MythsLegendsofBabyloniaAssyria 10000585

UN I F O RM WIT H T HIS VO L UM E
Th e illus t r at ions , w h ic h ar e a feat ur e of t h is

s eri es , a r e r ep rod uc ed for t h e most p a rt from
t he nes t wor ks o f past a nd lw ing art is ts.
Th e M yt h s ofG r eec e a nd R om e
By H A . Wit h . ll a e Illu
G un ma n .
5 7 Fu p g -
s
t r at ions
A cla s ic vol m At once fascinatin g t y
.
s u e. a s or
b oo k and a v l ab l wor k of referen a u e ce .
Myt h f t h N o m n
s o e rse e
Fr m t h o Ed das and S g a By H A
e a s.
With 3 3 F ll p ag Ill stration
. .
G UE R B E R . u -
e u s.
Myt h s nd L g nd a f th Mid dl A g e e e s o e e s
B y H A GU . With 3 6 F ll p ag e Ill s
. E R B ER . u - u
t r a t ions .
H er o -M t h s a nd Le g e nd s of t h e B r it i s h
y
R ce a By M E B B UI T M A
. Wi h 5 1 I
t
ll a Ill trat ons
. . .
i nal
.
,
Or gi F u p ge us i -
.
Myt h s Le g e nd s of t h e C e l t ic Rac e
a nd
By T W R u o With 46 Original Full o x sr x.
pag e Ill s t rat ion
. .
u s.
My th s a nd L e g e nd s of J a p an
By P H A LA ND DAVI SD With .
3 2 Pl a t es in
olo r
.
C u .
Th e M yt h s of Me x ic o a nd P e ru
By LE W I S S P NC
E E, With S6 , Full
a e Plat e nd oth r Ill s tr ti ns
p g s a e u a o .
Th e M yt h f th e N t h Am e i an
s o or r c
I nd i n B y LE W S SP N C E
a s. With I E
3 Pl t s in Colo r and ot h r Ill tr tions

,
0 a e u e us a .
My th s L e g e nd s of Anci en t E gyp t
a nd
B y LE W SP N C F RA I
IS Wit h 6 Plat es E E, 1
oth er Ill trations
. . .
in C olo r u an d 32 us .
My th f t h H ind u nd B u d dh i t s
s o e s a s
B y SIS T R N ( MA R A R T E N m )
E I V E D I TA G E . a e
nd D
a ANA N A C M W M With
r D OO A RAS A Y.
3 Plat e in Colo r b y Indi an A t is t s
2 s u r .
Myt h nd L e g nd s of B b y l ni
s a and e a o a
A y i ss B y L W IS SP
r a C . E EN E,
W i th 8 Pl t in Colou nd 3 Plat in a es r a 2 a
Half tone -
.
He r o - T al e s and Le ge nd s t h e S e r b ians of
By W o rsu v M . P na o vxr cn i h 32 s . Wt Plate
in Colour .
acr i c ing to B
S el
Fr E
v ely n l
Pa u
MYT H S 85 L EG EN D S
O F B A B Y L O N I A 89

A SS Y R I A
BY
L E W I S SP E N C E
AU H
T OROF
MYT H S O F M E I C O A ND P E RU T H E
TH E X C I VI
LIZA N
TI O AN C I E NT ME I C O
0F X P O P O L VU

TH E H

f
M YT H S O F TH E N
TH E AM
O RTH E RI CA N I N D I
A NS
M YTH S A ND O F AN N E G Y P T
LEGE ND S CI E T
ETC .
W I T H E IG H T P L A T E S I N C OL O U R B Y
EV ELY N PA U L AN D T H I RT Y TW O -
O T H E R I LL U ST RA T I ON S
L O NDO N
G H A RR A P {9 CO MP A NY L TD

G EO R G E . .
2 t5 3 PO RT SMOU TH STREET KI NG SWAY wc . .

HE p urp os e of this b ook is to p rovid e n ot
only a popular ac count Of the religion an d
mythology of ancient B abylonia an d A ssyria ,
but to extract and present t o the reader the treasures

Of romance latent in the subj ect the p eculiar richness
,
of which has b een recognized since the early days

O f arch aeological e ffort in Chaldea U nfortunately .
,
with few excep tions writers who have made the field
,
a Sp ecial study have rarely b een able to triumph

over the limitations which so often ob tru de in works
O f s cholarship and research I t is tru e that the
.
p ages of R awlinson Smith L ayard an d Sayce are

, , ,
enlivened at intervals with pictures O f A ssyrian

splendour and Babylonian gloryglea ms which escap e
as th e curtain s which veil the wondrous p ast are
partially liftedb ut such glimps es are only interludes

in lengthy dis quisitions which t oo often must b e

tedious for the general reader .
I t was s uch a consideration which p rom p ted the

re p aration O f this volume Might not a b ook
pe written which should c ontain the pure gold of
.
Babylonian romance free d fro m the darker ore O f

antiquarian research ! SO far so good B ut gold
,
.
in the pure stat e is notoriously unserviceable an d ,
an alloy which renders it o f great er utility may

detract nothing from its brilliance R omance or no .
romance in thes e days it will not do to furnish stories

,
O f the gods without attem p ting some denition o f
their nature and origin F or mor e than ever b efore

.
romanc e an d knowledge are a n ecessary blend in

the making of a satisfa ctory b ook on mythology .
Nevertheless it is anticipate d that it will b e t o the

,
modern reader who loves the romance Of antiquity tha t

5
MYT H S O F B A B YL O NI A AND A SSY RIA
this b ook will esp ecially a p p eal I t is claime d tha t
.
the greater part O f Chaldean romanc e clusters around

the wonderful mythology an d religion of that lan d ;
it is therefore O f thes e depart ments of Chaldean lor e
that this volu me chiefly treats B ut the history O f
.
B abylonia an d A ssyria has not b een neglected The

.
grea t na mes in its records will b e found t o recur

c onstantly in thes e pages in most instances a c c om
,
a nie d by a tale or legend which will illu minat e the

p
circums tan ces O f their careers and s erve t o retain
these in the mind of the reader Nor has the B iblical
.
c onnexion with Chaldea b een forgotten ; the rea der

will nd as he p roceeds frequent references to t h e
p ages Of the most p ictures qu e B ook in the world .
L S . .
CONTE NT S
A
CH PTER PAGE
I . B A B YLO N IA A N D A SSYRIA I N H I ST ORY AND

LE G E N D 11
II . B A B Y L O N IA N C O SMOG ON Y 70
III . E A RL Y B A B YL ON IA N REL I G I ON 88
IV . T HE G I L G AME SH E PI C 1 54
QV . TH E L A T E R PA NT HE O N O F B A B Y L ON IA 1 84
VI . TH E G R E A T G OD ME RODA C H A N D H I S C U L 1 99
VI I . T HE PA NT HE ON OF A SSY RIA 2 03
V II I . B A B YL O N I AN ST A R W ORSH IP
- 231
IX . TH E P R I E ST H OO D C U L T A N D T E MP LE S
, , 2 39
X . T HE MAGI C A N D D EMON OLO G Y OF B A B YL ON IA

A N D A SSY R IA 2 57
XI . TH E MY T H OL O GI C A L MON ST E RS A N D A N I MA L S
OF C H A L D E A 2 89
X II . T AL E S OF THE B A B Y L ON IA N A N D A SSYRIA N
KI N GS 2 99
X III . T HE C OMPA RA T I VE V AL U E OF TH E B A B YLON IA N

A ND A SSY RIA N REL IGI ON S 31 3
X IV . MOD E RN E X C A V A T I ON I N B A B YL ON IA A N D
A SSYR IA 33 9
X V. TH E T W I L IG H T O F TH E G OD S 3 77
G LOSSA RY AN D I ND E X 38 1
L I S T O F I LL US T RAT I ONS
P AG E
Sa c ri c i g n
ro B el ( Eve ly n P a u l) F ront isp ie ce
Assault on a C it y 1 6
B a salt e ng a e d w it h t h e T t of Kh am m u
St lee r v ex

ra b i s
C od e of L a w s 20
Se nn h er ib re e i ing T ibu t
ac c v r e 30
Th e D e t h of S d a n p a lu s (L Ch al n)
a ar a . o 32
Th L ib r ary of K ing Assu bani p l a t N ine e h

e r- -
a v
(F e rna nd L Qu esne)
.
36
D a nie l int e r p re t s t h e D r e a m of N e bu c h ad re z z ar
( Evely n P a u l) 38
G ra nt of Priv il g e es t o Rit t i -
Mard u k by N e buc h a d re zzar I 40
B it s N im rud , the To w e r Of B ab l e 48
Th e Murd e r of Se t ap o ( Evely n P a ul) 58
Th e Se v e n T a bl e t s of e at i n
Cr o
70
Migh t y w as h e t o look u p n o (Eve ly n P a u l) 76
Con ic t b et w e e n Me ro d a c h a nd Tiaw a t h 80
T y p es Of En lil -
, the C hi e f G od of N ipp ur , a nd of h is
C onso rt N in lil -
94
I sh t a r , as ( I ) Mot h e r g od d e ss ( 2 ) G o d d e ss
-
, of War ,
Go d d e s of Lo
( 3) s ve 1 24
Th e M t h e r g d d e ss I s h t
o -
(E ly n P ul)
o ar ve a 1 36
Ass y ian R c k S ul p t u
r o c re 1 48
Ass y r ian Ty p e of G ilg m e h a s 1 62
Ut N p ish t im m a k e s O ff er in g t o t h e G od s
-
a ( Alla n Ste wa rt) 1 76
N e bo 1 84
a
H ll in A ssy ria n P a la c e ( Sir H e nry L ay a rd) 1 96
Tig lat h - Pil e se r I d ire c t e d by N inib ( Evely n P a ul) 2 1 6

MYT H S O F B A B YL O NI A AN D A SSY RIA
P AG E
Ass u n a ir p al t t en d e d by a W in g e d Myt h logi l B e in g

r- z -
a o ca 222
Z ikku r t s oi t h e Anu Ad ad at Ash ur

a -
2 42
St a g e t we -
t Sam a a
o r a rr 2 42
E ca t e d Ruins Of t h e T e m p l of E S gila
x va e -
a 2 50
E o c isin g D m ons of D ise ase

x r e 2 62
C l y Obj e t r e s e m bling Sh e p s L i e r

a c a e v 2 82
Ea gl h e a d e d Myt h log i al B e in g
e- o c 2 96
C p t ure of S
a p nu b y Tigl t h Pil e s r I I
arra a ( E ly n P ul) a -
e ve a 3 00
Th F t al E c lip
e a (M D t n se . ovas o , 3 06
Sh lm ne s e I p u r in g ut t h
a a r D u st of a Conq ue re d C ity
o o e
( Ambrose D u d ley) 308
Th e Ma rria g e Ma r k e t ( Edwin L ong R A ) , .

310
A Royal H unt 318
Elij ah p e ailin g o e r t h e P r ie st s of B l (Ev ly n P ul)

r v v aa e a 326
Th B l c k Ob e lis k
e a f Sh lm ne s r I I o a a e 3 42
Out line Of t h Mo u nd t N im r ud
e (Sir H enry L y rd)
s a a a 3 46
Th P a l a e s of Nim d
e c (f umes F g u n) r er so 3 48
Wo k f t h E c at
r O ein B b y l n
x av ors a o 35 4
Ruins f B a by l nO o 366
Th e H ang in g G ar d e ns of B by l n (M D t n a o . ovas o , 3 7o
IO
CHAPT E R I : B AB YL ONIA AND ASS YRIA
IN HI S T O RY AND L E GE ND
0 our fathers until well nigh a century ago

-
B abylon was no more than a mighty name

a gigantic skeleton whose ribs protru de d
here and there fro m the sands of Syria in colossal
ruin o f tower and te mple B ut n ow the grey shrou d
.
which hid fro m V iew the remains o f the glow and

glitter of her ancient Splendour has t o s ome extent
been withdrawn and thro u gh the lab ours o f a band
,
o f scholars and explorers whos e lives and work must

b e classed a s a mong the most romantic passages in
the history o f hu man effort we are n ow enabled t o
V iew the wondrou s panora ma o f hu man civilization
as it evolve d in the valleys o f th e Tigris an d
E uphrates .
The name Babylon carries with it the s ound o f

a deep mysterious sp ell such a conj uration as might
, ,
b e uttere d in the recesses o f se cret te mples I t .
awakens a thousand echoes in the imagination I t .
holds a mus ic richer than that Of E gyp t B abylon .

,
Babylon the sonorous charm O f the word is a s a

lin e from s ome great epic I t falls on the ear
.
o f the historian like distant thunder B ehind th e .
grandeur O f R ome an d the b eauty o f Greec e it looms

as a great and thick darkness over which fl ash a t
in tervals strea ms o f uncerta in light as half forgotten -
kings an d priests con querors and tyrants de mi

, ,
gods and mighty b uilders pas s through the gloo m

from Obscurity t o O bscuritys ometimes in the full
glare o f historical recognition but more O ften in t h e
,
half light and partially relieved d us k o f u ncertainty

-
.
O ther shapes again move like ghosts in com p lete

, ,
11
MYTH S O F B A B YL ONI A AND A SSY RI A
an d utter darkness an d thes e are by far the mos t
,
nu merous of all .
B ut the Spirit of Babylon is no s oft and alluring

thi ng eloquent of O riental wonders or charge d with
the delicious fascination of the E ast R ather is it .
a thing stark and Strong informed with fa te and

,
epical in its intense recognition o f destiny I n .
Babylonian history there are but two figures of

moment the s oldier an d the pries t We are dealing .
with a rac e austere and stern a race of rigorous ,
religious devotees and conquerors the R o mans of

,
the E ast but not an unimaginative race for the ,
B abylonians an d A ssyrians ca me of that stock

which gave to the world its greatest religions ,
J udaism Christianity and Moha mmedanis m a race

, , ,
not without the s ense of mystery and s cience for ,
B abylon was the mother of astrology and magic ,
and establishe d the b eginnings of th e study of the

stars ; and lastly of commerce for the rst tru e
, , ,
nancial o p erations an d the rst houses of exchange

were founde d i n the shadows of her te m p les and
palaces.
The b oundaries of the land where the races of

B abylonia and A ssyria evolve d one of the most

remarkable and original Civilizations in the world s
history ar e the two migh t y rivers of Western A sia ,
the Tigris and E u p hrates A ssyria b eing identical

,
with the more northerly and mountainous p ortion ,
and Babylonia with the s outherly part which in ,
c line d to b e at and marshy B oth tracts of country

.
were inhabited by p eople of the sa me rac e save that ,
the A ssyrians ha d acquired the chara cteristics of a

p op ul ation dwelling in a hilly country and had
b eco m e to s ome extent intermingled with H ittite
an d A morite ele ments B ut both were branches
.
12
T H E A KK A DI A NS
of an ancient Se mitic s tock the ep och of whose
,
entranc e int o the land it is impossible t o x I n .
the oldest inscriptions discovere d we nd thos e

Semitic immigrants at strife with the in digen
ous p eople o f the country the A kkadians with
, ,
who m they were subsequently t o mingle and whos e

b eliefs an d magical and occult c onceptions e sp e c i
ally they were afterward to in corp orat e with their
OW II
Th e A kk adians
Who then were the A kkadians who m the Baby
, ,
lonian Semites came to dISp la c e b ut with who m they

nally mingled ! Great an d bitter has b een th e
cont roversy which has raged around the racial
a ffinities o f this peo ple Some have held that the y
.
were themselves of Semitic stock others tha t the y

,
were of a race more nearly approa ching the Mongol ,
the L app and the Basque I n such a b ook as this

,
.
,
the obj ect of which is t o pres ent an account of the

Babylonian mythology it is unnecessary t o follow
,
the protagonists of either theory into the dark

recesses whither the conict has led the m B ut the .
probability is that the A kkadians who are us ually ,
represented upon their monuments as a b eardles s

people with obliqu e eye s were conn ecte d with tha t
,
great Mongolian fa mily which has thrown ou t

tentacles fro m its original home in central A sia t o
t h e frozen regions of the A rctic the north of E uro p e
, ,
the Turkish E mpire aye an d p erhaps t o A meri ca

, ,
itself ! A kkadian in it s linguistic feature s a nd

esp ecially in it s gra mmatical structure show s a
resemblan c e to the U ral Altaic gr oup o f language s
-
which e mb ra ces Turkish and F innish and this is ,
in itself good evidence that the p e o p le wh o Sp oke it

l 3
b elonged to that ethn ic division B ut the question
.
is a thorny one and pages nay volu mes might b e

, , ,
occupied in presenting the arguments for and aga inst

such a b elief .
I t was fro m the A kkadians however that the

, ,
B abylonian Se mites received the germs o f their

culture indeed it may b e avowe d that this ab original
p eople carried the m well on the way toward civi liza
tion Not only did they instruct the Semitic new
.
c omers in the arts of writing and reading but they ,
strongly biased their religious b eliefs and so ins p ire d

,
the m with the idea of the sanctity of their own faith

that the later Babylonian priesthood preserve d the
old A kkadian tongu e a mong the m a s a sacre d lan
g u age j ust as the R o man priesthood has retain e d
,
the u se of the dead L atin Speech I ndeed the .

,
proper pronunciation of A kkadia n was an abs olute

necessity t o the success fu l p erformance of religious
ritual and it is passing strange t o observe that the
,
Babylonian pries ts comp osed new religious texts in

a Species of dog A kkadian j u st as the monks of the
-
Mid dl e A ges c omposed their writings in dog L atin !

with such zeal have the religio u s in all ages clung
to the cult of the anc ient the mystic and half
,
forgotten thing unknown to the vulgar .
When we rs t enco u nter B abylonian civilization

w e nd it grouped round about two n u clei Nippur ,
in the North and E ridu in the South The rst had .
grown up around a sanctuary of the god En lil who -

,
held sway over the ghostly animistic spirits which

at his bidding might pose as the friends or enemies
o f men A more c ivilize d deity held sway at E ridu
.
,
which was the home of E a or O annes the go d of

, ,
light an d wisdom who exerci sed his knowledge of

,
the healing art for the benet of his votaries From .
4
TH E SE MI T E CO NQ U E RO R S
the waters of the Pers ian Gulf whence he rose each ,
morning he brought knowledge of all manner of

,
crafts and tra des arts and industries for the b ehoof
, ,
of his infant city even the mystic and di f cult art

,
of im p ressing writt en characters on clay I t is a .
b ea utiful p icture which we have fro m the old legend

of this se a b orn wisdom da ily enlightening the life
-
of the little white city near the wa ters The Semites .
possessed a deep and almost inst in ctive love o f

wis dom I n the writings attributed t o Sol o mon
.
and in the rich an d wondrous Psalms of David

those deep mines of song and sagacityw e nd the
glories of wis dom aga in an d again exto lled E ven .
yet there ar e few p eoples a mong whom the love of

scholarship erudition an d religious wis dom is more
, ,
cultivate d for its own sake than with the J ews .
Thes e rather different cultures of the North and

South working t oward a common centre met and
, ,
fused at a p eriod prior t o the c o mmencement of

history an d we even find the city of U r when ce
, ,
A bra m ca me a n ear neighb our o f E ridu colonized

, ,
by Nip p ur ! The culture of E ridu p r e vail ed never

t h e le ss and its mightiest offsh o ot was the ultimate
centre of E u phratean civilizationBabylon itself
,
The rst founders of the city were undoubtedly of

Su merian stockthe ex p ression Su merian

b eing
that in vogue a mong modern scholars for the
older A kka dian and therefore interchangeable
,

with it .
Th e Sem it e C onq ueror s

I t was probably ab out the time of the j uncture
of the civilizations of E ridu and Nippur that the
Semites entered the country There are indications
.
w hich lea d t o the b elief that as in the case of the

,
IS
MYT H S O F B A BYL ONI A AND A SSY RIA
Semitic immigrants in E gypt they ca me originally ,
from A rabia The Semit e readily accepte d the

.
Su merian civilization which he foun d fl ourishing in

the valley of the E uphrates and a dapte d the ,
Su merian syste m of writing t o his own language ,
in what manner will b e indicate d later B ut the .
Su merians thems elves were not ab ove b orrowin g

fro m the rich Semitic tongue an d many of the earliest ,
Su merian texts we encounter are strongly Semitize d .
B ut although the Semites app ear to have ltered into

Su merian territory by way of E ridu and U r the rs t ,
denite notices we have of their presenc e within it

are in the monu ments of the more northern p ortion o f
that territory in what is known as A kkad in th e
, ,
neighb o u rhood of Bagdad w here they foun ded a ,
s mall kingdom in much the sa me manner as th e

Jutes founded the kingdo m of Kent The earlies t .
monu ments howeve r c ome fro m L agash the moder n

Tel
, , ,
lo so me thirty m iles north of U r and rec oun t ,
the dealings of the high

,
priest of that plac e with

other neighb ouring dignitaries The priest s o f .
L agash became kings and their con quests extende d

,
b eyon d the connes of Babylonia t o E la m on the

east and s outhward t o the Persian Gulf
,
.
A B aby lonian C onq uer or

B ut the rst great Semitic empire in Babylonia
was that founded b y the fa mous Sargon of Ak kad .
A s is the cas e with many popular heroes and monarchs

whos e deeds are re me mb ered in s ong and sto ry
for exa mple Perseus ( Edip u s Cyrus R omulus an d , , ,

, ,
our ow n King A rthur the early years of Sargon

were passed in obs curity Sargon is in fact one of .
, ,
the fatal children

H e was legend stated born
.

, ,
in c oncealment and s ent adrift like Moses in an a rk , ,
I 6
As sa l t on a C ity
u
F rom a b r lie f
us- e re p t m g t h C m paigns
r e se n e a of Sc nnac h c n b
P lzolo l l
'
. . 1 Ma xwell a nd C0
16
A B A B YL O NIAN C O NQ U E RO R
of bulrushes on the waters of the E uphrates whence ,
he was res cued and brought u p by on e A kki a ,
husbandman B ut the time of his recognition at

.
length arrived an d he received the crown of Baby

,
lonia His foreign conquests were extensive O n

. .
four suc cessive occasion s h e invaded Syria and

Palestin e which he su cceeded in welding into a
,
Single empire with Babylonia Pressing his victories .
to the margin of the Mediterranean he erected upon ,
its shores statues of himself a s an earn est of his

con quests He als o overca me E la m an d northern
.
Mesopota mia an d qu elled a rebellion of s ome magni

tude in his own dominions H is son Nara m Sin .
,
-
,
claimed for himself the title of King of the F our

Zon es and enlarged the e mp ire left him by his
,
father p enetrating even into A rabia A monu ment

, .
un earthed by de Morgan at Susa depicts him

trium p hing over the c on quered E la mites He is .
s een p assing his Sp ear through the prostrat e body

of a warrior whos e hands are upraised as if pleading
for quarter H is head dress is orna mented with the
.
-
horns emble matic of divinity for the early Baby ,
lonian kings were the direct vicegerents of the

gods on earth .
E ven at this co m p aratively early time ( c 3800 .
the resources of the country had been well exploited

by its Semitic con qu erors and their absorption of
,
the Sumerian civilization had p ermitted them t o

make very considerable progress in the enlightene d
arts Some of their work in bas relief an d even in
.
-
,
the lesser if e qua lly di f c u lt craft of gem cutting -

,
is a mong the nest e ff t s of Babylonian art Nor

c
r
.
were they decient in more utilitarian elds They .
construct ed roads through the most imp ortant p or

tions of the e mpire along which a service of p osts
,
13 I
7
c arried messages at stated intervals the letters con ,
v e e d by these being stamped or franked by clay

y
s eals b earing the name of Sargon
, .
Th e F ir st L ibr ary in B aby lonia .
Sargon is also fa mous as the rst founder of a

Babylonian library This library app ears to have
.
c ontained works of a most surprising nature having ,
regard to the p eriod at which it was instituted O n e .
of thes e was entitled The Observa t ions of B el an d ,
c onsisted of n o less than seventy two books dealing -
with astron omical matters of considerable com

p lex it
y; it registered and describ ed the app earances
of comets conj unctions of the sun and moon and the
, ,
phases of the planet Ven u s b esides recording many ,
eclipses This wonderfu l b ook was long a fterwar d

.
translated into Greek by the Babylonian historian

B e rossus an d it demo nstrates the great antiquity
,
o f Babylonian astronomical scien ce even at this

very early epoch Another fa mous work contained
.
in the library of Sargon dealt with omens the manner

of casting them and their interpretationa very
,
important side issu e of Babylonian magico religious

- -
pract i ce .
A mong the c onquests of this great monarch whose ,
Splendo u r shines through the shadows of anti quity
like the distant flash of arms on a misty day was the ,
fair islan d of Cyprus E ven imagination reels at .

the well a u thenticated assertion that ve thousand
s even hundred years ago the keels of a Babylonian
conqueror cut the waves of the Mediterranean an d
landed upon the shores of fl owery Cyprus stern Semitic
wa rriors who loading themselves with loot erected
, , ,
statues of their royal leader and returned with their

b ooty I n a Cyp rian te m p le De Ce snola discovered
.
,
18
G U DE A
down in the lowest va ults a h aematite cylinder ,
which describ ed its owner as a servant of Nara m

Sin the son of Sargon so that a c ertain degre e of
, ,
communication must have b een kept up b etween

Babylonia and the distant island j us t as early E gyp t ,
and Crete were b ound t o each o ther by ties of culture

and c ommerce .
G udea
B ut the empire which Sargon ha d founded was
doo med to precipitate ruin The seat of p ower was .
diverted s outhward to U r I n the reign of Dungi .

,
on e o f the monarchs who ruled fro m this southern

sphere a great vassal of the thron e Gudea stands
, , ,
out a s on e of the most re markable chara cters in

early Babylonian antiquity This Gudea ( e 2 700 . .
B C ) was high pries t of L agash a city p erhap s thirty

. .
-
,
miles north of U r and was fa mous as a patron of

,
the architectural an d allied arts He ransacked .
western A sia for building materials A rabia supplied .
him with c opper for orna mentation the Am a m e s ,
mountains with cedar wood the quarries of L ebanon ,
with stone while the deserts adj acent t o Palestine

,
furnished him wi t h rich stones of all kinds for u se

in decorative work and districts on the shores of
,
the Persian Gulf with timber for ordinary building

purp oses H is architectural ability is vouche d for
.
by a plan of his palace measured t o s cale which is

, ,
carved upon the lap of one of his statues in the

L o u vre .
There is n o intention in this s ketch t o follow

minutely the events in the history of Babylonia and
A ssyria The purpos e is to depict and des crib e the
.
circumstances deeds and times of its most out

, ,
standing gures it s most typical and chara cteristic

,
I9
MYT H S O F B A B YL ONI A AND A SSY RIA
rulers By following this plan we hop e t o b e b e t ter
.
able to present the reader with a more faithful and

genuin e picture of the c ivilization the myt hs of
which we are about to p erus e than if we s quandere d
,
spac e and time in the description of the reigns of

kings d u ring whos e t enure of the thron e n o event
of importance is re corded .
K h am m ur abi t h e Gr eat
L ike that which preceded it the dynasty o f U r ,
fell and A rabian or Canaanit e inva ders usur p ed t h e

,
royal p ower in much the sa me manner as the She p herd

Kings s eized the s overeignty of E gyp t A subsequ ent .
foreign yoke that of E la m was thrown off by Kha m

, ,
m ura bi perhap s the mos t celebrate d and most

,
p opularly famous na me in Babylonian history This .
brilliant wis e and p olitic monarch did not content

, ,
himself with merely expelling the hated E la mites ,
but advanced to fu rther conq u est with such success

that in the thirty second year of his reign ( 2 338 B C )
-
. .
he ha d formed Babylonia into a single monarchy

with the capital at B abylon its elf U nder the .
fostering care of Kha mmurabi Babylonian art and ,
literature unfolded and blossomed with a luxurianc e

surprising t o c onte mplat e at this distanc e of time .
I t is astonishing too to not e how c ompletely he

, ,
succ eeded in welding into on e homogeneous whole

the various elements of the empire he carved out for
himself So surely did he unify his c on quests that
.
the Babylonian power as he left it survived undivided

for nearly fteen hundred years The welfare of his .
subj ects of all races was constantly his care No .
on e satised of the justice of his ca u s e feared to

approa ch him The legal c ode which he formulated
.
and which remains as his greatest claim t o the

20
B as al t S t ele en gra v ed w it h t h T ex t e
f K h a m m ra b i s C ode f L aw s

o u o
Th cene represents t h K in g ec iving t h

e S e r e e
L ws fro m Sh a m ash t h S n g d
a ,
e u -
o
P h oto W . A
. Ma nsell a nd Co .
20
K H A MMU R A BI T H E G R E A T
applaus e of p osterity is a monu ment o f wis dom and
e qu ity I f Sargon is t o b e regarded as the A rthur
.
of Babylonian history s u rely Khammurab i is its

Alfred The circu mstanc es of the lives of the two
.
monarchs present a decidedly Similar pict u re B oth .
had in their early years t o fre e their c ountry from a

foreign yok e b oth instituted a legal c ode were patrons
, ,
of letters an d assiduous in their attention t o the

wants of their subj e cts .
I f a great p e ople has fre quently evolved a legal

code of sterling merit there are cases on record where
such an institution has s erved to make a p eople great ,
and it is probably n o inj ustice t o the Se mites of

Babylonia t o sa y of the m that the code of Kha m
m ura bi made the m what they were A c opy of this
.
world fa mous c ode wa s found at Susa by d e Morgan

-
,
an d is n ow in the L ouvre .
What the Babylonian chron ologists called the

First Dynasty of Babylon fell in its turn and it is ,
cla imed that a Su merian lin e of eleven kings took

its p lac e Their sway lasted for 36 8 years a state
.
ment which is obviously op en to q u es tion These .
were the mselves overthrown and a Kassite dynasty

fro m the mountains of E la m wa s founded by Kandis
( e
. 1 78 0 B C ).which
. lasted for nearly s ix centuries .
Thes e alien monarchs faile d t o retain their hold on

much of the A siatic an d Syrian territory which ha d
paid tribut e to Babylon and the suzerainty o f
Palestin e was likewis e lost to the m I t was a t this
.
epoch too that the high

, , priests of A sshur in the
north took the title of king but they appear t o have
,
b een subservient t o Babylon in so me degree A ssyria.
grew gra dually in p ower I ts p eople were hardier

.
and more warlike than the art loving an d religious

-
folk of B abylon an d little by little they en croache d

,
21
up on the weakness of the s o u thern kingdo m until
at length an a ffair of tragic proportions entitle d the m
to direct interference in Babylonian p olitics .
A C ourt Mur der

The circumstance s which necessitate d this inter
v e nt ion are not unlike those o f the assa ssination o f
King Alexander o f Serb ia and Draga his Q ueen , ,
tha t happ ened 3000 years la ter The Kassite king .
o f Babylonia ha d marrie d the daughter o f A ssur

u ba llidh o f A ssyria But the match did no t meet
y .
with the approval o f the Kassite faction a t court ,
whi ch murdered the bridegroom king This a trocious -

.
a ct met wi t h swift vengeance a t the hands o f A ssur

a ll idh o f A ssyria

y u b the bride s father

,
a monarch ,
of a ctive and statesmanlike qualitie s the a uthor ,
of the celebrate d serie s o f letters to A men h e t e p I V -
of E gypt unearthe d a t Tel el A marna H e led a

,
- -
.
p unitive army into Babylonia hurled fro m the ,
throne the pretender place d there by the Kassite

faction and replace d him with a scion of the leg it i
,
mate royal stock This king B u rna burya s reigned

.
,
-
,
for over twenty years and upon his deceas e the,
A ssyrians still nominally the vassals o f t h e

,
Babylonian Crown declare d the mselve s inde p e n

,
dent of it Not content with such a revolutionary

.
measure under Shalmaneser I ( 1 300 B C ) they la id

,
. .
cla im to the suzerainty of the Tigris E uphrates -
region and extended their con quests even to the

,
boundaries o f far Cappa docia the H ittites an d ,
nu merou s other confederacies sub mitting to their

yoke Sh a lm a ne se r s son Tu k ult i in A risti took the
.

,
- -
,
city o f Babylon slew its king B it ilya su an d thus

, , ,
completely shattere d the claim of the older sta te to

suprema cy H e ha d reigned in B abylon for so me
.
22
TIGLATH PILESER
seven years when he was faced by a p opular revolt ,
which seems to have b een hea ded by his own son ,
A ssur na zir pal who slew him and place d H ada d

- -
,
nadin akhi on the throne This king con quere d

-
.
and kille d the A ssyrian mona rch o f h is time Bel

,
kudur uzur the last of the old A ssyria n royal line

, ,
whose death necessitated the institution o f a new

dynasty the fth monarch o f which wa s the fa mous
,
Tigla t h p ile se r
-
I .
Tig lat h Pileser

r
Tigla t h p ile se r ,or Tu k ult i pal E sana to confer

- - - -
,
on him his full A ssyrian title ca me to the throne ,
about 1 1 2 0 B C and soon commenced the career o f

. .
,
a ctive con ques t which wa s to render his na me on e

o f the most fa mous in the warlike annals of A ssyria .
Ca m p aigns in the Upper E uphrates against alien

immigrants who ha d settle d there were fo llowed by
the con quest o f the H ittites o f Suba r t i in A ssyrian ,
territory Pressing northwa rd toward L ake Van in

.
the Kurdish country he subsequently turne d his

arms westward and overran Ma la ria Ca ppadocia .
and the Ara m ze a ns o f Northern Syria n ext felt the

force of his arms and he penetra te d on this occasion ,
even to the sources o f the Tigris H e left behin d .
him the chara cter of a grea t warrior a grea t hun ter , ,
and a grea t b uilder re storing the se mi ruinous ,

-
temples of A sshur and H ada d or R immon in the city

o f A sshur .
I t is not until the reign o f A ssur na zir pal I I I - -
( e
. 8 8 3 B C
) tha t we
. are once
. more enabled to t a ke
up the thread o f A ssyrian history with any degree
o f c ertainty I n this reign artistic develop ment
.
appea rs to have proceede d apace ; bu t it cannot be

said of A ssur na zir pal tha t in him culture went hand
- -
23
MYT H S O F B A B YLONIA AND A SSY RIA
in han d with humanity the records of his cruelties
,
b eing long an d revolting H is successor Shalmaneser

.
,
I I p ossessed an insatiable thirs t for military glory

, ,
and d u ring his reign of thirty v e years overthrew-
a grea t confederacy o f Syrian Chiefs which included

A ha b King o f I srael H e was disturbed during
,
.
the latter part of his reign by the rebellion of his

eldest son But his second son Sa msi Ra mm on
.
,
-
,

ca me to his father s a ssistance a nd his faithful ,
a dherence secure d hi m the succession to the throne

in 8 2 4 B C . .
Sem iram is t h e G r eat

I t was probably in the reign o f this monarch that
the queen known in legen d a s Se mira mis live d I t .
would have been wonderful indee d ha d the magic

o f he r na me not been connecte d with ro mance by
the O riental imagination Se mira mis ! The na me.
sparkles an d s cintill a tes with ge ms o f legend and

song Myth magic and music encircle it and sweep
.
, ,
round it a s fairy sea s surround some island para dise .
I t is a central rose in the chaplet o f legend it has ,
b een enshrined in music p erhap s the most divine

and melodious which the songful soul o f I taly ha s

ever conceived ye t no t more beauteou s than itself .
L et us introduce into the iron chain o f A ssyrian

history the golden link o f the legend of this H elen
o f the E ast and having heard the ctions of her
,
greatnes s le t u s attemp t to remove the veils which

hide her real personality fro m V iew an d look upon

her a s she wa s Sa m m u ra m a t the Babylonian queen ,
and favourite o f Sa msi Ra m m on who crush e d the

-
,
assembled armies o f Media and Chaldea and whos e ,
glories are engraved upon a column which setting ,
forth the tale of her con quests des cr ibes her in a ll ,
24
SE MI R A MI S
T H E GRE A T

simplicity as A woman o f the palace o f Sa msi

Ra mm on King of the World
,
.
L egend says tha t Ninus King o f A ssyria hav , ,
ing conquered the Babylonians pro ceeded toward ,
A rmenia with the obj ect of reducing the p eople o f

tha t country B ut its politic king Ba rsa nes unable
.
, ,
to meet him b y arme d force made a voluntary su b ,
mission a cco mpanie d by presents o i such m a g ni

,
cence tha t Ninus wa s placa ted B ut insatiable in .

,
his desire for con quest he turned his eyes to Media

, ,
which he speedily subdued H is next a mbition wa s

.
to bring under his rule the territory b etween the

Ta na is and the Nile This grea t task occupied him
.
for no less than seventeen years by which time all ,
A sia ha d sub mitted to him with the single exception

,
of Ba ctria which still ma intained its indep endence

, .
H aving laid the foundations o f the city of Nineveh ,
he resolved to p roceed against the Ba ctrians H is .
army wa s of dimensions truly mythical for he wa s ,
said to b e a ccompanied by o f infantrymen ,
of horse soldiers with the a ddition o f

-
,
chariots e quipped with scythes .
I t wa s during this ca mpaign says Diodoru s Sic ulus , ,
tha t Ninus rst b eheld Semira mis H er precis e .
legendary or mythical origin is obscure So me .
writers aver tha t Sh e wa s the daughter o f the sh

goddess At a rya t is or De rk e t o and O annes the
, , ,
Babylonian god of wisdom who ha s alrea dy been ,
allude d to At a rya t is wa s a goddess of A scalon in

.
Syria and a fter birth her daughter Semira mis wa s

,
mira culously fe d by doves until sh e wa s fo u nd by

one Sim m a s the royal shepherd who brought her
, ,
up and married h e r to O nnes or Menon one of , ,
Ninus s generals H e fell by his own hand an d

.
,
Ninus thereu p on took Semira mis to W ife having ,
25
profoundly a dmired her ever since her conduct a t
the capture o f Ba ctria where sh e ha d greatly dis
,
t ing uish e d herself Not long a fterward Ninus died

.
,
leaving a son called Ninya s During her son s .

minority Semiramis assumed the regen cy and the ,
rst grea t work sh e undertook wa s the interment of

her husband who m sh e b u rie d with grea t splendour
, ,
and raised over him a mound o f earth no less than a

mile and a quarter high and proportionally wide ,
a fter which sh e built Babylon This city b eing .
nished sh e made an expedition into Media ; and

,
wherever sh e went left memorials of her p ower and

m u nic e nc e .Sh e erected vast structures forming ,
lakes and laying out gardens o f grea t extent p ar ,
t ic ula rly in Chao u ia and E cbatana I n short she .

,
levelled hills and raised mounds o f an immens e

,
height which retained her na me for ages A fter

,
.
this sh e inva ded E gypt and conquered E thio p ia ,
with the greater part of L ibya ; and having a c

complished her wish and there being no ene my to
,
cope with her excepting the kingdo m o f I ndia sh e

, ,
resolved to direct her forces toward tha t quarter .
Sh e had an army of foot horse , ,
and chariots F or the passing of rivers

.
and engaging the ene my by water sh e had procured

2 000 ships ,
to b e so constr u cted a s to b e taken to
p ieces for the a dvantage of carriage : which ships
were built in Bactria by men fro m Ph oe nicia Syria , ,
and Cyprus With these she fought a naval engage

.
ment with St ra bro ba t e s King of I ndia and a t the

, ,
rst encounter sunk a tho u sand of his ships A fter .
this sh e built a bridge over the river I ndus and ,
penetra ted into the heart of the country H ere .
St ra br oba t e s engaged her Being deceived by the

.
nu merous appearance of her elephants he a t rst ,
26
SE MI RA MI S
T H E G RE A T
gave Wa y for being decient in those animals sh e
,
had procure d the hides of 3000 bla ck oxen which , ,
being properly sewn and stu ffe d with straw pre ,
sented the appearance of so many elephants All .
this wa s done so naturally tha t even the real

elephants of the I ndian king were deceived But .
the stratage m was at la st discovered and Se mira mis

,
wa s oblige d to retrea t a fter having lost a grea t part

,
of her army Soon after this sh e resigned the govern

.
ment to her son Ninya s and died A ccording to

,
.
some writers sh e wa s slain by his hand

,
.
I t wa s through the researches o f Professor

L ehmann Ha u p t o f B erlin that the tru e personal
-
signicance of Semira mis was recovered Until the .
year 1 91 0 the legends of Diodoru s and others were

held to have been completely disprove d and Se mi
ra mis wa s regarded a s a p u rely mythical gure .
O ld Bryant in his Ant ient Myt hology p ublishe d a t ,
the beginning of last century proves the legendary

,
status o f Semira mis to his own satisfa ction H e .

says I t must b e confessed that the generality of h is
t oria ns have represented Semira mis a s a woman and ,
they des crib e her a s a great princess who reigned

in Babylon ; b ut there are writers who fro m their
situa tion ha d opportunities of b etter intelligence and ,
by those sh e is mentioned a s a deity The Syrians .

,
says A thenagora s worshippe d Semiramis and adds

, ,
that sh e wa s esteeme d the da u ghter of De rc a t u s and

the sa me as the Su ria De a Semira mis wa s
.
said to have b een b orn a t A scalon be cause At a rga t us

wa s there worshippe d under the na me of Dagon ,
and the sa me me morials were preserve d there as a t

H ierapolis a nd Ba bylon Thes e memorials rela ted
.
to a history of which the dove wa s the principal

type I t was up on the sa me a ccount that she wa s
.
2
7
MYT H S O F BA BYL O NIA AND A SSY RIA
said to have b een changed to a dove b ecaus e they
found her always depicted an d worshippe d unde r
tha t form . F ro m the above I think it is p lain
tha t Semira mis wa s a n e mblem and tha t the na me
was a c ompound of Sama ramas or ramis and it -
, ,

signie d the divin e token a typ e o f providence , ,
and a s a military ensign ( for a s s u ch it was used) it

,
may with some la titude b e interpreted the standard

o f the most H igh I t consisted of the gure o f a
.

dove which wa s probably encircled with the iris a s

, ,
those two e mblems were often repre sente d together .
All who went under that standard or who paid any ,
deference to tha t emblem were styled Se m a rim o r

,
Sa morim .I t wa s a title conferred u p on all who

ha d this device for their national insigne There .
is much more of this sor t o f thing typical of the ,
mythic science o f the eighteenth a nd early nineteenth

centuries I t is easy to se e how myth b eca me busy
.
with the na me of the A ssyrian Q ueen whos e exploits ,
undoubtedly aroused the enthusiasm no t only o f

the A ssyrians themselves but o f the co p ies sur
rounding them Jus t a s any grea t w orE
. in ancient
Britain was a scribe d to the agen cy o f Merlin or
A rthur so such monu ments a s could not otherwise
,
b e a ccounte d for were a ttributed to Semira mis .
Western A sia is monumentally eloquent of her name ,
and even the B ehistun inscriptions o f Darius have

been placed to her credit Herodotus states tha t .
one of the ga tes of Babylon was called after her and ,
tha t sh e raised the articial banks tha t conned th e

river E uphrates H er fa me laste d until well into
.
the Middle A ges and the A rmenians called the district

,
ro u nd L ake Van Sh a m ira m ag erd

,
.
There is very little doub t that her fa me beca me

mingle d with tha t of the goddess I shtar : sh e p os
28
T H E SE C OND A SSY RI A N E MP I R E
sesses the sa me Venus like attributes the dove is her
-
,
emble m and her story beca me so inextricably inter

,
twined with tha t of the Babylonian goddess that she

ultimately be ca me a variant o f her The story o f .
Semira mis is a triumphant vindication o f the manner

in which by certain mythical pro cesses a human b eing
can a ttain the rank of a god or goddess for Semira mis ,
wa s originally very real indeed A column discovere d

.
in 1 909 describes her a s a wo man o f the pala ce of

Samsi ra m m on King o f the World King of A ssyria
-
, , ,

King of the F our Q uarters o f th e World This .
dedication indicates tha t Semira mis or t o give her , ,
her A ssyrian title Sa m m u ra m a t evidently possessed

, ,
an immense in fluence over her husband Sa msi ,
ra m m on , an d tha t p erhaps a s queen mother tha t -
inuenc e lasted for more than one reign so that the ,
legen d tha t a fter a regency o f forty two years sh e -
delivered up the kingdom to her son Ninya s may , ,
have some foundation in fact Sh e seems to have.
ma de war against the Medes an d Chaldeans The .
story that on relinquishing her p ower Sh e turne d

into a dove and disappeare d may mean tha t her
name Sa m m u ra ma t was eas ily connected with the
, ,
A ssyrian summat the word for dove

, and for a
p erson of her subsequent legendary fa me the mythical
conne x ion with I shtar is easily a c counted for .
Th e Sec ond A ssy E m p ir e

r ian
What is known a s the Secon d A ssyrian E mpire

commenced with the reign o f Tigla t h p ile se r II I -
,
who organized a great scheme o f provincial govern

ment This plan app ears to have been the rst
.
forecast o f the feudal syste m for each p rovince paid

,
a xed tribute and provided a military contingent .
Great e il ort s were ma de to render the army a s

29
irresistible as p ossible with the obj ect o f imposing
an A ssyrian suprema cy upon the entire known world .
Tigla t h overran A rmenia defeated the Medes and ,
H ittites s eized the s eaports of Phoenicia and the

,
trade routes connecting them with the centres o f

A ssyrian commerce and nally conquere d Babylon , ,
where in 7 2 9 B C he wa s investe d with the sovereignty

. .
of A sia .

Two years later he died but his successor , ,
Shalmaneser I V carried on the policy he had initiated

, .
H e had however only ve years o f life in which to

, ,
do so for at the end of tha t p eriod the u surping

,
general Sargon who laid claim to b e a descendant

,
of Sargon the Great o f A kkad seized the royal power ,
o f Ba bylon He wa s murdered in 705 B C an d his

. . .
,
son Senna cherib of B iblical fa me a pp ears to have

, ,
b een una ble to carry on affairs with the p rudence

or ability of his father H e outraged the religious .
feelings o f the p eople by ra zing to the ground the

city of Babylon b ecaus e o f the revolt of the citizens
, .
The ca mpaign he made against H ezekiah King o f ,
Judah was marked by a complete failure Hezekiah

,
.
ha d allie d himself with the Philistine princes o f

A scalon and E kron but when he sa w his E gyp tian ,
a llies b ea ten a t the battle of E ltekeh he endeavoure d

to buy ofi the invaders by nu merous presents though
c
,
without success The wonderful deliverance of

.
J erusalem from the for ces of Senna cherib recorded ,
in Scripture and sung by Byron in his Hebrew

,
Melodies appears to have a good fo u ndation in fact

, .
I t seems tha t the A ssyrian army wa s a ttacked and

almost decima ted by plague which obliged Sen ,
na c h e r ib to ret u rn to Nineveh but it is not likely ,
tha t the phenomenon occurred in the watch o f a

ni g ht Senna cherib was eventually murd ered by
.
his two sons who the deed accomplished fl e d to

, , ,
30
S ennac h er ib rece iv in g T r ib t e u
F m t h P l ce at N i e ve h
ro e a a n
Ha nsel! a nd C0

P h oto l l . 1
S A RDA NA PAL U S THE S PLE NDI D
Armenia . O f all the Assyrian monarchs he was
perhaps the most p ompous and the least tted to
rule The grea t palace a t Nineveh and the grea t
.
wall of tha t city eight miles in circu mference were

, ,
built a t his command .
His son and successor E sar ha ddon initiated his ,

-
,
reign by sending ba ck the sa cred image of Merodach

to its shrine a t B abylon which city he restore d ,
.
He was sole mnly declared king in the restored te mple

of Merodach and during his reign b oth B abylonia
,
and Assyria enj oyed quiet and contentment War .
with E gypt broke out in 670 B C and the Egyptians . .

,
were thrice defeated with heavy loss The Assyrians .
entered Memphis and instituted a protectora te over

part o f the country Two years later Egyp t revolted
.
,
and wh ile marching to quell the o utbrea k E sar

ha ddon died on the road his fa te rese mbling tha t
of E dward I who d ied while on his way to over
,
come the Scottish people th e n in rebellion against ,
his usurpation .
Sar danap alus t h e S p lendid

E sar haddon wa s succeede d by Assur banipal
- -
,
known to Gree k legend as Sardanapalus How fa r .
the legendary descrip tion o f him s quares with the

historical it is di fcult to sa y The former sta tes .
that he was the last king of Assyria and the thirtieth ,
in succession fro m Ninya s E e m ina t e and corrup t .

,
he see ms to have been a perfect exa mple of the 7 02

f

a zn a nt The populace
. of the conquere d provinces ,
disgusted with his extravagances revolted and an , ,
army led by Arba c e s satrap of Medea and B e le sys a

, , ,
Babylonian pries t surrounded him in Nineveh and

,
threatened his life Sardanapalus however throwing

.
, ,
off h is sloth made such a vigorous defence tha t for

,
31
MYTH S O F BA BYLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
two years the issue was in doub t The river Tigris .
a t this j uncture ov e r ow e d and undermined part of

th e city wall thus p ermitting ingress to the host ile
,
army Sardanapalus seeing tha t resistance was hope

.
,
less collected his wives and trea sures in his pala ce

,
and then se t it on re so tha t all perishe d , .
I t is a strange c oincidence that the fate which

legend a scribes to Sardanapalus was probably that
which rea ll y overtook the brother o f Assur bani pal - -
,
Sa mas su m yuk in I t is likely tha t the self immola

- -
.
-
tion o f Sardanapalus is merely a legendary state

ment o f a rite well known to Semitic religion which ,
wa s pra ctised a t Tarsus down to the time o f Dio

Chrys ostom and the me mory o f which survives in
,
other Greek legends esp eciall y those o f Hera cles ,
Melcarth a nd Queen Dido At Tarsus an annual .
festival wa s held and a pyre erected upon which the

local Heracles or B aal wa s burned in c h igy This .
annual co mmemoration of the death o f the god in

re probably ha d its origin in the older rite in which
an a ctual man or sacred animal wa s b urned a s rep re
senting the deity 7733 Golden B ough contains .
1
a n instructive passage concerning the myth of

Sardanapalus Sir Ja mes F razer writes :
. There
seems to b e no doubt that the na me Sardanapalus
is only the Greek way o f representing Ash urba na p a l ,
the na me of the greatest and nearly the las t King

o f Assyria B u t the records o f the real monarch
.
which have come to light within recent years give

little support to the fables that attached to his na me
in classical tradition F or the y prove tha t far fro m
.
,
b eing the e fie m ina t e weakling he seemed to the

Greeks o f a later age he was a warlike and enlightened
,
V l iii p 1 67
o .
, Seco nd Edi t i o n
. .
( By ki nd p e m i ss i o n f
. r o
Messrs M c m i ll n nd C o )
a a a .
32
Th e D e tha S rd or a a na p a lu s
L C h lo n . a
C opy ; 1 gh l, B i a u u a nd Co.
SARDANA PALU S THE S PLENDID
monarch who carried the arms of Assyria to distant
,
lands and fostered a t home the growth of scienc e

and letters Still though the historical reality o f
.
,
King Ash ur banap a l is a s well a ttested a s that o f

Alexander or Charle magne it would b e no wonder
,
if myths gathered like clouds around the grea t gure

, ,
that loomed large in the stormy sunset o f Assyrian

glory Now the two fea tures tha t sta nd out most
.
prominently in the legends of Sardanapalus are his

extravagant deba uchery a n d his violent death in
the a mes of a grea t pyre on which he b urned him
,
self and his concubines to save the m fro m fall ing

into the hands of his victorious enemies I t is .
said that the womanish king with painted fac e and

,
arrayed in female attire passe d his days in the

,
seclusion of the hare m spinning purple wool a mong

,
his concubines and wallowing in sensual delights ;

and tha t in the ep itaph which he caused to b e carved
on his tomb he recorded tha t all the days of his life
he ate and drank and toyed reme mb ering tha t life
,
is short an d full o f trouble tha t fortune is uncertain

, ,
and tha t others would soon enj oy the good thing s

which he mus t leave behind Thes e traits bear .
little rese mblance to the portrait o f Ash urba nap a l

either in life or death ; for a fter a brilliant career
o f conques t the Assyrian king died in old age a t ,
the height o f hu man a mb ition with p eace a t home

,
and triumph abroad the a dmiration o f his subj ects

,
and the terror of his foes But if the traditional

.
charac t eristics o f Sardanapalus harmonize but ill

with what we know of the real monarch of tha t
na me they t we ll enough with all tha t we know or
,
can conj ecture of the mock kings who led a short

life and a merry during the revelry o f the Sa c aea ,
the Asiatic e quivalent o f the Sa turnalia We can .
C 33
MYTH S OF BAB YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
hardly doub t that for the most part such men with ,
death staring them in the fac e at the end of a few

days sought to drown care and deaden fear by
,
plunging madly into all the eeting j oys that still

o ffered themselves under the sun When their .
brief pleasures and sharp su fferings were over and ,
their bones or ashes mingled with the dust wha t ,
more natural tha t on their tomb those mounds

in which the people saw not untruly the graves of
, ,
the lovers of Se miramis th ere should b e carved

some such lines as those which tra dition place d in
the mouth of the great Assyrian king to remind the ,
heedless passer by of the shortness and vanity of

-
life 2
According to Sir Ja mes F razer then the real , ,
Sardanapalus may have been one of those mock

kings who led a short bu t merry existence b efore
a sa crifice ended their convivial career We have .
analogous instances in the sacrice of Sandan at

Tarsus and that of the representative o f the Mexican
god Tezcatlipoca The legend of Sardanapalus is
,
.
thus a distorted re miniscence of the death of a

magnicent king sa cr iced in name of a god .
When the real Assur bani pal s ucceeded E sar

- -
haddon a s King of Assyria his brother Sa mas su m

,
-
u k in was created V iceroy of B abylonia but shortly

y ,
after he claime d the kingship itself revived the old ,
Sumerian language as the o fficial tongue of t h e

Babylonian court and initiate d a revolt which shook
,
the Assyrian e mpire fro m one en d to the other A .
grea t s truggle ensued between the northern and

southern p owers and a t last B abylon wa s forced to
surrender through starva tion and Sa mus sum
,
uk in -
,y
wa s put to death .
Assur bani pal like Sardanapalus his legendary

- -
, ,
34
THE FI RS T G REAT LI BRARY
counterpart found hi mself surro unded by ene mies
, .
Having conquere d Elam as we ll a s B abylonia he ,
had to fa ce the inroads o f hordes o f Scythians who ,
p oured over his frontiers He succeeded in defeating

.
and slaying one o f their chiefs Dug da m m e who m , ,

in an inscription h e ca ll s a limb of Satan b ut ,
shortly after this he die d himself His e mpire was .
already in a state of decay and had not long to stand

,
.
Th e First G r eat L ibr ar y

B ut if Assur bani pal wa s effe minate and lax in
- -
government , he wa s the fi rs t grea t patron of literature .
I t is to his magnifi cen t library at Nineveh tha t we

owe practically all that we have pres erved o f the
literature tha t wa s produced in B abylonia H e sa w .
tha t the s outhern par t of his e mpire wa s far more

intellectual and cultured than Assyria and he de ,
s a t c h e d nu merous scribes to the temple schools of

p
the south wher e they copied extensively fro m their
,
archives every description o f literary curiosity

hymns legends medical prescriptions myths and
, , ,
rituals were a ll included in the grea t library a t

Nineveh . These through the lab ours o f L ayard and
Ra ssa m have b een restore d to u s I t is a mo st .
extraord inary instance of anti quarian zeal in an

epoch which we regard a s not fa r distant fro m the
beginnings of verifiable history Nearly twenty .
thousand fragments of brick b earing the res ults ,
-
of Assur bani pal s researches are house d in the

,
B ritish Museum and this probably represents only

,
a portion of his entire collection Political motives .
have been a ttrib uted to Assur bani pal in thus -
bringing together such a great library I t ha s been .
argued that he desired to make Assyria the cen t re

of the religious inuence o f the e mpire This wo uld .
35
MYTH S OF BABYLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
derogate greatly from the V iew tha t sees in him a
king solely red with the idea o f preserving and
reta ining all th at wa s b est in ancient Babylonian
literature in the north a s we ll as in the s outh an d ,
having b eside hi m for his own p ersonal us e those

records which many circumstances prove he wa s
extre mely desirous o f ob taining Thus we nd him .
sending officials on special missions to ob tain copies

o f certain works I t i s also signicant tha t Assur
.
bani pal pla ce d his collection in a library and not

-

in a te mple a fac t which discounts the theory tha t
his coll ection o f literature ha d a religious p olitical -
ba sis .
Th e L ast King s of Ass y ria

After the dea th o f Assur bani pal the S c ythians
- -
succeede d in p ene tra ting into Assyria through which ,
they pushe d their way a s far a s the b orders o f E gyp t ,
an d the re ma ins o f the Assyrian a rmy took refuge

in Nin eveh The end wa s n ow n ea r a t hand The
. .
la st King of Assyria wa s probably Sin sar iskin the - -

,
Sa ra k o s of the Greeks who reign ed for some years

,
and who even tells us through the mediu m o f in

sc ri t ions tha t he intended to restore the ruined
p
te mple s of his land War broke ou t with Baby
.
lonia however and Cyax a res the Scythian King o f

, , ,
E cbatana came to the assistanc e of the Babylonians

, .
Nineveh w a s cap tured by the Scythians sacked and ,
destroyed and the Assyrian emp ire was a t an end

, .
Nebuc h adr ezzar

But strangely enough the older sea t of p ower ,
Babylon still ourished to some extent By super

, .
human exertions Neb ucha drezzar II (o r Ne buc h ad

,
ne zza r) w h o reigned for forty three years sen t the

,
-
,
36
Th e L i br a ry of K i n g A s sur b ni - a -
p al at N i neve h
F erna nd L e Q ne ues
Il ulc /t m son Co
'
By { en m sszon of
v 31 6 55 1 3 . a nd .
N E B U CHA DRE ZZ AR
standard o f Babylonia far and wide through the known
world In 567 B C he inva ded Egyp t In one o f his
. . . .
campaigns he marched aga ins t Jerusale m and p ut its

king J ehoiakim to dea th b ut the king who m the
, , ,
Babylonian monarch se t up in his place was deposed

and the royal power veste d in Z edekiah Zedekiah .
revolte d in 55 8 B C and once more J erusale m wa s

. .
ta ken and destroyed the principal inhabitants were ,
carried captive to Babylon and the city wa s re duced ,
to a condition o f insignic a nc e This the rs t exile .

,
o f the Jews lasted for seventy years The story o f

,
.
this captivity and o f Nebucha dre zzar s treat ment
o f the Jewish exiles is graphically told in the B ook

o f Daniel whom the Babylonians calle d Belteshazzar
, .
Daniel re fuse d to ea t the mea t of the B abylonians ,
probably b ecause it wa s not prepare d according to

J ewish rite H e and his co mpanions a te p ulse a nd
.
drank water and fare d upon it b etter than the

,
Babylonians on strong mea ts and wines The King .

,
hearing of this circumstance sent for the m and ,
found the m much better informed than all his magi

c ia ns and astrologers Neb uchadrezzar drea me d .
drea ms an d informe d the Babylonian a strologers

,
that if they were unable t o interpret the m they would

b e cut to pieces an d their houses destroyed whereas ,
di d they interpre t the visions they would b e held in

high estee m They answered tha t if the King would
.
tell the m his drea m they w ould show the interpreta

tion thereof ; b ut the King said tha t if they were
wise men in truth they would know the drea m
without re quiring to b e told it an d up on so me of ,
the astrologers o f the court replying that the re

quest was unreasonable he wa s greatly incensed an d ,
ordered all of the m to b e slain B ut in a vision o f .
the night the secret was reveale d to Daniel who ,
37
MYTH S OF B A B YLO NIA AND A S SY RI A
b egged that the wise men o f B abylon b e not
destroyed and going to a court o fficial he o ffered
,
to interpret the drea m H e told the King that in

.
his drea m he ha d b eheld a great image whose bright ,
ness and form were terrible The hea d of this image

.
wa s of ne gold the breast and arms o f silver and

, ,
the o ther parts o f brass excepting the legs which

,
were o f iron and the feet which were partly of that

,
metal and partly o f clay But a stone wa s cast a t

.
it which smote the image upon its fee t and it bra ke

into pieces and the win d swept away the remnants .
The stone tha t ha d smitten it b eca me a grea t moun

tain and lled the whole earth .
Then Daniel proceeded to the interpreta tion The .
King he said represente d the golden hea d of the

, ,
image ; the silver an inferior kingdo m which would

rise after Neb uchadrezzar s death ; and a third o f

brass which should b ear rule over a ll the earth .
The fourth dynas t y fro m Nebuchadrezzar would b e

as strong as iron but since the toes o f the image s
,
feet were pa rtly o f iron and partly o f clay so should ,
that kingdo m b e partly strong and partly broken .
Neb ucha drezzar was so awed with the interpretation

that he fell upon his fa ce and worshipp ed Daniel ,
telling him how greatly he honoured the God who

could have reveale d such secrets to him ; an d he
set him a s ruler over the whole province o f Babylon ,
and made him chief o f the governors over all the

w ise men of that kingdom .
B u t Daniel s three co mpanions Shadrach Me

,
A
shach an d be dnego re fuse d to worship a golden
,
image which the King ha d se t up an d he commanded ,
that they should b e cast into a ery furnac e through ,
which they passe d unharmed .
This c i rcu mstance still m ore turne d the hear t

38
D ni el i nterp rets
a th e D re am of Neb uc h d rezz r
a a
E ve ly n P au l
NE BU CHADREZZ A R
of Nebucha drezzar in the direction of the God of
Israel A secon d drea m which he ha d he begged
.
,
Daniel to interpret He said he ha d seen a tree in

.
the midst of the earth of more than natural height ,
which ourishe d an d was excee dingly strong so ,
that it reache d to heaven So abundant was the .
fruit of this tree that it provide d meat for the whole

earth and so a mple its foliage that the beasts of
,
the eld ha d sha dow u nder it an d the fowls of the ,
air dwelt in its midst A spirit descende d fro m

.
heaven an d called alou d de manding that the tree

,
should b e cut down an d its leaves an d fruit scat

t e r e d but that its roots should b e left in the earth
,
surrounded by a band of iron an d brass Then .

,
ordering that the tre e shoul d b e treate d as if it

were a man the voic e of the spirit continue d to
,
ask tha t it should b e wet with the dew of heaven ,
and that its portion should b e with the beasts in

the grass of the earth L et his heart b e change d
.

fro m a man s said the voice,
an d let a beast s ,

heart b e given him ; and let seven times pass over

him .
Then was Daniel greatly troubled He kept .
sil enc e for a space until the King begge d him t o

take heart an d S pea k The tree he announce d
.
, ,
re p resente d Nebuchadrezzar himself an d what ha d ,
happene d to it in the vision would co me to pass

regarding the great King of Babylon H e would b e .
driven fro m a mong men and his dwelling would b e

with the beasts of the eld H e would be ma de .
to eat grass as oxen and b e wet with the dew o f

heaven and seven times would pass over him till
, ,
he knew an d recognize d that the Most High rule d

in the kingdo m of man an d gave it t o whomsoever
he desired .
39
MYTH S O F BABYLO NIA AND AS SY RI A
Twelve months after this Nebucha drezzar was
in the midst o f his palace a t Babylon boasting of ,
wha t he ha d accomplished during his reign when ,
a voice fro m heaven S pake saying 0 King

,
Nebucha drezza r to thee it is S poken the kingdo m

, ,

is departe d fro m thee and straightway wa s Nebu
,
c h a dre zza r driven fro m man and he did eat grass a s
an ox an d his body wa s wet with the dew of heaven ,

till his ha ir was grown like eagle s feathers an d his
nails like b ird s claws
.
A t the ter mination of his time of trial Ne buch ad

rezza r lifted his eyes to heaven and praising the ,
Most High a dmit t e d his domination over the whole

earth Thus wa s the punishment o f the boaster
.
c o mplete d .
I t has been state d with so me show o f probab ility

that the j udgment upon Nebuchadrezzar wa s con
ne c t e d with that weird disease known as lycan
t h rop y fro m the Greek words lukos a wolf an d
, , ,
a nt hro os a man I t develops a s a kind of hysteria

p ,
.
and is chara cterize d by a b elief on the part of the

victim that he h a s b eco me an animal There are .
,
too cravings for strange food and the afflicted

, ,
p erson runs ab out on all fours Among primitive .
p eoples such a seizure is a scribe d to supernatural

agency an d garlic or onion the common scourge
,
of va mpires is held to the nostrils .
Th e L ast of t h e Baby lonian K ing s

Nabonidus ( 55 5 5 39 B C ) wa s the last of the
-
. .
Babylonian kings a man o f a very religious dis

position a nd of a ntiquarian tastes He desire d to .
restore the temple o f the moon go d at Harran and -
to restore such o f the images of the gods a s had

been re moved to the ancient shrines But rst he .
0
4
Gr n t of Pr i ile g e s to R i tt i M r d uk f m ou s
a v - a , a a
B b ylo n i n C p t n b y N e b u c h d rez z r I
a a a ai ,
a a
P lzo/u W
. A Ma xwel l a nd Co
40
THE LAS T OF THE BA B YLO NIAN KI NG S
desired to nd out whether this proce dure woul d
meet with the approval of the go d Mero dach To .
this end he consulte d the augurs who O pene d the ,
liver o f a sheep and drew thenc e favourable o mens .
But on another occasion he arouse d the hostility

of the go d and incidentally of the priests of E Sa g ila -

by preferring the sun god to the grea t B el o f B abylon .
H e tells us in an inscription that when restoring the

temple of Sha mash at Sippar he ha d grea t di ffi culty
in unearthing the old foundation stone an d tha t -
, ,
when a t last it wa s unearthed he tre mble d with awe ,
as he rea d thereon the na me of Nara m sin who he -

, ,
says rule d 3 2 00 years before him B u t destiny

, .
lay in wait for him for Cyrus the Persian inva ded
,
Babylonia in 5 38 B C and a fter defeating the native

. .
,
army a t O pis he presse d on to B abylon which ,
he entere d without striking a blow Nabonidus .
wa s in hiding b ut his plac e of concealment wa s

,
discovere d Cyrus pretending t o b e the avenger

.
,
o f Bel Merodach for the slights the unhappy Nabo

-
nidus ha d put upon the go d ha d won over the people

, ,
who were excee dingly wroth with their monarch

for attempting to remove many images of the go ds
fro m the provinces to the capital Cyrus place d .
himself upon the throne o f B abylon an d about a

yea r be fore his death ( 5 2 9 B C ) transferre d the regal
. .
power to his son Ca mbyses Assyrian B abylonia n

,
.
-
history here ceases an d is merge d into Persian .
Babylonia recovere d its indepen dence after the

death of Darius A king styling himself Ne bu c h a d
.
rezza r I I I arose who reigne d for a bout a year

,
2 1
( 5 52 0 at the en d o f which time the Pe r
sians once more returne d a s con querors A secon d .
revolt in 5 1 4 B C ca u sed the partial destruction

. .
of the walls an d nally the great cit y o f Babylon

,
4:
MYTH S OF BA BYLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
beca me little b etter than a quarry out o f which
the newer city of Seleucia an d other towns wer e
bu t
Th e H ist ory of B erossus

I t will b e of interest to exa min e a t least on e of
the ancient authorities upon B abylonian history .
B e rossu s a priest of B e l at B abylon who lived about

, ,
2 50 B C . c o mpiled from native docu ments a history of

.
,
h is country which he p ublished in Greek His writings

, .
have p erished b ut extracts fro m the m have b een

,
pres erved by Josephu s and E us ebius There is a .
good deal of myth in B e rossu s work esp ecially when

,
he deals with the ques tion of c os mology the story ,
of the d eluge and so forth als o the facts which

,
he places b efore u s a s history cannot b e reconcile d

with thos e inscrib ed on the monu ments He seems .
indeed to have arranged his history so that it should

exactly ll the assu med period of years be ,
ginning with the creation of man and ending with

the con quest of Babylon by Alexan der the Great .
B e r ossu s tells of a c ertain Sisu t h ru s whos e history

1
,
will b e rec ounted in full in another chapter H e .
then relates a legen d of the advent of the sh man -
0r sh god -
O annes fro m the waters of the Persian
, ,
Gulf Indeed he alludes t o thre e b eings of this typ e

.
,
who one after another app eared to instruct the

, ,
Babylonians in arts and letters .
B er ossusAc count of t h e Del ug e

More imp ortant is his ac coun t of the deluge .
There is more than one Babylonian version of the

deluge : that which is to b e found in the Gilga mesh
Ep ic is given in the chapter dealing with that p oem .
t
U N p i ht im 1
a s .
2
4
B ERO SSUS ACCO U NT O F THE DEL U G E

As B e ro ssus acc ount is quite a s i mportant we shall

,
give it in his own words b efore c o mmenting upon

it After the death o f Arda t e s his son ( Sisu t h r u s)
,
succeeded an d reigned eighteen sari In his ti me .
happened the great deluge ; the history of which is

given in this manner The Deity Cr onus appeared
.
, ,
to him in a vision ; a nd gave him n otic e that u p on ,
the fteenth day o f the month D aesiu s there wo u ld

b e a ood by which man kind would b e destroyed
,
.
He therefore enj oined him to c ommit to writing a

history of the beginning procedure and nal con
, ,
e lusion o f all things down t o the present ter m

, a nd
to bury thes e accounts securely in the City of the
Sun a t Sip p a ra H e then ordered Sisu t h ru s to b uild
.
a vessel ,
and t o take w ith him into it his friends
and relations ; an d trus t h imself to the deep The .
latter implicitly obeye d : an d having conveyed on

b oard every thing necessary to sustain life he took ,
in also all sp ecies of animals that either y or rove

, ,
upon the surfac e of the earth H aving asked the .
Deity whither he was t o go he was answered To

, ,
th e gods : upon which he o ffere d u p a prayer for

the good of mankind Thus he ob eyed the divin e
.
admonition : an d the vessel which he bu ilt was

, ,
ve stadia in length an d in breadth two Into this

, .
he put every thing which he had got ready an d last

of all conveye d into it his wife children and friends
, , .
After the ood ha d b een upon the earth and wa s ,
in time abated Sisu t h ru s s ent out some birds fro m

,
the vess el ; which not nding any food nor any ,
place t o rest their feet returned to him again After

, .
an interval of s ome days ; he sent the m forth a

s econd time : and they n ow returned with their
feet tinged with mud He made trial a third time
.
with thes e birds : b ut they returned t o him no

43
MYTH S O F BABYLO NIA AND AS SYRIA
more fro m whence he formed a j udgment that the ,
s urfac e of the earth wa s n ow above the waters .
Having therefore made an op ening in the vess el an d ,
nding upon looking out that the vessel wa s driven

,
t o the side of a mountain he immediately q uitted ,
it b eing attended with his wife chil dren and the

, , ,
pilot Sisut h rus immediately p aid his adoration

.
t o th e earth : and havi ng constructed a n alta r ,
o ffere d sacric es t o the gods Thes e things b eing .
duly p erformed b oth Sisu t h rus and thos e who ca me

, ,
out of the vess el with him disappeared They who , .

