as follows: Vol. II. pls. 17-19, incantations; 51-61, names and + titles of gods and temples; miscellaneous. Vol. III. pls. 61-65, + astronomical and astrological reports, omen tablets and + portents; 66-69, lists and titles of gods and temples; + miscellaneous. Vol. V. pl. 31, omen tablets (with explanations); + 43, titles of Nebo, etc.; 46, No. 2, lists of gods and their + epithets; 47, prayer (with commentary); 48, 49, religious + calendar; 50, 51, hymn to Shamash. Note also that many of the + historical tests in Vols. I.-V. contain invocations to gods.] + +Reisner, George.--Sumerisch-Babylonische Hymnen nach Thontafeln +Griechischer Zeit. (Berlin 1896.) Königliche Museen zu Berlin. +Mittheilungen aus den Orientalischen Sammlungen No. X. + +Sayce, A. H.--Accadian Hymn to Istar. RP I. 155-160. + +---- Accadian Poem on the Seven Evil Spirits. _Ib._ IX. 144-148. + +---- An Accadian Liturgy. _Ib._ III. 125-130. + +---- An Accadian Penitential Hymn. _Ib._ VII. 151-156. + +---- Ancient Babylonian Charms. _Ib._ III. 145-154. + + [Shurpu Series, 6th Tablet.] + +---- An Assyrian Talismanic Tablet. BOR III. 17, 18. + +---- Babylonian Augury by means of Geometrical Figures. TSBA IV. +302-314. + +---- Fragment of an Assyrian Prayer after a Bad Dream. RP IX. 149-152. + +Sayce, A. H.--Babylonian Exorcisms. _Ib._ I. 131-135. + +---- Tables of Omens Furnished by Dogs and Births. _Ib._ V. 167-176. + +---- The Dedication of three Babylonians to the service of the Sun-god +at Sippara. RP, new series, IV. 109-113. + + [Interpretation false.] + +---- The Overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (Accadian Account). RP XI. +115-118. + + [Title, translation, and Interpretation alike fanciful.] + +---- Two Accadian Hymns. _Ib._ XI. 129-132. + +---- Two Hymns to the Sun-god [in preface, pp. ix.-x., to RP, new +series, IV., 1890]. + + [Copious translations of magical texts, hymns, legends, etc., by + Sayce in Hibbert Lectures on 'The Religion of the Ancient + Babylonians.' London 1887. See especially pp. 441-540.] + +Scheil, F. V.--Psaume de Pénitence Chaldéen inedit, RB, 1896, 75-78. + +---- Legende Chaldéenne trouvée à El-Amarna [Adapa]. RR Mars-Avril 1891. + +---- Choix des Textes Religieux Assyriens. RHR XXXVI. 197-207. + +---- Fragments de Poésie lyrique Babylonienne. RB VI. 28-30. + +---- Fragment mythologique avec mention de Uddushu-namir patesi. RT XX. +62, 63. + +---- Hymne Babylonien avec metre appartent. ZA XI. 291-298. + +Schrader, E.--Die Höllenfahrt der Ishtar. Ein Altbabylonisches Epos. +(Giessen 1874.) + +Smith, S. A.--Miscellaneous Texts. (Leipzig 1887.) pp. 1-5, 8-10. + + [Portions of the Creation Series.] + +Strong, S. Arthur.--A Prayer of Assurbanipal. RP, new series, VI. +102-106; also 9th ICO II. 199-208. + +---- Note on a Fragment of the Adapa Legend. PSBA XX. 274-279. + +---- On Some Oracles to Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal. BA II. 627-645. + +---- Votive Inscriptions. RP, new series, IV. 90-95. + +---- A Hymn to Nebuchadnezzar. PSBA XX. 154-162. + +Talbot, H. Fox.--A Prayer and a Vision. TSBA I. 346-348 and RP VII. +65-68. + + [Ashurbanabal's prayer to Ishtar and dream sent by the goddess.] + +---- Assyrian Sacred Poetry. RP III. 131-138. + + [Prayers and incantations.] + +---- Assyrian Talismans and Exorcisms. _Ib._ III. 139-144. + +---- War of the Seven Evil Spirits Against Heaven. _Ib._ V. 161-166. + + [Incantation text] + +Tallquist, K. L.--Die Assyrische Beschwörungsserie Maqlû. (Leipzig +1894.) + +Weissbach, F. H.--Ueber die ersten Tafeln im IV. Bande Rawlinsons. + + [Announced.] + +---- Eine Sumerisch-Assyrische Beschwörungsformel IV. Rawl. 16, No. 1 in +'Melanges Charles de Harlez.' (Leiden 1896.) pp. 360-371. + +Winckler, H. and Abel Ludwig.--Thontafelfund von El-Amarna. (Berlin +1891.) + + [Vol III. pp. 166, _a_ and _b_. Legend of Adapa; see Erman In + KAW Sitzungsberichte XXIII. 585; Lehmann, ZA III. 380; other + mythological fragments, pp. 164-165.] + +Zimmern, Heinrich.--Babylonische Busspsalmen, umschrieben, übersetzt und +erklärt. (Leipzig 1885.) BA VI. + + [Also published in part as a thesis.] + +---- Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Babylonischen Religion. Erste Lieferung. +Die Beschwörungslafeln Shurpu. (Leipzig 1896.) AB XII. + +---- Zusatzbemerkungen zur Legende von Adapa. BA II. 437, 438. + +---- Hexenbeschwörungen bei den Babyloniern. BAZ, 1891, No. 337. + +---- An Old Babylonian Legend from Egypt [Adapa]. SST, 1892, No. 25. + + +V. + +Cosmology. + + +Barton, G. A.--Tiâmat. JAOS XV. 1-28; also PAOS, May 1890, xiii.-xv. + +Brunengo, Giuseppe.--L'Impero di Babilonia e di Ninive. (2 vols. Prato +1885.) Capo I. La Cosmogonia de Caldei comparata alla Mosaica, pp. +67-85. Capo II. La Ribellione degli Angeli e la Caduta del Uomo, +(_i.e._, Marduk and Tiâmat story), pp. 86-108. Capo IV. La Storia del +Diluvio, pp. 124-140. + +Budge, E. A. W.--The Fourth Tablet of the Creation Series, relating to +the fight between Marduk and Tiâmat. PSBA VI. 5-11. + +---- Fourth Tablet of the Creation Series. PSBA X. 86 and six pls. + +Delitzsch, Friedrich.--Texte zur Weltschöpfung und zur Auflehnung und +Bekämpfung der Schlange Tiâmat. AL, 3d ed., 1885. pp. 93-99. + +---- Das Babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos. (Leipzig 1896.) + +Engel, Moritz.--Die Lösung der Paradiesfrage. (Leipzig 1885.) + +Halévy, J.--La Cosmologie Babylonienne d'après M. Jensen. RHR XXII. +180-208. + + [Summary and critique of Jensen's 'Kosmologie der Babylonier.'] + +---- Recherches Bibliques--L'Histoire des Origines d'après la Genèse. +Texte, Traduction et Commentaire. Tome I. Genèse I.-XXV. (Paris 1895.) + + [Contains translations of the Babylonian Cosmological Texts, and + discusses their bearings on the O. T. narrative. A most + suggestive work.] + +---- Recherches Bibliques--Chapter 28, La Création et les Vicissitudes +du Premier Homme. RS I. 101-117, 193-202. + + [Transliteration, translation, and discussion of the Babylonian + Creation Tablets.] + +Hommel, F.--Eine Neugefundene Weltschöpfungslegende. DR, 1892, 105-114; +see also Neue Kirchliche Zeitung, I. 393 _seq._, II. 89 _seq._ + +---- The Oldest Cosmogony. SST, 1891, No. 7. + +Jensen, P.--Die Kosmologie der Babylonier. Studien und Materialien. +(Strassburg 1890.) + +Jensen, P.--Ursprung und Geschichte des Tierkreises. DR, 1890, 112-116. + +Lajard, F.--Fragments d'un Mémoire sur le Système théogonique et +cosmogonique des Assyriens ou des Chaldéens d'Assyrie. JA, 2^d Series, +XIV. 114-143. + +Laurie, Thomas.--Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Deluge. Bibliotheca +Sacra, XLII. 165-168. + +Lenormant, F.--Essai de Commentaire sur les Fragments cosmogoniques de +Berose. (Paris 1871.) + + [An elaborate treatise on the traditions of Berosus in + connection with the cuneiform account of creation.] + +Loisy, A.--Les Mythes Chaldéens de la Création et du Déluge. (Amiens +1892.) RR, 1896. + + [From RR, 1890-1891. See §I.] + +Lukas, FR.--Die Grundbegriffe in den Kosmogonieen der Alten Völker. +1893. pp. 1-46. + + [Translations by Jensen, pp. 1-14. Die Kosmogonie der Babylonler + und der Genesis.] + +Müller, D. H.--Die Propheten in ihrer Ursprünglichen Form. (Wien 1895.) +pp. 6-13. + + [Translation of considerable portions of the Babylonian creation + narratives. Follows Zimmern.] + +Muss-Arnolt, W.--The Cuneiform Account of the Creation. Revised +translation. BW III. 17-27. + +---- A Comparative Study of the Translations of the Babylonian Creation +Tablets, with special reference to Jensen's 'Kosmologie' and Barton's +'Tiâmat.' H IX. 6-23. + +Oppert, J.--Fragments Cosmogoniques in Ledrain's 'Histoire d'Israel.' +(Paris 1882.) pp. 411-422. + + [Translation of Creation Series of tablets of deluge.] + +---- Le Poème Chaldéen du Déluge. (Paris 1885.) + +---- Die Fragmente der Epopöen welche die Schöpfung und Sintfluth nach +babylonischer Auffassung betreffen. Verhandlungen Deutscher Philologen +und Schulmänner, XXXIV. 128, 129. + +---- Traductions de quelques textes Assyriens.--Fragments des Récits de +la Création.--Guerre de Merodach et Tiâmat. 4th ICO, 229-238. + +Pinches, T. G.--A Babylonian Duplicate of Tablets I. and II. of the +Creation Series. BOR IV. 25-33. + +---- The New Version of the Creation Story. 9th ICO, 1892. II. 190-198; +also JRAS, 1891, 393-408; and Academy, 1890, Nos. 968, 974, and the +Times, 1889, Dec. 16. + +---- The Non-Semitic Version of the Creation Story. RP, new series, VI. +107-114. + +Sayce, H.--The Assyrian Story of the Creation. RP, new series, I. +122-146. + +---- Babylonian Legend of the Creation RP XI. 109-114. + +---- The Babylonian Story of the Creation according to the Tradition of +Cutha. RP, new series, I. 147-153. + +Schrader, E.--Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament. (London +1885.) I. 1-22. + + [Translation of portions of the Creation Series with comments; + third German edition announced.] + +Smith, George.--The Chaldaean Account of Genesis. (2d ed. London 1881.) +German trans, ed. by Friedrich Delitzsch (Leipzig 1876), under the title +'Chaldaeische Genesis.' + +---- On Some Fragments of the Chaldaean Account of the Creation. TSBA +IV. 363, 364. + +Stucken, Ed.--Astralmythen der Hebraer, Babylonier und Aegypter. I. und +II. Theil. (Leipzig 1896-1897.) + + [Rather fanciful.] + +Talbot, H. Fox.--The Fight between Bel and the Dragon. RP IX. 135-140. + + [Portion of the Creation Series.] + +---- The Fight between Bel and the Dragon and the Flaming Sword which +turned every way. TSBA V. 1-21. + +---- The Chaldaean Account of the Creation. RP IX. 115-118; also TSBA V. +426-440. + +---- The Revolt in Heaven, from a Chaldaean Tablet. TSBA IV. 349-362. + + [Portions of the Creation Series.] + +Warren, W. F.--Paradise Found. 10 ed. (Boston 1893.) Part IV. chapter 6. +The Cradle of the Race in Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian Thought. + + [Discussion in connection with a general theory of the site of + paradise.] + +Ward, W. Hayes.--Contest between Bel-Merodach and the Dragon. PAOS, May +1879. X. + +---- Dragon and Serpent in Chaldaean Mythology. PAOS, Oct. 1879, xvii. + +---- Bel and the Dragon. AJSL XIV. 94-105. + +---- The Dragon Tiâmat in Babylonian and Assyrian Art. PAOS, Oct. 1889, +clxviii-clxix. + +Zimmern, H.--Translations of the Babylonian Creation and Deluge Stories +in Gunkel's 'Schöpfung und Chaos,' pp. 401-428. + +---- 'König Tukulli bëi nisi und die Kuthaische Schöpfungslegende.' ZA +XII. 317-330. + + [Translation of the Cuthaean Version of the Creation Story.] + + +VI. + +The Gilgamesh Epic + +(_including the Deluge Story._) + + +Adler, C.--The Legends of Semiramis and the Nimrod Epic. JHUC, No. 55. + +Boscawen, W. St. Chad.--Hymn to Gilgames. BOR VII. 121-125. + +---- The Twelfth Izdubar Legend. RP IX. 131-134. + +Casanowicz, I. M.--Professor Haupt's Nimrod Epic. JHUC, No. 98. + +Cheyne, T. K.--Nimrod, a Kassite King. Academy, 1895, No. 47. + +De Lacouperie, Terrien.--The Deluge Tradition and its Remains in Ancient +Chaldaea. BOR pp. 15-24, 49-55, 79-88, 102-111. + +Delitzsch, Friedrich.--Article 'Nimrod' in 'Calwer Bibellexikon.' + +---- Die Sintflutherzählung oder die elfte Tafel des Nimrod Epos. AL. +(3d ed. Leipzig 1885.) 99-109. + +Dryoff, K.--Wer ist Chadir? ZA XII. 319-327. + +Grivel, Josef.--Nimrod et les Ecritures Cunéiformes. TSBA III, 136-144. + + [Proposed identification of Nimrod and Marduk. See also Sayce, + below.] + +Hamilton, L. le Cenci.--Ishtar and Izdubar, the Epic of Babylon. +Restored in modern verse. Vol. I. Illustrated. (London 1884.) + +Harper, E. T.--The Legend of Etana, Gilgamos and his Kindred in +Folklore. Academy, 1891, No. 995; see also Nos. 985, 987, 988. + +Haupt, Paul.--The Cuneiform Account of the Deluge. OTS, 1883, 77-85. + +---- Das babylonische Nimrodepos. Keilschrifttext der sogenannten +Izdubarlegenden mit dem Keilinschriftlichen Sintfluthberichte, nach den +Originalen im Britischen Museum copiert und herausgegeben. (Leipzig +1884-1891.) 2 vols. AB III. + +---- Die zwölfte Tafel des Babylonischen Nimrodepos. BA I. 48-79. + +---- On Two Passages in the Chaldaean Flood Tablet. PAOS, March 1894, +CV.-CXI. + +---- On Some Passages in the Cuneiform Account of the Deluge, with +special reference to the first column of the tablet. JHUC, No. 69. + +---- Ergebnisse einer neuen Collation der Izubar Legenden. BA I. 94-152. +See Halévy ZA IV. 61. + +---- On the Dimensions of the Babylonian Ark. PAOS, Oct. 1888, +lxxxix.-xc.; see also AJP IX. 419-424. + +---- Der Keilinschriftliche Sintfluthbericht. Eine Episode des +babylonischen Nimrodepos. (Leipzig 1881.) + +---- Der Keilinschriftliche Sintfluthbericht. Umschrift, Uebersetzung, +und Erläuterungen in Schrader's 'Die Keilinschriften und das Alte +Testament,' 3d ed., 1898. + + [Latest and most satisfactory translation.] + +Hoffmann, G.--Die Dubar-Sage und der Keilinschriftliche +Sintfluthbericht. Die Grenzboten, Jahrgang 47. + +Hommel, F.--Gis-dubarra, Gibilgamish, Nimrod. PSBA XV. 291-300; XVI. +13-15. + +Heuzey, L.--La Lance Colossale d'Izbubar et les Nouvelles Formeles de M. +de Sarzec. AI. Bulletin 1893, 305. + +Jastrow, Morris, Jr.--The New Version of the Babylonian Account of the +Deluge. The Independent, Feb. 10, 17, 1898. + +Jensen, P.--Gishgimash (=Gilgamish) ein Kossaer? ZA VI. 340-342. + +Jeremias, A.--Article 'Izdubar' in Roscher's 'Ausführliches Lexikon der +Griechischen und Römischen Mythologie.' Vol. II. cols. 773-823. + +---- Izdubar-Nimrod. Eine Altbabylonische Heldensage nach den +Keilschriftfragmenten dargestellt. (Leipzig 1891.) See also article by +Quentin in RHR XXXI. 162-177. + +Lenormant, F.--Le Déluge et l'Épopée Babylonienne. (Paris 1873.) + +Lidzbarski.--Zu den Arabischen Alexandergeschichten. ZA VIII. 263-312. +See also _ib_., 317-319. + +---- Wer ist Chadhir? ZA VII. 104-116. + +Meissner, Bruno.--Alexander und Gilgamos. (Leipzig 1894.) + +---- Einige Bemerkungen zur Erklärung des Sintfluthberichtes. ZA III. +417-421. + +Menant, J.--Le Déluge. Noé dans l'arche. (Paris 1880.) + +Moor, Fl.--De la Geste de Gilgames confrontée avec la Bible et avec les +Documents Historiques indigènes. M, June 1897. + +Muss-Arnolt, W.--The Chaldaean Account of the Deluge. A revised +translation. BW III. 109-118. + +---- Remarks Introductory to a Comparative Study on the Translations of +the Deluge Tablets. PAOS, April 1892, cxc.-cxcv.; also JHUC, No. 98. + +Offord, J.--A New Fragment of the Babylonian Deluge Story. PSBA XX. 53, +54. + + [Scheil's tablet from Sippara.] + +Oppert, J.--The Chaldaean Perseus. BOR V. 1, 2; also CR, 1890, 464, 465. + + [Identification of Izdubar-Gilgamesh with Gilgamos in Aelian's + zoölogical work 'De Natura Animalium,' XII. 21. See also Sayce + in the Academy, 1890, No. 966; Ward, _ib_., No. 971; and Kohler, + _ib_., 1891, No. 985.] + +---- Nimrod. Bulletin de l'Athenée Orientale, 1873, Jan.-Feb. + +Oppert, J.--Le Poème Chaldéen du Déluge. Traduit de l'Assyrien. (Paris +1885.) + +Pinches, T. G.--Exit Gishtubar. BOR IV, 264. + + [Proposal to read the name of the Babylonian hero Gilgamesh. + _Cf._ Sayce in Academy, 1890, No. 966, and Ward, _ib._, No. + 971.] + +Rawlinson, H. C.--The Izdubar Legends. Athenaeum, 1872, No. 2354. + +Rochette, Raoul.--Mémoire sur l'Hercule Assyrien et Phenicien. AI +Mémoires, 2^me Partie, XVII. 9-374. + +Sauveplane, F.--Une Épopée Babylonienne. Ishtubar-Gilgames. (Paris +1894.) + +Sayce, A. H.--On Nimrod and the Assyrian Inscription. TSBA II. 248, 249; +see also Academy, 1893, No. 1054. + + [Proposed identification of Nimrod with Amar-ud = Marduk, the + head of the Babylonian Pantheon.] + +---- The Higher Criticism and the Verdict of the Monuments. (London +1894.) pp. 97-119. + +Scheil, F. V.--Notes d'Epigraphie et d'Archéologie Assyrienne. XXX. Un +Fragment d'un Nouveau Récit du Déluge de l'Époque du Roi Ammizaduga. RT +XX. 55-59; see also RB, 1898, 5-9. + +---- The New Babylonian Account of the Deluge. The Independent, Jan. 20, +1898. + +Smith, George.--The Chaldaean Account of the Deluge. TSBA II. 203-234. + +---- The Eleventh Tablet of the Izdubar Legends. The Chaldaean Account +of the Deluge. TSBA III. 530-596; also RP VII. 133. + +Suess, Ed.--Die Sintfluth in 'Das Antlitz der Erde.' (Leipzig 1883.) pp. +25-98. + + [Discussion of the Babylonian tale with notes by Prof. Paul + Haupt.] + +Talbot, H. Fox.--Ishtar and Izdubar, being the 6th Tablet of the Izdubar +Series. Translated from the Cuneiform. TSBA V. 97-121; also RP IX. +119-128. + +---- Commentary on the Deluge Tablet. TSBA IV. 49-83. + +---- Tablet in the British Museum Relating Apparently to the Deluge. +TSBA IV. 129-131. + + [Talbot's supposition is erroneous.] + + +VII. + +Beliefs, Legends, Ethics, and Special Phrases of the Religion. + + +Ader, Cyrus.--The Views of the Babylonians Concerning Life after Death. +AR, 1888, 92-101; see also PAOS, Oct. 1887, ccxxxviii.-ccxliii. + +Ball, C. J.--Glimpses of Babylonian Religion. I. Human Sacrifices. II. +The Gods and Their Images. PSBA XIV. 149-162. + +Bonavia, E.--The Sacred Trees of the Assyrian Monuments. BOR III. 7-12, +35-40, 56-61; see also IV. 95, 96. + +---- The Sacred Trees of Assyria. 9th ICO, pp. 245-257. + + [Arguments not conclusive.] + +Boscawen, W. St. Chad.--Notes on the Religion and Mythology of the +Assyrians. TSBA IV. 267-301. + +---- Texts Bearing on the Belief in Immortality. (1) 12^th Izdubar +Tablet. (2) Descent of Ishtar. (3) 7^th Izdubar Tablet. (4) Hymn to +Marduk. BOR IV. 251-254. + +---- Babylonian Witchcraft. ET, 1898, 228-230. + +---- Notes on Assyrian Religion and Mythology. TSBA VI. 535-542. + + [Translations of some religious texts. General remarks.] + +---- Babylonian Teraphim. BOR I. 39, 40. + +---- The Babylonian Legend of the Serpent Tempter. BOR IV. 251-255. + +---- Oriental Eschatology (Egypt and Chaldaea). BOR VI. 38-42. + +---- The Plague Legends of Chaldaea. BOR I. 11-14. + +Clermont-Ganneau.--L'Enfer Assyrien. RAr, 2d Series, XXXVIII. 337-349. + +Craig, James A.--The Babylonian Ishtar Epic. OTS VIII. 249-256. + +Goessling, E.--Die Hölle nach Babylonisch-Assyrischer Anschauung. TZ, +1895, No. 3. + +Halévy, J.--L'Immortalité de l'Âme chez les Peuples Semitiques. RAr, 2d +Series, XLIV. 44-53. + + [Translation and discussion of Ishtar's descent into the nether + world.] + +Halévy, J.--Le Rapt de Perséphoné ou Proserpine par Pluton chez les +Babyloniens. RS I. 372-376. + +Haug, M.--Die Unsterblichkeit der Seele bei den Chaldäern. BAZ, 1875, +Nos. 70, 71. + +Heuzey, L.--Mythes Chaldéens. RA, 3d Series, XXVI. 295-308. + +Hilprecht, H. V.--Serpent and Tree in Babylonian Records. SST, 1893, No. +52. + +Hincks, Edward.--On the Assyrian Mythology. RIA Memoirs, 1854, 405-422. + +Hommel, F.--Hexenverbrennungen im alten Babylonien. Münchener Neueste +Nachrichten, 1896, No. 415. + +Jastrow, Morris, Jr.--The Ethics of the Babylonians and Assyrians. ER. +III. 65-77. + +---- The Babylonian Term Shu'âlu. AJSL XIV. 165-170. + +Jensen, Peter.--The Queen in the Babylonian Hades and Her Consort. SST, +1897, Nos. 11, 12. + +---- The Supposed Babylonian Origin of the Week and the Sabbath. SST, +1892, No. 3. + +Jeremias, A.--Die Babylonisch-Assyrischen Vorstellungen vom Leben nach +dem Tode. (Leipzig 1897.) + +---- Articles 'Arallu' and 'Etana.' + + [Announced to appear in the supplement to Roscher's + 'Ausführliches Lexikon der Griechischen und Römischen + Mythologie.'] + +Kiesewetter, Carl.--Der Occultismus des Alterthums. (Leipzig 1896.) Book +I. 364 _seq._, 'Der Occultismus bei den Akkadern, Babyloniern, Chaldäern +und Assyriern.' + + [Based largely upon Lenormant's 'Chaldaean Magic.'] + +Laurent, A.--La Magie et la Divination chez les Chaldéo-Assyriens. +(Paris 1894.) + +Lenormant, F.--La Legende de Semiramis. (Paris 1872.) + + [A transformed Ishtar legend.] + +Oppert, J.--L'Immortalité de l'Âme chez les Chaldéens. (Paris 1875.) + + [Translation of Ishtar's descent into the nether world.] + +Pinches, T. G.--The Messianic Idea among the Early Babylonians and +Assyrians. Academy, 1887, Nos. 816, 818, 820. + +Ravenshaw, E. C.--On the Winged Bulls, Lions, and Other Symbolical +Figures from Nineveh. JRAS, 1854, 93-117. + + [Contains some interesting suggestions on Babylonian mythology, + but the paper as a whole is antiquated.] + +Sayce, A. H.--Ancient Babylonian Moral and Political Precepts. RP VII. +119-122. + +---- The Babylonian Legend of the Creation of Man. Academy, 1893, No. +1055. + +---- Babylonian Folk-Lore. FLJ I. 16-22. + +Scheil, Fr. V.--Relief Ciselé représentant une Scène Funéraire +Babylonienne. RT XX. 59-62. + +---- Le Culte de Gudéa. RT XVIII. 64-74. + +Talbot, H. Fox.--On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians. Nos. I., II., +III., IV. TSBA I. 106-115; II. 29-79, 346-352. + + [No. I. contains text and translation of two prayers; Nos. II + and III., Incantation Texts; No. IV., Future Punishment of the + Wicked.] + +---- Legend of the Descent of Ishtar. RP I. 141-149. + +---- Revised Translation of the Descent of Ishtar with a Further +Commentary. TSBA III. 118-135. Addenda pp. 357-360. + +Thureau-Daugin, F.--Le Culte des Rois dans la Période Prébabylonienne. +RT XIX. 185-187. + +Tiele, C. P.--Cyrus de Groote en de Godsdienst van Babel in 'Melanges, +Charles de Harlez' (Leiden 1896), 307-312. + +Tyler, Thomas.--The Babylonian Idea of a Disembodied Soul. BOR I. 55-57. + +Tylor, Edward B.--The Winged Figures of the Assyrians and Other Ancient +Monuments. PSBA XII. 383-393; see also RHR XXII. 209-220. + + [Explanation of the symbols on Assyrian sculptures.] + +Ward, W. H.--On the Representation of the Solar Disk. AJT II. 115-118. + +Warren, W. F.--Gates of Sunrise in Ancient Babylonian Art. BOR III. +241-244. + +Zimmern, H.--Vater, Sohn und Fürsprecher in der Babylonischen +Gottesvorstellung. (Leipzig 1896.) + + [See review by Jastrow, AJT I. 468-474.] + + +VIII. + +Temples and Cult. + + +Ball, C. J.--Glimpses of Babylonian Religion. I. Human Sacrifices. II. +The Gods and Their Images. PSBA XIV. 149-162. + +Boscawen, W. St. Chad.--The Babylonian and Jewish Festivals. BOR IV. +34-38. + +D'Alviella, Goblet.--Des Symboles qui ont influencé la Représentation +figurée des Pierres Comiques chez les Semites. RHR XX. 135-150. + +Jeremias, Johann.--Die Cultustafel von Sippar. BA I. 267-92. + + [An important archive of the Sharmash temple at Sippar, + illustrative of the cult.] + +Karppe, S.--Mélanges de Critique Biblique et d'Assyriologie. RS II. +146-151. + + [The Babylonian festival Zagmuk und the Biblical New Year.] + +Koldewey, Robert.--Die altbabylonischen Gräber in Surghul und El Hibba. +ZA II. 403-430. + + [Funeral customs.] + +Kohut, A.--The Talmudic Records of the Persian and Babylonian Festivals +critically illustrated. AJSL XIV. 182-194. See also REJ XXIV. 256-271. + + [Insufficient discussion.] + +Menant.--Les Sacrifices sur les Cylindres Chaldéens. Gazette +Archeologique, 1883, Nos. 7-9. + +Perrot & Chiplez.--A History of Art in Chaldaea and Assyria. (London +1884.) Eng. trans. Vol. I. chapters III., IV. + + [Temples and Tombs.] + +Peters, J. P.--Nippur. Explorations and Adventures on the Euphrates. +Vol. II. chapter V., The Oldest Temple in the World. Chapter VIII., +Coffins and Burial Customs. + +Pinches, T. G.--Sin-Gashid's Endowment of the Temple Ê-ana. RP, new +series, I. 78-83. See also BOR I. 8-11. + +---- A Fragment of a Babylonian Tithe List. _Ib._ I. 76-78. + +---- Gifts to a Babylonian Bitili or Bethel. _Ib._ II. 142-145. + +Rawlinson, H. C.--On the Birs Nimrud, or the Great Temple of Borsippa. +JRAS, 1861, 1-24. + +Reber, F.--Ueber altchaldäische Kunst ... Der Tempelbau. ZA I. 149-164. + +Sayce, A. H.--A Babylonian Saint's Cylinder. RP VII. 157-170. + + [Days sacred, and otherwise, of the month of Elul, with + directions for religious ceremonies to be observed.] + +---- On Human Sacrifice among the Babylonians. TSBA IV. 25-31. + +Tiele, C. P.--De Hoofdtempel van Babel en die van Borsippa. KAW +Afdeeling 'Letterkunde' (1886) 3^de Reeks Deel III; also in German ZA +II. 179-190. + +Tristram, H. B.--Sacrifices in Babylonia and Phoenicia. SST, 1894, No. +1. + +Ward, W. H.--On Some Babylonian Cylinders, supposed to Represent Human +Sacrifices. PAOS, May 1888, xxviii.-xxx. + + +IX. + +Bearings on the Old Testament; General Influence. + + +Anz, Wilhelm.--Zur Frage nach dem Ursprung des Gnostizismus. (Leipzig +1897.) pp. 58-112, Die Herkunft ... aus Babylonien. + +Ball, C. J.--The First Chapter of Genesis and the Babylonian +Cosmogonies. PSBA XVIII. + +Bonnett, E.--Les Découvertes Assyriennes et le Livre de la Genèse. +(Paris 1884.) + +Boscawen, W. St. Chad.--The Bible and the Monuments. (London 1895.) + +Brandt, W.--Die Assyrisch-Babylonische Keilschriftliteratur und das Alte +Testament. Deutsch-evang. Blätter, 1884. Heft 3. pp. 164-187. + +Brown, Francis.--Critical review with valuable comments of E. Schrader's +'Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament.' AJP IV. 338-343. + +---- The Sabbath in the Cuneiform Records. PR, 1882, 688-700. + +---- Assyriology: Its Use and Abuse in Old Testament Study. (New York +1885.) + +Brown, Robert, Jr.--Semitic Influence in Hellenic Mythology. (London +1898.) + + [Part III. discusses Babylonian Influence.] + +Buddensieg, R.--Die Assyrischen Ausgrabungen und das Alte Testament. +(Heilbronn 1880.) + +Delitzsch, Friedrich.--Wo Lag das Paradies? Eine +Biblisch-Assyriologische Studie. (Leipzig 1881.) + + [See Francis Brown. OTS IV. 1-12.] + +Evetts, B. A.--New Light on the Bible and the Holy Land. (London 1892.) + +Gruppe, O.--Die Griechischen Kulte und Mythen in ihren Beziehungen zu +den Orientalischen Religionen. (Leipzig 1887.) + +Gunkel, H.--Schöpfung und Chaos in Urzeit und Endzeit. (Göttingen 1895.) + + [A most important discussion of the relationship of the Biblical + creation narratives to the Babylonian cosmology.] + +Halévy, J.--Recherches Bibliques. (Paris 1896.) + +Haupt, Paul.--Wo Lag das Paradies? Ueber Land und Meer, 1894-1895, No. +15. + + [Also syllabus of lectures before the Gratz College of + Philadelphia, Dec 10, 1895, on 'The Site of Paradise and the + Nimrod Epic.'] + +Jastrow, Morris, Jr.--The Bible and the Assyrian Monuments. The Century +Magazine, XLVII. 395-411. + + [Translated into French by E. Lacordaire in Revue des Revues, + 1894 227-235.] + +---- The Original Character of the Hebrew Sabbath. AJT II. 312-352. + + [Relationship between Hebrew and Babylonian Sabbath.] + +---- Adam and Eve in Babylonian Literature. + + [Announced.] + +Jensen, P.--The Cult of Ashera and the Cult of Mary. + + [Announced to appear in the Sunday School Times, 1898.] + +Kessler, K.--Ueber Gnosis und Altbabylonische Religion. 5^th ICO, II. +Part I. 288-305. + +Kellner, M. L.--The Deluge in the Izdubar Epic and the Old Testament. + + [Reprinted from the Church Review, November, 1888.] + +Lacouperie, T. de.--Origin from Babylonia and Elam of the Early Chinese +Civilization. Series of articles in the BOR III-VIII. + + [Also in book form under the title, 'Origin of Early Chinese + Civilization and its Western Sources.' (London 1894.) + Lacouperie's method is unsatisfactory. The theory, however, + merits farther investigation.] + +Lotz, W.--Quaestiones de Historia Sabbati. (Leipzig 1883.) + +Lyon, D. G.--Assyrian Study: Its Bearing on the Old Testament. The +Christian Register, 1885, Nos. 15, 16. + +Menant, J.--Remarques sur un Cylindre du Musée Britannique. La Bible et +les Cylindres Chaldéens. CR, 1879, 270-286. + + [Discussion of a scene on a cylinder supposed to represent the + first human pair and the serpent.] + +Meyer, Ed.--Der Babylonische Einfluss auf Judenthum und Christenthum. +BAZ, 1894, No. 344. + +Oppert, J.--Origines Communes de la Chronologie Cosmogonique des +Chaldéens el des Dates de la Genèse. APC, 6th series, XIII. 237-240. + +Palmer, A. S.--Babylonian Influence on the Bible and Popular Beliefs. +Têhôm and Tiâmat, Hades and Satan: a Comparative Study of Genesis, i., +ii. (London 1897.) + +Robiou, F.--L'État Religieux de la Grèce et de l'Orient au Siècle +d'Alexandre ... II. Les Regions Syro-Babyloniens et l'Eran. (Paris +1896.) + + [Unsatisfactory, and not based on independent researches.] + +Sayce, A. H.--The Higher Criticism and the Verdict of the Monuments. +(London 1894.) + + [Suggestive, but unreliable. Full of inaccuracies.] + +---- Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments. (2d ed. London 1886.) + +Schleussner.--Die Bedeutung der Ausgrabungen in dem Euphrat und +Tigris-Gebiet für das Alte Testament. (Wittenberg 1892.) + +Schrader, E.--Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament. 3d ed. +(Announced for 1898.) + + [English translation of the 2d German ed., 'The Cuneiform + Inscriptions and the Old Testament.' London 1885-1889.] + +Sillem, C. H. W.--Das Alte Testament im Lichte der Assyrischen +Forschungen und ihrer Ergebnisse. (Hamburg 1877.) + +Simpson, William.--The Tower of Babel and the Birs Nimroud. TSBA IX. +307-332. + +Stucken, Edward.--Astralmythen der Hebraer, Babylonier und Aegypter. +Religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen, Parts I., II. (Leipzig +1896-1897.) + + [Rather fanciful.] + +Tallquist, K. L.--Altbabylonischer Aberglauben in den Abendländern. [In +Norwegian]; Valvoja, Helsingfors, 1896, 498-520. + +---- Fornbabyloniska och hebräiska psalmer. Finisk Tidskrift, Mars 1892. + +Tiele, C. P..--Die Assyriologie und ihre Ergebnisse für die +Religionsgeschichte. + + [German translation by Friederick. Leipzig 1878.] + +Toy, C. H.--Esther as a Babylonian Goddess. The New World, VI. 130-145. + +Vigouroux, F.--Le Bible et les Découvertes Modernes en Palestine, en +Egypte et en Assyrie. 4 vols. (Paris 1884-1885.) + + [Written from a Catholic standpoint, but comprehensive and + accurate.] + +Wahrmund.--Babylonierthum, Judenthum und Christentum. (Leipzig 1882.) + +Ward, W. H.--Light on Scriptural Texts from Recent Discoveries, Hebrew +and Babylonian Poetry. The Homiletic Review, 1895, 408. + +Zehnpfund, R.--Einige zeitgemässe Bemerkungen über den Wert der +Assyriologie für die alttestamentliche Litteraturkritik. (Ernste +Allotria. Dessau 1896.) + +Zimmern, H.--Die Assyriologie als Hülfswissenschaft für das Studium des +Alten Testaments und des Klassischen Alterthums. (Königsberg 1889.) + +---- Zur Frage nach dem Ursprung des Purimfestes. (Zeits. f. alttest. +Wiss., XI. 157-169.) + +Zschokke, Hermann.--Ueber die Wichtigkeit der Assyriologischen +Forschungen, insbesondere für das Alttestamentliche Bibelstudium. +(Vienna 1884.) + + + + +INDEX. + + +_Â_, or _Malkatu_, + her names and their explanation, 74; + position and relationship to Shamash, 74-5, 176, 685; + temples of  and Shamash in Larsa and Borsippa, 70, 241; + temple E-edinna in Sippar, 640. + +_Ab_, 5th month, sacred to Nin-gish-zida, 462, 547; + "the mission of Ishtar," 564; + festival of Ishtar, 685. + +_Abram_ and _Abraham_, followers of, + in fight with Babylon, 2; + cult of Father Abraham, 562. + +_Abu-Habba_, excavations, 10; + see also _Sippar_; + temple records and legal documents, 165. + +_Abu-Shahrein_=Eridu. + +_Abydenus_, source for B. A. religion, 1, 5. + +_Achaemenian inscriptions_, 16. + +_Ad_, Arabic tribe, 496. + +_Adad_=Ramman, 157; + solar deity of Syria, 156. + +_Adam_, parallelism betw. A. and Eabani, 511; + parallelism betw. A. and Adapa, 552. + +_Adapa Legend_, a nature myth, 548, 644 ff.; + found on El-Amarna tablets, 544; + Adapa, son of Ea, 545; + A. fighting the south wind, 545 ff.; + seconded by Tammuz and Gish-zida, 548-9; + identified with Marduk, 548; + Adapa myth compared with 3d chapter of Genesis, 551. + +_Adar_, 12th month, sacred to the Seven Evil Spirits, 463; + 15th day, sacred to Shamash, Malkatu, and Bunene, 685; + compared with Purim, 636. + +_Adar, 2d_ (intercalated), sacred to Ashur, 463. + +_Addu_, equivalent of Ramman, 156. + +_Adón_, Phoenician equivalent for Tammuz; + see _Tammuz_. + +_Adra-Khasis_, epithet of Parnapishtim, 505. + +_Aelian_, historian, mentions Gilgamesh, 469, 524. + +_Agade_, ancient center, 35, 245; + rulers, 36; + temple E-ul-mash of Nanâ, 82; + temple of Anunit-Ishtar, 117, 242; + zikkurat E-an-dadia, 639. + +_Agriculture_, A. and calendar, 462. + +_Agum_, see _Agumkakrimi_. + +_Agumkakrimi_, king of Babylon, recovers the statues of Marduk and + Sarpanitum, 122, 152, 670, 687; + cult of Shamash, 144; + cult of Shukamuna, 162; + institutes special festival for Marduk and Sarpanitum, 687. + +_Ahasverus_, the wandering Jew, =Parnapishtim, 515. + +_Ai-ibur-shabû_, name of street in Babylon, 679. + +_Airu_, 2d month, sacred to Ea, 462, 677; + 12th day of A., sacred to Gula, 683; + installation of king Ashurbanabal, 684; + sacred in Assyria, 684; + 10th day of A., sacred to Shamash, Malkatu, and Bunene, 685. + +_A-ishtu_, a foreign god, 644. + +_Akitu_, see _Zag-muk_; festival, 679. + +_Akkad_, see also _Sumer_ and _Akkad_; + =Babylonia, 176, 532. + +_Akkadian_=Sumerian. + +_Alala_, + deity, 417; + in incantations, 417; + in Allatu's court, 593; + consort of Belili, 589; + connection with Alallu, 589. + +_Alallu_, a bird; + relations to Ishtar, 482, 589; + connection with deity Alala, 589. + +_Alamu_, phase of Nergal, 280. + +_Alexander Polyhistor_, source for B.-A. religion, 1, 5, 413. + +_Alexander the Great_, probably contemporary of Berosus, 1; + A. and Gilgamos, 469, 516. + +_Alexandria_, gnostic center, 699. + +_Allatu_, goddess, 1st Bab. period, originally associated with Bel, 104; + associated with Nin-azu, 586, 590; + associated with Nergal, 104, 183, 565, 580, 583, 593; + goddess of subterranean cave, 104, 282, 511, 565, 580; + in incantations, 282; + =Nin-ki-gal, 282, cf. 584; + Namtar, her messenger, 570, 580, 587, 592; + Bêlit-seri, her scribe, 587; + pictured as a lion, 580; + Allatu's court, 587, 592; + authoress of evil and disease, 593; + called Eresh-kigal, 584 (_cf._ 282); + vanquished by Nergal, 584-5; + imitation of Tiâmat-Marduk episode, 585; + correlated to Ishtar, goddess of fertility, 587; + explanation of name, 587. + +_All-Souls' Day_, see under _Tammuz_ and _Dead_, 599, 605, 682. + +_Altar_, description of, 651; + the "horns" of the altar compared with those of Hebrew and Phoenician + altars, 652. + +_Alu-usharshid_, king of Kish, 54. + +_Amalgamation of divinities_, cause, features, and results, 74-5, 94-5. + +_Amanus_, district famous for its wood, 627. + +_Amiand_, his attempt at a genealogical arrangement of Old Bab. + pantheon, 108. + +_Am-na-na_, in proper names of the 2d Bab. period, 169. + +_Amraphel_=Hammurabi, 534. + +_Amulets_, see _Talisman_, _Teraphim_, 672, 674. + +_Anatum_, goddess, consort of Anu, 153. + +_Animism_, starting-point of religious belief, 48; + survivals of, 180 ff., 457; + popular rather than theological, 187. + +_Anshar_, god, in the cosmology, 197, 410, 417; + =Ashur, 197, 414-5; + A. and Kishar created, 197, 410; + builds Esharra, 198; + A. and Kishar intermediate betw. the monsters and the gods in + cosmology, 414, 416; + Anshar and Kishar in the creation epic and their meaning, 418; + conquers Tiâmat (one version), 422. + +_Anshar-gal_, cosmological deity, 417. + +_Antar_, Arabian romance of A., 494. + +_Antares_, observations of, 372. + +_Antioch_, gnostic center, 699. + +_Antiochus Soter_, cult of Marduk and Nabu, 650. + +_Anu_, god, 51; + relationship to Ishtar, 84-5; + Dêr, city of Anu, 88, 155, 162; + god of heavenly expanse, 89, 147, 207, 432; + abstract conception, 89; + priest of Anu, 90; + Anu as term for 'lofty,' 90; + member of the great triad, 107, 152, 155, 207, 677; + in Lugalraggisi's pantheon, 110; + artificial character in Hammurabi's pantheon, 152; + position in Agum's pantheon, 152; + dwells in Uruk, 153; + Anatum, his consort, 153; + in Ass. pantheon, 153-5, 201, 207; + associated with Ramman, 154, 207, 212; + associated with Dagan, 154, 209; + disappears after Sargon, 155; + in religious texts, 156; + in Nebuchadnezzar's I. pantheon, 162; + father of Anunnaki and Igigi, 186, 207, 593; + fighting Tiâmat, 197; + temple in Lagash, 53, 640; + temple at Ashur, 207; + succeeded by Ashur, 207; + associated with Ishtar, 207; + blesses handiwork, 208, 237; + associated with Bel and Belit, 226-7; + Anu and Ishtar, names of the west gates of Sargon's II. palace, 237; + associated with Nusku, 277, 286; + made god of heavenly expanse, 432; + "Way of Anu"=ecliptic of sun, 457; + pole star of the ecliptic, 460; + Nisan, sacred to A. and Bel, 462, 677; + Tebet, sacred to A., Papsukal, and Ishtar, 463; + 2d Ululu, sacred to Anu and Bel, 463; + in the Adapa myth, 546 ff. + +_Anunit_, goddess, 51; + a variant of Ishtar, 82, 85, 242; + in proper names of 2d Bab. period, 169; + worshipped at Agade, 117, 242; + shrine in E-babbara at Sippar, 646. + +_Anunnaki_, explanation of name, 184; + number of, and its explanation, 185; + spirits of earth, 185, 593; + gods in whose service the A. are, 186; + their character, 186; + associated with Igigi, 186, 593; + altar of A. and Igigi, 186; + shining chiefs of Eridu, 186; + ruled by Ishtar, 204 (_cf._ 502); + Anu, their chief, 186, 207, 593; + Bel, king of all the A., 222; + associated with the great triad, 236; + created by Marduk, 447; + offspring of Anu, 593; + A. and Mammitum determine death and life, 493; + in the deluge story, 500, 502 (_cf._ 204); + in Allatu's court, 593. + +_Apollodorus_, source for B.