,
r e mained in the vessel nding that the others did not

,
return ca me out with many la mentations and called

, ,
c ontinually on the name of Sisu t h rus Him they .
sa w n o more ; b ut they could distinguish his voic e

in the a ir and c ould hear him a dmonish the m t o
,
p ay du e regard t o the gods ; and likewis e inform

the m that it was u p on account of his piety tha t h e
,
wa s translated to live with the gods ; that h is wife

and children with the p ilot had obtained the sa me
, ,
honour To this he added that he would have

.
,
the m make the b est of their way t o Babylonia and ,
s earch for the writings at Si a ra which were t o b e

pp ,
made known to all man kin d The plac e where thes e .
things happened was in Armenia The re mainder .
having heard thes e words o ffered sacri ces to the,
gods ; a nd ta king a circuit jo urneyed towa rd s

, ,

Babylonia B e rossu s a dds that the re mains of the
.
,
vessel were to b e s e en in his t ime u p on one of the

Co rc yre a n mountains in Armenia ; and that people
us ed t o scrap e off the bitu men with which it had ,
b een outwardly c oated and made us e of it by way

,
o f an antidot e for poison or a mulet In this manner .
they returned t o B abylon ; and having found the

writings at Sipp ara they se t about building cities
,
44
ANALO G IE S WITH THE FLOO D MYTH
a nd erecting t e mples ; an d Babylon was thu s
inhab ite d again .
Analog ies My t h
w it h t h e Flood
I t is interesting to note that Sisu t h rus the hero ,
of this deluge story wa s also the tenth Babylonian

,
king j ust a s Noah was the tenth patriarch The

, .
birds s ent out by Sisut h rus strongly recall the

raven and dove despatche d by Noah ; but there
are several American myths which intro duce this
conception .
Birds an d b easts in many cos mologies provide

the nucleus of the new worl d which e merges fro m
the waters which have engulfe d the old Perhaps .
it is the b eaver or the musk rat which dive s into

-
the abyss an d brings u p a piec e of mud which ,
gra duall y grows into a Spacious continent ; but

so metimes birds carry this nucleus in their beaks .
In the myth under consideration they return with

mud on their feet which is obviously expressive
,
o f the sa me idea A tte m p ts have been ma de to

.
show that a great difference e x ists b etween the

Babylonian an d Hebrew story U n doubte dly the .
two stories have a co mmon origin .
The rst B abylonian version o f the myth dates

fro m about 2 000 and its text is evidently derive d
fro m a still older tablet I t see ms likely that this
.
was in turn indebte d to a still more archaic version ,
which probably recounte d the earliest ty p e o f the

myth This perhaps relate d how the earth an d
.
its inhab itants were not to the liking of the Creator ,
an d how he resolve d to recreate the whole The .
great ocean dragon was therefore calle d in to su b

-
merge the world after which the Creator re moulde d

,
-
it and se t the survivor an d his fa mily u p on it as the

45
MYTH S OF BA BYLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
ancestors of a new hu man ra ce I t is possible also .
that the grea t sea dragon or serpent which wa s

-
, ,
slain by the Creator may have ooded the earth

,
with h is blood as he expire d there is an Algon quin

Indian myth to this effect In an old cuneifor m .
text in fact the year of the deluge is alluded to as

, ,

the yea r of the raging serpent The wise man .
who takes refuge in the ship or ark is warne d by a

drea m of the forthcoming deluge In s ome North .
American Indian myths he is warne d by frien dl y

animals The mountain too as a place o f refuge
.
, ,
for the ark is fairly co mmon in myth

,
.
We have de a lt in Chapter I I with the creation

myth found in B e r ossus and with this ends the ,
part of his history which is of any imp or tance .
B aby lonian Arc h aeolog y

U ntil a bout the mid dl e o f the nineteenth cen
tury our knowledge o f the history an d antiquities 0f
Ba bylonia and Assyria was extre mely scanty The .
deeply interesting series of excavations which unroll e d

the circ umstances of these ancient civilizations before
the almost incre dulous eyes o f learne d E urop e are
described at length towards the close of this
volume H ere we may sa y shortly that the labours
.
of L ayard and B otta at Nin eveh convince d anti

q ua rie s that the remains of a great civilization
La ya r d s excavation of the

awaite d discovery .
library of Assur bani pal was the rst great step

- -
toward reconstructing the ancient life of the two

kingdoms He was followed by Op p e rt and L oftus
.
,
but the syste matic excavation of the country wa s

yet to be undertaken This as we shall see was
.
, ,
commence d by George Sm ith o f the B ritish Mus eum ,
but unfortunately he died on his way home fro m

46
THE TO WE R OF BA B EL
the East His work a t Nineveh was ta ken up by

.
Mr Horm uzd Ra ssa m who s ucc ee ded in unearthing ,
inscribe d ta bles and bron ze gates in bas relief A -

.
few years afterwar d Mr Rassa m d iscovere d the

site of the temple of the su n god of Sip p a ra at Abu -
habba to the south west of B agdad An impo rtant

-
.
nd by de Sa rze c was that of the diorite statues of

Gudea the Pa tesi or Ruler of L agash about 2 700
, ,
B C
. . the stone of which according to the inscriptions
, ,
upon them ha d been brought fro m the Sinaitic

,
p eninsula The university of Pennsylvania sent

.
Mr H H aynes in 1 8 89 to excavate at Nippur

.
,
where he unearthed the re mains of the great te mple

of En lil in the heart o f which is a mo u nd of bricks
-
,
sta mp e d with the na mes of Sargon of Akka d and his

son ,
Nara m sin The German expedition of 1 899
-
.
explored the ruins o f B abylon the p alac e of Neb u ,
c h a dre zza r and the sit e of Asshur

,
.
Th e T ow er of B abel
Many atte mpts have b een ma de to attach the
legend of the confusion of tongues to certain ruine d
towers in Babylonia especially to that of E ,Sa g ila ,
the grea t te mple of Merodach and so me re marks ,
upon this most interesting tale may not b e out o f

place a t this point The myth is not fo u nd in
.
B abylonia itself and in its b est form may b e dis

,
covere d in S cripture In the B ible story we are .
told that every region was of one tongue an d mo de

of sp eech As men j ourneye d westward fro m their
.
original home in the East they encountere d a plain ,
in the lan d of Shinar where they settled In this .
region they commence d bu ilding op erations con ,
structed a city an d laid the foundations of a tower

, ,
the summit of which they hope d would reach to

47
MYTH S O F BAB YLO NIA AND AS S Y RI A
heaven itself I t woul d appea r that th i s edi c e
.
was constructe d with the obj ect of serving a s a

great landmark to the people so that they should
not b e scattere d over the face of the earth an d the ,
L ord ca me down to view the city an d the towe r an d ,
he considere d that as th ey were all o f one language

this gave the m undue power an d tha t what they ,
i magine d to the mselves under such conditions they

would b e able to achieve So the L ord scattered .
the m abroa d fro m thenc e over the fac e of every

region and the bu ilding o f the tower c eas ed and
,

the name of it was calle d Bab el b ecaus e a t that ,
plac e the single language of the people wa s confounded .
Of cours e it is merely the native name of Babylon ,

which translate d means gat e of the god an d has
n o s uch etymology as the Scriptures pretend the
,
Hebrews con fusing their verb ba la l t o con fuse or ,

confound with the word ba bel The s tory was

,

.
n o doub t suggeste d by one of the te mple t owers

o f B abylon O ver an d over again we nd in
.
connexion with the J ewish religion that anything

which savours of presu mption or unnatural aspira
tion is strongly condemned The a mbitious e ffort .
of the Tower of Bab el would thus see m abhorrent

to th e Hebrews of old The s trange thing is tha t
.
these ancient t owers or zik/eura ts as the Babylonians ,
ca lled them were intende d to s erve as a lin k b etween

,
heaven an d earth j ust a s does the minaret of the

,
Maho mmedan mos que .
The legen d of the confusion of tongues is to b e

tra ce d in other folk lores than that of Babylon I t
-
.
is foun d in Central America where the story runs ,
that Xe lh ua one of the s even giants rescue d fro m

,
the deluge built the great pyra mid of Cholula in

,
o rder to b esiege heaven The structure w as h ow .

,
48
NI MRO D
THE MI G HTY H U NTER
ever destroye d by the gods who cast down re u p on
, ,
it and con founded the language of its b uilders .
L ivingston e found s ome s u ch myth a mong the African

tribes aroun d L ake Ngami an d c ertain Australian ,
and Mongolian p eoples p ossess a similar tradition .
Nim rod , Mig h t y H unt er

the
I t is strange that the dis p ersion of trib es at B ab el
should b e connecte d with the na me of Nimrod ,
who gures in B iblical as well as B abylonian tradi

tion a s a mighty hunter Ep ip h a niu s states tha t.
fro m the very foundation of this c ity ( B abylon )

there c ommenced an immediate s cene of conspiracy ,
s edition and tyranny which wa s carried on by

, ,
Nimrod the son of Chus the ZEt h iop

,
A round this .
dim legendary gure a great deal of learned c ontro

v e rsy has raged B efore we exa mine his legendary
.
and mythological signicanc e let u s se e what legend ,
and Scripture say of him In the Boo k o f Gen esis

.

( chap x 8
.
, he is mentioned a s
,
a mighty
hunter b efore Yahweh : where fore it is said E ven ,

as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the L ord .

He was also the ruler of a great kingdom The .
beginning of his kingdo m was B ab el and E rech , ,
and A ccad an d Calneh in the lan d of Shinar O ut of

, .
that land went forth A sshur ( that is by c o mpulsion ,

of Nimrod) and builded Nineveh an d other grea t ,
c ities In the Scriptures Nimrod is mentioned a s

.
a descendant of Ha m but this may arise fro m the

,
rea ding of his father s name a s Cur /3 which in the

,
Script u res indicates a c oloured rac e The na me may .
possibly b e Cas h and should relate to the Cassi tes .
I t app ears then that the sons of Cush or Chus ,
the Cassites according to legend did n ot parta ke

, ,
of the general division of the hu man rac e a fter the

D
49
MYTH S O F B A B YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
fall of Bab el but under the leadership of Nimrod
,
hims elf remained where they were After the disp er .
s ion Nimro d built B abylon and fortied the territory

,
around it I t is also said that he built Nineveh

.
and trespassed upon the land of Asshur so that ,
at last he force d A sshur to quit that territory 1

.
The Greeks gave him the name of Nebrod or Nebros ,
and p reserved or invented many tales c oncerning

hi m and his apostasy an d c oncerning the tower ,
which he is suppose d to have erec ted He is de .
scribe d as a gigantic p erson of mighty b earing ,
an d a contemn er of everything divine his followers

a re represented as b eing e qually p res um p tuous an d
overbearing In fact he seems to have app eared to
.
the Greeks very much like on e of their own Titans .
Nimrod has b een identied b oth with Merodach ,
the tut elar god of Babylon an d with Gilga mesh , ,
the her o of the epic of that name with O rion and , ,
with others The na me according to Petrie has

.
, ,
even b een found in Egyp tian docu ments of the

XX I I Dynasty as Ne ma rt .

Nimrod s ee ms to b e on e of thos e giants who rage

against the gods a s do the Titans o f Greek myth ,
an d the Jotunn of Scandinavian s to ry All are .
in fact earth gods the disorderly forces of nature

-
, ,
who were defeate d by the deities who s too d for

law and order The derivation of the name Nimrod
.
may mean rebel I n all his later legends for

.

,
instanc e thos e of the m that are related by Ph ilo in

,
his De Gzga nt zbur (a title which p roves that Nimro d

was c onn ected with the giant rac e by tradition ) ,
This p ss ge ha h ow ever been i nte prete d by som e Biblic l

a as, ,
r a
sch ol rs t o m e n th a t N im ro d w en t ut o f th is l nd i nto A sh ur
a a o a s
( or Assyr ia nd bu i lt N i neveh
a

S Bry nt Ant im t Mytbol gy
. ee a , o ,
ol v i pp 1 1 2 3
v
9
- -
. . .
,
50
A BRAM AND NI MRO D
he app ears a s treacherous and untrustworthy The .
theory that he is Merodach ha s no real founda tion

either in s cholarship or probability As a matter .
of fact the Nimrod legend se ems t o b e very much

more archaic than any p iec e of tradition c onnecte d
with Merodach who indeed is a god of no very grea t
,
ant i q u i ty
.
Abr am and Nim r od

Many Jewish legends bring Abra m into relation
shi p with Ni mrod the mythical King of Babylon
, .
A ccording to legend Abra m wa s originally an

idolater an d many stories are preserve d respecting
,
his conversion Jewish legend states that the F ather

.
of the F aithful originally followe d his father Terah s
occupation which was that of ma king and selling

,
images of clay ; and that when very young he , ,

a dvise d his father to leave his pernicious tra de

of idolatry by which he impose d on the world .
The Jewish Rabbins relate tha t on one occasion ,
his father Tera h having undertaken a considerable

j ourney the sale of the images devolve d on him
, ,
and it happene d tha t a man who pretende d to be a

p urchaser aske d him how old he was F ifty years .
,

answere d the Patriarch Wretch that thou art
.
,
said the man for a doring at that age a thing which

,

is only one day old ! Abra m wa s astonishe d ;
and the excla mation of the old man ha d such an
effect upon him that when a woman soon after
,
brought so me our a s an offering to one of the idols

, ,
he took an axe and broke the m to pieces preserving ,
only the largest one into the hand of which he put

,
the axe Terah returne d ho me and in quire d what

.
this havoc meant Abra m replie d tha t the deities

.
had q uarrelle d a bout an o ffering which a woman had

SI
MYTHS OF BAB YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
brought upon which the larger one ha d s eize d an
,
axe and destroyed the others Terah replie d that .
he m u st be in j est as it was impossible that inani

,
mate s tatues could so act ; and Abra m i mme diately

retorte d on his father his own wor ds showing him ,
the a bsurdity of worshipping fals e deities B ut .
Terah who does not appear to have b een convince d

, ,
delivere d Abra m to Nimro d who then dwelt in ,
the Plain of Shinar where Bab y lon was b uilt Nim, .
rod having in vain exhorte d Abra m to worship

,
re ordere d him to b e thrown into a burning fur

,
nace exclaiming
,
L et your Go d co me an d ta ke

you o ut A s soon a s Haran Abra m s youngest
.
,

brother sa w the fate o f the Patriarch he resolve d

, ,
to confor m to Nimrod s religion ; but when he sa w
his brother co me out of the re unhurt he declare d ,

for the God of Abra m which caused him to be ,
thrown in turn into the furnace and he was consu me d , .
A certain writer however narra tes a di fferent version

, ,
o f Ha ra n s death He says tha t he endeavoured

.

to snatch Terah s idols fro m the a mes into which ,
they ha d been thrown by Abra m an d was burnt ,
to death in conse quence .
A Per sian Version

The Persian Mussulmans allege that the Patriarch ,
who wa s born in Chaldea after Go d ha d mani ,
fe st e d himself to him proceeded to Mecca and , ,
b uilt the celebrate d Kaaba or te mple there When .
he returne d ho me he publicly declare d himself

the Prophet of God an d specially announce d it to ,
Ni mr o d K ing of Chaldea who was a worshipper of

, ,
re Abra m met Nimro d a t a town in Mesopo

.
ta mia ca lle d Urga afterwards Ca ra m it and now

, , ,
Diarbekr in which was a large temple consecrate d

,
52
A PE RSIAN V ERS IO N
to re an d publicly entreate d the King to renounce
,
h is idolatry an d worship the true Go d Nimro d .
consulte d his wise men an d in quire d what punish

ment such a blasphe mer deserved an d they a dvise d
,
that he should b e consigne d to the a mes A pile .
o f woo d was ordere d to be prepare d and A bra m

wa s pla ce d upon it b ut to their astonishment it
,
would not kindle Nimro d aske d the priests the

caus e o f this pheno menon an d they replie d that
,
an angel wa s constantly ying about the pile an d

preventing the woo d fro m burning The King aske d .
how the angel could be driven away an d they replie d ,
that it could only be done by so me drea dful rite .
Their a dvice was followe d b ut the angel still persisted

, ,
and Nimro d a t length banished Abra m fro m his

do minions .
The Mussulmans also relate tha t the King ma de

war against the Patriarch an d when he wa s marching
,
against him he sent a per son to him with this message

O Abra m ! it is now time to ght ; where
,

is thy army ! A bra m answere d I t will co me ,

i mmediately ; and imme diately there a pp eare d
an i mmense sundarkening clo u d of gnats which ,
devoure d Nimrod s soldiers to the very bones

.
A nother tradition is preserve d in the Ea st ,
S pecially referring t o the casting of A bra m into

a ery furnace a t B abylon by order of Nimrod ,
which s ee ms t o b e a c orrupte d story of the deliver

ance of the thre e Hebrews recorded by Daniel
Nimrod merely sub s titute d for Nebuchadrezzar ,
a s n o evidenc e exists that A bra m ever wa s a t

Babylon . Nimrod it is said
,

in a drea m sa w
,
a star rising above the horizon the light of which

,
eclip sed tha t of the sun The s oothsayers who

.
wer e c onsulte d foretold that a child wa s t o b e bor n

53
MYTH S OF BA B YLO NIA AND A SS Y RIA
in Babylon who shortly would b eco me a great
princ e and that he (Nimrod) ha d reason to fear
,
him Terried a t this answer Nimrod gave orders

.
,
t o s earch for such an infant Notwithstanding this .
precaution however Adna the wife of Azar on e

, , , ,
of Nimrod s guards hid her child in a cave the

, ,
mouth of which sh e diligently closed an d when sh e ,
returned sh e told her husband that it had p erished .
A dna in the meantime proceeded regularly to

, ,
the cave to nurs e the infant but sh e always found ,
him suckling the ends of his ngers on e of which ,
furnishe d him milk and the other honey This .
miracle surprise d her and a s her anxiety for the

,
child s welfare wa s thu s greatly relieved an d a s

,
sh e saw that Heaven had undertaken the care ,
sh e merely satise d herself with visiting him from

time t o t ime She soon p erc eived that he grew a s
.
much in three days a s common children do in a

month so that fteen moons ha d scarc ely passe d
,
b e fore he appeare d a s if he were fteen years of age .
A dna n ow t old her husband Azar that the son of , ,
who m sh e ha d been delivered an d who m sh e ha d ,
reporte d dead was living and that God ha d pro

, ,
v ide d miraculously for his sub sistence Azar went .
i mme diately to the cave where he foun d his son

, ,
an d desire d his mother t o convey him t o the city ,
a s he wa s resolved to present him to Nimrod and

plac e him ab ou t the c ourt .
In the evening A dna brought him forth out of

his den an d conducted him to a meadow where
,
herds of cattle were feeding This wa s a sight .
entirely new to the young Abram who wa s in quisi ,
t ive to learn their nature and wa s informed by his

,
mother of their names u ses and qualities Abra m

, ,
.
c ontinu e d his in quiries and desired to know wh o

54
A PE RSIAN V E RS IO N
produce d the animals Adna told him tha t all .

things ha d their L ord an d Creator Who then .
, ,

said he brought me int o the world !
, I ,

replied A dna A n d who is your L ord ! a ske d
.

Abra m Sh e answered
. Azar Who is Azar s,
.

L ord She told him Nimrod He showe d an , .
inclination to carry his in quiries farther but sh e ,
checked him t elling him that it wa s not c onvenien t

,
to search into other matters b ecause of danger At .
la st he ca me t o the city the inhabitant s of which ,
he p erc eived deeply engage d in sup erstition and

idolatry After this he returned to his grotto
. .
O ne evening a s he wa s going to Babylon he

, ,
saw the stars s hining and a mong others Venus , ,
which wa s adored by many He said within him .
self Perhap s this is the God an d Creator o f the

world ; bu t observing s ome time a fter that this
star was se t he said , This c ertainly cannot b e
the Maker of the univers e for it is not p ossible he ,

S hould b e subj ect t o s uch a change Soon a fter .
he noticed the moon a t full and thought that this ,
might p ossibly b e the A uthor of all things ; b u t

when he p erceived this planet also sink beneath the
horizon his O pinion of it was the sa me as in the case of
Venus A t length near the city he sa w a multitude
.
,
adoring the rising su n an d he was temp ted t o follow

,
their example b ut having seen this lu minary declin e

,
like the rest he concluded that it was not his Creator

, ,
his L ord an d his God Azar presented his son

,
.
A bra m t o Nimrod who was seated on a lofty ,
throne with a numb er of b eautiful slaves of b oth

,
s exes in attendanc e Abra m aske d his fathe r .
who was the p ers on so much exalted above the rest .
Azar answered The King Nimrod whom thes e ,

p eople acknowledge as their God I t is im .
55
MYTH S O F B AB YLO NIA AND A S S Y RIA

p ossible , replied Abra m that he S hould be ,
their God s inc e he is not so b eautiful an d c onse

, ,
quently n ot so p erfect as the generality of thos e ,

a bout him .
Abra m now too k an opportunity of c onversing

with his father ab out the unity of God which after ,
wards drew him int o great contests with the prin

c i al men of Nim ro d s c ou rt who would by n o means

p ,
a c q uiesc e in the truths he declared Nimrod in .

,
forme d of thes e disp utes c ommanded him a s we , ,
have already mentioned t o b e thrown into a burning ,
furnace out of which he ca me withou t receiving the

,
leas t hurt .
Th e B aby lonic a
F ragments of Babylonian history o r rather ,
historical ro mance o ccur in the writings of early

,
a uthors other than B e rossu s O ne o f thes e is to .
b e foun d in the B a bylonica o f Ia m blic h us a work ,
e mbracing no less than sixteen books by a native ,
o f Ch alc h is in C oele Syria who w a s much ena moure d

-
,
o f the mysterious ancient life of Babylonia and

A ssyria and who die d about A D 333 All that
,
. . .
re mains of what is palpably a ro mance which may ,
have been founde d upon historical probability is ,
an epito me of the B a bylonica by Photius which , ,
still further condensed is as follows ,
Attracte d by her beauty and relying on his own

grea t power Ga rm us King of B abylon decide d
, , ,
to mari y Sinonis a mai den of surpassing beauty

, .
Sh e however was alrea dy in love with another

, , ,
Rh o da ne s and discourage d Ga r m u s every a dvance

,

.
Her atta chment beca me known to the King b ut ,
did not alter his determination an d to prevent ,
the possibility o f any attempt at ight on the p art

56
T H E BA B YLO NICA
of the lovers he appointe d two eunuchs Da mas
, ,
and Saca to watch their m ovements Th e penalty

,
.
for negligence was loss o f c a rs a nd nose a nd that ,
penalty the eunuchs su ffered In spite o f their .
close vigilance the lovers escaped Da ma s and .
Sa ca were however place d at the hea d o f t roop s

, ,
and despatche d to recapt u re the fugitives Their .

relentless search was not the lovers only anxiety for ,
in seeking refuge with so me shepherds in a mea dow

they encountere d a de mon a satyr which in the
,
shape o f a goat haunte d tha t part of the country .

This de mon to Sinonis horror began to pay he r
, ,
all sorts o f weird fantastic attentions a nd nally

, ,
co mpelle d her and Rh o da ne s to abandon the pro

t e c t ion of the S hepherds for the conceal men t o ffere d
by a cavern Here they were discovere d by Da ma s
.
and his forces and must have been capture d bu t

,
for the o p portun e a rrival and attac k of a swarm o f

p oisonous bee s which ro ute d the eunuchs When .
the runaways were alone again they taste d an d ate

so me o f the bees honey and almost immediately ,
lost consciousness L a ter Da ma s again a ttacke d

.
the cavern but nding the lovers still unconscious

,
he an d his troop s le ft the m there for dea d .
I n time however they recovere d and continue d

, ,
their ight into the co u ntry A man who a fterward .

,
p oisoned his brother an d a ccuse d the m o f the crime ,
offere d the m sanctuary O nly the suicide o f this

.
man save d the m fro m seriou s trouble an d probably

reca p ture and fro m his ho u s e they wandere d int o
,
the co mpa ny of a robber Here again the troops o f

.
Da ma s ca me u p on the m and burne d their dwelling

to the ground I n desperation the f ugitives ma s
.
u e ra de d a s the ghosts o f the people the robb er

q
ha d murdere d in his house Their rus e succeeded .
57
MYTH S O F BA B YLO NIA AND AS S Y RIA
and once again their pursuers were thrown off the
scent They next encountered the funeral of a young
.
girl and witnessed her apparent return to life almost

,
at the door of the sepulchre In this s ep ulchre .
Sinonis and Rh oda ne s slep t that night and once ,
more were believe d to be dea d by Da mas an d his

soldiers L a ter however Si monis tried to dispose
.
, ,
of their grave clothes an d wa s arreste d in the a ct .
Sora c c h us the magistrate of the district decided to

, ,
send her to Babylon In despair sh e and Rh oda ne s

.
took so me p oison with which they had provide d

the mselves against such a n e mergency This ha d .
been anticipated by their g u ards however with , ,
the result that a S leeping draught had been sub

stitute d for the poison and so me time later the ,
lovers to their a maze ment awoke to n d the mselves

in the vicinity of Babylon O verco me by such a .
succession of misfortunes Sinonis stabbed herself , ,
though not fatally Sorac c h u s on learning this w as

.
, ,
moved to co mpassion and consente d to the es cape of

,
his prisoners .
After this the lovers e mbarke d on a new series

of a dventures even more thrilling than those which
ha d gone b efore The Te mple of Venus ( Ishtar)
.
,
situate d on an island of the Euphrates was their ,
rst destination a fter escaping fro m the captivity

of Sora c c h u s H ere Sinonis wound was healed
.

,
and afterward they sought refuge with a cot tager ,
whose da u ghter consented to dispose o f so me trinkets

belonging to Sinonis In doing so the girl wa s .
mista ken for Sinonis and news that Sinonis ha d ,
been seen in the neighbourhood was sent at onc e

to Garm us Wh ile selling the trinkets the cottage
.
girl ha d beco me so alarmed by the suspicious ques

tions and manner of t h e purchasers that she hurried
58
Th e Murder of S t e ap o
E l
ve P l
yn au
T H E B A B YLO NI C A
home with all possible speed O n her way ba ck her
.
c uriosity was excited by sounds of a great dist u rbance

issuing fro m a house har d by and on entering sh e,
wa s appalled to discover a man in the very act of

taking his life after murdering h is mistress Terried .
and S prin kled with blood sh e S pe d back to her father s
house O n hearing the girl s story Sinonis realise d

.

,
that the safety o f herself and Rh oda ne s lay only in

ight They prepared at once to go but before
.
,
starting Rh oda ne s kissed the peasant girl Si monis .

,
discovering what he ha d done by the blood on his

lips beca me furious with j ealousy In a transport
, .
of rage S he tried to stab the girl and on being pre ,
vented rushed to the house of Se t a p o a wealth y ,
Babylonian of evil repute Se t a p o welcome d her

.
only too c ordially A t rst Sinonis pretended to

.
meet his mood but a s time went by sh e relented of

,
her treatment of Rh o da nes and b egan to cast about

for s ome means of escap e AS the evening wore
.
on sh e plied Se t a p o with wine until he was int ox i
c at ed then during the night sh e murdered him

, ,
an d in the rst ea rly dawn left the hous e The .
slaves of Se t ap o purs u ed and overtook her how ,
ever an d committed her t o custody t o answer for

,
her crime .
All Babylon rej oice d with its king over the n ews
of Sinonis discovery So great w a s Garm us delight

.

that he commanded that all the prisoners throughout

his dominions should b e released and in this general ,
b oon Sinonis shared Meanwhile the dog of Rhod

.
ane s had scented o ut the hou s e in which the p easant

girl ha d witnessed the suicide of the lover who ha d
murdered his mistress and while the animal wa s
,
devouring the remain s of the woman the father of

Si monis arrive d at the sa me house Thinking the .
59
MYTH S OF BA B YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
mutilated b ody wa s that of his daughter h e buried
it and on the tomb he plac ed the inscription :
,

H ere lie s the b eautiful Sinonis Some days lat er
.
Rh oda ne s passe d that way and on reading the

,

i nscription a dded t o it A nd also the b eautiful
,

Rh odane s .In his grie f he would have stabb ed
hims elf had not the p easant girl who had b een the
caus e of Si monis j ealousy prevented him by telling

him wh o in reality wa s buried there .
During thes e a dventure s Sora c c h u s ha d b een

imprisoned for allowing the lovers to e scap e an d ,
this a dded t o the threa t of furth er punishment

, ,
induc ed him t o hel p the Babylonian o i c e rs t o trac e

Rh o da ne s So in a Short time Rh o da ne s wa s p risoner
.
onc e again an d b y the c ommand o f Ga rm u s wa s

,
nailed t o a cros s I n sight of him the King dance d

.
deliriou s with revengefu l j oy an d while he wa s so

,
engage d a messenger arrive d with the news tha t

Sinonis wa s a b o u t t o b e e sp oused by the King of
Syria into whose dominion s sh e had escap ed
,
Rh o
.
danes wa s taken down fro m the c ross and pu t in

c omman d of the Babylonian army This see ming .
change of fortun e wa s really dictated by the trea chery

of Ga rm u s a s certain in ferior officers were c o mmanded
,
by Ga rm u s t o slay Rh oda ne s should he defeat the

Syrians an d t o bring Sinonis alive t o Babylon
,
.
Rh o da ne s won a sweep ing victory and also regaine d

the affection an d trust of Sinonis Th e o ffic er s .
o f Ga r m u s instea d of ob eying his c ommand pro

, ,
claime d the victor king an d all ende d au sp ic iously

,
for the lovers .
Cuneiform Wr it ing
The ma nner in which the ancient c un e i form writing
of Bab ylonia and A ssyri a w a s deci p hered and restored
60
CU NEI FO RM
WRITI NG
to the world o f sc ienc e an d letters may b e regarded
a s a great triu mph o f hu man reason The na me .
cun eifor m is most approp riat e for ea ch character ,
or Sign i s c om p ose d of a wedge or c o mbination of

wedges I t is written a s most O riental languages
.
, ,
fro m left to right The cuneiform s crip t wa s rst

.
notice d by a E u ro p ean at such a relatively early

p eriod a s the year A D 1 470 when J osaphat Barbaro . .
, ,
a Venetian traveller ob served it cu t on the plat ,
form of Ra c h m e t in Persia Another Italian Pietro .

,
della Valle passing that way in 1 6 2 1 copie d a few

, ,
of the sign s which he sent ba ck to Italy and Sir

, ,
J ohn Chardin accu rately reproduced an in script ion

fou nd a t Persep olis in 1 7 1 1 I t wa s obviou s tha t .
three se p arat e languages were written in this script ,
an d these have sinc e b een foun d to b e Persian ,
B abylonian and Susian In 1 765 Niebuhr visited

,
.
Perse p olis and in less than a mon h copied all the

,
t
t ext s there which were then ready for decipher

,
ment Returning t o Den mark he occu p ied himself

.
with studying what he had se t down at Persep olis ,
and divided the smaller inscriptions into three classes ,
which he describe d a s Cla sses I I I and I I I inst ea d , ,
of into three languages Discovering that Class I .
e mbrace d only forty two signs he se t thes e in order -

, ,
and b ut little sub se quent addition ha s had t o b e

ma de t o the m Deciding that the language of the
.
signs wa s written in alphab etic characters he found ,
himself obliged to call a halt B u t two other scholars .
were more fortunate than he Tyc h se n hit up on a .
c ertain diagonal sign a s that e mploye d to separate

words and correctly identied the alphab etic sign s
,

for a
,
d u an d s ,
M unter o f Cop en

,
.
hagen was more care ful to verify his historical data

than Tyc h se n ha d b een and was able t o identify ,
61
MYTH S OF BA B YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
distinctly the authors of the inscriptions b efore him .
He too indep endently identied the obliqu e w edge

, ,
a s a s eparative of words and hit upon the signicanc e

,

of the S ign for the letter b But after these
.
a chieve ment s it seemed a s if little more could b e

d on e I t must b e re me mb ered that up to this time
.
n o such a ssistance wa s vouchsafed the searchers a s

in th e case of the E gyptian hieroglyphs where a ,
Gre e k inscrip tion had be en found side by side with

an E gyp tian one .
G r ot efend
B ut a man of the greatest natural ingenuity was
resolve d to co mbat the di fficulty presente d by the
c u neiform script Georg Grot e fe nd took u p the
.
task in the early years o f the nineteenth century .
B eginning with the assu mption that the inscriptions

represente d three languages and that one o f thes e ,
was ancient Persian he took two of the inscriptions

,
which he understood to b e Persian and placing the m ,
side by Side found tha t certain signs were of fre quent

recurrence This indicated to him the possibility
.
that their contents were similar A certain word .
appear e d very fre quently in the inscriptions but ,
it see med to have two forms a longer and a shorter , ,
and this Gro t e fe nd adopting a suggestion of Munter s

,

,

took to mean king in the short form and kings
in the longer the j uxtaposition of the two signs
,

thus being taken to signify king of kings In
.
both the inscriptions studied by Grot e fe nd he found

tha t this expression king of kings was followed
by the sa me word which he took to mean great

, .

B u t there were no denite facts to s u pport these

hypotheses Turning to certain Sassanian inscriptions
.
which ha d recently been deciphered he found tha t ,
62
G ROTEFEN D

the expression great king king of kings ine v it ,
ably occurred and this strengthened his Opinion

,
that it was present in the inscriptions he studied .
I f this was so tho ught he the two texts under his

, ,
observation must have been se t up by two different

k ing s for the na mes were not the sa me at the beginning
, .
Moreover the na me with which text No I began .
appears in the third line of text No I I following .

,

the word supposed to be king an d another which ,
might mean son Grot e fe nd thus concl u ded that

.

i n the two inscri p tions he had the na mes of a tria d
of rulers son father and grandfather A pplying

, , , .
to the list of the Ac h ae ne nia n dynasty in the atte mpt

to nd three na mes which would suit the conditions ,
he selected those of Xer x es Darius and Hyst a Sp e s , , .
Supposing the na me at the beginning of inscription I

to b e Darius he thus considere d himself to be j ustied
,
in translating text I as Darius grea t king king of , ,

kings son of Hyst a sp e s and text I I a s X erxes
, , ,

great king king o f kings son of Darius
, Considering ,
.
that the Persian S pelling of Dariu s wo u ld be Da r

h e ush he applie d the letters o f that na me to the
,
letters of the cuneiform script Su bseq u ent investi .
a t ion ha s shown that the na me sho u ld have been

g
rea d Da rya v u sh bu t Gro t e fe nd a t least succeede d
,

in discovering the letters for d a r and ,

,

,

sh .
But this was practically the en d of Gro t e fe nd s
discoveries Burnou f by a caref ul study of Persian

.
,
geographical names managed to decipher a large ,
nu mber of the characters of the Persian alphabet ,
and Professor L assen of Bonn by similar means , ,
achieved a like end These two independent a chieve

.
ments raised a erce controversy as to priority of

discover Y but L assen s sy ste m was the more Pe r fe c t
9

63
MYTH S OF B A B YL O NIA AND A S SY RIA
a s he found out that the ancient Persian signs were
not entirely alphabetic but were partially syll abic
that is that certain signs represente d syllables
,
instea d of letters This meant that Grot e fe nd s

.

syste m which ha d been almost vowelless wa s now

, ,
to a great extent lled in with the necessary vowels .
Raw linson
At this j uncture a certain Maj or Henry R awlinson ,
a servant of the East India Co mpany with a good ,
knowledge of Persian went t o Persia for the purpos e

,
o f assisting to organize the native army there He .
was far away fro m books and when he began to copy

,
certain cuneiform texts it was because of deep personal

interest He was quite unaware of the strenuous toil
.
which ha d been lavished u pon the m in Europe an d

worked quite independently of all assistance The .
strange thing is that he labo ured almost on the sa me

lines as Grot e fe nd ha d done He sa w al most a t
.
once that he ha d three languages to deal with and ,
b eing a ma n of great natural gifts he soon grouped

the signs in a correct manner Strangely enough he
.

a pplied the very sa me na mes those of Hyst asPe s ,
Darius an d X erxes to the texts a s Grot e fe nd ha d

,
-
done and found the m answer in the sa me manner

, .
Turning his a ttention to the inscription of Darius

a t B ehistun high up in the fa ce o f the living wall o f
,
rock there R awlinson succeeded in copying part of

,
it at great personal risk In 1 8 38 he forwarded his

.
translation of the rst two paragraphs of the Pe r

sian text containing the genealogy of Darius to the
, ,
Royal Asiatic Society of L ondon The feat ma de

.
a tre mendo u s sensation and he was supplie d with

,
all the principal works on the subj ect and much

correspondence fro m E uropean scholars He was .
,
64
RA W LI N SO N
however patience personi ed and would not publish
, ,
a work he had written on the subj ect because he

thought it better to wait until he had veried his
conclusions and perhaps made fresh discoveries .
But in 1 840 he was despa tched to A fghanistan on a

p olitical mission and did not return to Bagda d for
three years and it was not until 1 846 that he p ub
,
lish e d a series of memoirs in the your na l of the Royal

Asiatic Society in which he gave to the world a
,
translation of the Persian text at Behistun I t .
was a marvellous achieve ment for unlike those , ,
who had been labouring on the subj ect in E urope ,
he was ignorant o f the languages allied to Persian ,
yet he had surpassed all other s cholars in his

results .
B ut the deciphering of the s econd and third

languages ha d ye t to b e atta cked I n Wester .
gaard working on the lines of Grot e fe nd atta cke d

, ,
the second language He selecte d the na mes of .
Darius Hyst a Sp e s and X erxes and co mpare d the m

, , ,
with their e quivalents in the Persian texts By .
this means he discovered a nu mber of signs and

by their aid a tte mpte d to S pell out the syllables or
words Judging the writing to b e partly alphab etic
.
and partly syllabic he gave the na me Median to the

,
language Morris w h o ha d Rawlinson s copy of the

.
,

second transcription of the B ehist u n text to work

upon deciphered nearly all o f it Shortly a fter this
, .
the lang uage was na med Susian The deciphering o f .
the third of the three languages fo u n d at Persepolis

was attacke d by L owenstern and by the Re v , .
E dward H inks an Irish clergyman This language

,
.
was Assyrian purely H inks was fearful of making

.
blunders a nd whils t he was engaged in assuring

,
.
himself that every step he took was not a false one ,
B 65
MY TH S A S S Y RIA
O F B A B YLO NIA A ND
Longp ri e r publishe d in 1 847 a translation of the

entire text He was only able to read it by
.
a nalogy with the other texts ; he could not provide

the forms of the Assyrian words the mselves B ut .
Rawlinson once more ca me to the aid of the Study ,
and it was shown that a large nu mber of signs were

ideographic This paved the way for a band of o thers
.
who by their unite d e fforts succeeded in unravelling

the complicated script .
Or ig in of Cuneiform
This pec u liar syste m of writing originated in
Babylonia its inventors being the Su merian or non
,
Se mitic people Vh O inhabite d that country before

\
its settlement by the Babylonians I t was developed .
fro m picture writing and indeed some of the more

-
,
highly signicant of the pictorial signs can still

b e faintly tra ce d in their cuneifor m e quivalents .
This early picture writing was inscribe d on stone

-
,
b ut eventually soft clay was a dopte d as a mediu m

for the script and it wa s found that straight lines
,
impressed upon this mediu m tended to the shape of

a wedge The pictures therefore lost their original
.
character and ca me to b e mere conventional groups

of wedges The pl u ral was represented by doubling
.
the sign and a term might be intensied by the

,
a ddition of a certain S troke thus the Sign for house ,

if fo u r s mall strokes were added to it would mean ,
great house and so forth The script wa s badly

,

.
suited to the A ssyrian language as it had not b een ,
originally designed for a Semitic tongue I t consists .
of Simple syllables ma de up of a vowel by itself

or a vowel and a consonant ideogra ms or signs ,
which express an entire word and closed syllables ,
s uch a s bit or ba l A gain many of the signs have

.
,
66
THE S A CRED LITE RAT U RE O F B A B YLO NIA
more than one syllabic value and they may b e ,
used as ideogra ms a s well a s phonetically A s in the .
Egyptian script determinatives are e mploye d to indi

,
cate the class to which the word belongs : thus a ,
certain sign is placed before the na mes of e rsons ,
another b efore territorial na mes and a thir b efore ,
the na mes of gods and sacre d b eings The date .
of the epoch in which this writing rst began to b e

use d wa s probably ab out 4500 B C and it persisted . .
until the rst century B C The Assyrians e mployed

. .
it fro m abo u t 1 500 B C u ntil ab out the beginning of

. .
the sixth century B C This ancient for m of writing

. .
was thus used rst by the Su merians then by their ,
Babylonian and A ssyrian con querors then by those ,
Persians who nally overthrew the Babylonian and

A ssyrian e mpire .
Th e Sa L it er at ure of B aby l onia

c r ed
The literature which this peculiar and individual

script has brought down to u s is chiey religious ,
magical epical and legendary The last three cate

, ,
.
o rie s are dealt with elsewhere so tha t it only fall s

g ,
here to consider the rst class the religio u s writings , .
These are u sually co mposed in Se mitic B abylonian

without any trace of A kkadian inuence and it ,
cannot be said that they display any especial natural

eloquence or literary distinction In an address .
to the sun god which begins nobly enough with a

-
,
high apostrophe to the golden lu minary of day we ,
nd ourselves descending gra d u ally into an a t mos

p h e re of al most l u dicro u s dullness The person .
praying desires the sun go d to free him fro m the -
commonplace cares o f fa mily and do mestic annoy

a nc e s enu merating spells against all of his relative s
,
in order that they may not place their ban upon

67
MYTH S O F BA B YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
him In another written in A kkadian the penitent
.
, ,
addresses Guba rra Merodach and other gods de , , ,
siring tha t they direct their eyes kin dl y upon him

and that his sup p lication may reach the m Strangely .
enough the prayer fervently pleads that its utterance

may do good t o t he gods that it may let their hearts
rest their livers be quieted and gla dden the m like
, ,
a father and a mother who have begotten children .
This is not so s trange when we co me to consider

the nature of these hymns many o f which co me ,
perilously near the border line of pure magic tha t -
is they closely rese mble spells

,
We nd too that .
, ,
those which invoke the older deities such as Gibi the

r e god are more magical in their trend than thos e
-
,
addressed to the later gods when a higher sense of

religious feeling had probably b een evolved In .
d eed it does not see m too much to sa y tha t so me of

,
thes e early hymns may have served the pur p os e of

later incantations Most of tho se magical hymns
.
appear to have e manate d fro m that extre mely

ancient sea t of religion E ridu and are probably , ,
relics of the time when a s yet magic and religion

were scarcely di fferentiate d in the priestly or the
popular mind .
H y m n t o Adar
A n e hymn t o Adar describes the rumbling of the
s torm in the abys s the voic e of th e god ,
Th t er o f t h sple ndou r o f Ann in t h mids t o f h e v n

e r r o e e a e .
The gods it is said urge A dar on he descends like

, , ,
the deluge the champion of the gods swoops down

,
upon the host ile lan d Nusku the mess enger of .

,
Mul lil receives Adar in the t emple and addresses

-
,
words of praise to him

68
HY MN TO A DA R
Th y c h ar io t i as
s o ice f t h un der
a v o .
T o t h li ft i ng o f t hy h an ds i s t h sh dow t urned
e e a .
Th sp i r i ts o f t h e rth t h g rea t g o ds re t rn to
e e a ,
e ,
u t h e w nd i s .
Many of the hymns assist u s t o a b etter under

standing of the precis e nature of the gods de ning ,
a s they do their duties an d o ffi ces and even occasion

all y describing their appearanc e Thu s in a hymn .
to Nebo we note that he is alluded to a s the supreme

mess enger who binds a ll things together the scrib e ,

of all that has a name the lifter up of the stylus
,

supreme , d ir ector o f the world possesso r o f the ,

reed o f a ugury ,
traverser o f strange lands op ener ,

of wells , fru c t ie r of the c orn and the god ,
without whom the irrigated lan d and the canal are

unwatered . I t is fro m such texts that th e mythol
og ist is enabled t o piece together the tru e signicanc e
of many of the deities of a ncient p eoples .
A hymn to Nusku in his character of re go d is -
als o descriptive and p ictures que He is allu ded to .

a s wis e princ e the a me of heaven
,
h e who ,

hurls down t error whos e clothing is sple ndo u r
, ,
the forceful re god

the exalter of the moun
,

tain peaks and ,
the uplifter of the torch the ,

enlightener of darkness .
Such descriptive hymn s are the most valuable

ass ets p ossible in the hands of the j udicious s tudent
of myth or co mparative religion .
C H APT E R II B ABY LO NI AN
C O SMO G O NY
Th e Baby lonian My t h of Cr eation
EW c reation myths are more replet e with
interest than thos e which have literary
sanction Thes e are few in nu mb er as fo r
.
, ,
exa mple the creation story in Genesis those to b e

, ,
foun d in E gyptian papyri an d that contained in

,
the P ap al Va l) of the Maya of Central America .
In such an acc o u nt we can trac e the creation story

fro m the rst dim conception of world shaping t o -
the polished an d nal e ffort of a priestly caste to

give a the ological int erpretation to the intentions of
the creative deity and this is perhaps more the cas e
with the creation myth which ha d its ris e a mong the
old A kkadian population of Babylonia than with
any other known t o mythic s cience In the a ccount
.
in Genesis of the framing of the world it has b een

discovered that two di fferent versions have b een
fus ed t o for m a s ingle s tory ; the creation tale
of the Popol Va l) is certainly a c omposite myth ;
and S imilar s uspicions may rest upon the analogous
myths of Scandinavia an d Japan But in the cas e
.
of Babylonia we may b e convinc ed that n o other

inu ences except thos e of the races who inhabite d
Babylonian territory could have been brought t o
b ear upon this ancient story an d that although
,
c ritical exa mination has proved it to consis t of

materials which have b een drawn from more than
one s ource yet these sources are not foreign and
, ,
they have not undergone s ophist ication at the hands

of any alien mythographer or inter p olator .
I t wo u ld s ee m that this B abylonian cosmogony was

drawn from various sources b ut it appears to b e c on
,
'
70
THE BI RTH OF THE G O DS
t a ined in it s nal form in what are known as the
Seven Ta blets o f Creatio n brought fro m the library
,
of Ass ur b ani pal at Nineveh a nd now in the B ritish

- -
Museu m Thes e have from time to time been supple

.
m e nt e d by later nds but we may take it that in

,
this record we have the nal o fficial develop ment

of Babylonian b elief du e to the priests of Babylon
, ,
after that city had b ecome the metrop olis of the

empire The primary obj ect of the Seven Tablets
.
was to record a terric ght between B el a nd the

Dragon an d the account of the creation is insert ed
,
by way of introduction It is undoubtedly the mos t

.
important nd dealing with Babylonian religion

that has a s yet co me to light B efore we a dvanc e .
any critical S peculations resp ecting it let us se t ,
forth the story which it has to tell .
As in so many creation myths we nd chaotic ,
darkness b rooding over a waste of waters ; heaven

and earth wer e no t a s yet Na u ght existed save .
the primeval ocea n Mo m m u Tia w a t h from who s e

,
1
,
fert ile depths ca me every living thing Nor were the .
waters distributed a s in the days of man into se a

, , ,
river ; or lake but all were c onned together in on e

,
vast an d b ottomless abyss Neither did god or .
man exist : their names were unknown an d their

des tinies undetermined The future was as dark as
.
the gloom which lay over the mighty gulf of chaos .
Nothing had b een designed or de bated concerning it .
Th e Bir t h f the
o G ods
B ut ther e ca me a stirring in the darkness and th e
great gods aros e First ca me L ahm u and La h a m e ;
.
an d many epochs later A nsar and Kisar ; component

,
p art s of whose na mes signify Host of Heaven
Anoth e sp elli ng i T i m t
1
r s a a .
7X

and Host of Earth

Thes e latter names we may
.
perhaps accep t as symb olical of the spirit s of h e aven

and of earth respectively Many days afterward .
came forth their son A nu god of the heavens ,

.
At this p oint it sho u ld be explained that the na me

Tia w a t h a ffords a parallel t o the expression T hom
or deep of the O ld Testa ment Practicall y the .
sa me word is u sed in A ssyrian in the form Ta mtu ,
to signify the deep se a 1

The reader will recall .

tha t it was upon the face of the deep that the spirit
of God brooded according t o the rst chapter of
,
Genesis The word a nd the idea which it c ontain s

.
are e qually Semitic but strangely en ough it has an

,
A kka dian origin F or the conception that the watery

.
a bys s was the s ource of a ll things originate d with

the worshippers of the se a god E a a t Eridu They .
termed the dee p apsu or a house of knowledge ,

wherein their tutelar god was supposed t o have his

dwelling an d this word was o f A kkadian descent
, .

This a ps u or abyss ; in virtu e of the animistic
,

ideas prevailing in early A kkadian t im es h a d b ecom e ,
pers onalized a s a fe male who was regarde d as the

mother of E a She was kn own by another na me as
.
well as that of Ap su for sh e was als o entitled Ziga r un

, ,

the heaven or the mother that has b egotten

,

heaven an d earth and indeed sh e see ms to have

had a form or variant in which she was an earth
goddess a s well But it was n ot the existing earth or
.
heaven tha t sh e re resented in either of her forms

bu t the primeval ahyss out of which b oth of thes e
,
were fashioned .
A t this point the narrative exhibits numerous

defects an d for a c ontinuation of it we must apply
,
to Da ma sc ius the last of the Neoplaton ists who was

, ,
Sa yc e Hibbe t L ct u s p 374
1
,
r e re ,
. .
72
THE BI RTH O F TH E G O DS
b orn in Da mascu s about A D 480 an d who is re . .
,
garde d by most Assyriologists as having ha d a ccess

to valuable written or traditional material H e wa s .
the author of a work entitled Doubts a nd Solut ions

of t he F irst P r inc ip les in which he states that Ann
,
was followed by Bel (we retain the Babylonian

form of the na mes rather than Da m a sc iu s Greek
titles ) and E a the god of Eridu

,
Fro m E a and .

Daw k ina he writes,
w a s b orn a son ca ll ed B elo s
,
or B el Merodach whom the Babylon ians regarded

-
,

as the creator of the world Fro m Da ma sc iu s we
.
can learn n othing further and the defective character

,
of the tablet does n ot p ermit u S to procee d with any

degree of certainty until we arrive at the na me of
Nudim m u d which appears to b e simply a variant of
,
the name of Ea F rom obscure passages it may b e

.
generally gleaned that Tia w a t h an d A p su on ce one , ,
or rather originally representing the Babylonian and

Akkadian forms of the deep are n ow regarded as
mates Tia w a t h b eing the female and Ap su once
,
female in this cas e the male These have a son

,
.
,
Mou m is or Mu m m u a na me which at one time seems

,
to have been given t o Tia w a t h so that in thes e changes

,
we m a y b e able t o trace the han d of the later m y t h o

grapher who with less s kill an d greater levity than
, ,
is t o b e foun d in most myths has taken up on him ,
s elf the responsibility o f man u facturing three deities

out of one It may be that the scribe in question
.
wa s well aware that his literary e ffort mus t s quare

with and placate p opular b elief or popular prej udice ,
and in no era and a t no time has priestly ingenuity

b een un e qual t o s uch a task as is well evidenced by ,
many myths which exhibit trac es of late alteration .
Bu t in dwell ing for a moment on this q u estion it is ,
only j ust to the priesthood to a dmit that such changes

73
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND A SS Y RIA
did not always emanat e from them but were the ,
work of poets an d philosophers who for ae sthetic ,
or rational reas ons t ook it u p on themselves to recast

,
the myths of their rac e according to the dictates of

a nice r tast e or in the interests of reason
,
.
A Dar k som e
T r init y
Thes e thre e then Tiawa t h Apsu and Mu m m u
, , , , ,
appear to have forme d a trinity which bore no

,

good will to the higher gods 1
They the mselves .
,
as deities of a primeval epoch were doubtless regarded ,
by the theological O pinion of a later day as dark ,
dubious and unsatisfactory I t is notorio u s that

,
.
in many lands the early ele mental gods ca me into ,
bad odour in later times ; and it may be that the

Akka dian descent o f this trio did not conduce to
their popularity with the Babylonian people B e .
that as it may alien and a boriginal gods have in all

,
times been looked upon by a n inva ding and con

q u ering race with distrust a s the workers of magic
and the sowers o f evil an d even although a Ba bylo
,
nian na me had been accorded one o f them it may ,
not have been e mployed in a co mplimentary sense .
Whereas the high gods regarde d thos e of the abyss

with distrust the darker deities of chaos took up an
,
attitude towards the divinities o f light which can

only be co mpare d to the sarcastic tone which Milton s
Satan adopts against the Power which thrust him

into outer darkness A psu was the most ironical
.
o f all There was no peace for him he declare d so

.
, ,
long as the n ew co mers d welt on high : their way

-
was not his way neither was it that o f Tia w a t h

, ,
who if A ps u represente d sarcas m deied exhibite d

, ,
a erce truculence much more overpowering than

1
Of w h o m w now h e r f r t h e st t im e
e a o r .
74
A DA RK S OME
T RI NITY
the irony of her mate The trio disc u ssed how they
.
might rid themselves of those beings who desire d a

reign of light and happiness and in these deliberations,
Mu mm u the son was the prime mover H ere

, ,
.
again the Tablets fails us somewhat but we learn ,
su fficient further on to assure us that Mu m m u s
proj ect was one of open war against the gods o f

heaven .
In connexion with this campaign Tia w a t h ma de ,
the most elab orate preparations along with her co m

panions She laboured without ceasing F ro m the
. .
waters of the great abyss over which sh e preside d

sh e called forth the most fearf ul monsters who ,
re mind us strongly of thos e against which H orus the ,
E gyptian god of light ha d to strive in his wars ,
with Se t F ro m the deep ca me gigantic serpents

.
armed with stings dripping with the most dea dly

,
poison ; dragons of vast shape reared their heads

above the ood their huge j aws armed with row upon
,
row of formidable teeth giant dogs of indescribable

savagery ; men fashioned partly like s corpions ;
sh men and countless other horrible b eings were
-
, ,
created and formed into battalions under the co m

mand of a god named Kingu to whom Tia w a t h ,
referred a s her only husband and to who m sh e
promise d the rule of heaven and of fate when

once the deteste d gods of light are re move d by his
mighty arm .
The introduction of this being as the husband of

Tiaw a t h seems to point either to a f u sion of legends
or to the interpolation of some passage po p ular in
Babylonian lore At this j uncture A psu disappears
.
,
as does Mu m m u Can it b e that a t this point a

.
scribe or mythographer took up the tale who did not

agree with his predecessor in describing Tia w a t h ,
75
MYTH S O F B AB YLO NIA AN D A SS Y RIA
Apsu and Mu mm u originally one as three separat e
, , ,
deities 3 This would explain the divergence but ,
the point is an obscure one and hasty conclusions ,
on slight evidence are usually doomed to failure .
To resume our narrative Tia w a t h whoever her , ,
coadj utors was resolve d to retain in her own hands

,
the source of all living things that great deep over ,
which S he preside d .
But the gods o f heaven were by no means lulled

into peaceful security for they were aware of the ill ,
will which Tiaw a t h bore the m They learne d of her .
plot and great was their wrath E a the god of water

,
.
, ,
wa s the rst to hear o f it and related it to Ansar , ,
his father who lled heaven with his cries of anger

, .
Ansar betook himself to his other son A nu go d o f , ,

the sk y Spea k to the great dragon he urged
.
,
him ; speak to her my son and her anger will b e , ,

assuaged and her wrath vanish Duly obedient .
,
Anu betook himself to the real m of Tia w a t h to

reason with her but the monster snarled a t him so
,
ercely that in drea d he turned h is bac k upon her

and departed Next ca me Nu dimm u d to her but
.
,
with no better success At length the gods decided .
that one of their nu mber calle d Merodach should , ,
undertake the task of co mbating Tia w at h the

terrible Merodach asked that it might b e written
.
that he should be victorious and this was grante d ,
him H e w as then given rule over the entire univers e

.
,
and to test whether or not the greatest power ha d

passed to him a garment was placed in the midst
o f the gods an d Merodach Spoke words commanding
that it sho uld disappear Straightway it vanishe d .
and was not O nce more spake the god and the
.
,
garment r e appeared before the eyes of the dwellers

-
in heaven The portion of the epic which describes

.
76

M i gh t y w as h e to l ook pon
u
Ev e ly n P au l
A DA RK SO ME T RI NITY
the n ewly a c quired glories of Meroda ch is exceedingly
elo quent We are told that none a mong the gods
.
can now surpass him in power tha t the place of their ,
gathering ha s b eco me h is home that they have ,
given him the supre me sovereignty and they even ,
beg tha t to the m who put their trust in him he

will be gracious They pray that he may pour out
.
1
the soul of the keep er of evil and nally they place ,
in his hands a marvellous weapon with which to cut

o ff the life o f Tia w a t h L et the win ds carry her
.

blood to secret places they exclaimed in their desire
,
that the wa ters of this fountain of wickedness should

be s cattered far a nd wide Mighty was he to look.
upon when he se t forth for the co mbat His grea t .
bow he bore upon his back ; he swung his massive

club triu mphantly He se t the lightning before him
.
he l le d his body with swiftness ; and he fra me d

a great net to enclose the dragon of the se a The n .
with a word he created terrible winds and te mpests ,
whirlwinds storms s even in all for the confounding

, , ,
o f Tiaw a t h The hurricane was his weapon and he

.
,
rode in the chariot of destiny H is hel m blazed with .
terror and awful wa s his aspect The steeds which .
were yoked to his chariot rushed rapidly towards the

a byss their mouths frothing with veno mous foa m
, .
F ollowed by all the good wishes of the gods Merodach ,
fared forth that day .
Soon he ca me to Tia w a t h s retreat b ut at sight o f

,
the monster he halted and with reason for there

, ,
crouched the great dragon her scaly body st ill ,
In m any my h l g
1
t o o i es we
nd th g o ds p ra yin g nd s cr i c i ng
e a a
t o one no er
a t h , a nd eve t o e i t i es p res um a bly h i gh er th n th em selves
n d a
and u k o to
n n wn m an n or o l uesse d t by h im Th us t h Ve di c
y g a . e
o s
g d are cons tan t s cr i c i one t o th o th er nd th ere
ly a ng e m ny ,
a are a
Am er i c i st ces o f t i s ors i of g d by g d
an n an h w hp o o .
77
MYTH S O F B AB YLO NIA AND A SS Y RIA
gleaming with the waters o f the abyss ame darting ,
fro m her eyes and nostrils and such terric sounds ,
issuing fro m her widely open mouth a s wo u ld have

terrie d any b ut the bravest of the gods Merodach .
reproached Tiaw a t h for her reb ell ion and ende d

by challenging her to co mbat L ike the dragons .
of all time Tiaw a t h appears to have been versed

,
in magic and hurled the most potent incantations

against her a dversary Sh e cast many a S pell B ut
. .
Merodach unawed by this threw over her his great

, ,
net and caused an evil wind which he ha d sent on be

,
fore him to blow on her so that sh e might not close

,
her mouth The te mpest rushed between her j aws

.
and held the m open it entere d her b ody and racked

her fra me Merodach sw u ng his club on high and
.
,
with a mighty blow shattere d her grea t ank and

slew her Down he cast her corpse and stood upon it
.
then he cut out her evil heart F inally he overthrew .
the host of monsters which had followed her so that ,
at length they tre mbled turned and ed in hea dlong

, ,
rout .These also he ca u ght in his net and kept

the m in bondage King u he bound and took fro m
.
him the tablets o f destiny which ha d been granted

to him by the slain Tia w a t h which obviously means ,
that the god of a later generation wrenches the power

o f fate fro m an earlier hierarchy j ust a s one earthly ,
dynasty may overthrow and replace another The .
north wind bore Tia w a t h s blood away to secret
places and a t the sight E a sitting high in the

, ,
heavens rej oiced exceedingly Then Merodach took

,
.
res t and nourishment and a s he reste d a plan arose

,
in his mind Rising he ayed Tia w a t h of her scaly

.
,
skin an d cut her asunder We have alrea dy seen

.
that the north wind bore her blood away which ,
probably symbolises the distribution of rivers over

78
the earth 1
Then did Merodach take the two parts
.
o f her vast b ody and with one of the m he fra med a

,
covering for the heavens Merodach next divided .
the upper fro m the lower waters made dwellings for ,
the gods se t lights in the heaven and ordained their

, ,
regular courses .
AS the tablet poetically puts it he lit u p the sk y ,
establishing the upper rm a m e nt and caused Anu , ,

B el a nd Ea to inhabit it
,
H e then founde d the .
constellations as stations for the great gods and ,
instituted the year setting three constellations for

,
each month and placing his own star Nibiru as the

, , ,
chief light in the rm a m e nt Then he caused the .
new moon Na nna ru to shine forth and gave hi m

, ,
the rulership of the night granting him a day of ,
rest in the mid dl e of the month There is a nother .
mutilation a t this point and we gather that the ,
net of Meroda ch with which he ha d snared Tia w a t h

, ,
wa s placed in the heavens as a constellation along

with his bow The winds also appear to have been
.
bound or ta med and pla ce d in the several points of

the compass b ut the whole passage is very obscure ,
and doubtless information of surpassing interest has

b een lost through the mutilation of the tablet .
We shall probably not b e far in error if we regard

the myth of the co mbat between Meroda ch and Tia
wath a s an explanation of the primal strife between
light and darkness Among the most primitive .
peoples the solar hero has at one stage of his career

,
to encounter a grisly dragon or serpent who threatens ,
his very existence I n many cases this monster .
guards a treasure which mythologists o f a generation

ago almost invariably explained as that gold which
is sprea d over the sk y at the hour of sunset The .
1
S Pinc h es Th R ligi n f B byl ni
ee ,
end A y i
e
p 39 o o a o a a ss r a, . .
79
MYTH S O F BAB YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
a ssigning of solar characteristics to all S layers of
dragons and their kind wa s a weakness of the older
s chool of mythology a kin to its deductions base d
,
o n philological grounds ; but such criticis m as has

be en dire cted against the solar theory and it has
been extensive has not always been pertinent ,
and in many cases has been merely futile I n fact

.
the solar theory su ffere d beca use of the philological

arg uments with which it was bound up and neither
,
critics nor readers appeare d to discriminate between

these B ut we should constantly bear in mind that
.
to attempt to elucidate or explain myths by any one

syste m or by one hard and fast hypothesis is futile
, , .
O n the other hand nearly all syste ms which have

yet atte mpted to elucidate or disentangle the ter m s
o f myth are capable of application to certain type s
o f myth The dragon story is all but universal : in
.
China it is the monster which te mporarily swallows

the su n during eclipse ; in E gypt it was the great
serpent Ap e p which battled with Ra and Horus
, ,
both solar heroes ; in I ndia it is the serpent Vrit ra ,
or A hi who is van quished by Indra ; in Australia

,
and in so me parts of North America a great frog

takes the place of the dragon In the story of
.
B eowulf the last exploit of the hero is the S laying of

a terrible re breathing dragon which guards a hi dden
treasure hoard ; and B eowulf receives a mortal wo und
-
in the encounter In the Volsung Saga the covetous

.
Fa ffnir is turne d into a dragon and is slain by Sigurd.
These must not be confounde d with the monsters

which cause drought and pestilence I t is a sun
.
swallowing monster with which we have here to deal .
The ta blets here allude to the creation of man ;

the gods it is state d so a dmired the handiwork of
, ,
Merodach that they desired to se e him execute

,
8o
st ill further marvels Now the go ds had none to
.
worship the m or pay the m ho mage and Merodach ,
suggested to his father Ea the creation of man out

, ,
o f his divine blood Here once more the tablets

.
fail us and we must turn to the narrative of the

,
Chaldean writer B e ro ssu s as preserve d by no less ,
than thre e authors of the classical age B e r ossu s .
s tates that a certain woman Th a la t t h ( that is Tia ,
wath) ha d many strange creatures a t her bidding .
B elus ( tha t is B e l Merodach) attacke d and c ut her

,
-
in twain forming the earth out of one half and the

,
heavens o ut o f the other and destroying all the ,
creatures over which sh e r uled Then did Merodach .
decapitate himself and as his bloo d owed forth the

,
other gods mingle d it with the earth and for me d

man fro m it F ro m this circu mstanc e mankin d is
.
rational and has a s park of the divine in it Then

,
.
did Merodach divide the darknes s separate the ,
heavens fro m the earth and order the details o f the

,
entire universe B ut those ani mals which he had

.
created were not a ble to bear the light and die d ,

.
A passage then o cc u rs which sta tes that the stars ,
the sun and moon and the ve planets were created

, ,
and it wo uld see m fro m the repetition that there were

two creations that the rst wa s a fail u re in which
, ,
Merodach had a s it were essayed a rst atte mpt

, , ,
perfecting the process in the second creation O f .
course it may b e conj ectured that B e rossu s may have

drawn fro m two conicting accounts or that thos e ,
who qu ote him have inserted the s econd passage .
The Sumerian incantation which is provided with ,
a Se mitic translation adds so mewhat to our know

,
ledge of this cos mogony I t states that in the .
beginning nothing a s yet existed none o f the great ,
cities o f Ba bylonia ha d yet b een built indeed there ,
F 81
MYTH S O F B A BYLO NIA AN D AS SY RIA
wa s no land nothing but sea I t wa s not unt il the
, .
veins of Tia w a t h had been c ut through that paradise

and the abyss a ppear to have been separated and
the gods created by Merodach Also did he create .
a nnuna /ei or gods o f the earth a nd esta blished a ,
wondrou s city a s a place in which they might dwell .
Then men were for med with the aid of the goddess
A ruru and nally vegetation trees and animals
, , ,
.
Then did Merodach raise the great te mples of E rech

and Nippur F ro m this a ccount we se e that instea d
.
of Merodach being alluded to a s the son of the gods ,
he is regarded as their crea tor In the library o f .
Nineveh was also discovered a co p y of a ta blet

written for the grea t temple o f Nergal a t Cuthah .
Nergal himself is supposed to m a ke the state ment

which it contains H e tells us how the hosts of chaos
.
and confusion ca me into being A t rst a s in the .

,
other a ccounts nothingness reigned supre me then

, ,
did the great gods create warriors with the bodies

of birds and men with the fa ces of ravens They
,
.
founded the m a city in the ground and Tia wa t h the , ,
great dragon did suckle them They were fostered

,
.
in the midst of the mountains and under the care ,
of the mistress of the gods they greatly increased

a nd beca me heroes of might Seven kings ha d they .
,
who rule d over six thousan d people Their father .
wa s the god B e na ni and their mother the queen , ,
Mc lili These beings who might almost be called

.
,
ta me gods o f evil Nergal states tha t he destroyed ,

1
.
1
accoun t h bee n c la im e d
Th is as w e k vers i on o f th a t as a a
p r t of t h cre t ion s t ory wh ich de ls w i th t h c ea tio n o f t h h ost

a e a a e r e
of t h byss Th f ct th t N erg l st tes th t h des t royed th ese

e a . e a a a a a e
m ons t ers m i gh t j u s t ify u in bel ev i ng th t t h my th w

s i n th i a e as o s
occ si on so e di te d t p rov i de t h m o n rch w i t h n opp o t unity

a as o e a a r
for bo sting a .
82
A DA RK S O ME T RINITY
Thus all a ccounts agre e concerning the original
chaotic condition of the universe They also agree
.
that the powers of cha os and darkness were destroye d

by a go d of light .
The creation tablets are written in Se mitic an d

allude to the grea t circle of the gods a s alrea dy
fully developed and having its full co mple ment ,
E ven the later deities are mentione d in the m This .
means tha t it must b e a ssigne d t o a co mparatively

late date b ut it possesses ele ments which go to show
,
tha t it is a late edition of a much earlier co mposition

-
indee d the funda ment al ele ments in it appear a s ,
has b een said to b e purely A kkadia n in origin an d

, ,
tha t would throw back the date of its original form

to a very primitive period indeed I t has a s will .
,
readily b e seen a very involve d cos mogony Its

, .
characteristics Show it to have b een originally local ,

and of co urs e B abylonian in its secondary origin
, ,
but fro m time to time it was a dde d to so that such ,
gods a s were a t a later date adopte d into the Ba by

lonian pantheon might b e explained and accounte d
for by it ; b ut the legend of the creation arising in
the city of Babylon the lo cal folk tale known an d
,
-
understood by the people wa s never entirely shelve d

,
by the more conse quential and p olishe d ep ic which ,
was p erhaps only known and appreciated in literary

and aesthetic circles a nd bore the sa me relation to
,
the hu mbler folk story that Milton s P ar a dise L ost

bears to the medieval legends of the casting out of

Satan fro m heaven .
Although it is quite easy to distinguish inuences

of extre me a ntiquity in the B abylonian creation
myth it is clear tha t in the Shap e in which it has
,
c o me down to us it has b een altered in s uch a manner

as to ma ke Merodach reap the entire credit of Tiaw a t h s
33
MYTH S OF B A B YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
defeat instea d of Em lil or the deity who was his
-
,
pre decessor a s monarch of the gods Jastrow holds .
tha t the entire cos mological tale has been constru c t e d

fro m an a ccount of a conict with a pri meval monster
and a story of a rebellion against Ea ; tha t thes e
two tales have beco me fused an d tha t the rst is
,
again divisible into thre e versions originating one

,
a t Uruk and the other two a t Nippur a t di fferent

epochs The rst celebrates the con q uest o f A nu
.
over Tia w a t h the s econd exalts Ninib a s the con

,
q u e r or
,
and the third replace s him by En lil We -
.
thus se e how it wa s p ossible for the go d of a con

quering or pop ular dynasty to have a co mplete
myth made over to him a nd how at last it wa s
,
co mpetent for the mighty Merodach o f Babylon to

replace an entire line of deities a s the central gure
o f a myth which must have b een popular with untol d
genera tions o f Akkadian and Babylonian people .
T y p e of B aby l onian Cosm olog y

We must now consider the precise na ture o f the
Babylonian cos mology and it s place a mong other
creation myths L ike the cos mological efforts o f
.
most pri mitive or barbarian p eoples it does not par

ta ke o f the character of a creation myth so much
a s an account of an evolution fro m chaos and the
e stablishment of physical laws The primitive mind
.
cannot grasp the idea o f the creation of so mething

out of nothing and the Babylonians and A kka dians
,
did not di ffer in this respect fro m other races in the

sa me stage o f development In whatever direction
.
we loo k when exa mining the cosmologies of barbarian

or se mi civilized peoples we nd a total inability to
,
get b ehind and beyond the idea that the matter o f

creation la y alrea dy to the hand o f the creative
84
T Y PE OF B A B YLO NIA N CO S MOLO G Y
agency and that in order to shape a world it ha d but
,
to draw the material therefor fro m the tee ming deep or

the slain body of a hostile monster Not only doe s .
the idea of creating land and water out o f nothingness

see m absurd to the primitive mind but man as well ,
must b e frame d fro m dust mud clay or the blood o f

, , ,
the creative go d himself Ye t Merodach was able to

.
bring a garment ou t of nothingness and to return

it thither by merely Spea king a word ! Why then , ,
did not the theology which a dmitted the possibility

o f such a pheno menon carry o ut its own conception
to a logical conclusion and own the likelihoo d of

the go d s ability to create an entire univers e in the
self sa me manner
-
Perhaps the step was too bold
for an individual to take in the face o f an entire
theological college and in any case what would see m
,
a perfectly feasible act o f magic to the theologians

of B abylon when applie d to a garment might not
serve for application to the making of the earth and
all that is therein The cos mology of B abylon is
.
therefore on a par with those of Scandinavia China , ,
and many North American Indian tribes nor does ,
it reach so high an imaginative level as those o f

ancient E gypt I ndia or the Maya of Central A merica
, , ,
in so me of which the vocal co mmand of a god is

su fficient to bring about the creation of the earth and
the waters surro u nding it .
The making of the su n the moon and the other , ,
heavenly bodies is as will be more fully shown later

, ,
o f great importance in B abylonian myth The .
stars appear to have been attache d to the rm a m e nt

of heaven as t o a cloth Across this the sun passe d
.
daily his function being to inspect the move ments

,
of the other heavenly bodies The moon likewise .

, ,
ha d her xe d course and certain stars were also

,
8:
MYTH S O F BAB YL O NIA AND A S SY RIA .
s u pp ose d to move a cross the picture o f the night

with greater o r less regularity The heavens were
.
guarde d a t either end by a great gateway and ,
through one o f thes e the sun passed after rising fro m

the o cean whilst in setting he quitted the heavens
,
by the opposite portal .
The terrestrial world wa s i magined a s a grea t

holl ow Structure resting on the dee p
Indeed
,
it would s ee m to have been regarde d as an islan d

oating on a n abyss of waters This conce p tion o f
.
the world o f earth wa s by no means peculiar to the

Babylonians b ut was share d by the m with many
,
of the nations of antiquity .
A s e manating fro m the blood o f Merodach himself ,
man was loo ked u p on as dire ctly of heavenly origin .
A n older tra dition existe d to the e ffect that Mero dach

ha d been assisted in the creation of mankind by the
goddess A ruru who gures in the Gilga mesh epic
,
a s the creatress of Babani out of a piece of clay .
We als o nd an ancient belief c urrent that humanity

owed it s origin to the god Ea but when Merodach
,
displace d this god politically he would of course

, , ,

ta ke over his entire re cord and creative deeds

as well a s his p owers and sovereignties At Nippur .
B el was looke d up to as the originator o f man B ut .
thes e b eliefs probably obtained in re moter times ,
and would na lly b e quenched by the a dvance to full

and un questioned power of the great go d Mero dach .
Connex ion w it h t h e J onah L eg end

So me mythologists se e in the story o f Jonah a
hidden a llusion to the circumstances o f B abylonian
cos mology Jonah a s we re me mber w a s summoned
.
, ,
to Nineveh to pro p hesy against it but proceeding

,
instea d to Joppa ( the scene of the la ter myth of

86
CONNEXIO N W ITH THE J O NAH LE G END
Perseus and A ndromeda ) the ship in which he se t sail
was storm tossed and he himself advised the sa ilors
-
,
to cast h im overboard They did so and a grea t .

,

sh swallowed him This sh it has been.
,
claimed is merely a marine form of Tia w a t h the

, ,
dragon of chaos and the three days and nights which

,
1
Jonah remains inside it are the winter months .
This does not see m very clear H ercules in like .
manner descende d into the belly of a sh and e merge d

again after three days a ccording to the Ph oenicians
,
.
The na me of Jonah may be co mpared with that of

.

O annes or Ea The love god in the Hindu Vishnu ,
P ur a na thrown into the se a is swallowed by a sh

, , ,
like the ring of Gyges Was there a local se a .
monster a t Joppa a variant of Tia wa t h and is it

, ,
the sa me in the Jonah myth as that in the tale of

Perseus A tawny fountain at Joppa was thought
to derive its colour fro m the bloo d of the sea monster -
slain by Perseus says Pausanias Was then the

,
.
monster who lay in wait o ff Joppa Tia w a t h the ,
goddess of darkness and was Jonah none other than

,
E a or O annes her mortal foe the god of light who m

, , ,
sh e would mythologically swallow during the sere
months of winter
B ible F lk L e Lo ndon 1 8 84 Anon ym o us
1
o or , , . .
C H APT E R III : E AR L Y BAB YLO NIAN
R E L I GI ON
Th e B eg inning s f B aby lonian Rel ig ion
o
H E true beginning o f a religion is that epoch

in it s history when it succeeds by reason o f ,
local or national circu mstances and environ

ment and by racial genius in raising itself fro m those
,
p urely animistic in u ences which are characteristic

o f early faith and fro m which all great religions have
e merged if they have not been a ble entirely to fre e
,
the mselves fro m associations which by reason of their

a nti quity and the hold they a chieve on the mind of
hu manity are particularly dii c ult to cast off Thus .
a sense of nationality an d the attain ment of a high

sta ndard of righteousness assisted in shaping Jewish
religion The necessity for military e ic ie nc y a nd
.
therefore of sacrice to the gods was moulding a

real if terrible religion in ancient Mexico when the
invading Spaniards ende d the hideous mas que o f
trage dy I nsight and meditation lent an air o f
.
ethical exaltation to the Vedic religion of I ndia .
Thus in a manner peculiarly it s own and according ,
to the tren d of its particular genius did ea ch race ,
evolve a suitable religion fro m an original animistic

basis.
I f we are to discover the foundations of any

syste m or cult however if we are to excava te the
, ,
s oil religious a s we would the soil arch aeological in

the h Op e of co ming upon the basis of a ny particular
faith we must underta ke the work in a manner as
,
thorough a s tha t of the antiquary who pick in hand , ,
delve s his way to the lowest foundations of pala ce

or te mple The earliest B a bylonian religious ideas
.
that is subse quent to the entrance of that p eople

,
88
S PI RIT S AND G O D S
into the country watered by the Tigris and E u phrates
-
were undo u bte dly coloure d by those of the non
Semitic Su merians who m they found in the country .
They adopted the alphabet o f tha t race and this ,
affords strong presu mptive evidence that the im

migrant Se mites as an unlettered people woul d
, ,
naturall y accept much if not all of the religion of the

more cultured folk who m they found in possession of
the so il .
There is no necessity in this place to outline the

nature of animistic belief a t any length This has .
b een done in so many other volu mes of this series

and in such detail that it is su fficient to state here
succinctly that animis m is a condition o f tho u ght
o r b elief in which man considers everything in the
universe along with himself to b e the possessor o f

soul, Spirit o r at least volition Thus the wind
,
.
, ,
water animals the heavenly bodies all live move

, , , , ,
and have their b eing and because o f his fear of or

,
a dmiration for the m man placates or a dores the m

,
until a t length he almost unconscio u sly exalts the m

into a condition of godhea d H ave we any reason to
.
think that the ancien t Se mites o f B abylonia regarde d

the universe as people d by gods or go dl ings of su ch
a type 3 The p roofs that they did so are not a few .
S p irit s and G ods

Spirits swarme d in ancient B abylonia as the ,
reader will observe when he co mes to peruse the

chapter dealing with the magical ideas of the ra ce .
And here it is important to note that the deter

m ina t iv e or symb olic written Sign for Spirit

is the sa me a s that for god Thus the god and
.
the Spirit must in B abylonia have had a co mmon

descent The manner in which we can disting u ish
.
89
MYTHS OF BA BYLONIA AND AS SY RIA
between a go d and a S pirit however is simple L ists
, ,
.
o f the oi c ial gods are provided in the historical

texts whereas S pirits and de mons are not included
,
therein B ut this is not to sa y that no atte mpt

.
ha d been ma de to syste matize the belief in spirits

in Babylonia for j ust as the great gods of the universe
,
were apportione d their several o ffices so were the ,
spirits allotted almost exa ctly similar powers Thus .
the Annuna lai were p erhaps regarded as the s p irits

o f earth and the I gigi as S pirits o f heaven So .
,
a t least are they designate d in an ins cription o f

,
Ra m m a nnira ri I The grouping evidently survived

.
fro m animistic times when perhaps the spirits which

,
are e mbraced in these two classe s were the only

gods of the Babylonians or Sumerians and ,
fro m w hose ranks some of the great gods of future

times may have b een evolved In any cas e they .
b elong to a very early perio d in the Babylonian

religion an d play no unimportant part in it almost
to the end The god A nu the most ancient of t h e
.
,
Ba bylonia n deities was regarded a s the father o f

,
b oth co mpanies b ut other gods ma ke use of their

,
services They do not appear to b e well dis p osed to

.
hu manity The Assyrian kings were wont to invo ke

.
the m when they desire d to inculcate a fear o f their

maj esty in the people and fro m this it may b e inferred
,
that they were o bj ects o f peculiar fear to the lower

orders of the population for the people often cling
to the elder cults and the elder pantheons despite
the innovations of ecclesiastical politicians or the ,
religious eccentricities of kings There can however .

, ,
b e no doubt a s to the tr uly animistic character o f

early B abylonian religion Thus in the early insc rip
.
tions one reads of the Spirits of various kinds o f

diseases the spirit of the south wind the Spirits of
, ,
90
WAS BA B YLO NIAN RELI GIO N SEMITIC P
the mist and so forth The hit ili or sacre d stone s
,
.
-
marking the residence o f a god were proba bly a lin k

between the fetish and the idol re maining even after ,
the fully develope d idol had been evolved .
Was Baby lonian Relig ion S em it ic in T y p e !

It ha s already b een stated tha t the religion o f
ancient Babylon wa s probably greatly inuence d b y
those non Se mitic people who m the Se mitic Ba by
lonia ns found occupying the country when they
entere d it The question then arises (and it is on e
.
o f high importance ) how far did the religion o f

,
ancient Babylonia and A ssyria parta ke of the chara c

ter o f that group of religions which has been calle d
Se mitic

The classical pronounce ment upon this

.
phas e o f the subj ect is probably that of the la t e

Professor Robertson S mith who in his Religion of
,
t he Se mite: ( p

1 3) says :
.
1
The preponderating
O pinion of A ssyriologists is to the e ffect tha t the
civilization of Assyria and Babylonia was not purely

Se mitic and that the ancient p opulation of thes e
,
parts contained a large pre Se mitic ele ment whos e-

,
inuence is especially to b e re cognized in religion an d

in the sacred literature of the cuneifor m records .
I f this b e so it is plain that the cuneiform material

,
must b e used with ca ution in our en quiry into the

typ e o f tra ditional religion chara cteristic o f the
ancient Se mites That Ba bylonia is the bes t starting
.
point for a co mparative study of the sacre d b eliefs

and p ractices of the Se mitic peoples is a n idea ,
which ha s lately ha d so me vogue and which a t ,
rst sight appears plausible on a ccount of the great

anti qu ity o f the mon u mental evidence B ut in .
,
matters of this sort ancient a nd primitive are not

,
Th p ss g e i quote d by ki nd p erm i ss i o n o f Mess s A 8 C B l c k

1
e a a s r . : . a .
91
MYTH S O F BA B YLO NIA AND A SS Y RIA
synonymous terms ; and we must not look for the
most primitive form o f Se mitic faith in a region
where society was not primitive In B abylonia
.
,
i t would see m society and religion alike were based

,
on a fusion o f two races and so were not primitive

,
bu t co mplex Moreover the official syste m of Baby

.
,
lonian and Assyrian religion as it is known to us

,
fro m priestly texts and p u blic inscriptions bears ,
clea r marks of being so mething more than a popular

traditional faith ; it has been articially moulded
by priestcraft and statecra ft in much the sa me way
as the o fficial religion of Egypt that is to sa y it is ,
in great measure an articial co mbination for im ,
perial purposes o f ele ments drawn fro m a nu mber

,
o f local worships I n all probab ility the actual

.
religion of the masses was always much simpler than

the o fficial syste m ; an d in later times it wo u ld
see m that both in religion and in ra ce A ssyria
, ,
wa s little di fferent fro m the a dj acent Ara m aean

countries These remarks are not meant to throw
.
doub t on the great importance of cuneiform studies

for the history of Se mitic religion ; the monumental
data are valuable for co mparison with what we
know o f the faith and worship of other Se mitic
peoples and peculiarly valuable because in religion
, ,
a s in other matters the civilization of the Euphrates

,
Tigris valley exercised a great historical inuence

on a large part of the Semitic eld .
T ot em ism in B aby l onian Rel ig ion

Signs of totemis m are not wa nting in the Bab y
lonia n as in other religious systems Many of the
.
gods are pictured as riding upon the backs of certain

animals an almost certain indication that at one
,
time they had themselves possessed the form of the

92
THE G REAT G O DS
animal they bestrode R eligious conservatis m would .
p robably not tolerate the immediate abolitio n of the

totem shape so this means was taken of gradually
-
,
shelving it B ut some gods reta ined ani mal form

.
unt il comparatively late times Thus the su n god .

-
of Kis had the form of an eagle a nd we n d that ,
Ish tar took as lovers a horse an eagle and a lio n , ,
surely gods who were represented i n e q uine aquiline , ,
a nd leonine forms The sh form of O annes the god .

-
,
of wisdom is certainly a relic of totemis m Some

,
.
of the old ideographic representations of the names

of the gods are eloquent of a totemic connexion .
Thus the na me of Ea the god of the deep is expressed , ,
by an ideograph which signies antelope Ea

.

is spoken of as the a ntelope of the deep the

,

lusty antelope and so forth H e was also as a , .
,
water god connected with the serpent a universal

-
, ,
symbol of the o w ing stream The strange god Uz .

,
probab ly an Akkadian survival was worshipped ,
u nder the form of a goat The su ngod of Nipp u r .

,
Adar was connected with the pig and was called

, ,
lord of the s w ine Merodach may have been a
bull god In early astronomical literature we nd

-
.
him alluded to as the bull of light The storm

.

god Zu as is seen by his myth retained his birdli k e

, ,
form Another name of the storm bird was Lug al

.
-
banda patron god of the city of Marad near Sip p a ra

, ,
.
L ike Prometheus also o nce a bird god as is prove d -

,
by many analogous myths h e stole the sacred re fro m

heaven for the service and mental illu mination of man .
Th e Gr eat G ods
I n th e phase in which it becomes rst know n
to us Babylonia n religion is neither Semitic no r
,
A kkadian but Semitic Akka dia n : tha t is the ele

,
-
,
93
MYTH S O F B A B YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
me nts of both religious forms are s o intermingle d
in it that they can not be disti nguished one fro m
another ; but very little that is trustworthy can
b e a dvanced concerning this shadow y time E ach .
petty State (and these were nu merous in early Baby

lo nia) possessed its own tutelar deity and he again ,
had comma nd over a nu mber of lesser gods Whe n .
a ll thos e pa ntheons were added together as was ,
the case in later days they afforded the sp ectacle ,
of perhaps the largest assembly of gods known to

any religion The most outstanding of these tribal
.
divinities as they might j ustly be called were

, ,
Merodach who was worshipped at Babylon ; Sh a

,
mash who was adored a t Sippar ; Sin the moo n

, ,
god who ruled at Ur ; A nu who held sway over

, ,
E rech and De r ; E a the O annes of legend whos e

, ,
city was Eridu B el who ruled at Nippur or Niffur

, ,
Nergal of Cuthah ; a nd I shtar who was goddess ,
of Nineveh The peoples of the several p rovinces

.
identied their prominent gods one with another ,
a nd indeed when A ssyria rose to rivalry with Baby
lonia its chief divinity A sshur was naturally

, , ,
ide ntied with Merodach .
I n the chapter on cos mology we have seen how

Merodach gained the lordship of heaven It has .
been shown that the rise of this god to power was

comparatively recent Prior to the days of Khammu
.
rabi a rather di fferent pantheon from that described

in later inscriptio ns held sway In those more .
primitive days the principal gods appear to have

been Bel or En lil Belit or Nin lil h is q uee n Nin
-
,
-
,
g irsu Ea Nergal Sha mash Sin Ann and other

, , , , , ,
lesser divi nities There is indeed a sharp distinction

.
betwee n the pre and post Kh a mm ura bic types of -
religio n Attempts had bee n made to form a pan

.
94
T y p es of E n- lil th e C h i ef G d f N i p p ur
o o a nd of
C onsor t N in lil
, ,
h is ,
-
Fr o m Rel ig i o u s B el l a a nd l l t l t ll t c m B a by / OH M
'
a nd . l ssy rm .
i
by Pr o fc sw r Mo r r s J a s t ro w
I) 1 155 1 0 0/ New P ufmm z s Sons:

s. G
94
B EL

theon before Kha mmurabi s day but his exaltation ,
of Merodach the patro n of Babylon to the head of

, ,
the Babylonia n pantheon was destined to destroy

thes e A glance at the conditio n of the great gods
.
before the days of Kha mmurabi will assist us to

understan d their later develop ments .
B el
B el or ; to give him his earlier name En lil is
, ,
-
,
spoke n of in very early inscriptions especially in ,
those of Nippur ; of which city he was the tutelar

deity He was described as the lord of the lower
.

world and much e ffort seems to have been made
,
to reach a denite conception of his position and

attributes H is name had also been tra nslated
.
lord of mist The title B el had been give n

.
to Merodach by Tiglat h p ile se r I about 1 2 00 B C -

. .
,
after which he was referred to as the older B el .

The c hi ef s eat of h is worship was at Nippur where ,
the name of his temple E Kur or mountain ho u se ,

- -
,

came to b e applied to a sanctuary all over Baby

lonia He was also addressed as the lord of the
.

storm and as the great mou ntain and his consort ,
Nin lil is also alluded to as lady of the mountain

-

.

Jastrow rightly concludes that there are s u bsta ntial

reasons for assuming that h is original city w as on
the top of some mou ntain a s is so generally the ,
case of storm deities -

There being no mountai ns
.
in the E uphrates valley however the co nclusion , ,
is warranted that En lil was the god of a people -
whose home was in a mou ntainous region and w h o

brought their god w ith them when they came to the
1
E uphrates valley .
En lil is undoubtedly of the class o f temp est

-
R ligi u B li f in B byl ni
1
e o s nd A y i
e p 69
e a o a a ss r a, . .
95
MYTH S O F B AB YLO NIA AND A SS YRIA
deities who dwe ll on mo u ntain peaks No te x t .
a ppears to have been found which alludes to him as

of a red colour The ashing of the lightning through
.
the clouds which veil the mountain s ummits usuall y

generates a belief in the mind of primitive man that
the god who is concealed by the screen o f vapour
is red i n h u e and q u ick in movement The secon d .

table t of a text known as the crying storm
l
al udes to En lil a s a storm god Addressing him -
.
it says Spirit that overcomes no evildoing Spirit ,
that has no mother spirit that has no wife spirit that

, ,
has no sister Spirit that has no brother that kno ws

, ,
n o a biding place the evil slaying S pirit tha t deva s

,
-
tates the fold t hat wrecks the Stall tha t sweeps

, ,
a way son and mother like a reed A s a huge deluge .
it tears away dwellings consumes the provisions

,
of the home s mites mankind everywhere and

, ,
wic k edly drowns the harvests of the land Devoted .
temples it devastates devoted men it affl icts him

, ,
tha t clothes himself in a rob e of maj esty the Sp irit

lays low with cold him of wide pasture lands with

,
h nger it lays low When En lil the lord o f lands

u .
, ,
cries out a t sunset the dreadful word goes forth

u nto the spacious Shrine Destroy ,
.

Nippur the city of En lil was of Sumerian

,
-
,
origin so we must connect the earliest cult of En lil

,
-
with the Sumerian aborigines Many of his lesser .
na mes point to such a conclusion B ut he greatly .
outgrew all local circumstances a nd a mong other ,
things he appears to have been a god who fostere d

vegetation Some a uthorities appear to be of opinion
.
tha t because En lil was regarde d a s a god of vegeta

-
tion the change w a s owing to his removal from a

mountainous region to a more level neighbourhood .
The truth is it would be difficult to discover a god

,
96
B EL AND
THE DRAG ON
who wielded the powers of the wind and rain who
was not a patron of agric u lture but as he sends ,
be ne c e nt rains so also may he destroy and d evasta t e

, ,
a s we have seen from the foregoing text The noise .

of the storm was sp oken of as his word Probably .
,
too because he wa s a very old god he wa s regarde d

,
in some localities as a creator of the world The .
grea t winged bull of A ssyrian art may well often

represent En lil : no symbol could better typify
the tempest which the Babylonians regarde d a s
rushing and rioting unrestrained over country and
city overturning even tower and temple with its
,
violence and tu mbling the wretched reed huts of the

,
lower caste into the dust .
The word lil which occurs in the na me Em lil ,
signi es a de mon and En lil may therefore mean

,

-

the chief demon -
This shows the very early
.
,
animisti c nature of the god There app ear t o b e .
other traditions of him a s a war god b ut thes e are -

,
so obscure as scarcely t o b e worth notice In the .
trinity which consisted of B el E a and Anu he is , , ,

regarded as the god of the earth that is the , ,
earth is his sphere and he is at times address ed as

,
B el the lord of the lands

,
.

We n d the word of the wind or s torm go d
-
alluded to in the P op ol Vuh of the Kic h e s of Central

America where Hura k an ( the deity fro m whos e
,
name we probably get our wor d hurricane

sweeps over the face of the pri meval deep voic ing his ,
c ommands .
B el and t he Dr ag on
The pictures que legen d of B e l and the Drago n
which app ears in the Ap oc rypha and which wa s at one ,
time appended to the B ook of Da niel sho w s us the ,

G
97
MYTH S O F B AB YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
ma nner in which B el was worshipp ed at Babylo n ,
and how he was s u pposed to take hu man shape ,
devour food and b ehave very much as a man might

, .
The legend states that the B abylonians lavishe d

every day upo n the idol of B el twelve great measures
of ne our and forty sheep a nd six vessels of wine
, , .
Ki ng Cyrus of Persia who had overthrown the

,
Babylo nian kin g dom went daily t o worship B el

, ,
a nd asked Daniel why he d id no t do likewise The .
prophet replied that his religion did not p ermit him

t o worship idols b ut rather the living God who ha d
,
create d the heaven s a nd the earth .

The n said Cyrus : Thi nkes t thou not that

B el is the livi ng God Seest thou not how much he

eateth and drin keth every day i
Then Daniel s mile d a nd said O King b e not , ,
deceived for he is but clay withi n and brass without

, ,

a nd can n ever eat or drink a nything .
Cyrus was exceeding wroth a nd calling for ,

his priests said to the m I f ye tell me not who
,
this is tha t devoureth thes e exp e nses ye S hall die ,
but if ye can sho w me that B el devours the m

Da niel shall die for he hath spoken blasphe my
,
agains t B el ; an d to this Daniel cheerfully

agreed .
I t would have b een s urprising had not the pro

visions vanished b eca u se we are told that the pri e sts
,
of B el were threescore and ten in n u mber a nd had

nu merous wives and children So Cyrus and Daniel .
betook the mselves to the temple of B el an d the ,
p riests asked the m to bless the meat a nd wine b efore

B el and to shu t the door fast a nd s eal it with the
,
Ki ng s own S ig net stating that if they ca me on th e

,
morrow t h ey would nd that B el ha d eaten u p a ll

of the prov i sions .
98
B EL AND THE DRA G O N
B ut they had taken good care t o protect the m
s elves for they had made a s ecret entrance underneath
,
the great table in the te mple which they used c on

st a nt l
y so,
that they might c ons ume the good things
that were se t before the idol .
An d Cyrus did as the priests as ked s etting the ,
meat and win e b efore the Statu e of B el but Daniel ,
c omman ded his s ervants t o bring ashes which they ,
strewed throughout the temple in the presence of

the K ing ; the n they went out and shut the door

and s ealed it with the King s Signet .
And in the night time the priests with their wives

and fa milies entered the te mple by the s ecret way
and sp eedily c onsu me d the provisions .
I n the morning Cyrus and Daniel b etook the m

s elves t o the te mple a nd the King broke t he s eals
,
an d op ened the door and when he p erceived that

,
all the p rovisions ha d vanished he ca lle d ou t with

a loud voic e ,
Great art thou O B el and with the e
, ,

is n o dec eit at all.
B ut Daniel lau ghe d and barri ng the King s

,

way into the t emple re queste d him t o look a t the

pave ment and mark well whos e footsteps he sa w
there.

And Cyrus replied I see the footsteps of men
, ,

women a nd children
,
.
H e a t onc e called the pries ts who when they ,
sa w that their stratage m had b een discovered showed
him the s ecret way int o the temple ; an d in his

rage Cyru s slew the m and delivered B e l into Daniel s
p ower The prophet Sp eedily destroye d the idol and

.
the t emple which sheltere d it .
Now in that t e mple w a s a great dragon worshippe d

by the p eople of B a bylon and the King sai d t o
,

Da niel Wilt thou als o sa y that this is of brass ,
99
MYTH S O F BA BYLO NIA AN D AS SY RIA
for behold ! he liveth he eateth and drinketh
, ,
therefore shouldest thou worship him

B ut Daniel shook his hea d and said t o Cyru s :
Give me le ave 0 Ki ng and I will Slay this dragon
, ,

without sword or s ta ff .
Then Daniel t ook pitch and fat and hair and

b oiled the m all together a nd shaped the m into great
,
pieces Thes e he placed in the dragon s mouth and

.

,
shortly the dragon burst asunder .
Now the people of Babylon b eca me greatly

incensed at these doi ngs a nd cla moured t o Cyrus ,
asking hi m t o deliver Daniel up to them or els e ,
they wo u ld destroy him and all b elonging t o him .
A nd c ontinu es the legend Cyrus b eing a fraid for

, ,
his crown delivered Daniel to the p eople who cast ,

hi m into a lions den where he remained for six days .
S even lions were in the den and their food wa s

re moved from the m so that they might b e the e rc e r ,
and the A p ocrypha story which di ffers considerably

,
from that given in the sixth chapter of the B ook of

Daniel states that the angel of the L ord took up
,
a c ertain prophet called Ha bba c uc who was ab out ,
t o carry a mess of pottage to certain reap ers an d ,
taking hi m by the hair of the hea d conveyed him ,
a ll the way fro m Palestin e to Babylon along with
the fo od which he se t at Daniel s feet Daniel

,

.
partook of the meal and Ha bba c u c was c onveyed

,
back to Palestin e in the sa me manner as that in

which he had come .
And on the s eventh day Cyrus ca me to the den

to mourn for Daniel and when he looked in Daniel
,
was there So impress ed was Cyrus with the power

.
o f Daniel s God that he re solved to w orship Hi m

in future and s e iz ing thos e who had been inst ru

,
mental in casting the Hebrew pro p het into the den ,
1 00
THE TEMPLE OF B EL
he thrust them b efore the lions and they were ,
devoured in a moment .
B elt is
or Nin lil the wife of En lil shared his
B eltis , -
,
-
,
a uthority over Nippur where sh e ha d a temple ,
which went back in antiq uity to the F irst Dynasty of

U r As has b een said Sh e was als o called the lady
.
,

of the mountain and a s such sh e ha d a sanct u ary

,

at Girsu a quarter of L agash In c ert a in insc rip

, .

tions sh e is described as the mother of the gods .
The na me B eltis meant la dy and as such wa s

,

accorded t o her a s b eing the lady but it was
,
a fterwards given to many other goddesses .
Th e T em p le f B el
o
In 1 8 76 Mr George S mith discovered a Baby

lonian t ext giving a remarkable account of the
te mple of B e l at B abylon This temple the won der .
,
of B abylon wa s founded while that city was still

,
a place of no very great imp ortance but its fabric ,
lasted until the days of H erodot u s a nd Str ab o who ,
have furnished u s with accounts of it The former .
states that it consisted of eight stages or towers

on e ab ove another forming a pyra mid the holy of
, ,
holies b eing plac ed up on the highes t stage O f all ,
the height of the entire building b eing a b out 600

feet a very q uestionable dimension .
I n the cuneiform tablet the measurements of the

o uter court are given a s 1 1 56 feet in length and 900
feet in breadth An adj oining court tha t o f I shtar
.
,
and Za m a m a was 1 056 feet by 450 feet and had six

, ,
gates which admitted worshippers to the te mple

the grand ga te the ga te o f the rising sun looking
,
eastward the grea t ga te the ga te o f the Colossi

, , ,
I OI
anked by enormo u s g u res the canal ga te and the , ,
ga te o f the tower view -

.
A wa lled S pace platform or hir ut orienta ted so

, ,
a s to face the four car dinal points is next described ,

.
Inside this S tood a building the na me of which is

indecipherable I t was connected in some manner
.
with the Ziggura t or grea t tower aroun d the base ,
of which were ranged the temples o f the princi pal

gods all o f which faced one or other of the four chief
,
p oints of the compass .
O n the eastern side of the grou p stood a large

temple 1 1 7 feet by 67 fee t broad containing no ,
less than S ixteen shrines the principal of which ,
were sa cred to Nebo the son o f B e l and his wife

, ,
Tashmit To the north were temples to E a and

.
Nusku the rst ,

feet long by 50 feet broa d and
the second a s quare 5 8 feet either way To the .
so u th was a shrine to B e l and Anu 1 1 7 feet by 50

fe et .
The pur p ose of the buildings on the western

side o f the great tower is only to b e conj ect u red .
I t is known however tha t the c ouch of Bel and his

, ,
throne o f gold alluded to by Herodotus were house d

in one or other of the buildings on this side The .
couch is said to have measured 1 5 feet by 6 fee t

8 inches .
In the centre towered the grea t Z iggurat rising ,
s tage upon stage its S i des fa cing the cardinal points

, .
The rst stage was 300 feet square and 1 1 0 fe et high

and was ornamented with buttresses The second .
was 2 60 feet Square and 60 feet high the third 2 00 ,
feet square and 2 0 feet high up to the seventh stage ,
which wa s 80 feet long 70 feet broad and 50 feet , ,
high The entire height of the Ziggura t w a s th u s

.
3 00 feet exactly e
,
qual to the breadth of the
1 02
THE TE MPLE OF B EL
base or only half the height attributed to it by
,
Herodotus .
Regarding the possible site o f this temple Mr

Smith says : The only ruin now existing a t or
near Babylon which can be supposed to repres en t
the temple of B elus is the mound and enclosure o f
B abil the ruins corresponding fairly with the account
,
of these struct u res in the Greek authors and in the

i nscription The S ides o f the b uilding face the
.
cardinal points like those in the inscription ; the

,
remains of the two sides of the enclosure now existing

indicate a circumference a bout e q u al to the Greek
measurement and slightly in excess o f that in the
,
inscription ; but it must b e remembered tha t the

exact length of the B abylonian measures is not
known and there are di fferent opinions even as to
,
the length o f the Greek stade while the presen t ,
remains of the wall require careful meas u re ment to

determine more exa ctly their length and the dim e n
sions they indicate O n the other side o f the
.
E uphrates stands a rui n Birs Nim r d also con , ,
sisting of an enclosure various temples and a temple

, ,
tower ; but this represents the site of the te mple

o f Nebo a t B or sip p a and its angles instead of its
, ,
Sides,
face the cardinal points while not a single one ,
o f its known dimensions agrees with the corresponding

point in the inscription The mound of B abil which
.
,
is already identied by the best a uthorities with the

te mple of B elus consists now of the lower stage of
,
1
the tower and the ruins of the buildings ro u nd it .
Ye t H erodot u s account o f the temple o f B el

wa s not wholly false H e says : I t had gates o f
.
brass and wa s two stadia every way being qu a d

, ,
r a ng ular ; in the middle o f the temple a solid tower

1
At hena um Feb

,
. 1 2 , 1 8 6.
7
1 03
MYTH S O F BA BYLONIA AND A S S Y RIA
wa s built a stadiu m in height and brea dth and on
, ,
this tower was placed another and another still ,
on this to the number of eight towers in a ll Th e

, .
ascent wa s on the outside and was ma de by a winding ,
passage round a ll the towers ; and about half up

the a scent there is a landing a nd seats for rest where ,
thos e ascending may repose ; and in the highest

to w er there is a large temple and in the temple a ,
large b ed well furnished and beside it a golden table

,
but there is no Statue erected in it and by night no

one lodges in it except a single woman o f the country
, ,
whom the god ha s selected fro m the rest a s sa y the ,

Chald aeans who are the p riests of this god
,
.
An inscriptio n wa s discovere d and translated

by Sir H C R awlinson in which King Ne buc h a d
. .
,
rezzar b oasts of having repaired and c om p leted this

t ower i n honour of his god Merodach
B ehold .
now the building na med Th e Stages of the Seven

Spheres which was the wonder of B orsipp a had
,

,
b een b uilt by a former king H e ha d completed .
forty two a m mas ( of the height ) but he did not

-
,
nish its hea d From the la p s e of time it ha d

.
b eco me rui ned ; they ha d not take n care of the

exits of t he waters so the rain and wet had pene,
t ra t e d into the bric kwork ; the casing of bur nt

brick ha d bulged out and the terraces of crude ,
brick lay Scattere d in heaps Then Merodach my .

,
grea t lord incli ned my heart to repair the b uilding

, .
I did not change it s Site nor did I destroy the foun ,
dation platform ; b ut in a fortunate month an d on ,
an auspicious day I undertook the rebuilding of

,
the crude bri ck terrac es and the burnt brick casing

( of the temple ) I strengthened its foundations
.
,
and I placed a titular record in the parts that I ha d

re built I se t my hand to buil d it up and to nish
.
,
10
4
NE RGAL
its Su mmit As it ha d been in former days thus I
.
,

exalted its head .
Nerg al
Nergal was the patron god of Cuthah eastward ,
from Babylon H e was a god of extremely ancient

.
origin an d indeed the rst inscription which alludes

,
to hi m is dated about 2 700 B C He is mentione d . .
in the O ld Testament ( 2 Kings xvii 30) as an

idol who m the B abylonians who re p eopled Israel -
brought with them He s ee ms t o have had a clos e

.
connexion with the nether world indeed he is p ra c ,
tically the head of it s pantheon He appears t o .
have b een a god o f gloom a nd death a nd his name ,

may signify the lord of the great dwelli ng plac e ,
tha t is the grave H is city Cuthah may possibly

, .
, ,
have b een renowned a s a burial plac e We n d hi m -

.
ass ociated with p estilenc e and famin e bu t he has ,
als o a s olar signicance H e is indeed the sun in .
its malevolent form erc e and destroying for in , ,
myth the sun can b e evil a s well as good We .
thus n d the sola r p ower depicte d as a erc e warrior

slaying his thousands and tens of thousands Again .
it is quite p ossible for a s olar deity to have an u nder

world c onnexion seeing that the sun is suppos ed
,
t o travel through that gloomy region d u ring the

night We thus se e how Nergal co u ld c ombine so
.
ma ny see mingly c onicting attributes As god of .
the dea d he has a host of de mo ns at his comma nd ,
and it may b e thes e who do his b ehests in sprea ding

p estilenc e and war Where he goes violent death .
fo llows in his wake A t times he is called t h e god

.

of re the raging king
,

he who burns and , ,
the viole nt one a nd he is i dentied with the

,

e r c e ne ss of a me I n this res p ect he is not a t all

.
1 05
MYTH S O F BA BYLO NIA AND A S S Y RIA
unlike the Scandinavian L oki who typies the
malevolenc e of re .
Dibarr a
Diba rra wa s probably a varian t of Nergal in ,
his guis e as solar destroyer Concerning him a .
strange myth is recounte d as follows

The s ons of B abylon were as birds and thou
their falconer In a ne t thou didst catch them
.
,
enclos e them and destroy them O warrior Diba rra

, ,
.
L eaving the city tho u didst pass t o the outside

, ,
taking on the form of a lion thou didst enter the ,
palace . The p eopl e saw thee a nd drew their

weap ons .
So Sp oke I shu m the faithful attendant of Diba rra

, ,
by way of beginning an account of the havoc wrought

in the valley of E uphrates by the war and plagu e

god . Spare no one is the gist of his commands
,

to his satellites Have neither fear nor pity
. .
Kill the young as well as the old a nd rob Babylon

of all its treasures .
A ccordi ngly against the rs t city a large army

was dispatched to carry out thes e instructions ,
a nd the battle with b ow and sword was begun a ,
strife which ended so disastrously for the s oldiers and

inhabitants that their blood owed like torrents

of water through the city s highways This defeat .
the great lord Merodach was c ompell ed to witness ,
p owerless to help or avert it E nraged a t his help .
lessnes s and overcome with fury he curs ed his ,
enemies until he is said to have los t consciousness

b ecaus e of his grief .
F ro m this scene of devastatio n Diba rra tur ned

his attention to Er ech appointing others of his host
,
to mete out to this city t h e fat e of Babylon I shtar .

,
1 06
DIBARRA
goddes s of E rech sa w her devoted city exposed t o
,
plunder pillage and bloodshed and ha d to endure

, , ,
the a go ny of inactivity exp erienced by Merodach .
Nothing sh e c ould do or sa y would s tay the V iole nc e

of Diba rra s ve ngeance

.
O warrior Diba rra thou dost dispatch the j ust

, ,
thou dos t di spatch the unj ust ; who Sins agains t

thee thou dost dispatch and the one who does not ,

sin against thee thou dost dispatch .
Thes e words were used by I shu m Dibarra s s er vant ,

,
in a subse qu ent address t o the god of war H e k ne w .
his lord s craving for battle and bloodshed w as Still

unapp eased and he hims elf was planning a wa r more

,
terrible than any he had yet c ond u cted a c o nict ,
not only world wid e but which wa s t o e mbra ce

heaven itself So in order t o gain Diba rra s cons ent
.

to the hideous destruction he anticipated he c on ,
t inu e d to pander to his war like tendencies -

.
Said he : The b rightness of Shul p a nddu I -
will destroy the root of the tre e I will t ear ou t

,
that it no lo nger blossom Agains t the dwelli ng .

o f the king of gods I will proceed .
To all o f which the warrior god listene d with -
growing pleasure until red by his myrmidon s

,

words he cried out in sudden erc e resolve S ea

coast against se a coast Su ba r t u against Su ba r t u
-
, ,
Assyrian against Assyrian Ela mite against E lamit e , ,
Cassite against Cassite Su t a e a n against Su t a e a n

, ,
Ku t h e a n agains t Kut h e a n Lu llu bit e against L ull u ,
bite country against country hous e against hous e

, , ,
man against man B rother is to show no mercy.

t owards brother ; they shall kill one another .

Go I shum he added later
, ,
carry out the ,
w ord thou hast spoken in acc ordance with thy

desire .
10
7
MYTH S O F B A B YLO NIA AND A SS Y RIA
And with alacrity I shum obeye d directing his ,
c ou nte nanc e to the mountain of Khi kh i This -

.
,
with the help of the god Sibi a warrior une qualled, ,
he a ttacke d and destroyed all the vineyards in the

forest of Kh a sh ur and nally the city of Inm a rm a on
,
.
These last atrocious acts roused Ea the g od of ,

hu manity and lled him with wrath though what
, ,
attitu de he adopted t owards Diba rra is not known .
L isten all of you to my words b ecaus e of sin ,
did I formerly plan evil my heart wa s enraged and

,

I swept peoples away .
Thi s wa s Diba rra s defence when eventually

he wa s propitiated and all the gods were gathered

together in council with him I shu m a t this p oint
.
changing his tactics urged on Diba rra the necessity

for pacifying the gods he ha d incensed .

App eas e said he the gods of the land who
, ,
a re angry May fruits and corn ourish may moun

.
,

tains and s eas bring their produce .
AS he had listened to Ishu m b efore Diba rra ,
listened again and the c ouncil of the gods was clos ed

,
by his promising pros p erity and protectio n to thos e

who would t t ingly hon our him .
H e who glorie s my na me will rule the world .
Who proclaims the glory of my p ower will b e without

rival The singer who sings of my deeds will not
.
die through p estilence to kings and nobles his words

,
will b e pleasing The writer who pres erves the m

.
will es cap e fro m the grasp of the enemy in the ,
te mple where the people proclaim my name I will ,
op en his ear I n the hous e where this tablet is

.
s e t up though war may rage a nd the god Sibi work

,
havoc sword and p estilenc e will not touch hi m

h e will dwell in sa fety L e t this s ong resoun d
,
for ever and endure for eternity L et all lands h ea r .
1 08
S HAMA S H
it and proclaim my p ower L et the inhabitants o f .

all places learn t o glorify my na me .
S h am ash
Sha mash god of the su n was one of the most
, ,
p opular deities of the Babylonian and A ssyrian

pantheon We nd hi m mentione d rs t in the reig n
.
of E A nna Tu m or about 42 00 B C H e is called the

- -
,
. .
son of Sin the moon god ,

which p erhaps h as refer -
,
ence t o the fact that the s olar calenda r succ eeded

the lunar in B abylonia as i n practically all c ivili za
tions of any advanc ement The inscriptions give .
du e p rominenc e to h is status as a great lord of light ,
and in them he is called the illu minator of the
regions lord of living creatures

,

gracious one ,

of the lands and so forth ,

H e is supposed t o

.
throw o p en the gates of the morning and rais e his

hea d over the horizon lighti ng u p the heaven an d ,
earth with his b ea ms The k nowledge of j ustic e .
and inj ustic e and the virtue of righteousness were

attributed to him and he wa s regarded a s a j udge ,
b etween good a nd evil for a s the light of the sun ,
p enetrates everywhere and nothing can b e hidde n ,
from its b ea ms it is not strange that it Should stand

,
a s the symbol for j ustice Sha mash app ears a t .
the hea d of the inscrip tion which bears the laws of

Kha mmurabi an d here he s tan ds a s the symb ol
,
for j ustice The towns at which he was principally

.
worshipped were Sippa r an d L arsa where his sanc ,
t u a ry was known a s E Bab bara or the Shining -

,
hous e . L arsa was probab ly the older of the two

c entres but from the ti mes of Sargo n Sippar b eca me

, ,
the more imp orta nt and in the days of Kha mmurab i ,
ranked i mmediately after Babylon I n fac t it app ears .
to have threa tened the su p remacy of the capital

I o9
MY TH S OF BA B YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
t o s ome extent a nd Nabonidus the last King of
, ,
B abyl on as we shall re member o ffended Merodach

, ,
and his priests by his too eager notice of Sha mash .
During the whole cours e o f B abylonian histo ry ,
however Shamash retained his popularity and wa s

, ,
perhaps the only sun god who was not absorbed

-
by Merodach O ne nds the sa me phenomenon

.
in ancient Mexico where various solar deities did

,
not su cceed in displacing or a bsorbing To t e c the ,
ancient god of the su n p ar ex cellence B ut Sha mash .
s u cceeded in a bsorbing many small local sun gods -

,
and indee d we nd his na me used a s that o f the sun

thro u ghout Semitic lands There were s everal solar
.
deities such as Nergal and Ninib whom Sha mash

, , ,
did not a bsorb proba bly for the reason tha t they
,
typify various phases of t h e sun There is reason t o .
believe tha t in ancient times even Sha mash was not

an entirely be ne c e nt solar deity but like Nergal , , ,
c o u ld gure a s a warrior on occasion B ut in la ter .
time s he wa s regarded a s the god who brings light

and life upon all created things and upon whom ,
depends everything in nature fro m man to vegetable .
His consort wa s Aa who was worshipped a t Sippar

,
along with him Her cult s eems to have been one

.
of great antiquity but sh e does not appear to have

,
any distinctive character of her own Sh e was sup .
posed to receive the su n upon his setting and fro m ,
this circu msta nce it has been arg u ed sh e perhap s

represents t h e double sun fro m the magnied

,

disk which he presents a t sunset ; but this explana

tion is perhaps rather too much on allegorical lines .
Jast r ow thinks tha t sh e may have been evolve d

from the su n god of a city on the other S ide of the
-

E uphrates fro m Sippar Such an a malgamation
.
of two origin a lly male deities into a combination

I IO

of male and fe male strange as it may see m to us
, ,

he says is in keeping with the lack o f Sharp dis
,
tinction between male and female in the oldest forms

of Semitic religions I n the old cuneiform writing
.

the sa me Sign is used to indicate lord or lady
when attached to deities Ishtar app ea rs a mongst the

.
Semites both as male and female Se x was primarily .
a question o f strength the S tronger god wa s viewed

as masculine the wea ker as fe minine
,
.
Ea
E a wa s the third of the grea t B abylonian tria d
of gods which consiste d of
,
lil and himself Anu , Eu -
,
.
He was a god of the waters and like Anu is called ,
the father o f the gods

A s a god of the abyss.

he appears to have been also a deity of wisdo m and

occult power th u s allegorically associa te d with the
,
idea of depth or profundity H e wa s the father o f .
Merodach who consulted him on the most important

,
matters connected with his kingship of the gods .
Indeed he wa s consulted by individuals of all classes

who desire d light to be thrown u pon their cra fts
or businesses Th u s he was the god o f artisans in
.
general bla cks miths stone c utters sailors and arti

,
-
, ,
c e r s of every kind H e wa s also the patron o f

.
prophets and seers As the abyss is the place where

.
the seeds o f everything were suppose d to fructify ,
so he appears to have fostere d reproduction of every

d escription H e was supposed to dwell beside Anu
.
,
who inhabited the pole of the ecliptic The site .
of his chief te mple wa s a t E ridu which a t one time ,
stood before the waters receded up on the S hore o f

, ,
the Persian Gulf We have seen already tha t E a

.
,
under his Greek name of O annes was supp osed to ,
bring knowledge and culture t o the p eople of Eridu .
III
MYTH S O F BA B YLONIA AND A S SY RIA
There are many confusing myths connected with
him and he see ms in some measure to enter into the
,
B a bylonian myth of the deluge Alexander Poly .
h ist o r A po llodorus and E use bius copying fro m

, , ,
B e rossu s state that he rose from the se a u p on his

,
civilizing mission an d Abyde nu s says that in the

,
time of Daon the shepherd king o f the c ity of Panti

,
biblon ( mea ning the city where books were gathere d

Anne da t us appeared again fro m the
Er u t h re a n se a in the sa me form a s those who had
,
showed themselves before having the shap e o f a ,
sh blended with that of a man Then reigne d .
Ae dora c h u s of Pa nt ibiblon for the term of eighteen

sari I n his days there a p peared another p ersonage
.
fro m the se a of Eru t h ra like those a bove having , ,
the sa me co mplicated form b etween sh and man :

his na me w a s Oda c on F ro m remarks by Ap ollo
.
dorus it would se e m tha t these beings were messengers

from O annes but the whole passages are very obscure
, .
The chief extract fro m the fragments of B erossus

concerning O annes states that : I n the rst year
there made its appearance fro m a part o f the Erut h
rean se a which b ordere d upon Babylonia an ani mal
, ,
endowed with reason who wa s called O annes , .
A ccording to the accounts of A pollodorus the whole

b ody of the animal was like tha t o f a sh ; and ha d

under a sh s head another head and also feet ,
below S imilar to those of a man subj oined to t h e

, ,
sh s ta il H is S peech too wa s articulate and human

.
, ,
and there was a representation of him to be seen

in the time of B erossu s This B eing in the day .
time used to convers e with men b ut took no food a t

that s eason and he gave them an insight into letter s
and science an d every kind of art H e taught the m
,
.
t o construct houses to found te mples to c om p ile

, ,
I IZ
THE WRITING S OF OANNE S
laws and explained t o them the principles of ge o
,
metrical knowledge H e made them distinguish

.
the seeds of the earth an d sh owe d them how t o ,
collect fruits in short he instructed the m in every

,
thing which could tend to s often manners and

hu manize mankind Fro m that time so universal
.
,
were his instructions nothing material has been added

,
by way of improve ment When the su n se t it was .

,
the custom of this B eing t o plunge again into the

s ea and abide all the night in the deep
,
After .
this there app eared other creatures like O annes of ,
which B e rossu s promis es to give an account when

he c omes to the history of the kings .
Th e Wr it ing s of O annes

Moreover , says P olyhistor O a nnes wrote ,
c oncerning the generation of man kind ; of their

different ways o f life and of civil polity ; and the
,
following is the purport of what he s aid : There

was nothing but darkness and an abyss of water , ,
wherein reside d most hideous b eings which were ,
produced of a twofold prin ciple Me n app eared .
with two wings s ome with four and with two faces
, , .
They had on e b ody bu t two hea ds ; the one of a

,
man the other of a woman They were likewis e in

,
.
their s everal organs b oth male and fe male O ther .
hu man g u res were t o b e s een with the legs an d

horns of goats Some ha d hors es feet : others
.

ha d the limbs of a hors e b ehind ; b ut before were

fashioned like men resembling hippocentaurs Bulls
, .
likewise bred there with the heads of men and dogs

with fourfold bodies an d the tails of shes Als o
, .
hors es with the hea ds of dogs m e n too a nd other ,
animals with the heads and bodies of horses and

, ,
the tails of shes I n short there we re creatures

.
,
a n3
MYTH S OF BA BYLO NIA AND A SS Y RIA
with the limbs of every species of animals A dd to .
these shes rep tiles s erpents with other wonder

, , , ,
ful animals which assu med each other s shap e and
c ountenanc e O f all thes e were preserved delin ea

.
tions i n the temple of B elus a t Babylon The p erson .

,
who was supp osed to have preside d over them ,
had the na me of Om or c a This i n the Chaldaic .
lang u a ge is Thalath which the Gre eks express t ha

larra the se a : but acc ording to the most probable
,
theory it is e q u ivalent t o selene the moon All

, , .
things b eing in this sit u ation B elus ca me and cu t , ,
the woman creat u re as u nder : and out of one half

-
o f her he formed the earth and o f the other half the ,
heavens A t the same time he destroyed the a nimals

.
in the abyss All this B e rossus said was an alle

.
,
1
,
g o ric a l description of nature F or the whole univers .e

c onsisting of moisture and animals b eing continuall y , ,
generate d therein the Deity ( B elus ) above mentioned

,
-
c ut off his own head upon which the other gods ,
mixed the blood as it gushed out with the earth

, , ,
and fro m this men were formed O n this account .
it is that they are rational and partake of divin e

, ,
k nowledge This B elus whom men call Dis divi de d

.
, ,
the darkness and s eparated the heavens from the

,
e arth and reduced the univers e to order B ut the .
animals so lately created n ot b e ing able to b ear the ,
p revalence of light died B elus u p on this s eein g a

, .
,
vast space quit e uninhabited though by nature very ,
fruitful ordered one of the gods t o take off his hea d ;

,
and when it was taken o ff they were t o mix the blood ,
with the s oil of the earth and from thenc e to form

other men and animals which should b e capable ,
1
Polyhi s t or i s st i ll s p ea k in g Th p ss g e i som ew h a t o bscure
. e a a s ,
a nd of co u rse rela t es to t h m y th o f Mero dach nd Ti w at h B el

e a a
re p resen tin g Mero dac h nd t h wom n cre t ure Ti w th

,
a e a -
a a a .
1 14
THE WRITI NG S O F OANNE S
of b earing the light B el u s als o formed the stars and
.
,
the su n and moon togethe r with the ve planets

, , .

This myth related by E a or O annes regarding

,
the creation of the worl d b ears a very clos e relation

,
to tha t of Merodach and Tia w a t h t old in Chapter I I , .
I t is not o ften that one nds a sh god acting as a -
c u lture hero altho u gh we nd in Mexican myth a

,
c ertain deity all u ded t o as the old sh god of our -

esh . Al legorical mythology wo u ld have s een in
E a a hero arriving fro m another clime in a wave
toss ed vess el who had landed on the Shores of th e
,
Persian G u lf a nd ha d instructed the rude i nhabita nts

,
thereof in the c u lture of a higher civilization There .
is very little do u b t that E a has a close co nnexio n

in s ome manner with the Noah legend of the deluge .
F or exa mple a Su merian text exists in which i t

,
would s eem a s if the S hip of E a was described as th e ,
timb ers of which its various parts were c onstructe d

a re mentioned and the refugees it saved consis ted of
,
Ea himself Da w k ina his wife Merodach and Ine sh

, , , ,
the pilot of E ri du along with Nin igi nagir sir

,
- - -
.
O f course it w ould see m natural to the B a bylo

nia ns to regard the Persian Gulf as the grea t a byss
whence all things emanated A s Jastrow very j ustly .

remarks : I n the word of Ea of a character more ,
spiritual than that of En lil he commands and what-

, ,
he plans comes into existence a who lly be ne c e nt

power he blesses the elds an d heals mankind H is .
mos t striking trait is his love of humanity In con .
ic t s between the gods and mankind he is inv a ri ,
ably on the side o f the latter When the gods .

,
at the instance of Em lil as the god of storms-

,

de cide to bring on a del uge to sweep away mankind ,
it is E a who reveals the secret to his favourite ,
Ut Na p ish t im (Noah ) who saves himself h is fam ily

-
, , ,
1 15
and his belongings on a ship that he is instructed to
1
build . The waters p ersonied by him are not those
of the turbulent and treacherous ocean but those ,
of irrigating S trea ms and commerce carrying canals -

.
He is thus very di fferent from the god En lil the -

,
lord of heaven who possesses so many attributes

of destruction E a in his benevolent way thwarts
.
the purpose of the riotous god of tempest which ,
greatly enrages En lil and it ha s been thought that

-
,
this myth suggests the rivalry which perhaps a t one

time existed between the two religious centres of
E ridu and Nippur cities of Ea and En lil respectively
,
-
.
I n an eloquent manner E a implores Eu lil not t o -
precipitate another deluge and begs tha t instead of ,
such wholesale destruction man may b e p unished

by sending lions and j ackals or by fa mines or pesti ,
lences En lil hearkens to his S peech his heart is

.
-
,
touched and he blesses U tnapishtim and his wife

, .
I f this myth is a piece of priestcraft it argues ,
better rela tions b etween the ecclesiastical a uthorities

a t Eridu and Nippur E a had many other names .
,
the chief of which Nin a gal meaning god o f grea t

,
- -
,

strength alluded to h is patronage of the smith s
,
art He wa s also called En k i which describes

.
-
,
him as lord o f the earth through which his waters

meandered In such a c ountry a s Babylonia earth
.
and water are closely associated as under that soil ,
water is always to b e found at a distance of a few feet :

thus the interior of the earth is the domain of Ea .
Th e St Adap a and t h e S out h Wind

or y o f
Here is the story of Adapa the son of E a who but , . ,

for his obedience to his father s command might have ,
attained de ic at ion and immortality .
1
Religious Be lief in B abylonia and Assyr ia, p 8 8 . .
1 16
S TO RY OF A DA PA THE S O U TH WINDAN D L
O ne day when Adapa was out in his boat shing

the South W ind blew with s u dden and malicious
violence upsetting the boat and inging the sh e r
,
man into the sea When he succeeded in reaching

.
the shore A dapa vowed vengeanc e agains t the South

Wind which had used him so cruelly
,
.

Shut u thou demon ,
he cried I will stretch
, ,
forth my hand and brea k thy wings Thou shalt .
not go unpunished for this outrage I

The hideous monster la ughed a s sh e soared in the
air above him apping her huge wings a bout her
,
u ngainly body A dapa in his fury leapt a t her

.
,
seized her wings and bro ke the m so that sh e was

, ,
no longer able to y over the broa d earth Then .
he wen t his way a nd related to his father what he

,
had done .
Seven days passed by and Ann the lord o f heaven

, , ,
waited for the co ming o f the South Wind B ut .
Shutu ca me not ; the rains and the oods were de

layed and A nu grew impatient H e summoned to
,
.
him his minister Ila bra t .

Wherefore doth Shutu neglect her duty ! he

asked . What hath chanced that S he travels not
aeld
Ila bra t bowed low as he ma de answer : L isten ,
O Anu and I will tell thee why Sh u tu ie t h not

,
a broad E a lord o f the deep and creator of all

.
,
things hath a son na med A dapa who hath crushe d

, ,
and broken the wings of thy servant Shutu so tha t ,

sh e is no more able to y .

I f this b e true sa id A nu summon the youth
, ,

before me and let him answer for h is crime
,
.
B e it so O A nu ,
When Adapa received the summons to appea r in

heaven he tre mbled greatly I t was no light th ing .
1 17
MYTH S OF B A B YLO NIA AND A SS Y RIA
to answer to the great gods for the ill usage of their -
servant the demon Shutu Nevertheless he began

,
.
to make preparations for h is j ourney and ere he ,
se t o u t his father Ea instr u cted him a s to how he
should comport himself in the asse mbly o f the

g ods .
Wrap thyself not in a vesture of gold O my son , ,
but clothe thee in the garments o f the dea d A t the .
gates of heaven thou wilt nd Ta mmu z and Gish

zida guarding the way Salute the twain with due.
respe ct I charge thee baring thy hea d and show

, ,
ing all deferenc e to them I f tho u dost nd favou r

.
in their eyes they will S peak well of thee b efore Anu .
And whe n thou standest within the precincts of

heaven don the garment that is given thee to wea r
, ,
and anoint thy hea d with the oil that is brought thee .
B ut when the gods o ffer the e food and drin k touch ,
them not for the food will b e the Meat of Death ,

and the drin k the W ater of Death

let neither
pass within thy lips Go n ow my son and rememb er
.
, ,
these my instructions B ear thyself with humility

.
,

and all will b e well .
A dapa bade his father farewell and set out on h is

j o u rney to heaven H e fo u nd all as his father ha d
.
predicted ; Ta mmuz and Gishzida receive d him at

the p ortals of the divin e dwelling and so hu mble ,
wa s Adapa s attitude that they were move d with

compassion t owards him They led him into the .
presence of Ann and he bowe d low before the grea t

,
god .

I a m come in answer to thy summons said he , .
Have mercy upon me O thou Most H igh ,
A nu frowned upon him .

I t is said of thee he ma de answer that thou
, ,
hast broken the wings of Shutu the South W ind , .
1 18
S TO RY OFADA PA AND THE S O U TH WI ND
W hat manner of man art thou who da re st destroy ,
Shutu in thy wrath ! Kn owest thou n ot that the

people su ffer for lack of nourish ment ; that the
herb dr o op e t h and the cat tle lie parched on the
,
scorching ground ! Te ll me why has t thou don e

this thing

I was out on the se a shing said Adapa , ,
an d the South Wind blew violently upsetting my ,
boat and casting me into the water Therefore I .
seized her wings and broke the m And lo ! I a m .

c ome t o seek thy pardon .
Then Ta mmuz and Gishzida the deities whos e ,
favour Adapa ha d won at the gates of heaven stepped ,
forth and knelt at the feet of their ki ng .
B e merciful O Anu ! Adapa hath b een sorely

,
tried a nd now is he truly hu mble and repentant

,
.

L et his treat me nt of Shutu b e forgotten .
Anu listen ed t o the words of Ta mmuz an d Gish

zida and his wrath was turned a w ay
,
.

R ise A dapa he said kindly
, ,
thy looks please
me well Thou hast seen the interior of this our
.
kingdom and now mus t thou re main in heaven for

,
ever an d we will make thee a god like unto us

, .
W hat s ayes t tho u son of E a ,
A dapa b owed low b efore the ki ng of the gods an d

tha nked him for his pardon and for his p romis e o f
godhead .
A nu therefore c ommanded that a feast b e made ,
and that the Meat of L ife and the W ater o f

L ife be placed b efore A dapa for only by eating

,
and drinking of thes e could he attain immortality .
B u t when the feast was sprea d A dapa refused to

partake of the repast for he re me mb ered his father s
,

inj unctions on this p oin t So he sa t in silenc e a t the

.
table of the gods whereu p on A nu exclaimed

,
1 19
MYTH S OF BAB YLO NIA AND A SS Y RIA
What n ow Adapa Why dost thou not eat or
,
drin k ! Except thou taste o f the food and wat er

se t b efore thee thou canst not hop e to live for

ever .
Adapa p erc eived that he ha d offended his divine

host so he hastened to explain
,
B e not wroth ,
most mighty Anu I t is b ecaus e my lord Ea hath

.
so co mmanded that I break not bread nor drink
water at thy table Tu rn not thy c ountenance fro m

.

me I b es eech thee
,
.
A nu frowned I s it that Ea feared I should

.
seek thy life by o ffering thee deadly food ! Truly

he that kn oweth so much an d hath schooled th ee ,
in so many di fferent arts is for once put t o ,
sha me
A dapa would have Spoke n but the lord of heaven ,
s ilen ce d him .

Peace ! he said ; then to his attendants
B ring forth a garment that he may clothe himself ,

and oil bring also to anoint his head .

When the King s c ommand ha d been carried out
A dapa rob ed himself in the heavenly garment and
anointed his head with the oil Then he a ddress ed .
A nu thu s
O A nu I salute thee
, The privilege of godhea d
must I indeed forego but never sha ll I forget the ,
honour tha t thou wouldst have conferre d upon me .
Ever in my heart shall I keep the words thou hast

spoken and the memory of thy kindness shall I
,
ever retain B la me me not exceedingly I pray

.
,

thee My lord E a a w a it e t h my return
. .

Truly said A nu
,
I censure not thy decision
, .
B e it even a s thou wilt Go my son and p eace .

, ,
go with thee
And thus Adap a returned to the abod e o f E a ,
1 20
ANU
'
lord of the dead and there for many years he lived

,
in peace and happiness .
Anu
Along with En lil and E a Anu makes up the
-
,
universal tria d H e is called the father of the

.

gods but appears to b e descended fro m still older

,

deities His na me is seldo m discovered in the

.
inscriptions prior to the time of Kha mmurabi but ,
such notices as occur of him see m to have already

xed his position a s a ruler of the sk y His cult .
was specially associated with the city o f Erech .
I t is probable that in the earliest days he ha d been

the original Sumerian sky father as his na me is -
,

merely a form of the Sumerian word for heaven .
This idea is a ssisted by the manner in which his

na me is originally written in the inscriptions a s ,
the symbol signifying it is usually tha t e mployed

for heaven I t is plain therefore tha t A nu was
.

, ,
onc e regarded a s the expanse of heaven itself j ust ,
a s are the sk y fathers of numerou s primitive

-
p eo p les Several writers who deal with Ann a ppear

.
to b e of the O pinion tha t a god of the heavens is an

Popula r fancy says Jastrow

abstra ction . deals , ,
with realities and with personied powers whos e

workings are seen and felt I t would as little there.
,
fore have evolve d the idea tha t there was a p ower

,
to be identie d with the heavens a s a whole of which ,
the azure sk y is a symbol as it would personify the,
earth as a whole or the bodies of waters as a whole

, .
I t is only necessary to state the implications involved

to recognize tha t the conception o f a tria d of gods
c orresponding to three theoretical divisions o f the
universe is a bit of learned S pecula tion I t sma cks .
of the school The conce p tion of a god o f heaven

.
I21
MYTH S O F BA B YLONIA AND A SS Y RIA
ts in moreover with the comparatively advanced
period when the seats of the gods were pla ced in
1
the skies a nd the gods identied with the stars .
A merely s u percial acq u aintance with the nature

o f animis m and the sk y myths of primitive and
-
barbaria n peoples would lead us to the conclusion

tha t the Opposite is the case I n E gyptian Poly .
,
mesian and North A merican I ndian myth the sk y

,
itself is directly personalized E gyptian m y t h o .
logical ill ustration depicts the Sk y in fe male form ,
for in E gyptian myth the sk y is the mother and t h e

earth the father of everything L ang has shown .
tha t the sky father is fre quently personalized as a

-

magnied non n a tural man a mong races which
-
possess no theological s chools We do not say that

the arrangement of Ann E a and En
.
, lil into a triad

,

is not a bit of learned speculation but to state ,
that early animis m did not rst personalize the sk y

and the earth and the sea is rash in the extreme .
When Deucalion an d Pyrrha in the Greek myth

asked the gods h o w they might best replenish the
earth with the h u man race they were instructed to
,

ca st the bones of their mother behind them ,
and these bones they interpreted as the stones and

rocks and a cted accordingly So would primitive
.
man all the world over have interpreted this a dvice ,
for universally he believes the very soil upon which

he walks to be the great mother which produced
his ancestors out of whose dust or clay they were
,
formed and who still nourishes and preserves him

,
.

Jastrow proceeds to state that A nu was origi
nally the personication of some denite power of
nature and everything points to this power having
,
been the sun in the heavens Starting from this .
R ligi u B li f in B byl ni
1
e o s e e a nd A yr io
p 8 1 a a ss a, . .
1 22
I S HTA R
point of view we quite understand how the grea t
illuminer of heaven should have been identied with
the heavens in an articially devised theological
E
system j st a s n lil beca me in this system the
u ,
designation o f the earth and of the region a b ove the

1
earth viewed a s a whole The very fact tha t in .
the earliest times Anu was identied with the expans e

of the S ky itself and that the symbol used to denote
,

him meant heaven is against this supposition

, .
A gain the theory suffers fro m la ck o f analogy I n

, .
what other mythology is there to be found a sk y god -
who at one time possessed a solar signicance !

The converse might be the case Some sk y gods .
-
have attained the solar connexion beca use of their

rule over the entire expanse o f the heavens j ust a s ,
they have a ttained the power of wielding lightni ng

and the wind B ut w e are a t a loss to recall any
.
d eity originally o f distinctive solar attributes who

la ter took the position of a S ky god -
.
A nu was regarded as head of the triad and the

father of En lil W e are told that the goddes s
-
.
A ruru rst shape d man in the image of Anu who ,
m u st thus have attained an anthropomorphic c on

dit ion H e app ears als o to have b een regarded as
.
the con qu eror of primeval chaos His cons ort wa s .
Ana t u probably a later feminine form of himself

, .
Ish tar
I shtar wa s undoubtedly a goddess of Semitic
origin and symb olized the fertility of the earth .
She was the grea t mother who fostered a ll v e g e

t a t ion and agriculture It is probable that her c ult
.
originated at E rech and in the c ours e of cent u ries

,
and under many nominal changes disp erse d itself

1
R ligi us B li f in B byl ni
e o e e nd A y i p 8 2
a o a a ss r a, . .
1 23
MYTH S O F BA B YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
throughout the length a nd breadth of western Asi a
and even into Greece and E gypt It is probable .
that a nu mber of lesser goddesses such as Nan a a nd ,
Anunit may have become merged in the conception

,
of this divinity and that lesser local deities of the

,
sa me character as herself may have taken her na me

and assisted to swe ll her reputation She is fr e .

quently addressed as mother of the gods and
,
indeed the na me Ishtar beca me a generic designa

tion for goddess
B ut these were later honours
. .
W hen her cult centred at E rech it ap p ears to have ,
speedily blossomed out in many directions and a s , ,
has b een said lesser cults probably eagerly identied

,
themselves with that of the great earth mother -

,
so that in time her worship b eca me more tha n a
B abylonian cul t Indeed wherever p eople of Semitic

.
,
speech were to b e found there wa s the worship of ,
Ishta r AS A shteroth or Astarte Sh e was known

.
, ,
to Canaanites Ph oenicians and Greeks and there

, , ,
is some likelihood that the cult of A phrodite had

also its b eginnings in that of Ishtar We shall .
enq u ire later whether sh e can b e the E sther of the

Scriptures Astrologically she was identie d with
.
the planet Venus but so nu merous were the attributes

,
surrounding her taken fro m other goddesses with

which sh e had become identied that they threa tened
to overshadow her real c haracter which was tha t ,
of the great and fertile mother More especially .
did her identicatio n with Nin lil the consort of -

,
En lil the Storm god threaten to alter her real

-
,
-
,
nature as in this guise sh e was regarded as a goddess

,
of war I t is s eldom that a goddess of fertility or

.
love achieves such a distinction Gods possessi ng .
an agricultural signicance are nearly always war

gods but that is becaus e they bring the fertilizing
,
1 24
THE DES CENT OF I S HTA R I NTO HADE S
thunder c louds and therefore possess the lightning
-
arrow or sp ea r B ut I shtar is Specically a goddes s

.
of the class of Persephone or I sis and her ide nt ic a ,
tion with battle mus t b e regarded as purely accidental .
In later times in A ssyria sh e was conceived as the

consort of Asshur head of the Assyrian pantheon in
, ,
days when a god or goddess who did not breathe war

w a s of little u se to a p eople like the A ssyrians who wer e ,
consta ntly employed in hostilities and this circu m ,
stance naturall y heightened her reputatio n as a war

like divinity B u t it is at present her original char
.
acter with which we are occupied indeed in s ome texts ,
we n d that so far from b eing able to protect hers elf

, ,
I shtar and her prop erty are made the prey of the

savage En lil the storm god
-
, H is word sent me
-
.

forth sh e c o mplains ; as often a s it comes to me it
,
casts me prostrate upon my face The unconsecrated .
foe entered my c ourts placed his unwashed han ds,
upon me and caused me to tremble Putting forth

,
.
his hand he s mote me with fea r H e tore away my .
rob e an d clothed his wife therein : he stripped o ff

my ew els and pla ce d the m upon his daughter L ike .
a quivering dove upon a b ea m I sa t L ike a eeing .
bird from my cran ny swiftly I passed F ro m my .

temple like a bird they caused me to y Such is .
the plaint o f I shtar who in this case appears to b e

,
q uite helples s before the enemy .
The myth which b est illustrates her character is

that which speaks of her j ourney to A ralu the ,
u nderworld .
Th e Desc ent I sht ar int o H ades

o f
The poem which in its e x isting form consists
,
of 1 37 lines in cuneiform characters appears to b e ,
incomplete We are not told therein what was the

.
125
purpose of the goddess in j ourneying t o the H ous e
of No ret u rn but we gather from various legends
-
,

and fro m the c oncl u ding p or t ion o f the poe m

itself that Sh e went thither in s earch of her bride
groo m Ta mmuz the sun god of E ridu The im
,
-
.
p ortance of the myth of I shtar and Ta mmuz lies

partly i n the fact that travelling westwards to ,
Greec e by way of Ph oenicia it furnished a ground ,
work for classic myths of the A donis A ttis typ e -

,
which still provide mythologists with matter for

endless spec ulation The mythological signicance
.
of the poem and the persons it mentions will b e

dealt with later ; the theories c oncerning the primi
tive s tat u s o f Ta mmu z an d I shtar are numerous
and distinct more tha n one of them b eing su ffi
,
c ie nt ly plausible to call for a careful s crutiny .
Consideration of the myth may therefore b e de

ferred till we have glanced at the Babylonian story
itself and some of its principal variants and
analogues .
T am m uz and I sht ar
The myth o f Ta mmuz is one of high anti q uity ,
da ting p ossibly fro m 4000 B C or even earlier B oth . . .
Ta mmuz and Ishtar were originally non Semitic -

,
the na me of the former deity being derived fro m the

A kka dian Du mu zi son of life or the only son
-

, , ,
perha ps a contraction of Dumu zi apsu offspring -

,

o f the S pirit of the deep as Professor Sayce indicates
, .
The S pirit of the deep is o f course the wa ter , ,
god Ea and Ta mmuz apparently typies the sun

, ,
tho u gh he is not as will presently b e seen a simple

, ,
solar deity but a god who unites in himself the

,
attrib utes of various departmental divinities A n .
a ncient Akka dian hymn a ddresses Ta mmuz a s Shep

1 26
TAMMU Z AND I S HTA R
herd and lord husband of Ishtar the la dy of heaven
, ,
lord of the under world lord of the shepherd s seat ;

-
,

a s grain w hich lies unwatered in the meadow which ,
beareth no green blade ; a s a sapling planted in a

waterless pla ce ; a s a sapling torn out by the root .
Professor Sayce identies him with that Da onu s ,
or Daos who m B e ro ssu s States to have b een the

,
s ixth king of B abylonia d u ring the mythical period .
Tammuz is the shepherd of the sk y and his ocks ,
and herds like those of St Ilya in Slavonic folk lore are

,
-
,
the cloud c a ttle and the e e c y vapours of the heavens

-
.
I shtar ha s fro m an early period been a ssociate d

with Tammuz as his consort a s S he has indeed w ith
, , ,
Merodach and A ssur and other deities Ye t Sh e is .
by no means a mere reection o f the male divinity ,
but ha s a distinct individuality of her own differ ,
ing in this from all other Babylonian goddesses and

betraying her non Semitic origin The widespread
-
.
character of the worship of I shtar is remarkable .
None of the B abylonian or A ssyrian deitie s were

adopted int o the pantheons of so many alien ra ces .
From the Persian Gulf t o the pillars of Her cules

Sh e was adored as the great mother of all living Sh e .
has been identied with Da w k ina wife of Ea and is

, ,
therefore mother o f Ta mmuz a s well a s his consort .
This dual relationship may account for that which

appears in la ter myths among the Greeks where ,
Smyrna mother of A donis is also his sister Ishta r

, , .
was regarded sometimes a s the daughter of the sk y

god Ann and sometimes as the child of Sin the lunar
, ,
deity Her worship in Babylonia w a s universal

.
,
and in time displa ced tha t of Ta mm u z himself The .
lov e o f Ishtar for Ta mmuz represents the wooing of

the su n god of spring time by the goddess of fertil ity
- -
the god is slain by the relentless heat o f summer and ,
127
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AN D A SS Y RIA
there is little doubt that I shtar enters A ralu in search
of her youthful husband The poem we are about .
to consider briey deals with a part only of the myth

the story of Ishtar s descent into A ralu I t o p en s

.
thus :
To the land o f No return the region o f -
,
darkness I shta r the da ughter of Sin turned her

, , ,
ear even I shtar the daughter of Sin turned her ear

, , , ,
to the abode o f darkness the dwelling of Irk alla to , ,
the house whose enterer goes not forth to the road ,
whenc e the wayfarer never returns t o the house ,
whose inhabitants se e no light to the region where ,
dust is their bre a d and their food mud ; they se e no

light they dwell in darkness they are clothed like th e
, , ,
birds in a garment of feathers O n the d oor and the

,
.

bolt hath the dust fall en The moral conta ined in
.
this passage is a gloomy one for mortal ma n he who

enters the drea d precincts of A ralu goes not forth ,
he is doomed to re main for ever in the enveloping

darkness his sustenance mud and dus t The men
, .

tion of the dust which lies on door and bolt
strikes a peculiarly bleak and dreary note like other
primitive races the ancient Babylonians painted the
other world not denitely a s a pla ce of reward or
punishment but rather as a wea k reection of the
,
earth world a region of darkness and passive misery

-
,
which must have o ffered a singularly uninviting

prospect to a vigorous human being The garment .
of feathers is somewhat puzzling Why should the .
dead wea r a garment of feathers ! Unl ess it be

that the sun god identied in some of his a spects
-
,
with the eagle descends into the underworld in a

,
dress of feathers and that therefore mortals who

,
foll ow him must appear in the nether regions in

similar guise The description a bove quoted of the
.
B abylonian Hades tallie s with tha t given in drea m

1 28
AT THE G AT ES OF A RAL U
to B abani by the temple maiden Ukh u t ( Gilga mesh
-
epic ta blet VI I )
,
.
At t h e G at es o f A r alu
Co ming to the gate of A ral u Ishta r assumes a ,
menacing aspect and threatens to brea k down the

,
door and shatter its bolts and bars if sh e b e not

admitted Straightway The keeper of the gate
.
endeavours to soothe the irate deity an d goes to ,
announce her presence to Er e sh k i gal (Alla t u) the - -

,
mistress of Hades F rom his words it would appear

.
tha t I shtar has j ourneyed thither in search of the

waters of life wherewith to restore her husband Ta m
,
muz to life Alla t u receives the news of her Sister s

.

a dvent with a bitter tirade bu t nevertheless instructs

,
t h e keeper to admit her which he proceeds to do

, .
Ishtar on entering the sombre domains is oblige d

t o pass thro u gh seven gates at each of which sh e is ,
relieved of s ome article of dress or adornment ( evi

de nt ly in accordance with the ancient c u stom o f
Aralu ) till at last sh e stands entirely uncla d
, At .
the rst gate the keeper takes from her the mighty
crown of her hea d at the secon d her earrings are
taken at the third her neckl ace ; at the fourth the
orna ments of her breast ; at the fth her j ewelled
girdl e at the sixth her bracelets and at the s eventh
the cincture of her b ody The goddess does not part
.
with thes e save under protest but the keep er of the ,
gate answers all her queries with the words Enter ,

O lady it is the command of Alla t u
,
The divine .
wayfarer at length appears b efore the goddess o f

the underworld who shows her s cant c ourtesy bid
, ,
ding the plague de mon Na mta r s mite her from

-
, ,
hea d to foot with dis eas e in her eyes s ide feet , , ,
heart and hea d

,
.
12
9
MYTH S O F B AB YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
During the time that I shtar is c onned within th e
bo u nds of A ralu all fertility on the earth is suspended ,
b oth in the animal and vegetable kingdoms Know .
ledge of this disa strous state of a ffairs is conveyed t o

the gods by their messenger Pap sukal who rst ,
-
,
t ells the s tory to Sha mash th e sun god Sha mash ,

-
.
weep s as he b ears the matter b efore E a an d Sin ,
gods of the earth and the moon resp ectively ; b ut E a ,
to re medy the sterility of the earth creates a b eing ,
called Ash u sh u namir who m he dispatches t o the

-
,
underworld to demand the releas e of I shtar Alla t u .

is greatly enraged when the demand is made in

the name of the great gods and curs es Ash u sh u ,
na mir with a ter r ible curse c ondemning him t o ,
dwell in the darkness of a dungeon with the garbage ,
of the city for his food Nevertheless sh e cannot .
resist the p ower of the c onj uration wherefore sh e ,
bids Na m tar the plague demon release the Annunaki

,
-
, ,
or earth Spirits and plac e the m on a golden thron e

-
, ,
and pour the waters of life over Ishtar Na mta r .

ob eys ; in the words of the p oe m he s mot e the
rm ly b uilt palace he shattered the threshold which
-
,
b ore up the stones of light he ba de the spirits of ,
earth c ome forth on a throne of gold did he s eat

,
them over I shtar he p oured the waters of life and

,

brought her along I shtar is then led through the
.
s even gates of Arula receiving at each the arti cle

,
of attire whereof she had the re been deprived .
F inall y sh e e merges into the earth world which -

,
res u mes its normal cours e Then foll ow a few lines .
addressed to Ishtar p erhap s by the plague demon

,
-

or by the keeper of the gates I f sh e (Allat u) .
hath not given thee that for which the ransom is

paid her return t o her for Ta mmuz the bridegroom
, ,
of thy youth Pour over him p ure waters and

.
1 30
I S HTA R AND PE RS E PHO NE
p recious oil Put on him a purple rob e and a ring
.
,
of crystal on his hand L et Sa m k h a t ( the goddess

.
of j oy) enter the liver These lines indicat e

.
with su ffi cient clearness that Ishtar descended into

Ha des in order to O btain the waters of life and thus
revive her bridegroom Tammuz The poe m does .
not relate whether or not her errand was successful ,
b ut we are left t o conj ecture that it wa s There still .
remain a few lines of the poem n ot however con , , ,
t inu ing the narrative but forming a sort of epilogu e

, ,
addressed it may b e to the hearers of the tale

, , .
Mention is made in this portion of mourners wailing ,

men and wailing women of a funeral pyre and the ,
burning of incens e evidently in honour of the god

,
Tammu z .
Ishtar and Per sep h one

AS has b een i ndicated alrea dy the myth of Ta mmuz,
and I shtar fu rnished the groundwork for certain

myths of classic Greec e and Rome The Ph oenician .
A starte (Ashtoreth ) a development of I shtar beca me

, ,
in time the Aphrodite of the Greeks a deity who ,
plays a part in the Adonis legend analogous t o that

of I shtar in the Ta mmuz story The name Adonis .
itself is derive d from Adoni my lord the word

with which the Ph ce nic ia n worshippers of Tammu z
ha iled the s etting sun The myth of Adonis is .
p erhaps the most nearly related of any to that of

Ta mmuz s inc e its chief characters are a cknowledge d
,
c ou nterparts of thos e in the Babylonian legend ,
whil e the tale of I shtar s descent into H ades may b e

regarded a s a s e qu el t o the Greek story or rather ,
to an early Babylonian variant thereof Briey .
outlined the story r u ns as follows : A donis w a s

,
the fruit of an unnatural union b etween the Syrian

1 31
MY TH S OF BAB YLO NIA AND A SS Y RIA
king Theias and his daughter S myrna (Myrrha) .
Theias pursued the princess intending to take her ,
life for the crime bu t the pity o f the gods turned

,
her into a tree from which at the end of ten months , ,
A donis was b orn I t is said that a boar rent op en the

.
tree trunk with its tusk a nd thus enabled the divine

-
,
infant to se e the light Aphrodite charme d with .