-A. religion, 1, 5. + +_Apotheosis_, see _Deification_. + +_Apsu_, the deep, personified ocean, 411, 443, 489, 580; + synonymous with Tiâmat, 411; + male principle, 411; + dominion of A. and Tiâmat precedes that of the gods, 412; + gods, product of the union of A. and Tiâmat, 413; + mythical monsters, product of the union of A. and Tiâmat, 414; + basin, a sacred object and symbol, 653; comparison with the "sea" in + Solomon's temple, 653. + +_Arabia_, metals and stone exported, 627. + +_Arabians_ invade Mesopotamia, 34, 39. + +_Arakh-shamnu_, 8th month, sacred to Marduk, 463, 678, 686; + 15^th day, sacred to Shamash, Malkatu, and Bunene, 685. + +_Aralû_, the nether-world, 489, 557; + called E-kur or mountain house, 558; + distinction betw. Aralû, the mountain (= earth), and Aralû, the + district of the dead proper, 558; + names and epithets of A., 563, 592; + pictorial representation of, 579 ff.; + pantheon of, 582 ff. + +_Arbela_, temple of Ishtar, 202-3, 205, 651; + meaning of name, 203; + theological center, 342, 651. + +_Archaeological religious monuments_, 14. + +_Architecture_, reed and clay materials for building, 495-6; + see _Temple_. + +_Ardi-Ea_, ferryman of Parnapishtim, 491; + takes Gilgamesh to the fountain of life, 509. + +_Ark_, see _Ship_. + +_Ark of the covenant_ compared with the Babylonian ship for the gods, + 655. + +_Armenia_, legend of Rustem parallel to Etana legend, 520 ff.; + exports precious stones, 627. + +_Arts_, patron gods, 177-8. + +_Aruru_, goddess, creates mankind, together with Marduk, 448, 474; + creates Eabani, 448, 474; + = Ishtar, 448-9; + creates Gilgamesh, 473-4. + +_Ashera_ compared with tree worship in Babylonia, 689. + +_Ashur_, capital of Assyria, 42, 193, 651; + modern name Kalah-Shergat, 198; + temple to Ashur, 198, 651; + temple to Ishtar, 205; + temple to Anu, 207; + temple to Shamash, 209; + temple to Bel, 225; + temple to Ea, 230; + intellectual center, 651. + +_Ashur_, god, consort of Belit, 150, 226, 668; + rivaled by Ramman, 161; + in Ass. pantheon, 189; + head of Ass. pantheon, 191, 200; + his unique position, 191-2, 215; + local deity, 193; + symbol, 194, 632; + interpretation of symbol, 195-6, 685; + general character of Ashur, 195; + etymology of name, 196; + Anshar another form of A., 197, 414; + god of battle, 195, 199, 201; + chief of pantheon and epithets, 200-2; + king of the Igigi, 200; + associated with Ninib, 214; + his temples few, 215; + associated with Ninib and Nergal, 216, 218; + associated with Marduk, 224; + associated with the great triad, 236; + name of inner wall of Sargon's II. palace, 237; + permits the king to grow old and protects the troop, 237; + superiority to Marduk, 239; + god of oracles, 344; + Bel Tarbasi or lord of the court, 345; + 2d Adar, sacred to A., 463; + Ululu, sacred to A., 463, 685. + +_Ashurbanabal_, library, 13; + patron of science and art, 43, 229; + rule, 44; + recaptures Nanâ's statue, 85, 206; + gives prominence to Nabu cult, 129; + celebrates festival in honor of Gula, 218, 683; + embellishes temple of Nergal at Tarbisu, 219; + his pantheon, 238; + sacrifices in Babylonia, 664; + restores temple E-kur at Nippur, 645; + Shamash cult in Sippar, 646; + Ishtar cult in Uruk, 648. + +_Ashuretililani_, king of Assyria, improves Nabu's temple at Calah, 229. + +_Ashurnasirbal_, king of Assyria, 205; + gives prominence to Ninib cult, 214; + Calah, his capital, 215; + builds sanctuaries to Ishtar, Sin, Gula, Ea, Ramman, 215; + as a hunter, 216; + builds sanctuary to Gula, 218; + builds sanctuary to Sin at Calah, 219; + his pantheon, 237; + gives prominence to Ishtar cult, 325. + +_Ashur-rish-ishi_, king of Assyria, 149, 204, 213. + +_Assyria_, military superiority, 2; + history by Herodotus, 3; + art and antiquities, 7; + character of country and culture, 30-1; + character of people, 31; + comparison with Babylonia, 31; + architecture, 42; + history, 41-4; + conquest of, 44; + sun worship, 78; + Assyrian Ishtar cult as distinguished from Bab., 83, 85; + Ass. Nabu cult as against Bab. Marduk cult, 128; + religious beliefs more popular than Bab., 153; + influence upon Bab. culture and religion, 179; + pantheon, 188; + divisions of Ass. pantheon, 188-9; + comparison of Ass. and Bab. pantheons, 189, 201; + attacked by Cassites, 199; + A. god of oracles, 344; + continuity of Ass. and Bab. religion owing to Ass. worship of Bab. + deities, 642; + Airu, sacred month in Ass., 684. + +_Assyrians_, see _Assyria_. + +_Astrology_, lunar worship influenced by A., 219-20; + bar to monotheistic development, 319; + observation of the planets, 370; + questions put to the astrologer, 369. + +_Astronomy_, factor in spreading lunar worship, 220, 245; + mixture of astronomy and astrology in the observation of eclipses, + 357; + in the observation of the planets, 370; + forms part of cosmology, 454; + the determination of the laws under which the stars stood, 457; + composite character of A. science, 460; + divisions of, 460-1; + moon and sun in, 461. + +_Azag-sir,_ minor deity in Ass. pantheon, 234. + + +_Babbar_, surname of Shamash, 72; + etymology, 72. + +_Babylon_, founded, 2; + supremacy, 2; + capture of, 4, 45; + ancient center, 35; + capital of Babylonia, 39, 116; + Marduk, deity of, 54, 117-8, 531; + E-sagila, temple of Marduk, 121, 241, 639; + temple of Shamash, 242, 640; + temple of Sin, 242; + temple of Nin-makh, 242, 640; + temple of Nin-khar-sag, 242; + temple of Gula, 242, 638; + attacked by Dibbarra, 531; + zikkurat at Bab., 619, 639; + temple to Nin-lil-anna (242), 640; + religious center of the country, 649-50. + +_Babylonia_, conceptions of netherworld, 2; + notices in rabbinical literature, 3; + extent, 26; + character of country, 30; + character of people, 31; + character of culture, 34; + Babylonian states and their history, 35 ff.; + dynasties of, 39-41, 44-5, 489; + united under Hammurabi, 116; + Bab. and Ass. Ishtar cult, 83, 85; + Bab. and Ass. Marduk cult, 128; + Bab. beliefs less popular than Ass., 153; + periods of Bab. religion, 162; + gods common to all three periods of Bab. religion, 163; + Bab. culture and beliefs influenced by Assyria, 179; + comparison of Bab. and Ass. pantheons, 189, 201; + country of Bel, 222; + under Ass. rule, 223; + source of Ass. culture, 222; + independent of Assyria, 239; + political and religious centers, 245; + replaces Nippur, 542; + sanctuary of Nabu, 640; + sacrificial acts in Bab. and their meaning, 664; + Nisan, the sacred month in Bab., 684; + continuity of Bab. and Ass. belief owing to Ass. + worship of Bab. gods, 642. + +_Babylonians_, see also _Babylonia_; + subjects of Bel, 222; + humanity of Bel, 222. + +_Babylonian-Assyrian religion_, 1; + phases of, 46-7; + age of essentials of religion, 114; + gods of the B.-A. pantheon, 189; + continuity of B.-A. religion, 642; + see _Assyria_ and _Babylonia_. + +_Bahrein_, exports wood, 627. + +_Ba-kad_, in the Cassite pantheon, 162, 172. + +_Balasi_, astrologer, 340. + +_Balawat_, explorations, 9; + portals of palace at B., 627. + +_Bar_, offspring of Ishtar declines to fight Zu, 541. + +_Bashtum_, goddess in proper names of the 2d Bab. period, 169. + +_Battles of Yahwe_, recalls Dibbarra epic, 534. + +_Bau_, goddess, 51; + her attributes, 59-60, 90, 678; + temple in Uruazagga, 59, 103; + Zag-muk, her festival, 59, 677; + consort of Nin-girsu, 59, 677; + identification with Gula, 60; + her sphere, 60; + daughter of Anu, 59-60; + mother of Ea and water-deity, 61; + common features with Ga-sig(?)-dug, 61; + Bau not Hebr. bohu, 60; + her sons (Amiaud), 103; + in Gudea's pantheon, 106; + in incantations, 273; + Bau's ship, 655. + +_Ba'u-ukin_ = Dungi (Winckler), 65. + +_Baz_, city in Babylonia, temple of Bel-sarbi, 242, 639. + +_Bel_, see also _Marduk_ and _Bel-Marduk_; + god, temple of, 4; + temple at Nippur, 11, 37, 69, 51, 54, 151, 642, 644; + position in the Babylonian theology, 52; + oldest spelling and meaning of name, 52; + temple in Lagash, 53; + growth of his cult, 53; + blending with Marduk, 54, 145, 146, 148, 222; + phases of cult, 55; + associations and relations with Ea, 62; + associated with Allat, 104; + in Lugalzaggisi's and Gudea's pantheon, 110; + subordination to Marduk, 118; + transfers his name to Marduk, 140, 222, 439, 635; + god of earth _par excellence_, 140, 147, 432, 440, 497; + creator of mankind, 141, 441; + in the deluge story, 142, 497, 502, 504; + Bel and the triad, 107, 145-9, 207, 677; + Bel in Hammurabi's pantheon, 145-6, 162; + in Cassite period, 146; + temple at Dur-Kurigalzu, 146; + in the Assyrian pantheon, 146-7, 225-6; + in the neo-Bab. pantheon, 147; + epithets, 146, 222, 225, 227, 274; + relationship to the other members of the triad, 147, 226; + Bel (and Belit) decree fates, 150, 153, 538; + Dagan = Bel, 151, 154, 209, 225; + relationship to Zakar, 172; + lord of Annunaki and Igigi, 186; + husband of Ishtar, 205; + confused with Dagan, 151, 154, 209; + Ninib, first-born of Bel, 217; + Sin, first-born of Bel, 219, 462; + Nusku, messenger of, 221; + temple at Ashur, 225; + dwells in E-khar-sag-kurkura, 225; + associated with Anu and Belit, 226-8; + consort of Ishtar, 205; + of Belit, 226; + B. and Belit, names of the northern gates of Sargon's II. palace, 237; + lays foundations, 237 (_cf. Ninib_); + associated with fire-god, 279, 286; + Bel made lord of the earth by Marduk, 432; + in the zodiacal system in conjunction with Nibir and Ea marks the + three divisions of the year, 434-5; + identified with north polar-star, 435, 460; + Nisan, sacred to Anu and B., 462, 677; + 2nd Elul, sacred to Anu and B., 463; + Bel in 11th tablet of Gilgamesh epic, 496; + rivalry with Ea, 497, 507 ff.; + god of Dur-an-ki, 539; + on seal cylinders, 540; + robbed of tablets of fate by Zu, 540; + temple E-U-gal, 640; + figurines of Bel, 674; + Zagmuk, festival of, 678. + +_Bêl-epush_, Babylonian prince, votive object, 671. + +_Bel-Marduk_, see _Bel_ and _Marduk_. + +_Belili_, deity, 417; + in incantations, 417; + sister of Tammuz, 575, 588; + in Allatu's court, 588, 593; + consort of Alallu, 589. + +_Belit_, goddess, 51; + place of cult, 55, 635; + titles and their meanings, 55-6, 227; + sanctuaries, 56; + in Lugalzaggisi's pantheon, 110; + consort of En-lil, 111, 150, 151; + consort of Ashur, 150, 226, 668; + uses of "Belit," 151; + Bel and Belit decree the fate, 150, 153; + relationship to Zakar, 172; + associated with Anu and Bel, 226-8; + confusion in Ass. pantheon, 226-7; + consort of Bel, 226; + consort of Ea, 226-7, 231, 237; + = Ishtar, 226-7; + = Sarpanitum, wife of Bel-Marduk, 226, 684; + E-mash-mash, her temple at Nineveh, 227; + B. and Bel, names of the northern gates of Sargon's II. palace, 237; + brings fertility, 237; + temple at Babylon (see _Nin-khar-sag_), 242; + = Nin-lil, 635; + figurines of, 674. + +_Belit of Akkad_ = Belit, 162, 176. + +_Belit-ekalli,_ in the Cassite pantheon, 162; + consort of Ninib, l73; + = Gula, 173, 176; + meaning, 173. + +_Belit-ilâni,_ consort of Ea, 226, 231, 237; + B. and Ea, names of southern gates of Sargon's II. palace, 237; + increases offspring, 237. + +_Belit mati_ = Belit of the land = Ishtar, 151, 206, 215; + perhaps=Belit, 227. + +_Belit-seri_, scribe of Allatu, 587. + +_Bel-sarbi_, + god, his temple at Daz, 242, 639; + perhaps=Nergal, 242. + +_Bel-zir_, a layman, offers a votive object, 671. + +_Berosus_, source B.-A. religion, 1, 4, 412. + +_Birs Nimrud_, explored, 9. + +_Bit-Khabban_, town in Babylonia; its patron gods, 176. + +_Bit-Khabban_, district of Babylonia, sacred to Sin, 163. + +_Blood_, sanctity of, 661. + +_Boaz_, name of column in Solomon's temple, 624. + +_Borsippa_, + explorations, 9; + temple of Nabu, 121, 229, 241, 639; + its situation, 124, 125; + beloved city of Marduk, 126; + temple of Ramman, 242; + 3 sanctuaries of Gula, 242, 636 (E-ul-la), 641; + zikkurat at B., 617, 619, 639; + E-makhtila shrine in E-zida to Nabu at Borsippa, 307, 606, 636. + +_Botta, P. E._, excavations, 6. + +_Buddhism_, doctrine of annihilation, 556-7. + +_Bulala_, a foreign god, 644. + +_Bunene_, + in Nabubaliddin's pantheon, 162; + in proper names of the 2d Bab. period, 169, 176; + associated with Shamash and Malik, 176. + +_Bunene_ and _Malik_, + attendants of Shamash, 177; + consort of Malik, 177; + associated with Shamash and Malkatu, 685. + +_Burial_, see _Dead_. + +_Bur-Sin_, repairs zikkurat and builds shrine in Nippur, 645. + +_Calah_, + capital of Assyria, 42, 193, 651; + temple of Nabu, 128, 228; + temple of Belit mâti, 151; + temple of Ninib, 214; + capital of Ashur-nasirbal, 215; + sanctuary of Sin, 219; + intellectual center, 651; + worship of Ninib, 215, 684; + palace of Sargon II., 687. + +_Calendar_, + fixed by Marduk, 434; + importance of moon for c., 436, 461; + agriculture and c., 462; + growth and character, 465; + adopted by Hebrews, 464, 681. + +_Cappadocian_ wedge writings, 20. + +_Cassites_, + dynasty, 40-1, 480; + cult of Bel of Nippur, 146, 645; + cult of Shamash, 144, 646; + cult of Ramman, 158; + cult of Shukamuna, 152, 162; + cult of Nin-dim-su, Bakad, Pap-u, Belit-ekalli, Shumalia, 162, 172; + attack upon Assyria, 199. + +_Chaldaean Wisdom_, 362, 384, 403. + +_Chaos_, + attempts at picturing c., 411, 419; + gods contemporaneous with the primeval c., 413. + +_Christianity_, influenced by Ass.-Bab. religion, 698. + +_Claudius Ptolemaeus'_ astronomy, 5. + +_Commercial literature_ in syllabaries, 135. + +_Cosmology_, 247, 407 ff.; + the Tiâmat episode, 140; + two or more versions of creation, 141-2, 407-8; + literary-religious character of, 247; + rise and development of cosmological speculations, 249; + distinction between popular and scholastic c., 249-50, 442-3; + distinction as to contents and form, 250; + historical kernel, 250; + c. deities antecedent to the known gods of the B.-A. pantheon, 417; + not _creatio ex nihilo_, but evolution of chaos to order, the keynote + of c, 418, 442; + similarities with Biblical account, 409, 433, 435, 451; + creation of heaven, 435, 443; + of sun, 435; + of moon, 436; + of earth, 443; + of mankind, 443; + second version, its similarities with and dissimilarities from the + first version, 444 ff.; + the gods of Nippur, Erech, Eridu, the original creators of the + universe, Marduk a later introduction, 449-50; + the mountain Mashu and the cosmological conceptions, 489; + see _Creation epic_. + +_Court of the World_, name of temple, 641. + +_Creation epic_, + purpose of, 409; + similarity with the Biblical account, 409, 433; + literary form, 409 ff.; + a nature myth, 432-3; + representation of sun, 461; + see _Cosmology_. + +_Ctesias_, source for B.-A. religion, 1, 4. + +_Cult and worship_, cf. _Festivals_ and _Rituals_; + organization, 115, 133, 234; + gods in cult and in invocations, 238; + revival of old c. in Neo-Bab. period, 242-3; + tree-worship, 688-9; + compounded of popular belief and theology, 689. + +_Cuneiform_, see _Wedge writing_. + +_Cuthah_, ancient center, 35; + = Tell-Ibrahim, 65; + cult and temple Nergal (see _Laz_), 65, 164, 218, 563, 583, 648, 667; + a designation for the nether-world, 563, 570; + synonymous with netherworld, 583. + +_Cuthaeans_, 532. + +_Cyrus_, captures Babylon, 4, 45; + adopts Babylonian religion, 45, 650. + + +_Dagan_, god, 51; + confusion with Bel, 151, 154, 209, 225; + associated with Anu, 154, 209; + chiefly in Assyria, 208; + comparison with Dagon, 208; + probably Aramaic origin, 208; + god of earth, 209. + +_Damascius_ (or Damascenus), see _Nicolas of Damascus_. + +_Damascus_, in Syria, cult of Ramman, 159. + +_Damkina_, + consort of Ea, 64, 143, 231; + meaning of name, 143; + relationship to Ea and Marduk, 143; + in magical texts, 143; + Ea and Damkina grant long life, 153; + title Belit-ilâni, 231; + occasionally invoked in incantations, 276. + +_Damku_, + god, associated with Sharru-ilu and Sha-nit(?)-ka, 232; + meaning of name, 232; + evidently a title, 232; + perhaps foreign deity, 232; + worshipped at Magganubba, 232. + +_Damu_ and _Damu-gal_, epithets of Gula, 166, 175. + +_Daniel_, book of; + bearing upon B.-A. religion, 2, 3; + Daniel and Bab. religion, 3 (_cf._ 668); + illustrative of Babylonian dream lore, 403; + authentic description of dedication of statue, 669. + +_Dead_, + universal, 556; + location and names of the gathering place of the dead, 557 ff. (cf. + _Netherworld_); + All-Souls' Day, 599, 605, 682; + under the special protection of the gods, 183, 558, 552, 592; + furnish oracles to the living, 559, 560, 582, 657; + deification of dead, 561, 582; + condition of dead, 563 ff.; + purified, 578, 602; + can hear lamentations, 575, 577; + cannot be brought back from Aralû, 576, 582; + suffer hunger, 598-9; + tombs and burial, 595 ff. + +_Death and burial_, life after death, 512, 514, 556 ff.; + cave burial, 557; + pyramid burial, 557. + +_Deborah_, song of, among the "Battles of Yahwe," 534. + +_Deification_ (Parnapishtim and Etana), 470, 527; + of dead, 561, 582; + of Gudea and Dungi, 167, 470, 561; + of Gimil-Sin, 561; + of Gilgamesh, 282, 284, 470, 561. + +_Delila,_ parallelism with Ishtar, 516. + +_Delitzsch, Friedrich_, Sumerian question, 22; see Preface. + +_della Valle, Pietro_, traveler, 15. + +_Deluge_, in Gilgamesh epic and O. T., 495; + place of origin of deluge, 498; + embodying two distinct traditions, 502, 506; + points of contact with Biblical narrative, 506 ff.; + antiquity of the tradition, 508. + +_Demons_, see also _Animism_ and _Spirits_; + chief demon, 57, 497; + in incantations, 287; + how exorcised, 330; + when not to be exorcised, 378; + messenger of god, 378; + _Targul-le_, in the deluge story let loose by Dibbarra, 500; + the Utukku, 260 (_cf._ 511); + the Ekimmu, 260 (_cf._ 512); + authors of evil and disease, 183, 593, 306, 692. + +_Der_, center of worship of Ninâ, 88; + city of Anu, 88, 155. + +_de Sacy, Silvestre_, decipherment of wedge writing, 15. + +_de Sarzec, Ernest_, explorer, 11. + +_Dibbarra_, in Ass. pantheon, 189; + plague-god, 232, 505, 528; + a spirit, 232; + identified with Nergal, 232, 528-9, 594; + minor god, 234; + in the deluge story, 500 (_cf._ 505); + solar deity, 528; + god of war, "the warrior," 528-9; + attendant of Nergal, 529, 588; + attended by Ishum, 529; + D.'s attack upon Babylon, 530-1; + D.'s attack upon Uruk, 531; + general war among mankind, 531 ff.; + Dibbarra enraged and appeased, 535; + identified with Girra, 588. + +_Dibbarra epic_, see _Dibbarra_, 232, 528 ff.; + recalls the "Battles of Yahwe," 534. + +_Dilbat_, city in Babylonia; + temple of Ninib, 242; + zikkurat E-gubba-an-ki, 639. + +_Dilmun_, island, 125. + +_Diodorus_, source for B.-A. religion, 1, 4, 399, 435. + +_Dirges_, sung by priests and priestesses, 604, 658; + by priestesses, 660. + +_Divine names_, variety of names of individual divinities and local uses + thereof, 73; + transference of name and its meaning, 118, 140-1; + in proper names, 165-6, 169; + obscurity of, 233. + +_Djumdjuma_, 10. + +_Dogma_, establishment of, 115, 133, 247, 690 ff. + +_Dreams_, importance of, 322-3; + on par with oracles, 350, 479; + treated as omens, 350, 403 ff.; + in the Gilgamesh epic, 481, 486, 497. + +_Du'ar_, _Da'ur_, cosmological deity, 417. + +_Du-azagga_, council chamber of the gods, 629; + = Apsu, 630; + place where the sun rises, 630. + +_Dumu-zi_, god; + his double aspect, 96-7; + worship at Lagash, 635. + +_Dumuzi-zu-aba_, god, 51; + interpretation of name, 96; + functions and character, 96; + places of worship, 96; + in Gudea's pantheon, 106. + +_Dungi_, of Ur, builds temple of Nergal at Cuthah, 65; + builds temple of Nanâ in Uruk, 81; + builds temple to Nin-Mar, 100; + deified, 167, 470, 561. + +_Dun-shagga_, 51; + son of Nin-girsu, 91; + meaning of name, 94; + in Gudea's pantheon, 106. + +_Dur-an-ki_, name of a temple tower in Nippur, 539. + +_Dur-ilu_, Ass. city near Elamitic frontier; + cult of Kadi, 232. + +_Dur-Kurigalzu_, temple of Bel, 146. + +_Dur-padda_, a fort sacred to Ramman, 158. + +_Dur-zakar_, sanctuary of Belit, 56. + +_Du'zu_, see _Tammuz_. + + +_Ea_, god, 51; + functions, 62, 78, 230; + epithets, 62, 142, 173, 230; + associations and relations with Bel, 62; + king of Eridu, 62-3, 275; + sanctuary in Girsu, 61; + god of the water, 63, 147, 237, 275, 430, 699; + explanation of name, 64; + identification with Nin-a-gal and other deities, 64; + member of the great triad, 107, 148, 207, 230, 677; + in Lugalzaggisi's and Gudea's pantheon, 111; + survival of his cult, 123-4, 136; + change of position since Hammurabi, 136; + non-mention in historical texts, 136; + prominence in religious texts, 136; + Ea and Marduk in incantation texts, 139-40; + transfers his name to Marduk, 118, 141, 439; + god of humanity _par excellence_, 141 (cf. 264, 275, 297, 437, 441, + 462, 497); + formed of clay, 142; + Ea in the deluge story, 142, 497, 504; + Ea and Damkina grant long life, 153; + god of fine arts, 177; + fighting Tiâmat, 197, 422; + Ninib, first-born of Ea, 217; + shrine in E-Sagila, 220, 241; + Belit, consort of, 226, 231, 237; + Nabu, son of, 229; + in the Ass. pantheon, 230; + sanctuary at Ashur, 230; + titles emphasizing his skill, 230; + house of wisdom, 522; + similarity and difference between Ea and Nabu, 230-1; + Ea and Belitilâni, names of southern gates of Sargon's palace, 237; + unlocks fountains, 237; + shrine in E-Zida, 241; + prominent in incantations, 137, 256, 275; + the spirits hostile to, 264 (cf. 141); + as a healer, 275; + overcomes eclipse of moon, 276; + associated with fire-god, 279, 286; + in the Shurpu series, 288; + conquers Tiâmat, 422; + in the zodiac in conjunction with Nibir and Bel, 434-5; + identified with some star in southern heaven, 435, 460; + Iyar, his sacred month, 462, 677; + Ea in the 11th tablet of the Gilgamesh epic, 496; + rivalry with Bel, 497, 507 ff.; + Persian Gulf, sacred to Ea, 498, 545; + father of Adapa, 545; + Ea in Ishtar's descent, 571; + Ea's sanctuary E-karzaginna, 636. + +_Eabani_, created by Aruru, 448, 474; + E. and Ishtar, 484, 486; + parallelism betw. Adam and E., 511; + E.'s spirit conjured up by Nergal, 511 ff., 560, 565. + +_E-adda_, temple of Anu, 53, 640; + meaning of name, 640. + +_E-an-dadia_, name of zikkurat at Agade, 639; + meaning of name, 639. + +_E-anna_, temple of Ninni in Girsu, 80; + temple of Nanâ or Ishtar in Uruk, 81, 242, 311, 331, 639, 648; + meaning of name, 639. + +_Eannatum_, burial costumes, 597. + +_E-babbara_, name of the temples of Shamash in Larsa and Sippar, 70, + 628, 640; + worship of Shamash, Malik, Bunene in E. at Sippar, 176, 628; + meaning of name, 640; + history of Ebabbara in Sippar, 646 ff.; + with shrine of Anunit, 646; + history of Ebabbara in Larsa, 647. + +_Ecbatana_, concentric walls, 618. + +_Ecclesiastes_, unsatisfactory ending like 12th tablet of Gilgamesh + epic, 513. + +_Eclipses_, e. of moon removed by Ea, 276; + cause of e., 264, 276, 280; + calculation of time of occurrence of e., 357; + indication of omens the ulterior motive of observations of, 357, 368; + omens gathered from observation of e. in the "Illumination of Bel" + series, 364 ff.; + eclipses portend public disaster, 366, 369; + importance of omens deduced from observations of e., 368; + e. of sun called the "way of Anu," 457. + +_Eden_, Garden of, legendary, 2; + identical with the confluence of streams, 506. + +_Edessa_, gnostic center, 699. + +_E-dim-anna_, chapel of Sin in E-Zida, 639; + meaning of name, 639. + +_E-dingiranagin_, see _E-anna-tuma_. + +_E-ditar-kalama_, sanctuary of Shamash in Babylon, 242, 640; + meaning of name, 640. + +_E-dur-an-ki_, zikkurat at Larsa, 639; + meaning of name, 639. + +_E-dur-gi-na_, temple of Belsarbi, 242, 639; + meaning of name, 639. + +_E-edinna_, temple of Shamash's consort, 640; + meaning of name, 640. + +_E-esh-gi_, shrine of Nin-girsu at Lagash, 640. + +_E-gal-makh_, temple in Ur, 639. + +_E-gish-shir-gal_, temple of Sin at Ur, 76, 241, 295, 640, 647; + meaning of name, 640. + +_E-gi-umunna_, a sanctuary, 640; + meaning of name, 640. + +_E-gubba-an-ki_, zikkurat at Dilbat, 639; + meaning of name, 639. + +_E-igi-e-nir-kidur-makh_, temple to Ninni at Kish, 639; + meaning of name, 639. + +_Ekallâte_, name of city in Assyria, cult of Ramman and Shala, 212. + +_E-karzaginna_, sanctuary of Ea in E-Sagila, 636. + +_E-kharsag_, temple in Ur, 638. + +_E-kharsag-ella_, temple of Gula in Babylon, meaning of name, 638. + +_E-kharsag-kalama_, name of temple, 638; + E-kur-makh, 638. + +_E-kharsag-kurkura_, dwelling of Bel, 225; + temple in Assyria, 615; + meaning of name, 638. + +_E-khulkhul_, temple of Sin in Harran, 76, 241, 641, 647; + meaning of name, 641. + +_E-ki-dur-garza_, temple to Nin-lil-anna in Babylon, 640; + meaning of name, 640. + +_Ekimmu_, a class of spirits, 260 (_cf._ 512, 581, 602). + +_E-kua_, papakhu of Marduk in E-Sagila, 640; + meaning of name, 640. + +_E-kur_, temple of Bel, 11, 37, 51, 54, 69, 151, 642, 644; + meaning of E-kur, 173, 217, 614, 638; + = Eshara, 217; + history of the temple, 644 ff.; + = Kharsag(-gal)-kurkura, 558; + lofty dwelling of gods, 541; + designation for the nether-world, 558; + = temple, 558, 614 (cf. 622); + = earth, 614; + in plural = divinities, 615. + +_E-kur-makh_, name of temple, 638; + = E-kharsag-kalama, 638. + +_Elali_, in proper names of the 2nd Bab. period, 170; + epithet of Gibil, 170. + +_Elam_, 35; + Elamites invade Babylonia, 38, 480; + capture Nanâ's statue, 85; + Elamitic deities: Eria, 122, 162; + Kadi, 188, 232, 234. + +_El-Amarna_, tablets of, containing the Adapa legend, 544; + contains legend of Nergal conquering and wedding Allatu, 584-5. + +_Elul_, see _Ululu_. + +_E-makh_, chapel to Nin-kharsag, 639. + +_E-makh-tila_, shrine to Nabu at Borsippa, 307, 606, 636. + +_E-mash-mash_, temple of Ishtar, 152; + of Belit, 227. + +_E-me-te-ur-sagga_, temple of Zamama-Ninib, 640; + meaning of name, 640. + +_En-anna-tuma_, patesi of Lagash, constructs storehouse to Nin-girsu, + 58. + +_En-anna-tuma_ II., 2nd dynasty of Ur, devotee of Nin-gal, 98. + +_E-nin-makh_, chapel of Ishtar in Babylon, 242, 640; + meaning of name, 640. + +_E-ninnu_, temple of Nin-girsu, 57, 87, 635, 640. + +_En-ki_, see _Ea_. + +_En-lil_, see _Bel_. + +_En-meshara_, attendant of Allatu, god of vegetation, 588; + festival of E. in the 10th month, 588. + +_Ennanna_ = Ninni, 51. + +_En-ninna_, a minor deity in the Etana legend, 521. + +_En-nugi_, leader of the gods, 495. + +_En-temena_, patesi of Lagash, 56; + constructs storehouse to Nin-girsu, 58. + +_En-tena_, see _En-temena_ (better reading). + +_E-nun-makh_, temple of Sin at Ur, 295, 640; + meaning of name, 640. + +_Enshar_, cosmological deity, 417. + +_En-zu_, see _Sin_. + +_E-pa_, zikkurat at Lagash, 639; + meaning of name, 639. + +_E-pad-kalama-suma_, sanctuary of Nabu in Babylonia, 640; + meaning of name, 640. + +_Epics and legends_, literary-religious character of, 247; + historical spirit of, 250; + nature myths, 250. + +_Erech_ = Warka = Uruk; see _Uruk_. + +_Eresh-Kigal_ = Allatu, 584. + +_Eria_, Elamitic goddess, possibly identical with Erua, 122, 162. + +_Eridu_, ancient center, 35, 245, 445; + sanctuary of Ea, 62, 124, 445; + lost her political prestige, 136; + cult of Anunnaki and Igigi, 186; + prominent in incantations, 256. + +_Erua_, the "begetting" goddess, 123; + amalgamation with Sarpanitum, 122-3, 130; + dwelling in E-Zida, 123; + consort of Nabu, 123; + possibly identical with Eria, 122; + water deity, 123; + cult suppressed by Hammurabi, 130; + place of worship, 130. + +_E-Sagila_, temple of Marduk in Babylon, 121, 636; + with a shrine of Sarpanitum, 121, 241, 636, 641; + with shrine of Nusku, 220, 241; + with shrine of Nabu, 127, 220, 636; + with shrine of Ea, 220, 241; + with shrine of Tashmitum, 220, 241; + with shrine of Nin-kharsag, 639; + sanctuary E-karzaginna of Ea, 636; + meaning of name, 639; + with papakhu of Marduk, 640; + takes the place of E-kur, 645; + history of E-Sagila, 648 ff.; + place of installation of rulers, 649; + influence of E-Sagila and E-Zida, 649. + +_E-Sagila_, temple of Ea, 446. + +_E-salgisa_, temple in Girsu, 641; + meaning of name, 641. + +_Esarhaddon_, king of Assyria, 200; + restores temple of Nanâ-Ishtar at Erech, 85, 206; + his pantheon, 238; + restores Ekur, 645; + Shamash cult in Sippar, 646. + +_Eschatological literature_, gods and demons in e., 183. + +_E-shara_, meaning, 173, 175, 198; + offsprings of, 174; + bride of E., 173, 175; + built by Anshar, 198; + built by Marduk, 198, 431 + = Ekur, 217; + placed by Marduk under control of Bel, 432. + +_E-shid-lam_, temple of Nergal and Laz at Cuthah, 65, 648, 667. + +_Etana_, legendary personage, 468, 505, 519 ff.; + dwells in the netherworld, 511, 520, 523, 527, 590; + E.'s patron, Shamash, 520; + name occurs in O. T., 519; + traditions among other nations, 519-21; + E. and Ganymede, 523; + deified, 527, 590; + god of vegetation, 590. + +_E-temen-an-ki_, zikkurat to Marduk at Babylon, 619, 639; + meaning of name, 639. + +_Ethics_, B.-A. religion, 291, 312, 692; + belong to advanced period, 292, 304-5; + in prayers, 298-9; + gods whose nature create e. notions, 306, 692; + in penitential psalms, 312 ff.; + private morality, 694 ff. + +_E-tila_, name of a temple, and meaning of name, 641. + +_E-tur-kalama_, temple of Ishtar, 311. + +_E-u-gal_, temple to En-lil, 640; + meaning of name, 640. + +_E-ulla_, temple to Gula in Sippar, 641; + meaning of name, 641. + +_E-ul-mash_, temple of Nanâ in Agade, 82. + +_Euphrates_, stream of Garden of Eden, 2 (_cf._ 506); + E. valley, central habitation of mankind, 2; + old settlements of Hebrews, 2; + course of, 27; + comparison with Tigris, 30; + one of the four streams forming the confluence of streams, 506 (_cf._ + 2). + +_E-ur-imin-an-ki_, zikkurat at Babylon, 619. + +_Eusebius_, source for B.-A. religion, 1, 4, 5. + +_Eve_, parallelism with Ukhat, 511. + +_Excavations_, 6-15. + +_Exorcism_, see _Incantations_. + +_E-Zida_, temple of Nabu at Borsippa, 121, 229, 241, 639; + with shrine of Erua, 123; + with shrine of Sarpanitum, 241; + with shrine of Tashmitum, 241; + with shrine of Nusku, 241; + with shrine of Ea, 241; + with shrine of Sin, 639; + history of E-Zida, 648 ff.; + influence of E-Zida and E-Sagila, 649. + +_E-Zida_, shrine of Nabu in E-Sagila, 127, 220, 229, 636. + + +_Family_, systematization of O. B. pantheon according to Davis, 109. + +_Fast days_, special occasions, 688. + +_Fate tablets_, tablets of fate in the hands of Bel, 538 (_cf._ 150, + 153); + in the Tiâmat story, 420, 428, 538; + robbed by Zu, 540; + compared with the tablets of wisdom, 585. + +_Festivals_, zag-muk, 59, 127, 631, 677, 678; + significance of every day, 675; + special significance of special days, 675, 677, 680-1, 683-5; + words for f. in Assyrian, 676, 687; + each month sacred to a deity, 462-3, 676, 683-4; + festivals and months sacred to divinities not always corresponding, + 687; + special festivals, 687-8; + the puru ceremony, 688; + fast days and rites, 688. + +_Fire_, see _Water_ (cf. Gibil-Nusku in incantations, 277); + means of purification, 276, 279; + belongs to all three divisions of the universe, 286. + +_Foreign gods_ in B.-A. religion (see also _Cassites_), 142, 644; + Adad = Ramman, 156; + Kadi, 188, 232, 234; + Damku, 232; + Eria, 122, 162 (Elamitic). + +_Fresnel, Fulgente_, expedition, 8. + + +_Gaga_, Assyrian pantheon, 188; + minor god, 234; + Anshar's messenger to Tiâmat, 423; + a foreign deity, 238, 644. + +_Gal-alim_, 51; + center of worship, 91; + son of Nin-girsu, 91; + in Gudea's pantheon, 106. + +_Gamlat_, in Ass. pantheon, 188. + +_Ganymede and Etana_, 523. + +_Ga-tum-dug_, goddess, 51; + similar to Bau, 61; + worship at Lagash, 61, 635; + in Gudea's pantheon, 106, 635. + +_Gate of Widespread Splendor_, seat of Sarpanitum in E-Sagila, 121, 241, + 636, 641. + +_Gegunu_, epithet of Aralû, 563. + +_Genealogical_ systematization of Old Bab. pantheon according to Amiaud, + 109. + +_Genesis_, see _Cosmology_. + +_Gibil_, fire-god, E-la-li, perhaps an epithet, 170; + in Ass. pantheon, 189; + amalgamated with Nusku, 220, 227; + in incantations, 273, 277; + older than Nusku, 277; + epithets, 277, 280; + a mythological conception, 277, 279; + G.-Nusku, god of civilization, 278; + medium betw. worshipper and deity, 279; + associated with Anu, 277; + associated with Bel and Ea, 279; + associated with Nin-gish-zida, 463; + identified with Nergal, 594. + +_Gil_, attendant of Nergal and Allatu, 588; + god of foliage, 588. + +_Gilgamesh_, hero of the Bab. epic, 83, 468 ff.; + in incantations, 282, 284, 470; + mythological explanation of, 282, 486-7; + with omens, 387; + solar deity, 470-1, 515; + king of the earth, 471; + born in Marada, 473; + conquers Uruk, 473, 513; + created by Aruru, 473-4; + Shamash (see _Lugal-Marada_), his patron, 471, 479; + love affair with Ishtar, 481 ff.; + Lugal-Marada, his patron (see _Shamash_), 486; + conquers Khumbaba, 480, 514; + G.'s contest with the bull, 486, 514, 537; + contest with lion, 488, 514; + Gilgamesh half divine, half human, 490, 514; + G. and Sabitum, 490-1; + G. and Parnapishtim, 492 ff.; + points of contact with O. T., 495, 515-6; + G. and Eabani, 510, 565; + seeking immortality and the secret of life after death, 513; + parallelism with Samson, 516; + parallelism with Hercules, 516; + Gilgamesh and Alexander the Great, 469, 516; + G. in Aelian, 469, 524; + G.'s grandfather Sokkaros, 524. + +_Gimil-Sin_, deified, 561; + temple at Lagash, 561. + +_Gim-nun-ta-ud-du-a_, son of Bau, 103; + explanation of name, 103; + probable functions, 103. + +_Gin-shul-pa-uddu_, wife of Gudea, 99. + +_Girra_, attendant of Nergal and Allatu, 588; + identified with Dibbarra, 588; + a form of Nergal in later texts, 589. + +_Girsu_, see _Lagash_. + +_Gish-galla_ (?), quarter of Lagash, 57; + temple of Ninni, 80. + +_Gish-zida_, identical with solar deity Nin-gish-zida, 547; + G. and Tammuz, doorkeepers of heaven, 546; + 5th month sacred to G., 547; + intercedes for Adapa with Anu, 548-9. + +_Gnosticism_, influenced by B.