,
the b eauty O f the child gave him into the care of ,
Persephone who was so enamoured o f her charge

,
that sh e afterwards refu sed to give hi m up The .
goddesses appealed to Z eus who decreed that Adonis ,
should spend six months of each year with Aphrodite

and six with Pers ephon e in the underworld ; or ,
according to another version four months were t o ,
b e passed with A phrodite and four with Pers ephone ,
while the remaining fou r w ere to b e at his own

disp osal H e was a fterwards slain b y a b oar s en t
.
against him by A rtemis (hers elf by the way a , ,
develop ment of I shtar) I t may b e remarked that .
Aphrodit e who gures like Ishtar as the goddess of

, , ,
love an d b eauty is also closely associated with the

,
n ether regions p erhap s b ecaus e Sh e was identie d

,
with the B abylonian goddess in her j ourney t o H a des

in s earch of her Spo u s e .
Akin to Adonis is the god Attis who likewise , ,
according to one version of his myth is slain by ,
a boar After his death he becomes a pine tre e

.
-
,
and fro m his blood violets spring He is beloved .
of Cybele the mother goddess who la ments his um

,
-
,
timely end .
I n the Adonis legend there is evidence of some

overlapping Persephone or Proserpine who here
.
, ,
corresponds to the Alla t u of the B abylo nian var iant ,

g u res in another well known myth a s the prototyp e
o f Tammuz When Sh e is carried o ff to t h e nether
.
1 32
I S HTA R AND PERSEPH ONE
world by Pluto her mother Ceres will not suffer the
, , ,
corn to grow while her daughter remains a prisoner .
L ike Ishtar in search of her spouse the mother ,
goddess seeks her child with weeping and lamen

t a t ion. Through the eating of a pomegranate seed ,
Proserpine is nally obliged to pass four ( or six )

months of every year with her dark captor a s his ,
co nsort .
Another myth which has affinities with the tale

of Ta mmuz and Ishtar is the E gyptian one which
deals with the quest of Isis The god O siris is .
slain through the machinations of his brother Se t

( who,
being identied elsewhere with a black hog ,
re calls the boar which slew Adonis and Attis ) and ,
h is body enclosed in a chest is cast into the Nile

, ,
.
Afterwards the chest is thrown up by the waves ,
and round it S prings mirac u lo u sly a ta marisk tree .
Meanwhile I sis wife a nd sister to O siris travels

, ,
hither and thither in search of his remains wh ic h in ,
due time sh e nds H owever t h e ches t is stolen

.
,
from her by Set who taking therefro m the body o f

, ,
O siris tears the corpse into fourteen pieces which

, ,
he scatters broadcast through the la nd I sis still .
pursues her quest till sh e ha s found a ll the portions

,
and buried them .
Thes e tales were the mythical correlates of certain

ritualistic practices designed t o bring a bo ut the
change of seasons and other natural phenomena
, ,
by means of sympathetic magic The burden o f .
a great d u ty falls upon the shoulders of primitive

man ; with his rites and spell s and magic arts he
m u st assist the u niverse in its co u rse H is esoteric .
pla ys typifying the mysterio u s fact o f growth are

, ,
necessary to ens u re the S prouting o f the corn ; his

charms and incantations are essential even for the
1 33
MY TH S OF BA B YLO NIA AND A S S Y RIA
rising of the su n ; lacking the guarantee of science
that one season S hall follow another in it s p roper
order he goes through an elaborate performanc e
,
symbolizing the decay and revival of vegetation ,
believing t hat only thus can the na tural order b e

mainta ined Through the force of sympa thetic
.
magic he sees his puny e fforts rela ted to the mighty

results which follow them .
This then is the origin of the ritual of the Ta mmuz

, ,
festival which may conceivably have ha d an existenc e

,
prior to that of the myth itself The representation .
o f the death and resurre ction o f the god whether ,
in myth or ritual ha d undoub tedly a seas onal sig

,
nic a nc e wher efore the date o f his festival varied

,
in the di fferent localities In Babylonia it wa s

.
celebrated in June thus showing that the deity

,
was slain by the erce heat of the sun burning up ,
all the Springtide vegetation I shtar s soj ourn in .

H ades would thus occupy the arid months of su mmer .
In other and more temperate climes winter would b e

regarded as the enemy o f Ta mmuz An interesting .
a ccount of the Ta mmuz festival is that given by an

A rabic author writing in the tenth century and ,
quoted by Sir James Frazer in his Golden B ough .
Tammuz ( July) I n the middle of this month is

.
the festival o f e l B g at that is of the weeping

-
, ,
women and this is the Ta uz festival which is

,
-
,
celebrate d in honour o f the god Ta uz The women -

.
b ewail him because his lord slew him so crue lly

, ,
ground h is bones in a mill and then scattere d the m

,
to the w ind The women ( during this festival) ea t

.
nothing which has been ground in a mill but limit ,
their diet to steeped wheat sweet vetches dates , , ,

raisins and the like
, The material for this desc rip
.
tion was furnished by the Syrians o f Harran O f .
1 34
LA MEN TATION S FOR TAMMU Z
the curious legend attaching to the mourning rites
more will b e said later .
L am ent at ions for T am m uz

Characteristic of the Ta mmuz ritual are the
lamentations of which several series are still extant
, .
I n later times it appears tha t a di fferent cause

was assigned for the weeping o f the wa iling men

and wa iling women They no longer mourned the
.
death of Ta mmuz but the departure o f I shtar into

,
the netherworld and so the legend of her j ourney

,
to Aralu ca me to b e recited in the temples Sir .
Ja mes F razer suggests tha t the ritualistic counterpart

o f the Ta mmuz Ishtar myth may have incl u ded the
-
pouring o f water o ver an effigy of the god the pra ctic e

,
corresponding t o the pouring of the wa ter of life

over him in order to bring him back to life I f this .
indeed formed a part of the Ta mmuz rit u al we may

take it tha t it w a s intended a s a rain charm
-
.
L ikewise the A donia festival of the Greeks sy m

bolize d the death and resurrection of Adonis This .
feast occupied two days ; on the rst da y imag es ,
of A donis an d Aphrodite were made an d laid eac h

on a sil ver couch ; on th e s econd day thes e images
,
were cast by the women into the se a together with

,
Adonis gardens a s they were calle dpots lled

,

with earth in which cut owers were S tuck I t is .
b elieved that this rite was meant t o signify the revi

val of vegetation u nder the inuence of rain The .
p ersons engaged in it ind ulged in such la mentations

as were uttered by the worshippers of Tammuz in
Babylonia t ore their hair and b eat their breasts
, ,
.
The festival of A donis fell in the summer time a t -
Alexandria and A thens in the spring at Byblu s

, ,
while in Ph oenicia it occurre d in the season when the

1 35
river Nahr Ibrahim ( formerly called Adonis ) bore
down from the mountains of L ebanon the red earth
in which the devout sa w the blood of the slain Adonis .
Golden boxes of myrrh were employed at the Adonia

festival incense was burned and p igs were sacriced
, , .
Pigs were sacriced als o t o O siris whos e cult as , ,
has b een shown ha d much in common with that of

,
Ta mmuz and A donis The E gyptian god was cast

.
b y his enemies into the waters of the Nile ; and it

may b e that this myth t oo had a ritualistic counter
part designe d as a charm to rain
I t has b een indicated a lre a cp
.
,
yroduc
that ethe elucidations
of the myth of I shtar s j ourney to Aralu are many

and divergent The variants ab ove enu merated

.
serve each to cast light on the other and from a ,
c omparison of these we may su c e e e d in arriving a t

a satis factory conclusion To b egin with however .
, ,
it must b e rememb ered that when the cult of any

deity has reached a fairly a dvanced stage it is im p os
s ible to assign to him any one depart ment of nature ,
t o say that he is a sun god a rain god a corn god

-
,
-
,
-
,
for he may p ossess the attributes of all of these I n .
giving any god a depart mental designation we are

Striving to express his primitive or predominant
characteristics merely .
An Alleg oric al I nt erp r et at ion of t h e My t h

A truly allegorical elucidation of the myth of
I shtar s descent into H ades would depict Ishtar

,
as the goddess of fertility seeking in the underworld

,
for her husband the sun god slain by the icy breath
,
-
,
of winter Du ring her soj ourn in the nether regions

.
a ll fertility ceases on the earth to b e resumed only ,
when sh e ret u rns a s the j oyful bride of the Spring

tide sun The surrender of her clothing and j ewels
.
1 36
Th e M th er g ddess Is h t r
o - o a 1 36
E l P l
ve yn au
AN ALLE G O RI CAL IN TE RPRETATIO N
at the s even gates of Aralu represents the gradual
decay of vegetation on the earth and the resumption ,
of her garments the growing beauty and verd u re

which mark her return A nother hypothesis identies
.
I shtar with Da w k ina goddess of the earth wife of

, ,
Ea and therefore mothe r as well as consort of Ta mmu z .
Acc ording to this view Ishtar represents not the

fertility of the earth but the earth itself deprived
, ,
of its adornments of owers an d leafage by the

approach of winter o r variously by the burning
, ,
heat of su mmer The waters of life with which

.
,
sh e s pr inkles and restores her husband are the 1

,
revivifying rains which give t o the sun god his -
youthful vigour and glory Against this view it has .
b een urged (e g by Sir James F razer) that there

. .
is nothing in the sun s annual c o u rs e within the
t emperate and tropical zones to s u ggest that he is

dead for half or a third of the year and alive for ,

the other half or two thirds -
.
Alternatively it is suggested that Ta mmu z is

a god of vegetation and that I sht ar do u bles the
,
rO le
. The slaying of Ta mmuz and the j o u rney of
I shtar would thus represent two distinct myths ,
each typifying the decay an d s u bseq u ent revival

o f vegetation O ther instances may b e recall e d in
.
which two myths of the sa me class have b ecome

fus ed into one This view then presents some
.
, ,
elements o f probability ; not only Ta mm u z but

most of his variants appear t o p osses s a vegetable
signicance while the I shtar typ e is open to inter
,
p r e t a t io n on the sa me lines Thu s Adonis

. is asso
c ia t e d with the myrrh tree from whos e trunk he
-
,
was b orn and O siris with the ta marisk u sed in the

, ,
ritual c onnected with his c ult while A ttis a fter his ,

1
Elsewh e e I sh t ar h erself i sp i nkle d
r S p 1 30
s r . ee . .
1 37
MYTH S O F B A BYLO NIA AND A SS Y RIA
death b eca me a pine tree Ta mmu z himself wa s -
.
c onc eived of as dwelling in the midst of a grea t

world tre e whos e roots extended down t o the under
-
,
world while its branches reached to the heavens

, .
This tre e app ears to have b een the c edar for which ,
the ancient B abylonians had an e special reverenc e .
O ne feature which lea ds us t o identify the deit ies of

this class both male and female with gods of v e g e
, ,
t a t ion is the ir association with the moo n O siris .
is regarded and with much reason a s a moon god ;

, ,
-
in on e of her aspects A phrodite is a lunar deity ,
whil e a like signicance b elongs to Proserpine an d

t o the Ph oenician Ashtoreth Ishtar herself it is .
,
tru e was n ever identied with the moon which

, ,
in Babylonia was a male divinity ; yet sh e was

associated with him as his daughter A mong .
primitive p eoples the moon is b elieved to exercis e a

p owerful inu ence on vegetation and i ndeed on all ,
manner of growth and productivity The ass ociation .
of a god with the moo n therefore a rgues for him als o

a c onnexion with vegetation and fertility I t may .
b e remarked in passing that a lunar signi canc e

, ,
has b een atta ched by some authorities to the story

of I shtar s descent into H ades and t o kindred myths

, .
I t is held that the soj ourn of the goddess in Aralu

typies a lunar e clips e or p erhap s the p eriod between
,
the waning of the old moo n and the app earance of

the n ew B u t as has b een said the a ncient Baby
.
, ,
lonia ns sa w in the lu minary of night a male deity s o ,
that any lunar characteristics pertaining to I shtar

mu st b e regar ded as of merely s econdary i mp ortance .
I sh t ar T amm uz and Veg et ation

, ,
I f it b e granted then that Ishtar and Ta mmu z

, ,
are deities of vegetation it is possible Still further to,
1 38
I S HTA R TA MMU Z AND V E G ETATIO N
, ,
narrow their Sphere by associating them particularly

with the c orn A donis and Aphrodite are connected
.
with the growth of the crops Ceres who forbids the .

,
corn to Spring while her daughter is in the realm of

,

Pluto is undoubtedly a corn mother and Pros erpine ,
evidently partakes of the sa me nature O siris was .
the culture deity who intro duced c orn into E gyp t

-
.
A representation of him in the te mple of I sis a t

Phil ae depicts corn stalks growing ou t of his d ea d
-
b odythe body of O siris (the grain ) is torn to pieces ,
s cattered through the land and the pieces buried ,
( or planted ) in the earth when the corn S prouts ,
from it .Moreover Ta mmuz hims elf was cruelly

,
disposed of by his lord who ground his bones in a

,
m ill and then s cattered them t o the wind plainly

,
a typ e of the treatment meted out to the corn .
An Arabic writer relates that Tammu z was cru elly

kil led several times bu t that he always ca me t o
,
life again a story which recalls Robert Burns yohn

,

B a rleycorn itself p erhaps based on mythical matter

, .
May not thes e examples suggest an elucidation on

animistic lines Deities of the Ta mmuz typ e app ear
t o symbolize the corn grain and nothing more -
cut down bruise d and beaten buried in the earth

, , ,
and nally spri nging t o renewed life W ho then .

, ,
are the goddesses likewise identied with the corn

, ,
who s eek in the un derworld for lover or child e n ,
dea v ou ring with tears t o ranso m the c or n from the

dark earth A re they n ot the primitive corn spirits -
,
the indwelling animistic spirits of the s tanding grain ,
doomed at the harvest to wander disconsolately

through the earth t ill the sprouting of the corn onc e
more gives them an opp ortunity to materialize
The stories of the mut ilation and disp ersio n of
the b odies of Ta mmuz and O siris and of the many ,
1 39
MYTH S OF B A B YLO N IA AND A SS Y RIA
dea t hs of the former god furnish a basis for yet ,
an other explanation of the Tammuz myth Sir .
Ja mes F razer brings forward the theory that the
L a mentations of the ancient B abylonians were

intended not for mourning for the decay o f vegeta

tion but to b ewail the cruel treatment of the grain
,
a t harvest time and cites in this conne xion the

-
,
ballad of 7ohn B a rleycor n which w e are told wa s , , ,
b as ed on a n early English p oem probably itself of ,
mythological origin .
I t is however most likely th at the myth of

, ,
Ta mmu z a nd I shtar is of a c omposite nature as ,
has alrea dy b een indicated Possibly a myth of the .
su n god and earth godde ss has

-
b een sup erimposed
-
o n the early groundwork of the corn Spirit seeking -
the c orn I t would c ertainly s ee m that Ishtar in

.
her descent into A ralu typied the earth shorn of ,
her c overi ng of vegetation Then in time sh e might .
c ome to symb olize the vegetatio n itself or the ,
fert ility which produced it and so would gain new ,
attributes and new ele ments would enter into the

,
myths c oncerning her O nly by regarding her a s a .
c omposite deity is it possible to reach an u nder

standing of the principles underlying thes e myth s .
I sh t ar and Est h er
We have already questioned whether the Scripture
st ory of Esther is in s ome manner connecte d with
the goddess I shtar W riting of the J ewish feas t .
of Purim Sir Ja mes F razer says ( Golden B ough

, ,
vol iii p
.
,
F ro m the absenc e of all notic e
.
of Puri m in the older b ooks of the Bible we may ,
fairly conclude that the festival was instituted or

i mported at a co mparatively late date a mong the
J ews The same conclusion is supported by th e
.
1 40
I S HTA R AND E S THE R
B ook of Esther its elf which was manifestly written
,
to explai n the origin of the feast and to s u gges t

motives for its observance For according to the
.
,
author of the book the festival was established to

,
c ommemorate the deliveranc e of the J ews from

a great danger which threatened the m in Persia
under the reign of King X erxes Thu s the opinion .
of modern scholars that the feast of Purim a s cele ,
bra t e d by the J ews was of late dat e and O riental

,
origin is borne out by the tradition of the J ews them

,
selves An exa mination of that tradition a nd o f the

.
mode of celebrating the feast renders it proba bl e

that Purim is nothing b ut a more or less disguised
form of the Babylonian festival of the Sa c ac a or
Za k m u k. But further when we exa mine the
,
narrative which professes to a ccount for the institution

of Purim we discover in it not only the strongest
,
traces of Babylonian origin b ut also certain singular

,
analogies to thos e very feature s of the Sa c ma n

festival with which we are here more i mmediately
concerned The B ook of E sther turns upon the
.
fortunes of two men the vizier Haman and the de

,
ew M

s iS
p Ed J ordecai at the court
, of a Persia n king .
Mordecai we are told ha d given mortal offenc e

, ,
to the vizier who accor dingly prepares a tall

,
ga llows on which he hopes to se e his enemy hanged ,
while he himself expects to receive the highest mark

of the King s favour by being allowed to wear the
royal cro wn and the royal robes and thus attired ,
to parade the streets mounted on the King s own

,

horse and attended by one o f the noblest princes ,
who should procla im to the multitude his temporary

exaltation and glory B ut the a rtful intrigues o f the
.
wicked vizier miscarried and resulte d in precisely

the O pposite of wha t he ha d hope d a nd expected ;
1 41
for the royal honours which he had looked for fell
to his rival Mordecai and he himself was hanged on
,
the gall ows which he had made rea dy for his foe .
I n this story we see m to detect a re miniscence more ,
or less confused of the Zog a ne s of the Sa c aea in

, ,
other words of t h e c u sto m of investing a private

,
r
1n
_ an
with the insignia of royalty for a few days and ,
then putting him t o death on the gallows or the

cross .
A strong conrmation of this vie w is furnished

by a philological analysis of the na me s of the four
personages I t seems to b e now generally recognised
.
by B iblical scholars that the na me Mordecai which ,
h a s no meaning in Hebrew is nothing but a slightly

,
altered form of Marduk or Merodach the na me of ,
the chief god o f B abylon whose grea t festival wa s

,
the Za k m u k ; a nd further it is generally admitted

,
tha t Esther in like manner is e qu ivalent to Ishtar ,
the great B abylonian goddess who m th e Greeks

ca lled Astarte and who is more fa miliar to E nglish
,
rea ders as Ashtaroth The derivation of the names

.
of H a man and Vashti is less certain but som e high ,
authorities are disposed to a ccept the view o f Jensen

that H a man is identical with H u m ma n o r Hom m a n ,
the national god of the Elamites and that Vashti ,
is in like manner a n Ela mite deity probably a god ,

dess whose na me appears in inscriptions .
L ang ou t h e Est h er S t or y
Commenting on this theory L ang in his Magic,
a nd Religion ( p .1 6 1 ) says :

The na me Mordecai
resembles Marduk E sther is like I shtar Ha man is
, ,
like Hu m m a n the Ela mite god and there is a divine

, ,

name in the inscriptions rea d a s resembling Vashti
, ,
and probably the name of a n E la mite goddess Thus .
1 42
LANG ON THE E S THE R S TO RY
the human chara cters in E sther are in p eril of merg
ing in B a bylonian a nd Ela mite gods B ut lest that .
,
S hould occur we ought als o to remember that Mor

,
deca i wa s the real na me of a real historical Jew of

t h e Ca ptivity one of the companions of Nehemiah in
,
the return from exile to J erusalem A gain E sther .

,
appears to me to b e the crown na me of the J ewish -
wife o f X erxes in the B ook of E sther : H adassah

, ,

that is E sther In the B iblica l stor y S he conceals
.
her J ewish descent Hadassah says NOlde k e is no

.
, ,

m er e invention of the writer of E sther Ha dassah .

is said to mean myrtle bough and girls are s t ill ,
call ed Myrtle E sther appears to have been an

.
assumed na me after a royal mixed marriage Now

, .
if a real historical Jew might b e na med Mordecai ,
which we know to b e the ca se a J ewess whether , ,
in fact or in this Book of E sther which says Dr

, , , .
Jastrow ha s of cours e some historical basis might

, ,

b e styled E sther B ut if Mordecai be a s it is

.
, , ,
an historical na me of a real J ew of the period while ,
E sther ma y be and probably is a na me which a

, ,
Jewess might bear it is not ascertained tha t Vashti

,
really is the na me of a n Ela mite goddess Ye t .
Vashti is quite essential as a goddess to Mr F ra zer s .

argument .The derivation he says of the na mes
, ,
of H aman and Va shti is less certain but some high ,
a uthorities a re disposed to accept the V iew of Jensen

tha t H a man is identical with H u mm a n or Hom m a n ,
the national god of the Ela mites and tha t Vashti ,
is in like manner a n E la mite deity proba bly a god ,

dess whose na me appears in inscriptions .
I t is thus seen tha t the fa cts regarding these

na mes ma ke such a n explanation a s is a dvanced by
Sir Ja mes F razer rather a hazardous one H a man .
,
a ccording to his theory would represent the dying

,
I 43
MYTH S O F B A BYLONIA AND A S SY RIA
god whilst Mordeca i would play the part of the re
,
risen god of vegetation L ang puts forward a counter .
theory and that is that Ha ma n or H u m ma n wa s

,
a conq u ering god of the Elamites which a ccounts ,
for him having been whipped and hanged in derision .
This Hu m m a n was he thinks possibly an E la mite , ,
god of vegetatio n .
Nin G ir su

Girsu was a part of the city of L agash an d the ,
na me Nin Girsu means L ord of Girsu

-
Gods fre .

quently had lordship over a c it y quart er one of the ,
b est known instanc es of this b ei ng that o f Huit zi

-
lop o c h t li who ruled over that part of the city o f

,
Tenochtitlan called Mexico which a fterwards gave , ,
it s na me to the entire c ommunity Girsu ha d .
originally b een a c ity itself and ha d b ecome merge d

into L agash so its god was probably of an cient ,
origin Nin Girsu is frequ ently alluded t o as the

.
-
warrior of B el h e who broke through the hostil e -
ranks to aid the worshipp ers of the grea t god of the

netherworld L ike many combatant deities how .
,
ever he presided over local agriculture and in this

, ,
c onn exion he was known as Shul gur L ord of the -

,

corn heaps H e is even ident ied with Ta mmuz
. .
B au
I n ancient inscriptions esp ecially thos e of Gudea , ,
Urban and U ru kagina the goddess Bau is allude d

,
-
,
to as the great mother of mankind who restores the ,
sick to health She is called chief daughter of .
Anu and s ee ms to play the part of a fate to some

,

extent She ha s als o an agricultural side to her

.
character G u dea was especially devoted to her

.
,
and has left it on record that sh e lled him with

1 44
NANN A R
eloquence H er temple was a t Uru Azagga a
.
-
,
quarter of Lagash and as the goddess of that n eigh

,
bourh ood sh e would of c ours e have c ome into clos e

, ,
contact with Nin Gir su I ndeed sh e is Spoken of a s

-
.
his consort and when U ru Aza gga beca me part of

,
-
Lagash Bau was promoted as tutelar goddess o f

,
that city and designated Mother of L agash .

Sh e has been identied with the primeval watery

dep ths the primitive chaos a nd this identication has
, ,
been founded on the similarity b etween the name

B a u and the H ebrew hohu the word for chaos
, ,
but proof is wanting to supp ort the conj ecture A .
closely allied form of her s eems to b e Ga tu m dug - -

,
a goddess who has proba bly a c ommon origin wit h

Bau and who certainly is in some manner c onnected
,
with waterp erhap s with the clouds .
Nannar
Nannar was the moon god of U r the city whenc e
-
,
ca me Abra m , and with that plac e he was c onnected

mu ch as was Shamash with Sippar that is to sa y ,
U r wa s his chief but not his only c entre of adoration .
Why he ca me to have his principal seat at U r it would

b e difficult t o sa y The name Ur signies light
.

,

s o it may b e tha t a shrine dedicate d to Nanna r

existed upon the site of this city and co nstituted
its nucleus I n Babylonian mythology the sun was
.
regarded as the o ffspring of the moon and it is easy ,
to se e how this conception aros e in the minds of a

race p rone t o astronomical study I n all civili za .
tions the lunar method of computing time precedes

the solar The phases of the moon are regarded as
.
more trustworthy and more easily followed than the

more obscure changes of t h e brighter luminary there ,
fore a greater degree of imp ortanc e was atta ched t o

K 1
45
MYTH S OF BAB YLONIA AND A S SY RIA
the moon in very early times than to the sun The .
moon is usually represented on Babylonian cylinders

as b earing a crescent upon his hea d and wearing a
long owing b eard described a s of the c olour of
lapis lazulimuch the sa me shade a s his b ea ms pos
,
s ess in warmer latitudes Nannar was fre q uently .
alluded to a s the heifer of A nu b ecause of the ,

horn which the moon displays a t a c ertain phase .
Many monarchs a p p ear to have delighted in the

u pkeep and restoration of his temple a mong them ,
Nur R a mman and Sin iddina

- -
.
Nannar in Dec ay
But a s happ ens to many gods Nannar b eca me
confounded with some earthly herowas even alluded
, ,
t o as a satrap o f Babylonia under the Media n mo narch

Art a iosa p ers onage unknown t o history Ctesias .
hands down to u s a very c ircu mstantial tale c on

1
cerning him as follows
There wa s a Persian of the na me of Pa rsonde s ,
in the s ervice of the king of the Medes an eager ,
hunts man and an active warrior on foot and in the

,
chariot disting u ished in c ouncil and in the eld

, ,
a nd of i nuence with the king Pa r sonde s often .
urged th e king t o make him satra p of Babylon in

the plac e of Na nna ros who wore wo men s clothes
,

and orna ments but the king always put the p etition
,
aside for it could not b e granted without bre aking

,
the promise which his a ncestor had made to B ele sy s .
Nanna r os discovered the i nte ntions of Pa rsonde s ,
and sought to secure himself against them and t o ,
ta ke vengeanc e He promised great rewards to the

.
c ooks who were in the train of the king if they ,
Transla t i on from Prof Sayce

.

s Hihhe t Le tu
r c res, p . 1 57.
1
46
NANNAR IN DE CAY
succeeded in s eizing Pa rsonde s a nd giving him up .
O ne day Pa rsonde s in the heat of the chas e strayed

,
far from the king He ha d already killed ma ny .
boars and deer when the p ursuit of a w ild a ss carried

,
him to a great distance At last h e ca me up on the .
cooks who were occupied in preparations for the

,
king s table B eing thirsty Pa rsonde s asked for

.
,
wine ; they gave it took care o f his hors e and in

, ,
vi t e d him to take food a n i nvitation agreeable t o
Pa rsonde s who had b een hunting the whole da y

, .
He bade the m sen d the ass which he ha d captured

to the king and t e ll his own s ervants where he was
, .
Then h e at e of the various kinds of food se t b efore

him and drank abundantly of the excellent wine
, ,
and at las t asked for his hors e in order t o return t o

the king But they b rought b eautiful women to
.
him and urged him to remain for the night H e

, .
agreed and as soon as overcome by hunting wine

, , , ,
and love he ha d fallen into a deep slee p the cooks

, ,
b ound him and brought him t o Na nna ros Na nna r os .
reproached Pa rsonde s with calling him an e ffeminate

m an a nd seeking t o obtain his satrapy ; he ha d the
,
king to thank that the satrapy granted t o his ancestors

had not b een ta ken fro m him Pa rsonde s replied .
that he considered hims elf more worthy of the offic e ,
b ecaus e he was more manly and more useful t o the

ki ng B ut Na nna ros swore by B el a nd Mylitta that
.
Pa rsonde s should b e s ofter and whiter than a woman ,
called for the eu nuch who wa s over the fe male players ,
and bade hi m shave the b ody o f Pa rsonde s and

bathe and anoint him every day pu t women s clothes ,
on him plait his hair a fter the manner o f women

, ,
paint his fac e and place him a mong the women who
,
pla yed the guita r and sa ng that he might learn their ,
arts This was done and soon Pa rsonde s played and

.
,
'47
MYTH S O F B A B YLONIA AND AS SY RIA
sang b etter a t the table of Na nna ros than any of t h e
women Meanwh ile the king of the Medes had
.
caused s earch to b e made everywhere for Pa rsonde s

a nd sinc e he c ould nowhere b e found and nothing ,
c ould b e heard o f him he b elieved that a lion or

,
some other wild animal ha d kille d him when out

hunting and la mented for his loss Pa rsonde s ha d
,
.
lived for s even years as a woman in Babylon when ,
Na nnaros caused a eun u ch to b e scourged and

grievously maltreated This eunuch Pa rsonde s in
.
du c e d b y large pres ents to retire to Media and tell

the king the misfortune which ha d come upon him .
Then the king s ent a message commanding Na nna ros

t o give up Pa rsonde s Na nna ros declared that he
.
had never s een him But the king s ent a s econd

.
messe nger with orders t o put Na nna ros to death if

,
he did not surrender Pa rsonde s Na nnaros e nter .
t a ine d the messenger of the king ; and when the

meal w a s bro u ght 1 50 women entered of whom some
, ,
played the g u itar while others blew the ute A t

, .
t h e end of the meal Nanna ros aske d the king s

,

envoy which of a ll the women was the most b eauti

ful and had played b est The envoy pointed to .
Parsonde s Na nna ros laughed long a nd said That

.
,
is the p ers on whom you seek a nd released Pa rsonde s ,

,
who on the next day return ed home with the envoy

to the king in a chariot The king was astonished
.
at the S ight of him and asked why he had not avoided

,
such disgrac e by death Pa r sonde s answered In

.
,

order that I might se e you again and by you execute

vengea nce on Na nna ro s which could never have b een
,
mine had I taken my life The king promised him

.

that his hop e sho uld b e realized as soon as he ca me ,
to B abylon B ut when he ca me there Nannaros

.
,
defended himself on the gro und that Parsonde s ,

1
48
A s syr i an Rock S cul p ture 1 48
Fro m Th e: Mom nne ul s of N izt cz t lt
'
,
by 8 1 1 H e nry La ) ard
ARAL U OR ERES KL GAL
tho ugh in no way inj ured by him ha d maligned him , ,
and so ught to obtain the satrapy over B a bylonia .
The king pointed out that he had made hims elf j udge
in his own caus e and had imposed a punishmen t
,
of a degrading character in ten days he wo uld pro

nounce j udgment u pon him for his conduct I n terror .
,
Na nna r os hastened t o Mit ra p h e rne s the e u nu ch of ,
greatest inuence with the ki ng and promised him ,
the most lib eral rewards 1 0 talents of gold an d 1 00

,
talents of silver 1 0 golden and 2 00 silver b owls if

, ,
he c ould induce the king to spare his life and retain

him in the satrapy of B abylo nia H e w a s p repared .
to give the king 1 00 talents of gold 1 000 talents of ,
silver 1 00 golden and 300 silver b owls and c ostly

, ,
robes with other gifts Pa rsonde s also should rec eive

,
1 00 talents of s ilver and costly rob es After many .
entreaties Mit rap h e rne s persuaded the king not to

,
order the executio n of Na nna r os as he ha d not ,
killed Pa rsonde s but to exact from hi m the c o m p e n

,
sation which he was prepared to pay Pa rsonde s and

the king Na nna r os in gratit u de threw himself at
.
the feet of the king ; b ut Pa rso nde s said C u rs ed ,
b e the man who rst b rought gold a mong men ;

for the sake of gold I have been made a mockery

to the Babylonians .
It is impossible t o sa y wha t the mythological

meaning hidden in this tale may portend We .
ha ve the moon god attem p ting to femini ze an u nfor

-
t una t e enemy Does this mean tha t Pa r sonde s ca me

under the inuence of the moon godthat is tha t
.
-
,
he beca me a lunatic
Ar alu or Er es k i Gal
,
r
The deities of the underworld of the region of the ,
dead are usually of later origin than thos e of the

,
1
49
MYTH S OF B AB YLONIA AND AS SY RIA
heavens 1
. They are frequently the gods of an older
and d iscredited religio n and are relegated to the ,
cold shades of opposition dwell ing there j ust a s ,

the dea d are supposed t o dwell in the grave A .
legend exists regarding A ralu which was discovered

a mong other texts at Tel cl Amarna The story - -
.
goes that the gods once gave a feast to which they

invited A ralu apologizing at the sa me time that they
,
were unable to go down to her and regretting that

r she could not ascend to them I n their dilemma they .
requested her t o send a messenger t o bring to her the

via nds which fell to her share She complied with .
the request and when the messenger arrived a ll the

,

gods stood up to do him honour for his mistress s
sake all save Nergal The messenger ac quainted .
Aralu with this slight and greatly enraged Sh e sent ,
him back to the dwelling of the gods to ask that the

delinquent might b e delivered into her hands so tha t
sh e might Slay him The gods after some discussion
.
requested the messenger to take back him who had

offended the dark goddess and in order that the ,
envoy might the more easily discover him all the ,
gods were gathered together But Nergal remained .
in the background His absence was discovered .

,
however and he w a s despatched to the gloomy realm

,
o f A ralu But he had no mind to taste death

. .
I ndeed Aralu found the tables turned for Nergal , ,
seizing her by the hair dragged her from her throne ,
and prepared to cut off her head Sh e begge d to .
b e allowed to S peak and upon her request being ,
granted sh e o ffered herself as a wife to her con

,
q u e r or
, along with the dominions over which sh e
I Th ese de ties of t h u nde w orl d m us t no t b

i e co nfou nded with t h
r e e
god s of t h byss referre d to a t g re t le ng th in Ch a p t er I I

e a Th rs t
a . e
g ro upare go ds of t h de d t h secon d go ds o f t h p i m eval w te s

e a ,
e e r a r .
1 5o
DA G O N
held sway Nergal a ssented to h e r p r op osals and

they were wed .
m
N e rg a l is the su n which passes through the gloo my
n d e rw orld at night j ust as does O siris a nd in this

p ,
c h ara cter he has to conquer the p owers of death
and the grave I t is rare however to nd the sun

.
, ,
h ero all ying himself by marriage to one of the infernal

powers although in the Central American P op ol
,
Vuh one of the explorers to the underworld weds the

daughter of one of its overlords and Persephon e , ,
the corn goddess is forced to become the spouse of

-
,
the lor d of Hades .
Dag on
Dagon , alluded to in the Scriptures was like , ,
O annes a sh god B esides being worshipped in

,
-
.
E rech and its neighbourhood he wa s a dored in ,
Palestine and on occasion a mong the H ebrews

themselves B ut it was in the extreme south of
.
Palestine tha t his worship attained its chief import

ance He had temples a t Ashdod and Gaza and
.
,
perhaps his worship travelled westward along with

that of Ishtar B oth were worshipped a t E rech
.
,
and where the cult of the one penetrated it is likely

that there would b e found the rites of the other .
D go n hi n m e ;
a m o nste u p w r d m n
s a sea- r, a a
And downw r d h a s ,
as Milton expresses it a ffords one of the most dra matic

,
instances in the O ld Testament of the downfa ll o f a

us u rping idol .

A nd the Philistines took the ark of God and

,
brought it from E ben ezer unto Ashdod .
When the Philistines took the ark o f God they ,
brought it into the house of Dagon and se t it by ,
Dagon .
1 51

A nd when they o f Ashdod arose early on the
m orrow behold Dagon was fallen upon his face to
, ,
the earth before the ark of the L ord And they took .
Dagon and se t him in h is place aga in

,
.
And when they arose early on the morrow morning ,
behold Dagon was fall en upon his face to the ground

,
before the ark of the L ord ; and the hea d o f Dagon

and both the palms of h is hands were cut off upon
the threshold ; only the stump of Dagon was left to
him .
Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any ,
tha t come into Dagon s ho u se tread on the threshold

,
of Dagon in A shdod unto this day .
B u t the hand of the L ord was heavy upon them

of A shdod and he destroyed them and smote
, ,
them with e merods even Ashdod and the coasts ,
thereof .
And when the men of Ashdod sa w that it w as

so they said The a rk o f the God of I srael sha ll not
, ,
abide with us for his hand is sore upon us and upon

Dagon our god .
Thus in the Bible story o nl y the stum p or

sh s tail of Dagon w a s left to him In some of the

.
Ninevite sculptures of this deity the head of the ,
sh forms a kind of mitre on the head of the man ,
while the body of the sh appears as a cloak or

cape over his shoulders and b a ck This is a sure .
Sign to the mythological student that a god so

a dorned is in process of quitting the a nimal for the
human form 1
.
1
n s cr i ce t oo t h tote mi or symbolic ni m l o f t h
I a , ,
e c a a e god is
o ft en ye d nd t h s kin worn by t h p ries t wh in th i s
a a e e ,
o ma nn r e
p ersona t es t h g d In nc i e nt Mex ico t h p r ies t s of C nt
e o . a e e o
eot l w re
t h s ki n o f
e w o m n s c i ce d nnu ll y to th t g o ddess
a a a r a a a .
1 52
NIRIG OR ENU RESTU
Nir ig , or Enu Rest u
This deity is alluded to in an ins cription as the

eldest of the gods He was especially favoure d
.
by the Kings of Assyria and we nd h is name entering ,
into the composition of several of their texts I n a .

certain poem he is called the son o f B el and is ,

described as b eing made in the likeness of Anu .
H e rides it is said against the gods of his enemies

, ,
in a chariot of lapis lazuli and his onset is full of

-
,
the fury of the t empest B el his father c ommands .

, ,
him to se t forth for the t emple o f B e l at Nippur .
H ere Nus ku the messenger of B el meets him bestows

, , ,
a gift upon him and humbly requests that he will

,
not disturb the god B el his father in his dwelling

place nor terrify the earth
, ,
,
gods I t would app ear .
fro m this passage that Nirig was on the p oint of

taking the place o f B el his father but that he ever , ,
did so is improbable A s a deity of storm he is .
also a god of war but he was the seed scatterer u pon

,
-
the mountains therefore he had also a n agric u ltural

,
signicance I t is strange that in Babylonia t empest

.
gods possess the sa me functions and attributes

thos e of war and agriculture as do rain or thunder ,
or rain thu nder or wind and rain deities elsewhere

-
,
a circumstance which is el oquent of the p ower of
climatic conditions in the manufacture of myth .
I n Mesop otamia erc e sand storms must have given -
the p eople the idea of a savage and intractable deity ,
destructive rather than be ne c e nt a s ma ny hymns ,
and kindred texts witness .
We have now briey examined the elder gods of

the Babylonian pantheon O ther and in some cases .
,
m ore imp osing gods were yet t o b e adopted by the

,
Babylonians a s we shall se e in the following chapters

, .
I S3
C H APT E R IV : THE GI LGAME SH EPI C
5 it is probable that the materials of the Gil

ga mesh epic the great myt hological poe m
,
of Babylonia originally b elong t o the older

,
epoch of Babylonian mythology it is ttin g that it ,
should b e described and considered b efore p assing

to the later development s of Chaldean religion .
The Gilgamesh epic ra nks with the B abylonian

myth of creation as one of the greatest literar y pro
du c t ions of ancient B abylonia The main ele ment.
in its composition is a conglomeration of mythic

matter drawn fro m various sources with p erhap s
, ,
a substratu m of historic fact the whole b eing woven

,
into a continuous narrative around the c entral

gure of Gilgamesh princ e of Erech I t is not
, .
possible at present to x the date when the epic was

rs t written O ur knowledge of it is gleaned chiey
.
fro m mutilated fragments belonging t o the library

of Assur bani pal b ut fro m internal and o t her evi
-
,
dence we gather that some at least of the traditions

e mbodied in the epic are of much greater antiquity
than his reign Thus a tablet dated 2 1 00 B C
. . .
contains a variant of t h e deluge story inserted in the

X It h tablet of the Gilga mesh e p ic Probably this and .
other portions of the epic existed in oral traditio n

b efore they were c ommitted to writingthat is in ,
the remote Sumerian period .
Assur bani pal was an e nthusiastic and practical

- -
patron of literature I n his great library at Nineveh

.
( the nucleus of whi c h ha d b een taken from Calah by

Sennacherib ) he had gathered a vast c ollection of
volumes clay tablets and papyri most of which
, , ,
ha d b een carried as S poil from conquered lands H e .
also e mployed scrib es t o copy older texts and this ,
1 54
THE G IL GA MESH E PIC
is evidently how the existing edition of the Gilgamesh
epic ca me to b e written From the fragments now .
in the B ritish Museu m it would see m that at least four

c opies of the p oe m were made in the time of A ssur
bani pal They were not long p ermitted to remai n
-
.
undisturbed The great A ssyrian empire was a lready

.
declining ; ere long Nineveh was captured a nd its

library s cattered while plu nderi ng hordes burnt the
,
precious ro lls of papyrus a nd buried the clay tablets

,
in the debris of the palace which ha d sheltered them .
There they were destined to lie for over 2 000

years till the excavations of Sir A H L ayard
,
. .
,
George S mith and others brought them to light

, .
I t is tru e tha t the twelve tablets of the Gilga mesh

epic ( or rather the fragments of the m which have
,
so far b een discovered ) are much defaced fre quently

the entire sens e of a passage is obscured by a gap
in the text and this when nice mythological e lu c i
, ,
dations are in q u estion is no light matter Y et , .
to such an extent has the science of c omparative

religion progressed in recent years that we are pro
bably b etter able t o rea d the true mythological
signicance of the epic than were the ancient Baby
lonia ns themselves who sa w in it merely an a ccount
,
of the wa nderings and exploits of a national hero .
The epic which centres roun d the ancient city of

,
Erech relates the a dventures of a half hu man half

,
-
,
divine hero Gilga mesh by na me who is king over

, ,
Erech Two other c haracters g u re prominently

.
in the narrative Ea ba ni who evidently typies ,
primitive man and Ut Na p ish t im the hero of the

,
-
,
B abylonian deluge myth Each of the three would .
seem t o have b een originally the hero of a separate

group of traditions which in time beca me incorp ora ted ,
more or less naturally with the other two , .
1 55
MYTH S O F BAB YLONIA AND A S S Y RIA
The rs t and mos t important of the trio the hero ,
Gilga mesh may have been at one time a real person

,
age tho ugh nothing is known of him historically

,
1
.
Possibly the exploits of some ancient king of E rech

have furnished a basis for the narrative His name .
( for a time provisionally read Gisdhuha r or I zdubar , ,
but now known to have be en pronounced Gilga mesh ) 2
s uggests that he was not B abylonian but E la mite

or Kassite in origin an d from indications furnished ,
by the poe m itself we learn that he conquered E rech

( or relieved the city from a b esieging force ) at the
outset of his adventurou s career I t has been sug .
gested also that he was identical with the B iblical

Nimrod like hi m a hero of ancient Babylo n ; b ut
,
there are no other grounds for the suggestion .
So much for the historical aspect of Gilga mesh .
His mythological character is more easily established .
I n this regard he is the p ersonication of the sun .
H e represents in fact the fusion of a great national

, ,
hero with a mythical b eing Throughout the epic .
there are indications that Gilga mesh is partly divine

by na t u re t h ough nothing sp ecic is said on that head
, .
H is identity with the s olar god is veiled in the popular

narrative but it is evident that he ha s some con
,
ne x ion with the god Shamash t o who m he p ays his ,
devotions and w h o acts as his patron and p r otector .
Th e B ir th of G ilg am esh
Among the traditions c oncerning his birth is on e
related by [Elian (H ist oria Animalium X I I 2 1 ) , ,
1 Th a t i s w h a e n de it e h i stor i c l not i ces conce rnin

g him
n
,
e v o a ,
but we m y i nfer from in t ernal ev idence in h i sag a th at h p ossess es

a s e
a cert i n m oun t o f h i stor c i t y

a a i .
1
By t h di scovery by M T Fin h
e in a le i co g aph i cal t ablet
r . c es x r
th t Gi dh ub G lg m h
a s ar z i a es .
1 56
THE BI RTH OF G IL GA MESH
of Gilg a m os ( Gilgamesh ) the grands on of Sok k a ros ,
.
Sokk a ros who according to B e rossu s was the rst

, , ,
king to reign in Babylonia a fter the deluge wa s ,
warned by means of divi nation that his daughter

should b ear a son who would deprive him of his throne .
Thinking to frustrate the designs of fate he sh u t her

up in a tower where sh e was clos ely watched B u t
,
.
in time sh e b ore a son and her attendants knowing , ,
how wroth the King would b e to learn of the event ,
ung the child from the tower B ut be fore he reached .
the ground an eagle seize d him up and b ore him o ff

to a certain garden where he was d u ly found and ,
cared for by a p easant And when he grew to man .
hood he became Ki ng of the B abylonians having , ,
presumably usurped the thron e of his grandfather

, .
H ere we have a myth obviously of solar signicanc e ,
c onforming in every particular to a den ite typ e of

sun legend
-
I t cannot have b een by chanc e that it
.
b eca me attached to the person of Gilga mesh Every .
thing in the epic too is c onsonant with the b elief tha t

, ,
Gilga mesh is a sun god his connexion with Sha mash

( who may have b een his father in the tradition given
by zElia n a s well a s the eagle which saved him fro m

,
death) the fact that no mention is made of his

,
father in the p oem though his mother is brought in

,
more than once and the assu mption throughout the

,
epic that he is more than hu man .
Given the key to his mythical character it is not

hard to perceive in his a dventure s the daily ( or annual)
cours e of the sun rising to its full Strength at noonda y
,
( or mid su mmer) and sinking at length to the western

-
,
horizon to return in due time to the abode of men

, .
L ike all solar deities like the su n itself h is birth

and origin are wrapped in mystery He is indeed .
, ,
one of the fatal children like Sargon Perse u s ,

, ,
I S7
MYTH S O F BAB YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
or A rthur When he rst appears in the narrative
.
he is already a full grown hero the ruler and ( it

-
,
would seem) oppressor o f Erech H is mother Rimat .

,
belit is a priestess in the temple of Ishtar and

, ,
through her he is descended fr o m Ut Na p ish t im -

,
a native o f Sh urip p a k and the hero of the Baby

,
lonian ood legend Early in the narrative he is

-
.
bro u ght into c ontact with the w ild man B abani ,
originally designed for his destruction by the gods ,
but with whom he event ually concludes a rm

friendship The pair proceed to do battle with the
.
monster Kh u m ba ba whom they overcome a s they

, ,
do also the sacred bull sent against them by Ann .
U p to the end o f the VI t h ta blet their conquer

ing and tri u mphant career is without interruption ;
Gilga mesh increases in strength a s does the sun
approa ching the zenith A t the VIIt h tablet how .
,
ever his good fortune begins to wane Ea ba ni dies

,
.
,
slain doubtless by the wrath o f Ishtar whose love ,
Gilgamesh ha s rej ected with scorn ; and the hero ,
mourning the death of his friend and s mitten with ,
fear that he himself will perish in like manner decides ,
to go in search of his ancestor Ut Na p ish t im ( who ,

-
,
as sole survivor of the del u ge ha s receive d fro m the ,
gods de ic a t ion and i mmortality) and learn of hi m ,
the secret of et ernal life His further a dventures .
have not the triumphal character of his earlier

exploits Sunwise he j ourneys to the Mountain of
.
the Su nset encounters the scorpion men and c rosses

,
-
,
the Waters of Death Ut Na p ish t im teaches him .

-
the lesson that all men must die (he himself being
an exception in exceptional circu mstances) and ,
though he afterwards gives Gilgamesh an opportunity

of eating the plant of life the opportunity is lost ,
.
H owever Ut Na p ish t im cures Gilga mesh of a disease

,
-
1 58
EABANI
which he has contracted apparently wh ile crossing
,
the Waters of Death and he is nally restored to

,
E rech In these happenings we se e the gradual

.
sinking of the sun into the underworld by way of the

Mountain of the Sunset I t is impossible for the sun
.
to a ttain immortality to remain for ever in the land

,
of the living he must travers e the Waters of Death

and soj ourn in the underworld Y et the return of .
Gilga mesh t o E rech signies the fresh dawning of

the day I t is the eternal struggle of day and night
.
,
su mmer and winter ; darkness may conquer light ,
b ut light will e merge again victorious The c ontest .
is unending .
So me authorities have seen in the division of the

epic into twelve ta blets a connexion with the months
o f the year or the signs of the zodiac Such a con .
ne x ion probably exists but when we consider that

,
the articial division of the epic into tablets scarcely

tallies with the natural divisions of the poem it ,
seems likely tha t the astrological signicanc e of the

former wa s given to the epic by the Scribes of Nineveh ,
who were evidently at s ome pains to co mpress the

matter into twelve tablets O f the astro theological
.
-
signi cance of the narrative itself ( one of its most

importa nt aspects) we shall perhaps be better able to
,
j udge when we have considere d it in detail .
Ea bani
The most imp ortant of the various mythological
strata underlying the Gilga mesh myth is probably tha t
concerning B a bani who as has been said is a typ e
, , ,
of primitive man living a mong the beasts of the eld

,
as one of themselves B ut he is also according to

.
,
certain authorities a form of the sun god even a s

,
-
,
Gi lga mesh himself L ike the hero of E rech he

.
,
1 59
MYTHS OF BA B YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
rises to the zenith of his powers in a triumphal
progress then descends into the underworld H e is
, .
not lost Sight of however but lives in the me mory of

, ,
his friend Gilga mesh and in the XIIt h ta blet he is

t empo rarily brought forth fro m the underworld ( tha t
is his ghost or ut ule lau) which in a dim and S hadowy
, , ,
fashion may typify the da ily restoration of the sun .
A nother important stratu m of myth is that which

c oncerns Ut Na p ish t im the B a bylonian Noah ; but
-
,
whereas the myths o f Ea bani and Gilgamesh though ,
still distinguisha ble have become thoroughl y fus ed

, ,
the deluge story o f which Ut Na p ish t im is the hero -
ha s b een inserted bodily into the X It h tablet of

the epic being related t o Gilga mesh by Ut Na p ish t im
,
-
hi mself When he rst appears in the narrative he

.
has the attributes and powers of a god having ,
rec eived these for his delity to the gods during the
ood fro m whos e waters he alon e of all mankind
,
escaped The obj ect of his narrative in the Gilga mesh

.
epic seems to b e to point out to the hero that only

the most exceptional circu mstances uniqu e circu m
stances indeedc a n save man fro m his doom
,
.
O ther distinct portions of the epic are the battle

with the monster Kh u m baba the episode of Ishtar s ,

love for Gilga mesh the ght with the sacred bull o f
,
Ann and the search for the plant of life

,
These .
,
whatever their origin have become naturally incor

,
o r a t e d with the story of Gilga mesh But besides

p .
the vario u s historical and mythical elements herein

presented there is also a c ertain amount of Baby
,
lonia n religious doctrine eviden t to some extent in ,
the X It h tablet (which points the moral that all

men must die ) b ut doubly so in the XIIt h tablet
, ,
wherein the shade of B abani appears t o Gilga mesh ,
relates the misfortunes of the unburied dead or of

1 60
GIL GA MESH A S TY RAN T
thos e uncared for after death and inculcates care ,
for the deceased as the only means whereby they

may evade the grievous woes which threaten the m
in the underworld .
L et u s exa min e in deta il the Gilga mesh e p ic a s

we have it in the broken fragments which remain
t o u s The Ist an d l 1nd tablets are much muti
.
lated A nu mb er of fragments are extan t which

.
b elong t o on e or other of thes e two but it is not ,
easy t o say where the Ist ends and the l 1nd b egins .
O n e fragment would s ee m t o c ontain the very be

ginning o f the Ist tablet a sort of general prefac e
t o the epic c omprising a list of the a dvantages t o b e
,
derived from rea ding it After this comes a fragme nt

.
whose title to inclusion in the epic is dou bt ful .
I t describes a siege of the city of E rech but ma kes ,
n o mention of Gilga mesh The woeful c ondition o f

.
E rech un der the siege is thus pictures quely detailed

She asses ( tread down ) their young cows ( turn up on )
,
their calves Me n cry aloud like beasts and ma idens

.
,
mourn like doves The gods of strong walled E rech

.
-
are changed t o ies and buzz ab out the streets The

, .
spirits of strong walled E rech are changed t o serp ents

-
,
and glide into holes F or three years the enemy

.
b esiege d E rech an d the doors were barred an d the

, ,
b olts were shot and I shtar did not rais e her hea d
,

against the foe I f this fra gmen t b e indeed a
.
p ortion of the Gilga mesh epic we have n o means ,
of asc ertaining whether Gilgamesh was the besieger ,
or the raiser of the siege or whether he wa s c on,
c erne d in the a ffair a t all .
Gilg am esh as T y r ant

Now we c ome t o the real c ommencement of the
p oem inscribed on a fragment which some a uthorities
,
1. 1 61
MYTH S O F B A B YLO NIA AND AS S Y RIA
assign to the b eginning of the l 1nd tablet bu t which ,
more probably forms a part of the Ist In this .
portion we n d Gilga mesh lling the double role of

ruler and oppressor of Erech the latter evidently
n ot inconsistent with the character O f a hero There .
is no mention here of a siege nor is there any record

,
of the c omi ng of Gilga mesh though a s has b een

, ,
indicated he probably ca me as a con queror His

, .
intolerable tyranny towards the p eople of E rech

lends colour to this view H e p resses the young
.
men into his servic e in the building of a great wall ,
and carries off the faires t maidens to his court ; he

hath not left the son t o his father nor the maid to
,

the hero nor the wife t o her husband
,
F inally his .
harshnes s con strained the p eople to appeal to the

gods and they prayed the goddess Aruru to create
,
a mighty hero who would cha mpion their cause ,
and through fear of whom Gilgamesh should b e

forced to temper his s everity The gods the mselves
.
a dded their prayers t o those of the oppressed p eople ,
an d A ruru at length agreed to create a cha mpion

against Gilga mesh . U pon hearing these words ( so
runs the narrative ) A ruru conceive d a man ( in the
,
image) of Ann in her min d Aruru washed her hands

.
,
s h e broke off a piece of clay sh e cast it on t h e ground

, .

Thus sh e created B abani the hero , When the .
creation of this cha mpion was nished his appear

anc e was tha t of a wild man of the mountains The .
whole of h is body was ( c overed) with hair he was ,
clothed with long hair like a woman H is hair wa s .
l u xuriant like that of the corn god H e knew (not )

,
-
.
the land and the inhabitants thereof he wa s clothed ,
with garments a s the god of the eld With the .
gazelles he ate herb s with the beasts he slaked his

,
thirst with the creatures of the water his heart

,
1 62
A s syri an Typ e of Gil g am esh
l o u ml a t lx li o rs a l ia t l
l it / It , uml l m t / n c 1 H 1m !
Fro m (
l sxy m b) 1 i o t c s sm 3 1 0 1 1 1 8 J a s t r o w
'
, .
'
m t sszon ll L b \ l ( 1
I
u/ 1 u u u So n g
[if fu 0/ \ I 5
1 62
TH E BE G UILING O F EAB ANI

rej oiced I n pictorial representations on cylinder
.
seals and els ewhere Ea ba ni is depicted as a sort of

satyr with the head arms and body of a man and
, , , ,
the horns ears and legs of a beast A s we have

, , .
s een he is a typ e o f b east man a s ort of Caliban

,
-
, ,
ranging with the b easts of the eld utterly ignorant ,
of the things of civilization .
Th e B eg uil ing of Eabani

The p oe m goes on t o introduce a new character ,
Tsa idu the hunter apparently designed by the gods

, ,
to bring about the meeting of Gilgamesh and B abani .
How he rst encounters Ea ba ni is not quit e clear

fro m the m u tilated text O n e reading has it that the .
King o f E rech learni ng the p lan of the gods for his

,
overthrow sent Tsa idu i nto the mountains in

,
search of Ea bani with instructions t o entrap him by

,
whatever means a nd bring him to E rech Another .
reading describes the encounter as purely accidental .
However this may b e Tsa idu retur ned to E rech and ,
relate d t o Gilga mesh the story of his e ncou nter ,
telling him o f th e strength an d e e t ne ss of the wild

man and his exceeding shyness a t the sight of a
,
hu man b eing By this time it is evident that Gil

.
ga mesh knows or conj ectures the purpos e for which

Ea ba ni is designed a nd intends to frustrate the ,
divine plans by anticipating the meeting b etween

himself and the wild man A ccordi ngly he bids .
Tsa id u retur n t o the mo u ntains taking with him ,
Ukh u t one of the sacre d women of the t emple o f

,
I shtar His pla n is that Ukh u t with her wiles

.
shall persuade B abani to return with her t o E rech .
Thus the hunter and the girl se t out They took .
the straight road and on the third day they reach e d

,
the usua l drinking place of Ea bani The n Tsa idu .
1 63
MYTH S OF BAB YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
a nd the woman placed themselves in hiding Fo r .
one day for two days they lurked by the dri nking
, ,
plac e W ith the beasts ( Babani ) slaked his thirst

.
,
with the creatures of the waters his heart rej oiced .
Then Babani (approached) The scen e which

follows is described at some length Ukh u t had no .
di fficulty in enthralling B abani with the s nares of her

beauty F or Six days a nd s even nights he reme m
.
b ere d nothing b ecause of his love for her W hen at .
length he b ethought him of his gazelles his ocks ,
and herds he found that they would no longer follow

,
him as b efore So he sat at the feet of Ukh ut whil e

.

she told him of E rech and its ki ng Thou art .
han dsome O B ab a ni thou art like a god Why

, , .
dost thou travers e the plain with the beasts Come ,
I will take the e t o strong wall ed E rech t o the bright -

,
palace the dwelling of A nu and I shtar to the palac e

, ,
o f Gilga mesh the perfect in strength who like a

, , ,

mountain bull w ie lde t h power over man
-
, B abani .
foun d the prospect de lightful He longe d for the .
friendship of Gilgamesh and declared himself willing ,
to follow the woman to the city of E rech A nd so .
Ukh u t Ea bani and Tsa idu se t out on their j ourney

, ,
.
G ilg am esh m eet s Eabani

The feast of I shtar wa s in progress when they
reached Erech Babani ha d c onceived the idea that
.
he must do battle with Gilga mesh before he c ould

claim that hero a s a friend but b eing warned (whether ,
in a dream or by Ukh u t is not clear ) that Gilga mesh

, ,
wa s stronger than he a nd withal a favourite of the

,
gods he wisely refrained from c ombat Meanwhile

, .
Gilgamesh also ha d drea med a drea m which inter , ,
r e t e d by his mother Rimat

belit foretold the coming
p , ,
of Ea bani That part of the p oe m which deals with

.
1 64
GILGA ME S H MEET S EABANI
the meeting of G ilga mesh and Ea ba ni is unfort u
na t e ly no longer extant but from the fragments which
,
take up the broken narrative we gather that they

met and b ecame friends .
The p ortions of the epic next in order app ear

t o b elong t o the 11 nd tablet In these we nd
.
Ea ba ni la menting the loss of his former free dom

and showering maledictions on the te mple maiden -
who has lured him thither However Sha mash

.
, ,
the sun god intervenes ( p erhap s in another drea m

-
,
or vision these play a promi nent part in the narra

tive) and showing him the b enets he has derived
,
from his soj ourn in the haunts of civilization e n ,
de av ou rs with vario u s promises a nd i nducements

t o make him s tay in Erech Now Gilga mesh thy ,
frie nd a nd brother shall give the e a great c ouch to

,
sleep on shall give the e a c ouch carefully prepared

, ,
shall give thee a s eat at his left hand a nd the kings of

,

the earth shall kiss thy feet W ith this apparently
.
, ,
Ea ba ni is satised .H e c eases t o bewail his p osition

at Erech and accepts his destiny with calmness I n .
the r emaining fragments of the tablet we n d him

concer ne d ab out another drea m or vision and b efore
this p ortion of the epic closes the heroes have planned
an exp edition against the monster Kh u m ba ba guar ,
dian of the abode of the goddess Ir nina ( a for m of

I shtar) in the F orest of Cedars
, .
I n the very mutilated I I Ird tablet the two heroes

go to consult the priestess Ri mat belit the mother o f
-
,
Gilga mesh a nd through her they ask protection fro m

,
Sha mash in the forthcoming expedition The old .
priestess a dvises her son a nd his friend how to pro

c e e d a nd a fter they have gone we se e her alone in the
,
temple her ha nds raised to the sun god invo k ing his
,
-
,
blessing on Gilga mesh : Why hast thou troubled

1 65
the heart o f my son Gilga mesh ! Tho u hast laid
thy hand upon him and he goeth away on a far
, ,
j ourney to the dwelling of Kh u m ba ba ; he entereth

into a co mba t (whose issue) he knoweth not ; he
followeth a roa d unknown to him Till he arrive and .
till he return till he rea ch the F orest of Cedars till

, ,
he hath slain the terrible Kh u m ba ba and rid the

land o f all the ev il tha t tho u hatest till the day of his ,
return let Aya thy betrothed thy Splendour r e

, , ,

call him to thee With this dignied and bea utiful
.
appeal the tablet comes to a n end .
Th e Monst er Kh um baba
The IVt h tablet is conc erned with a description
of the monster with who m the heroes are about t o
do ba ttle Kh u m ba ba who m B e l had appointed to
.
,
g uard the c edar one particular cedar which

appears to b e of greater height and sanctity than the
others ) is a creat u re of most terrifying aspect the
, ,
very presence of who m in the forest makes those

who enter it grow wea k a nd impotent As the hero es .
dra w near Ba bani complains tha t his hands are feeble

and his arms without strength but Gilga mesh S pea ks
,
words of encourage ment to him I t may b e noted .

,
in passing that the word Kh u m ba ba is of Ela mite

,
origin a fact which h as led certain authorities t o

,
identify the monster with an E la mite dyna sty which

anciently do minated Erech and which ca me to grief
,
about 2 2 50 B C I t is diffi cult if not impossible

. .
, ,
to establish the connexion between the mythical e n

counter a nd a denite historical event ; but it may
at least be presu med th a t the bestowal of an E lamite
designation on the monster argues a certain en mity
between E la m and B a bylon .
The next fragments bring us into the Vt h ta blet .
1 66
I S HTA R S LO V E FOR G IL GA ME S H

The heroes having reached a verdant mountain
, ,
pa u sed to s u rvey th e F orest of Cedars When they .
entered the forest the death of Kh u m ba ba wa s fore

told to one or other or both of the m in a drea m
, , ,
and they hastened forward t o the combat Unfort u .
na t e ly the text of the actual encounter has not been

preserved but we learn fro m the context that the
,
heroes were successful in Slaying Kh u m ba ba .
Ishtar s L ov e for Gilg am esh

I n the VIt h tablet which relates the story of I shtar s

,

love for Gilga mesh and the slaying of the sacred

,
bull victory again waits on the a rms of the heroes

, ,
but here nevertheless we have the key to the mis

fortunes which later befall the m O n his return to .
Erech after the destruction of Kh u m ba ba Gilga mesh ,
wa s loudly acclaimed Do i ng the soiled and blood

.
stained garments he ha d worn during the battle he ,
robed himself a s be t t e d a monarch and a conqueror .
I shtar beheld the King in his regal S plen dour the ,
owers of victory Still fresh on his brow and her ,
heart went out to him in love I n moving a nd se du c

.
tive terms sh e besought him to b e her bridegroom ,

pro mising that if he would enter her hous e in

the gloo m o f the ceda r all mann er o f good gifts
should be his his ocks and herds would increase ,
h is horses an d oxen would b e without rival the river ,
E uphrates wo uld kiss his feet and kings and princes

,
would bring tribute to him B ut Gilga mesh knowing

.
,
something of the past history o f this capricious god

dess rej ected her adva nces with scorn and began to
, ,
revile her He ta u nted her too wi th her treat ment

.
, ,
of former lovers of Ta mmuz the bridegroo m of her

,
yo u th to who m sh e clung weepingly year a fter yea r

,
of Al alu the eagle of a lion perfect in might and a

1 67
MYTH S A S SY RIA
O F BA B YL O NIA AND
horse glorious in battle ; o f the shepherd Tabulu and
of Isullanu the gardener of her father All these
,
.
S he ha d mocked and ill trea ted in cruel fashion -

,
a nd Gilgamesh perceived that like treat ment would

b e meted out to him should he accept the proffere d
love of the goddess The deity was greatly enraged
.
at the repulse and mounted up to heaven

,
More
over I shta r went before Anu ( her father) before A n u ,
Sh e went and sh e
( said ) : O my father Gilga mesh ,
has kept watch on me ; Gilga mesh has counted

my garlands my garlands and my girdles
,
U nder .
lying the story of Ishtar s love for Gilga mesh there
is evidently a nature myth o f some sort perhap s a

-
,
spring tide myth ; Gilga mesh the sun god or a hero

-
,
-
,
who ha s ta ken over his attributes is wooed by Ishtar , ,
the goddess of fertility the great mother goddess ,

-
who presides over spring vegetation In the recital .
o f her former love a ffairs we nd mention of the

-
Ta mmu z myth in which Ishtar slew her consort

,
Tammuz and other mythological fragments It is

,
.
possible also that there is an astrological signi cance

in this part of the narrative .
Th e B ul l f Anu
o
To resume the tale I n her wrath and hu miliation

'
Ishtar appealed to her father a nd mother A nu an d ,
Ana t u and begged the former to create a mighty bull

,
and send it against Gilga mesh Anu at rst de murred .