-A. religion, 698. + +_Great Place_, name of temple, 641. + +_Grotefend, Georg Friedrich_, decipherment of wedge writing, 16. + +_Gudea_ statues, 57, 652; + his pantheon, 106 ff., 635; + number of deities indicative of the extent of his sovereignty, 106; + principle of order, 107; + gods common to Gudea's and Lugalzaggisi's pantheon, 110; + deified, 167, 470, 561; + his zikkurat, 615, 619; + builder of temples, 642; + imports diorite from Sinai peninsula, 627, 651; + Gudea's apsu, 653; + Gudea's ship for Ningirsu, 654; + G.'s votive objects and inscription, 57, 668-9, 672. + +_Gula_, identified with Bau, 60; + associated with Ninib, 105 (_cf._ 576); + goddess of healing, 105, 166, 175, 282 (_cf._ 576, 683); + in Nebuchadnezzar's I. pantheon, 162, 175; + epithets, 166, 173, 175, 576; + goddess of nether-world, 174-5; + position intermediate betw. gods of the living and gods of the dead, + 175 (_cf._ 576); + creator of mankind, 175; + her sanctuary erected by Ashurnasirbal, 218; + her festival celebrated by Ashurbanabal, 218, 683; + = Nin-Karrak, 242; + temple at Babylon (see _Nin-Karrak_), 242, 638; + three sanctuaries at Borsippa, 242, 636 (E-ulla), 641; + in incantations, 273, 282; + 12th day of Iyar sacred to G., 683. + +_Gurmu_, son of Bau, 103. + +_Gushgin-banda_, 171; + "brilliant chief," patron of metal-workers, 178. + + +_Halévy, J._, Sumerian question, 22-4. + +_Hallabi_, city near Sippar, temple of Ninni, 117, 144. + +_Hamath_, city in N. Syria, 578. + +_Hammurabi_, king of Babylon, secures the hegemony in Babylonia, 116, + 532; + Marduk, the chief of his pantheon, 117; + builds temples, 642; + builds temple to Ninni at Hallabi, 117; + builds E-Zida, 121; + ignores cult of Nabu, 128; + suppresses cult of Erua, 130; + care of temple of Shamash at Larsa, 143-4; + Shamash cult, 117, 143-4; + at Sippar, 117, 143; + at Larsa, 143; + Ninni cult at Hallabi, 144-5; + "proclaimer of Anu and Bel," 146-7; + beloved shepherd of Belit, 150; + list of names of gods in H.'s pantheon, 161-2; + "The Akkadian," 532; + H.'s character as a Messiah, 533; + = Amraphel, 534. + +_Harran_, city in Mesopotamia, sacred to Sin, 76, 241, 641, 647; + its importance and political decline, 77; + meaning of its name, 78; + associations with Ur, 77; + enjoys the patronage of Sargon II., 77; + temple of Sin, 76, 241, 641; + patronized by Nabonnedos, 77, 242. + +_Haynes, John H._, excavations, 11. + +_Heart of Shamash_, name of a temple, 641. + +_Hebrews_, see _Old Testament_. + +_Hercules_, parallelism with Gilgamesh, 516. + +_Herodotus_, source for B.-A. religion, 1; + history of Assyria, 3; + history of Persia, 4; + notices on B.-A. religion, 4; + notices on Ishtar cult in Erech, 485. + +_Hillah_, village, site of, 8. + +_Historical texts_, value as source for religion, 51, 166, 246, 661; + pantheon in h. t. compared with that in incantation texts, 297; + source for knowledge of sacrifices, 661. + +_Hittites_, eagle standard among the H., 527; + influence on Assyrian architecture, 627. + +_Hommel, Fritz_, Sumerian question, 21. + +_Homoroka_ = Marduk, 5. + +_House Full of Joy_, name of temple, 641. + +_House of Fifty_, see _E-ninnu_. + +_House of Great Splendor_, name of temple, 641. + +_House of Hearkening to Prayers_, name of temple, 641. + +_House of Light_, name of temple, 641. + +_House of the Brilliant Precinct_, name of temple, 641. + +_House of the Seven Divisions of Heaven and Earth_, name of zikkurat at + Borsippa, 639. + +_House of the Seven Zones_, name of zikkurat at Uruk, 639. + +_House Without Rival_, name of temple, 641. + +_Hymns and prayers_, division of religious literature, 247, 293; + where composed, 248; + in connection with incantations, 293, 301; + h. to Shamash, 300 ff.; + to Sin, 303-4; + dialogue style of composition, 305; + to Nebo, 306; + no difference in thought betw. h. and incantation, 301, 307; + illustrating relationship betw. man and gods, 309; + deity as person of dialogue in, 310; + see also _Prayers_. + + +_Iamblichus_, source of B.-A. religion, 399. + +_Idiklat_ = Tigris, 28. + +_Igi-dug-ga_, title of Ea, 230. + +_Igigi_, explanation of name, 185; + number of, and explanation, 185; + spirits of heaven, 185, 200; + gods in whose service the I. are, 186; + their character, 186; + associated with Anunnaki, 186, 593; + altar of I. and Anunnaki, 186; + chiefs of Eridu, 186; + Ashur, king of, 200; + Anu, their chief, 186, 207, 593; + associated with the great triad, 236. + +_Ilabrat_, minor god, in the Adapa legend, 546. + +_Illumination of Bel_, name of an omen series, 363. + +_Im_ = Ramman, 156. + +_Immeru_ = Ramman, 157. + +_Immortality_, see _Dead_. + +_Im-pa-ud-du_, son of Bau, 103; + explanation of name, 103; + function, 103. + +_Incantations_, see also _Magical Texts_; + in therapeutics, 246; + means and methods of, 270-3; + gods invoked in, 273; + sacred objects invoked, 274; + gods in incantations _par excellence_, 275; + the fire-god in, 277; + favorite time of, 280-1; + i. services, 281, 283 ff.; + principle of sympathetic magic, 284; + mixed with ethical conceptions, 292; + in connection with prayers, 293, 301; + the oldest fixed ritual, 294; + no line of demarcation betw. prayers and i., 297, 307; + points in common with and differences from penitential psalms, 312; + the natural expression of popular beliefs, 326; + demons exorcised by i., 330; + connecting link betw. omens and i., 352. + +_Inmarmaru_, city in Dibbarra epic, 533. + +_Invocations_, 165; + in records of the 2nd Bab. period, 167; + combined invocations, 235; + where found, 235, 245; + motive and manner of, 236 ff.; + Tiglathpileser I., 236; + Ramman-nirari I., 237; + Ashurnasirbal, 237; + Shalmaneser II., 237; + Sargon II., 237; + Sennacherib, 238; + Esarhaddon, 238; + Ashurbanabal, 238; + gods in invocation and in actual worship, 238. + +_Irkalla_, a designation of the netherworld, 563, 566; + name of the consort of the queen of Aralû, 563, 591; + identified with Nergal, 592. + +_Isaiah_, prophet, 2. + +_Ish-gu-tur_, temple of Nin-Mar in Mar, 100. + +_Ishi-milku_, a foreign deity, 644. + +_Ishme-Dagan_, king of Assyria, evidence of age of Dagan cult, 208. + +_Ishtar_, goddess Nanâ, 82, 85, 202, 311, 643; + absorbs other deities, 82; + epithets, 83, 151-2, 204, 237; + functions in B.-A., 83, 459; + functions in A., 83-5; + in Gilgamesh epic, 84-5, 482, 501, 563-4; + zodiacal interpr., 82-4, 310-1; + relationship to Sin, 79, 84, 163, 565, 571; + relationship to Anu, 84-5, 566; + significance of these relationships, 85; + variants, 82, 85, 202, 242; + temple at Agade, 117, 242; + temple at Calah, 151; + temple E-mash-mash, 152, 205, 227; + relationship to Sin and Shamash, 163, 571; + goddess of war, 83, 164, 204; + during Cassite and Nebuchadnezzar's I. reign, 164, 645; + variants of Assyrian Ishtar, 202; + mighty over the Anunnaki, 204; + milder nature in religious texts, 205; + mother of mankind, 204-5, 237; + relationship to her devotees, 205; + temple Kidmuru, 202; + temples at Arbela, Nineveh, and Ashur, 205; + I. of Nineveh and I. of Arbela distinguished, 205; + Ab her sacred month, 205, 462, 685; + wife of Bel, 205; + Belit of the land (151, 206), 215, = Belit, 226; + temple in Uruk, 81, 242, 311, 531, 639; + worship in Uruk, 103, 242, 472, 475, 531 (see _Nanâ_); + wife of Ashur, 227; + associated with the great triad, 236; + Ishtar and Anu, names of west. gates of Sargon's II. palace, 237; + causes the inhabitants to flourish, 237 (_cf._ 204); + temple at Babylon, 242 (_cf. Ninmakh_), 640; + in incantations, 273; + in hymns, 310; + temple E-tur-kalama, 311; + in a penitential psalm, 318; + prominence of cult of I. under Ashurnasirbal and before, 325, 342; + in oracles and omens, 343-4; + = Venus as name of planet, 370, 458-9, 571; + importance of Ishtar-Venus in omen literature, 371-2; + I. appears in a dream to the king, 374; + personification of fertility, 459, 462, 482, 563, 587; + causes decline, 483, 563; + 10th month sacred to I., Papsukal, and Anu, 463; + the Kizrêti, Ukhâti, and Kharimâti of I. in Uruk, 475, 485, 660; + relationship to Tammuz, 84, 482, 484, 547, 564, 574; + Ishtar's love fatal to her lovers, 482, 516; + I. and Eabani, 484, 486; + in the deluge, 501, 503-4; + parallelism with Delila, 516; + I. in the lower world, 564; + the 6th month "the mission of Ishtar," 564, 684; + festival celebrated in Ab, 685; + correlated to Allatu, 587; + I. cult under Ashurbanabal, 85, 206, 238, 648; + cult under Nebuchadnezzar II., 648; + figurines of, 674. + +_Ishtaritu_, general designation of Ishtar priestess, 660. + +_Ishum, god_, 51; + identity with Pa-sag, 101; + in proper names of, 2nd Bab. period, 169; + messenger of Nusku, 280; + solar deity, 528; + local deity, 528; + attendant of Dibbarra, 529, 594; + describes Dibbarra's deeds, 530 ff.; + his wars, 533 ff.; + associated with Sibi, 533; + "the warrior," 533; + associated with Nergal, 594. + +_Isin_, ancient center, 35; + kings, 37; + Isin dynasty as "builders" of temple of Nanâ in Ur, 81. + +_Iskenderun_, bay of, 122. + +_Iyar_, see _Airu_. + +_Izdubar_ = Gilgamesh. + + +_Jezreel plain_, cult of Ramman, 159. + +_Job_, book of, unsatisfactory ending like 12th tablet of Gilgamesh + epic, 513. + +_Josephus_, historical references to B.-A., 5. + +_Judges_ = priests, 625, 658. + +_Judith_, book of, bearing upon B.-A. religion, 3. + +_Jupiter_ = Marduk, name of planet, 370, 434, 458-9, 676-7; + see _Marduk_. + + +_Kaaba_, at Mecca, 624. + +_Kabru_, epithet for Aralû, 563. + +_Kadashman-Turgu_, Cassite king, votive tablet, 671. + +_Kadi_, in Ass. pantheon, 188; + Elamitic god, 232; + worshipped in Dur-ilu, 232; + minor god, 234. + +_Kadishtu_, general designation of Ishtar priestess, 660. + +_Kalah-Shergat_, excavations, 10; + site of city of Ashur, 198. + +_Kallat-Eshara_, epithet of Gula, 173. + +_Kanishurra_, a foreign god, 644. + +_Kara-indash_, king of Babylon, restores Shamash temple at Larsa, 144 + +_Kar-nuna-ta-uddua_, ship of Ningirsu, 654; + meaning of name, 654. + +_Karun_, one of the four streams forming the confluence of streams, 506. + +_Katnu_, a foreign god, 644. + +_Kercha_, one of the four streams forming the confluence of streams, + 506. + +_Khadir_ = Parnapishtim, 515. + +_Khani_, tribe hostile to Babylon, 152. + +_Khani_, god, in Ass. pantheon, 188; + a form of Nebo, 188; + minor god, 234; + a foreign deity, 644. + +_Kharimâti_, sacred harlots of Uruk, 475, 531, 660. + +_Kharsag(-gal)-kurkura_, "the (great) mountain of the earth," 558; + native place of the gods, 558, 614; + = Ekur, 558. + +_Khashur_, mountain destroyed by Ishum, 533. + +_Khasis-Adra_, see _Adra-khasis_, 505. + +_Khi-gir-nun-na_, son of Bau, 103. + +_Khi-khi_, mountain attacked by Ishum, 533. + +_Khiraitum_, a foreign deity, 644. + +_Khi-shaga_, a son of Bau, 103. + +_Khorsabad_, unearthed, 6, 8; + capital of Assyria, 193; + sanctuary of Sin, 219; + palace of Sargon, 225; + names of its gates and walls, 237; + sanctuary of Nin-Gal, 231; + zikkurat at K., 617. + +_Khumbaba_ attacks Uruk, 480; + conquered by Gilgamesh, 514. + +_Khusha_, god of the 2nd Bab. period, 168. + +_Kidin-Marduk_, father of Parnapishtim, 488, 496. + +_Kidmuru_ temple of Ishtar in Nineveh, 202. + +_Kigallu_, a designation of the netherworld, 562. + +_Kilili_, a foreign deity, 644. + +_Kingship_, differentiation of kingly and priestly functions late, 374; + traces of direct relationship betw. gods and king, 374-5. + +_Kingu_, consort of Tiâmat, 420; + symbol of chaos, 538; + deprived of the tablets of fate by Marduk, 428. + +_Kinunira_, city on the Euphrates (?), sanctuary of Dumuzi-zu-aba, 96. + +_Kish_, city in Babylonia, 54; + temple of Zamama, 169; + temple of Ninni, 639. + +_Kishar,_ god, K. and Anshar created, 197, 410; + K. and Anshar intermediate betw. the monsters and the gods in + creation, 414, 416-7; + creation of theologians, 416; + Anshar and Kishar in the creation epic and their meaning, 418. + +_Kishar-gal_, cosmological deity, 417. + +_Kishshat_, a foreign god, 644. + +_Kislev_, 9th month, sacred to Nergal, 463. + +_Kizrêti_, Ukhâti, and Kharimâti, the harlots of Uruk, 475, 531, 660. + +_Koyunjik_, mound, unearthed, 7, 9. + +_Ku(?)-anna_, 51; + place of worship, 102; + functions, 102; + consort of Ramman (?), 102. + +_Kudur-mabuk_, 2d dynasty of Ur, "builder" of temple of Sin in Ur, 76, + 295; + of temple of Nanâ in Ur, 81. + +_Kumari_, city in Babylonia, temple of Ramman, 242. + +_Kurigalzu_, Cassite, king of Babylon, cult of Bel of Nippur, 147, 645. + +_Kutu_, see _Cuthah_. + + +_Lagamal_, a foreign god, 644. + +_Lagash_, governors, 36; + temple of Anu, 53, 640; + temple of Belit, 56; + temple of Bau, 635; + quarters of, 56-7; + temple of Ningirsu-Ninib, 57, 87, 635, 640; + center of worship of Ninni, 80; + ancient center, 35, 245; + temple of Dumu-zi-zu-aba, 96; + Dumuzi, temple of Ninmar, 635; + temple of Nin-gish-zida, 99, 635; + temple of Ninâ, 635; + temple of Ku(?)-an-na, 152; + temple of Gimil-Sin, 561; + shrine of Nin-girsu, 640; + zikkurat of Nin-girsu, 619, 635, 639; + temple of E-salgisa, 641; + temple of Nin-si-a, 635; + temple of Shabra, 635; + temple of Nin-sun, 635; + temple of Nin-tu, 635; + votive objects, 673. + +_Lakhamu_, L. and Lakhmu cosmological, 197, 410, 417; + a monster, 414, 418; + in incantations, 417; + in Allatu's court, 593. + +_Larsa_, ancient center, 35; + rulers, 37-8; + dynasty, 39; + center of worship of Shamash, 69, 143-4, 241, 628, 640, 646; + zikkurats at L., 617, 639. + +_Lasimu_, a foreign god, 644. + +_Layard, Austen Henry_, excavations, 7. + +_Laz_, consort of Nergal, 219, 243; + not mentioned in Ass. texts, 219; + not mentioned in religious texts, 583. + +_Lebanon_, cedar forests, 626. + +_Legal literature_, see also _Literature_; + source for study of religion, 166; + religious character of, 245. + +_Libations_, 664, 666; + in Old Testament and in A.-B., 665. + +_Libit-Ishtar_, 2d dynasty of Ur, builds temple of Nanâ in Ur, 81. + +_Life of the World_, name of temple, 641. + +_Light of Shamash_, name of temple, 641. + +_Lists of gods_, 213, 216; + character of, 233; + prepared on the basis of religious texts, 233. + +_Literature_, Ashurbanabal's library, 132; + syllabaries, 135; + religious l., 12, 13, 213, 216, 233, 245, 247, 690-1; + temple records, 165; + legal documents, 165-6; + connection betw. religion and literature, 245, 691; + historical texts, 246; + uncertain demarcation betw. religious and secular l., 247; + epics, see _Gilgamesh_, _Eabani_, _Adapa_; + compound of popular belief and of theology, 689. + +_Local cults_, origin of, 49; + confusion with nature cult, 49-50; + growth of, 49; + policy of preservation of local cults by foreign conquerors, 69-70, + 106, 111; + confusion of (female) local cults, 80; + prominence given to local gods as compared with others, 111; + local cult features and general cult features compared, 110; + survival of local cults, 113; + factors obscuring local cults, 113-5; + political factors, 113; + popular factors, 114; + theological factors, 114; + absorption, 114, 168, 171; + number of, 170, 234, 274; + in lists, 233; + of the Ass. pantheon, 234; + importance diminishes, 235. + +_Loftus, William K._, excavations, 9. + +_Lofty and Brilliant Wall_, name of temple, 641. + +_Lot_, bears more resemblance to Parnapishtim than Noah, 507. + +_Lugal-banda_, god, 51; + temple at Uruk, 95; + local character, 95; + identification with Nergal, 95; + signification of name, 95. + +_Lugal-edinna_, epithet of Nergal, 172, 280. + +_Lugal-erima (?)_, god, 51; + his local character, 97; + interpretation of name, 97. + +_Lugal-gira_, epithet of Nergal, 172, 280. + +_Lugal-ki-mu-na_, in proper names of the 2d Bab. period, 169. + +_Lugal-Marada_, god, temple at Marad, 242; + a solar deity, 473; + patron of Gilgamesh, identical with Shamash, 486. + +_Lugal-mit-tu_, in Samsu-iluna's pantheon, 162; + wall of L., 172; + meaning of name, 172. + +_Lugal-zaggisi_, old Babylonian king of Uruk, 101; + his pantheon and its age, 110, 636; + gods common to Lugal-zaggisi's and Gudea's pantheon, 110; + priest of Anu, 110. + +_Lulubite_, name of people, 532. + +_Lunar cycle and sun calendar_, 78. + + +_Ma-an-ish-tu-su_, servitor of Â, 74. + +_Magarida_, a foreign god, 644. + +_Magganubba_, city in n.-e. Assyria, sanctuary of Sin, 219; + restored by Sargon II., 232; + cult of Damku, Sharru-ilu, Sha-nit(?)-ka, 232. + +_Magical texts_, subdivision of religious literature, 247; + practical purposes, 246, 255; + beginning of rituals, 247, 253-4, 269; + number of, 247; + comparative age of, 253, 256; + primitive popular thought, 254, 292; + method of composition, 254; + titles of, 254-5; + incantation rituals and their growth, 255, 283 ff.; + Ea and Eridu prominent in, 256; + compiled character, 256-7; + date of composition, 257; + bilingual redaction, 258; + metrical traits, 259; + source of study of popular beliefs, 259; + occurrence of Gibil evidence of ancient age of, 277; + pantheon in m. t. compared with that in historical texts, 297. + +_Mahmal_, tabernacle, compared with the Bab. ship for the gods, 655. + +_Makhir_, god of dreams, 323, 402. + +_Maklu series_, 286 ff., 302. + +_Ma-ku-a_, name of Marduk's ship, 655. + +_Malik_, god, in Nabubaliddin's pantheon, 162, 176; + associated with Shamash and Bunene, 176; + in proper names of the time of Hammurabi, 176; + often used as epithet of Shamash, 176; + meaning of name, 176; + Malik and Bunene, attendants of Shamash, 177; + consort of Bunene, 177. + +_Malkatu_ = Â. + +_Malku_, name of canal, 655; + name of Naru's ship, 655. + +_Ma-ma_, variant for Gula, 105. + +_Mammitu_, goddess; M. and Anunnaki determine death and life, 493. + +_Mamu_, a form of Gula in proper names of the 2d Bab. period, 169. + +_Mandacan_, legend of Rustem parallel to Etana legend, 520 ff. + +_Mar_, district in southern Babylonia, sacred to Nin-Mar, 100; + temple Ish-gu-tur of Nin-Mar, 100. + +_Marad_, city in Babylonia, temple of Lugal-Marada, 242; + native place of Gilgamesh, 473. + +_Marcheshwan_, see _Arakh-shamnu_. + +_Marduk_, 2d Bab. period, deity of Babylon, 54, 96; + child _par excellence_ of Ea, 96, 548; + prominence of his cult since Hammurabi, 116, 134-5, 690-1; + his titles, 118, 126, 239, 240, 276, 500, 576, 630; + identification with Bel and Ea, 118; + solar deity, 118, 119, 528, 576, 690; + his warlike traits, 119; + in religious texts, 120; + temples in Babylon (E-Sagila) and Borsippa, 121, 241, 636, 639; + his papakhu, 640; + his consort, 121-4, 228; + statue brought from Nineveh to E-Sagila, 684; + his statue recovered by Agum, 122, 152, 670, 687; + lord of E-Sagila and E-Zida, 126; + New Year's Day his festival, 127, 631, 678, 681; + mediator betw. Ea and mankind, 139, 276; + Marduk and Ea in incantation texts, 139-40; + conquers Tiâmat, 140, 197, 408, 422; + rivaled by Ramman, 158; + during the Cassite period, 162; + called Sag-ila, 169; + lord of Anunnaki and Igigi, 186, 239; + absorbs the rôle of other gods, 190, 409; + builds Eshara, 198; + blended with Bel, 54, 145-6, 148, 222, 542; + Bel's titles applied to, 222, 409, 542, 635; + position in the Assyrian pantheon, 224-5, 239; + associated with Ashur, 224; + associated with Ashur, Shamash, and Ramman, 224; + second to Ashur, 239; + prominence of his cult in the neo-B. period, 239-40; + rivaled by Nabu in the pantheon of Nebopolassar, 240, 679; + also in old Bab period, 648; + in incantations, 272-3, 276; + in the Shurpu series, 288; + in hymns, 307 ff.; + lord of rest, 309; + god of oracles, esp. in the south, 342, 345; + zodiacal interpretation, 370, 434, 458-9, 676-7; + his double aspect in the creation epic, 409, 432, 450; + takes the tablets of fate from Kingu, 428 (_cf._ 542, 681); + creates the universe, 428 ff., 447; + establishes the districts of Anu, Bel, and Ea, 432; + arranges the stations of the gods in the zodiacal system, 434; + creates man, 437 (_cf._ _Ea_, _Bel_, 443, 448); + the fifty names (of the Igigi) are bestowed upon M., 438; + creates the Anunnaki, 447; + = Nibir, _i.e._, Jupiter, exercises control over all the stars, 434, + 458-9; + 8th month sacred to M., 463, 678, 686; + Marduk as Sharru in the deluge story, 500; + absent in the deluge story, 508; + dogs symbol of the solar god Marduk, 528; + conquers Zu, 542; + identified with Adapa, 548; + temple at Ashur, 637; + zikkurat at Babylon, 639; + ship of Marduk, 655; + procession on New Year, 679; + spec. festival instituted by Agum, 687. + +_Marduk-baladan_, of Babylon, 129. + +_Marduk-nadin-akhe_, king of Babylon, carried statues of Ramman and + Shala to Babylon, 212. + +_Marriage offerings_, time of, 59; + to Bau, 59. + +_Mars_ = Nergal, name of planet, 370, 459; + the "sheep" _par excellence_, 459. + +_Mar-tu_ = Ramman, 166, 212. + +_Marwa_, hill in Mecca, 687. + +_Mashu_, mythical mountain, 488-9; + = Musas or Masis, 516. + +_Masis_, or Musas, = Mashu, 515. + +_Mecca_, 623. + +_Medes_, 44-5. + +_Median wedge writing_, 19. + +_Meme_, variant of Gula, 175. + +_Mer_ = Ramman, 157. + +_Mercury_ = Nabu, planet, 371, 459. + +_Mesopotamia_, religious ideas and customs, 1, 3; + seat of Terahites, 2; + empire of Nimrod, 2; + geography, 26, 27; + character of, 28 ff. + +_Messiah_, Hammurabi and the Hebr.-Christian notion of Messianic time, + 533. + +_Mili-shikhu_, king of Babylon, his cult of Shamash, 144; + minor gods worshipped, 172. + +_Minor gods_, 2d Bab. period, 171-2; + by Mili-shikhu, 172; + some Cassite deities, 172; + in Ass. texts, 171; + in neo-B. period, 171, 242-3; + absorbed by greater gods, 111, 147, 171, 177, 190, 233; + patron-gods of arts, 178; + as personifications, 179; + dividing line betw. spirits and m. g., 183, 233. + +_Mishiru_, a foreign deity, 644. + +_Mitanni wedge writings_, 20. + +_Months_, connected with gods, 462 ff., 676; + names of the months, 464; + m. sacred to gods and their festivals not always corresponding, 687. + +_Monumental finds_, 7. + +_Moon_, importance of m. as omen giver, 358; + manifold relations between man and m., 358; + importance of m. for calendar, 436, 461; + moon and sun in religion and astronomy, 461. + +_Moon-god_, see _Sin_. + +_Moses_, 130; + parallelism with Sargon I., 562. + +_Mosul_, excavations near, 5. + +_Mugheir_, mound, excavated, 9; + see also _Ur_. + +_Mummu_, associated with Apsu and Tiâmat, 420-1. + +_Münter, Frederick_, decipherment of wedge writing, 15. + +_Musas_, or Masis, = Mashu, 516. + +_Mythology_, see also _Nature_; + extent and influence of Bab. m., 518 ff. + + +_Nabonnedos_, of Babylon, restores temple of Shamash in Sippar, 70, 647; + last king of Babylonia, 45; + restores temple of Sin in Harran, 77, 646; + gives prominence to Shamash cult, 240-1. + +_Nabu_, god, 2d B. period, 127; + most prominent trait, 124; + probable aqueous origin, 124-5, 220; + rank as compared with that of Ea and Marduk, 125, 648; + agricultural deity, 125; + suppression of cult by Hammurabi and his successors, 126; + becomes son of Marduk, 127, 240 (_cf._ 648-9); + his shrine in E-Sagila, 127, 220-9, 636; + prominence during the Assyrian period, 128-9, 228; + his symbol, 128; + temple at Calah, 128, 228-9; + prominence during the neo-Bab. period, 129, 240; + his epithets, 129-31, 229; + meaning of name, 130; + his functions, 130, 240; + his cult with other Semites, 130; + identified with Nusku, 220; + his consort Tashmitum, 130, 228-9; + his consort Nanâ, 224; + favorite of Ramman-nirari III., 128, 228; + temple E-Zida in Borsippa, 121, 229, 241, 639, 648; + god of wisdom, 129, 229; + son of Ea, 229; + in the subscript to Ashurbanabal's tablets, 229-30; + similarity and difference betw. N. and Ea, 230-1; + in hymn, 306; + shrine E-makh-tila in Borsippa, 307, 636; + god of oracles in Assyria, 344, 348; + = Mercury, name of planet, 371, 459; + in the deluge, 500; + sanctuary E-pad-kalama-suma, 640; + Nabu's ship and procession, 654, 679. + +_Nabu-akhe-irba_, astrologer, 340. + +_Nabu-bal-iddin_, king of Babylon, 162, 685; + restores cult of Sippar, 176, 628, 645, 670; + votive offerings, 670. + +_Nabupelassar_, see _Nebopolassar_. + +_Namar_, district in Babylonia, sacred to Kamman, Nergal, and Nanâ, 159, + 164. + +_Names_, transference of name and interpretation of this act, 118, + 140-1; + composition of proper names, 165; + Bab. etymologies of names, 173. + +_Namtar_, god of pestilence, 569; + strikes Ishtar with disease, 570; + messenger of Allatu, 570, 580. + +_Nanâ_, goddess, 51; + titles, 81; + center of worship, 81; + position in the pantheon proper and in the cosmology, 81; + her temples, E-anna in Uruk, 81, 242, 311, 531, 639; + E-ul-mash in Agade, 82; + in Ur, 81-2, 85, 202, 311, 639, 678; + statue captured by Elamites and recaptured by Ashurbanabal, 85, 206; + absorbs inferior local deities, 103; + associated with Nergal and Ramman, 159, 164; + worshipped by Assyr. kings, 206; + consort of Nabu, 224; + Zag-muk of Nanâ, 678. + +_Nannar_ = Sin, etymology of N., 75; + N. attached to Ur, 75; + Sin to Harran, 76; + his position, 76; + his representation, 76; + his functions, 76, 78; + his epithets, 76, 79, 89; + relationship to Ningal, 97. + +_Naram-Sin_, founds temple of Shamash in Sippar, 70, 646; + his exploits incorporated in omen text, 562; + builder of the temple of En-lil in Nippur, 642. + +_Nâru_, rivergod in incantations, 282; + ship of Nâru, 655; + place of worship, 655. + +_Nature_, worship, 48; + confusion with local cults, 49-50; + nature myth, 432-3, 487, 494. + +_Nazi-Maruttash_, Cassite king, votive objects, 671-2. + +_Nebo_, mount in Moab, place of death of Moses, 130. + +_Nebopolassar_, king of Babylon, 129; + makes Babylon independent, 239; + makes cult of Marduk prominent, 239; + makes cult of Nabu prominent, 240; + Shamash cult at Larsa, 647, note 3. + +_Nebuchadnezzar I._, expels the Cassites, 88, 158; + cult of Marduk and Ramman, 158, 162; + his pantheon, 162. + +_Nebuchadnezzar II._, religion of N. and Daniel, 3; + builder of Birs Nimrud, 9; + rule, 44; + worships Sarpanitum as the begetting deity, 122; + makes cult of Marduk prominent, 240, 646; + revives ancient cults, 242-3; + restores temple of Nin-karrak at Sippar, 294; + his prayers exemplification of ethical tendencies, 299; + opposed to Bel cult in Nippur, 646; + restores Shamash temple in Sippar, 646; + Ishtar cult in Uruk, 648. + +_Nergal_, god, 51; + local cult and temple in Cuthah, 65, 164, 218, 563, 583, 648; + worship in Palestine, 65; + in Uruk, 66; + his names and their meanings, 66; + functions, 66-7, 537; + development of his attributes, 67-8, 582, 593; + identification with Lugal-banda, 95; + with Irkalla, 592; + associated with Allat, 104, 183, 565, 580, 593; + associated with Ramman and Nanâ, 159, 164; + Nergal in Samsu-iluna's pantheon, 162; + in Nebuchadnezzar's I. pantheon, 162; + epithets, 172; + chief of nether-world and subterranean demons, 183 (_cf._ 260), 511, + 563, 582; + associated with Ninib as god of the chase, 216, 218, 237; + with Ninib and Ashur, 216, 218; + god of war, 218, 582; + Cuthah his sacred city, 164, 218, 563, 583; + Kar-Nergal named in his honor, 219; + temple at Tarbisu, 219; + Laz his consort, 219, 243, 583; + identified with Dibbarra, 232, 528-9, 594; + perhaps = Bel-sarbi, 242; + in incantations, 273, 280; + phases of, 280, 459; + = Mars as name of planet, 370, 459; + 9th month sacred to N., 463; + sun of midday and summer solstice, 528, 582; + pictured as a lion, 530; + the lion a symbol of Nergal, 537, 580, 582; + identified with Gibil, 594; + associated with Allatu, 104, 183, 565, 580, 583, 593; + Nergal conquers and weds Allatu, 584-5; + imitation of Tiâmat-Marduk fight, 585. + +_Nether-world_, names of: Aralû, 557; + Ekur, 558; + Shuâlu, 558; + Kigallu, 562; + Irkalla, 563; + Kutu or Cuthah, 563; + epithets for n., 559, 563; + Nergal, lord of the n., 563; + the older head of the lower world a goddess, Allatu, not a god, 585. + +_New Year's Festival_, see _Zag-muk_. + +_Nibir_ = planet Marduk or Jupiter, in the zodiac in conjunction with + Bel and Ea, 434-5; + exercises control over all the stars, 458. + +_Nicolas of Damascus_, source B.-A. religion, 1, 412. + +_Niebuhr, Carsten_, 15. + +_Niffer_, excavations, 11; + see _Nippur_. + +_Nika_, mother of Esarhaddon, 340. + +_Nimrod_, incidental biblical reference to, 2; + not = Gilgamesh, 514. + +_Nimrud_ (mound), unearthed, 7; + temple, 9, 627. + +_Ninâ_, quarter in Lagash, 57, 86; + explanation of name, 86. + +_Ninâ_, goddess, 51; + explanation of name, 86; + centers of worship, 86-8, 635; + associations with Nin-girsu, 87, 635; + relations to Ea, 87-8; + fusion with Ishtar of Nineveh, 88; + interprets a dream, 101; + a daughter of Nin-si-a, 102; + in Gudea's pantheon, 106, 635. + +_Nin-a-gal_, god, 51; + meaning of name, 64; + function, 64; + identification with Ea, 64. + +_Nin-akha-kuddu_, goddess, 51; + her titles in incantation texts, 103, 282; + in Lugalzaggisi's pantheon, 110; + goddess of purification, 282; + mistress of Uruk, 103, 282; + water deity, 282; + lady of spells, 282. + +_Nin-azu_, "god of the great city," 592; + associated with Allatu, 586, 590; + god of healing, 590; + identified with Ninib, 591. + +_Nin-dara_, see _Nin-si-a_. + +_Nin-dim-su_, god, in the Cassite pantheon, 162, 172; + epithet of Ea, 173. + +_Nin-din-dug_, name of Bau. (See Corrections.) + +_Nin-e-gal_, variant of Nin-gal, 98. + +_Nineveh_, center of action in book of Judith, 3; + site of, 6; + capital of Assyria, 46, 193, 651; + cult of Ishtar, 152, 202-3; + temple E-mash-mash of Ishtar, 152; + resp. of Belit, 227; + Sha-nit(?)-ka, mistress of, 233; + worship of all gods and goddesses, 638; + intellectual center, 651. + +_Nin-gal_, god, 51; + center of worship, 97; + relationship to Nannar, 97; + sanctuary at Khorsabad, 231; + Nin-gal's ship, 655. + +_Nin-girsu_, solar deity, 51; + subordinate to Bel, 53, 57; + identity with Ninib, 57, 217 (_cf._ 528); + temple E-Ninnu in Girsu, 57, 87, 634-5, 640; + votive offerings, 57; + agricultural deity = Shulgur, 58; + identity with Tammuz, 58; + relations to Nin-shakh, 93; + in Gudea's pantheon, 106; + in incantations, 273; + zikkurat in Lagash or Girsu, 619, 635, 639; + shrine in Lagash, 640; + his ship, 654; + consort of Bau, 59, 677. + +_Nin-gish-zida_, solar deity, 51; + a form of Nin-girsu, 92; + meaning of name, 92; + identified with Ninib, Nin-girsu, Nin-shakh, 99, 217, 528, 547; + local character, 99, 528; + temple in Girsu, 99, 635; + in Gudea's inscriptions and incantation texts, 99, 106, 280; + consort of Nusku, 280; + brings famine in the land, 387; + 5th month sacred to N., 462, 547; + servant of Gibil, 463; + 4th month sacred to, 463; + identical with Gish-zida, 547; + associated with Tammuz, 546, 588; + presides over the growth of trees, 588. + +_Nin-gul_, 51; + consort of Lugal-banda, 95; + interpretation of name, 95; + place of worship, 96. + +_Ninib_, see _Nin-girsu_, solar deity, 57, 217, 459, 462, 576, 684; + consort of Gula, 105 (_cf._ 576, 591); + of Belitekalli, 173; + in Hammurabi's pantheon, 162; + in Nebuchadnezzar's I. pantheon, 162, 164; + god of war, 164, 214, 218; + = Ud-zal, 166; + associated with Ashur, 214; + epithets, 213-4, 217; + temple in Calah, 214-5 (_cf._ 684); + favorite of Ashurnasirbal and Shamshi-Ramman, 214; + god of the chase in association with Nergal, 216, 218, 237; + hero of the heavenly and earthly spirits, 214; + in association with Nergal and Ashur, 216; + identical with Nin-girsu, 57, 217; + with Nin-azu, 591; + absorbs Nin-gish-zida and Nin-shakh, 217 (_cf._ 547); + represents east sun and morning sun, 217; + first-born of Ea, 217; + offspring of Ekur, 217; + first-born of Bel, 217; + god of destructive cloud storm, 217, 500; + other qualities in religious literature, 218, 576; + name of outer wall of Sargon's II. palace, 237; + lays the foundations of cities, 237; + three forms, 238; + temple in Dilbat, 242; + in incantations, 273, 280; + = Saturn, name of planet, 371, 459; + 6th and 11th months sacred, 215, 684; + 4th month sacred to N., 462; + in the deluge story, 500 (_cf._ 217), 504; + worshipped at Nippur, 635; + temple of Zamama-Ninib, 640. + +_Nin-igi-azag_, title of Ea, 230. + +_Nin-igi-nangar-bu_, 171; + presides over metal workers, 178. + +_Nin-Karrak_ = goddess Gula, 242; + temple at Babylon (see _Gula_), 242; + in incantations, 273; + temple at Sippar, 294; + in a prayer of Nebuchadnezzar, 294. + +_Nin-khar-sag_ = goddess Belit, 164; + in Samsu-iluna's pantheon, 162, 164; + sanctuary at Babylon (see _Belit_), 242, 639. + +_Nin-kigal_ = Allatu, 282. + +_Nin-kurra_, 171; + lord of mountain, patron of stone workers, 178. + +_Nin-lil_, see _Belit_. + +_Nin-lil-anna_, in Nebuchadnezzar's II. pantheon, 242; + temple in Babylon, 640. + +_Nin-makh_ = Ishtar, 242; + temple at Babylon, 242. + +_Nin-mar_, goddess, 51; + center of worship, 100; + her temples in Mar, 100; + daughter of Ninâ, 100; + popularity of cult, 100; + in Gudea's pantheon, 106, 635; + daughter of Marduk, 168; + temple at Lagash, 635. + +_Ninni_, goddess, = Enanna, 51; + titles, 80; + center of worship, 80; + variant of Ishtar, 82; + in Lugal-zaggisi's and Gudea's panthea, 110; + identical with Nanâ of Uruk, 111; + temple at Hallabi, 117; + her cult by Hammurabi, 144-5; + "Ninni," consort of Zamama, 169; + temple in Kish, 639. + +_Nin-shakh_, god, 51; + his character and functions, 93; + identified with Ninib, 93, 217; + relations to Nin-girsu and Nin-gishzida, 92-3; + temple at Uruk, 93. + +_Ninshar_, cosmological deity, 417. + +_Nin-si-a_, god, 51; + or Nin-dar-a, 90; + center of worship, 91, 635; + absorbed by Nin-girsu, 91; + in Gudea's pantheon, 106, 635. + +_Nin-sun_, god, temple of N. at Lagash, 635. + +_Nin-tu_, god, temple of N. at Lagash, 635. + +_Nin-zadim,_ god, 171; patron of sculpture, 178. + +_Nippur_, rulers, 37; + temple of Bel, 11, 37, 69, 51, 54, 151, 642, 644; + temple of Belit, 55, 635; + inscriptions from Nippur, 103; + prominence during Cassite period, 40, 146, 480; + wall of Zakar, 172; + wall of Lugal-mittu, 172; + ancient center, 245, 445; + chief god Del, or En-lil, 445, 542; + reference to N. in Gilgamesh epic, 486; + rivalry betw. Nippur and Eridu, 508; + replaced by Babylon, 542; + zikkurat at N., 617; + worship of Ninib, 635; + worship of Nusku, 635; + votive objects, 671-3. + +_Nisaba_, goddess, 51; + agricultural deity, 101; + traits in common with Ea, 101; + sister of Ninâ, 101; + centers of cult, 102; + in Gudea's pantheon, 111; + probably local in Uruk, 111. + +_Nisan_, sacred to Anu and Bel, 462, 677; + sacred in Babylonia, 684; + 7th day sacred to Shamash, Malkatu, and Bunene, 685. + +_Nisir_, mount on which the ship alights, 503. + +_Nisroch_, Assyrian deity, 2. + +_Noah_, resemblance to Parnapishtim less than is the case with Lot, 507. + +_Nu-gim-mud_, title of Ea, 230. + +_Nun-gal_, god of the 2d Bab. period, 168; + temple in Sippar, 168; + meaning of name, 168; + solar deity, 168; + becomes a demon, 168. + +_Nur-Rammân_, of Ur, builder of Sin's temple in Ur, 76; + builder of temples to Nin-gal and Nannar at Ur, 97. + +_Nusku_, fire-god, in Ass. pantheon, 188, 220-1; + in Bab. pantheon, 220; + amalgamated with Gibil, 220, 277; + identified with Nabu, 220-1; + ideographic writing of name and its explanation, 220; + solar deity, 220-1, 279; + shrine in E-Sagila, 220, 241; + epithets, 221, 277, 280; + functions, 221; + shrine in E-Zida, 241; + in incantations, 271-3, 277, 286; + younger than Gibil, 277; + a mythological conception, 277, 279; + Gibil-N, god of civilization, 278; + medium betw. worshipper and deity, 279; + associated with Anu, 277, 286; + associated with Bel and Ea, 279, 286; + Ishum, messenger of, 280; + worship at Nippur, 635; + see _Gibil_. + + +_Oktanos_, see under _Ea_, 63. + +_Old Testament_, source for B.