,
declaring that if he did so it would result in seven

years S ter ility on the earth b ut nally he consented ,
and a great bull Alu was sent to do battle with

, ,
Gilgamesh The portion o f the text which deals

.
with the combat is mu ch mutilated but it appears ,
tha t the conict was hot and sustained the celestial

animal nally succumbing to a sword
,
thrust fro m
1 68
THE iB ULL OF ANU
Gilga mesh I shtar looks on in impotent anger
. .
Then Ishtar went up on to the wall of strong wall ed -
E rech ; sh e mounted to the top an d she uttered a

curse ( sa ying)
,
Cursed b e Gilga mesh who h as
, ,
provoked me to anger and ha s Slain the b ull fro m ,
hea ven .Then Ea ba ni incurs the anger of the deity

When Ea ba ni hea rd thes e words of Ishtar he ,
tore out the entrails of the bull and he cast the m ,
before her saying A s for the e I will con qu er thee

, , , ,
and I will do to thee even a s I have don e to him .

Ishtar was beside herself with rage Gilga mesh .
and his companion dedicated the great horns of

the bull to the su n god an d having washed their
-
,
hands in the river Euphrates returned onc e more to ,
Erech A s the triumphal procession passed through

.
the city the people ca me o ut o f their houses to do

honour to the heroes The remainder o f the tablet.
is concerned with a great banquet given by Gilga mesh

to celebra te his victory over the bull A lu a nd with ,
further visions of B abani .
The VIIt h an d VI IIt h tablets are extre mely

fragmentary and so much of the text as is preserved
,
is open to vario u s readings It is possible that to the .
VIIt h tablet belongs a description o f the underworl d

given to Ea ba ni in a drea m by the te mple maiden -
Ukh ut who m he had cursed in a previous tablet

, ,
a nd who ha d since died The description answers .
to tha t given in another ancie nt t ext the myth

o f I shtar s descent into H ades an d evidentl y

e mbodies the popular belief concerning the under

world. Co me descend with me to the hous e of
,
darkness the a bode of Irk a lla to the house whenc e

, ,
the enterer goes not forth to the path whos e way ha s ,
no return to the house whose dwellers are deprived

,
o f light where dust is their nourishmen t and earth

,
1 69
their good They are clothed like the birds in a
.
, ,
garment of feathers ; they se e not the light they ,

dwell in darkness .
Th e Deat h o f B abani
This Sinister visio n a ppears to have been a presage
o f Ea ba ni s death Shortly afterwards he fell ill

.
and died at the end of twelve days The manner of .
his death is uncertain O ne reading o f the mutilate d

.
text represents B abani as being wounded perhaps in ,
battle and succu mbing to the e ffects of the wound

,
.
B u t another makes him sa y to his friend G ilgamesh ,
I have b een cursed my friend I shall not die as

, ,

one who has b een slain in battle The breaks in the .
text are responsible for the divergence The latter .
rea ding is probably the correct one ; Ea ba ni has

grievously o ffende d Ishtar the all powerful and ,
-
,
the c u rs e which has s mitten him to the earth is

probably hers I n m odern folk lore phraseology he
.
-

died of j u j u The death of the hero brings the
.
VIII t h ta blet to a close .
In the I X t h ta blet we nd Gilga mesh mourning

the loss of his friend .
Th e Q uest of G ilg am esh

O n the heart o f Gilga mesh likewise the fear o f , ,
death had taken hold a nd he determined to go in

,
search of his ancestor Ut Na p ish t im who might b e

,
-
,
able to Show him a way of escape Straightway put .
ting his determination into e ffect Gilga mesh se t o ut ,
for the abode of Ut Nap ish t im O n the way he ha d

-
.
to pass through mounta in gorges made terrible by ,
the presence of wild beasts F ro m the power of thes e

.
he was delivered by Sin the moon god who enabled,

-
,
him to travers e the mountain p asses in safety .
1 7o
Q U E S T OF GIL GAME S H
TH E
A t length he ca me to a mountain higher than the
rest the entrance to which was guarded by scorpion
,
men This was Mashu the Mountain o f the Sun

.
,
se t
,
which lies on the western horizon between the ,

earth and the u nderworld Then he ca me t o the
.
mountain o f Mashu the portals of which are guarded

,
every day by monsters their backs mo u nt u p to the

ra mparts o f heaven and their foreparts reach down
,
b eneath A ralu Scorpion men guard the gate ( of

.
-
Mashu) they strike terror into men and it is death ,
to b ehold them Their splendour is great for it

.
,
overwhelms the mountains ; fro m sunrise to s u nset

they guard the sun Gilga mesh b eheld them an d
.
,
h is face grew dar k with fear an d terror and the ,

wildnes s o f their asp ec t robbed him of his senses .
O n approaching the entrance to the mountain Gil

ga mesh found his way barred by thes e scorpion men -
,
who perc eiving the strain of divinity in him did

, ,
not blast hi m with their glanc e but questione d hi m ,
regarding his purpose in drawing near the mountain

of Mashu When Gilga mesh ha d replied to their
.
queries te lling the m how he wished to reach the

,
abode o f his ancestor Ut Na p ish t im and there

,
-
,
learn the s ecret of perpetual life and youthfulness ,
the scorpion men a dvised him to turn bac k B efore

-
.
him they said lay the region of thick darkness ;

, ,
for twelve leashu ( twenty four hours ) he would have

-
to j ourney through the thic k darkness ere he again

e merged into the light of day A nd so they ref u sed .
to let him pass But Gilgamesh implored

. with ,

tears says the narrative and a t length the monsters
, ,
consented to admit him Having passed the gate .
of the Mountain of the Su nset ( by virtu e o f his

character as a solar deity) Gilgam esh traversed the
region o f thic k darknes s d u ri ng the S pace of twelve
1 71
MYTH S O F BAB YLO NIA AND AS SY RI A
ha shu Toward the end of that period the darkness
.
b eca me ever less pronounced ; nally it wa s broad

day and Gilga mesh found himself in a beautiful
,
garden or park studded with trees a mong which ,
wa s the tree of the gods thus charmingly depicted in ,
the text Precious stones it bore as fruit branches ,
h u ng fro m it which were b ea utiful to b ehold The .
t Op o f the tree was lapis lazuli and it wa s laden with -

,

fruit which dazzled the eye of him that beheld .
H aving pa u sed to a dmire the beauty of the scene ,
Gilga mesh bent his S teps Shoreward .
The Xt h tablet describes the hero s encounter
with the se a goddess Sa bit u who on the a pproach , ,
o f one who ha d t h e appearance of a god in whos e ,
body wa s grief and who looked a s though he had

,

made a long j ourney retire d into her palace and ,
fastened the door B ut Gilga mesh knowing tha t .

,
her help w a s necessary to b ring him to the dwelling of

Ut Na p ish t im told her of his quest and in despair
-
, ,
threatened to brea k down the door unless sh e opened

to him At last Sa bit u consented to listen to him
.
whilst he asked the way to Ut Nap ish t im L ike -

.
the scorpion men the se a goddess perceived tha t

-
,
-
Gilga mesh w a s not to b e turned aside from his quest ,
so a t last sh e ba de him go to A da d Ea Ut Na ish -

p
-
,

tim s ferryman without whose aid Sh e said it would
, , ,
b e f u tile to persist further in his mission Ada d .
Ea likewise being consulted by Gilga mesh a dvise d

, , ,
him to desist but the hero pursuing his plan o f

, ,

intimidation b egan to s mash the ferryman s boa t
,
with his axe whereupon A da d Ea wa s obliged to

,
-
yield H e sent his would be passenger into the

.
-
forest for a new rudder and a fter that the two ,
sailed away .
1 72
TH E DEL U GE MYTH
Gilg am esh and Ut Nap ish t im

Ut Na p ish t im wa s indee d surprised when he beheld

-
Gilga mesh approaching the S trand The hero ha d .
meanwhile contracted a grievous illness so tha t ,
he was unable to leave the boa t ; bu t he addresse d

his queries concerning p er p etual life to the deied
Ut Na p ish t im who stood on the shore
-
,
The hero .
of the ood was exceeding sorrowful and explained ,
that death is the co mmon lot of ma nkind nor is it ,
given to man to know the hour when the hand of

death will fall upon himthe Annuna k i the great ,
gods decre e fate a nd with the m Ma m m e t u m the

, , ,
ma ker of destiny and they determine death and

,

life but the days o f death are not known
,
.
The narrative is continued without interruption

into the XIt h tablet Gilga mesh listened with pardo n
.
able scepticis m to the platitudes o f his a ncestor .
I b ehold the e Ut Nap ish t im thy appearance

,
-
,
differs not fro m mine thou art like u nto me thou

, ,
art not otherwis e than I a m ; thou art like unto

me thy heart is stout for the battle
,
how
hast thou entered the asse mbly o f the gods ; how
hast thou found life
Th e Delug e My th
I n reply U Nap ish t im
t -
introduces the story of
the Babylonian deluge which told a s it is without
, ,
interruption forms a separate and co mplete narrative

, ,
an d is in itself a myth o f exceptional interest Pre .
su m a bly the warning o f the deluge ca me to Ut
Na p ish t im in a vision The voice of the go d said :

.
Thou man of Sh u ripp a k son of Ubara Tutu p ull ,

-
,
down thy house build a ship forsake thy possessions

, , ,
take heed for thy life ! Abandon thy goods save ,
thy life and bring u p living seed o f every kind into

,
I 73
MYTH S OF BA B YLONIA AND A S SY RIA

the S hip The ship itself wa s to be carefully planned
.
and b u ilt according to E a s instr u ctions When the

.
god had Spok e n Ut Na p ish t im promised obedience

-
to the divine co mmand B ut he was still perplexed .
as t o how he Sho uld answer the people when they

asked the reason for his preparations Ea therefore .
instruc ted him how he should make reply Bel ,

hath cast me forth for he hateth me, The purpose .

o f this reply seems clear though the remaining ,
few lines of it are rather broken Ea intends that .
Ut Na p ish t im sha ll disarm the suspicions of the

-
people by declaring that the obj ect o f his ship

building and his subsequ ent departure is to escape
the wrath of B e l which he is to depict as falling on
,
him alone H e must prophesy the coming o f the

.
rain but must represent it not as a devastating

, ,
ood but rather as a mark of the prosperity which

,
B el will gra nt to the people of Sh u rip p a k perhaps ,
by reason of his ( Ut Nap ish t im s) departure there

-

from .
Th e B aby l onian Ar k
Ut Na p ish t im e mployed
-
many people in the con
S truction of the ship Du ring four days he gathered
.
the material and built the ship on the fth he laid

it down ; on the sixth he loaded it ; a nd by the
seventh day it was nished O n a hull 1 2 0 cubits .
wide wa s constructed a great deck house 1 2 0 cubits -
high di v ided into Six Stories ea ch of which was

, ,
divided in turn into nine rooms The outside of the .
S hip was made water tight with bitu men and the
-
,
inside with pitch To signalise the completion of his

.
vessel Ut Na p ish t im gave a great feast like tha t

,
-
,
which was w on t to be held on Ne w Year s Da y ;
oxen were sla ughtered and grea t quantities o f wine

I 74
TH E BA B YLO NIAN ARK
and o il provided A ccording to the command o f
.
E a Ut Na p ish t im brought into the ship all his

,
-
possessions his s ilver and his gold living see d of

,
1
,
every kind all his fa mily and household the cattle

, ,
and bea sts of the eld the handicra fts men all that
, ,
wa s his .
A heavy ra in a t eve ntide was the Sign for Ut

Na p ish t im to enter the S hip and fasten the door .
All night long it rained a n d with the early dawn ,
there ca me up fro m the horizon a bla ck cloud .
Ra mman in the midst thereof thundered and Nabu ,
and Marduk went before they pa ssed like messengers ,
over mountain and plain Ura ga l parte d the a nchor .
cable There went Ninib and he made the storm to

.
,
burst The A n unnaki ca rried a ming torches and

.
,
with the brightness thereof they lit up the earth .
The whirlwind o f Ra mman mounte d up into the

hea vens and all light wa s turned into darkness
,
.
D uring a whole day darkness a nd chaos appear to

have reign ed on the earth Me n could no longer .
behold each other The very gods in heaven were.

a fraid and crouched like hounds weeping and , ,
la menting their share in the destructio n o f mankin d .
F or six days and nights the tempest raged bu t on ,
the seventh day the rain ceased and the oods began
to aba te Then says Ut Na p ish t im
.
,

I looke d
-
upon the sea and cried aloud for all mankin d wa s ,
turned ba ck into clay I n place o f the elds a .
swa mp lay b efore me I O pened the window and .
the light fell u pon my c h e c k I bowed myself down , ,
I sa t down I wept ; over my cheek owed my

,
tears I looked upon the world and b ehold all

.
,

was se a .
1 Th incons is t en in det i ls i s c use d by t h

c a co m os i te
a na t ure of e
e
y p
t h tale whic h i s dr w n fro m t w d ffere nt t blets
e ,
a o i a .
I 7S
MYTH S OF BA B YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
Th e B ird Messeng er s
A t length the ship ca me to rest on the su mmit of
Mount Nit sir There a re various readings of this
.

portion o f the text thus : A fter twelve ( days) ,
the land appeared or A t the distance of twelve

k
( a sbu) the land appeared ; or Twelve ( cubits)

a bove the water the land appea red However this .
may b e the ship remained for six days on the moun

,
tain a nd on the s eventh Ut Na p ish t im sent out a

,
-
cl ove B ut the dove found no resting place an d

.
-
,
so Sh e ret u rned Then he sent out a swallow which

.
,
also returned having found no spot whereon t o rest

, .
F inally a raven was sent forth and as by this time ,
the waters had begun to aba te the bird drew nea r ,

to the ship wading and croaking but did not ,
enter the vessel Then Ut Na p ish t im brought his

.
-
household and a ll his possessions into the open air ,
and made an o ffering to the gods o f reed and ceda r ,
wood and incense The fragrant o dour o f the

,
.
incense ca me up to the gods and they gathered , ,

like ies says the narrative a roun d the sacrice
, , .
A mong the company wa s I shtar the La dy of t h e ,
Gods who lifted up the necklac e which Anu ha d

,

given her saying : Wha t gods these are ! B y
,
the j ewels o f lapis lazuli which are upon my ne ck

-
,
I will not forget ! These days I have set in my

memory never will I forget the m ! L et the go ds
,
co me to the o ffering but B el shall not co me to the ,
offering sinc e he refused to a sk counsel and sent t h e

del u ge and handed over my people unto destruction
,
.
The god B e l was very wroth when he discovered

that a mortal man had survived the deluge an d ,
vowed that Ut Na p ish t im should perish B ut Ea

-
.
defended his a ction in having saved his favourite

fro m destruction pointing out that B el h ad refused
,
1 76
ke s O ffer i n g t o
U t - N a p is h t im m a the Gods
Allan St w rt
e a 1
76
By / Mess rs H utc h inson
em u sszon o
f a nd Co.
THE BI RD ME S SENG ERS
to take counsel when he planned a universal disaster ,
and advising him in f u t u re to visit the sin on the

sinner and not to punish the entire human ra ce .
F inally B el was m ollie d H e approached the shi p

.
( into which it would appear tha t the remnants of

the human rac e ha d retired d u ring the altercation)
and led Ut Nap ish t im a nd his wife into the open
-
,

where he bestowed on the m his blessing Then .

they took me says Ut Na p ish t im
,
-
and a far off at
, ,

the mo u th of the rivers they made me to dwell
,
.
Such is the story o f the deluge which Ut Na p ish t im -
told to Gilga mesh No caus e is assigned for the

.
destruction o f the hu man race other than the e u

mity which s eems to have existed b etween man and
the gods particularly the warrior god B e l B u t it-
.
app ears fro m the latter part o f the narrative that in

the ass embly o f the gods the maj ority contemplate d
only the destruction o f the city o f Sh urip p a k and ,
not that of the entire hu man fa mily It has been .
suggested indeed tha t the story as it is here given

, ,
is compounded of two s eparat e myths one relating ,
to a universal catastrophe perhaps a mythological

,
typ e of a periodic inundation and the other dealing

,
with a local disaster such as might have b een occa

sione d by a pheno menal overow of the E uphrates .
The antiquity o f the legen d and its original char

acter are clearly shown by comparison with another
version o f the myth inscribed on a tablet found a t
,
Abu Habbah ( the ancient site of Sippar) and dated

-
in the twenty rst century b efore our era Not

-
.
withstanding the imperfec t preservation o f this text

it is possible to p erceive in it m any points o f rese m
blance to the Gilga mesh variant B e rossus also .
quotes a version of the deluge myth in his history ,
substituting Chronos for E a Kin g Xisut h ros for

,
M 1 77
MYTH S OF A S S Y RIA
B AB YLO NIA AND
Ut Nap ish t im and the city of Sippar for that o f

-
,
Sh u rip p a k I n this version immortality is bestowed

.
not only on the hero and his wife bu t also on his ,
da u ghter and his pilot O ne writer ingeniously .
identies thes e latter with Sa bit u and Adad Ea -
respectively .
To return to the epic The recital of Ut Na p ish t im -
served it s primary purpose in the narrative by proving

to Gilgamesh that his case was not that of his deied
ancestor Meanwhil e the hero had remained in the
.
boat too ill to co me ashore now Ut Na p ish t im took

,
-
pity on him and promised to restore him to health ,
rst of all bidding him sleep during six days and

seven nights Gilgamesh listened to his ancestor s
.

advice and by and by sleep like a te mpest brea thed

, , ,

Ut Na p ish t im s wife b eholding the

upon him .
-
,
sleeping hero was likewise moved with co mpassion

, ,
and asked her husband to send the traveller sa fely

home He in turn bade his wife co mpound a magic
.
preparation containing seven ingredients and a d

, ,
minister it to Gilga mesh while he Slept This was .
done and an enchantment thus put upon the hero

, .
When he awoke (on the seventh day) he renewed his

i mportunate request for the s ecret of p erpetual life .
His host sent him to a spring of wa ter where he might

bathe his sores and b e healed ; and having tested
the e fficacy of the magic waters Gilga mesh returned

once more to his ancestor s dwelling doubtless to ,
persist in his quest for life No twithstanding that .
Ut Na p ish t im had already dec lared it impossible

-
for Gilgamesh to attain immortality he now directed ,
him (apparently at the instance of his wife) to the

place where he would nd the plant o f life and ,
instructed A dad Ea to condu ct him thither The-

.
magic plant which bestowed immortalit y and eternal

,
1 78
MES S E NGE RS
TH E B I RD
youth on him who ate of it appears t o have b een a ,
weed a creeping plant with thorns which pricke d

, ,
the hands of the gatherer ; and curio u sly enough , ,
Gilga mesh s eems to have sought it at the botto m

o f the sea A t length the plant wa s found and the
.
,
hero declare d his intention o f carrying it with him

t o Erech And so he se t out on the return j ourney
.
,
acc ompanied by the fa ithful ferryman not only on

the rst and wa tery stage o f his travels but also
, , ,
overland to the city o f Erech itself When they .
ha d j ourneyed twenty lea shu they left an o ffering

( presumably for the dea d) and when they had j our ,
ne y e d thirty hashu they repeated a funeral chant

,
.
The narrative goes on : Gilga mesh sa w a well o f

fresh water he went down to it and o ffered a libation
, .
A s erpent s mell ed the o dour of the plant a dvanced ,
and carried o ff the plant Gilga mesh sa t . .

down and wept the tears ran down his cheeks
,
.
He la mented bitterly the loss of the precious plant ,
seemingly predicted to him when he made his o ffering

a t the end of twenty hashu A t length they reached .
E rech when Gilga mesh sent Ada d Ea to en quire con

,
-
c erning the building of the city walls a proceeding ,
which has possibly some mythological signicanc e .
The X IIt h tablet O pens with the la ment o f Gil

ga mesh for his friend B abani whose loss he has no t ,
ceased to deplore Thou canst no longer stretch

.
thy bow upon the ea rth and those who were slain
with the bow are round about the e Thou canst .
no longer bea r a s ceptre in thy hand and the S pirits

o f the dea d have ta ken the e captive Thou canst no .
longer wear sho es upon thy feet thou canst no longer

raise thy war cry on the earth No more dost thou .
kiss thy wife who m tho u didst love ; no more dost thou
s mite thy wife who m thou didst hate No more dost .
I 79
MYTH S OF BA BYLONIA AND A S SY RIA
thou kiss thy daughter who m thou didst love ; no
more dost thou s mite thy daughter who m thou dids t
hate The sorrow o f the underworld ha th ta ken
.
1
hold u p on the e Gilga mesh went fro m temple
.
to te mple ma king o fferings and desiring the gods

,
to restore Babani to him ; to Ninsu m he went ,
to Bel and to Sin the moon god but they he eded

, ,
-
,
him no t A t length he cried to Ea who took co m

.
,
passion on him and pers uaded Nergal to bring the

shade of Babani fro m the underworld A hole wa s .
opene d in the earth and the S pirit o f the dea d man

issue d therefro m like a breath o f wind Gilga mesh .
a ddressed B abani thus : Tell me my friend tell , ,
me my friend the law o f the earth which thou hast

,

seen tell me
,
B abani answere d him :
. I cannot

tell thee my friend I cannot tell thee
, , B ut a fter .

wards having bidden Gilga mesh
,
sit down and

weep he proceeded to tell him o f the conditions
,
which preva iled in the underworld contrasting the ,
lot o f the warrior duly buried with that of a person

whose corps e is cast uncared for into the elds On .
a couch he lieth and drinketh pure water the man , ,
who wa s slain in battle thou and I have oft seen such

an one his father and his mother (support) his
head and his wife (k ne e le t h) at his S ide But the
,
.
man whose corpse is cast upon the e ldthou and I

have o ft s een such an one his S pirit resteth not
in the earth The man whose Spirit has none to
.
care for it thou and I have o ft seen such an one

the dregs o f the vessel the leavings of the feast , ,
and tha t which is cast out upon the streets are his ,
food U pon this sole mn note the epic closes .
1
Th ese e m r k s p erh ap s no t t o b t k en liter lly o f E b ni
r a a re e a a a a .
Th ey rep rese nt t h en t irely for m l m nner in wh i ch ny dece sed

e a a a a
B bylo ni n w
a ddresse d
a as a .
1 80
THE B I RD ME S SENG E RS
The doctrine o f the necessity for ministering to the
dead is here enunciate d in no uncertain fashion .
Unless their bodies are decently buried and o fferings

o f food and drink made at their graves their lives ,
in the otherworld must be abj ectly miserable The .
manner in which they meet their end is likewis e

taken into account and warriors who have fallen
,
on the eld o f battle are pre e minently fortunate -

.
B ab ani is evidently one o f the happy S pirits ;
his ghost is designated ut ulehu a na me applied not ,
only to the fortunate dea d bu t likewis e to a class o f

,
be ne c e nt sup ernatural beings The term edimm u

.
,
on the other hand designates a S pecies o f malevo

,
lent being a s well as the errant and even va mpirish

S pirits o f the unhappy dead The du e observance o f
.
funeral and comme morative rites is thus a ma tter

which to u ches the interests not only of the decease d
but also o f his relatives and friends .
We have seen fro m the foregoing that the epic o f

Gilga mesh is partly historical partly mythological ,
.
Around the g u re of a great national hero myths

have grown and twined with the passing of the
generations and these have in time bec ome woven
,
into a connecte d narrative setting forth a myth

,
which corresponds to the daily or annual cours e of

the sun Within this may b e discerned other myths
.
and fragments of myths solar s eas onal and diluvian

, ,
.
B ut there is in the epic a nother important ele ment

which has alrea dy been referred to the astro the o -
logical The zodiacal Signicance of the division of

.
the e pic into twelve tablets may be se t aside since , ,
as has been indicated the signicance is in all pro

,
ba bilit y a supercial one merely added to the poe m ,
by the scribes of A ss u r bani pal and not forming

- -
,
an integral p art o f it At the sa me time it is not

.
1 81
MYTH S O F B AB YLO NIA AND A S S Y RIA
hard to divide the epic naturally into twelve episodes ,
thus : ( I ) Gilga mesh s oppression of E rech ; ( 2 ) the

seduction o f B abani ; ( 3) the s 1aying of the monster _
Kh u m ba ba (4) the wooing o f I shtar ( 5) the ght

with the sacred bull ; (6) Ea ba ni s death ; ( 7) Gil
u ntain o f the Sunset ;

a m e sh s journey to the Mo
g
( )
8 his wanderings in the region of thick darkness ;
( 9) the crossing o f the waters o f death ; ( )
1 0 the
deluge story ; ( 1 1 ) the plant o f life ( 1 2 ) the return
-
o f B abani s S pirit Thro u ghout the epic there are

.
indications o f a correspondence between the exploits

of the hero and the movements o f heavenly bodies .
I t is possible for instance that Gilga mesh and his

, ,
friend Ea ba ni had so me relation to the S ign Ge mini ,
also associated in ancient Chaldean mythology

with two forms of the sola r deity even as were the ,
hero and his friend The Sign L eo reca lls the slaying
.
o f Kh u m ba ba the a ll egorical victory of light over

,
darkness represented on monu ments by the gure

,
o f a lion ( symbol o f re) ghting with a bull .
F ollowing the Sign of L eo the wooing o f the hero ,
by the goddess Ishtar falls naturally into the S ign o f

Virgo the virgin The Sign o f Ta urus is represented
,
.
by the slaying o f the c elestial bull Alu by Gilgamesh , , .
The j ourney o f the hero to Ma shu and his encounter

with the scorpion men a t the gate o f the sunset are
-
,
of course mythological representations of the Sign o f

,
Scorpio a s are also his wanderings in the region

,
o f thic k darkness I t is noticeable in this respect

.
tha t Babylonian astrology o ften doubled the eighth

Sign ( Scorpio ) to provide a s eventh ; it is there fore
not unlikely that this sign sho uld correspond with
two distinct episo des in the poem The rst o f these .
episodes is associated with Scorpio by virtue of the

introduction o f scorpion men and the second on ,
1 82
THE BI RD MES S E NG E RS
the assumption that the scorpion is symbolical o f

darkness Perhaps the sea go ddess Sa bit u is associ
.
ated astrologically with the sh ta iled goa t which

-
is the conventi onal representation o f Capricornus .
Then the placing of the del uge story in the X It h

tablet corresponding with the eleventh Sign o f the
,
zodiac A quarius the wa ter bearer is evidently in

, ,
-
,
keeping with the astrological a spect o f the epic .
Chaldean mythology connecte d the rainy eleventh

month with the deluge j ust as the rst month o f
,
spring was associated mythologically with the crea tion .
The healing o f Gilga mesh s sic k ness by Ut Na p ish t im

-
ma y possibly symbolise the revival o f the sun afte r

leaving the winter solstice L astly the S ign of
.
,
Pisces the twelfth Sign o f the zodia c corresponding

, ,
to the return o f Ea ba ni from the underworld and ,
perhaps also to the restoration o f Gilga mesh t o

Erech is e mblematic o f life after death and o f the
, ,
resumption o f ordinary conditions a fter the deluge .
I t has been suggested tho ugh without any very

,
denite basis that the epic was rst put toge ther before
,

the zodiac was divided into twelve that is more than ,
two thousand years be fore the Christian era I ts .
antiquity however rests on other grounds than thes e

, , .
I n later times the B abylonian astrological syste m

beca me very complicate d and important and so lent ,
its colour to the epic that whatever the original plan

,
o f that work may have been its astral signicanc e

,
beca me at length its most popular aspec t .
1 83
C HAPTER THE L AT E R PANTH EO N
V:
OF B AB YLO NI A
H E reign of Kha mmurabi is a convenient

point a t which to observe general changes
in and later introductions to the pantheon
of the Babylonian gods . Th e political alterations
in the kingdo m were reected in the divine circle .
Certain gods were relegated to the cold shades of

o bs curity whilst new deities were a dopted and others
, ,
hitherto regarded a s negligible quantities were exalte d

,
to the heights of heavenly omnipotence The worship .
o f Merodach rst ca me into p ro minence in the days

of Kha mmurabi B ut his cult is so outstanding and
.
i mportant that it has b een deemed b etter to deal with

it in a separate and later chapter Meanwhile we.
shall exa mine the nat u re o f so me of the gods who

Sprang into importance at or about the era o f the
great law maker and note changes which took place
-
,
with regard to others .
N ebo
The popularity of Nebo was brought about through
his association with Meroda ch H is chief seat of
.
worship was a t B or sipp a opposite to Ba bylon and

, ,
when the latter city beca me the seat of the imperial

power the proximity o f B orsip p a greatly assisted the
cult of Nebo So close did the association between
.
the deities of the two cities become that at length

N ebo was regarded as the son of Merodach a relation
ship that often implies tha t the so called descendan t

-
o f the elder god is a serious rival or that his cult is

,
nearly allied to the elder worship Nebo ha d ac quire d

.
something of a reputation a s a god o f wisdom and ,
probably this it wa s which permitted him to stand

1 84
N ebo
So n of Me r o da ch G o d o f \V1 sdo m ,
,
a nd
the i tr
nv e n o o f w r ng iti
Ph olo ll

. 1 . l l a use ll a nd C0
.
1 84
NEB O
separately from Merodach withou t b ecoming ab sorbe d
in the c ult of the grea t deity of B a bylon H e was .
credited like Ea with the invention of writing the

, , ,
province of all wise gods and he presided over ,
that department of knowledge which interpreted

the movements of the heavenly b odies The p riests .
of Nebo were fa mous as a strologers and with the ,
bo okish king Assur bani pal Nebo and his consort

- -
,
Ta shmit were especial favourites a s the patrons of

writing By t h e time that the worship of Meroda ch
.
had become recognised a t Babylon the cult of Neb o ,
at B orsip p a was so sec u rely rooted that even the p r ox i

mity o f the greatest god in the land failed to sha ke it .
E ven after the Persian conquest the temple school -
at B orsip p a continued to ourish But although .
Neb o thus
outlive d many o f the greater gods
it is now al most impossible to trac e his original
signicanc e a s a deity Whether solar or a q u eous .
in his naturean d the latter appears more likely

he was during the perio d of Merodach s ascendancy
regarded as scrib e of the gods much as Thoth was the ,
a manuensis o f the Egyptian otherworld tha t is to

sa
y
,
he wrote a t the dictation o f the higher deities .
When the gods were asse mbled in the Cha mber o f

F ates in Merodach s temple at B abylon he chronicled

,
their speeches and deliberations and p ut the m on

record I ndeed he himself ha d a shrine in this temple
.
of E Sa g ila or the lofty house which was known

-
, ,

a s E Z ila or the r m ho u se
-
,

O nce during the .

Ne w Year festival Nebo wa s carried fro m B or sip p a

to Babylon to his father s temple and in co mpliment
,
wa s escorted by Meroda ch part of the wa y back to his

own shrin e in the lesser city I t is strange to S ee how .
closely the cults of the two gods were interwoven .
The Kings of Babylonia constantly invoke the m

1 85
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
together their na mes and those o f their temples a re
,
fo u nd in close proximity a t every turn and the ,
symbols o f the bow and the stylus or pen respectively ,
typical of the father and the son are usually dis ,
covered in one and the sa me inscription Even .
Merodach s dragon the symbol of his victory over

,
the dark forc es of chaos is assigned to Nebo ! ,
N ebo as G r ain G od
But Nebo see ms to have ha d also a n agricultural

S ide to h is chara cter In many texts he is praised .
a s the god who O pens up the subterranean sources

in order to irrigate the elds and the withdrawal of ,
h is favour is followed by fa mine and distress This .
s eems to favour the idea o f his watery nature H is .

na me the proclaimer does not assist us much in
, ,
xing his mythological signicance unless it was ,
a ssigned to him in the r le of herald of the gods .
T ashm it
Nebo s c onsort was Tashmit

I t is believed tha t .
Kha mmurabi uns u ccessfu l in s u ppressing the c ult

,
of Nebo succeeded with that o f his spous e She

, .
s ee ms to have been the sa me as a goddess Ea lur

who beca me a malga mated with Za rp a nit u m the ,
wife o f Merodach The na me may mean according

.
,
t o some the hea rer a nd to o thers a revelation

, , ,
and in view o f the character o f her wise h u sband ,
was perhaps one o f the original designations o f

Merodach himself Tashmit ha d therefore but little
.
individuality None the less sh e possessed consider

.
a ble popularity O n a seal impression dating some

.
where betwe en 35004500 B C there are outlined . .
two gures male and female supposed to represent

, ,
Nebo and Tashmit The former has a wide o p e n .

-
1 86
HA DAD
mo u th and the latter ears of extraordinary Size .
B oth are holding wild animals by the horns and ,
the representa tion is tho u ght to be typical of the

s trength or p ower of S peech and Silence .
S h am a s K h am m ur abi
h and
We nd that Kha mmurabi wa s very devoted to

Sha mash the early type of su n god
,
His improve-
.
ments and restorations at Sippar and L arsa were

extensive The later B abylonian monarchs followed
.
his exa mple and one of t h e m Mili Sh ikh u ( c 1 450 B C )

, ,
-
. . .
even placed Sha mash before Merodach in the pan

theon The early connexion between Merodach
and Sha mash had probably much to do with the grea t
popularity of the latter That this was the case so
.
,
far at least as Kha mmura bi was concerned is obvious ,
from certain of his inscriptions in which he alludes

,
in the sa me sentence to Merodach and Sha ma sh and

to their close relationship Kha mmurabi appears
.
also to have b een greatly attached to the c ult of a

goddess Inna na or Ninni ( lady or great
who was evidently the consort of so me male deity .
H e i mprove d her te mple at Ha lla bi and S pea ks of her

as placing the reins of power in his hands There wa s .
another goddess o f the sa me na me a t Lagash who m

Gudea worshipped as mistress of the world but sh e ,
does not see m to have b een the sa me as the Inna na of

Ha lla bi near Sippar as she w a s a goddess of fertility
, ,
and generation o f the mother goddess typ e and

, ,
there do not appear to be any grounds for the assertion

tha t the goddess o f Halla bi can b e equa te d with her .
ff adad
Ra mmanor R immon identied with Hadad or
,
Adad is a deity of later typ e and introd u ction

,
.
1 87
Indeed Ra m m an m a y b e merely a variant or sub

sidia ry na me meaning as it does the th u nderer
, ,
quite a co mmon title for several types of deities .
The w orship o f Hada d wa s widespread in Syria an d

Palestine and he was a god of storms or rains whose
, ,
symbol was the thunderbolt or the

lightning which he holds in his grasp
li k e a ery sword B u t he bears solar .
e mble ms u pon h is apparel and seems ,
to wear a solar crown H e does no t .

,
h ow e v e r , a p p e a r t o h a v e h a d a ny c e nt re
o f worship in B abylonia , and wa s pro
bably a god o f the Amorites , and be
coming pop ular with the B abylonians ,
wa s la ter a dmitted into their pan
theon At Asshur in Assyria he was .
worshipped along with Anu with ,
whom he ha d a temple in common .
This bu ilding which wa s excava ted in ,
1 908 contains two shrines having but

H A D A D R mm
,
O
F rom R l g the
e i
one entrance
i ou s
an d the date of its ,
B l f nd p m
e ie a foundation is referred so far back a s
1 B by l ni
" a o
B C 2 400 There
a
can be little
. . doubt .
an d A y ss by ri a ,
p rof ,
J stro w that the partnersh i p o f H a dad Wi th
a ;
(G R P 1
Anu wa s a late one
11 11 3 1 S
Perhaps it wa s
Sons )
.
on Assyr i an and not B abylon i an $ 011

.
that Hadad rst entered fro m the alien world .
In many o f his characteristics H adad g lose

resemb led Eu lil L ike him he wa s designated the
-
.

grea t mountain and seems t o h ave been conceived
,
of as almost a counterpart o f the older god It is .
peculiar tha t while in A ssyria and Babylonia Ha da d

ha s many of the characteristics o f a sun god in his -
,
old ho me in Syria he possessed those of a thunder

god who dwelt a mong the mountains o f northern
1 88
HADAD DADA DAVID AND DI DO , . ,
Palestine and Syria and Spoke in thunder and wielded

the lightning B ut even in A ssyria the stormy char
.
a c t e rist ic s o f H adad are not altogether obscured .
Ha da d s cult in B abylonia is probably not m u ch

older than the days of Kha mmurabi in whose time ,
the rst inscriptional mention of him is made His .
worship obtained a stronger hold in the times o f the

Kassite dynasty for we nd many of its monarchs
,
incorporating his na me with their own and altogether

a ffording him a prominent place .
H adad Dada Dav id and Dido

,

, ,
I n a curious and interesting passage in his H ibber t

Le ct ures 1
,
Professor Sayce indicates rese mblanc es
between the na me Hada d Dada the abbrevia ted , ,
form o f the na me o f Abd Hada d who reigned a t -

,
Hierapolis in the fourth century Q u een Dido o f ,
Carthage and tha t o f the B iblical David Speaking

,
.
o f Hada d he says : He w a s as I have said the , ,
supre me Baal o r Su n god ; whose worship extended -
southward fro m Carchemish to E do m and Palestine .
A t Da mascus he was adore d under the Assyrian

na me of Rimmon and Zechariah (xii 1 1 ) all udes to
,
the cult o f the c ompound Hadad Rimmon in the -
close neighbourhood o f the great Canaanitish fortress

of Megiddo Coins bear the name of Abd Ha da d
.
-
,
the servant o f H adad who reigned in the fourth ,

century a t H ierapolis the later s uccessor o f Car ,
chemish and under the abbreviate d for m o f Dada

, , ,
Shalmaneser speaks o f the go d Dada o f Aleppo
( K h a lm a n) The abbreviated
. form wa s tha t current
a mong the na tions o f the north ; in the south
it wa s con founded with the Se mite word which
appea rs in Assyrian as da du dear little child This , .

1
Pp 56 ff. .
18
9
MYTH S O F BA B YLONIA AND A SS Y RI A
is the wor d which we have in B e Da d or B e n Da d the - -
,
son o f Da d
i
f
the father ,
o f the Edomite H adad ;
we have it also in the David o f the O ld Testa ment .
David o r Dod a s the word ought to b e rea d which

, , ,
is sometimes written Dodo with the vocalic su ffix

o f the nominative is the masculine corresponding
,
to a Phoenician goddess whose na me means the
belove d one and who was called Dido by the writers

,

o f Ro me Dido in fact w a s the cons ort of the

.
, ,
Sun god conce ived as Ta mmuz the beloved son

-
, , ,

and was the presiding deity o f Carthage who m ,
legend confounded with Elissa the foundress o f the ,
c ity I n the article I have alluded to above I

.
,
expressed my conviction that the na mes o f Dodo

and David pointed to a worship of the Sun god under -
,

the title o f the b eloved one in southern Canaan ,
as well a s in Phoenicia I had little idea a t the time

.
how soon my b elief would b e veried Within the .
last year the s queeze o f the Moabite stone now in

, ,
the L ouvre has been subj ected to a thorough e x a m i

,
nation by the German Professors Soc in and Sm e nd ,
with the result o f correcting some o f the rec eived

rea dings and of lling up some o f the la cun a O n e .
o f the most impor t ant discoveries that have been

thus made is that the Israelites o f the northern
kingdo m worshipped a Dodo or Dod by the side o f
Yahveh or rather that they adored the supreme
,
God under the name of Dodo as well a s under that o f

Yahveh Mesha the Moabite king in describing the
.
, ,
victories which his god Chemosh ha d enabled him

t o gain over his I sra elitish foes tell s us that he had ,
carried away fro m At a ra t h the arel ( or altar) of

Dodo and dragged it before Chemosh and fro m

,
Nebo the a rels (or altars) of Yahveh which he ,

likewis e dragged before Che mosh Here the arel .

I90
EA IN LATE R TIME S
or altar o f Dodo is pla ced in parallelis m with the
a rels o f Yahveh and it is quite clear there fore that , ,
Dod o like Yahveh was a n a me under which the

, ,
deity wa s worshipped by the people o f the land .
I have suggested that Dod or Dodo wa s an old title

o f the supre me God in the Jebusite Jerusalem and ,
tha t hence I saiah ( v I ) when describing Jerusale m

,
as the tower of the vineyard the L ord ha d planted

in I sra el calls him Dod i my b eloved
,
-
,
We can .

easily understand how a na me o f the kind with ,
such a signication should have b een transferred

,
by popula r affection fro m the Deity to the king of

who m it is sa id tha t all I srael and J u dah love d him
( I Sa m xv
. iii
Ea in L at er T im es
Ea develope d with the centuries and about the ,
epoch o f Kha mmurabi appears to have achieved a

high Standard o f godhea d probably b ecause of the
,
very considerable a mount o f theological moulding

which he ha d received I n the later Babylonian
.
period we nd him described a s the p rotagonist o f

mankind the father o f Merodach and along with
, , ,
Anu and B el a memb er o f a great tria d

,
The priests .
o f Babylon were the sole mythographers of these

days. This is in sharp contra distinction to the
mythographers o f Greece who were nearly alwa ys
,
philosophers and never priests B ut they were .
mythographers in a s econdary sense only for they ,
merely rearranged r e edited or otherwise altere d

,
-
,
alrea dy existing tales relating to the gods us u ally ,
with a V iew to the exaltation of a certa in deity or to

enable his story to t in with those o f other gods .
I t is only after a religion or mythological syste m

has enj oye d a vogue more or less extended tha t the
1 91
relat ionship o f the gods towards one another b eco me s
xed .
The appointment of Merodach to the suprem e

position in the Babylonian pantheon naturall y ne c e ssi
t a t e d a rea rrangement so far as the relationship o f t h e
other deities to him was conc erned This meant a .
r e shaping of my t h and tradition genera lly for the

-
purpose of ensuring consistency The men tted to

.
acco mplish such a task were to hand for the age o f ,
Khammurabi was fertile in writers scholastic and ,
legal who would b e well e quipped to carry out a

,
change o f the description indicated E a ha d not .
in the past enj oye d any very exalted Sphere B ut .
a s the chief god o f the important country in the

n eighbourhood o f the Persian Gulf the most ancient
,
ho me o f Babylonian culture E a would p robably

,
have exercised a great inuenc e upon the anti quarian

and historic s ense of a man like Kha mmurabi As .
the go d of wisdo m he would strongly appeal to a

monarch whos e whole career wa s marked by a love
o f j ustic e and by sagacity and insight Fro m a .
,
loc al g od of E ridu E a b eca me a universal deity o f

,
wisdo m and be ne c e nc e the Strong shield o f man

, ,
and h is b ene factor by the gi fts o f harvest and water .
Civilized and softer emotions must have begun to

cluster aro u nd the cult of this kindly god who when ,
the angered deities resolved t o destroy mankind ,
interceded for po or hu manity and succeeded in

preserving it fro m the divine wrath A s a god o f .
medicine too E a is hu mane and protective in

, ,
character and all the arts fall under his patronage

, .
H e is the culture god of B abylon par ex cellence

-
.
H e might not transcend Merodach so he beca me ,
his fat he r Thus did pagan theology succeed in

.
mergi ng the c ults o f deities which might oth erwis e

1 92
THE L E G E ND OF ZU
have been s erious rivals and mutually dest ruc
tive .
Zu
Zu w as a storm go d symbolized in the for m o f
-
a bird He may typify the advancing stor m cloud

.
-
,
which would have s eemed to thos e o f old a s if hovering

like a great bird above the land which it was about t o
s trike The North America n Indians possess such a
.
-
mythological conception in the Thunder bird and it is -

,
probable that the great bird called roc so well known ,
to readers o f the Ara bia n Nigbts was a si milar

monster perhaps the des cendant o f the Zu bird
,
-
.
We reme mber how this enormous crea ture descended

upon the ship in which Sindba d sailed and carried him
o ff Certain it is that we can trac e the roc or rukh
.
to the Persia n simurgh which is aga in refera ble to a

,
more ancient P ersian form th e a mru or sina m ru the

, ,
bird o f immortality and we may feel sure :tha t wha t

,
is found in ancient Persian lore has so me foundation in

Babylonian b elief The Zu bird was evidently under
.
-
the control of the sun and his attempt to brea k away

,
fro m the solar authority is related in the following

legend .
Th e Le g end of Z u
I t is told of the god Zu that on one occasion a mbition
awaking in his breast caused him to cast envious
eyes on the power and sovereignty of B e l so tha t h e ,
determined to purloin the Tablets o f Destiny which ,

were the tangible symbols o f Bel s grea tnes s .
At this time it may b e recalled the Ta blets o f

, ,
Destiny ha d alrea dy an interesting history behind

them We are told in the creation legend how Apsu
.
,
the primeval a nd Tia w a t h chaos the firs t parents

, , ,
N 1 93
MY TH S OF B A B YLO NIA AND AS S Y RIA
of the gods a fterward conceived a ha tred for their
,
o ffspring and how Tia wa t h with her monster broo d

, ,
-
o f snakes and vipers dragons and scorpion men ,

-
and raging hounds ma de war on the hosts of heaven

, .
Her son Kingu sh e ma de captain o f her hideous

a rmy
T o m c h be fo e t h fo ces to le d t h h ost
ar r e r ,
a e ,
T o g i ve t h b ttle s i gn l to dv nce to t h tt ac k
e a -
a ,
a a e a ,
T o di ect t h b ttl e to co nt ol t h gh t
r e a , r e .
To him sh e gave the Tablets o f Destiny laying the m ,
on his breast with the words Thy co mmand shall

not b e without avail and the word o f thy mouth ,

shall be established Through his possession of
.
the divine tablets Kingu rece ived the power o f Anu ,
and was able to decree the fate o f the gods After .
several deities had refused the honour of beco ming

champion o f heaven Meroda ch was chosen He suc
,
.
c e e d e d a t length in sla ying Tia wa t h a nd destroying
her evil host ; and having van quished Kingu her ,
captain he took fro m him the Tablet s of Destiny

, ,
which he sealed an d laid on his own breast I t .
was this Merodach or Marduk who afterward be

, ,
ca me identied with B el .
Now Zu in his greed for power and dominion was

, ,
eager to obtain the potent symbols He beheld the .
honour and maj esty of B el and from contemplation ,
of these he turned to look upon the Tablets of Destiny ,
saying W ithin himself

L o I will possess the tablets of the gods and
, ,
a ll things shall be subj ect unto me The S pirits of .
heaven shall bow before me the oracles of the gods ,
shall be in my hands I shall wear the crown symbol

.
,
of sovereignty and the robe symbol of godhead

, , ,

and then shall I rule over all the hosts of heaven .
I 94
THE L E G E ND OF ZU
Thus inamed he sought the entrance to Bel s
,

hall where he awaited the dawn of day Th e text

,
.
goes on
Now e B l w p our i ng ou t t h c le w ate ( L t h
wh n e as e ar r, e. e
li gh t of d y a
And h i di de m w
s a t k e n ff nd l y up o n t h t h o ne
as a o a a e r ,
( Zu) se i e d t h T blets of Dest i ny

z e a ,
H too k B e l s d o m ini o n t h p o w er of g i v i ng co m m nds

e

,
e a .
Th en Zu d w y nd hid h i m se lf in h i m ou nt i n
e a a a s a .
B el was greatly enraged at the theft and all the ,
gods with him Anu lord of heaven summoned

.
, ,
a bout him his divine sons and aske d for a champion ,
to recover the tablets B ut though the god Ra mman .
was chosen and after hi m several other deities they

, ,
all refuse d to advance against Zu .
The end of the legend is unfortunately missing ,
but from a passage in another tale the l e gend of ,
E tana we gather that it was the su n god Shamash -

,

, ,
W h o eventually stormed the mountain stronghold

of Zu and with h is net succeeded in capturing the
,
presumptuous deity .
This legend is of the Prometheus type b ut whereas ,
Prometheus (once a bird god) steals re fro m heaven -
for the behoof of mankind Zu steals the Tablets o f ,
Destiny for his own These must of course be re .

, ,
gained if the sovereignty of heaven is duly to con

tin ne and to make the tale circumstantial the sun god
,
-

is provided with a fowler s net with which to capture
the recalcitrant Zu bird Jastrow believes the myth
-
.
to have been manufactured for the purpose of showing

how the tablets o f power were originally lost by the
older B e l and gained by Merodach but he has dis ,
c ounted the reference in the E tana legend relating

to their recovery .
I9
S
MYTH S O F B AB Y LO NIA AND A S SY RIA
B el
We nd a good deal of confusion in later B abylonian

religion a s to whether the na me B e l is intended
to designate the old god of that name or is merely
a title for Merodach Khammurabi certainly uses .
the name occasionally when speaking of Merodach ,
but at other times he quite as surely e mploys it for

the older divinity a s for example when he couples
,
the name with Ann O ne o f the Kassite kings too

.
, ,

speaks of B e l the lord of lands meaning the old
, ,
Bel to who m they often gave preference over Mero

,
dach They also preferred the old city of Nippur

.
and its te mple to B abylon and p erhaps made an ,
atte mpt at one time to make Nippur the capital

of their E mpire .
Some authorities appear to think it strange that

B el should have existed a t all as a deity after the
elevation of Merodach to the highest rank in the
pantheon I t was his association with Ann and B a
.
as one of a triad presiding over the heavens the ,
earth and the deep which kept him in power More

,
.
over the very fact that he was a me mber of such a

,
triad proves that he was regarded a s theologically

e ssential to the well being of the Babylonian religion
-
a s a whole The manufa cture or slow evolution of

.
a trinity of this description is b y no means brought

about through popular processes I t is indeed the .
, ,
work of a school of a college of priests Strangely

,
.
enough Kha mmurabi see ms to have associate d Anu

and B el together but to have entirely o mitted E a
,
fro m their co mpanionship and it has been thought ,
that the conception of a trinity was subse quent t o

his epoch The god of earth and the god of heaven
.
typify respectively that which is above and that

which is below and are re miniscent of the F ather
, sk
y
1
96
and Mother earth of many primitive mythologies
-
,
and there is much to say for the theory that Ea god ,
of the deep although he had existe d long prior to

,
any such grouping was a later inclusion

, .
Th e Tr iad of E ar th Air and Sea

, ,
The habit of invoking the great triad became

almost a co mmonplace in later B abylonia They .
nearly always take precedence in religious insc rip

tions and we even nd some monarchs stating that
,
they hold their regal a uthority by favour of the

trinity Whenever a powerful curse has to b e
.
launched one may be certain that the na me s of

,
the gods of the ele ments w ill figure in it .
Daw k ina
Da w k ina was the consort of Ea and was occasion ,
ally invoke d along with him She was a goddess of .
some antiquity and strangely enough for the mate

, ,
of a water god she appears to have originally been

-
,
connecte d in some manner with the earth There .
fore sh e was a n elemental deity I n later times her .
attribute s appear to have been inherited by Ishtar .
According to so me authorities B e l was the son of

E a and Daw k ina B e l in this case meaning Mero
,
dach We find her name fre quently alluded to in

.
the Magical Texts but her cult does not see m to

,
have been very widespread .
Ant:
We have already alluded to Anu s position in the
triad with Ea and B e l in later B abylonian times .
When he stands alone we find hi m taking a more

human guise than as the mere ele mental god of earlier
days He is fre quently mentioned in the texts apar t
.
I 97
MYTH S O F B AB YLONIA AND A SSY RIA
fro m Ba and Bel and is occasionally allud ed to along
,
with Ra mman the god of thunder and storms who

, ,
of course would naturally stand in close relationship

with the sk y We also find him c onnected with
.
Dagan of Biblical celebrity .But in this case Dagan

appears to be the e quivalent of B e l
.
There is also a hos t of lesser deities the maj ority

,
of who m are no more than mere names They do not

.
see m to have achieved much popularity or if they did

,
it was an evanescent one The names of some are

.
indeed only mentioned once or twice and so little is

,
known concerning the m as al most to leave u s entirely

in the dark regarding their natures or ch aracteristics .
1 98
C HAPT E R VI : T HE G R E AT GOD
ME R O DAC H AND HIS C ULT
HE entire religious syste m of B abylonia is
overshadowed by Merodach its great patron ,
deity We reme mber how he usurped the

.
,
p lace of Ea and i n what manner even the legends

,
of that god were made over to him so that at last ,
he ca me to be regarded as not only the national god

of Babylonia but the creator of the world and of
mankind He it was who at the pleading of the other
.
,
gods confronted the grisly Tiaw a t h and having

, ,
defeated and slain her formed the earth out of her

,
body and its inhabitants out of his own blood I t .
is almost certain that this cosmological myth was

at one time recounted of Ea and perhaps even at an ,
earlier date of Bel The transfer of power fro m Ea

.
to Merodach however was skilfully arranged by the

, ,
priesthood for they made Merodach the son of Ea so

, ,

that he would naturally inherit his father s attributes .
In this transfer we observe the passing of the supre

ma cy of the city o f Eridu to that of B abylon Ea or .
,
O annes the sh tailed god of Eridu stood for the

,
-
,
older and more southerly civilization of the B aby -
lonian race whilst Merodach patron god of B abylon

, , ,
a very different typ e of deity represented the newer ,
political power .
O riginall y Merodach appears to have been a sun god -
personifying more especia lly the sun of the S pring

time Thus he was a tting deity to defeat the
.
chaotic Tia w a t h who personied darkness and de

,
struction B ut there is another side to himthe

.
agricultural side Says Jastrow ( Religion in B a by

.
lonia a nd Assyr ia p 3 8) At Nippur as we sha ll

,
.
,
se e
,
there developed an elaborate la mentation ritual
I 99
MYTH S O F A S SYRIA
BAB YL O NIA AND
for the occasions when national catastrophes defeat , ,
failure of crops destructive storms and pestilence

, ,

reveale d the displeasure and anger of the gods .
At such times earnest endeavours were made through ,
petitions accompanie d by fasting and other symbols

of contrition to bring about a reconciliation with the
,
angered power This ritual owing to the religious

.
,
pre eminence of Nippur beca me the norm and stan

-
,
dard throughout the Euphrates Valley so that when ,
Marduk (Merodach) and B abylonia came practically

to replace En lil and Nippur the formula s and appeals
-
,
were transferre d to the solar deity of Babylon who , ,
representing more p articularly the sun god of S pring -

,
was well adapted to b e viewed as the one to bring

blessings and favours after the sorrows and tribu
lat ions of the stormy season .
Strange as it will appear although he was patron

,
god of Babylon he did not originate in that city but ,
in Eridu the city of Ea and probably this is the

, ,
reason why he was rst regarded as the son of Ea He .
is also directly associated with Shamash the chief ,
su n god of the later pantheon and is often addressed

-
,
as the go d of canals and opener of subterranean

fountains . In appearance he is usually drawn
with tongues of re proceeding from his person thus ,
indica ting his solar character At other times he is .
r epres ented a s standing above the wate ry deep with ,
a horned creature a t his feet which also occasionally ,
serves to symbolize Ea It is noteworthy too that

h is temple at Babylon bore the same na meE Sag ila
.
, ,
the lofty house as did Ea s sanctuary at Eridu

,

.
,
We nd a mong the cuneiform texts a copy of an

older B abylonian text a n interesting little poe m
which sho w s how Merodach attracted the attributes
of the other gods to himself .
ZOO
A NEW YEAR S CE RE MONY

E i s t h M r du k ( or Mero d c h ) f c n ls ;
a e a a o a a
N i ni b i s t h M r du k of stre ng th ;
e a
N erg l i s t h M r d u k of w ;
a e a ar
Z m m i s t h M r du k of b ttle ;
a a a e a a
Enl i l i s t h M r du k of sovere i g nt y nd co ntro l ;

e a a
N e bo i s t h M r du k f p ossess i o n ;
e a o
Sin i s t h M r du k of i ll u m i n t i o n of t h ni gh t ;
e a a e
Sh m s h i s t h M r d u k of j u dg m e nts ;
a a e a
Ad d i s t h M r du k of r i n ;
a e a a
Ti h p k i s t h M r du k of t h h ost ;
s a e a e
G l i s t h M r du k f stre ng th ;
a e a o
Sh uk m unu i s t h M r du k f t h h rvest
a e a o e a .
Th l Swould see m as if Merodach had absorbed the

chara cteristics o f all the other gods of any importance
so successfully that he had almost establishe d his posi
tion as the sole deity in Babylonia and that there ,
fore some degree of monotheis m had been arrived a t .
A New Y ear s Cerem ony

'

O n the rst da y of the Babylonian Ne w Year an

asse mbly of the go ds wa s held at Babylon when all ,
the p rincipal gods were grouped round Merodach

in precisely the sa me manner in which the King was
surrounded by the nobility and his of cials for many ,
ancient faiths imagine d that the polity of earth merely

mirrore d that o f heaven that a s Paracelsus would , ,
have said the earth was the microco sm of the heavenly

,

macrocos m as above so bel ow The ceremony ,
.
in question consisted in the lesser deities paying

homage to Merodach as their liege lord In this .
council too they decided the political action of

, ,
Babylonia for the coming year .
It is thought that the B abylonian priests at state d

intervals enacted the myth o f the slaughter of Tia w a t h .
This is highly probable as in Greece and Egypt the ,
myths of Persephone and O siris were represente d

2 01
d ramatically before a select au dience of initiates .
We S ee that these representations are nearly always

made in the case of divinities who represent corn or
vegetation as a whole or the fructifying power of ,
S pringtime The na me of Merodach s consort Zar

.

a nit u m was rendered by the priesthood as seed

p

producing to mark her connexion with the god who
,
was responsible for the S pring revival .
Merodach s ideograph is the sun and there is abun

,
dant evidence that he was rst and last a solar god .
The na me originally Am a ru duk probably signi es

, ,

the young steer of day which see ms to be a gure ,
for the morning sun He was also called Asari which .

,
may be compared with Asar the Egyptian name of ,
O siris O ther na mes given him are Sar

. ag ag a m the ,
glorious incantation and Me ragaga the glorious ,

,

charm both of which refer to the circumstance that
,
he obtained from Ea his father certain charms and , ,
incantations which restored the S ick to health and

exercised a benecial inuence upon mankind .
Merodach was supposed to have a court of his own

above the S ky where he was attended to by a host
,
of ministering deities Some superintended his food .
and drink supply while others saw to it that water ,
for his ba nds was always ready He had also door .
keepers and even attendant hounds and it is thought ,
that the satellites of Jupiter the planet which re p r e ,
sented him may have been dimly V isible to thos e

,
a mong the Chaldean Star gazers who were gifted with -
good S ight These dogs were called Ukk u m u Seizer

.
, ,

Ak k ulu Grasper and Ilt e h u

Eater Ik su da
, ,

, , ,

Holder It is not known whether these were sup
.
posed to assist him in shepherding his ock or in the

chase and their na mes see m appropriate either for
,
sheep dogs or hunting hounds

-
.
2 02
C HAPT E R VII : T HE PANT H EO N
O F ASSYR I A
HE of Assyria as be t t e d the reli

Pantheon ,
g iou s syste m of a nation of soldiers was more ,
highl y organized than that of the kindred

people of B abylonia the ranks and relationships of
,
the gods who comprised it were more denitely

xed it w as considerably more co mpact than that of
,
the southern kingdom and its lesser luminaries were

,
fewer It has been assumed that the deities of the

.
Assyrians were practica lly identical in every respect

with those of the Babylonians with the S ingle ,
exception of Asshur who e quated with Merodach

,
.
With all due respect to practical Assyriologists the

student of Co mparative Religion may perhaps be
granted leave to take exception to such a S tate ment .
E thnological di fferences (and these certainly existe d

between the peoples of the northern and southern
culture groups ) climatic conditions a different poli
-
, ,
tical environment all these as well as other con

siderations a s important if less obvious must have
, ,
e ffected almost radical changes in the ideas of the

gods as conceived by the Assyrians E xactly what .
these changes were we shall probably never know .
They are scarcely likely to be revealed by inscriptions

or sacred writings which undoubtedly conserve for us
little more than the purely ecclesiastical V iew point -
,
always anxious to e mbalm with scrupulous care the

cherished theological beliefs of an older day B u t .
little of the religious beliefs of a people can survive

in priestly inscriptions and the labours of priestly
copyists nor is it safe or scientic to endorse the
,
character of the faith of a race by comparison or

analogy with that of a neighbouring folk I f a .
2 03
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA

S triking exa mple were re quired of the danger of suc

a proceeding it might be found in the vain attempt
to discover an exact parallel between the religiou s
systems of ancient Mexico and those of Guate mala
and Yucatan The city S tates of the more northerl y
.
-
group of people had evolved a separate syste m o f

worship for each pue blo or town the deities of which
, ,
with minor di fferences were substantially identical

,
.
B ut when the pantheons of the more southerly region

co me to be exa mined it will b e found that although ,
the gods which gure in the m S pring apparently

fro m the sa me stock a s those of the Mexican people ,
and even possess names which are mere transl a tions

of those of the gods of Mexico their attributes and
,
characteristics di ffer profoundly fro m those of their

Mexican congeners The reason for this dissimilarity
.
is to be found in variations of climate culture and , ,
politics three sure factors in the modi cation of

,
religion I f then we are satised that such di ffer

.
, ,
e nc e s e xiste d in the religious systems of two race
groups almost as closely connected as were the peoples

of B abylonia and Ass yria may we not be pardoned
,
for the supposition that similar divergences existed

b etween the faiths of the two great races of Chaldea
We nd in the Assyrian pantheon numerous foreign
d eities whom the Assyrian kings included among the
nationa l gods by right of con quest These we shall .
deal with later I t will su f ce for the present to

.
mention Assur bani pal who S peaks of the capture of

- -
,
twenty gods of the Elamites I t was of course .

, ,
only upon the rise of a distinct Assyrian e mpire that

the religion of the northern kingdo m acquire d traits
that distinguished it fro m that of Babylonia .
Having outlined the reasons for the di fferences

which we believe to have existed between the Baby
2 04
THE PA N THEO N OF A S SY RIA
lonian and Assyrian faiths let uS briefl y consider
,
the variation of type between the two peoples which

must have caused this divergence The languages .
of the two races were not more distinct than the

dialects of northern and southern Englandindeed
a mong scholars they are designate d by the common
name of Assyrian But the Assyrians had a pure
.
strain of that Se mitic blood which has done so much

to syste matize religions ancient and modern The .
Se mite cannot content himself with half truths I t -

.
is essential to his very life that he must feel himself

,
upon sure religious ground He hates doub t and

.
despises the doubter At an early time in his ancient

.
career he had so securely syste matized religion as to

s u pply the earliest instances of pure dogma There .
foll owe d the relentless a bj uration of all the troublous

circumstances of mistrust A code founded upon the
.
rock of unquestioning faith was instituted And .
in the religious syste ms of B abylonia and especially of

Assyria we observe a portion of the process of e v olu
tion which assisted in the upbu ilding of a narrow
yet highl y Spiritualize d syste m .
The great gods in Assyria were even more o m nip o

tent than in Babylonia O ne cause contributing to
.
this was the absorption of the minor local cults by

deities associated with the great centres of Assyrian
life E arly religion is extre mely sensitive to political
.
change and as a race evolves fro m the tribal or local

,
stat e and bands itself into a nation so the local gods

,
b ecome national and centralize d probably in the

,
great deity o f the most politically active city in the

state Nor is it essential to this process that the deities
.
absorb ed should be of a like nature with the absorbi ng

god Quite often a divinity assu mes the na me and
.
attributes of one with whom he had little in common .
2 05
MYTH S O F B AB Y LO NIA AND AS SY RIA
A sshur
The state religion of Assyria centres in Asshur ,
nor was any deity ever so closely identied with an

e mpire as he O n the fall of the Assyrian state
.
,
Asshur fell with i t Moreover all the gods of Assyria

.
may be said to have been co mbined in his person .
Y MBO L S
S OF TH E G OD A SS U R
H
F rom Relig i ous B el ie f a nd P ra ctic e i n B a by loni a a nd Assyri a ,

by Prof J strow (G P Putn
. a . . am s So ns)
'
.
In Babylonia Merodach was a leader of hosts In

, .
Assyria Asshur personied these hosts that is the

, , ,
other Assyrian gods had beco me attributes of Asshur ,
and we can only understand the re maining Assyrian

gods if we regard the m as lesser Assh urs so to S pea k , ,
as broken lights of the great god of battle and conquest .
Asshur originated in the city of his na me situate d

on the west bank of the Tigris not far from the ,
2 06
AS SH U R
point where the lower Z ab flows into that river .
It was not of course until the rise of this city to

political pre eminence that its go d gured as all
-
powerful There are con fl icting estimates as regards

.
his original nature s ome authoritie s holding that he

,
was lunar others that he symbolized re or water

, .
The facts however point to the conclusion that he

, ,
was solar in character .
Merodach had chie fly b een worshipped in Babylon .
As other Babylonian territories became subj ect to

that city we do not nd the m placing the god of
Babylon above their own local god B ut it was .
different with Asshur We nd temples to him .
broadcast over Assyria Indeed as Assyrian history .
advances we see di fferent cities alluded to as the

,
chief centre of his worship and he re sides now at ,
Asshur now at Calah now a t Nineveh now at

, , ,
Kh orsabad Wherever the Kings of Assyria took up

.
,
their ofcial residence there Asshur was adored and ,
the re he w as suppose d to d w ell He was not symbol .
ize d by an idol or any man like statue which would -
serve to give the populace an idea of his physical

likeness but was represented by a standard consist
,
ing of a pole surrounded by a disc enclosed with two

wings Above the disc was the gure of a warrior
.
with bent bow and arrow on string This we ll sym .
bolize d the military nature of the Assyrian nation

and of its tutelar deity At the sa me time indications
.
are not wanting that this pole and its acco mpanying
symbols are the remains of a tote m standard upon -
which has been superimposed the anthropomorphic

gure of a lightning or tempest god The pole is a -
.
favourite vehicle for carrying the tote m symbols into

battle and it looks here as if the sun had at one time
,
been regarded as a tribal tote m The gure of the .
2 07
MYTH S OF B AB YLONIA AND A S SY RIA
archer at the top see ms representative of a lightning
o r storm god a mythic character fre quently associ
-

ated with the sun that strong warrior B y virtue
,
.
of his possession of the lightning arrow the storm god -
is often accepted as a god of war .
The etymology of the na me of Asshur throws little

light upon his character as a divinity The city which .
took his na me was in all probability originally calle d

The city of the god Asshur To call it by the .

na me of the god alone would not b e unnatural .

The name is derived fro m a root meaning to b e
gracious and there fore means the gracious god
,

,

the good god B ut there are indications that an
.
older form of the name had existed and it has been ,
asserted that the form Anshar has priority With .
Kishar a god Anshar was created as the second pair

,
of deities to se e the light and according to one ,
version it is Anshar who dispatches Anu Ea and , ,
nally Merodach to destroy ph e monster Tia w at h .
This Anshar then appears as possessed with a ut h o

, ,
rity a mong the gods B ut we nd no mention of hi m

.
in the ancient texts and inscriptions of Babylonia .
The version in which Anshar is alluded to may of course

have been ta mpere d with and his inclusion in the crea
,
tion myth may be regarded as a concession to Assy

rian greatness Indeed in one creation tablet we nd
.
Merodach displace d by Asshur as fra mer of the earth

Th e S ec A ssy r ian Gr eatne ss
r et o f
Asshur is mentioned in the oldest Assyrian insc rip
tion known to us that of Samsi Ramman ( c 1 8 50
,
-
.
the priest chief of Asshur who ruled in the days

-
,
when as yet the o f ces of king and high pries t were

undivided Indeed when the title of king had
.
,
co me into use so me 350 years later the mon arch s ,

2 08
THE SECRET OF AS S Y RIAN G REAT NES S
of Assyria still retained the right to call the mselves
priests of the god Asshur The entire faith in .

and dependence on their beloved deity on the part

of these early Assyrian rulers is touching They are .
his ch ildren and rely wholly upon him rst for pro
t e c t ion against their cruel ene mies the Kassites and
a fterwards for the extension of their growing e mpire .
No wonder that with such a faith to S timulate her

Assyri a became great F aith in her tutelar god was .
,
indeed the secret of her greatness The enemies of

,
.
Assyria are the ene mies of Asshur her soldiers are ,

the warriors of Asshur and their weapons are the ,

weapons of Asshur B efore his face the ene mies .

of Assyria tre mble and are routed he is consulte d ,
oracularly as to the making and conduct of war and ,
he is present on the battle e ld B ut the solitary -

.
nature of Asshur was re markable O riginally he .

possessed neither kith nor kin neither wife nor ,
child and the unnaturalness of his S plendid isola

,
tion appears to have Struck the Assyrian scribes who ,
in an interesting prayer attempted to connect their

divinity with the greater gods of Babylonia to nd ,
him a wife ministers a court and messengers

, ,
.
A p r ay e r to Ass h u r, t h e ki ng of the g d o s ,
rul er ove r
e ve n nd e rth
h a a a ,
the t e w h h cre te d t h g o ds t h su p re m e t bo rn
fa h r o as a e ,
e rs -
of h e ve n nd e rth
a a a ,
t h su p re m e m u t t ll u w h
e i ncl i nes to cou nsel
a o ,
the g i ver of t h sce p tre nd t he t h ro ne a e .
T o Nin lil t h w i fe f Assh u t h beg etter t h e c e a t ess

-
,
e o r, e ,
r r
f h e ve n nd e rth
o a a a ,
Wh by co m m nd f h
o m outh
a o er
T o Sin t h lor d of co mm nd t h u p li fte of h o ns t h

,
e a ,
e r r , e
s p ect cle of h e ve n
a a ,
T t h Sun g d t h g re t j u dg e of t h go ds wh c u es
o e -
o ,
e a e , o a s
t h e ligh t ni ng to i sue fort h s ,
0 2 09
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND AS SYRIA
T Anu t h lor d nd p i nce p ossess i ng t h l i fe of Ass h u
o , e a r ,
e r,
th f th e f t h g re t g o ds
e a r o e a .
T o R mm n t h m i ni ste of h e ve n nd e th t h lo d f
a o , e r a a ar ,
e r o
t h w i nd nd t h ligh t ni ng of h e ve n
e a e a .
T Is h t
o t h q uee n
ar, f h e ve n nd t h st s w h ose se t
e o a a e ar , a
i s e lte d xa .
T o Mero d ch t h p i nce f t h g o ds t h i nte p ete f

a , e r o e , e r r r o
t h S p i r i ts of h e ve n nd e r t h
e a a a .
T o Ad t h n of M l lil t h g i nt t h t bor n
ar, e so u -
e a , e rs -
T o N e bo t h m esse ng er of Assh u (Ans r)

, e r a
T o N erg l t h lor d of m i gh t nd S tre ng th

a ,
e a
T o t h g d w h m ch es in fro nt t h t bor n
e o o ar ,
e rs -
T o t h seve n g o ds t h w rr i or de i t i es
e ,
e a
t h g e t g o ds t h
e r a lor ds f h e ve n nd e th
,
e o a a ar .
Assh ur as Conq ueror

An incident which well ill ustrate d the p opularity
of the Assyrian belief in the con quering power o f
the national god is described in an account of the
e xpedition of Sargon against Ashdod sta mpe d on
a clay cylinder o f that monarch s reign Sargon
.
States that in his ninth expedition to the land beside
the se a to Philistia and Ashdod to punish King

, ,
Azu ri of that city for his refusal to send tribute and

for his evil deeds against Assyrian subj ects Sargon ,
placed Ahim it i nephew of Azuri in his lp lac e and xe d

, ,

the taxes B ut the people of Ashdod revolted agains t

.
the puppet Sargon had place d over the m and by ,
acclamation raised one Yaran to the throne and ,
fortied their dominions They and the surrounding .
peoples sought the aid of E gypt which could not ,
help the m F or the honour of Asshur Sargon then

.
,
engaged in an expedition against the Hittites and ,
turned h is attention to the state of a ffairs in Philis

tia ( c 7 1 1
. hearing which Yaran for fear of ,
Asshur fl ed to Meroc on the borders of E gyp t

, ,
where he hid igno miniously Sargon besieged and .
2 10
I S HTA R IN A S SY RIA
captured the city of Ashdod with the gods wives
, , ,
children and treasures of Yaran

,
.
It is plain that this punitive expedition was under

taken for the personal honour of Asshur that he was ,
believed to accompany the troops in their ca mpaign

against the rebell ious folk of Ashdod and that ,
victory was to be ascribed to hi m and to him alone .
All tribute from con quered peoples became the

property o f Asshur to whom it was offere d by the
,
Kings of Assyria Even the great and proud monarchs

.
o f this warlike kingdo m do not hesitate to a ffir m

themselves the creatures o f Asshur by who m they ,
live and breathe and by whose will they hold the

royal authority symbolized by the mighty bow
,
conferre d upon the m by their divine master That .
these haughty rulers were not without an ele ment of

affection as well as fear for the god they worshipped
is seen fro m the circumstance that they fre q uently
allude to themselves as the sons of Asshur whos e ,
viceroys on earth they were Asshur was indeed in

.
, ,
later times the S pirit of con quering Assyria person

a lize d
. We do not find him regarde d as anything else
than a war god We do not nd him surrounded by
-
.
any of the gen t ler attributes which distinguish non

militant deities nor is it likely tha t his cult would
,
have develop ed had it lasted into one distinguishe d

, ,
for its hu manizing infl uence or its ethical subtlety .
I t was the cult of a war god pure and simple and

-
,
when Asshur was b eaten at his own business of war

he disappeared into the limbo of forgotten gods as
rapidly as he had arisen .
Isht ar in A ssy ria

Next to Asshur in the affections of the Assyrian
people stood Ishtar As a goddess in Assyria S he was
.
21 1
absolutely identical with the B abylonian Ishtar h e r ,
favourite S hrines in the northern kingdom being

Nineveh Arbela and the temple of Kidm uru also in
, , ,
Nineveh The Assyrians appear to have admitte d

.
her Babylonian origin or a t least to have confessed

,
that theirs was originally a Babylonian I shtar for ,
Tiglat h p ile se r I lays e mphasis upon the circu m

-
stance that a S hrine he raised to Ishtar in his capital

is dedicated to the Assyrian Ishtar The date of .

this monarch is 1 0 1 0 B C or near it so that the abov e

. .
, ,
is a co mparatively early a llusion to Ishtar in Assyrian

history The Ishtars of Arbela and Kidm uru do not
.
appear in Assyrian texts unt il the time of E sar haddon -
( 6 8 1 thus the Ishtar of N ineveh was much the

most venerable o f the three Arbela was evidently a .
religious centre of importance and the theory has ,
b een a dvanced that it beca me the seat of a s chool

of prophets connecte d with the worship of I shtar .
Jastrow in his Religion 0/ B a bylonia a nd Assyria

( 1 898 p
,
writing on this point says It is q uite
.
, ,
possible if not probable that the three Ishtars are

, ,
each of independent origin The q ueen of Kidmuru .