-A. religion, 1, 669 (_cf._ 696); + relations betw. the Hebrews and B.-A., 2, 611, 697-8; + contrast betw. Hebr. and B.-A. religion, 3, 668; + O. T. points of contact with Gilgamesh epic, 495; + with deluge story, 506 ff.; + parallels betw. Adam and Eabani, Eve and Ukhat, 511; + betw. Samson and Gilgamesh stories, 515-6; + 3d chapter Genesis compared with Adapa legend, 551; + Hebr. Sheôl || Bab. Shuâlu, 560; + Hebr. Shôel || Bab. Shâ'ilu, 560; + Hebr.-Bab. custom of inquiring of the dead, 560; + parallelism betw. Sargon I. and Moses, 562; + conceptions of nether-world in O. T. and in Bab., 606; + parallels betw. temple of Solomon and Bab. temple, 623, 632, 652-3, + 655; + libation of oil in O. T. and in Ass.-Bab., 665; + sacrifices in O. T. compared with Ass.-Bab., 667-8; + teraphim and Ass.-Bab. amulets, 674; + Hebr. and Bab. New Years, 681; + Purim compared with Bab. 15th Adar festival, 686; + Ashera and tree worship in Babylonia, 689. + +_Omens_, division of religious literature, 247; + purposes of, 248, 331; + comparative age of, 253-4; + an indirect means of forecasting the future, 329; + directions for the priest in recognizing o., 330; + relationship betw. o. and prayers, 331; + part of magic element in the ritual, 331; + occasions for seeking an o., 331 ff.; + derived from offered animals, 332; + of a public character, 332 ff., 362, 364, 374, 401; + questions of an omen seeker, 333 ff., 369; + list of, 337, 362; + their relation to reports, 368, 372; + o. ritual, 338; + connecting link betw. incantations and o., 352; + variety of o. literature, 355, 362; + o. from stars, 356; + the more variety, the more significance--a principle of general + application in interpretation of o., 358; + other guiding principles, 358 ff., 388, 401; + private o., 362, 403, 405; + o. series and mode of their composition, 363; + omens deduced from observations of eclipses, 357, 364; + restricted application of o. no hindrance to their practical use, 366, + 372; + vagueness of o. intentional, 367; + interrelation betw. reports and o., 368, 372-3; + importance of o. deduced from eclipses and more ordinary phenomena, + 368-9; + omens deduced from observations of planets, esp. Ishtar, and of other + heavenly bodies, 371-3; + omen calendars, 375, 382; + omens from terrestrial phenomena, 383 ff.; + logical principle controlling the interpretation, 384; + offshoot of sympathetic magic, 384; + birth omens, 384; + partly public, partly private character, 386; + the rarer the phenomena, the greater the significance, 385; + ideas of sympathetic magic in the interpretation of o., 388; + omens from offsprings of animals, 391 ff.; + omens from the actions of animals, 397-402; + omens from dreams, 402-4; + o. of a private character, 403; + popular phase of augury, 403; + omens from individual experiences, 404; + dividing line betw. omens of individual and of public character, 405; + the practical working of the omen belief, 406. + +_Ophites_, a gnostic sect, 699. + +_Oppert, Jules_, expedition to Babylonia, 8. + +_Oracles_, see also _Omens_ and _Witchcraft_, direct means of + forecasting the future, 329; + occasions for asking o., 338 ff.; + blank forms for o., 341; + form of, 341 ff.; + Marduk, god of, 342; + asked of the sun-god, 334 ff.; + of Ishtar of Arbela, 342; + ceremonies accompanying o., 345; + relationship to penitential psalms, 347; + practical purpose of, 349; + by means of dreams, 349 ff.; + generally vague language, 344; + occasionally definite language, 360; + objects with which o. are concerned, 360; + given by priestesses, 485, or priests, 329, 560, 657-8; + asked of the dead, 559-60, 657; + asked on the New Year's festival, 628-9. + + +_Pantheon_, divisions and development, 48-50; + sources, 51; + comparison betw. p. in historical and in incantation texts, 297; + comparison betw. B. and A. pantheon, 189, 201. + +_Papakhu_, chamber of the god, 627; + cosmological significance, 629. + +_Pap-sukal_, _i.e._, divine messenger, epithet of Nin-shakh, Nebo, and + Nusku, 93 (cf. 463, 571); + in incantations, 273; + 10th month sacred to P., Ishtar, and Anu, 463. + +_Pap-u_, god, in the Cassite pantheon, 162, 172; + offspring of E-sharra, 174; + function, 174. + +_Paradise_, belief in, among Babylonians, 578. + +_Parakku_, chamber of the god, 627. + +_Parnapishtim_, immortal, 488, 577; + P. and Gilgamesh, 492 ff.; + son of Kidin-Marduk, 488, 496; + born in Shurippak, 496; + his epithet Adra-Khasis, 505; + bears more resemblance to Lot than to Noah, 507. + +_Pa-sag_, god, 51; + "the leader of the land," 101; + identity with Ishum, 101; + lieutenant of Shamash, 107; + in Gudea's pantheon, 106. + +_Patesi_, 198. + +_Patron gods_, of persons, 216, 235; + Nabu, patron of Ramman-nirari III., 228; + of places, 49, 69-70, 106, 111. + +_Penitential psalms_, points in common with and differences from + incantations, 312; + national origin of, 312; + marks relationship betw. god and man, 313; + purpose to appease the anger of the gods, 315, 688; + advanced religious conceptions, 314-5, 326; + dialogue form, 315; + language, 316-7; + age, 317; + anonymity of the deity addressed, 318; + p. for specific purposes, 324, 688; + relationship to oracles, 347. + +_Persepolis_, wedge writings, 16. + +_Persian Gulf_, sacred to Ea, 497; + not the source of the deluge, 497; + confluence of the streams, 577. + +_Persian wedge writing_, 19. + +_Personifications of human arts_, 178. + +_Peters, John P._, explorer, 11. + +_Pilgrimage_, 684. + +_Place, Victor_, excavations, 8. + +_Place of Fates_, name of temple, 641. + +_Planets_, observations of, 370; + identifications of p. with deities, 370, 459 (_cf._ 619); + prominence of Ishtar-Venus, in astrological texts, 371; + regarded as auguries for the chiefs and the general welfare, 373; + planets and zikkurats, 619. + +_Politics_, affecting religion and literature, 108, 110-1, 134-5, 201, + 239, 690-1. + +_Popular Belief_, see _Theology and Popular Belief_. + +_Prayers_, see also _Hymns_, occasions, 663; + in connection with incantations, 293, 299; + without accompaniment of incantations, 294; + curses regarded as p., 296; + no line of demarcation betw. incantations and p., 297, 299, 307; + ethics in, 298; + power of words, 328; + no p. in its highest form, 329; + relationship betw. prayers and omen, 330; + efficacy dependent on their being uttered in the right manner and by + the right person, 353. + +_Priestly codes_, 362. + +_Priests and priestesses_, divisions of, 269, 241-2, 657-8; + p. as exorciser and his function, 271-2, 330, 657-8; + mediator betw. man and god, 315, 331, 353, 374, 560, 627, 692; + prognostication of future, 329, 560, 657; + importance of, 353; + "Priests of Ashur," association of priestly functions with early + kingship, 374; + priests and priestesses in their functions, 485, 655 ff., 692; + priests purifying the dead, 578, 602; + general name for priest, 657-8, 676; + priestesses as dirge singers, 604, 658; + as judges, 625, 658; + intellectual leaders, 693; + as sacrificers, 657-8; + eligibility to priesthood, 658-9; + women priests, 485, 659-60. + +_Proper names_, see also _Names_, composition of, 165; + source of study of divinities, 166; + evidence of age of cult of gods (Ishme-Dagan), 208; + Samsi-Ramman, 209. + +_Psalms_, see _Penitential Psalms_; also _Hymns_, _Prayers_. + +_Ptolemy_, see _Claudius Ptolemaeus_. + +_Pudilu_, builds temple of Shamash at Ashur, 209. + +_Purat_ = Euphrates, 27. + +_Purification_, see _Rituals_. + +_Purim_, compared with the Bab. solar festival, 15th of Adar, 686; + not to be compared with Puru, 688. + +_Puru_, a festival ceremony, 688. + +_Puzur-Shadu-Rabû_, captain of the ship of Parnapishtim, 500. + + +_Ra_, Egyptian sun-god, 210. + +_Rabbinical literature_, bearing upon B.-A. religion, 3, 697. + +_Races_, of Mesopotamia, 24, 33. + +_Ramman_, god, Shala his consort, 102, 161, 212; + associated with Anu, 154, 207, 212; + associated with Shamash, 145, 157-8, 160, 211; + associated with Sin and Shamash, 158, 163; + associated with Nergal and Nanâ, 159, 164; + rivals of Marduk, 158; + ideographic and other readings of the name, 156-7; + meaning of name, 156-7; + extent of his cult, 159; + cult by Aramaeans, 159; + indigenous to Assyria, 159; + rival of Ashur, 161; + his two aspects as storm-god, 160; + epithets, 156, 158, 160, 212, 498; + in Hammurabi's pantheon, 162; + in Nebuchadnezzar's I. pantheon, 162; + = Martu, 166, 212; + popular in Assyria, 211; + his instruments of destruction, 212; + "the mightiest of the gods," 212; + name of one of the eastern gates of Sargon's II. palace, 237; + brings abundance, 237; + temple at Borsippa, 242; + temple at Kumari, 242; + 11th month sacred to R., 463; + R. in the deluge, 500; + declines to fight Zu, 541. + +_Ramman-nirari I._, king of Assyria, 155; + cult of Ramman, 159; + of Anunnaki and Igigi as spirits of earth and heaven resp., 185; + repels the Cassites, 199; + his pantheon, 237, 593. + +_Ramman-nirari III._, king of Assyria, gives prominence to Nabu cult in + Assyria, 128, 228; + erects temple to Nabu at Calab, 228; + Nabu his patron god, 228. + +_Rassam_, Hormuzd researches, 9. + +_Rawlinson, Henry_, explorations, 9. + +_Regulus_, observations, 372. + +_Religion_, unity of church and state, 690; + influence upon Hebrews, see _Old Testament_; + upon Christianity, 698; + upon Egypt, Persia, and Greece, 699-701. + +_Religious texts_, 12-3, 467; + sources for religion, 51, 661; + in Bab. theological schools, 134; + reshaping of r. t. during Hammurabi's time, 140-2; + divisions, 247-51; + age, 691; + comparison betw. Ass. and Bab. r. t., 251-2; + their value as source for knowledge of sacrifices, 661; + votive inscriptions on statues, 669; + on other objects, 671-2; + worn as amulets, 672; + plague tablets, 536, 674. + +_Rim-Sin_, of 2d dynasty of Ur, "called" by Bel and Ea, 62; + cult of moon and sun-god in Ur, 70; + of Nanâ in Ur, 81; + builds temple of Nin-shakh at Uruk, 93; + his wife builds temple to Nin-gal at Ur, 97. + +_Rituals_, establishment of, 115; + and incantations, 247-8, 253-4, 283; + manner of growth, 255; + purification, 284, 688; + incantations the oldest fixed r., 294; + penitential psalms, 312 ff., 688; + bodily castigation, 320, 688; + offerings, 328; + prayers, 293 ff.; + never without ulterior motive, 328; + oracles and omens, 328 ff.; + composition and growth, 329-30; + strictness in observation of, 347. + +_Rustem_, son of Sal in Armen. and Mandaean legend, parallel to Etana, + 520. + + +_Saba_, district in southern Arabia, 491. + +_Sabitum_, maiden in Gilgamesh epic, 490-1; + the goddess of Siduri, 491. + +_Sacred objects_, 651. + +_Sacred period_, 686. + +_Sacred quarter_, 622 ff. + +_Sacredness of animals_, meaning of, 397-8, 662; + of trees, 662-3. + +_Sacrifices_, when not to be offered, 378; + when offered, 663, 667-8; + offered by priests, 657-8; + Semitic view of, 660; + comparison with Hebrew, 667-8; + as determined from religious and historical literature, 661; + development of, 661; + two kinds of, 661; + connected with prayers, 663; + use of oil and wine, 664, 666; + daily, 667; + monthly, 668. + +_Sâdu_, the hunter in the service of Gilgamesh, 475; + associated with Ukhat, 511. + +_Safa_, hill in Mecca, 687. + +_Sag-ila_ = Marduk, in proper names of the 2d Bab. period, 169. + +_Sal_, father of Rustem, 520. + +_Samsi-Ramman,_ king of Assyria, builds temple to Ramman, 154, 159; + builds temple to Ashur in Ashur, 198; + his name as evidence of age of Shamash cult, 209. + +_Samson_, parallelism with Gilgamesh, 515 ff. + +_Samsu-iluna_, king of Babylon, 56; + builds sanctuary of Belit, 56; + builds Dur-padda, sacred to Ramman, 158; + his pantheon, 162; + builds wall of Zakar in Nippur, 172; + builds wall of Lugal-mittu in Nippur, 172. + +_Samuel_, prophet, his spirit called up, 559. + +_Saracus_, last king of Assyria, 229. + +_Sargon I._, "builds" temple E-ulmash of Nanâ in Agade, 82; + myth of Sargon I. related to an incident in Moses' life, 562; + his exploits incorporated in a religious text, 562; + "builder" of temple of En-lil in Nippur, 642, 645. + +_Sargon II._, of Assyria, restores "laws and customs of Harran," 77; + builds sanctuary to Shamash, 211; + names Kar-Nergal in honor of Nergal, 219; + builds sanctuary to Sin at Khorsabad and Magganubba, 219; + patron of learning, 229; + prominence of Nabu cult, 229; + erects sanctuary to Nin-gal at Khorsabad, 231; + restores Magganubba, 232; + revives the triad, 236; + his pantheon, 237; + his palace at Khorsabad, 225, 237; + his zikkurat at Khorsabad, 617; + sacrifices in Babylonia, 664; + institutes special festival, 687. + +_Sarpanitum_, consort of Marduk, 121, 224, 228, 636; + interpretation of name, 121, 449; + shrine in E-Sagila, 121, 241, 636, 641; + her statue recovered by Agum, 122, 152, 670, 687; + her subordinate position, 121-2; + goddess of matrimonial fertility, 122, 684; + of secret knowledge, 122; + amalgamation with Erua, 122; + epithets of Sarpanitum-Erua, 123; + called Belit, 224, 684; + shrine in E-Zida, 241; + rarely in incantations, 276; + 25th day of Siwan her festival, 684; + festival instituted by Agum, 687. + +_Saturn_ = Ninib, planet, 371, 459. + +_Saul_, king of Israel, and the witch, 559. + +_Semites and non-Semites_ in Babylonia, 21-2, 32-4. + +_Sendschirli_, excavations in, 579. + +_Senkereh_ = Larsa. + +_Sennacherib_, king of Assyria, 200; + takes statues of Ramman and Shala back from Babylon, 212; + erects temple to Nergal at Tarbisu, 219; + his pantheon, 238, 644, note 2. + +_Seven spirits_, cause eclipse of moon, 264, 276; + 12th month sacred to them, 463; + Sibi, collective personification of the s. p. associated in war with + Ishum, 533. + +_Sex_, inferiority of female to male in the B.-A. pantheon, 75, 79, 104; + confusion of female cults, 80; + variety of "ladies" in pantheon, 98, 104; + position of female deities as consorts of male deities, 104, 586, 594; + male deities becoming female and consorts of male deities, 177, 280; + association of sexes in cosmology, 411; + association of sexes in the creation of the gods, 413; + female deities and the months, 463; + sex in witchcraft, 267, 342, 660; + sex in priesthood, 485, 659-60; + sex in furnishing oracles, 485, 660; + sex among musicians and dirge singers, 660 (see _Dirge_); + position of woman, 694. + +_Shabat_, 11th month, sacred to Ramman, 463; + sacred to Ninib, 215, 684. + +_Shabra_, god, temple at Lagash, 635. + +_Shàilu_, a designation for priest, 560; + || Hebr. Shôel, 560. + +_Shala_, consort of Ramman, 161, 212; + in proper names of 2d Bab. period, 169; + in Ass. pantheon, 189; + meaning of name, 213; + other applications of the name, 213; + epithets, 213. + +_Shalman_, god, in Ass. pantheon, 188. + +_Shalmaneser II._, king of Assyria, gives prominence to Shamash cult, + 205, 215; + his pantheon, 237. + +_Shamash_, or Utu, 51, 277; + signification of name, 68; + relations to the moon-god, 68-70, 98, 305; + centers of worship, Sippar and Larsa, 69, 117, 143, 176, 241, 628, + 640, 646; + relative age of the centers, 70; + temple Ebabbara, 70, 628, 640, 645; + attributes and functions, 71, 120, 210; + in incantations, 71, 211; + probable age of these conceptions, 72; + his other names and their meaning, 72-4, 176; + local uses thereof, 73; + Malkatu his consort, 74-5, 176, 241-685; + offspring of Nin-gal, 98; + in Lugalzaggisi's and Gudea's pantheon, 110; + in Hammurabi's pantheon, 162; + warrior of heaven and earth, 144, 211; + mighty hero, 152; + position in Bab. pantheon during and after Hammurabi, 144; + position in Ass. pantheon, 144, 209-11; + associated with Ramman, 145, 157-8, 160, 211; + associated with Sin and Ramman, 158, 163; + associated with Ishtar, 163, 511; + associated with Malik and Bunene, 176; + often called Malik, 176; + symbol of Shamash, 176-7; + temple at Ashur, 209; + protecting deity, 209; + ethical level in Ass. pantheon, 209-10; + judge of heaven and earth, 210, 274, 279, 297, 527 (_cf._ 640); + prominence of sun cult during reign of Ashurnasirbal and Shalmaneser + II., 210, 646; + under Esarhaddon, 646; + sanctuary by Sargon II., 211; + cult influenced by that of Egyptian Ra, 210 (_cf._ 699); + name of one of the eastern gates of Sargon's II. palace, 237; + grants victory, 237; + Nebuchadnezzar II. and Shamash cult, 646; + Nabonnedos gives prominence to Sh. cult, 240-1, 647; + temple in Babylon, 242, 640; + Sh. in incantations, 280; + in hymns, 300 ff.; + in omens and oracles, 334, 344; + Shamash and Sin, 305, 647; + 7th month sacred to Sh., 463, 685; + patron of Gilgamesh, 471, 479; + identical with Lugal-Marada, 486; + patron of Etana, 520; + controls Zu, 538; + on seal cylinders, 540; + Si-gar, a festival of, 684; + festival days, 685. + +_Shamshi-Ramman_, king of Assyria, gives prominence to Ninib cult, 214. + +_Shamuktu_, a class of priestesses of Ishtar, 660. + +_Sha-nit(?)-ka_, goddess, in Ass. pantheon, 188; + associated with Damku and Sharru-ilu, 232; + mistress of Nineveh, 233; + = Ishtar, 233. + +_Sharru_, title of Marduk, in the deluge story, 500. + +_Sharru-ilu_, god, associated with Damku and Sha-nit(?)-ka, 232; + meaning of name, 232; + evidently a title, 232; + perhaps a foreign god, 232; + worshipped at Magganubba, 232. + +_Shar-sarbi_ = Belsarbi, 242. + +_Sherua_, minor god in Ass. pantheon, 234; + foreign deity, 644. + +_Sheôl_, 560; + O. T. conceptions of Sheôl || to Babylonian conceptions, 606 ff.; + see also _Shuâlu_, _Dead._. + +_Shinar_ = Babylonia, 613. + +_Ship_, construction of, 498-9; + Puzur-shadu-rabu, captain of ark, 500; + a sacred object, 653-4; + its uses and significance, 654; + compared with the Mahmal and the ark, 655. + +"_Ship of Light_," name of Sin's ship, 655. + +"_Ship of Malku_," name of the ship of Nâru, 655. + +"_Ship of the Brilliant Offspring_," name of Bau's ship, 655. + +_Shir_, god, in Nebuchadnezzar's I. pantheon, 162; + local god, 163; + patron of Bit-Khabban, 176. + +_Shirpurla_, see _Lagash_. + +_Shuâlu_, designation of the district of the dead, 560 ff.; + meaning, 559; + || to Hebr. Sheôl, 560. + +_Shubu_, in Nebuchadnezzar's I. pantheon, 162; + local character, 163; + patron god of Bit-Khabban, 176. + +_Shu-bu-la_, god, in proper names of the 2d Bab. period, 169; + patron of Shumdula, 169. + +_Shu-gid-la_, see _Shu-bu-la_, 169. + +_Shukamuna_, Cassite god, identical with Nergal, 152, 163, 172; + head of Agum's pantheon, 152, 172; + consort of Shumalia, 173. + +_Shul-gur_ = Nin-girsu, 51. + +_Shul-pa-uddu_, god, 51; + meaning of name, 99; + age and extension of cult, 99; + decline of cult in favor of Shamash and Ninib, 100; + position in Babylonian astronomy, 100; + solar deity, 99, 531. + +_Shumalia_, in the Cassite pantheon, 162-3, 172; + in Nebuchadnezzar's I. pantheon, 162; + consort of Shukamuna, 173; + epithet, 173. + +_Shumdula_, city in Babylonia, cult of Shubula, 169. + +_Shum-gar_, see _Si-gar_. + +_Shurippak_, city on Euphrates, destroyed by rainstorm, 495; + comparison with Sodom, 496, 507. + +_Shurpu series_, 290. + +_Shu-sil-la_, see _Shubula_, 169. + +_Sibi_, collective personification of the seven evil spirits associated + with Ishum, 533. + +_Sibittum_, minor deity in the Etana legend, 521. + +_Siduri_, Sabitum, the goddess of Siduri, 491. + +_Si-gar_, festival of Gula, 683; + festival of Sin, 684; + festival of Shamash, 684; + meaning, 684; + date of installation of Ashurbanabal, 684. + +_Silili_, mother of one of Ishtar's associates, 482. + +_Sin_, god, see also _Nannar_; worshipped in Harran, 76, 241, 641, 647; + temple at Ur, 76, 241, 295, 640, 644, 687; + occurrence of the name elsewhere, 77; + amalgamation with Nannar, 78; + chief trait, 78; + lunar cycle and sun calendar, 78; + epithets and functions, 76, 78-9, 219, 462; + gradual decrease of Sin cult, 78-9; + in Lugalzaggisi's and Gudea's pantheon, 110; + associated with Shamash and Ramman, 158, 163; + in Hammurabi's pantheon, 162; + patron of Bit-Khabban, 163; + head of 2d triad, 163; + associated with Ishtar, 163, 571; + father of Ishtar, 565; + temple at Calah, 219; + sanctuary at Khorsabad, 219; + sanctuary at Magganubba, 219; + god of wisdom, 78, 219; + god of water in Ass. pantheon, 219; + first-born son of Bel, 76, 219; + subordinate position in Ass. pantheon, 219-20; + Sin and astronomy, resp. astrology, 219-20; + temple at Babylon, 242; + in incantations, 280; + in hymn, 303-4; + Sin and Shamash, 305, 647; + first-born of Bel, 219, 462; + Siwan, 3d month, sacred to Sin 462; + chapel in E-Zida, 639; + Sin cult under Nabonnedos, 77, 648; + Sin's ship, 655; + zagmuk of, 678; + Si-gar, festival of, 684. + +_Sinai_, a peninsula (metals and stone), 627, 652. + +_Sin-gamil_, of Uruk, builds sanctuaries to Nergal at Cuthah, 66. + +_Sin-gashid_, of Uruk, servitor of Lugal-banda and Nin-gul, 95-6. + +_Sin-iddina_, of Larsa, builds sanctuary to Shamash in Larsa, 69; + builds temple of Sin in Ur, 76. + +_Sippar_, temple and archives, 10; + ancient center, 35, 245; + center of worship of Shamash, 69, 117, 143-4, 241, 628, 640, 646; + temple of Nun-gal, 168; + worship of Shamash, Malik, and Bunene, 176; + temple of Nin-karrak, 294; + temple of Malkalu or Â, 640; + zikkurat, "Threshold of Long Life," 641. + +_Sir_, serpent god, in proper names of the 2d Bab. period, 170. + +_Sirius_, observations of, 372. + +_Siwan_, 3d month, sacred to Sin, 462, 687; + sacred to the god of brick structures, 463; + 25th day of Siwan sacred to Belit of Babylon, 684. + +_Slaves_, standing of slaves a measure of social ethics, 695. + +_Smith, George_, explorations, 9. + +_Sodom_, destruction of, point of contact with Gilgamesh epic, 495-6, + 507. + +_Sokkaros_, grandfather of Gilgamesh (Aelian), 524. + +_Solomonic_ temple and the sacred quarter in Nippur, 623-4; + horns of altar compared with Bab. custom, 652; + "sea" compared with Apsu, 653; + ark compared with the Bab. ship, 655. + +_Sorcer_, _Sorceress_, see also _Witchcraft_; + relationship betw. s. and oracle-giver, 342. + +_Spirits_, in proper names, 166, 180; + Nun-gal-e-ne, a class of, 168 (cf. 184); + their symbols, 174, 182; + functions, 174; + lists of, 180; + classification of, 181 ff.; + of disease, 181, 186, 246; + of the field, 182; + of the nether-world, 183; + dividing line betw. gods and spirits, 181, 183, 231, 266, 274; + of evil, 260, 264; + activity of, 260-1; + representations of, 263; + habitations of, 260, 263; + the seven spirits, 264; + strength attribute of, 266; + relationship betw. demons and witchcraft, 267; + differentiation of demons, 262. + +_Spiritualization of mythology_, 304, 306; + characteristic of later times, 297; + in penitential psalms, 313, 319. + +_Splendor of Heaven and Earth_, name of temple, 641. + +_Stars_, writing of heaven, 454; + division of, 455. + +_Storm_, symbols of storm (birds and bulls), 537 ff. + +_Subartu_, name of country, 532. + +_Sugi_, name of country, 675. + +_Sukhaul-ziku_, name of mythical fountain, 572. + +_Sumer and Akkad_, ethnological-geographical, 32-3; + S.-A. language in incantations, 259. + +_Sumerian question_, 21-4, 32-4. + +_Sun_, see _Shamash_; + gates of s., 435, 443; + representation of sun in creation story, 461; + sun and moon in astronomy and religion, 461. + +_Susian wedge writing_, 19. + +_Syllabaries_, 135. + +_Syncellus_, source for B.-A. religion, 1, 5. + +_Systematized religion_, see _Theology_. + + +_Taboo_, meaning of, 397. + +_Talisman_, see _Amulet_, _Teraphim_. + +_Tammuz_, agricultural deity, 58, 588; + relations to Ishtar, 84, 482, 484, 547, 564, 574; + T. and Gish-zida doorkeepers of heaven, 546; + solar deity, 547; + 4th month named for T., 547, 682; + intercedes for Adapa with Anu, 548-9; + brother of Belili, 575; + T.'s day = All-Souls' Day, 599, 605, 682; + identified with Nin-girsu, 58; + associated with Nin-gish-zida, 546, 588. + +_Tammuz_, 4th month, sacred to Ninib, 462; + named for god Tammuz, 547, 682; + sacred to the servant of Gibil, 463. + +_Tarbisu_, city north of Nineveh; temple of Nergal, 219. + +_Tar-gul-le_, names of some demons let loose by Dibbarra in the deluge + story, 500. + +_Tashmitum_, goddess in pantheon of Hammurabi, 130; + a new creation, 131-2; + consort of Nabu, 130-1, 228-9; + meaning of name, 131; + her quasi-artificial character, 131-2; + called Nanâ, 132; + shrine in E-Sagila, 220, 241; + in the subscript to Ashurbanabal's tablets, 229-30; + shrine in E-Zida, 241. + +_Tashritu_, see _Tishri_. + +_Taylor, J. E._, excavations, 8. + +_Tebet_, 10th month, sacred to Papsukal, Ishtar, and Anu, 463; + festival of En-meshara, 588. + +_Tel-Id_, mound near Warka, site of ancient capital of Mar, 100. + +_Tell-el-amarna_, see _El-amarna_. + +_Tell-Ibrahim_ = Cuthah. + +_Telloh_, excavations, 11; + temple records and legal documents, 165. + +_Tell-Sifr_, temple records and legal documents, 165. + +_Temple records_, see also _Literature_; + source of study of the deities, 167. + +_Temples_, 612 ff.; + names of t., 638 ff.; + history of t., 642 ff.; + as financial establishments, 650; + minor part played by the temples in Assyria, 659. + +_Terah_, _Terahites_, appearance in Palestine, 2; + migrations, 2; + home of, 9. + +_Teraphim_, talismans parallel to Ass.-Bab. statuettes of gods, 674. + +_Teumman_, king of Elam, 296. + +_Thamud_, Arabic tribe destroyed, 496. + +_The Brilliant House_, name of temple, 641. + +"_The Lesser Light_," name of Ningal's ship, 655. + +_Theology and popular belief_, 89, 114, 131, 180, 235, 249, 411, 414, + 416, 458, 494, 527, 584, 614, 619, 629-30, 689; + Gudea's system, 108; + interaction betw. political fortunes and positions of divinities, 108, + 110-11, 134-5, 201, 234, 235; + genealogical arrangement according to Amiaud, 108; + family theory according to Davis, 109; + its value, 109; + tendency towards recognition of certain great gods, 111, 147, 171, + 190, 234-5, 696; + organization of cult and ritual, establishment of dogmas, 115, 133, + 247, 690; + pedagogical activity, 135; + formation of the great triad, 147; + re-systematization of gods by Hammurabi, 171, 276; + systematization of spirits, 184; + attempts to systematize series of gods, 213, 216, 233; + theology in cosmology, 412 ff., 418, 443; + in the 12th tablet of the Gilgamesh epic, 512-3; + in the Etana legend, 527; + theology in the Zu epic, 542. + +_Thomas, Felix_, excavations, 8. + +_Thousand and One Nights_, 494. + +_Threshold of Long Life_, name of zikkurat in Sippar, 641. + +_Tiâmat_, mythical monster, conquered by Marduk, 140, 197, 408; + fought by Anu, Ea, 197; + synonymous with Apsu, 411; + female principle, 411; + personified chaos, 411, 414; + dominion of T. and Apsu precedes that of the gods, 412; + gods product of the union of T. and Apsu, 413; + mythical monsters product of the union of T. and Apsu, 414; + associates of T., 419; + Ummu-Khubur, epithet of T., 419; + Kingu her consort, 420; + Tiâmat epic compared with Zu myth, 543; + comparison with Nergal-Allat fight, 585. + +_Tiglathpileser I._, king of Assyria, nomenclature of Bel, 146; + dedicates temple to Anu and Ramman, 154, 159; + as a hunter, 216; + rebuilds temple of Bel at Ashur, 225; + pantheon, 236; + dedicates captured gods, 675. + +_Tiglathpileser II._, sacrifices in Babylonia, 664. + +_Tigris_, course of, 28-9; + comparison with Euphrates, 30; + in garden of Eden, 2 (_cf._ 506); + one of the four streams forming the confluence of streams, 506 (_cf._ + 2). + +_Tishri_, 7th month, sacred to Shamash, 462 (_cf._ 681, 685); + 7th day sacred to Shamash, Malkatu, and Bunene, 685. + +_Tombs_, see _Dead_. + +_Triad_, the great, Anu, Bel, Ea, 107; + relationship of the members, 147; + product of theology, 147, 149; + development of, 148; + extraneous position, 149; + representative of the three kingdoms, 155; + punish the violator of monuments, 207; + fix the name of the months, 208, 236; + general position in Ass. pantheon, 236; + give victory, 236; + grant rule, 236; + associated with Ashur, Ishtar, and Igigi, and Anunnaki, 236; + in incantations, 273; + associated with fire-god, 279; + in Gudea, 418; + in the cosmology, 418; + ancestors of the triad, 418; + symbolizes the eternal laws of the universe, 432. + +_Triad_, second, Sin, Shamash, Ramman, 163; + in incantations, 273. + +_Tubal-cain_, biblical father of metal workers, 178. + +_Tur-lil-en_, in Nebuchadnezzar's II. pantheon, 242. + +_Tychsen, Gerhard_, decipherment of wedge writing, 15. + + +_Ubshu-kenna_, council chamber of the gods, 423, 629, 687. + +_Uddushu-Namir_, a divine servant, created by Ea, 571. + +_Ud-zal_ = Nimib, 166. + +_Ukhat_, in the Gilgamesh epic, 475, 476 ff.; + parallelism betw. U. and Eve, 511. + +_Ukhâti_, sacred harlots of Uruk, 475, 531, 660. + +_Ul-mash-shi-tum_, in proper names of the 2d Bab. period, 170. + +_Ululu_, 6th month, sacred to Ishtar, 462, 684; + sacred to Ashur, 463, 685; + sacred to Ninib, 215, 684; + 3d day of U. sacred to Shamash, Malkatu, and Bunene, 685. + +_Ululu 2d_ (intercalated), sacred to Anu and Bel, 463. + +_Umu_, goddess, 51; + priestess of Uruk, 102; + in Lugalzaggisi's pantheon, 110. + +_Umun-pa-uddu_ = Shul-pa-uddu, 99. + +_Ur_, city, home of Terahites, 9; + dynasties, 36-7; + sacred to Sin or Nannar, 69-70, 75, 242, 640, 647; + sanctuary of Shamash, 70; + starting point of Hebrew migrations, 77; + association with Harran, 77; + temple of Nanâ, 81; + temple of Nin-gal, 97; + temple of Sin, 70, 242, 295, 640; + literary center, 245; + zikkurat at Ur, 617; + temple E-kharsag, 638; + temple E-gal-makh, 639. + +_Ur-Bau_, patesi of Lagash, + builds sanctuary of Belit, 56; + builds sanctuary to Ea in Girsu, 61-3; + builds temple of Ninni in Gishgalla, 80; + builds temple to Nin-Mar in Mar, 100; + builds temple to Ku(?)-anna in Girsu, 102; + erects a zikkurat in Nippier, 645. + +_Ur-Gur_, 2d dynasty of Ur, + builds sanctuary to Shamash in Larsa, 69; + preserves local cults in Larsa, Nippur, Uruk, 69; + builds temple to Sin in Ur, 76; + builds temple to Nanâ in Uruk, 81. + +_Ur-Kasdim_ = Ur. + +_Ur-Nin-Girsu_, of Lagash, priest of Anu, 90. + +_Ur-Shul-pa-uddu_, ruler of Kish, 99. + +_Uru-azagga_, quarter of Lagash, 57; + temple of Bau, 59, 103. + +_Uru-gal_, "great city," + designation of nether-world, 592; + Nin-azu, god of U., 592. + +_Uruk_, ancient center, 9, 35, 245, 445, 472; + excavated, 9; + rulers, 37; + temple of Nin-shakh, 93; + temple of Lugal-banda, 95; + temple of Nin-gul, 96; + origin of cult of Nisaba, 102; + Nanâ, or Ishtar, the great goddess of Uruk, 81, 84, 103, 242, 311, + 445, 473, 475, 645, 648; + importance of Uruk in Nippur inscriptions, 103; + worship of Nisaba, 111; + temple of Nanâ or Ishtar, 81, 242, 311, 531, 639; + Uruk supûri, 472; + city of the Kizrêti, Ukhâti, and Kharimâti, 475, 531; + conquered by Gilgamesh, 473, 513; + attacked by Khumbaba, 430; + Uruk under Cassites (?), 480; + attacked by Dibbarra, 531; + dwelling of Anu and Ishtar, 531; + zikkurat at U., 619, 639. + +_Uru-kagina_, patesi of Lagash, 53; + king of Girsu, 56; + erects temple of Bau at Uru-azagga, 103. + +_Utu_, surname of Shamash, 72; + etymology, 73. + +_Utukku_, a class of spirits, 260 (_cf._ 511). + + +_Vases_, sacred objects, 652, 674-5 + comparison with vases in the Solomonic temple, 653. + +_Venus_ = Ishtar, name of planet, 370. + +_Votive inscriptions_, see _Religious Texts_. + +_Votive offerings_, 51, 57, 660 ff.; + lists of, 165; + popular character, 668-9; + statues of kings votive offerings, 669; + occasions for, 670; + offered by kings and laymen, 671, 675; + various objects, 671, 675; + captured gods as offerings, 675. + + +_Warka_, see _Uruk_. + +_Water_, see _Fire_ and _Ea_; + means of purification, 276, 279, 282, 289. + +_Wedge writing_, styles and varieties, 19, 20; + origin, 21 ff., 454, 455. + +_Witchcraft_, origin of belief in, 267; + relationship betw. w. and demons, 267; + the sex in w., 267, 342, 485; + means of w., 268; + protection against, 269; + release from, 285, 657; + causes of punishment by, 291. + +_Worship_, tree worship compared with Hebrew-Phoenician Ashera cult, + 689; + symbolical in Bab., 689. + + +_Xenophon_, contemporary of Ctesias, 1. + +_Xisuthras_, 505; + see _Adra-Khasis_. + + +_Yakhin_, name of column in Solomon's temple, 624. + + +_Zab_, lower, tributary of Tigris, 192. + +_Zabu_, king of Babylon, restores Shamash temple at Sippar, 117; + restores Anunit temple at Agade, 117. + +_Zag-muk_, festival of Bau, 59, 677; + festival of Marduk, 127, 631, 678-9; + festival of En-lil, 678; + festival of Sin, 678; + festival of Nanâ, 678; + propitious time for asking oracles, 628-9; + spring and fall the time of the z., 678; + compared with Jewish New Year, 687. + +_Zakar_, god, meaning of name, 172; + place of worship, 172; + "wall of Zakar," 172; + relationship to Bel and Belit, 172. + +_Zamama_, god of the 2d Bab. period, 168; + sanctuary to Z. in Kish, 169; + god of battle (identified with Ninib, 640), 169; + Ninni his consort, 169; + in incantations, 273; + temple of Zamama-Ninib, 640. + +_Zarmu_, son of Bau, 103. + +_Za-za-uru_, son of Bau, 103. + +_Zikkurat_, staged tower, 615; + imitation of mountain, 615; + house of oracle, 622; + names of zikkurats, 638 ff. + +_Zodiac_, z. system outcome of religious thought, 247, 434; + zodiacal interpretation of the gods, 82, 310-1, 434, 462-3, 676; + almost the entire zodiac known to the Babylonians, 456. + +_Zoroastrianism_, 45. + +_Zu_, personification of storm, 525, 537; + myth of Zu, 537 ff.; + compared with Tiâmat epic, 543; + explanation of name, 537; + the chief worker of evil, 538; + under the control of Shamash, 538; + robs the tablets of fate, 540; + conquered by Marduk, 542. + +_Zurghul_, city in Babylonia, 578. + + + + +ANNOUNCEMENTS + + + + +HANDBOOKS ON THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS + +Edited by Morris Jastrow, Jr., Professor of Semitic Languages in the +University of Pennsylvania + +The distinguishing features of this series will be: first, each volume +will deal with the history of a special religion, which is to be +intrusted to the hands of a competent specialist; 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