,

indeed I venture to think is the indigenous Ishtar

, ,
of Nineveh who is obliged to yield her place to the

,
so call ed
-
Assyrian Ishtar upon the transfer of ,

the capital of Assyria to Nineveh and henceforth is ,
known by one of her epithets to distinguish her fro m

her more formidable rival The cult of Ishtar a t .
Arbela is probably too of ancient date ; but special

, ,
circumstances that escap e us appear to have led to

a revival of interest in their cults during the p eriod
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 .
2 1 2
ISHTA R A S A WAR GO DDESS
epithets are S imilar and for all practical purposes

,

we have only one Ishtar 1 n the northern empire .
Ish tar as a War GoddeSS
Ishtar w a s fre quently place d by the S ide of Asshur

as a war goddess E re sh e left the plains of B aby
-
.
lonia for the uplands o f Assyria Sh e had evinced

certain bellicose propensities In the Gilga mesh epic .
sh e appears as a deity of destructive and S piteful
character if not actually of warlike nature B ut if

, .
the Babylonians regarde d her rst and fore mos t

a s the great mother goddess the Assyrians took but
-
,
little notice of this S ide of her character To the m .
sh e was a veritable Valkyrie and a s the Assyrians ,
grew more and more military so sh e beca me more

the war goddess and less the nature mother of love
- -
and agriculture She appeared in drea ms to the

.
war loving Kings of Assyria encouraging and heart

-
,
e ning the m with words of cheer to further military
exploits F ire was her raiment and as beca me

.
, ,
a goddes s of battle her appearance was terric .
She con sumed the ene mies of Assur bani

,
pal with -
flames Still strangely enough in the religious texts

.
, , ,
influence d probably by B abylonian sources S he was ,
still to a great extent the m ild and bountiful mother

of nature I t is in the historical texts which ring
.
with tales of con quest and the grandilo quent boastings

of con quering monarchs that sh e appears a s the
leader of armies and the martial goddess who has
S lain her thousands and her tens of thousands So .
has it ever been impossible for the priest and the

soldier to possess the selfsa me idea of godhead and ,
this is so in the modern no less than in the ancient

world Ye t occasionall y the stern Assyrian kings
.
unbent and it was prob a bly in a brief interval of

,
213
peace that Assur nazir pal allude d to Ishtar as the
- -

lady who loves him and his pr i esthood Sen na .
c h e r ib also S poke of the goddess in similar terms .
It is necessary to S tate that the name or title of

Belit given to Ishtar does not signify that sh e is the
wife or consort of B e l but merely that S he is a great
,

lady for which the title B elit is a generic term
,
.
I f S he is at times brought into close association with

Asshur S he is never regarded as his wife She is not .
the consort o f any god but an independent goddess

,
in her own right S tanding alone e qual with Asshur

, ,
and the dependant of no other divinity B ut it was .
late r only that sh e ranked with Asshur and purely ,
because of her military reputation .
Ninib A ssy rian War G od

as an
S uch a deity as Ninib (another na me for Nin

g ir su the
,
god of L agash ) was certain to nd favour
a mong the Assyrians by virtue of those character
ist ic s which would render him a valuable ally in war .
We nd several kings extolling his prowess as a

warrior notably Tigla t h p ile se r I and Assur
,
-
,

rish ish i who allude to him as
, the courageous one ,

and the mighty one of the gods His old status .
as a sun and wind god in which he was regarded as

- -
,
overthrowing and levelling with the ground every

thing which stood in his path would supply him ,
with the reputation necessary to a god of battles .
He is associate d with Asshur in this capacity and ,

Tigla t h p ile se r brackets the m as those
-
who full

h is desire B u t Ninib s chief votary was Assur

.
nazir pal ( 85860

-
who commenced his annals
with a p aean of praise in honour of Ninib which so ,
abounds in fulsome e ulogy that we feel that either

he must have felt much beholden to the god or else ,
2 14
NINI B A S AN A SS Y RIAN WAR G OD I
have su ffered from religious mania The epithets .
he employs in praise of Ninib are those usually

lavished upon the greatest of gods only This pro .
c e e ding Secured immense popularity for Ninib

and gave him a social and political vogue which
nothing else could have given and we nd Shamsi
,
ra mman the grandson of Assur nazir pal e mploying

,
- -
,
the selfsame titles in honouring him .
The grea t te mple of Ninib was situated in Calah

- ,
the o fficial r esidence of Assur nazir pal and within

- -
,
its walls that monarch placed a tablet recording his

deeds and a great S tatue of the god He further
,
.
endowed his cult so that it might enj oy continuance .
We can readily understand how the especial

favour shown to such a god as Ninib by an Assyrian
monarch originated Asshur would be regarde d by
.
the m as much too popular and national a deity to

choose as a personal patron B ut more diffi cult to
.
comprehend are the precise reasons which actuated

the Assyrian kings or indeed the kings of any sim ilar
,
ancient state in choosing their patrons Does a

,
.
polyt heistic condition of religion permit of the ne

selection o f patron deities or is it not mu ch more
,
probable that the artful o ffices of ecclesiastical and

poli tical wire pullers had much to do with moulding
-
the preferences of the King before and after he reache d

the throne ! The education of the monarch while
ye t a prince would almost certainly be entruste d to
a high ecclesiastical dignitary and although many
,
exa mples to the contrary exist we are pretty safe,
in assuming that whatever the complexion of the

tutor s mind that of the pupil would to so me extent

,
reflect it O n the other hand there is no resisting

.
the conclusion that the Assyrian kings were very

often vulgar parvenus ostentatious and impossible
, ,

2 15
MYTH S OF B AB YLONI A AND AS SYRIA
a s such people usually are and that after the , ,

manner of their kind they doted upon every ,
thing ancient and possibly everything B abyloni an

, , , ,
j ust as the later Romans praised everything Greek .
Ninib as Hunt er G od '
But Ninib ministered to the a musement of h is

royal devotees as well a s to their warlike desires .
We nd Assur nazir pal invoking hi m before com

- -
m e nc ing a long j ourney in search of Sport and Tig ,
lath p ile se r I who w a s a doughty hunter of lions

,
and elephants ascribes his success to Ninib wh o

, ,
has placed the mighty bow in h is hands .
Jensen in his Kosmologie points out that Ninib

represents the eastern sun and the morning sun .
I f this is so it is strange to nd a god representing

,
the sun of morning in the S tatus of a war god I t is -

.
usually when the sun god reaches the zenith of the -
heavens that he slays his thousands and his tens of

thousands As a variant of Nin girsu he would of
.
-
course be identied with Ta mmuz His consort was .
Gula to who m As sur nazir pal erected a sanctuary

,
- -
.
Dag an
Dagan the fish god who we saw was the sa me as
-
, , .
O annes or E a strangely enough rose to high rank

,
in Assyria So me authorities consider him of Philis

.
tian or Ara mean origin and do not compare him ,
with Ea who rose from the waters of the Pe r

,
sian Gulf to e nlighten his people and it is evident ,
that the Mesop otamian Palestinian region contained -
several vers ions of the origin of this god ascribing ,
it to various places In the Assyrian pantheon h e

.
is associated with Anu who rules the heavens Dagan , ,
supervising the earth It is Strange to o bserve a .
2 16
I d i recte d by Ni nib
Ti g la t h -Pile se r 2 1 6
E l P l
ve yn au
deity whose Sphere must origina lly have been the
,
se a
,
presiding over the terrestrial plane and this ,
transference it was which cos t Dagan his popularity

in Assyria for later he beca me identied with B el
,
and disappeared al most entirely fro m the Assyri an

pantheon .
Ant!
Anu in Assyria did not di ffer materially fro m Anu in
Babylon but he su ffered as did other southern deities
, , ,
from the all pervading worship of Asshur

-
H e had a .
temple in Assh ur s own city which was rebuilt by

,
Tigla t h p ile se r I 641 years after its original foundation

-
, .
He was regarded in Assyria as lord of the Igigi and

Anunnaki or spirits of heaven and earth probably
, ,
the old animistic Spirits and to this circumstance , ,
a s we ll a s to the fact that he belonged to the old
triad along with Bel and Ea he probably owed the ,
prolongation of his cult As an ele mental and funda

.
mental god opposition could not possibly displace

him and as ruler of the S pirits of air and earth he
,
would have a very stro ng hold upon the popular

imagination Gods who possess such powers often
.
e xist in folk me mory long after the other me mbers

-
of the pantheon which contained the m are totall y

forgotten a nd one would s carcely be surprised to
,
n d Anu lingering in the S hadows of post Assyrian -
folk lore if any record of such lore could be discovered

-
, .
Anu was fre q uently associated with Ra mman but ,
more usually with B el and Eausas in Babylonia .
Ramm an
Ramman enj oye d much greater popularity in
Assyria than in B abylonia for there be exercised the ,
function s of a second Asshur and was regar ded a s ,
2 17
destruction personi ed Says an old Assyrian hymn .
concerning Ramman
Th m i gh t y m ou nt i n t h ou h st ove rwh e lm e d i t
e a , a .
At h i ng er t h i stre ng t h
s a ,
a s ,
At hi ro r i ng t h i th u nder i ng
s a ,
a s ,
Th g o ds of h e ve n sce nd to t h
e a kya e S ,
Th g o ds of t h e r t h sce nd to t h e r t h
e e a a e a ,
I nto t h h or i o n of h e ve n th e y e nter
e z a ,
I nto t h ze ni th of h e ve n th e y m k e th e i r w y
e a a a .
What a picture have we here in these few S imple

lines of a pantheon in dread and terror of the wrath
and violence of one of its nu mber We can almos t .
behold the divine fugitives crowding in flight some ,
into the upper regions of air to outsoar the anger

o f the destroyer others seeking the recesses of the
,
earth to hide themselves fro m the erc e ne ss of his

countenance the roar of his thunderbolts and the
, ,
arrows of his lightning Simple almost bald a s the .

, ,
lines are they possess marvellous pictorial q uality ,
bringing before u S as they do the rout of a whole

heaven in a few S imple words .
The weapons of Ra mman are lightning deluge , ,
hunger and death and woe to the nation upon whom

, ,
he visits his wrath for upon it he visits flood and

,
famine Thus his attributes as a storm god are

.
-
brought into play when he gures as a war deity ,
for j ust as a weather god of the lightning wields it

-
as a spear or dart in the ght so Ramman as storm ,
god brings to bear the horrors of tempest upon the

devoted head of the ene my .
So highly did the Assyrian kings value the assist

ance of Ra mman that they sacriced to hi m during
the S tres s and bustle of a campaign in the eld They .
liken an attack of their troops to his onslaught and ,
if they wish to depict the stamping out of an adversary ,
218
RAMMAN
his eating up as Chaka s Z ulus were wont to term
,

the process they declare that their men swept over the
,
enemy as Ramman might have done Assur nazir .
pal alludes to Ramman a s the mightiest of the
gods but as in reality that phrase was e mployed

,

in connexion with all the principal deities at one

time or another by kings or priests who favoured
them there is no reason to suppose that anything
,
more is intended than that Ramman occupied a

place O f importance in the Assyrian pantheon .
The worship of Ramman in later times ca me very

much into prominence I t was o nl y in the days of
.
Khammurabi that he came into his kingdom as ,
it were and even then his worship was not very

,
r ml y established in B abylonia With the ris e of .
the Kassite dynasty however we nd hi m coming

, ,
more into favour and his name bestowe d upon

,
Babylonian kings He see ms to have formed a triad

.
with Sin and Shamash and in the Hymn of Kha m ,
m ura bi we nd him appealed to along with Sha mash

as Divine L ords of Justice

Nebuchadrezzar I .

appears to have held him in high esteem although ,
he was unfriendly to the dynasty which rst brought

him into prominence and this monarch couples hi m
,
with Ishtar as the divinity who has chiefly assiste d

him in all his great undertakings Indeed Ne buc h .
,
a dre zza r evinced much partiality for Ra mman p er ,
haps feeling that he must placate the especial god

O f those he had cast fro m power He S peaks of .

hi m as the lord of the waters beneath t h e earth ,

and of the rains from heaven .
Th e place o f Ra mman s origin s ee ms obs cure

.
We have already dealt with h is manifestations in

more primitive days but Opinions appear to differ
,
regarding the original seat o f his worship some ,
2 19
MYTHS OF BAB YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
authorities holding that it was Muru in Southern
B abylonia others that it is necessary to turn t o
,
Assyria for traces o f his rst worship His cult is .
found in Da mas cus and extende d as far s outh as the

Pl ain Of Jezreel As Milton says .
Ri m m o n,
s e de ligh tfu l se t
who a
W f i r D m scus n t h fertile b nk s
as a a a ,
o e a
Of Abb n nd Pha
p ha a luc i d st e m s ar ar , r a .
H e a lso g i nst t h h ouse f G d w bo ld

a e o o as
A le p er o nce h lost nd g i ne d king e ,

a a a ,
Ah h is ott i s h w h o m h dre w

az nqu
s co ror, e
Go d s lt

to di sp g e nd di sp l ce
a ar a ra a a
For o n f Sy r i n m o d e w h ereo n to bu n
e O a ,
r
Hi o di ous O ffe i ng s nd dore th g o ds

s r , a a e
Wh o m h h d nqui h d e

a va s

.
This later theory would make him of Ara maic

origin but h is cult appears to have been Of very
,
c onsiderable anti q uity in Assyria and it might have ,
been indigenous there Moreover the earliest men .

,
tion of his worship is in the city of Asshur AS .
has been indicated he was probably a storm god ,

-
or a thunder and lightning god but he was also

- -
,
associate d with the sun god Shamash B ut what -

.
ever he may have been in Babylonia in Assyria ,
he was certai nl y the thunder deity rs t and fore -
most .
A Babylonian te x t o f some anti q uity contains a

really ne hymn to Ramman which might b e para ,
phrased as follows omitting redundancies ,

0 lord Ra mman thy na me is the great and ,
glorious B ull child of heaven lord Of Karkar lord

, , ,
of plenty companion of the lord Ea He that

, .
rideth the great lion is thy name Th y na me doth .
charm the land and covers it like a garment Thy

,
.
thunder shakes even the great mountain En lrl ,

-
,
2 20
RAMMAN
and when thou dost rumble the mother Nin Iil
trembles Said the lord En lil addressing his son
.
-
,
Ramman 0 8 011 S pirit of wis dom with all seeing

, ,
-
e yes and high vision fu ll of k nowledge as the Pleiades

, ,
may thy sonorous voice give forth its utterance .
Go forth go up who can strive with thee ! The

, ,
father is with thee against the cunning foe Thou .
art cunning in wielding the hail stones great and -
s mall O h with thy right hand destroy the ene my

.
,
and root him up I Ramman hearkene d to the

words of his father and took his way from the dwell

ing the youthful lion the spirit of counsel
, , .
In later times in Babylonia Ra mman see ms to have

t ypi ed the rain of heaven in its be ne c e nt as well a s
its fertilizing aspect Not o nl y did he irrigate the
.
elds and ll the wells with water but he was also ,
a ccountable for the dreadful te mpests which sweep

over Mesopotamia Sometimes he was malevolent
.
,
causing thorns to grow instead o f herbs Th e people .

,
if they regarde d him in some measure a s a fertilizing

agent als o see m to have looked upon him as a de st ruc
,
tive and lion like deity quite capable of desolating

-

the country side and eating up the land
-
His .
roar is typical of him lling a ll hearts with a ffright

,
a s it does and signifying fa mine and destruction

, .
It is not strange that Mesopota mian regions S hould

have had so many deities of a destructive tendency
when we think of the furious whirlwinds which
frequently rush across the face of the land raising ,
sand Storms and devastating everything in their track

-
.
Ra mman was well likened to the roaring lion ,
see king what he may devour and this see ms to have ,
symb olized him in the eye s of the peasant population

of the land Indeed the Assyrians impressed by his
.
, ,
destructiv e tend e ncies made a war god of hi m and

,
-
,
221
MYTH S OF BAB YLONIA AND AS SY RIA
considered his presence a s essential to victory NO .
wonder that the great god of s torm mad e a good

war god I
-
S h am ash
The cult of Sha mash in Assyria date s fro m at least
1 340 B C when Pu dilu bu ilt a temple to this god
. .
,
in the city of Asshur He entitled Sha mash The .
Protecting Deity which name is to b e understood

,
as that of the god of j ustice whose a t Zis unchange ,
able and in this manner Shamash di ffered somewhat

,
fro m the Babylonian idea concerning him I n the .
southern kingdo m he was certai nl y regarded as a j ust

god but not as i be god of j ustice a very different
,
thing It is interesting as well as edifying to watch

.
the process of evolution of a god of j ustice Thus in .
Ancient Mexico Tezcatlipoca evolve d fro m a tribal

deity into a god who was beginning to bear all the
marks and signs of a go d of j ustice when the con
quering Spaniards put an end to his career We .
observe too that although the Greeks had a special

, ,
deity whos e department was j ustice other divinities , ,
such a s Pa llas Athene displayed signs that they in ,
time might possibly become wielders of the balances

between man and man In the Egyptian heave nl y .
hierarchy Maat and Thoth both partook of the a t t ri

b utes of a god o f j ustice but perhaps Maat was the ,
more directly symbolical of the two Now in the .
case of Shamash no favours can b e O btained fro m

him by prayer or sacrice unless those who supplicate
him monarchs though they be can lay claim to
, ,
righteousness Even Tigla t h p ile ser I mighty con

.
-
,
u e ror as he was recognized Shamash as his j udge

q , ,
and natura lly as the j udge of his ene mies whom he

, , ,
destroys not because they are ghting against Tiglat h

, ,
2 22
As sur - na zir -
p al a tte nd e d by

a W i n g e d Myt h olog i c a l Be i ng
B aS -
I c llt f fro m t h e no r th -
t
we s e rn
pa l ce
a at
Nl m i ud
I h o/ o W A H a nse l ! a nd Co
o
t NN
SIN IN THE NO RTHERN LAND
but because o f their wickedness When he se t cap .
t iv e s free Tigla t h t ook care to p erform the gracious

act before the fac e of Sha mash that the god might ,
b ehold that j ustice dwelt in the breast of his royal

servant Tigla t h in fact is the V iceroy of Sha mash
.
, ,
upon earth and it would see m as if he referred many

,
cases regarding whose proce dure he was in doub t to

the god before he nally pronounced upon the m .
B oth Assur nazir pal and Shalmaneser I I exalte d

- -
the sun cult of Sha mash and it has been suggeste d

-
,
that the popularity o f the worship of Ra in Egypt had

re fl ected upon that of Sha mash in Assyria I t must .
always b e extre mely di fficult to trace such rese m

blances at an epoch so distant as that of the n inth
century B C B ut certainly it looks as if the Ra cult
. .
had in so me manner in fl uence d tha t of the old B aby

lonian sun god Sargon pushe d the worship of
-
.
Sha mash far to the northern boundaries of Assyria ,
for he built a sanctuary to the deity beyond the

limits o f the Assyrian E mpire where precisely we , ,
do not know Amongst a nation of warriors a god

.
such as Sha mash must have been valued highly for ,
withou t his sanction they would hardly b e j ustied

in co mmencing hostil ities against any other race .
Sin in t h e N ort h er n
L and
We do not nd Sin the Babylonian moon g od ,
-
,
extensively worshipped in Assyria Assur nazir .

-
pal founded a te mple to him in Calah and Sargon ,
raised several sanctuaries to him b eyond the Assyrian

frontier I t is a s a war
. god chiefly that we nd him
depicted in the northern king dom why it would ,
b e diffi cult to sa y unless indeed it was that the

, , ,
Assyrians turned practically all the deities they

borrowed fro m other peoples into war gods So far -
.
223
MYTHS O F B A B YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
as is known no lunar deity in any other pantheon
,
poss ess es a military S ignicanc e Several are not .
without fear inspiring attributes b ut thes e are

-
,
caused chie fly by the manner in which the moon is

regarded a mong primitive peoples as a bringer of
plague and blight B ut we nd Sin in Assyria .
freed from all the astrological sig nica nc e s which he

had for the Babylonians At the same time he is .
regarded as a god of wisdom and a fra mer of decisions ,
in these respects e quating very fully with the E gyptian

Thoth Assur bani
. pal alludes to Sin as the rst
-

b orn son of B el j ust as he is alluded to in Baby
,
lonian texts thus affording us a clue to the direct

,
Babylonian origin of Sin .
Nusk u of t h e Brill iant

S c ep tr e
I t is strange that although we know that Nusku
had been a Babylonian god fro m early times and had ,
gured in the pantheon of Kha mmurabi it is not ,
until Assyrian times that we gain any very de nite

infor mation regarding him The symbols used in .
his na me are a sceptre and a stylus and he is called ,
b y Shalmaneser I The Bearer of the Brilliant

Sceptre This circumstance associates him closely
.
with Nabu to designate who m the same symb ols are

,
e mployed It is di fficult however to b elieve that

.
, ,
the two are one as s ome writers appear to think , ,
for Nusku is certainly a solar deity while Nabu ,
appears to have originally been a water god There -

.
are however not wanting cases where the sa me

, ,
deity has evince d both solar and a queous character

ist ic s and these are to b e found notably a mong the
,
gods of American races Thus a mong the Maya of .
Central America the god Kukulcan is depicted with

both solar and a q ueou s attrib utes and Similar ,
22
4
.
PRISONER GODS
instances could b e drawn fro m lesser known myth -
ologies Nusku and Nabu are however probably

.
, ,
connected in some way but exactly in what ,
manner is O bscure In Babylonian times Nusku .
had become a malgamated with Gibil the god of ,
re which perhaps accounts for his virtual efface

,
ment in the southern kingdo m In Assyria we nd .
him a lluded to as the messenger of B e l Merodach -
and Assur
,
bani pal addresses hi m as the highl y

-

honoured messenger of the gods The Assyrians .

do not see m to have identifi ed hi m in any way with

Gibil the re go d
,
-
.
B el

Mer Odac h
Even B el Merodach was absorbe d into the As syrian
-
pantheon To the Assyrians B abylonia was the

.
,
country of B el and they referred to their southern

,

neighbours a s the subj ects of B el This of cours e .
, ,
must be taken not to mean the older B el but B e l Mero ,

-
dach They even allu ded to the governor who m they

.
placed over conquere d B abylonia a s the governor of

B e l so closely did they identify the god with the
,
country I t is only in the time of Shalmaneser I I

.
the ninth century B C that we nd the na me Mero . .
dach e mploye d for Bel so general did the use of the ,
latter become O f course it was impossible that

.
Merodach could take rst place in Assyria as he

ha d done in B abylonia but it was a tribute to the ,
Assyrian belief in his greatness that they ranked him

i mmediately after Asshur in the pantheon .
Prisoner G Ods v
The Assyria n rulers were suffic i ently politic t o

award this place to Merodach for they could not but ,
se e that B abylonia from which they drew their arts

,
P 2 25
MYTH S O F B A B YLO NIA AND A S S Y RIA
and sciences as well as their religious beliefs and
, ,
fro m which they beneted in many directions must ,
b e worthily represented in the national religion And .
j ust as the Romans in con quering Greece and Egyp t

a dopted many of the deities of these more culture d
and less powerful lands thus seeking to bind the
,
inhabitants of the con quered provinces more closely

to the mselves so did the Assyrian rulers believe that
, ,
did they incorporate Merodach into their hierarchy ,
he would become SO Assyrian in his outlook as to

cease to be wholly B abylonian and would doubtless
,
work in favour of the stronger kingdo m In no other .
of the religions of anti quity as in the Assyrian was

the idea SO powerful that the god of the conquered
or subj ect people shoul d beco me a virtual prisoner
in the land of the conquerors or should at least be
,
absorbe d into their national worship Some of the .
Assyrian monarchs went SO far a s ft o drag almos t

r
every petty idol t hey encountered on their con q u ests

back to the great temple of Asshur and it is obvious ,
that they did not do this with any intention of up

rooting the worship of these gods in the regions they
con quered but because they desired to make political
,
prisoners of them and to place the m in a te mple

,
prison where they would b e unable to wreak venge

,
ance upon them or assist their beaten worshippers

,
to war against the m in the future .
I t may b e tting at this point to e mphasize how

greatly the Assyrian people as apart fro m their
,
rulers cherished the older beliefs of Babylonia B oth

,
.
peoples were substantiall y of the sa me stock and ,
any movement which had as its obj ect the de st ruc

tion of the B abylonian religion would have met with
the strongest hostility fro m the populace of Assyria .
Just as the c onquering Aztecs see m to have had

2 26
THE A S SY RIA N B EL AND B ELIT
immens e reverence for the worship of the Toltecs ,
whose land they subdued so did the less cultivate d ,
Assyrians regard everything conne cted with B abylonia

as peculiarly sacred The Kings of Assyria in fact
.
, ,
were not a little proud of being the rulers of B aby

lonia and were extre mely mil d in their treatment of
,
their southern s ubj ects very much more so in fact , ,
than they were in their behaviour toward the people

of Ela m or other con quere d territories We even .
nd the kings alluding to themselves as being no mi

nated by the go ds to rule over the land of B el .
The Assyrian monarchs strove hard not to disturb

the ancient Babylonian cult and Shalmaneser I I , ,
when he had con quered Babylonia actually entered ,
Merodach s temple and sacri ced to him

.
Th e A ssy rian B el and B elit

As for B e l whose place Merodach usurped in the
,
Babylonian pantheon he was also recognized in

Assyria and Tigla t h
,
, p ile se r I built hi m a temple in
his city of Asshur Tigla t h prexes the adj ective

.
old to the god s name to S how that he means Bel

,
not B el Merodach Sargon too who had anti

-
.
, ,
u a ria n tastes also reverts to B el to who m he

q , ,
all udes as the Great Mountain the name of the

,

god fo llowing immediately after that of Asshur Bel .
is also invoked in connexion with Anu as a granter

of victory His consort B elit although occasionally
.
,
sh e is coupled with him more usually gures as the

,
wife of Asshur and almost as co mmonly as a variant

,
of Ishtar In a te mple in the city of Asshur

.
,
Tigla t h p ile se r I made presents to B elit consisting

-
of the images of the gods vanquished by him in

his various campaigns Assur bani pal too re
.
- -
, ,
garded Belit as the wife of Asshur and him ,
22
7
self a s their son alluding to B elit a s Mothe r of
,

the Great Gods a circ umstance which would go
,
to S how that like mos t of the Assyrian kings his

, ,
egois m rather overshadowed his sens e o f hu mour .
I n Assur bani pal s pantheon B elit is placed close

- -

by her consor t Asshur B ut there see ms t o have .
been a good deal of c onfusion b etween B elit and

Ishtar b ecaus e of the general meaning of the word
B elit.
Nabu and Mer odac h

AS in B abylonia so in Assyria Nab u and Merodach ,
were paired together O ften as B el and Nabu Esp e c i

, .
ally were they invoke d when the a ffairs of Babylonia

were b eing dealt with In the seventh century B C
. . .
we nd the cult of Nabu in high popularity in Assyria

and indeed Ra mman
,
Nira ri I I I appears to have

made an atte mpt to a dvance Nabu considerably .
He erecte d a temple to the god at Calah and grante d ,
him many resounding titles B ut even SO it does .

,
not see m that Ra mman Nira ri intended to exalt -
Nab u at the expense of Asshur Indeed it would .
have b een impossible for hi m to have done so if he ha d

desired to Asshur was as much the national god o f
.
the Assyrian people as O siris was of the E gyptians .
Nab u was the patron of wisdom and protector of the ,
arts he guided the stylus of the scrib e and in thes e

attributes he is very clos e to the Egyptian Thoth ,
and al most identical with another Babylonian god ,
Nusku a lluded to on pages 2 2 4 2 2 5

,
Sargon call s ,
.
Nab u the Seer who guides the gods and it would ,

see m fro m so me notices of him that he was als o

regarde d as a leader o f heavenly or spiritual forces .
Those kings who were fond O f erudition paid great

devotion to Nabu and many of the tablets in
,
228
LE SS E R G O D S
their literary collections close with thanksgiving to
him for having opened their ears to receive wisdo m .
Ea
Ea was of co urse accepted into the Assyrian
pantheon because of his me mbership in the Old
Assyrian triad b ut he was also regarded as a go d of
,
wisdom possibly because of his venerable reputation ;

,
and we nd hi m also as patron of the arts and ,
especially of building a nd architecture Threefold .
w a s his power of dire ction in this respect The great .
Colossi the enormous winged bulls and mythological

,
gures which flanked the avenues leading to the

royal places the images of the gods and lastly the
, , , ,
greater buildings were all exa mples of the archi

,
t e c t ura l art of which he was the patron .
Dibbarr a
Another B abylonian deity who was place d in the
ranks of the Assyrian pantheon was Dibba rra the ,
plague god who can only be called a god through a

-
,
S pecies of courtesy as he partook much more of a

,
d emoniac character and was a t one time almost,
certai nly an evil spirit We have already alluded .
to the poe m in which he lays low people and armies

b y his violence and it was probably fro m one of
,
the texts O f this that Assur bani pal conceive d the - -
idea that those civilians who had perished in his

campaigns agains t B abylonia had been slaughtere d
b y Dibba rra .
L esser G ods
Some o f the lesser Babylonian gods like Da m k u ,
and Sh a rru Ilu see m to have attracted a passing

-
,
interest to the mselves b ut as little can b e found

,
2 29
MYTH S OF B A BYLONIA AND A S SY RIA
concerning the m in Babylonian texts it is s carcely ,
necessary to take much notice of the m in such a

chapter as this Most probably the Assyrians a c
.
c e t e d the Babylonian gods on the basis not only

p
of their native reputation but also of the occur ,
rence of their name s in the ancient religious texts ,
with which their priests were thoroug hl y ac quainted ,
and though broadly speaking they accepted prae

, ,
tically the whole of the B abylonian religion and

it s gods in entirety there is no doubt that some O f
,
these by their very natures and attributes appeale d

more to the m than others and therefore possesse d ,
a somewhat different value in their eyes fro m that

assigned to the m by the more peace loving people -
of the southern kingdo m .
P R O CE SSI O N GOD S OF
Rock r li ef t M l t i ( A nti T u us r nge ) O rd er from i gh t

-
e a a a a -
a r a . r
to left Ass h u r Is h t r S n En 1 1 Sh m sh A d d nd Ish t r
a i ~
1 a a a a a
of Arbel F rom R l g i B l f nd P t in B by l ni
, , , , , ,
a e i ous e ie a r ac i c e a o a
nd A y by Prof J stro w ( G P Pu t n m s So ns )

a ss ri a , . a . . a .
2 30
C H APTER VIII : B ABYLO NI AN STAR ;
WO RSHI P
NCIENT Chaldea was undoubtedly the birt h
place of that mysterious science of a strology
which w as destined to exert such in fl uence
upon the E uropean mind during the Middle Ages ,
and which indeed has not yet ceased to a muse the

curious and flatter the hopes of the cre dulous .
Whether any people more primitive than the Akka

dians had studied the move ments of the S tars it
would indeed b e extremely difficult to sa y This .
the Akkadians or B abylonians were probably the

rst to atte mpt The plain of Mesopotamia is
.
peculiarly suited to the study of the move ments

O f the stars
. It is level for the most part and there
,
are few mountains around which moisture can collect

to obscure the S ky Moreover the climate greatly
.
assists such observations .
L ike most primitive people the Babylonians origin

ally believed the stars to be pictures drawn on the
heavens At a later epoch they were described as
.
the writing of heaven ; the sk y was supposed to

be a great vault and the move ments observed by

,
thes e ancient astronomers were thought to be on the

part of the stars alone O f course it would be noticed
.
at an early stage that some of the stars see me d xe d

whil e others moved about L ines were drawn between
.
the various stars and planets and the gures which,
resulted fro m these were regarded as o mens Again .

,
certain groups or constellations were connected

with such lines which led the m to be identied with
various animals and in this we may observe the
,
influence of animism The B abylonian zodiac was

.
,
with the exception of the S ign o f Merodach identie d

,
2 31
MYTHS OF BAB YLO NIA AN D A SS Y RIA
with the eleven monsters forming the host of Tiaw at h .
Thus it w o uld see m that the zodiacal syste m as a

whole originated in Babylonia The knowledge of .
t h e Chaldean astronomers appears to have been con

side ra ble and it is likely that they were fam iliar
,
with mos t O f the constellations known to the later

Greeks .
L eg e nd of t h e Or ig in Of St ar Worsh ip and I dolatry

The following legend is told regarding the origin of

astrology by Maimonides the famous Jewish rabbi
,
and friend of Averroes in his commentary on the

,
Miselpna lv
In the days of E nos the son of Seth the sons of
, ,
Ada m erre d with great error : and the council O f

the wise men of that age be ca me brutish ; and Enos
himself was O f the m that erred And their error .
was this : they said F oras much as God hath

,
-
c rea t e d t hese s t ars a nd s her es t o overn t he w orld and

p g ,
ba t h se t the m on high and hath imparte d honour

,
unto the m and they are ministers that minister

,
be fore Him it is meet that men should laud and

,
glorify and give the m honour F or this is the w ill of

.
God that we laud and magnify who msoever He magni

e t h and honoureth even as a king would honour
,
the m that S tand before him And this is the honour

.
of the king himself When this thing was come up

.
into their hearts they began to build temples unto

the stars and to O ffer sacri ce unto the m and to
, ,
lau d and magnify the m with words and to worship ,
b efore the m that they might in their evil O pinion

, , ,
O btain favour of their Creator And this was the

.
root of idolatry ; for in process of time there S tood

u
p false prophets a mong the sons of A dam which said , ,
that God h ad commanded the m and said unto the m ,
2 32
S PECULATIO N S O F THE CHAL DEA NS
Worship such a star or all the S tars and do sacrice
, ,
unto the m thus and thus and b uild a te mple for it ,
and make an image of it that all the people women , ,
and children may worship it And the false prophet

,
.
s howed t he m t he ima ge which he had feigned out
of his own heart and said that it wa s t he im age of

,
that star which wa s made known to him by prophecy .
And they began after this manne r to make images

in te mples and under trees a nd on the top s of moun
, ,
tains and hills and asse mbled together and worshipped

,
the m ; a nd t his t hing w as sp rea d t hr ough a ll t he w orld

to serve images with service s die re nt one fro m
,
a nother and to sacri ce unto and worship the m

,
.
So in process of time the glorious and fearful Na me

, ,
was forgotten out of the mouth of all living and ,
out of their knowledge a nd they a cknowledge d Hi m ,
not And there wa s found on earth no people that

.
knew aught save images of wood and stone and

, ,
te mples o f stone which they had been traine d up

fro m their childhood to worship and serve and to ,
swear by their na mes ; and the wise men that were

a mong the m the priests a nd such like thought that
, ,
there was no God save the stars and S pheres for ,
whose sake and in w hose likeness they had made

, ,
these images b ut as for the Rock Everlasti ng there ,
was no man that did acknowle dge Him or know H i m

save a few persons in the world as E noch Me t h u sale h , , ,
Noah She m and Heber And in this way did the

, ,
.
world work and converse t ill that pillar of the ,

world Abra m our father was born
, , .
Sp ec ulat ions o f t h e Ch alde ans

To arrive at a proper co mprehension of Babylonian
religious doctrines it is necessary to understand the
nature of the astrological S peculations of the ancien t
2 33
MYTH S O F B A B YLO NIA AND AS SYRIA
Chaldeans They recognized at a n e arly p eriod that
.
'
eternal and unchangeable laws underla y p lanetary

m otion and see m to have been able to forecast e clipses
, .
Soon also did they begin to identify the several

heavenly bodies with the gods Thus the path of the .
sun was known as the way of Anu and the course ,

of the moon and planets they determined with refer

ence to the sun s ecliptic or pathway It is strange .
,
too that they should have e mploye d the same

,
ideograph for the word S tar and the word god ,

the only difference b eing that in the case of a god they

repeate d the sign three times I f the sun and moon.
under animistic law are regarded as gods it stands t o ,
reason that the st a rs and planets must also b e looked

upon as lesser deities Indeed poets still use suc h
.
,

a n expression regarding the m as the host o f heaven ,
and we fre quently encounter in classical authors the

S tate ment that the stars in their course s fought for
s uch and such a person This is tanta mount to .
saying that the S tars possess volition and even ,
although o mens were looked for out of their move

ments it may have been believe d that these were the
,
outcome of volition on the part o f the stars the m

s elves as deities or de ic individuals Again we can .
se e how the idea that the gods reside in heaven

that is the sk y
,
arose from early astrological
conceptions The gods were identied in many
.
cases with the stars therefore it is only natural to

,
suppose that they resided in the sky region I t is -

.
,
indeed one of the most diffi cult matters for even an

,
intelligent and enlightened man in our enlightened

age to dissociate the idea of God fro m a residence

in the sk y or so mewhere up there .
The idea of S pace too must have assisted in such

, ,
a conception as the residence of the gods in the upper

2 34
PLA NET SIDE NTI FIE D WITH G O DS
regions of air The earth would not be large enough
.
for them but the boundless vault above would a fford

,
the m plenty of S pace in which to dwe ll Again the .

,
su n and moon being gods it would b e only natural ,
for the other deities to dwell beside the m that is in , ,
the heaven of Anu as the B abylonians called the

,

S ky I t has been suggested that the conception of a

.
pantheon dwelling in the sky originated in theological

processes forwarde d by a school or priesthood but ,
there is no reason to suppose that this was SO and ,
t h e possibilities are eas ily covere d by the c ircu m

stances of the animistic theory .
Planet s ident ified w it h G ods

Jupiter the largest o f the planets was identie d
, ,
with Merodach head of the Babylonian pantheon

, .
We nd hi m exercising control over the other stars

in the creation story under the na me Nibir Ishtar .
was identie d with Venus Saturn with Ninib , ,
Mars with Nergal Mercury with Nab u I t is more

,
.
than strange that gods with certain attributes S hould

have beco me attached to certain planets in more
countries than one and this illustrates the deep and
,
lasting infl uence which Se mitic religious thought

exercised over the Hellenic and Ro man theological
syste ms The connexion is too obvious and too
.
exact not to b e the result of close association There .
are indeed hundreds of proofs to support such a

, ,
theory Who can su pose for exa mple that Ap h ro

.
, ,
dite is a ny o t h e r than shtar ! The Romans identie d

their goddess Diana with the patroness of Ephesus .
There are indeed traces of direct relations of the

, ,
Gree k goddess with the moon and she was also like , ,
Ishtar connected with the lower world and the sea

, .
The Greeks had nu merous and flourishing colonies

2 35
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND ASSYRIA
in Asia Minor in re mote times a nd these probably ,
assisted in the disse mination of Asiatic and especially

Babylonian lore .
The sun was regarded as the shepherd of the stars ,
an d Nergal the god of destruction and the under

,
world as the chief sheep probably because the

,

,

ruddy nature O f his light rendered him a mos t con

S ic u ou s O bj ect
p Anu is the.Pole Star of the ecliptic ,
B el the Pole Star of the e quator wh ile E a in the , ,
southern heavens was identi ed with a star in the

,
c onstell ation Argo F ixed stars were probably.
selected for the m because of their permanent and

elemental nature The sun they represented as riding
.
in a chariot drawn by horses and we fre quently ,
notice that the gure representing the luminary on

Greek vases and o ther remains wears the Phrygian
cap a typically Asiatic and non He ll enic head dress
,
- -
,
thus assisting proof that the idea of the sun as a

charioteer possibly originated in B abylonia L unar .
worship or at least computation of time by the phases

,
of the moon fre quently precedes the solar cult and

, ,
we nd traces in Babylonian religion of the former

high rank of the moon god The moon for example -
.
, ,
is not one of the flock of sheep under guidance of the

su n .The very fact that the calendar was regulated
by he r move ments was suffi cient to prevent this .
L ike the Re d Indians and other primitive folk the ,
Babylonians posses sed agricultural titles for each

month but thes e periods were also under the direct
,
patronage of some god or gods Thus the rst month .

,
Nizan is sacred to Anu and B e l ; and the second Iyar

, , ,
to Ea Siwan is devote d to Sin and as we approach

.
,
the summer season the solar gods are apportione d

to various months The sixth month is sacred to .
Ishtar and the seventh to Sha ma sh great god of the

, ,
2 36
PLAN ET S I DENTIFIED WITH GO DS
sun Merodach rules over the eighth and Nergal
.
,
over the ninth month The tenth curiously enough .

, ,
is sacred to a variant of Nabu to Anu and to Ishtar , , .
The eleventh month very suitably to Ra mman the

, , ,
god of S torms and the last month Adar falling

, , ,
within the rainy season is preside d over by the ,
seven evil Spirits .
None of the goddesses receive d stell ar honours .
The na mes of the months were probably quite

popular in origin Thus we nd that the rst month
.
was known as the month of the Sanctuary the ,

third as the period of brick making the fth as -
,

the ery month the S ixth as the month of the
,

mission o f Ishtar re ferring to her descent into the
,
real ms of All a t u The fourth month was designate d

.

scattering seed the eighth that of the opening of
,
dams and the ninth was entitled c opious fertility

, ,

wh ile the eleventh wa s known as destructive rain .

We nd in this early star worship of the ancient -
Babylonians the co mmon origin of religion and science .
Just as magic partakes in so me measure of the nature

of real science ( for so me authorities hold that it is
pseudo sc ie nt ic in origin ) so doe s religion or perhaps
-
,
more correctly S peaking early science is very closely ,
identie d with religion Thus we may believe that .
the religious interest in their early astronomy spurred

the ancient star gazers o f Babylonia to ac quire more
-
knowle dge concerning the motions of those stars and

planets which they believed to be deities W e nd .
the gods so closely connecte d with ancient Chaldean

astronomy as to be absolutely identied with it in
every way A number was assigned to each of the
.
chief gods which would see m to S how that they were

,
connected in some way with mathematical science .

Thus I shtar s nu mber is fteen ; that of Sin her ,
2 37
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND A SSYRIA
father is exactly double that Anu takes sixty and
,
.
,
B e l and Ea represent fty and forty . Ra mman is

identied with ten .
I t would b e idle in this place to atte mpt further

to outline astrological science in Babylonia con,
cerning which our knowledge is vague and scanty .
Much re mains to be done in the way of research be

fore anything more denite can be written about it ,
and many years may pass before the workers in

this sphere are rewarded by the discovery of te x ts
b earing on Ch aldean star lore
-
.
2 38
C HAPT E R IX : T HE P R IE STHOO D ,
C ULT AND T E MPL E S

,
an early period in B abylonian history t h e

priesthood and kingship were blende d in
one Of ce and it is not unt il after several
,
centuries fro m the beginnings of Babylonian history

as we know it th at the two offices w ere separated .
Indeed long afterward the monarchs of B abylonia

,
and Assyria appear to have taken especial pleasure

in styling themselves the priests of such and such a
deity and in all likelihood they personally of ciated
,
at the altars of the gods on occasions of high reli

iou s sancti t y The priesthood in general was calle d
g .
s ha ngu ,
which may mean sa c ric e r and there is ,

little doubt that at rst as a mong other peoples the

, ,
B abylonian priest w a s practicall y a medicine man -

.
It was hi s business to secure people fro m the attacks

of the ev il de mons who caused disease and the wiles
of w itches and to forecast the future and discover
,
the will and intentions of the gods It is quite clear .
how such an o f cial as this ca me to be known as the

sa c ric e r for it would see m that the best way to
,

nd favour with the gods was to make offerings to

the m t h rough an accredite d intermediary Indee d .
the early priesthood of Babylonia appears to have

been as much magical as religious and we read of ,
the ma lehhhu or soothsayer the m ushela or necro

, , ,
m a nc e r the a r ip u or sorcerer and the m a s hma s hu

, , , ,
or charmer whose especial functions are probably

,
ou t lined in their several titles .
B ut as civilization proceeded and theological

Opinion took shape religious cere monial began to
,
take the place of what w a s little better than sorce ry .
It has be e n said that magic is an attempt to force the

2 39
hands of the gods to overawe the m whereas religion
, ,
is an a ppeal to their protec tive instincts Now .
when the feeling began to obtain that there was such

a quality a s j ustice in the universe and when the ,
idea o f j ust gods had an acceptance a mong the pe ople

through the instruction of thinking theologians the ,
more vulgar practices o f the sorcerer priests fell -
out of favour with the upper classes if not with the ,
populac e and a more imposing cere monial took the

,
place of mere incantation B esides b eing fo unded

.
,
on the idea o f mercy as opposed t o mere power ,
religion ha s invariably reco mmended itself politi ,
cally S peaking to the class of mind which makes for

,
immediate and practical progress as apart fro m

that which seeks to encourage mere S peculation .
As the ritual grew the necessity for new branche s

of the priesthood was discovered At the head of .
the priestly organization was the sha ngan ma lehu ,
and each class of priests had its chief as well The

priests were a caste that is it is probable
.
, ,
that the right to enter the priesthood was vested

in certain families but many young men were
,
educated by the priests who did not in a fter life

exercise their functions but who beca me scribes or
,
lawyers .
AS in the ca se of most primitive religions the day ,
of the priest was carefully subdivided I t was made .
up of three watches and the night was divided into

,
a similar nu mber of watches Three relays of priests

.
thus o ffi ciated through the day and three through the
night .
Priestesses were also known in Babylonia and ,
many re ference s are made in the texts to the sacred

women .Some of these wer e:exorcisers and others

, ,
like the Greek pythonesses p resided at oracular
2
4o
S A CRI FICE S
S hrines The cult of Ishtar in especial had many
.
attendant priestesses and thes e were of several

,
classes .
S a ifi
cr c es
L ike the other Se mitic peoples the B abylonians

attached great importance to the question of sacrifices .
Professor Robertson S mith has pu t it on record in

his Religion of t he Semites that sacrifi ce a mong,
that race was regarded a s a meal shared between

the worshipper and the deity This view of sacri .
c e is almost world wide a mong p eople s in the

-
higher stages of barbaris m if not in those of

savagery .
There is no source fro m which we can denitely

discover the exact manner o f B abylonian and Assyrian
sacrices As civilization advance d what was in
.
~
tended for the god almost invariably went for the

use of the te mple Certain parts of the animal
.
which were not t to eat were burned to the glory

of the deity The bloo d of the animal may however
.
, ,
have been regarded as more directly pleasing to the

gods and was probably poured out upon the altar
, .
This practice is distinctly of magical origin The .
wizard believes that the dead de mons and super , ,
natural beings in general have a special desire for

blood and we re me mber Homer s vivid description
,
of how when the trench was cut and the blood of the
,
V ictims poured therein the shadowy presentment s

,
of the dead fl ocked about it and devoured the stea m

arising from the sacrice In some cults blood alone
.
is o ffered to the gods and perhaps the most striking

,
instance of this is afforded by the religion of ancient

Mexico in which blood was regarded as the pabulu m
,
or food of the gods and the body of the victim a s

,
Q 2 41
MYTHS OF B AB YLONIA AND AS SYRIA
the cere monial corpse of the deity to b e eaten by
his worshippers .
Th e T em p les of B aby l onia and A ssy r ia

The te mple building phas e is chara cteristic of
-
Babylonian religion fro m an early stage More than .
3000 years before the nal extinction of the cult we

find places of worship being raised in the E uphrates
Va lley Even in later times these Babylonian
.
structure s would appear to have been built for

practical rather than aesthetic purposes and in the ,
early part of the te mple bu ilding epoch they were -
o f the crudest description mere rude structures of ,
brick without an atte mpt at architectural elabora

,
tion An early i deal was to reproduce in miniature

.
the mountain of all lands Kh u rsag kurkura -
the birthplace o f the gods and to this end the

,
te mple was erected on a mountain like heap of earth -

.
To the primitive one storied building other stories

-
came to b e added till in pursuit of a general ideal

,
o f height they ca me to b e veritable Towers of B abel ,
aspiring to reach to heaven These zihleura ts or .

,
staged towers as they have been called were built

, ,
of brick and were quadrangular in form their four

, ,
sides facing north south east and west respectively

, , , .
Their sombre and unlovely appearance was relieve d

to so me extent by the u se of brilliant colourings but ,
in neither for m nor c olour need we look for any

particular artistic interest nor any especial religious ,
or other symbolis m though attempts have been

,
made b oth in later B abylonian and in our own times

to nd astrological interpretations of these B y and .
b y the zikkurat ca me to be more of a high place -

than a te mple the altars and sanctuary proper being

,
disposed about its base .
2 42
1 .
Z ikkur ts f t h A n n A d d t As h ur
a o e - a a
St ge T o w er t S m rr
2 . a a a a a
F r o m Re l i gi o u s l it /u ! an d I
mc lu c Il a ln lom a
'
a nd h) l m lt

'
s sm M or ri s
J a s t i ow
P ut na m
'
Sons
By [ic n m
ssw n 0 / II eSsrs (I P . s
2 42
TEMPLES OF B A B YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
With this develop ment of the te mple area a new
phase was inaugurated Huge courts were built .
,
supported by brick columns and enclosing all the ,
various buildings connected with the cult of the deity

to who m the te mple was dedicated These courts .
,
which were for the most part open to the sky covere d
a large area as much perhaps as ten or twelve
,
, ,
acres in some cases B rick was still the material

.
e mploye d in their structure though wood was use d ,
for gateways and for roofs for the s maller te mples .
As time went on they beca me more richly decorate d ,
precious metals and woods were imported for their

adornment and draperie s and coloure d bricks were
,
e mploye d with more or less aesthetic intent In .
some Assyrian te mples stone colu mns were e mployed .
The interior of the temple proper consisted of a central

hall a holy of holies wherein w a s se t the statue o f
, ,

the god in whose honour the sanctuary was built and ,
an asse mbly roo m where the gods of the pantheon met

-
.
The te mples of B abylonia rese mble very closely

thos e of ancient Mexico and Central America for ,
j ust as the Chaldean te mple was evolved fro m the

idea of the holy hill so was the Mexican teoca lli
,

,

or house of God O riginating probably in a rude
.
mound of earth the te mple in both countries came

,
through the march o f civilization under the influence

o f architecture proper In America there are S till
.
extant many links in the chain of evolution between

the rude earth mound and the carven teoca lli b ut
-
,
in the cas e of B abylonia we have only inference to

support the theory o f such a development This .
inference is however of a very powerful character

, ,
.
Commencing probably with a one story struc ture -

,
we nd both the Mexican and B abylonian high
places developing a s econd then a third fourth

, , ,
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND AS S Y RIA
fth and even S ixth stage in the case o f Babylonia
, ,
and so metimes a fourth in the case of Mexico .
A sharp distinction must b e drawn between the

Egyptian pyramid and the temples of Babylonia
and Assyria The pyramid of the Nile country was
.
undoubtedly developed fro m the grave mound the -

,
cairn I t is the burial place of a monarch and has

.
-
,
nothing whatever to do with religious worship The .
zikkurats of Babylonia and the teocallis of Mexico ,
as their names i mply were un questionably religious in

,
origin and had nothing whatsoever to do with burial

, .
B ut one essential di fference there was between

the m and that is that whereas in Mexico the teocallis
, ,
seldo m possessed interiors this was very fre quently

,
the case with the te mples of Babylonia It is true .
that the Mexican te mples ha d attached to the m

buil dings called teop a n but these appear to have
,
been dwelling places for the various grades of priests

-
.
In Babylonia on the other hand another de sc rip

, ,
tion of residence arose This was the te mple proper

.
,
a part fro m the zikkurat or tower Mos t Babylonian .
cities had a denite religious quarter and excava ,
tions have made us familiar to some extent with the

plan and appearance of these Perhaps the best .
known exa mple is that at Nippur the extent of ,
which appears to have been about sixteen acres .
A large court was lined with brick columns and ,
when excavated was found to have supported a

wooden roof Close to this was the building in
.
w hich the te mple re cords were kept The people .
gathered for worship in a second court of S ixty wooden

colu mns with supports and capitals of metal and ,
there in a basin S pecially built for the purpose

, ,
they made their ablutions before o ffering up sacrice .
At the eastern end of this courtyard was placed a

2 44
TEMPLE S OF B A B YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
tent containing the ark This kind of courtyard
.
may be said to be characteristic o f the Se mitic

worship a s there was undoubtedly such a struct u re
,
in most Hebrew te mples This court of colu mns .
was surrounde d by cha mb ers which probably serve d

the purpose of administrative offices and perhaps
dwellings for the priests and attendants or booths ,
for the sale of sacricial o fferings The training .
college for the younger priests wa s also within the

temple area as were the astrono mical observatories
, ,
and around these gathered the learned o f the district ,
j ust as they did in the te mple at Jerusale m to dispute

concerning religious matters and to S plit theological
hairs The B abylonian priests were also the lawyers
.
of their period and the courts of j ustice were probably

,
hard by the te mple .
Many of these religious areas as for exa mple , , ,
those at Babylon Nippur Sippar and U r must have

, , , ,
been so extensive a s to have constitute d what were

in reality sacred cities The whole was enclosed
.
by a containing wall and even the several divisions

,
of the te mple buildings were als o surrounded by

lesser walls The m a t e rial of which these edices
.
were built was the universal one of bric k In early .
days su n dried brick was employed but as its use

-
,
resulted in the cru mbling and S peedy destruction

of most of the edices co mpose d of it kiln dried ,
bricks were substituted for it and as these were ,
often glazed their durability was much enhanced .
The ce ment used to hold these together was common

bitumen found in great quantities in B abylonia
, ,
and the roof was usually built of wood cedars fro m ,
L ebanon being a favourite material for carpentering .
Fro m the restoration plans with which several

explorers have f urnished us we can j udge how S tately
2
45
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA A N D A SS YRIA
and striking the interior of many of the Babylonian
te mples must have been The enamelled bricks .
,
the hig hl y polished woodwork the brilliant precious

-
,
stones the gold and silver inlaid on the wall s and

,
ceilings must indeed have dazzled the beholder .
The Se mites were prone to the u se o f bright colours ,
and as it was the aim of the architects to outshin e

the sun itself in their interiors we can j udge of the ,
effect Draperies and rugs were probably also lavishly

.
used The wooden gates were overlaid with bronze

.
in high relief Passing through the m the worshipper

.
must have been deeply affe cted by the wonderful

play of colour and S hadow combined in the interior .
The vastness of length and height would inspire

hi m with deep awe a nd the curtain s creening the
,
holy of holies would b e for hi m the boundary betwixt

the human and the divine B ehind this curtain was .
probably the statue of the g o d and the cha mb er which ,
contained this was known as the p ap a hhu which ,
means S hut o ff
In all probability no one had
.

access to it but the king and high religious O f cials .
I t was indeed the holy of holies A S tone tablet foun d .
at Sippar represents the god Sha mash seated in such a

cha mber He is sitting on a low throne and before
.
,
him is an altar containing a symbol of the sun god -

.
A monarch and priest stand before him The decora .
tion of such a cha mber w as lav ish in the extreme the g

,
fl oors walls and ceiling being inlaid with precious

, ,
stones and in so me cases as that of Merodach in

, ,
the te mple of B abylon the statue and the altar ,
in front of it were of solid gold .
Th e G r e at Tem p le a
B uilde r s
The history of te mp le building in Babylonia begin s
-
at an early date We nd Sargon and Nara m

. sin
2
46
THE G REAT TEMPLE BUILDERS
calling themselves B u ilder of the Te mple of En lil in -
Nippur Gudea was probably the rst potentate

.

to achieve great results in te mple building Kha m -

.
mu ra bi was also active as a b uilder of sanctuaries .
B ut besides planning the erection of ne w te mples ,
the kings of B abyloni a and Assyria appear to have

been zealous in the restoration and improve ment of the
older te mples in the land Restoration was fre quently
.
necessary because of the fact that many of the older

shrines had been b uilt of sun dried brick which ha d
-
,
not the same lasting power as the glazed bric k drie d

in kilns used in later times .
The Assyrian con querors of B abylonia considered

it their policy as well as their pleasure to restore many
of the ancient S hrines of the land they ha d su bdued ,
and in doing so they fre quently allude in their

records to the age of the te mple on which they are
at work sometimes providing us with a clue to the
,
date of its foundation In this way we can trac e the

.
history of so me of these ancient buildings over a

S pace of more than 3000 years Such a sanctuary .
must have appeared to the Assyrian monarch who

rebuilt it as an edice erecte d in the days of Solo mon
,
would see m to u s Thus in the times of the later

.
Assyrian kings so me o f the older te mples would have

behind the m a record as ancient as th a t o f the te mple
a t Jerusale m to day ! -
The Assyrian restorers of these ancient fanes

refer piously to their original builders They care .
fully unearthed the Old foundation S t ones which the y -

,
preserved and clung tenaciously to the ritual whic h

,
had been celebrated in the te mples of B abylonia fro m

very early times .
There are many long lists of temples in existence

,
and assu ming that each god possessed his own shrine
, ,
2
47
MYTH S OF B A B YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
hundreds of temples must have been scattered over
the length and breadth of the northern and southern
lands These were probably much m ore nu m e rous
. _

in B abylonia which was older a nd whose peopl e

, ,
exh ibite d a greater religious feeling .
Th e Tem p le f B Kur
o a
The oldest known temple in Babylonia was that

of E Kur at Nippur sacred to En lil I t was pro
-
,
-
.
bably founded so mewhere about 4000 B C or even . .

,
a t an earlier date B efore the time of Sargon we .
nd the rulers Of Nipp ur e mbellishing the te mple

there The climate of the place necessitate d fre q uent
.
repairs and by reason of o c c asional popular re v olu

,
tions the fabric received considerable damage We .
nd U rbau about 2 700 B C building a zikkurat in the . .
te mple area at Nippur and a few centuries after ,
ward B ur sin repairing this zikkurat and a dding a

-
new S hrine E Kur sa w nu merous political changes

.
-
,
and when foreign dynasties ruled the land its im

portance waned somewhat B u t later al ien rulers .
shrewdly sa w the a dvantage o f restoring its rather

tarnished S plendour a nd we nd several kings of ,
the Kassite dynasty (e 1 400 B C ) SO far honouring . . .
it as to place within its connes a votive obj ect fro m

E lam which had originally been placed in the te mple
,
of Ishtar at Erech whence it had been re move d ,
by an Elamite con queror about 900 years before .
This was almost as re markable as if the Stone of

De stiny the L ia Fail in W estminste r Abb ey were
, ,
t o b e restored to its original seat in Ireland .
The te mple at Nippur w a s at this time dedicated

to B e l before that deity was ousted by Merodach .
Al most every one of the Kassite rulers made more

or less costly additions to the temple at Nippur and ,
2 4 8
THE MOON CITY
UR /
from their several inscriptions we can fo llow its

history down to Assyrian times About the twelfth .
century B C E Kur yielded its supre macy to E Sagila

. .
- -
.
I t w a s sacke d and partially destroyed until later ,
restored by Assyrian monarchs who conscientio usly ,
r e decorate d
-
it and erecte d many new b uildings
within its area B ut during the new B abylonian
.
perio d it was once more sacked by order of southern

rulers and at the end of the seventh century B C
,
. .
its history co me s to a close Its S ite however did .

, ,
not lose its sanctity for it was used as a ce metery

,
and partially inhabited till the twelfth cent ury A D . .
Th e B rill iant
H ouse
This outline of the history of E K ur will serve for -
that of many other Babylonian te mples The temple .
of Sha mash at Sippar which w a s known as E babbara

,
-
,

or the B rill iant House can b e trace d back as

,
far as the days of Nara m Sin This was also restore d

-
.
by monarchs of the Kassite dynasty but the no madic ,
tribes who ever threatened the peace of B abylonia

, ,
made an inroa d scattered the priesthood and de

, ,
stroyed the great idol of Sha mash It was nearly .
5 00 years after this that the B rilliant House

wa s restored to its former glory by Nabu baliddin -
.
Neb uchadrezzar rebuilt portions of the temple as ,
did the last King of Babylonia Nabonidus who , ,
s candalized the priests of Babylon b y h is preferenc e

for the worship of Sha mash .
Moon City
Ur , t h e
We S hall re member that one o f the principal

centre s of the cult of the moon was at U r the city ,
whenc e ca me Abra m the Patriarch and it is ,
prob a ble that he was originally a moon worshipper -

.
2 49
MYTHS O F B AB YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
Another such centre of lunar a doration was Harran .
These places were regarde d as especially sacrosanct ,
as the moon cult was more ancient than that of the

-
su n and was therefore looked upon with a greater

,
degre e of veneration B oth of these cities possessed

.
te mples to Sin the moon god and in the m astrology

,
-
,
and S tellar observation were enthusiastically carried

on Harran was more than once overrun by the
.
erce nomadic tribes of the deser t but its prestige ,
s urvive d even their destructive tendencies .
The te mple of E anna at E rech dedicate d to

-
,
Ishtar was one of the most fa mous sanctuaries in

,
Babylonia I t is allu de d to in one of the creation

.
legends as were also the te mples at Nippur as The

, ,

bright house of the gods .
Th e T w in T em p les
The te mple of Merodach at E Sagila and that of -
Nabu at E Z ida were inseparably associated for a

-
,
visit to one practically necessitated a visit to both .
An original rivalry between the gods had ended in a

S pecies of a malgamation and together they may b e
,
said to have symbolized the national religion o f

B abylonia Indeed so gre at was their in fluence that
.
it can s carcely b e over esti mated The theological

-
.
thought of the country e manate d fro m the schools

which clustered around them and they were the ,
great literary centres o f B abylonia and thus the ,
progenitors of Assyrian culture .
T em p l es as B ank s
I t was perhaps typical of the race that its places
o f worship S hould gradually become great nancial
centres and the nuclei of trade and usury Heavil y .
e ndowed as they were by the kings of Babylonia

2 5o
E cx av a te d R ui n s f t h T e m p le f E S
o e O - a g rl a
Th e two wa ll s inh t m k h
t e c e n re h ar t e e n t ra nc e to t e p assa g e . :1
q tr
ua r e of 1 m il l g wh h
e on d h T wn e u nnt c t e t e o e r of Ba e bl
th m pl
. ,
c \ is te e 2
5 0
ll l by m ic /m a nd um] I w lu w ood . l o m lon

COIVJ '
l li
FEA S T S AND FES TI V AL S
and Assyr ia and boasting immense wealth in lands

, ,
s ubsidies and S laves they also ha d at their co m

, ,
mand an army of workmen and labourers B ut .
their directors were also bankers and mone y lenders -

,
buyers and barterers of produce and manufactures

of every kind estate agents and men of co mmerce
,
-
generally Sacred O bj ects of every kin d were on

.
sale in the te mple precincts idols votive o fferings , , ,
a mulets and SO forth With what obj ect did the

,
.
priesthood of Babylonia pursue a co mmercial career 3

I t could scarcely have been one in which personal
gain bulked largely as the impersonal te mple
,
swallowed up all the pro t The cost of upkee p of .
s uch S hrines must have been enormous and when we ,
think of the gorgeous nature o f their interiors and ,
the costly character of the rich vessels and a lt a rsj w it h

which they were e quipped we can marvel no longer ,
a t what appears a degrading and unnecessary co m

merce on the part of their priesthood .
Fe ast s and Fest iv als

B abylonian religious festivals were as a rule , ,
periods o f j u bilation and rej oicing Each god ha d .
his own da y of festival in the calendar The rst .
da y of the year or Z a g m u le u w a s sacred to the goddess

,
-
,
B au . Gudea who had made Nin g ir su his favourite

,
-
atte mpted to work him into this festival by uniting

hi m in marriage with B a u and he o ffers her marriage
,
gifts on Ne w Year s Da y B ut later the Zag m u h u

.
-
was transformed into a festival to Merodach The .
circu msta nce that it was celebrated in the rst month

of the year shows that it did not originally belong
to Merodach whose month wa s Ma rc h e sh u a n the
, ,
eighth B u t it is elo quent of his popularity that

.
the great Ne w Year s feast S hould have bee n dedicated

2 51
MYTH S O F B ABYLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
to him I t see ms to have lasted for a t least ten or
.
twelve days As has already been described the

.
,
union of Nab u and Merodach father and son was , ,
sole mnly celebrated Nabu piously paying a visit

,

to his father s sanctuary The other gods were sup .
posed to assemble in S pirit in Merodach s te mple
to witness the cere mony and afterwards the priests ,
of Merodach escorted the idol of Nabu back to its

S hrine themselves carrying the image of their deity
, .
To behold this festival which was celebrated with ,
all possible magnicence people fl ocked from all parts,
of Babylonia The king approaching the Statue of

.
,
the god seized its hands in token of covenant and

, ,
in later times Assyrian monarchs in order to legitima ,
t ize the mselves as rulers of Babylonia went through ,
this cere mony which came to b e recognized as duly

,
fullling their claims to sovereignty in the southern

land ; but whereas they went through the cere
mony once only the kings of Babylonia celebrated it
,
annually with the intensest possible devotion .
Th e Ch am ber o f Fat es
O n the e ighth day of the festival all the gods
were thought to asse mble in Merodach s Cha mber
of F ates to hearken to Merodach s decree concern

,

ing the fates o f men for the ensuing year This .
re markable apart ment was regarded as the repro

duction of the interior of the great mountain wherein
the gods me t in council j ust as the zikkurat wa s ,
thought to typify that mountain itself It was .

s ituated in a special portion of the mountain
known as the Uhshu Kenna and a mong its sacred -

,
na mes is one which may be translated brilliant

cha mb er which S hows that it must have been
,
lavishly decorated Ubsh u Kenna ( or Up sh uk k i

.
-
2 52
LA ME NT ATIO N RIT UAL S
naku ) must b e carefully distinguishe d fro m the
heaven proper of the Babylonian gods I t is

.
S ituated in the east in the Mountain of the Sunrise

, ,
not far fro m the edge of the world where it was ,
bounded by the waters of the great deep It is in .

,

fact the brilliant cha mb er where the sun takes
,
his rise .
Lam ent ation Rit uals

O n the occasion of any national or popular disaster ,
such as defeat in war the appearance of a pestilence

,
or an e clipse of the sun or moon a certain formula ,
of lamentation was gone through which was thought ,
to have the e ffe ct of lessening or averting the malign

influence of ev il powers or the punitive measures
,
of an angry god This for mula varie d of course

.
with the deity or demon who wa s considere d t o have

caused the calamity Many of these ancient la men
.
t a t io ns are written in the Su merian tongue which ,
witnesses to their great antiquity F ro m the m it .
would see m that the B a bylonians were of the Opinion

that if the people had in any way sinned the gods ,
averted their faces fro m them and departing fro m ,
their neighbourhood le ft the m a prey to cala mitie s

o f all kinds A denite ritual a ccompanied thes e
.
form ul as one of the provisions of which was fast

,
ing and puri cation cere monies of a very elaborate

,
nature were also celebrate d by the priests probably ,
in the hope of symbolically washing away the sin

which had so o ffende d the gods .
The formula most in use in these propitiatory

cere monies was that which ob tained in the sacre d
c ity of Nippur and particularly in the te mple o f
E
,
Kur The monotony o f these laments is t yp i

.
cal O i ancient Semitic worship They describe the .
2 53
disasters that have occurred and piteously beg tha t ,
the gods may b e appeased O nly now and again .
in perusing the m does a bright line or a pictures que .
phrase cap ture the eye and re the imagination .
A paraphrase of one o f the m may well chara cteriz e

the whole The god En lil shepherd of the dark
.
-
,
headed people is implored to return to his city , .
He is entreate d by the various na mes of his godhead ,

such as lord of lands
lord O f the faithful word ,

,

lord of self create d vision and SO forth Each

-
, .
separate part of the te mple area is alluded to in the

re quest that he w ill return the great gate the S tore ,
house and the other religious depart ments A touch

, .
ing do mestic picture is drawn o f the deserted homes in

the city ; where the wo man could sa y to her young
husband My husband where sh e could say to the

, ,
young chil d My child where the maiden could

, ,
sa y

My brother where the little girl could say

,

, ,
My father there the little ones perish there the

, ,
great perish In her ban queting hall the wind holds

.
-
revel her streets are desolate

,
.
F ro m some of the texts it would appear that the

su ppliants were ignorant of the Sin they had co m
m it t e d and many so calle d
,
penitential psalms -
are extant in which the stricken one appeals fervently

to the gods to release him fro m the burden of his
unknown sin He weeps and he is unable to restrain
.
,
himself He la ments earnestly and begs through

.
,
the priest for the divine mercy These appeals always .
end in the sa me way that is in the pious h Op e tha t ,
the heart and liver of the god may be app eased .
With the B abylonians as with the modern Armenians , ,
t o who m they are perhaps related the liver wa s ,
regarde d as the seat of the e motions .
O ccasionally a higher intellectual and ethical

I
S4
THE TE RRO R OF E CLIPSE
plane is reached by these prayers
Me n says

.
,
one of them are blind which of the m knows any

,

thing ! They do not even know good fro m evil .
The god is fervently petitioned not to cast his servant

off. He is in a deep morass and he earnestly prays ,
that the deity may take him by the hand may ,
change his sin to grace and per mit the wind to ,
carry o ff his transgressions .
Th e T error of Ec lip se
The terror of eclipse of the sun or m oon wa s a very
real one to the ancient B abylonians The tablet .
with the history of the seven evil gods or spirits ,
though much mutilated gives us a hint of the attack

,
made by the m up on the moon They dwelt in the .
lower part of heaven and were rebellious in heart

, .
Shaped like leopards serpents and angry beasts of

, ,
prey they went fro m city to city on the wings of an

,
ev il wind de stroying and s miting And into the

,
.
heaven O f An u they b urst b ut Bel and Ea took ,
counsel and se t Sin the moon Shamash the su n and

, , ,
Ishtar the planet V enus in the lower part of heaven

to govern and control it along with Anu No .
sooner had this been accomplished than the seven

evil S pirits ercely attacke d the moon god B u t -
.
B el sa w the peril of Sin and said to his attendant

, ,
the god Nus ku Carry word of this thing to the

,

ocean to the god Ea
,
Ea heard the message and
.
,
called his son the god Merodach,

GO my son .
,
Merodach quoth he

,
enter into the shining Sin
, ,
who in heaven is greatly bese t and expel h is ene mies ,

fro m heaven I t is impossible to decipher the
.
context fro m the mutilated re mains o f the tablets ,
but we may ta ke it for granted that the pious e fforts

of Merodach were rewarded with success .
2 55
MY THS O F B A BYLO NIA AND A SSY RIA
An e clipse to most primitive peoples means that
the sun or moon god has either met with disaster
-
or has withdrawn h is face fro m h is worshippers The

.
monthly waning of the moon made the ancients

b elieve tha t it would be entirely blotte d out unless
the god wa s pacied Thus if no eclipse took place
.
it was considered that the efforts of priests and people

had prevailed ; otherwise they were held to have
failed and panic ruled supre me In a certain prayer
,
.
Sin is adj ure d not to withhold his face fro m his

people The day of the monthly disappearance of
.
the moon is called a day of distress but a season

,
of u bile e foll owed upon the advent of the new moon

next day .
2 56
C H APT E R X : T HE MAG I C AND DE MO N .
OLO GY OF BABYLO NI A AND ASSYR IA
I KE other primitive races th e p eoples of

Chaldea scarcely discriminated at all between
religion and magic O ne difference b etween
.
the priest and the sorcerer was that the one e mployed
magic for religious purposes whilst the other used it
for his own ends The literature of Chaldea e sp e c i
.
ally its religious literature teems with references

to magic and in its spells and incantations we se e
,
the prototypes of thos e e mployed by the magicians

t
of medi eval E urope Indeed so closely do so me
.
of the Assyrian incantations and magical practices

resemble those of the E uropean sorcerers of the
Middle Ages and of primitive peoples of the present
day tha t it is difficult to convince oneself that they
are of independent origin .
In Chaldea a s in ancient Egypt the crude an d

vague magical practices of primeval times receive d
for m and develope d into a ccepted ritual j ust a s ,
early religious idea s evolved into dogmas under

the stress o f theological c ontroversy and Opinion .
AS there were men who would disp ute upon religious

questions so were there persons who would discuss
,
matters magical This is not to say that the terms

.
religion and magic possessed any well de ne d

-
boundaries for the m No r is it at all clear that they

.
do for us in this twentieth century They overlap and

.
it has long been the belief of the writer that their rela
tions are but represented by two circles which intersec t
on e another and the areas of which partially coincide .
The writer has outlined his O pinions regarding

the origin of magic in an earlier volume of this series 1
,
1
The Myth: of Ancient Egypt .
R 2 57
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND A S S Y RIA
a nd has little to add to what he then wrote except ,
that he desires to lay stress upon the identication

of early religion and magic It is only when they
.
b egin to evolve to branch out that the two systems

, ,
present di fferences If there is any one circumstance

.
which accentuates the di fference more than ano ther

it is that the ethical element does not enter into
m agic in the sa me manner a s it does into religion .
Tha t Chaldean magic w a s the precursor of E urop ean

medi aeval magic as apart from popular sorcery and
witchcraft is instance d not only by the similarity
b etween the systems but by the introduction into
medi aeval m a gic of the na mes of B abylonian and
Assyrian gods and magicians Again and again .
is Babylon appealed to even more frequently than

Egypt and we meet constantly with the na mes o f
,
B eelzebub Ishtar ( as Astarte) B aal and Moloch

, , , ,
whilst the names of de mons obviously of Babylonian

,
origin are encountered in almost every work on the

,
subj ect F requent a llusions are also made to the

.
wise men and necromancers of Babylon and to ,
the star ga zers o f Chaldea The conclusion is irre

-
.
sist ible that ceremonial magic as practised in the ,
Middle Ages owed much to that of B abylon

,
.
O ur information regarding Chaldean magic is much

more complete than that which we possess concerning
the magic o f ancient Egypt Hundreds of S pells incan
.
,
ta rions and o men inscriptions have been recovered

,
-
,
and these not only enlighten us regarding the class of

priests who practised magic but they tell u s of the
,
several varieties of demons ghosts and evil S pirits ;

, ,
they minutely describe the B abylonia n witch and

wizard and they picture for us many magical cere
,
monies besides informing u s of the names of scores

,
of plants and flowers possessing magical properties of ,
2 58
THE ROOT S OF S CIENCE
magical subs tances j ewels a mulets and the like
, , , .
Also they S peak of sortilege or the divination of the

future of the drawing of magical circles of the exor
, ,
c ism of evil S pirits and the casting out of demons

, .
Th e Root s o f S c ienc e
In these Babylonian magical records we have by
far the most complete picture o f the magic o f the
ancient world I t is a wondrous story that is
.
told by those bricks and cylinders o f S ta mpe d clay

the story o f civilized man s rst gropings for
light F or in these venerable writings we must

.
recognize the rst attempts a t scientic elucidation

o f the force s by which man is surrounded Science .
,
like religion has it s roots deep in magic The

, .
primitive man believes implicitly in the e f cacy o f

magical ritual What it brings about once it can
.
bring about again if the proper conditions b e present

and recognized Thus it possesses for the barbarian
.
a s much of the element of certain ty a s the scientic

process does for the che mist or the electrician Given .
c ertain causes certain e ffects m ust follow Surely then .

,
in the barbarous mind magic is pseudo sc ie nt icoi

,
-
,
the nature of science .
There appears a deeper gloom a more o minous ,
S pirit of the ancient and the obscure in the magic

of old Mesopota mia than in that of any other land .
I ts mighty sanctuaries its S ky aspiring towers ,

-
,
S ee m founded upon this belief in the effica cy o f the

S poken S pell the reiterated invocation Thousands
,
.
o f spirits various and gro tes que the parents o f the ,
ghosts and goblins of a later day haunt the purlie us ,
of the te mple battening upon the remains o f sacri

,
c e (the leavings o f the gorged gods ) flit through ,
the night bound streets and disturb the rest of the

-
,
2 59
MYTH S OF B A B YLO NIA AN D A SS Y RIA
d we ll ers in houses De mons with claw and talon
.
va mpires ghouls all are there Spirits blest and

,
.
,
unbles t j inn witch hags lemures sorrowing u n

, ,
-
, ,
buried ghosts No typ e of supernatural being a p

.
pears to have b een unknown to the imaginative

Semites of old Chaldea These must all be laid .

,

exorcised or placated and it is not to b e marvelled

, ,
a t that in such circumstances the trade of the necro

m a nc e r fl o urished exceedingly The witch or wizard .
,
however the unprofessional and det a ched practitioner

,
with no priestly status must beware He or she was ,

.
regarded with suspicion and if one fell S ick of a strange ,
wasting or a disease to which he could not attach

a na me the nearest sorcerer male or female real or
, , ,
imaginary was in all probability brought to book

, .
Pr iestl yWizards
There were a t least two classes of priests who
dealt in the occult the ha r il or seers and the arip il , , ,
or wizards The caste of the ba r wa s a very ancien t

.
one dating a t least fro m the time of Kha mmurabi

, .
The ba r performe d divina tion by consulting the

livers o f animals and also by observation of the
fl ight of birds We n d many of the kings o f B aby
.
lonia consulting this class of soothsayer Sennacherib .

,
for exa mple sought from the ba r the cause o f his

,
father s violent death The a sip on the other hand

.
, ,
was the remover o f taboo and bans of all sorts ; he

chante d the rites described in the magical texts ,
and performed the c ere mo ny of atonement I t is .
H e th a t S t illeth
to rest th t p i t h ll
a ll ,
a ac e a .
B y w h ose i nc nt t i o ns ever y t h i ng i s t p e ce
a a a a .
The gods are upon his right hand and his left they ,
are behind and before him .
2 60
PRIE S TLY
WI ZA RDS
The wizard and the w itch were known as Karrap u
or Ka ssap t u These were the sorcerers or magicians
.
proper and tha t they were considered dangerous to

,
the community is S hown by the manner in which they

are treate d by the code of Kha mmurabi in which it ,
is ordained that he who charges a man with sorcery

and can j ustify the charge shall obta in the sorcerer s
house and the sorcerer shall plunge into the river

, .
B ut if the sorcerer be not drowned then he who

a ccused him shall be put to death and the wrongly
a ccused man shall have his house .
A series of texts known a s Maklu provides us ,
among other things with a striking picture of the

,
B abylonian witch It tells how sh e prowls the S treets

.
,
searching for victims snatching love fro m handsome

,
men and withering beauteous women At another

,
.
time sh e is depicted sitting in the S hade of the wall

making S pell s and fashioning images The suppliant .
prays that her magic may rever t upon herself tha t ,
the image of her which he ha s ma de and doubtless ,
rendered into the hands of the priest shall b e burn t ,
by the re god tha t her words may be force d back

-
,
into her mouth Ma y her mouth b e fat may her

.
,

tongue b e salt continues the prayer The ha ltapp e n
,
.

p la nt along with sesame is sent against her O .
,
w itch like the circlet of this seal may thy face grow
,

green and yellow !
An Assyrian text says of a sorceress that her
bounds are the whole world that Sh e can pass over ,
a ll mountains The writer states that near his door

.
he has posted a servant on the right and left of his

,
door has he se t L ug a lg irra and All a m u that they ,
might kill the witch .
The library of Assur bani pal contains many cune i

- -
for m tablets dealing with magic but there are also ,

2 61
MYTHS OF BA B YLO NIA AND A S SYRIA
extant many magical tablets of the later B abylonian
E mpire These were known to the B ab ylonians by
.
some na me or word i ndica t ive perhaps o f the S pecial

,
S phere of their activities Thus we have the Maklu .
Sur p u Ut u k k i limnt i
evil S p irits and La ba r t u witch
hag series be ,
sides many other texts dealing with magical practices .
The Maklu series deals with spells against witches

and wizards images o f whom are to b e consumed
,
by re to the a ccompaniment of suitable spell s and

prayers The Surp u series contains prayers and
.
incant a tion s against taboo Th at against evil spirits .
provides the haunte d with spells which will exorcise

d emons ghosts and the powers of the air generally
, , ,
and place devils under a ban In other magical .
tablets the diseases to which poor hu manity is prone

are g uarded against and instructions are given on
,
the manner in which they may b e transferred to the

dea d bodies of animals usually swine or goats , .
A T oot h ac h e My th
The Assyrian physician had perforce to b e something
of a demonologist a s possession by devils wa s held
,
to b e the cause o f divers diseases and we nd incanta ,
tions S prinkled a mong prescriptions O ccasionally .

,
too we come upon the fag end of a folk tale or dip

,
- -
momentarily into myth a s in a prescription for the ,
toothache compounded of fermente d drink the ,
plant sa leilhir and oil

,
,
probably as efficacious in
the cas e of tha t malady as most modern ones are .
The S tory attached to the cure is a s follows

When Anu ha d created the heavens the earth ,
created the rivers the rivers the canals and the

, ,
canals the marshes which in turn created the wor m

,
.
And the worm came weeping before E a saying , ,
2 62
E orc i s i n g De m o n s
x of D i se a se
Fr m It d / g l o ws l it / re f 1m ! [ Um / I r e l l a b y / 0 11 1 a um! fw w m , h !
'
o ( lu .
M o rr is
J a s t ro w
l iy

pt n mw on o f l l esw s ( y 1 I M/ m i ni s 5 0l
THE W O RD OF POWE R
What wilt thou give me for my food what wilt ,
thou give me for my devouring I will give thee

ripe figs replied the god
,
rip e gs and scented
,

wood . Bah replied the worm
,
what are rip e ,
gs to me or what is scente d wood

,
L et me drink
a mong the teeth and batten on the gums that I
may devour the blood o f the teeth and the strength

thereof . This tale alludes to a B abylonian super
st it ion that worms consume the teeth .
Th e Word of Pow er
AS in Eg y pt the word of power was held in great
,
reverence by the magicians of Chaldea who be lieve d ,
that the na me preferably the S ecret name of a god

, ,
possessed suf cient force in its mere syllables to defea t

and scatter the hordes o f evil things that surrounde d
and harassed mankind The names of Ea an d Mero
.
dach were perhaps most frequently used to carry de

, ,
struction into the ranks of the de mon army It was .
also necessary to know the na me of the devil or person

against whom his S pells were directed I f to this .
could be added a piece of hair or the nail parings in ,

-
the case of a human being then S pecial ef cacy was

,
given to the enchantment B u t j ust a s hair or nails

.
were part of a man SO was his na me and hence the ,
great virtue ascribed to names in art magic ancient -

,
and modern The na me wa s a s it were the vehicle

.
, ,
by means o f which the magician e stablished a link

between himself and his victim and the B abylonians ,
in exorcising S ickness or disease o f any kind were wont

to recite long catalog ues of the na mes o f evil S pirits
and demons in the hope that by so doing they might
chance to light upon tha t especial individual who
was the cau se of the malady Even long lists of .
names of persons who had died premature dea ths were

2 63
MYTH S O F B AB YLO NIA AN D ASS Y RIA
often recited in order to ensure that they would not
return to torment the living .
B aby lonia n V am p ir es
In all lands and epochs the grisly conception o f the
va mpire has gained a strong hold upon the imagi
nation of the common people and this wa s n o less ,
the case in Babylonia and Assyria than elsewhere .
There have not been wanting those who believed that

vampirism was conned to the Slavonic race alone ,
and that the peoples of Russia B ohemia and the , ,
Balkan Peninsula were the sole possessors of the

vampire legend Recent research however has ex
.
, ,
posed the fa llacy of this theory and h a s shown that ,
far from being the property of the Slavs or even of

Aryan people s this horrible belief is or wa s the p os
,
session of practically every race savage or civilized , ,
that is known to anthropology The s even evil .
S pirits of Assyria are a mong other things vamp i res

, ,
of no uncertain type An ancient poem which was .
chanted by the m commences thus

Seve n th ey ! Seve n
are t h ey ! a re
In t h oce n d ee p seve n
e a th e y !,
ar e
B tte ni ng in h e ve n seve n
a a th ey ,
a re
B re d in t h de p th s f t h oce n ;
e o e a
N ot m le n fe m le
a or th ey a ar e ,
B ut th
a re asro m i ng w i nd bl st
e a -
a .
N o w i fe h ve t h ey n n n t h e y beg et ;
a ,
o so ca
Know i ng ne i th er m erc y n p i t y or ,
Th e y h e r k e n n t to p r yer to p r yer
a o a ,
a .
Th e y h orses re re d m i d t h h i lls
ar e a s a a e ,
Th Ev i l Ones of E
e a
Th ro ne be rers to t h g o ds
-
a th ey e are ,
Th e y S t nd in t h h i gh w y to befoul t h p at h ;
a e a e
Ev i l th e y ev i l
are ,
t h ey ! a re
Seve n t h ey seve n
a re t h ey
,
a re ,
Twi ce seve n t h ey !a re
2 64
B A B YLO NIA N VA MPI RE S
i
Destruct ve stor m s ( and) ev l w nds are th e y , i i
i
An ev l bl a st t h a t h e ralde t h t h e ba neful stor m ,
i
An ev l bl ast , foreru nne r of t h e ba le ful stor m .
Th ey i t chi l d e n
are m gh y r ,
i t so ns
m gh y ,
Her l ds of
a est i le nce the P .
Th ro ne be arers of Ere sk igal

-
,
Th e y are t h e oo d wh i ch rush eth th rou gh t he l and.
Seve n g o ds of t h bro d e rt h e a a ,
Seve n g o ds th e y -
are ,
Seve n g o ds of m i gh t ,
Seve n ev i l de m o ns ,
Seve n ev i l de m o ns f Opp e ss i o n o r ,
Seve n in h e ve n nd seve n n e rth a a o a .
Sp i r i ts t h t m i ni sh h e ve n nd e rth
a a a a ,
Th t m i ni s h t h l nd
a e a ,
Sp i r i ts t h t m i ni s h t h l nd
a e a ,
Of g i nt S tre ng th
a ,
Of g i nt S tre ng th nd g i nt tre d
a a a a ,
De m o ns ( l k e) r g i ng bulls g re t g h osts
i a ,
a ,
Gh osts t h t bre k t h rou gh ll h ouses

a a a ,
De m o ns t h t h ve n s h m e a a o a ,
Seve n th ey !
are
Kno w i ng n c re th e y g r i nd t h l nd l ik e cor n ;
o a ,
e a
Kno w i ng n m erc y t h e y r g e g i nst m nki nd

o ,
a a a a ,
Th ey Sp i ll th e i r bloo d l ik e r i n a ,
Devour i ng t h e i r fles h ( nd) suc ki ng t h e i ve i ns a r .
They are dem o ns fu ll of v i ole nce ce aselessl y devour i ng ,
b loo d .
1
This last line clearly indicates their character as

vampires They are akin to the Rakshasas of I ndia
.
or the arch demons of Z oroastrianism S uch de mons

-
.
are also t o be seen in the P olynesian t ii the Malayan ,

ha nt u p enya din a dog headed water de mon and the
,
-
,
leep hu of the Karens which under the form of a ,
W izard s head and S tomach devours hu man s ouls

.
Fro m S mit i M g i by R C m p bell Th o mp so n p 47

e c a c,
(By . a , .
p e rm i ss i o n
o f Messrs L u c nd C L ndo n ) za a o. , o .
2 65
Tylor considers vampires to b e causes conceived in
S piritual form to account for specic facts of wasting

disease Afa na sie f regards the m a s thunder gods
.
-
and S pirits of the storm who during winter slu mber ,
in their clo ud c ofns to rise again in spring and draw

-
moisture fro m the clouds B u t this theory will .
scarcely recommend itself to anyone with even a

S light kn owledge of mythological science The Abb .
Ca lm e t s difficulty in believing in va mpires was that

he could not understand how a spirit could leave its

grave and return thence with ponderable matter in
the form of blood leaving no traces showing that the
,
surface of the earth above the grave had been stirred .
B ut this view might be solved by the occult theory

of the precipitation of matter
Th e B ibl e Mag ic and
The earliest B iblical account of anyth ing supposed

to be connected with magic is to b e found in the ,
history o f Rachel When with her S ister L eah an d

.
,
her husband Ja cob S he had left the house o f her

,
father Rachel had stolen the images that were her

.
father s Then L aban overtook Jacob

. and
L aban said yet wherefore hast thou stolen my
gods ! and Jacob answered and said With ,
whomsoever thou nde st thy gods let him not live : ,
before our brethren discern thou what is thine with

me and take it to thee F or Jacob knew not that
, .
Rachel had stolen them And L aban went into .
Jacob s tent and into L eah s ten t and into the two

,

,

maid servan ts ten t but he found them not Then
-
,
.
went he out of L eah s tent and entered into Rachel s

tent Now Rachel had ta ken the images and put

.
,
the m in the camel s furniture and sa t upon them

.
And L aban searched all the tent but found them not , .
2 66
THE S PEAKI NG HEA D
And S he said to her father L et it not displease my ,
lord that I cannot rise up before thee And he .

searched but found not the images
, This passage .
has given no little trouble to commentators but most

of them see m to consider these teraphim or images as
something of a magical nature .
Th e S p eak ing H ead

The targum of Jonathan Ben U zziel gives the follow
ing version : And Rachel stole the images of her

father ; for they had murdered a man who w a s a

rst
,
born son and having cut off his head they

, , ,
e mbalmed it with salt and S pices and they wrote ,
divinations upon a plate o f gold and put it under his ,
tongue and placed it against the wall and it conversed ,
with the m and L aban worshipped it And Jacob

,
.
stole the science of L aban the Syrian that he might ,

not discover his departure .
The Persian translation gives us astrolabes instead

of teraphim and implies that they were instrume nts
,
used for j udicial as trology and that Rachel stole ,
the m to prevent her father fro m discovering their

route At all events the teraphim were means o f
.
d ivination a mong believers and u nbelievers ; they

were known a mong the Egyptians and among
Syrians What makes it extre mely probable tha t
.
they were n ot obj ects of religious w orship is that ,
it doe s not appear from any other passage of Scrip

ture tha t L a ban w as an idolater ; besides which
Rachel who was certainly a w orshipper of the true
,
God too k the m it see ms on a ccount of their sup

, , ,
posed supernatural powers It must however be .

, ,
observed that some have supposed thes e teraphim

to have been talismans for the cure of d iseases ; and
others that being rea ll y idols Rachel stole the m
, ,
26
7
MYTHS OF B A B YLO NIA AND AS S Y RIA

t o put a stop to her father s idolatry There is a .
n o t very dissimilar account related ( Judges xviii)

of Micah and his teraphim which seems su f cient ,
to prove that the u se of them was not considered

inconsistent with the profession of the true religion .
G ods onc e Dem ons

Many of the B abylonian gods retained traces of
their primitive de moniacal characteristics and this ,
applies to the great triad E a Anu and En lil who , , ,

-
,
probably evolved into godhead from an animistic

group of nature spirits Each of these gods w a s .
a ccompanied by demon groups Thus the di sease .

demons were the beloved sons of B el the fates ,
were the seven daughters o f Anu and the seven ,

S torm demons the children of Ea In a magical .
incantation describing the primitive monster form

of Ea it is said that his head is like a serpent s the
,
ears are those of a basilisk his horns are twisted into ,
curls his body is a sun sh full of S tars his feet are

,
-
,
a rme d with claws and the sole of h is foot has no

,
heel .

E a was the great magician of the gods ; his

S way over the forces of nature wa s secure d by the

p erformance of magical rites and his services were ,
obtaine d by human beings who performed requi

S it e ceremonies and repeated appropriate spells .
Al though he might b e worshipped and propitiated

in his temple at E ridu he could also b e conj ured in
,
mud huts The latter indeed as in Mexico appear

.
, , ,
to have been the oldes t holy places .
Th eL eg end of Ur a
It is told that U ra the dread demon of disease
, ,
once made up his mind to destroy mankind B ut .
2 68
THE LE G E ND OF URA
Ish nu his counsellor appeased h im so that he
, ,
abandoned his intention and he gave humanity a

,
chance of escape W hoever should praise Ura an d

.
magnify his na me would he said rule the four

, ,
quarters of the world and should have none to

,
oppose him He should not die in pestilence an d

.
,
his speech should bring him into favour with the

great ones of the earth Wherever a tablet with
.
the song of U ra was se t up in that house there ,
should b e immunity from the pestilence .
As we read in the closing lines o f the Gilgame sh

epic the dead were often left unburied in B a bylonia
, ,
and the ghosts of thos e who were thus treated were ,
a s in more modern times and climes supposed to ,
haunt the living until given proper sepulture They .
roa med the streets and byways seeking for sustenan ce

a mong the ga rbage in the gutters and looking for ,
haunted houses in which to dwell denied a s they ,
were the S helter of the grave which was regarded ,

as the true home o f the dead They fre quently

.
terrified children into madness or death and bitterly ,
mocked thos e in tribulation They were in fact .

, ,
the outcasts of mortality Spiteful and venomous

,
because they had not been properly treated The .
modern race which most nearly approximates to

the B abylonian in its trea tment of and a ttitude
to the dea d seems to be the B urmese who are ,
extremely circumspec t a s to how they speak an d

a ct towards the inhabitants of the spirit world as -
,
they believe that disrespect or mocker y will bring

down upon the m misfortune or disease An innite .
number of guardian S pirits is included in the B urman

demonological system These dwell in their ho uses
.
and are the tutelars of village co mmunities and ,
even of clans These are duly propitiate d at which

.
,
2 69
MYTH S OF BAB YLO NIA AND AS S Y RIA
c eremonies rice beer and tea salad are O ffered to
, ,
-
the m Women are employed as exorcists for driving

.
out the evil S pirits .
Pur ific at ion

Puri cation
by water entered largely into Baby
lonian magic The ceremony known a s the Incan
.

cation o f E ridu so frequently alluded to in B aby
,
lonian magical texts was probably some form of ,
purication by water relating as it does to the ho me ,
o f Ea the se a god Another ceremony prescribes

,
-
.
the mingling of water fro m a pool that no hand

hath touched with ta maris k mar ta ka l ginger alkali
,

, , , ,
and mixed wine Therein must be placed a sh ining

.
ring and the mixture is then t o b e poured upon

,
the patient A root o f saffron is then to be taken

.
and pounded with pure salt and alkali and fat of

the m at /eu
bird brought fro m the mountains and with ,
this strange mixture the body of the patient is to b e

anointed .
Th e Ch am ber Mag ic ian

o f t h e Pr iest r
L et us attemp t to describe the trea tment o f a

case by a priest physician magician of B abylonia -
.
The pro ceeding is rather a recondite one but by the ,
aid of imagination as well a s the assistance of Baby

lonian representation we may construct a tolerably
clear picture The chamber o f the sage is almost
.
c ertain to b e S ituated in some nook in one of those

vast and imposing fanes which more closely rese mbled
cities than mere te mples We draw the curtain and .
enter a rather darksome room The atmosphere is .
pungent with chemic odours and ranged on shelves ,
disposed upon the tiled walls are numerous j ars ,
great and small containing the fearsome c ompounds

,
2 7o
THE CHAMB E R OF THE PRIEST MAGICIAN .
which the practitioner applies to the sufferings of

B abylonian humanity The a sip u shaven and austere
.
, ,
asks us what we desire o f him and in the r ole o f ,
B abylonian citizens we a cquaint him with the fact

that our lives a re made mis erable for us by a witch
who s ends upon us misfortune a fter misfortune no w ,
the blight or some equall y intractable and horrible

disease now an evil wind now unspeakable enchant
, ,
ments which t orment u S unceasingly In his capacity .
of physician the a sip u exa mines our bodies shrunken ,
and exhauste d with fever or rheumatism and having ,
prescribed for us co mpounds the mixture with his

,
own hands and enj oins us to its regular application .
He mixes various ingredients in a stone mortar ,
whispering his S pell s the while w ith many a prayer

,
to E a the be ne c e nt and Mero dach the a ll po w erful -
that we may be restored to health Then he promises .
to visit us at our dwelling and gravely bids us adieu ,
after expressing the hope that we will graciously

c ontribute to the upkeep of the house of religion to
which he is attached .
L eaving the darkened haunt o f the a sip u for the

brill iant sunshine of a B abylonian su mmer afternoon ,
we are at rs t inclined to forget our fears and to ,
laugh away the horrible superstitions the relics of ,
barbarian ancestors which weigh us down B ut a s

, .
night approaches we grow more fearful we crouch ,
with the children in the darkest corner of our clay

brick dwelling and tre mble a t every sound The
, .
rush in g of the wind overhead is for us the n oise

o f the La ba r t u the hag demon come hither to tear
,
-
,
from us our little ones or perhaps a rat ru stli ng in

,
the S traw may see m to us the Alu de mon The -

.
ghosts of the dea d gibber at the threshold and even ,
pale U ru lord o f d isease himse lf may glance in a t

, ,
2 71
MYTH S O F BAB YL O NIA AND ASSY RIA
the tiny window with ghastly countenance and eager ,
red eyes The pa in s of rheumatism assail us Ha

. .
,
the evil witch is a t work thrusting thorns into the ,
waxen images made in our S hap e that we may su ffer

the torment brought about by sympathetic magic ,
to which we would rather refer our aches than to the

circumstance that we dwell hard by the river swa mp s -
.
A loud knocking resounds at the door We tremble .
an ew and the children s crea m At last the dread .
powers of evil have come to Su mmon us to the nal

ordeal or perhaps the witch herself grown bold by
, ,
reason o f her immunity has co me t o wrea k fresh,
vengeance The fl imsy door o f b oards is thrown

.
open and to our unsp eakable relief the stern face of

,
the a sip u appears b eneath the fl ickering light o f the

taper We S hout with j oy an d the children cluster
.
,
around the priest clinging to his garments and

,
c lasping his knees .
Th e Witc h Finding
The priest s miles a t our fear and motioning us ,
to sit in a c ircle produces s everal waxen gures o f

de mons which he pla ces on the fl oor I t is noticeable .
tha t these gures all appea r to be bound with minia

ture ropes Taking one o f these in the shap e o f a
.
La ba rt u or hag demon the priest places before it

-
,
twelve s mall ca kes made fro m a peculiar kind of m e a l .
He then pours out a libation o f wa ter pla ces t h e ,
image of a s mall black dog beside that of the witch ,
lays a piece of the heart of a young pig on the mouth

of the gure and s ome white bread and a box of
ointment beside it He then chants something like
.
the following : Ma y a guardian S pirit be present

at my side when I draw near unto the sick man when ,
I exa mine his muscles when I compose his limbs when

, ,
2 72
THE WITCH FINDING
I Sprinkle t h e water of E a upon him Avoid the e .
whether thou art an evil S pirit or an evil demon ,
an evil ghost or an evil devil an evil god or an evil ,
end hag demon ghoul sprite phantom or wraith

,
-
, , , , ,
or any disease fever headache shivering or any

, , , ,

sorcery S pell or enchantment
, , .
Having recited some such words o f power the a sip u

then directs us to keep the gure at the head o f our
bed for three nights then to bury it beneath the ,
earthen fl oor B ut alas no cure results The witch

. .
S t ill torments us by day and night and once more we ,
have recourse to the pries t doctor ; the ceremony is -
gone through again but still the fa mily health does

,
not improve The little ones su ffer from fever and

.
,
bad luck consistently dogs us After a stormy .
scene between husband and wife who di ffer regarding ,
the qualications of the a sip u another practitioner ,
is called in He is younger and more enterprising

.
than the last and he has not yet learned that half the
,
busin ess of the physician is to nurse his patients ,
in t h e nancial sense of the term Whereas the .
elderly a sip u had gone quietly home to bed after

prescribing for u s this young physician who h as his
, ,
spurs to win after being consulted goes home to his

,
clay surgery and hunts up a likely exorcism .
Next day armed with this wordy weapon he

, ,
arrives at our dwelling and placing a waxen image ,
of the witch upon the floor vents upon it the full ,
force o f his rhetoric As he is on the point of leaving

.
,
screams resound from a neighbouring cabin B e .
stowing upon us a look o f the deepest meaning our

a si u darts to the hut opposite and hales forth an
p
ancient crone whose appearance of age and ill ness
,
give her a most S inister loo k At once we recognize .
in her a wretch who dared to menace our children

8 2 73
when in innocent play they cast hot ashes upon her
thatch and introduced hot swa mp water into her
cistern In righteous wrath we lay hands on the
.
abandoned being who for SO many months has cast a

blight upon our lives She exclaims that the pains of .
d eath have seized upon her and we laugh in triumph , ,
for we know that the superior magic of our a sip u

has taken e ffect O n the way to the river we are.
j oined by neighbours who rej oice with us that we ,
have caught the witch Great is the satisfaction .
of the party when at last the devilish crone is cast

headlong into the strea m .
B ut ere many seconds pass we begin to look

incredulously upon each other for the wicked one ,
re fuses to sink This means that sh e is innocent !

.
Then awful moment we nd every eye directed

, ,
upon us w e who were so happy and light hearted

,
-
but a moment before We tremble for we know .

,
how severe are the laws against the indiscriminate

accusation of those suspected of witchcraft As the .
ancient crone continues to float a loud murmuring ,
arises in the crowd and with quaking limbs and ,
eyes full of terror we snatch up our children and

make a dash for freedom .
L uckily the a sip u a ccompanies us so that t h e

crowd dare not pursue and indeed so absurdly , ,
changeable is hu man nature most of them are ,
busied in rescuing the old woman In a few minutes .
we have placed a ll immediate danger of pursuit

behind us The a sip u has departed to his temple
.
,
richer in the experience by the lesson of a false
prescription 1
After a hurrie d consultation we
.

quit the town S kirt the arable land which fringes

,
1 H i s e e m p t fro m t h p u ni sh m e nt p rov i de d by t h code f

e x e e o
Kh m m ur bi f t h f lse cc us ati o n
a a or e a a .
2 74
THE MA GIC CI RCLE
it and plunge into the desert
,
She who was opposed .
t o the employment of a young and inexperienced

a si u does not make ma tters any b etter by reiterati ng
p
I told you so And he who favoure d a second

.

opinion on paying a night visit t o the city
, ,

discovers tha t the witch has succu mbed to her

harsh treatment ; that his hous e has b een made

over to her relative s by way o f comp ensation an d ,
that a legal process ha s been taken out against him .
Returning to his wife he acquaints her with the

sad news and hand in hand with their weeping
,
o ffspring they turn and face the desert .
Th e Mag ic Circ le
The magic circle as in use a mong the Chaldean
,
sorcerers bears many points o f resemblance to tha t

,
described in m e dimv al works on magic The Baby .
lonian magician when describing the circle made

, ,
seven little winged gures which he Se t before an

,
image of the god Nergal After doing so he S tated

.
that he had covere d them with a dark robe and

bound them with a coloured cord setting bes ide ,
the m tamarisk and the heart of the palm tha t he ,
had completed the magic circle and had surrounded

the m with a sprinkling of lime and fl our .
Tha t the magic circle of m e dize v a l times mus t

have been evolved from the Chaldean is plain fro m
the strong resemblance between the two Directions .
for the making of a medi aeval magic circle are as

follows
In the rst place the magician is supposed to
x upon a spot proper for s uch a purpose which ,
must be either in a subterranean vault hung round ,
with black and lighted by a magical torch o r else

, ,
in the centre of some thick wood or desert or upon ,

2
75
MYTH S OF BA BYLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
some extensive unfre quented plain where several ,
roads meet or a midst the ruins of ancient castles

, ,
abbeys or monasteries or a mongst the rocks on

, ,
the seashore in some private detached churchyard

, ,
or any other melancholy place between the hours

o f twelve and one in the night either when the ,
moon shines very bright or else when the elements

,
are disturbed with storms o f thunder lightning , ,
wind and rain ; for in thes e places times and

, , , ,
sea sons it is contended tha t S pirits can with less

,
di f culty manifest themselves to mortal eyes and ,
continue visible with the leas t pa in .
When the proper time and plac e are xed upon ,
a magic circle is to b e formed within which the

master and his associates are carefu lly to retire .
The reason assigned by magicians and o thers for the

institution and u se of the circles is that so much ,
ground b eing blessed and consecrated by holy

words and cere monies has a secret force to e xpel
all evil spirits from the bounds thereof and being , ,
S prinkled with sacre d wa ter the ground is puri

,
e d from a ll uncleanness ; beside the holy names of

G od b eing written over every part of it its force ,
becomes proof against all evil S pirits .
B aby lonian Dem ons

Babylonian de mons were legion and mos t o f
them exceedingly malevolent The Ut u k k u wa s
.
an evil spirit that lurked generally in the desert ,
where it lay in wait for unsuspecting travellers ,
b ut it did not conne its haunts to the more barren

places for it wa s also to be found a mong the moun
,
tains in graveyards and even in the sea An evil

, , .
fate be fe l the man upon w hom it looked .
The Rabisu is another lurking de mon that secrete s

2 76
B A B YLO NIA N DE MO N S
itself in unfrequented spots to leap upon passers by -

.
The La ba rt u which has already been alluded to is

, , ,
strangely enough spoken of as the daughter of Anu

,
.
She was supposed to dwell in the mountains or in

marshy places and was particularly addicted to the
,
destruction of children B abylonian mothers were

.

wont to hang charms r ound their children s necks
to guard the m against this horrible hag .
The Sedu appears to have b een in s ome senses a

guardian spirit and in others a b eing of evil propen
S ities I t is o ften appealed to at the end of invoca
.
tions along with the La m a ssu a S pirit o f a S imilar ,
type These malign in fl uences were probably the

.
prototypes of the Arabian j inn t o whom they have ,
many points of rese mblance .
Many Assyrian S pirits were half human and half -
supernatural and some of the m were sup pos ed t o

,
c ontract unions with human beings like the Arabian ,
j inn The o ffspring o f such unions was supposed

.
to b e a S pirit called Alu which haunted ru ins and

,
deserted buildings and indeed entered the houses o f

men like a ghost to steal their sleep Ghosts proper .
were also common enough a s has already been ,
O bserved and those who ha d not been buried were

,
almost certain to return to harass mankind I t .
was dangerous even to look upon a corpse lest the ,
S pirit or e dim m u of the dead man S hould seize upon the

b eholder The Assyrians seemed to be of the opinion
.
that a ghost like a va mpire might drain away the

strength of the living and long for mul a: wer e in
,
existence containing nu merous na mes of haunti ng

S pirits one of which it wa s hoped would apply to the
,
tormenting ghost and these were used for the pur

,
poses o i exorcis m To lay a S pirit the foll owing

.
articles were necessary : seven small loaves of roast

2 77
MY TH S OF B A B YLO NIA AND AS SYRIA
corn the hoof of a dark coloured ox fl our of roast
,
-
,
corn and a li ttle leaven The ghosts were then

, .
asked why they tormented the haunted man after ,
which the flour and leaven were kneaded into a paste

in the horn of an ox and a s mall libation poured into
a hole in the earth The leaven dough was then
.
placed in the hoof of an ox and another libation poure d

,
out with an incant a tion to the god Sha mash In .
another case gures o f the dead man and the living

person to whom the spirit has appeared are to b e made
and libations poured out before both of them then ,
the gure of the dead man is to be b uried and that

of the living man washe d in pure water the whole ,
cere mony being typical of sympathetic magic which ,
thus supposed the burial of the body of the ghost

and the purication of the living man In the .
morning incense was to b e offered up before the sun

god a t h is rising when sweet woods were to be burned
,
an d a libation of sesame wine poured out .
I f a hu man being was troubled by a ghost it wa s ,
necessary that he S hould be anointed with various

sub stances in order that the result of the ghostly
c ontact might b e nullied .
An old text says , When a ghost appeareth in the

hous e of a man there will be a destruction of that
house When it sp eaketh and hearkeneth for an a n
.

swer the man will die and there will be lamentation
,
.
T aboo
The belie f in taboo wa s universal in ancient Chaldea .
Amongst the B abylonians it was known as ma m it .
There were tab oos on many things but especially

,
upon corpses and uncleanness of all kinds We nd .
the taboo generally alluded to in a text a s the barrier

that none can pass .
2 78
TA BOO
Among all barbarous peoples the taboo is usua ll y
intended to hedge in the sacred thing from the pro
fane per son or the common people but it may also b e ,
e mployed for sanitary reasons Thus the fl esh o f .
certain animals such as the pig may no t be eaten

, ,
in hot countries Food must not be prepared by

.
those who are in the slightest degre e suspected o f

uncleanness and these l aws are usually of the most
,
rigorous character ; but should a man violate the

taboo placed upon certain foods then he himself ,
often beca me taboo No one might have any inter

.
course with him He was left to his own devices

.
,
and in S hort became a sort of pariah In the

, ,
.
Assyrian texts we nd many instances of this

kind of taboo and nu merous were the supplica
,
tions tha t these might be re moved If one dran k .
water fro m an unclean cup he had violated a taboo .

L ike the Arab he might not lick the platter clean .
I f he were taboo he might not touch another man ,
he might no t converse with him he might not pray ,
to the gods he might no t even be interceded for by

,
anyone else In fa ct he was exco mmunicate I f

. .
a man cast his eye upon water wh i ch another p erson

had washed his hands in or if he ca me into contact
,
with a person who had not yet performed his ablu

tions he became unclean An entire purication ritual
,
.
was incu mbent on any Assyrian who touched or even

looke d upon a dead man .
I t may b e asked wherefore was this elabora te

,
cleanliness essential to avoid taboo ! The answer

undoub tedly is because of the belief in the power of
sympathetic magic Did one come into contac t wit h
.
a person who was in any way unclean or w ith a corpse ,
or other unpleasant obj ec t he was supposed to co m e

,
within the radi us of the evil which e m a n a ted from it .
2 79
MYTH S OF B A B YLO NIA AN D AS S Y RIA
Pop ular S up er st it ions
The superstition that the evil eye o f a witch or a

-
wizard might bring blight upon an individual or co m

m unity wa s as persisten t in Chaldea as e lsewhere .
Incantations fre quently allude to it a s among the

causes o f sickness and exorcisms were duly directed
,
a gainst it Even to
. day on the site o f the ruins of
,
B abylon children are protected against it by fastening

s mall blue obj ects to their headgear .
Just a s mould fro m a grave was supposed by the

witches of the Middle Ages to be particularly e f c a
c io us in magic so was the dust o f the temple supposed
,
to p ossess hid den virtue in Assyria I f one pared .

one s nails o r c ut one s hair it was considered necessary

to bury the m lest a sorcerer should discover them a nd

u se t he m against their late owner for a sorcery p er
formed upon a part was by the law o f sympathetic
m agic thought to refle ct upon the whole A like .
sup erstition attached to the discarded clothing o f

people for a mong barbari an or uncultured folk the
,
apparel is regarded a s part and parcel of the man .
E ven in our own time simple and uneducated people

t ear a piece from their garments and hang it as an
o ffering on the bushes around any o f the numerou s
healing wells in the country that they may have
j ourneyed to This is a survival of the custom of
.
sacricing the part for the whole .
I f one desired to get rid of a headache one had to

take the hair of a young kid and give it to a wise

woman who would spin it on the right side and
,

double it on the left then it wa s to be b ound int o
,
fourteen knots and the incantation of E a pronounced

upon it after which it wa s to be bound round the head
,
and neck of the sick man F or defects in eyesight the

.
Assyrians wove black and white threads or ha ir s

a8o
O MEN S
together muttering incantations the while and these
, ,
were placed upon the eyes I t was thought too

.
, ,
that the tongues of evil S pirits or sorcerers could b e

bound and that a net because of its many kn ots
,
w a s efcacious in keeping evilly disposed magicians -
away .
Om ens
Divination as practised by means of augury was a
rite o f the rst importance a mong the B abylonians
and Assyrians This wa s absolutely distinct from
.
divination by astrology The favourite method o f

.
augury a mong the Chaldeans of old was that by

exa mination of the liver of a slaughtered animal I t .
wa s thought that when an animal was o ffered up in

sacrice to a god tha t the deity identied himself
for the time being with that animal and that the beas t ,
thus a fforded a means o f indicating the wishes of the

god Now a mong people in a primitive sta te of cul
.
ture the soul is almost invariably supposed to reside

in the liver instead of in the heart or brain More .
blood is secreted by the liver than by any other organ

in the body and upon the opening o f a carcase it
,
appears the most striking the most central and the

, ,
most sanguinary of the vital parts The liver wa s .

,
in fact supposed by early peoples to b e the fountain

,
of the blood supply and there fore of life itself Hepa .
t osc op y or divination fro m the liver was undertaken

by the Chaldeans for the purpose o f determining
what the gods ha d in mind The soul of the animal
.
became for the nonce the soul of the god therefore if ,
the S igns o f the liver of the sacriced animal could be

read the mind o f the god became clear and his int e n ,
tions regar ding the future were known The animal .
usually sacriced was a sheep the liver o f which

I
,
2 81
animal is most complicated in appearance The t w o .
lower lobes are S harply divided fro m one another and

are separated from the upper by a narrow depression ,
and the whole surface is covered with markings and

ssures lines and curves which give it much the
,
appearance of a map on which roads and valleys are

outlined This applies to the freshly excise d liver
.
only and these markings are never the same in any

,
two livers .
Certain priests were set apart for the practice of

liver reading and these were exceedingly expert
-
, ,
be ing a ble to decipher the h e p a t osc 0p ic signs with

great S kill They rst examined the gall bladder
.
-
,
which might b e reduced or swollen They inferred .
various circu mstances fro m the several ducts and the

S hapes and sizes of the lobes and their appendices .
Diseases of the liver too particularly common a mong , ,
sheep in a ll countries were even more frequen t ,
a mong these animals in the marshy p ortions of the

E uphrates Valley .
The lit erat ure connected with this sp ecies of

augury is very ext ensive and Assur ba ni pal s library ,
- -

contained thousands of fragments describing the

o mens deduc ed fro m the prac t ice Thes e enu merat e .
the chief app earan ces of the liver as the sha de of ,
t h e colour of the gall the length of the ducts and , ,
so forth The lob es were divided int o s ections

.
,
lower medial and higher and the int erpret a tion

, , ,
varied from the phenomena therein observed The .
markings on the liver poss ess ed various na mes such ,

as palaces weap ons paths and feet which
,

,

,

,
t erms re mind u s s omewhat of the bizarre no men

c la t u re of astrology L ater in the progress of the .
art the various c ombinations of S igns ca me to b e

known so well an d there wer e so many cuneifor m
,
2 82
C l y bj ect re se b l i g Sh ee p s L i er
a O m n a

v
Tlns i c i b d h m g ic l f m lm it w p b bly
is ns r e n it a a or u as ro a
u d f p rp
se or f h
u t
o se s d wo m p l y d by
( v rna ro n , an as e o e
th p ri ef B hj l th c m i
e st s o a on in en e re on e s
'
I ll olo ll

. 1 Il a / l u l l a nd Co
THE RIT UAL OF HEPATOS CO PY
t exts in existenc e which afforded instruction in
the m that a liver c ould b e quickly read by the
,
ha r d or reader a na me which wa s a fterward applie d

,
t o the astrologists as well and to thos e who divine d

through various other natural pheno mena .
O ne of the earlies t instances on rec ord of h e p a t o

scopy is that regarding Nara m Sin who c onsulte d -
,
a S heep s liver before declaring war The great

.
Sargon di d likewis e and we nd Gudea applying to

,
his liver insp ectors when att e mpting t o discover

a f avourable ti me for laying the foundations of th e
t e mple of Nin girsu Throughout the whole hist ory
-
.
of the B a bylonian monarchy in fac t fro m its early ,
b eginnings t o it s end we n d this sys te m in vogu e

,
.
W hether it was in forc e in Su meri a n ti mes we have

n o means of knowing b ut ther e is every likelihood
,
that such was the cas e .
Th e Rit ual H ep at osc op y

o f
Quit e an elaborat e ritual grew up a round the
readings of the o mens by the exa mination of th e
liver The baru who officiat ed must rst of all
.
purify hi ms elf and don S p ecial apparel for the c ere

mony Pra yers were th en o ffer ed up t o Sha mash
.
and Ha dad or Ra m m on who were known a s the ,

lords of divination Sp ecic qu estion s wer e

.
u sually p ut The S he ep s electe d for sacric e must

.
b e without ble mish and the manner of slaught ering

,
it and the exa minati on of it s liver must b e made

with the most meticulous care S o meti mes the .
S igns were do ub tful and up on such occasions a s econd

,
she ep was sacriced .
Nab onid us the las t King of Babylon on on e

, ,
o ccasion desired t o restore a t e mple to the moon

god at Harran H e wished t o b e certain that this
.
2 83
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND AS S Y RI A
step c o mmended itself t o Merodach the chief deity ,
o f B abylonia SO he applied t o the liver inspectors

,
o f his day and foun d that the o men was favourable .
W e n d hi m als o desirous of ma king a c ertain symb ol

o f the sun god in acc ordance with an ancient pattern
-
.
He plac ed a model of this b efor e Sha mash an d c on

su lt e d the liver of a S heep t o ascertain whether the
god approved of the o ffering but on three s eparat e ,
o ccasions the S igns were unfavourable Nab onidus .
then c oncluded t hat the model of the symb ol c ould

not have b een correctly reproduced an d on replacing ,
it by another he found the signs propitious I n .
order however that there should b e no mis ta ke he

, ,
s ought a mong the records o f the pas t for the result

of a liver insp ection on a S i mila r occasion and by ,
c omparing the o mens he b eca me convince d that

h e w a s safe in making a symb ol .
Peculiar S igns when they were foun d c onne cted

,
with event s of i mp ortanc e were S pecially not ed in

,
the literatur e of liver divination and were handed ,
down fro m generation to genera tion of diviners .
Thus a nu mb er of o mens are associate d with Gilg a

me sh the mythical hero oi the B abylonian epi c
, ,
and a c ertain condition of the gall bla dder is said -
t o indicat e the o men of Ur u m ush the k ing who m , ,

th e men of his palace killed .
B a d S igns and good S igns are enu merated in the

literature of the s ubj ect Thus like most p e oples
.
the B abylonians considered the right side as lucky

an d the left as unlucky Any S ign on the right S ide
.
of the gall bladder ducts or lob es w as s uppose d

-
, ,
t o re fer t o the king the c ountry or the army while

, , ,
a similar S ign on the sinister side applie d t o the

ene my Thus a good S ign on the right side appli ed
.
to B abyloni a or Assyria in a favourable s ens e a ,
2 84
THE MIS SIN G CA RA VAN
bad S ign on the right side in an unfavourable s ens e .
A good S ign on the left S ide w a s a n omen favourab le

t o the ene my whereas a b ad S ign on the left side
,
w a s of course t o the native king o r forces

, , .
It would b e out of plac e h ere to give a more

exten de d des cription of the liver reading of the -
ancient Chaldeans Suffice it t o sa y that the subj ect

.
is a very co mplicat ed one in its deep er signican ce ,
a nd has little int eres t for the general reader in its

a dvanc ed S tages Certain we ll marked c ondit ions
.
-
of th e liver c ould only indicat e c ertain p olitical r eli ,
i u s or p ersonal events I t will b e mor e int erest

g o ,
.
ing if we att e mpt t o visualis e the a c t of divination

b y liver reading a s it was prac tis ed in anc ient
,
B ab yloni a and if our i maginations bre ak down in

,
the p rocess it is not the fault o f the very large

mat erial they have to work upon .
Th e Missing Car av an
The ages ro ll bac k as a sc roll an d I se e mys elf
,
as on e of the great banker merchant s of Babylon

-
,
on e o f thos e princes of co mmerc e whos e c ontra ct s

an d agree ment s a re found sta mpe d upon clay
cylinders where onc e the S tately palac es o f bart er
aros e fro m the swarming street s of the city o f
Merodach I have that morning b een carried i n
.
my litt er b y s w eating S laves fro m my whit e hous e

,
in a lea fy sub urb lying b enea t h the S hadow of the

l ofty t e mple cit y of B or sip p a As I reach my pla c e
.
of b usines s I a m aware of unrest for the nancial

,
op erations in whi ch I engage are so closely wat ched

that I may sa y without self prais e that I repres ent
-
the puls e of B abylonian c o mmerce I ent er the .
cool cha mb er where I usua ll y transact my b usines s ,
and wher e a pair of o ffic iou s Persian S l aves co mmen ce

2 85
MYTH S OF B A B YLONIA AND AS SY RIA
t o fan me as s oon a s I ta ke my s eat My head .
clerk enters and ma kes ob eisance with an expression

on his fac e eloqu ent of i mp ortant news It is a s .
I exp ect ed as I feared The caravan fro m the

.
Persia n Gulf du e t o arrive at Babylon more t han

a wee k ago has n ot yet made its app earanc e an d ,
although I had s ent scouting parties as far as Ninnu r ,
thes e have returned without bringing me the least

intelligenc e regarding it .
I feel convince d that the caravan with my spices ,
woven fabrics rare woods and pre cious S tones will

, ,
n ever co me tinkling do w n the great c entral street

to dep osit its wealth at the doors of my warehouses
an d the thought renders me so irritable that I sharply
dis mis s the Persian fan b earers and curs e again
-
,
and again the bla ck browe d s ons of Elam who have

-
,
doubtless looted my goods and cut the throats of

my guards and s ervants I go home at an early
.
hour full of my mis fort une I cannot eat my evening

.
meal My wife gently as ks me what ails me b ut

.
,
with a growl I refus e t o enlighten her up on the

caus e of my annoyance Still however sh e p ersists
.
, , ,
and succ eeds in breaking do w n my surly opp osition .

Why trouble thy heart concerning this thing
wh en thou mayes t know what ha s happ ened t o thy
goods and thy s ervants ! Get the e t o morrow t o -

the B ar u and he will enlighten thee sh e says
, , .
I start Af t er all wo men have s ense There

.
,
.
can b e no harm in seeing the B aru and as king hi m

t o divin e what has happ ened to my caravan B ut .
I b ethink me that I a m wealthy and that the pries ts ,
love t o pluck a well feathered pigeon I mention

-
.
my suspicions of the priestly cast e in no measured

t er ms t o the distress of my devout wife an d the
,
a mus ement of my s oldier son -

.
2 86
THE MI SS ING CA RAVA N
Restlessly I toss up on my cou ch and aft er a S le ep ,
less night feel that I cannot r esu me my b usiness

with the fear of loss up on me So without b reathing .
a word of my intention t o my wife I direct my ,
lit ter S laves t o c arry me t o the great t emple at

-
B o rsip p a .
Arrived en q uire for the chief B aru He

t h ere, I .
is one o f the friends of my youth b ut for years our ,
paths have diverged and it is with s urpris e that he

,
now greets me I a c quaint hi m with the nature

.
of my dile mma and nodding sympathetically he

,
assu res me that he will do his ut most t o assist me .
So mewhat reassured I follow hi m int o a tile d c our t

,
n ear the far end of which stands a large altar At a .
S ign fro m hi m t w o priests bring in a live sheep an d

cut its throat They then op en the carcas e and
.
extract the liver I mmediately the chi ef B aru b ends

.
his grey head over it F or a long ti me he stares at .
it with the keenest attention I b egin t o weary .

,
an d my Old dou bts regarding the sacerdotal cast e

r eturn At last the grey head ris es fro m the long
.
insp ection and the Bar u turns to me with s miling

,
fa ce .

Th e o men is good my son he says with a , , ,
cheerf ul intonation The c ompass and the hepati c

.
du ct are short Thy pat h will b e protect ed b y thy

.
Guardian Spirit as will th e path of thy s ervants

, .

Go and fear not
,
.
He sp ea ks s o denitely and his words are SO t e

assuring that I se ize him by the hands and thanking , ,
hi m eff usively take my leave I go down t o my

,
.
warehouses in a new S piri t of hope fulnes s and dis

regard the disdainful or pitying looks cast in my
direction I S it u np erturb ed and dic t at e contrac ts
.
and letters of cre dit to my scrib e .
2 87
MYTH S OF BAB YLO NIA AND A S SYRIA
Ha ! wha t is that ! B y Merodach it is it is ,
the s ound of b ells U p I leap upsetting the ,
wretched scrib e who s q uats at my feet an d tra mp ,
ling up on his Still wet clay tablets I rush t o the ,
door Down the street slowly a dvances a travel worn

.
-
caravan an d at the head of it there rides my trusty

,
brown faced captain Bab bar He tu mbles out of

-
,
.
the saddle and kneels b efore me b ut I raise hi m in

,
a clos e e mbrace All my goods he ass ures me are

.
, ,
intact and the caus e o f delay was a s ever e sickness

,
which broke out a mong his followers B ut all have .
recovered and my credit is restored

As I turn t o r e
.
enter my warehous e with Babbar ,
a detaining hand is placed on my S houlder I t is .
a messenger fro m the chief Bar u .
My brother at the te mple sa w thy caravan coming

fro m a far he says p olite ly
, and his message t o
,
the e my son is that S ince thou hast so happily

, , ,
recovered thin e own thou shouldst devot e a tithe

,

o f it t o the service of the gods .
2 88
C HAPT E R X I : T HE MYTHOLO GI C AL
MO NST E R S AND ANI MAL S OF C H AL DEA
IAWATH was not the only monster known t o
Babylonian mythology B ut S he is so me .
ti mes likened to or c onfounde d with the

serp ent of darkness with which she ha d originally n o
c onn exion whatever This b eing was however like
.
, ,
Tia w a t h the o ffspring of the great deep and the

,
ene my of the divin e powers We are told in the .
s econd vers e of Genes is that the earth was without

form and void and darkn ess was up on the fac e of the
,

de ep a nd therefore res embling the abyss of B aby
,
lonian myth We are also informe d that the serpent

.
was este e med a s more s ubtle than other b east of the

eld and this it has b een poin t e d out by Professor
, ,
Sayc e was p robably b ecaus e it was as sociate d by the

,
author or authors of Genesis with E a the go d of ,
waters and of wis dom To B abylonian geographers

.
as t o the Greeks the ocean was a c oiling sn a ke like

, ,
-
thing which was often a lluded to as the great serp ent

, ,
and this s oon ca me to b e considered as the source of

all evil and misfortune The ancients and especially
.
,
the ancient Se mites with the exception of the

,
t nic ia ns app ear t o have regarded it with drea d

,
and loathing The s erp ent appears t o have b een

.
called Aib u the ene my

,

We can se e how the se r
.
p ent o i darkness the o ffspring of cha os and c onfu

,
sion b eca me a lso the Hebrew symbol for mis chief

, .
He w a s rst the sou rc e of physical and next the

s ource o f moral ev il .
Wing ed Bulls
The winge d bulls SO closely identi ed w ith ancient
Chaldean mythology were probably ass ociated with
2 89
' '
1
MYTH S O F BAB YLO NIA AND ASSY RIA
Merodach Thes e may have repres ent ed the origina l
.
t ote mic forms of the gods in question b ut we must not ,
c onfound the b ull forms of Merodach and E a with

thos e winged bulls which guarde d the entrances to

the t e mples These to p erp etrat e a double b ull
.
, ,
were n ot b ulls at all b ut divine b eings the gods or ,
genii of the holy places The hu man head attached .
t o the m indic ate d that t h e creature w as endowe d

with hu manit y and the b ull like b ody symb oli zed -
s treng t h When the B abylonian translat ed the word

.
bull fro m the Akkadian tongue he usually rendered

it hero or strong one I t is thought that the b ull .
for ms of E a and Meroda ch must have originated at

E ridu for both of thes e deiti es were c onnected with
,
the city The B abylonians regarded the sky country

.
-
as a double of the plain in which they dwelt a nd they ,
b elieved that the gods a s planets ploug h ed their way

a cross the a zure elds of air Thus the sun was the .
B ull of L ight

and J upit er the nearest of the
, ,
planets t o the ecliptic was known as the Planet of ,
the B ull of L ight .

Th e Dog in B aby lonia

Stra ngely enough the dog was class ed by the Baby
l onians as a m onst er ani mal and one to b e despis ed
and avoided In a prayer ag ainst the p owers of
.
evil we read F ro m the dog the snake the s corpion

, , , ,
the reptile and whatever is baleful

,
may Mero

dach pres erve us We nd that although the .
Babylonians p oss ess ed an excellent bree d of dog

they were not fond of depicting the m either in paint
ing or bas relief Dogs are s een illustra ted in a h a s
-
.
relief of Assur bani pal and ve clay gures of dogs

- -
,
now in the B ritish Mus eu m rep resent hounds which

b elonge d t o that monarch The na mes of these .
290
A DOG LE GEND
a nimals are very amusing and app ear t o indicate that ,
thos e who b es towed the m m ust have suffered fro m

a complet e lack of the hu morous s ense or else have ,
b een blessed with an overflow of it Translated the .

,
names are : He ran and barked The Producer

- - -

-
of M

B
The it er of hi s foes

-
ischief , The J udge of
- -

- -
his companions and The Seizer o f

,

-
, enemies How - -
.

well thes e na mes would t certain dogs we all know

or have known ! Here is good evidenc e fro m the
b uried c enturies that dog nature like human nature
has n ot changed a whit .
B u t why should the dog fellow hunter with early ,

-
man and the c ompanion of civilized hu manity have ,
b een regarded as evil Professor Sayc e considers

tha t the four dogs o f Merodach were not always
s ent on errands o f mercy and that originally they ,

had b een devastating winds .
A Dog L eg e nd
The fragment of a legend exists which does not
exhibit t h e dog in any very favourabl e light .
O n ce there was a S hepherd who was tor ment ed

by the constant assaults of dogs up on his flocks .
He prayed t o E a for prot ection and the grea t god ,
o f wisdo m s ent his son Merodach t o reassure the

shepher d .
E a has heard thee said Meroda ch

When , .
the great dogs assault thee then O shepherd s e ize , , ,
the m fro m b ehind and lay the m down hold them ,
and overco me the m Strike their heads pierc e .

,
their breasts They are gone ; n ever may they r e

.
t urn Wit h the wind may they go with the st or m

.
,
ab ove it Take their road and cut off their going .
S eize the i r mouths seize their mouths s eize their

, ,
weapons Seize their t eeth and make the m asc end , ,
2 91
MYTH S OF BAB YLONIA AND ASSYRIA
b y the c o mmand of E a the lord of wisdo m b y the ,
c o mmand of Merodach the lord of revelation 1

, .
G azelle and G oat G ods

The gazelle or antelop e was a mythological ani mal
in Babylonia s o far a s it repres ent ed E a w h o is ,

entitle d the princely ga zelle and the g a zelle

who gives the earth B u t this animal was als o
.
appropriate d t o Mul lil the god of Nipp ur who -

, ,

wa s sp ecially called the gazelle god I t is likely .
,
therefore tha t this animal ha d b een worship p ed

,
t ot e mically a t Nippur S cores of early cylinders .
repres ent it b eing offered in sacri c e t o a god an d ,
bas relie fs and other carvings S how it rep osing in

-
the arms of various deities The goat t oo s ee ms .

, ,
t o have b e en p eculiarly sacred ; an d formed one o f

the signs of the zodiac A god called Uz has for his .
na me the Akka dian word for goat Mr Horm uzd .
Ra ssa m found a s culpture d ston e tablet in a t e mpl e

o f the sun god at Sip p a ra on which was a n ins criptio n
-
t o Sin Sha mash ; and Ishtar ; as b eing se t a s c o m

,
p anions at the approach to the deep in sight o f the

god Uz This god Uz is depicted as S itting on a
.
throne watching the revolution of the s olar dis c ;

which is pla ced up on a table an d made t o r evolve
by means of a rop e or S tring He is clad in a rob e .
of goat S kin -
.
Th e G oat Cult
This cult of the goat appears t o b e of very a nci ent
origin and the strange thing is that it S ee ms to have
,
foun d its wa y into m e dimv al and even into modern

magic an d ps eudo religion There is very little
-
.
S yce H ihh t L t u
a , p 2 8 8 (by p er m i ss i o n of Mess rs Wi lliams
er ec rer , .
and Norgat e) .
2 92
TH E G OAT CU LT
doubt that it is the B apho met of the knights t e mpla r -
and the Sabb atic goa t of the witchcraft of the Middle

Ages . It s ee ms al most certa in that when th e
Crusaders s oj ourn ed in Asia Minor they ca me int o
-
c ontact with the re mains of the old Babylonian

cult W hen Philip the F air o f Franc e arraigned
.
the m on a charge of heresy a grea t deal of curiou s

eviden ce was extort ed fro m the m regarding the
worship o f an idol that they kept in their lodges .
The real chara cter of this they s ee med unable t o

explain I t wa s said wh ich the i mage was made in
.
the likenes s o f B aphomet which na me was said

,

t o b e a c orruption of Maho met the general Christ ia n

,
na me a t that p eriod for a pagan idol althoug h ,
others give a Greek deriva tion for the word This .

gure was oft en describ ed as p os s essing a goat s
hea d and horns That too the Sabb ati c goat o f
.
, ,
the Middle Ages was of East ern an d prob ably Bab y

lonia n origin is s carcely t o b e doub ted At the .
witch orgies in F ranc e an d els ewhere thos e who wer e

a fterwa rds brought t o book for their s orceries declare d
that Satan appeared to the m in the shap e of a go at
a nd that they worshipped hi m i n this for m Th e .
Sabbatic meetings during th e ft eenth c entury in

the wood of Mo fflaines near Arras ha d as th eir
, ,
c entre a goat de mon with a hu ma n c ount enance and

-
,
a like end was adored in Ger many and in S cotland .
F ro m all this it is cle ar that the Sa bbati c goat mu st

have ha d so me c onnexion with the Eas t Elip h as .
L evi drew a picture of the B apho met or Sab batic

goat t o acco mpany one of his occult works an d ,
strangely enough the symb ols that he adorns it

with are pecu liarly O riental more over the su n dis c -
gures in the d rawing . Now L evi knew n othing of

Babylonian mythology althou gh he wa s moderat ely
,
2 93
MYTH S OF AS SY RIA
B A B YLO NIA AND
vers ed in the mythology of modern occultis m and ,
it would s ee m that if he drew his infor ma t ion fro m

modern or medi aeval sources that thes e must have
b een in direct line fro m Babylonian lore .
Adar the su n god of Nippur wa s in the sa me

,
-
,
manner c onn ecte d with the pig which may have ,
b een the t ote m of the city he ruled over and many

other gods had att endant ani mals or birds like the ,
sun god of Kis whos e symb ol wa s the eagle

-
,
.
Thos e mons ters who ha d c o mp os ed the host of

Tia w a t h were supp os ed after the defeat and de st ruc
,
tion of their c o mman dress t o have b een hurled like

,
Satan an d his angels int o the a bys s b eneath We .
rea d of their c onfusion in four tablets of the creation

epic This legend S ee ms t o b e the original s ourc e
.
of the b elief that thos e who reb elled against high

heaven were thrust into out er darkness I n the .
B o ok of E noch we read of a great abyss regarding

which an angel said to the prophet This is a plac e ,

of the c onsu mmation of heaven and earth and again , ,
in a lat er chapter Thes e are of the stars who h ave

,
transgressed the command of God the Highest and , ,
are bound here till worlds the nu mb er o f ,
the days of their S ins S hall have consu mmat ed

,
this is the pris on of the angels and her e they are

,

held to eternity Eleven great monsters are S p oken
.
of by Babylonian myth as co mprising the host of

Tia w a t h b esides many less er for ms having the heads
,
of men and the b odies of birds Strangely enough .
we nd thes e monst ers guring in a legend c onc ern

ing an early Babylonian king .
Th eInv asion of th e Monsters

The tablets up on which t his legend w as i mp re ssed
were at rst kn own as the Cut h aea n legend of

2
9+
THE INVA S IO N OF THE MO NS TE RS
creation a misno mer for this legend does not ,
give an account of the creation of the world at all ,
b ut deals with the invasion of B abylonia by a rac e

of monsters who were descended fro m the gods ,
and who waged war against the legendary king

of the p eriod for three years The King t ells the .
story hi mself U nfortunately the rst p ortions of

.
b oth tablets c ontaining the S tory are missing and we ,
plunge right away int o a des cription of the drea d

b eings who ca me up on the p eople of B abylonia in
their multit udes We are told that they preferre d
.
muddy water t o clear water Thes e creatures . ,
says the King were without moral s ense glorying

, ,
in their p ower and slaughtering thos e who m they

,
t ook captives They had the b odies of birds and

.
s ome of the m had the fac es of ravens They had .
evidently b een fostere d b y the gods in s o me

inaccessible region and multiplying greatly they
, , ,
ca me li ke a stor m clou d on the land -

in ,
nu mb er Their king was called B enini their mother

.
,
Me lili and their leader Me m a nga b who had six

, ,
subordinates The King p erplexed knew not what

.
, ,
to do He wa s a fraid that if he gave the m battle

.
he might in some way offend the gods b ut at las t ,
through his priests he addressed the divin e beings

and made offerings o f la mbs in sacrice to them .
H e received a favourable answer and decided to

give battle to the invaders against whom he sent an ,
army of men but not one of these returned

,
alive Again he sent

. warriors to meet them ,
but the same fate overtook these and in the third ,
year he despatched an army o f nearly

troops a ll o f whom perished to a man Then the
,
.
unfortunate monarch broke down and groaning , ,
a loud cried out that he had brought misfortune

,
2 9S
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND A S SYRIA
and destruction upon his realm Nevertheless rising
.
,
fro m his lethargy of despair he stated his intention

,
to go forth against the enemy in his own person ,
saying The pride of this people of the night I will

,
curse with death and destruction w ith fear terror , , ,

and famine and with misery of every kind
, .
B efore setting out to meet the foe he made Offerings

t o the gods The manner in which he overcame
.
the invaders is by no means clear fro m the text but ,
it would seem that he annihilated them by means

of a deluge In the last p ortion of the legend the
.
King exhorts h is successors not to lose heart when in

great peril bu t to take courage from his exa mple .
He inscribed a tablet with h is advice which he ,
placed in the shrine of Nergal in the city of Cuthah .

Strengthen thy wall he said
,
ll thy cisterns
,
with water bring in thy treasure chests an d thy

,
-

c orn and thy silver and a ll thy poss essions He .
also a dvises those o f his descendants who are faced

by similar conditions not to expos e themselves need
lessly to the ene my .
I t w as thought a t on e time tha t this legend applied

to the c ircu mstances of the creation and that the ,
S peaker was the god Nergal who wa s waging war

,
against the b rood of Tia w a t h I t wa s believe d that

.
,
a ccording to local conditions at Cuthah Nergal ,
would have taken the plac e of Merodach but it has ,
n ow been made clear that although the tablet wa s

intende d to b e placed in the S hrine of Nergal the ,
S peaker was in reality an early Babylonian king .
Th e E ag le
As we have seen the eagle was perhap s regarded
,
as a symbol of the sun god A B abylonian fable

-
.
tel ls how he q uarrelled with the serpent and in curred

2 96
E gle h e d e d
a - a Myt h olog i c a l Be i n g
I n t h e L o uv re 2 96
I lrulo H nd L u
'

. l .l / u n st ll a
EA GLE TH E
the reptile s hatred F eeling hungry he resolve d to

.

eat the serpent s young and co mmunicated his ,
intention to his own fa mily O ne of his children .
advised him not to devour the S erpent s brood

,
because if he did so he would incur the en mity o f

the god Shamash B ut the eagle did not hearken
.
to his o ffspring and S wooping down from heaven

,
sought out the s erpent s nest an d devoured his young

.
O n his arrival at home the serpen t discovered his

loss and a t once repa ired in great indignation to
,
Shamash to who m he appealed for j ustice H is

,
.
nest he told the god was se t in a tree and the eagle

, , ,
had swooped upon it destroying it with h is mighty ,
wings and devouring the little serpents as they fell

fro m it .

Help 0 Shamash,
cried the serpent Thy .
ne t is like unto the broad earth thy snare is like ,
unto the distant heaven in widen ess Who can .
escape thee
Shamash hearkening to his appeal describe d to ,
him how he might succeed in obtaining vengeance

upon the eagle .

Take the road said he and go into the
, ,
mountain and hide thyself in the dead body of a

wild ox Tear open its body and all the birds of
.
,
heaven shall swoop down upon it The eagle shall .
co me with the rest and when he seeks for the bes t

,
parts o f the carcase do thou seize him by his wing

, ,
tear off h is wings h is pinions and his claws pull

, , ,
him in pieces and cast him into a pit There may .

he die a death fro m hunger and thirs t .
The serpent d id a s Sha mash had bidden him He .
soon ca me upon the b ody o f a wild ox into which he ,
glided a fter O pening up the carcase Shortly after .
wards he heard the beating o f the wings of numberless

2
97
MYTH S OF BABYLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
birds a ll of which swooped down and ate of the flesh
, .
B ut the eagle suspected the purpose of the serpent

and did not come with the rest until gree d and ,
hunger prompted him to share in the feast .

Come said he to his children
,
let u s swoop ,
d own and let us also eat o f the flesh of this wild

ox .
Now the young eagle who ha d before dissuaded

his father from devouring the serpent s young aga in ,
begged him to desist fro m his purpose .

Have a care O my father he said,
for I a m
, ,
certain tha t the serpent lurks in yonder carcase for

the purpose of destroying you .
B u t the eagle did not hearken to the warning o f

his child but swooped on to the carcase of the wild
,
ox He so far ob eyed the in j unctions of his o ffspring

.
,
however as closely to examine the dead ox for the

,
purpose of discovering whether any trap lurke d

near it Satised that all was well he co mmenced
.
to fee d upon it when suddenly the serpent seized

,
upon him and held him fast The eagle a t once .
be gan to plead for mercy but the enraged reptile

,
tol d him tha t an appeal to Shamash was irrevocable ,
and that if he did not punish the king o f birds he

himself would b e punished by the god and despite ,

the eagle s further protests he tore o ff h is wings an d
pinions pulled him to p ieces and nally cast him
, ,
into a pit where he perished miserably as the god

,
had decreed .
2
98
C HAPT E R
X II : TAL E S OF T HE BAB Y.
LONIAN AND ASSYR I AN KI NG S
H E tales of the Babylonian an d As syrian

kings which we present in this chapter are
of value b ecaus e they are taken at rst han d
fro m their own historical a ccount s of the great events '
which occurred during their several reigns O n a .
rst exa mination thes e tablets app ear dry and

uninterest ing but when S t udied more closely and
,
patiently they will b e found to conta in mat ter a s

abs orbing as that in the most exciting annals of any
c ountry L et u s take for exa mple the wonderful
.
inscriptions of Tigla t h p ile se r I I (950 B C ) which

-
. .
refer t o his various c on qu ests and which were dis ,
c overe d b y George S mith at Ni mru d in the t e mple

of Neb o .
Tigla t h c o mmences with the usual O riental fl ourish

of tru mpets He styles hi msel f the p owerful warrior
.
who in the s ervic e of Asshur has tra mpled up on h is

, ,
haters swept over them like a fl ood and reduce d

, ,
the m to sha dows He ha s marched he says fro m

.
, ,
the se a to the land of the rising sun and fro m the ,
se a of the s etting s un t o Egypt He enu merate s .
the c ountless lands that he has conquered The .
cities Sa rra p a nu and Ma lila t u a mong others he t ook

by S tor m and captured the inhabitants t o the nu mb e r
of men women and children all of who m
, , ,
h e s ent t o Assyria Much trib u te he rec eived fro m

.
the p eople of the conquered lands gold S ilve r , ,
precio us s tones rare woods and cattle His cus t o m

, ,
.
s ee ms to have b een to make his successful generals

rulers of the cities he c onquered and it is noticeable ,
that up on a vict ory he invaria bly sacric ed t o the

gods . H is methods appear t o have been drasti c
299
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
in the extre me I rri tat ed at the de anc e of the
.
p eople of Sa rra p a nu he reduced it t o a heap of earth ,
an d crucied King Nab u Usa bi in front of the gat e -
o f his city Not c ontent with this ven g eance Tiglat h

.
,
carried off his wealth his furniture his wife his , , ,
s on his daught ers and lastly his gods so that no tra ce

, , ,

o f the wretched monarch s kingdo m S hould re main .
I t is noticeable that throughout thes e ca mpaign s

Tigla t h invariably s ent the prisoners t o Assyria ,
which S hows at least that h e considere d hu man life

a s relatively sacred Probably thes e capt ive p eople
.
were reduced t o S lavery The races of the neighb o u r.
ing des ert too ca me and prostrat ed the ms elv e s be

, ,
fore the Assyrian hero kissing his feet an d b ringing

,
hi m trib ut e carrie d by sailors .
Tig la t h then b egins t o b oas t ab out his gorgeous

n ew residenc e with all the vulgarity O f a nouvea u
r iche H e s a ys that his hous e was decora t ed like a
.
Syrian palac e for hi s glory He b uilt gat es of ivory .
with planks of cedar and s ee ms t o have ha d his

,
pris oners the c on qu ered kings of Syria on exhibition

, ,
in th e palace p recin cts At the gat es were gigantic

.
li ons and b ull s of clever workmanship which he

describ es as c unning b eautiful valuable and this
, , ,
plac e h e called The Palaces of Rej oicing .

I n a frag ment which relates the circu ms t ances of

his E ast ern exp editio ns he t ells how he b uilt a city
called Hu mur and how he excavat ed the neighb our
,
ing river Patti which had b een lled up in the past

, ,
an d along its b ed le d re freshing waters into c er tain

o f the cities he had c onqu ered H e complains in .
on e t ex t that Sarduri the King o f Ararat revolte d

, ,
against hi m along with o t hers b ut Tigla t h capture d ,
his ca mp and Sarduri had p erforce t o escap e up on

a mare Into the rugged mountains h e rode b y night
.
30 0
C p ture
a of Sa rr a p a nu by Ti g la t h - P i le se r II 30 0
E l P l
ve yn au
THE AU TO BIO G RAPHY O F ASSUR BA NLPAL
and s ought safety on their p ea ks L ater he took .
r efu ge with his warriors in the city o f Tu ruSp a .
After a S iege Tigla t h s u cc eede d in reduc ing the place .
Afterwards he destroyed the land of Ararat and ,
made it a des ert over an area of ab out 450 miles .
Tigla t h dedicat ed Sa rduri s couch t o I shtar an d

,
carried off his royal riding c arriage his S eal h is , ,
nec k lac e his royal chariot his ma c e and lastly a

, , ,

great ship though we are not t old how he ae co m
,
lish e d this last feat

p .
Poet or Br ag g art !
I t is strange t o n otic e the in fl ated manner in whic h
Tigla t h S p eaks in thes e descriptions He talks ab out .
people races and rulers sinning against hi m as

, ,
i f he were a god bu t it mu st b e re me mb ered that he

, ,
like other Assyrian monarchs regarde d hi mself a s ,
the representative of the gods up on e arth B ut .
though his language is at ti mes boa st ful and ab s urd ,
yet on other o ccasions it is extre mely b eautiful an d

even p o etic In sp eaking of the tribut e he rec eive d
.
fro m various monarchs he says that he obta ine d fro m

the m clothing of wo ol and linen viol et wo ol royal , ,
treas ures the s kins of sheep with fl eec e dye d in

,
shining purple birds o f the sk y with fea thers of

,
S hining violet hor ses ca mels and Sh e c a mels with

, , ,
-

their young ones .
H e app ears t oo t o h ave b een in c on fl ict with a

, ,
Queen o f Sheb a or Saba on e Sani si who m he sent , ,
a s a pris oner t o Syria with her gods and all he r

p ossessions .
Th e Aut obiog rap hy of Assur bani p al r r
In a former chapter we outlined the mythical history

O f Assur bani pal or Sa rdanapalus
- -
and in this plac e ,
30 1
MYTH S OF B ABYLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
may brie fly review the story of his life a s told in his
in scriptions H e commences by stating that he is
.
the child of Asshur and B eltis but he evidently intends ,
t o convey that he is their son in a spiritual sense only ,
for he hastens to tell us that he is the son of the great

King of Ridut i ( E sar haddon ) He proceeds to tell .
of his triumphal progress throughout E gyp t whos e ,

kings he made tributary to him Then he remarks .
,
in a hurt manner the good I did to the m they de ,
S ise d and their hearts devised evil Seditious words

p
.
they spoke and took evil counsel a mong the mselves .
In S hort the kings of Egyp t had entered into an

,
alliance to free the mselves from the yoke of Assur

bani pal but his generals heard o f the plot and cap
-
,
t u re d several of the ringleaders in the midst of their

work They seized the royal conspirators and bound
.
the m in fetters of iron The Assyrian generals the n .
fell upon the populations o f the revolting cities and

c ut o ff their inha bitants to a man b ut they brought ,
the rulers of Egypt to Nineveh into the presence of

Assur bani pal-
To do him j ustice that monarch
-
.
treated Necho who is described as King of Memphis

,
and Sars with the utmost consideration granting

,

,
h im a new covenant and placing upon him costly

ga rments and ornaments of gold bracelets of gold a , ,
ste el sword with a S heath of gold ; with chariots ,
mules and horses

,
.
Dr e am f
o G y g es
Continuing Assur bani pal recounts how Gyges
,
- -
,
K ing of L ydia a remote place of which his fathers

,
had not heard the name was granted a drea m con ,
c erning the kingdo m of Assyria by the god Asshur .
Gyges was greatly impressed by the drea m and s ent

to Assur ban r pal to request h is friendship but having
- -
,
302
OF G Y G ES DREAM
onc e sent an envoy to the Assyrian court Assur bani -
pal seemed to think that he should continue to do

SO regularly and when he failed in this attention the
,
Assyrian king prayed to Asshur to compass h is dis

c o m t u re Shortly a fterwards the unhappy Gyges
.
was overthrown by the Cimmerians against whom ,
Assur bani pal had often assisted him

- -
.
Assur bani
-
pal then plaintively reco unts how Sa ul
mugina his younger brother conspired against him
, , .
This brother he ha d made King of B abylon and a fter ,
o ccupying the throne of that country for some time

he se t on foot a conspira cy to throw off the Assyrian
yoke A seer told Assur bani pal that he ha d ha d
.
- -
a drea m in which the god Sin S poke to him saying ,
that he would overthrow and destroy Sa ulm ug ina

and his fellow conspirators Assur bani pal marched
-
.
- -
against his brother whom he overthrew The people

, .
of Babylon overtaken by famine were forced to

, ,
devour their o w n children and in their agony they ,
atta cked Sa ulm ug ina and burned him to death with

his goods his treasures and his wives As we have
, ,
.
before pointed out this tale strangely enough closely

,
rese mbles the legend concerning Assur bani pal him - -
self Swift was the vengeance o i the Assyrian king

.
upon those who remained He cut out the tongues .
of some while others were thrown into pits to be

,
eaten by dogs bears and eagles Then a fter xing a

, , .
tribute and setti ng governors over the m he returned

to Assyria I t is noticeable that Assur bani pal dis
.
- -
t inc t ly states that he xed upon the Babylonians

the gods of Assyria and this seems to S how tha t
,
Ass yrian d eities existed in contradistinction to those

of B abylonia .
In one expedition into the land of Elam Assur bani ,

-
pal had a drea m sent by Ishtar to assure him that

303
MYTH S O F B AB YLONIA AND AS SY RIA
the crossing o f the river It it e which was in high fl ood , ,
could be accomplished by his army in perfect safety .
The warriors easily negotiated the crossing and in

fl icted grea t losses upon the enemy Among other .
things they dragged the idol of Susinay fro m its

sacred grove and he remarks that it ha d n ever been
,
b eheld by any man in Ela m This with other idols .
he carried O ff to Assyria He broke the winged .
lions which flanke d the gates o f the temple dried ,
up the drinking wells and for a month and a day swep t,
E la m to its utmost extent so that neither m an nor

oxen nor trees could be found in it nothing but the
,
wild ass the serpen t and the beast of the desert

, , .
The King goes on to say that the goddess Nan a ,
who ha d dwelt in Ela m for ove r 1 600 years ha d ,

been desecra te d by so doing That country he .
,
declares was a plac e not suite d to her The re

,
.
turn O f her divinity S he had truste d to me Assur .
bani pal S he said bring me out fro m the midst of

-
,

,
wicke d Ela m and cause me to enter the temple o f

Anna
. The goddes s then took the road to the
te mple o f Anna a t E rech where the King ra ised to ,
her an enduring sanctuary Those chiefs who had .
t rusted the Elamites now felt a ffl icted at heart and

began to despair and one of them like Saul begge d
, , ,
his own armour bearer to S lay him master and man

-
,
killing each other Assur bani pal refused to give

.
- -
his corpse burial and cutting o ff its head hung it

,
round the neck of Nabu Quati Z abat one o f t h e - -

,
followers o f Saulm ugina his rebellious brother In , .
another text Assur bani pal recounts in grandilo q uen t

- -
language how he b uilt the temples of Asshur and

Merodach .

The great gods in their assembly my glorious
reno w n have heard and over the kings who dwell ,
304
ASSUR BANL PAL
A S A RCHITECT r
in palaces the glory o f my name they have raised

,
and have exalted my kingdom .
A ssur bani p al
r
A rc h it ec t
z as

The temples o f Assyria and B abylonia which
Esar haddon
-
King o f Assyria ha d begun their
, , ,
foundations he ha d built b ut ha d no t nished their ,
tops ; anew I built the m I nished their tops .

Sadi rabu matati ( the great mountain of the
-
earth) the temple o f the god Assur my lord c om

, ,
p le t el
y I nished Its chamber walls I adorne
. d
with gold and S ilver great c olumn s in it I xed , ,
a nd in its gate the productions o f land and se a I

placed The god Assur into Sadi rab u matati I
.
- -
brought and I raised him an everlasting sanctuary

, .

Saggal the temple o f Merodach lord o f th e
, ,
gods I built I completed its decorations ; B el an d

, ,
B eltis the divinities of B abylon and Ea the divine

, ,
j udge fro m the temple of I brough t out and ,
p laced them in the city of B abylon Its noble .
sanctua ry a grea t with fty talents o f

its brickwork I nished and raised over it I caused ,
.
to make a ceiling o f syca more durable wood bea uti , ,
ful a s the stars of heaven adorne d with b eaten gold , .
O ver Merodach the great lord I rej oiced in heart ,
I did his will A noble chariot the carriage o f .

,
Merodach ruler o f the gods lord o f lords in gold

, , , ,
silver and precious S tones I nished it s work

, ,
manship To Merodach king o f the whole of

.
,
heaven and earth destroyer of my ene mies as a gift , ,
I gave it .
A couch o f sycamore wood for the sanctuary , ,
covered with precious stones as orna ments as the ,
resting couch o f B e l and B eltis givers of favour , ,
makers of friendship s kilfully I cons tructed In , .
U
3 5 0
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND ASSYRIA
the gate the seat o f Z irat banit which adorne d -
,
the wall I pla ced ,

.
Four b ulls o f silver powerful guarding my royal , ,
threshold in the gate of the rising su n in the greatest

, ,
gate in the gate of the temple Sidd a which is in

, ,
1
the midst o f B orsip p a I se t up , .
A L ik eable Monarc h
E sar haddon the father o f Assur bani
-
, pal has -
,

been called the most likeable o f the Assyrian
kings He did not press his military conquests for
.
the mere sake o f glory but in general for the main ,
t e na nc e o f his own territory He is notable a s the .
restorer o f B abu and the reviver o f its c ulture He .
showed much clemency to political o e nde rs and ,
his court was the centre o f literary a ctivity Assur .
bani pal his son S p eaks warmly o f the sound educa

-
, ,

tion he received at his father s court and to tha t ,
education and its enlightening influences we now

owe the priceless series o f cylinders and inscriptions
fo und in h is library H e does not see m to have .
b een a ble to control his rather turbulent n eighbours ,
and he was actua lly wea k enough ( from the Assyrian

p oint of view) to return the gods of the kingdom of
Aribi after he had led them captive to Assyria He .
seems to have b een good natured enlightened and -

, ,
easy going and if he did not boast SO lou dl y as his

,
s on he had probably greater reason to do 3 0 .
O ne of the descendants of Assur bani pal Bel - -

,
zakir isk u n speaks of his restoration of certain

-
,
temples esp ecially that of Neb o and plaintively adds

, ,
In after days in the time of the kings my sons

,
When this house decays and becomes old

wh o repairs its ruin and res tores its deca y Ma y h e
1
Georg e Sm i t h s t ans l t i on S h i A y i n Disco r i p 355 E

r a . ee s ss r a ve es, . .
06
3
THE FATAL ECLI PSE
wh o does so se e my name written on this insc r ip
tion May he enclos e it in a receptacle pour out
.
,
a libation and write my name with his own ; but

,
whoever defaces the writing of my name may the

gods not establish him May they curse and destroy .

his seed fro m the land This is the last royal .
inscription o f any length written in Assyria and ,
its almost p rOp h e t ic terms see m t o suggest that he

who framed the m must have foreseen the downfall
o f the civilization he represented Does not the .

inscription almos t foreshadow Shelley s wondrous
sonne t on O zymandias
I m t e t velle fro m n nt i que l nd
a ra r a a a
Wh s i d Tw v st nd tru nkl ess leg s of sto ne

o a : o a a
St nd in t h desert
a N e r th e m n t h s nd
e . a ,
o e a ,
H lf su nk
a sh tte e d v i s g e li es w h ose fro w n
, a a r a , ,
And w r i nk le d lip nd s neer of col d co m m nd

,
a a ,
T e ll th t i ts scul p tor w ell t h ose p ss i o ns re d

a a a
Whic h y t surv i ve st m p e d n th ese li feless th i ng s

e ,
a o ,
Th h nd th t m oc k e d t h e m nd t h h e rt t h t f d ;
e a a a e a a e
And n t h p e dest l th ese w or ds p p e r

o e a a a :
My n m e i s O ym ndi s ki ng of ki ng s
a z a a ,
Loo k n m y w or k s y m i gh ty nd des p i r !
o , e , a a
N ot h i ng bes i de re m i ns Rou nd t h dec y a . e a
Of t h t coloss l w rec k bou ndless nd b re

a a , a a ,
Th lo ne nd level s nds st e tc h f
e a w y a r ar a a .
Th e Fat al E c lip se
The reign of Assur Da n I I I ( 773764 B C ) supplie s -
. .
us with a picturesque incident This Assyr i an .
monarch had marched several times into Syria ,
and had fought the Chaldeans in B abylonia .
Numerous were his tributary states an d widesprea d

his power B ut disaster crep t slowly upon him
.
,
and although he made repeated e fforts to stave it

o ff these were quite in va in
,
Insurrection followe d .
insurrec tion and it would see m that the priests o f

,
0
3 7
MYTH S OF B A B YLO NI A AND A SS Y RIA
Babylon considering themselves Slighted j oine d
, ,
the malconten t party and assisted to foment discord .
At the critical j uncture of the fortunes of Assur

Da n there happ ened an eclipse of the sun and as the ,
black shadow crep t over Nineveh and the King lay

upon h is couch and watched the gradual blotting out
of the sunlight he felt that his doo m was up on him
, .
After this direful porten t he appears to have resisted

n o longer b ut t o have resigned himself to his
,
fate Within the year he was slain and his rebel

.
,
son ,
Adad Narari IV ; sat up on his murdere d
-
father s throne B ut Nemesis followed upon the

.

parricide s footsteps for he in turn found a rebel
,
in his son and the lan d wa s s mitten with a terrible

,
pestilence .
Shalmaneser I ( e 1 2 70) was cast in a martial and

.
heroic mould a nd an epic might aris e fro m the

,
legends o f his conquests and military exploits In .
his time Assyria possesse d a superabundant p Op ula

tion which required an outlet and this the monarch ,
d ee med it his duty to supply After c onquering the

.
provinces of Mitani to the wes t of the E uphrates he ,
a ttac ked B a bylonia and so ercely did he deal with

,
his southern neighb ours that we nd him a ctually

gathering the dust of their conquered cities and
casting it t o the four winds of heaven Surely a .
more extre me manner of dealing summarily with a

conquered ene my ha s never been recorded !
Al though the life of the Babylonian or Assyrian
king wa s lived in the full glare o f publicity he ha d ,
not to encounter the same criticism a s regards his

a ctions tha t present day monarchs must face for ,
the moral code of the peoples of Mesopota mia was

funda mentally di fferent fro m that which obtains
a t the present time AS the monarch was regarded
.
08
3
Sh a l m a ne ser I p
our i n g out t h Du st of
e a C o nq uere d C i ty
Ambrose D dley u 308
f Messrs a nd
Il ulclm rsou Co
By t e n ni sst on o
.
.
A ROYAL DAY
as the vice g eren t of the gods u p on earth ; it therefore
followed that he could do no wrong Sub mission .
to his will was complete In the hands of a race

.
of men who wielded this p ower unwisely it could

have been nothin g else b ut disastrous to both prince
and people B u t on the Whole it may b e said that
.
the kings of this rac e bore themselves worthily

according to their lights I f their sense of dig nity
.
a t times a mounted to bombast tha t was because

,
they were SO full o f their sense of delegate d duty

from a bove There is every reason to believe that
.
before entering upon their kingly state they had to

undergo a most rigorous e ducation consisting of ,
instruction upon religious subj ects so me history , ,
an d the inculcation of moral precepts O n the .
other hand they were by no means mere puppet s ,
for we nd the m initiating ca mpaigns presiding ,
over courts o f law and fra ming the laws themselve s

,
and generally guiding the trend o f the na tional

p olicy As a whole they were a strong and deter
.
mined race wise a s well as warlike , and by n o means

,
unmindful o f the re quirement s of their p eople .
B u t with the m the gods were rst and their rea ding
,
o f the initial duty o f a king seems to have been the

b uilding of te mples and the celebration of religious
ceremonies of which a gorgeous and prolonged ritual
wa s the especial fe a ture .
A Roy al Day

Asketch o f a day in the life o f an Assyrian or

B abylonian king may assist the reader to visualize
the habits o f royalty in a distant era The ceremonies
.
of robing and ablution upon rising would necessitat e

the at tendance o f numerous special o f cials and , ,
the morning repast over a private religious ceremony

,
309
MYTHS OF BAB YLONIA AND ASSYRIA
would follow The business of the court would
.
supervene Perhaps an e mbassy fro m Ela m or

.
Egypt would occupy the early hours o f the morning ,
failing which the dictation of letters to the governors

of provinces and cities or to distant potentates
would b e overtaken As a scholar himself the
.
King would probably carefully scrutinize these pro

duc t ions . A visit might then b e paid to a temple
in course of construction where the architect would
,
describ e the progress of the b uilding opera tions ,
and the K ing would w atch the slow rising o f S hrine

and tower ; or p erhaps the a fternoon would b e
, ,
se t apart for the pleasures o f the chase L eashes .
of great dogs not unlike those o f the Danish boar

,
hound breed would be gathered at a c ertain p oint

, ,
and setting out in a light but s trong chariot the ,
King would soon arrive at tha t point where the

b eaters had assure d themselves of the presen ce o f
gazelles wild asses or even lions Matters would
, ,
.
,
of course b e so arranged that the chief glories of

,
the day S hould be left with royalty I t is not clear .
whether the King wa s a ccompanied by his courtiers

in the chase a s was the case in the Middle Ages or
, ,
if he w a s merely attended by professional huntsmen .
B e that a s it may when the cere mony o f pouring

,
libations over the dead game ca me t o b e celebrated ,
we nd n o one excep t the King the harpers an d , ,
professional huntsmen present for the kings of this ,
virile and warlike race did no t disdain t o face the

lion unattended and armed with nothing b ut bow
and arrows and a S hort falchion Unless the in .
Sc r i t io ns which they have le ft on record are altogether

p
mendacious we must believe that many an Assyrian
king risked h is life in close combat with lions Great .
risk attends lion hunting when the S portsman is

-
31 0
A ROYAL DAY
armed wi t h modern weapons o f precisi on b ut the ,
risk attending a personal encounter with these savage

animals when the hunter is armed with the most
rudimentary weapons see ms appalling according,
to modern civilize d ideas .
O r again the a fternoon might b e occupied by a

great ceremonial religious function the laying of
,
the foundation S tone of a temple the O pening of a

-
,
r eligious edice or the celebration of a festival

,
.
The King ; a ttended by a glittering retinue of courtiers

an d priests would be carrie d in a litter to the place
,
o f celebration where hymns to the god in whose

honour the function was held were s ung to the
a ccompanimen t o f harps and other instruments ,
libations to the god were poured out sacrices ,
o ffered up and prayers made for continued protection

, .
The private life of an Assyrian or B a bylonian

king was probably not of a very c omfortable order ,
surrounded as he was by sycophantic ofcials S pies

in the pay of his ene mies s chemers and o f c e
,
,
seekers
of all descriptions AS in m ost Oriental countries
.
,
the hare m was the centr e of i ntrigue and political

unrest Its occupants were usually princesses fro m
.
foreign countries who had probably received in

j unctions o n leaving their native lands to gain a s
much ascendancy over the monarch as possib le
for the purpose o f swaying him in matters political .
Many of these a lliances were supposed to be made

in the hope of maintaining peaceful relations between
Mesopotamia and the surrounding countries b ut ,
there is li t tle doubt that the n umerous wives of a

Mesopota mi a n k rnd were only too often little be tter
than spies whose of ce it was t o report pe riodica lly
to their relative s the condition of things in B a bylon
or Nineveh .
3
MYTH S OF BABYLO NIA AND A SS YRIA
Slaves swarme d in the palaces and these occupied ,
a rather higher status than in some other c o untries .
A S lave who possessed good a ttainments and who

w a s S killed in weaving the making of unguents or
,
preserves w as regarded a s a n asset The slaves

, .
were a caste but the laws regarding them were

,
exa ct and not inhumane They were usually sold .
by auction in the market places of the large towns -

.
A strange c ustom too is said by Herodotus to have

, ,
obtained a mong the B a bylonians in connexion with

marriage Every marriageable woman ob tained a
.
husband in the followi ng manner The most bea uti

ful girls o f marriageable age were p ut up to a uction ,
and the large su ms realize d by their sale were given

to the plainer young wo men a s dowries who thus , ,
furnished with plentiful means readily foun d hus ,
bands The life o f a Mesopota mian king wa s so

.
hedged around by ceremonial a s to leave little time

for private pleasures The se as in the ca se of
.

Assur bani pal sometime s took the form of literary
,
or antiquarian a musements b ut the more general form ,
of relaxation seems to have been feasts or ban quets at

which the tables were well supplied with delicacies
obtaine d from distant a s well a s neighbouring regions .
Da ncing and music both furnished by a professional

,
class foll owed the repast and during the evening the
, ,
King might consult his soothsayers or astrologers

as to some portent tha t ha d been related to him ,
or some drea m he had experienced .
The royal lines of Mesop ota mia seem to have

been composed o f men grave sedate and conscious , ,
of the authority which reposed in them B ut few .
weaklings sat upon the thrones o f B abylonia or

Assyria and those who did were not infre quently
,
swept aside t o ma ke room for better men .
3 12
C HAPT E R X III : THE C O MPAR ATIV E
VAL UE OF T H E BAB YLO NI AN AND
ASSYR IAN R E L I G I O NS
H E c ompara tive value o f the religions o f

Babylonia and Assyria is very high a s they ,
represent Se mitic polytheism in evolution ,
and in a state of prosperity though hardly in decay

, .
They are in fa ct typical of Se mitic religion a s a

, ,
whole and a s the Semitic ra ce initia te d no les s than

,
three o f the grea t religious systems of the world

Judais m Christianity and Moha mmedanis m they
, ,
a re well worth careful study on the part o f those

who desire to specialize in religious science I t is .
,
however for a variety o f reasons inevitable that

, ,
we S hould compare the m most fre quently with the

r eligion of Israel the fa ith that in general most
,
rese mbled them although a wide cleavage existed

,
between the ethics of tha t syste m an d their moral

outlook That notwithstanding there wa s direc t
.
,
con ta ct between the B a bylonian and Jewish religion s

for a prolonged perio d and the influence thus a b
, .
S orbe d was quickened by racial relationship .
E re we deal with these purely Semitic and racial

rese mblances which are so important for the proper
c omprehens ion of B iblical history and religious
scienc e in general let us brie fl y compare the faith
,
o f B a bylonia and Assyria with some of the grea t

religious systems of the world It p erhaps mor e .
closely rese mbles the composite general Egyptian

religious idea ( one cannot S pea k of an E gyptian reli
gion ) than any other B u t whereas in Egypt the
.
d eities had been almost universally evolved fro m

nome or province patrons totemic or otherwise
-
, ,
a number often coalesced in one form the gods o f ,
31 3
MYTHS OF B A B YLO NIA AND
AS SY RIA
Chaldea were usually city or district gods showing -
,
much less of the nature of the departmental deity

in their construction than the divinitie s o f Egypt .
The Egyptian god type was more exact and explicit

-
.
We have seldom much dif culty in discovering the

nature of an Egyptian god We have fre quently .
,
however immense trouble in nding out for what a

,
Mesopotamian deity stands The B a bylon Assy .

-
rian idea of godhea d a ppears to have been princi

pally astral terrestrial or a quatic that is mos t
, ,
-
,
B abylonian Assyrian deities are connecte d either

-
with the heavenly bodies the earth or the waters, , .
I t is only a s an afterthought that they be come gods

of j ustic e of letters o f the underworld This sta te
, ,
.
ment mus t of course b e taken a s meaning that their

connexion with abstract qualities is much more loose
than in the cas e of the Egyptian gods t hat their
departmental character is secondary to their original
chara cter a s gods of nature Ther e is onl y o ne ex
.
c e t ion to this and that is to b e fo un d in the depart

p ,
ment of war to which certain of the m appear t o have

,
b een relegated at an early period and later t o hav e

become identied with it very closely indee d .
In one circumstance the B a bylonian Assyrian -
re li gion closely rese mbled the Egyptian and that ,
was the lasting effect wrought upon it by priestly

cult s and theological schools Just a s the priests of
.
Thebes and Me mphis an d O n moulded the varying

c ults of E gypt added to their mythology an d read int o
, ,
the m ethical S ignicance so did the priests of Nipp ur

,
and E rech mould and form the faith of B a bylon .
We have plenty of evidence for s uch a statement ,
and nowher e perhaps was theological thought so

rife in the ancient world as in B a bylonia and E gypt .
There are als o p oints of contact with the great

1
3 4
CO MPA RATI V E VAL U E OF RELI GIO NS
mythological syste m o f Greece tha t syste m which ,
was so much a mythology that it could scarcely

b e called a religion That Greece borrowed largely
.
from Mesopotamia is n ot to b e doubted but we ,
n d the Hellenic departmental deities very explicit

indeed in their nature Palla s for example stands
.
, ,
for wisdom Poseidon for the sea Ares for war and
, , ,
so forth. O ne god usua lly p ossesses one attribute ,
and although Z eus ha s a number of minor a ttributes

we do not nd him combining in his one person so
many as does Merodach As h a s been said it would
.
,
s ee m that the departmental character of many

B a bylonian gods was purely a ccidental or fortuitous .

The formula seems to run take a local or city god ,
proba bly derived from totemic sources or perhap s

of animistic origin and having con quere d much
, ,
surrounding territory exalt him to the position of

,
the god of a large region which being incorpora ted

, ,
aga in with a still larger empire leaves him only a ,
local S tatus This status he cannot hold in a pantheon

.
where each member must possess a specic attribute ,
therefore it becomes necessary to impose upon him

so me uality by which he can be specially recognized
q .
Someti mes tha t quality is suitable to his chara cter ,
in fac t it may be indicated by it but a t other times it

,
is merely arbitrary Why for example should I shtar

.
, ,
have been made a goddess o f war by the Assyrians

This bestowal of departmental chara cteristics up on
the gods of B abylonia and Assyria was contemp orary
with the erection of these countries into empires .
No pantheon can exis t on high without a political

refl ex in the world below L ike the granti ng of
.
most departmental o f ces in religious systems these ,
change s took place at a comparatively late date in

the evolution of S emitic reli g ion Whenever we n d .
3 15
the depart mental de ities o f a religious syste m more or
less sharply outlined a s to their duties and status we
may pre mis e two things : rst that temp oral power
,
has been acquire d by the ra c e which conceived them ,
and s econdly that this power is of comparatively

re cent or i g i n.
S em itic Conser v at ism

When we S peak of depart mental deities o f a country
like B abylonia or Egypt we must bear in mind that
these lands knew so many dynasties and had such
an extende d history that their religious syste ms
must from rs t to last have exp erience d the most
p rofound changes In Egypt for example religious
.
, ,
phenomena altered slowly and by imperceptible de

grees The changes exp erience d in the course of
.
fty c enturies o f religious evolution must have made

the cults of Egypt exhibit very different conditions
at the close of their develop ment from let us sa y
, ,
those seen mid w ay in their evolutionary course We .
have seen how the B abylonian and Assyrian faiths

altered in the course o f generations but withal there
,
appears to have been something more strongly

c onservative in the nature o f Semitic religion than
in any other Probably in no other land did the
.
sa me ritual and the sa me religious practices obtain

over so long a period a s in B abylonia where the ,
national life wa s much stronger and much more

centralized than in Egyp t and where if rival cults
, ,
did exist they were all su bservient to one a s wa s

, ,
by no means the case in the land of the Nile .
T eut onic and Celt ic Com p ar isons

Compared with the great Germanic religion the
Babylonian o ffers fe w point s of resemblance In .
3 1 6
B A B YLO NIA N RELI G IO N ANIMI S TIC
the faith of the Teutons departmental deities were
the rule rather than the exception ; in fa ct in n o
mythic system are the gods so associated with depart
ments a s in the Teutonic and this de Sp it e the fact
,
tha t no denite empire was rule d by Teutonic tribes .
( Wa s the Teutonic syste m the re mains o f a religious

aristocracy W hich had hived off from some centre
o f political power ! ) Nor do the Semitic religions
have much in c ommon with the Celtic so far a s
their basis of polity is concerned although nu merous
,
valiant attempts have been made by antiquarian

gentle men o f the typ e so c o mmon half a century ago
,
an d not ye t defunct to prove B abylonian influence

,
upon Celtic faith and S tory Thus we have been.
told tha t the Celtic B il w a s a s certainly allied to the

S e mitic B e l a s the Roman Mars wa s to the Gree k
Are s and this o f c ourse through Ph ce nic ia n in fl u en ce
, ,
the people o f Tyre an d Sidon having been trace d

t o Ireland a s colonists These theories are of
.

,
course not worth the paper they are printe d upon

, ,
any more than is the supposition that the Scottish

Celtic festival o f B eltane has any connexion with
the B abylonian Bel I t was in fa ct preside d over
.
, ,
by the god B ile a Celtic deity who h a s on other

,
c ounts been c on founded with the B abylonian god .
B aby lonian Rel ig ionT y p ic ally A nim ist ic

We learn then fro m the co mparison of the Baby
, ,
lonian religion with that of other ancient races on e

circumstance of outstanding importance tha t is if , ,
the B a bylonian gods were s o perfunctorily attached

to depart ments expressive of their functions and
were so closely bound to the elements tha t they must
have had an elemental origin that they were indee d
,
originally S pirits o f the earth the air and the wate r

, ,
.
317
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND A SSY RIA .
This o f course is no new conclusion only the

, , ,
circumstance tha t the B abylonian gods were not

strictly departmental that they have only a slight
,
hold upon their of ces assists in proving the correct

,
ness of the theory o f their elemental origin I t is .
also o f interest t o the Student of comparative religion

a s indicating to him a mythological syste m in which
the maj ority o f the gods are certainly of elemental
origin a s opposed to totemic or fetishistic origin .
O f the spiritistic nature of the Babylonian pantheon

s mall doub t remains To the Se mite in who m
.
,
imagination an d matter of fact are SO strongly com

- -
bine d animistic infl uen ces would b e sure to appeal

,
most strongly I t stands to primitive reason that

.
if man is gifted with life s o is everything else and ,
this convictio n gives imagination full play We do .
not discover these animistic influence s so strongly

entrenched in anc ient Egypt The O sirian c ult is
.
certa inly animistic to a degree but the various ,
tote mic cults which rivalled it and which it at last

e mbrace d held their own for many a day .
A Mot h er GoddeSS T h eor y

r
O n e outstanding fea ture o f Babylonian religion

is the worship o f the grea t earth mother This -
.
is a universal religious phase but in few systems ,
do we nd it so prominent as in B abylonia and

indeed in the whole Mes opota mian tract E fforts .
have been made t o S how tha t in Mesopota mia there

encountered one another two strea ms o f people of
opposing worship one worshipping a male and the
, ,
other a female deity With thos e who worshipped

.
the man god hunters and warriors with who m

-
women were considered more as beasts o f burden

than anythin g elseman was the superior bein g .
31 8
I NFL U ENCE ON J EWISH RELIGIO N
The other people who worshipped the woman god -
were not necessarily more civilized ; the origin of

their adoration may have been a scarcity o f women
in the tribe Where these two s treams fused the
.
worship o f an a ndr ogyne or man woman god is said ,

-
,
to have resulted B ut were there peoples who speci

.
ca lly and separately worshipped male and fe male

deities I f certainty can b e approached in debating
such matters these deities would assuredly b e
,
animistic and a people who worship animistic gods

,
do not worship on e god or on e se x but scores of ,
S pirit gods of both sexes

-
Wherever we nd a .
mother earth too we are almost certain to discover

-
, ,
a father sk y The cult o f the great mother goddess

-
.
-
wa s o f rather later origin All localities and a ll .
regions in the Se mitic world possessed such a deity

and it was the fusion o f these in one that produced
I shtar or Astarte who was probably also the Diana
,
of the Ephesian s Perhaps the best parallel to .

this Se mitic worship of the earth mother is to b e -
found in the mythology o f the ancient Mexican

ra ces where each pueblo or c ity state possessed its
, ,
-
,
earth mother several of who m were nall y merged

-
, ,
after the conquest o f their worshippers in the great ,
earth mother of Mexico

-
.
B aby lonian I nflue nc e on J e w ish Relig ion

B u t B abylonian Assyrian religion is chiefl y of interest
-
to the s tudent of comparative religion in that it casts a

fl ood of light upon that wonderful Jewish faith with
which the history of our own is so closely identied .
Professor Sayc e writes

1

There wa s one nation a t all events which ha s
H ibb t L t ur 8 f ( by p er m i ss i o n of Messrs W lli m s nd
1
er
ppec 3 i es, . . i a a
No g te )
r a .
MYTHS OF B AB YLO NIA A N D A SS YRIA
exercised a nd still exercises a considerable in fl uence
, ,
upon our own thought and life and which had been ,
brought into close contact with the religion and cul

ture of B abylonia at a critical epoch in its history .
The in fluence of Jewish religion upon Christianity ,
and consequently upon the races that have been

moulded by Christianity has been lasting and pro
,
found Now J ewish religion was intimately bound

.
up with Jewish history more intimately perhaps ,
than has been the case with any other great reli
gion o f the world I t took its colouring fro m the
.
e vents that marked the p olitical life o f the Hebrew

p eople ; it develop ed in unison with their struggles
and successes their trials and disappointments Its
, .
great devotional utterance the B ook of Psalms is , ,
national not individual ; the individual in it has

,
merged his own aspirations and su fferings into thos e

o f the whole community The course o f J ewish .
prophecy is e qually stamped with the impress of the

national fortunes It grows clearer and more catholic
.
a s the intercourse of the J ewish p eople with thos e

around the m beco mes wider ; and the lesson is
taught a t last that the God o f the J ews is the God
also o f the whole world Now the chosen instruments
.
for enforcing this lesson a s we are expressly told

, ,
were the Assyrian and B abylonian The Assyrian .

wa s the rod of God s anger while the B abylonish ,
exile was the bitter punishment meted out to Judah

for its sins The captives who returned again to
.
their own land ca me back with changed hearts and

p uried min ds ; fro m hence forth Jerusalem w as to

b e the unrivalled d w elling place of the righteous

nation which keepeth the truth .
Apart therefore from any influence which the

, ,
old religious b eliefs of B abylonia may have had

32 0
INFLU E NCE ON J EWISH RELI G IO N
upon the Greeks and which a s we S hall see was not
, , ,
so wholly wanting a s was formerly imagined their ,
c ontact with the religious conceptions of the Jewish

exiles must to sa y the least have produced an effec t
, ,
which it is well worth our while to S tudy Hitherto .
the traditional view ha s b een tha t this effec t exhibited

itsel f wholly on the antagonistic side ; the J ews
carried nothing away fro m the land o f their captivity
except an intense hatred of idolatry more especially ,
Babylonian as well as o f the beliefs and practices

,

associated therewith .
Professor Ignatius Goldzih e r o f B udapest has , ,
enlightene d us in a passage in his Mythology a mong

,
t he He bre ws as to the great influence wielded by

,
B abylonian upon J ewish religion H e says : The

.
receptive tendency of the Hebrew manifeste d itself

again prominently during the Ba bylonian Captivity .
Here rst they gained an opportunity of forming for

themselve s a complete and harmonious conception
o f the world The infl uence of Canaanitish civiliza
.
tion could not then be particularly p owerful on the

Hebrews ; for that civilization the highest poin t ,
o f which was attained by the Ph oenicians wa s quite ,
dwarfe d by the mental activity exhibited in the

monuments of the B abylonian an d Assyrian E mpire ,
which we are now able to admire in all their grandeur .
There the He brews found more to rece ive than

some few c ivil political and religious institutions
, , .
The extensive and manifold literature which they

foun d there could not but act on a receptive mind
a s a powerful stimulus ; for it is not to be imagine d
that the nation then dragged into captivity live d
so long in the B abylonian Assyrian E mpire without
-
gaining any knowle dge of its inte llectual trea sures .
Schr ader s latest publications on Assyrian poe try

1: 32 1
MYTH S O F BA B YLO NIA AND AS S Y RIA
have enabled u s to establish a striking Similarity
between both the course of ideas and the poetical
for m of a considerable portion of the O ld Testa ment ,
especially of the Psalms and those of this newly

,
discovered Assyrian poetry I t would be a great .
mistake to account for this similarity by reference

t o a common Semitic origin in primeval times ; for
we can only resort to that in cases which do not go
b eyond the most primitive ele ments of intellectual
life and ideas of the world or designations of things
,
of the external world Conceptio ns o f a higher and

.
more complicated kind a s well a s aesthetic p oints

, ,
can c ertainly not be carried off into the mists of a

prehistoric age I t is much better t o keep to more real
.
an d tangible ground and to suppose those points

,
of contact between Hebrew and Assyrian p oetry

w hich are revealed by S chrader s Le norm a nt s an d

, ,

George S mith s publication s to form part of the ,
c ontribution s ma de by the highly civilize d B a bylo

nia ns and Assyria ns to the Hebrews in the course
of the important p eriod of the Captivity .
We se e fro m this that the intelle ct o f Babylon

a nd Assyria exerted a more than passing in fluence on
that of the Hebrews not merely t ouching it b ut
, ,
entering deep into it and leaving its own impress

upon it The Assyrian poetry o f the kind j ust
.
mentione d stands in the same relation to that of the

Hebrews as does the plain narrative texts o f the
Hebrews and a s does the sacricial Ta blet of Ma r
,

s eilles to the Hebrews beginnings of a sacerdotal
constitution The B abylonian and Assyrian ini
.
u e nc e is of course muc h more extensive pregnant , ,

and noteworthy .
The Abbe L ois y in a F rench work Les myt hs ,
ha hylonie ns, et les p r em iers c ha p it res de la Genese

32 2
INFL U E NCE ON J EWISH RELI GION
(Paris
,
says a few things upon J ewish and
B abylonian mythical relations worth translating :
We can no longer take the rst eleven or twelve
chapters o f Genesis a s a whole and treat the m as
a monotheistic redaction of the B abylonian myths .
The B iblical a ccounts are not mere t ra nsc rip

tions and the gaps b etween the m presuppos e
much assimilation and trans formation much time , ,
and probably many intermediaries to boot .
I f the relationship o f the B iblical narratives to the

Chaldean legends is in many respects less intimate
than wa s thought it now appears to b e more general
, .
The Creation and the Flood in particular are still

, ,
the most obvious points of resemblance ; but the

story of Ada m and Eve the earthly paradise the
, ,
food of life the explanation o f death all of which

, ,
-
have sometimes been sought where they were not to

b e found are now found where there wa s no thought
,
o f seeking the m The B iblical texts have no

.
literary dependence upon the B abylonian texts ;

they do not even stand to the m in a relation of direc t
dependence in the cas e o f the S pecial traditions
they exh ibit but they rest on a similarw e might
sa
y a common foundation o f,
Chaldean origin ,
whose antiquity cannot b e even approximately

estimated . O n the other hand it appears ,
certain tha t the period of Assyrian dominance a nd ,
the Captivit y quickened the re collect ion of the old

,
traditions and supplemented them by fresh materials

easy to graft on the ancient ste m . We may
well b elieve that the meta morphosis was complete in
the oral tradition of the people before the legend wa s

e mbodied in the B iblical narrative .
MY TH S OF BAB YLONIA AND AS SY RIA
B aby lonian Influenc e up on t h e oth er S em it es
The in fl uence of the Babylonian religion upon othe r
Semitic cults is worthy of notice although its effect ,
upon the Jewish faith was more marked than on any

other Se mitic form of belief Ye t Still through con .
ques t and other causes it undoubtedly exercised a

S trong in fluence up on the surrounding p eoples espe ,
c ia ll
y thos e of related stock We must regard the .
whole of Asia Minor or a t least its most civilized ,
portion as p eopled by races of diverse origin who yet

,
possess ed a general culture in co mmon Some of .
thos e races if we b e p ermitted to e mploy rather

,

time worn ethnological labels were S emitic like
-
, ,
the Assyrians and Hebrews others were of the ,
U ral Altaic or Armenoid type like the Hittites

-
, ,
whilst S till others like the Philistines appear to , ,
have been of Aryan ra ce resembling the Greeks ,
and Goths B ut all thes e di fferent races ha d e m

.
braced a common culture their architecture pottery , , ,
weapons crafts and laws see m to have come from

, ,
a common source and lastly their religious systems ,
were markedly alike .
Th e Canaanit es
We nd a people called the Canaanites as the rst
historic dwellers in the countries now known a s Syria
and Palestine We do not know whether the na me
.
Canaan originated with the land or the race but the ,
na me Canaanites is now used a s a general designa

tion of the pre Israelite inhabitants o f Palestine
-
.
These people were probably neolithic in origin and

appeared to have been Semitic In any case they .
spoke a language very much akin to Hebrew They .
exercised a strong in fluence upon Egypt about

1 400 B C and thousands of them settled in that
. .
,
32 4
THE CA NAA NITE S
country a s slaves or o fficials They invaded Baby .
lonia a t an early date under the na me o f Amorites ,
and many of the personal names of B abylonian kings

during the Ha mmurabi dynasty seem to b e Amorite
in origin F rom the Egyp tian records it s eems
.
pretty clea r tha t a s early as 2 500 B C they ha d in . .
vaded Palestine had exterminated the inhab itants

, ,
and tha t this invasion synchronized with tha t of

Babylonia Their religion see ms to have be en
.
markedly S e mitic in typ e but of the earlier variety ,
that is animis m was j ust beginning to e merge into

,
polytheism The gods were not call ed by their

.
p ersonal na mes bu t rather by their attributes The

,
.
general na me for god wa s al which was used als o ,

b y the Hebrews and which we nd in such na me s ,
a s J ezebel Elkanah and perhap s in the modern

, ,
Ar abic Allah
B u t this word w a s no t e mployed by
.
the Canaanites in a monotheistic s ense it was generic ,
and denoted the particular divinity who dwelt in a

c ertain place I t w a s indeed the word god
. a

-
god any god but not t he God

, , B ut such a god .
having a sanctuary or presiding over a c ommunity

was known a s This might apply to any
supernatural being fro m fetish to full fle dg e d deity s
and only meant that the S pirit o r divinity had estab

lish e d a relation with a particular holy place .
We also nd a mongst the Canaanitish deities

Shamash the sun god SO widely worshippe d in
,
-
Ba bylonia Sin the moon god Hadad or Rimmon

,
-
, ,
and Ur u god of light whose na me is found in U ru

, ,
Salim or Jerusalem Dagon too is held b y so me .

, ,
authorities to have been purely an Amorite divinity .
The worship of animals was also general and bulls , ,
horses and s erpents were represented a s deities

,
.
There were also an immense number o f nameless

33 5
gods or S pirits presiding over all sorts of physical ob
j ee rs and thes e were known as ha a lirn They were
,

.
the resultants of animistic ideas The early inh abi .
tants of Canaan were also ancestor worshippers like -
many o ther primitive people and they seem to have ,
S hown a marke d preference for the cult o f the dead .
B u t many o f their depart mental deities were

either identical with or strongly rese mble d the gods
o f the B abylonians Ash t a r t was of cours e Ishtar
.
- '
.
In the mounds o f Palestine large n umb ers o f t e rfi

'
cotta pla ques b earing her e f gy are foun d She .
is often dep icte d on these with a tall hea d dress -

,
necklace anklets and girdle quite in the B a bylo

, ,
n ian S tyle B u t other representa tions of her reveal

.
E gyptian Cypriote and Hittite influences an d this

, , ,
goes to S how that in all probability the great mother

goddess o f B a bylon an d Asia Minor wa s compounded
o f various early types fused into one To con ne .
ourselves to those deities who are more closely

c onne cted with the B abylonian religion we nd ,
the na me o f Ninib translated by the Canaanites a s

Eu Mashti an d it has been thought that Ninib wa s
,
a go d o f the W est who ha d migrated to Babylonia .
The na me of Nebo the B abylonian patron o f B orsip p a

, ,
who also acte d a s scribe to the gods appears in tha t ,
o f the town of Nebo in Moab in Judea and that ,
Canaanites were conversant with the na me o f Ne r

gal the war god is proved by a sealed cylinder o f
,
-
,
Canaanitish workmanship which b ears the inscription ,

At a na h e li son o f Ha bsi servant of Nergal
,
Resheph .
also ap p ears to have been known to the Canaanites .
Th e G ods of t h e Ph oenic ians

The Ph oe nicians who were
the lineal descendant s
of the Canaanites adopted many o f the deities o f
32 6
E li j ah p r v ili n g
e a o vr
e Pr i ests
the of B aa l 3 26
veE l P l
yn au
THE G ODS OF THE PHCENICIANS
B abylonia L ike the early deities o f tha t great
.
empire the Phoenician gods were associated either

,
with the earth the waters or the air Some of

, , .
these in later times held sway over more than one

element Thus the god Me lk a r t h o f Tyre ha d both
.
a celestial an d a marine a spect and B aal an d Ash t a rt ,
assume d celestial attributes in addition to their

earthly one The Ph oenicians described their gods
.
in general a s a lonim much as the Israelites in early

,
times must have described theirs for we nd in the ,
rst chapters of Genesis the word elohirn e mployed .
B oth then went back to the S ingular fo r m e l the ,
common Se mitic name for god adding to it the ,

Semitic plural ending im The god o f a locality .
or S hrine was kno w n as its ha a l and as in early

,

,
times this did no t apply to any particular deity

,
.
Although the ir go ds all ha d na mes ye t S till they ,
were merely the ha a lir n o f Tyre the chie f o f who m

-
was Me lk a r t h whose name signies merely king

,

or patron o f the city Perhap s on e o f their mos t .

venerated gods was B a al Hamman who was also -
,
worshipped in Carthage a Ph oenician colony O n e ,

.
o f the most strongly marke d characteristics of the

Ph ce nic ia n religion was the unvarying addition o f
a female to every male god Ash t a r t or Ishta r .
wa s quite a s popular in modern Ph oenicia a s sh e

has been in ancient Canaan I t mus t be born e .
in mind that Tyre and Sidon were closely in touch

with Assyria and that their ship s probably carrie d
,
Assyrian commerce fa r and wide throughout the

Mediterranean exchanging Syrian goo ds for Egyptian
, ,
Cyprian and Hellenic Ash t a r t or Ishtar had temples

,
.
a t Sidon and Askelon and Phoenician mariners ,
see m to have carried her worship a s far a s Cyprus

and even Sicily Indeed it wa s probably through
.
3 7
2
their agency that Sh e was introduced into the Greek
world but there were Greek colonies on the shores
,
o f Asia Minor a t an early date and these may have ,
transferred her c ult to the people o f their o wn race

in the Gree k motherland Another goddess Specially
.
honoured at Carthage was Ta nit h who was also ,
Esh m un the

calle d the Countenance of Ba al

.
,
god o f vital force and healing seems to have b een ,
w orshipped especially at Sidon b ut also a t Carthage .
Melk art h the patron deity of Tyre the Greeks

, ,
e q uated with their H eracles ; Reshef the lightning ,
god wa s of Syrian origin and was identi ed by the

, ,
Greeks with Apollo The Ph oenicians were also

.
prone to fuse their gods one with another so that ,
we have such combinations a s Esh m un Melk a rt h -
Me lk a r t h
,
Reshe f and SO forth ,

Ph oenician religion .
w a s also S trongly in fl uenced by Egyptian ideas ,
and Plutarch ha s p ut it on record that when I sis

j ourneyed to B yblus S he wa s called Astarte Certain .
Ph oenician settlers a t Pir mus the port of Athen s , ,
worshipped the Assyrian god Nergal and many o f ,
their proper na mes are compounded o f the names

o f Babylon deities The worship o f Moloch was
.
also popular in Ph oenicia where he was called Melk,
King and to him a s to the Moloch o f the other

,
S emitic peoples infants were o ffered up in sacri ce

,
.
The Phoenician s likewise adopted the custom o f

b urning the chief god o f the city in e f gy or in
the person of a human representative a t Tyre
and Carthage ( See remarks on Hamman pages
.
,
1 42 1 44 ; and on Sardanapalus page s 3 1 ,
We know very little concerning Phoenician myth .
We cannot credit wha t is written by Philo o f B yblus

concerni ng it a s he professed that he ha d used a s
,
his a uthority the writings o f one Sanch unia t h on an ,
32 8
THE CARTHAGI NIAN RELI G IO N
a ncient Ph ce nic ian sage wh o he says derived his

, , ,
in formation fro m inscribed S tones in Ph oe nician

temples All o f Philo that remains ( and thus all
.
o f Sa nc h u nia t h on) is preserve d in the works o f

E usebius I t would seem however to b e unfair to
.
, ,
regard E usebius a s the inventor o f Sa nc h unia t h on .
As we have already remarke d in the paragraphs

d ealing with the legend o f O anne s or Ea several o f ,
the myths he q uotes a s c oming fro m the Ph oenician

sage a re manifestly o f Babylonian origin .
L ike all Semites the Phoenicians closely identied

themselve s with their gods in whom if inscriptions , ,
can b e believed they seemed to nd a great deal

,
o f co mfort They were a ssiduous devotees o f their

.
s everal cults and a s prone to sacric e a s were their

,
c ousins of Babylonia Probably too their voyage s

.
, ,
and mercantile venture s made the m rm b elievers in

the ef ca cy of divination and it cannot b e doub ted
,
that the tra de o f the seer in ancient Tyre or Sidon

m ust have been a fl ourishing one indeed .
Th e Car t h ag inian Relig ion

Very little i s known concerning the religion o f the
S emites of Carthage thos e colonists fro m Phoenicia
,
who settled on the n orth western shores o f Africa -
a t an early date and this is probably owing to the

,
c ircumstanc e that the j ealousy of their Roman

c onquerors ordained that all records pertaining to
the m should so far a s possible b e blotted out In .
Virgil s E ne id we nd Queen Dido of Carthage

worshipping and sacricing to the gods o f Ro me ,
b ut whether this error is due to Roman lack of

imagination or otherwis e it would b e dif cult to
sa
y. Carthaginian religion w a s strongly inuenced
by Assyria n belief The chief gods worshipped in

.
32 9
MYTH S O F B AB YLO NIA AN D A S SY RIA

Carthage were Baal ammon or Moloch Tanit goddess , ,
o f the heavens an d the moon Ash t a r t or I shtar and , ,
Esh m un the patron deity of the city

, The cult of .
Ta mmuz Adonis wa s also greatly in vogue a s was

-
,
tha t o f the god Pa t e c h u s a repulsive monster who

,
may have been of Eyg p t ia n origin The Tyrian .
Me lk ar t h too was widely worshipped We also

, ,
.
encounter in inscriptions the na mes of deities con

c erning who m we know n othing such a s Rab ba t ,
U mma the Great Mother

,

Illat Sakon an d ,

, ,
Tsa p h on .
About the b eginning o f the third century B C the . .
intima te relations b etween the Carthaginians and

the Greeks o f Sicily favoure d the intro duction o f
a Hellenic ele ment into the Punic religion an d ,
there was reciprocal borrowing on the part o f the

Greeks In the foru m o f Carthage was a te mple
.
to Apollo containing a colossal statue which was

la ter remove d to Rome and on on e o ccasion the ,
Carthaginian worshipp ers o f Ap ollo a ctually s en t

o fferings t o Delphi We also nd the ir goddess
.
Tanit c o mpare d with the Greek De meter H er .
symbol is a crescent moon and in her temple at ,
Carthage was preserve d a fa mous veil which was

regarde d a s the palladiu m or mascot of the city ,
its luck bringer Inscriptions to Tanit and B aal

-
.
a mmon a bound an d a s these are usually found in

,
conj unction it is only reasonable to suppos e tha t

these two deities are worshipped together Tanit .
w a s in fact fre quently allude d to as The Coun

, ,

t e na nc e of B aal whos e name we nd in those o f
,
the Carthaginian heroes Hannibal and Hasdrubal .
The Carthaginian B aal

,
a mmon is represented a s an

old man with ram s horns on his forehead and that ,
animal was fre quently portrayed along with him .
33
THE CA RTHA GINIA N RELI GIO N
He also holds a scythe At Carthage children were
.
sa criced to him and their bodies were placed in the

,
arms of a colossal bronze statue which represented

him W hen they grew tired they slipped through
.
the embrace of the god into a furnace below a mid

the excited cries o f the fanatical worshippers E ven .
Roman severity could no t put an end to these horrors ,
which persisted in secret until a rela tively late date .
I t is s trange to think that a fter the fall of Carthage

the goddess Tanit beca me identie d with Dido by
the n ew Roman colonists of the c ity Virgil ha d .
celebra ted her misfortunes and a public Dido cult

,
grew up the colonists even claiming to have dis

,
c overe d the very house from which Sh e ha d watche d

the departure o f fEne a s .
I t is n ot unlikely that through the agency o f the

t nic ia ns some fragments of the B abylonian religion
may have p enetrate d even to our own shores W e .
know tha t they tra de d for tin with the ancient in

ha bitants o f Cornwall and the Scilly Isles and some ,
writers believe they have philology on their S ide

when they try to S how that several Cornish na me s
are of Ph oenician origin Fo r exa mple the na me
.
,
Mara zion appears to mean in S e mitic Hill by the

Sea and Polg a rt h sa y s ome owes its s econ d
,

, ,
syllable to the Phoenician word for c ity B ut it .

will not do to be dogmatic regarding these na mes ,
which may after all be explica ble fro m Cornish or

other sources .
We see then that t h e Se mitic religion travelle d

over a considera bly wide a rea that beginning in
,
all probability in Arabia it S pread itself through

Mesopotamia northward a s far as L ake Van and ,
southward through the Sinaitic peninsula into Egyp t

and the north o f Africa I t is strange to observe
.
33 I
MYTHS OF B AB YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
that the later Se mitic religion o f Moha mmed followed
almost precisely the same course and that its early ,
progress westward halted almost on the very s ite

o f ancient Carthage ; that when it over flowed into
Spain its disciples were acting precisely as Ca rt h a
ginian Hannibal had don e long before and that it ,
was b eaten back by E uropean e ffort in almost

exactly the same way .
Robertson S mith in his valuable work The Religion ,
of t he Sem it es mentions that in his view Semitic

,
religion does no t di ffer so funda mentally from the

other types of world religion a s many writers on the
subj ec t app ear to think B ut the longer one considers
.
it the greater do the barriers b etween Semitic an d

other religions appear an d the more clearly marked
their lines of demarcation The prolonged isolation
.
to which the S emitic peoples see m to have been

subj ecte d appears to have greatly a ffecte d their
manner o f religious thought They are in truth .

a p eculiar people practical yet mystical strongly
, ,
of the world ye t nding their chief solace in those

things which are not of the world .
The materials for a c omplete in q uiry into the

history o f Semitic religion are lacking and we mus t ,
perforce ll up the gaps which are many by compara

tive methods B ut in this we are greatly assisted b y
.
the nu merous manifestations o f Se mitic faith which ,
including as it does B abylonian Assyrian Canaanitish

, , ,
Ph oenician Ar a bian and Moha mmedan cults pro

, , ,
vides us with rich c omparative material .
Th e Relig ion Z oroast er

of
The faith which immediately supplanted that o f

ancient Babylonia and Assyria could not fail to draw
c onsiderably fro m it This was the Z oroastrian
.
332
THE RELI G ION OF Z O RO AS TER
faith the religion o f the Persian s introduced by the
,

reformer Z arathustra the earliest form of Z oroaster s
,
na me a s given in the Avest a U ncertainty hangs .
over the date and plac e of his birth The Greeks .
S poke of him as belonging to a re mote age bu t modern ,
scholars assign the period o f his life to the l a tter

half of the seventh and early s ixth c entury B C I t . .
see ms cer tain that he was not a Persian b ut a Mede ,
or a Bactrian either supposition b eing supported by

,
indications o f one kind or another F ro m the whole .
tenor of the Gat h a s the most ancien t part o f the

,
Avest a we are led says Dr Haug their translator

, ,
.
, ,
t o feel that he was a man o f extra ordinary Sta mp

a c ting a grand part on the Stage o f his c ountry s
history Z arathustra S peaks o f himself a s a messenger

.
fro m God sent t o bring the people the blessing o f

civilization an d to destroy idolatry Many legends .
grew up around his me mory of miraculous S igns a t ,
his birth of his precocious wisdom whereby even a s a

, ,
child he confounded the Magi o f his being born e up ,
to the highest heaven and there re ceiving the word o f

life fro m Deity itself together with the revelation
,
of all se crets o f the future H e retired a s a young .
man fro m the world to spend long years of contempla

tion b efore he began his teaching at thirty and he ,
lived to the age of seventy seven The religion he -

.
taught wa s the national religion of the Persians from

the time of the Ach ae menid ae who dethroned Cyax a re s ,

son 55 8 B C
,
to the middle of the seventh cen t ury A D
. .
, . .
I t declined after Alexander s conques t under the
Se le u c idze and the succeeding dynasty of the Arsa c idze ,
but was revived by the Sassanian rulers and fl ourished

for the four centuries A D 2 2 6 65 1 Then fo llowe d
. . .
the Mohammedan con quest accompanied by p e rse c u ,
tion before which the faithful follo wer s of Z arathustra

,
333
fled to India where they are now represented by their
,
descendants the Parsis of B ombay

,
.
The religious belief taught by Z arathustra is based

on the dual conception o f a good principle Ahura ,
Mazda and an evil principle Anra Ma inyu and the

, , ,
leading idea o f his teaching is the constan t c onflict

between the two which must continue until the en d
,
o f the period ordaine d by Ahura Mazda for the dura

tion o f the world when evil will be nally overcome
,
u ntil then the god s power is to so me degree limited

as e vil still withstands him Z arathustra s doctrine .

was essentially pra ctical and ethical ; it was no t in ,
a bstrac t contemplation or in s eparation fro m the ,
world that man was to look for S piritual deliverance

, ,
b ut in active charity in deeds of usefulness in kind

, ,
ness to animals in everything that could help to make

,

the world a well ordered place to live in in courage ,
an d all uprightness To build a bridge or dig a canal

.
wa s to help to lessen the power of evil As Re inach .
has c oncisely expressed it a life thoroughly o ccupied ,

wa s a p erpetual exorcis m .
The two gure s o f Ahura Mazda an d Anra Mainyu ,
the on e with his atten dant archangels and angels ,
an d the other with his arch demons an d de mons or -

,
Divs compose the Z arathustrian c elestial hierarchy

, ,
as represented in the earlier sa cred writings ; in the

later ones other gures ar e introduce d into the
pantheon The sacred writings that have b een pre
.
served are of different periods and outside the range ,
o f Z a rathustra s moral system of religion there are

traces in the m o f revivals o f an older primitive

nature worship an d of the b eliefs of an early nomadic
,
shepherd life as for instance the sacredness in

, , ,
which cow and dog are held as well a s re min iscences ,
o f general Indo Germanic myths

-
.
334
THE RELI GIO N OF Z O ROA S TE R
Ahura Mazda wa s the creator of the universe fo r
the duration of which he xed a certain term I t .
see ms un certain whether the Pers ians pictured the

world as roun d or fl at but according to their idea it
,
wa s divide d into seven zones of which the central ,
on e was the a ctual hab itable earth B etween thes e .
zones an d enveloping the whole was the great a byss

o f waters B etween earth and heaven rose the
.
celestial mountain whence all the rivers up on earth had

their source and on which was deposited the Hao ma
, .
The central feature o f Z oroastrian ritual w a s the

worship of re a n old established worship w hich
,
-

had existe d before Z oroaster s time In the oldest .
e r io d images were forbidden an d holy rites could

he perfor me d without te mples portable r ealtars
,
b eing in use Te mples were however b uilt in quite

.
, ,
early times and within these was the sanctuary

,
fro m which a ll light wa s excluded an d where the ,
sacre d re wa s kep t alight which could only b e ,
approache d by the priest with covered hands an d

mouth The Persians carrie d the fear of de le m e nt
.
to an extreme and ha d even more elaborate reg u

,
la t ions than most Ea st e r ns concerning methods of

purica tion and avoidance o f de le m e nt both a s ,
regards personal conta mination or tha t o f the sacred

ele ments of earth re an d water E ven hair and
, , .
nails could not be cut without special directions

a s t o how to deal with the separate d portions B ut .
this perpetual and exhausting state of caution and

protective e ffort against contact with de ling obj ect s
and rigorous syste m of purication ha d an ultima te
concern with the great struggle going on between
good an d evil Death and everything that partook
.
of death or ha d any power of inj ury were works

, ,
o f the a rch ene my

-
.
3 35
MYTHS OF BAB YLONIA AND AS SY RIA
I t w as owing t o the fear o f conta minating t h e
thre e ele ments named a bove that the Persian s
neither buried nor cremated their dead and looked ,
upon it a s a criminal a ct t o throw a corpse in to the

water . Th e old mode o f disp osing of the dead
wa s sim ilar to that now practised by the Parsis
of B o mbay who carry the b ody t o one o f the Towers
,
o f Silence S o the Persians expose d the corps e

.
,
till on e or other devouring agent birds of p rey o r ,
the elements ha d reduce d it to a Skeleton AS

, .
regards man himself he wa s thought to b e a reason

able b eing of fre e will with c onscience soul and , ,
a guardian Spirit or prototyp e o f himself who dwelt

,
l
a bove ca led a F rava shi his own character in ,
deed put into a S piritual body almost identical

, ,
with the a mei rna lghen or S piritual n ymphs o f the

-
Araucanian Indians o f Chile H e ha d the choice .
o f good and evil and c onse quently suffered the

,
due p unishmen t of sin F or the rs t thre e days

.
a fter death the s oul of the dea d was supposed to

hover a b out its earthly a bode .
During this time friends and relatives perfor med

their funerary rites their prayers an d offerings be
,
c oming more earnest and a bundant a s the hour

drew nigh when the soul wa s bound t o start on its
j ourney t o the b eyond This wa s a t the beginning
.
o f the fourth day when Sra osh a carried it aloft

, ,
assaile d on the way by de mons desirous o f o btain

ing possession of his burden O n earth everyth ing .
wa s being done to keep the evil S pirits in check res ,
lighted a s particularly effective against the powers

of darkness And thus assisted Sra osh a arrived
.
, ,
safely with his charge a t the bridge that a nne d
the S pace between earth an d heaven s

Ipere at .

the entrance to the accountant s bridge the soul s
336
B A B YLONIAN
ETHICS
a ccoun t was cast up by Mithra and Rashnu ; the
latt e r weighed its good an d evil deeds and even ,
if the good deeds turned the scale the soul had still ,
to undergo immediate penance for its transgression ,
so strict was the j ustic e mete d o ut to each No w .
the bridge may be crossed and a further auto matic ,
kind o f verdict is given for to those t for heaven

,
the bridge appears a wide an d easy way ; to the

unfortunate ones do omed to destruction it seems

b ut of a hair s brea dth and s tepp ing on to it they
,
S traightway fall int o the yawning gulf beneath .

The blessed ones are met a t heaven s gate by a
radiant gure who leads the m through the ante
,
cha mbers tha t nally open into the everlasting

light of the celestial abode This is the triu mph .
o f the individ ual soul ; but there is a far off divine -
event awa iting which will b e heralde d by S igns

,
and wonders Fo r 3000 years previous to it there

.
a re alternate intervals of overpowering evil and

conquering peace At las t the great dragon is le t
.
loose and the evil time comes b ut Mazda sends a ,
man to slay it Then the saviour Saoshyant is born

.
o f a v irgin The dead arise the sheep and goats

.
,
are divided and there is lamentation on the earth

, .
The mountains dissolve and flood the earth with

molte n metal a devouring agent o f destruction to
,
the wicked b ut from which the good take no hurt

, .
The S piritual powers have now to battle it out Ma zda .
and Sra osh a overco me Ahriman and the dragon an d ,
then age decay and death are done away and

, , ,

in their place are everlasting growth and life .
E t h ic s
Baby lonian
And lastly what of t h e ethics of ancient Babylon
, ,
and Assyria ! O n the whole the moral Standard

Y 337
o f these countries was not by any means so exalted
a s our own although the religious outlook was not
,
a low one To begin with the character of B aby

.
,
lonian myth w a s a great deal p urer than that of

Hellenic or Scandinavian myth The gods of B aby .
lonia appear to b e more dignied than those o f the

Greeks or Norsemen for exa mple They do not
, .
descend to the same puerilities and their record is ,
i mmeasurably cleaner This may have something

.
to do with the very g reat body of ritual connected

with the Babylonian religion for when a p eople is ,
so he dged in by religious custom as were the ancient
Chaldeans so threatened on every side by taboo

, ,
the mere thought of wrongdoing an d the conse q uence

thereof is sufcient to deter them fro m a cting o ther
wise than reasonably In course of time sin becomes
.
so ugly and repulsive in the light of punishment
that the moral code receives a tre mendous impulse .
There is no doub t that the B abylonians devoutly

believe d that their gods demanded rigid a dherenc e
to the moral code I t was generall y thought that
.
misfortune and ill ness were the conse q uen ces o f

moral transgression B ut the Babylonians did not
.
believe that the cardinal sins alone were he ino us fo r ,
they included in t ransgression such misde meanours

a s maliciousness fraud unworthy a mbitions and
, , ,
inj urious teach i ng.
338
C H APT E R X IV : MO DE R N E X C AV A.
T I O N IN B AB YLO NI A AND ASSYR I A
N no lan d has excavation assiste d history so
grea tly a s in Mesopota mia In Egypt although .

,
spade work ha s widened o ur knowledge of life

-
and religion in the Nile country most of what ,
we know of thes e subj ects h a s been gleaned fro m

te mples an d pyra mids rock to mbs and mastabas
,
-
,
for the proper examination o f which little or no

digging was necessary and generally spea king it may
,
b e said that excavation in Egypt has fur nishe d u s

with a greater insight into the earlier periods of
E gyptian progress it s prehistoric life
, B u t in

.
the B abylonian Assyrian region practically every

-
,
discovery has been due to strenuous labour with

pick and S pade ; our knowledge of Chaldea in its
hey day has litera lly been dug up piec e by piece
-
.
The honour o f beginning the grea t task of u n

earthing the buried ci t ies of Mesopotamia belongs
to M B otta who was French consul a t Mosul in
.
,
1 842 . Moved by the belief that many o f the grea t

sand covere d mounds which are so conspicuous a
-
feature of the Mesopota mian landscap e probably

concealed ruins of a vanished c ivilization B otta ,
c o mmenced to excavate the large mound of

Kou y u nj ik which is situated close to the village
,
where he resided B u t he found little to reward

.
his la bours and he does not see m t o have gone a bout

,
the business of excavation in a very workmanlike

manner His attention was called by an intelligen t
.
native to the mounds of Kh or sa ba d the S ite of ,
ancient Nineveh and he dispatched a party of

,
workmen to the S pot Soon his perseve rance was

.
rewarded by the discovery of so me sculptures and ,
3 39
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND ASS Y RIA
recognizing the superior importance of Kh orsa ba d
for arch ae ological purposes he trans ferred his estab ,
lish m e nt to that village an d res olved to devote him

self to a thorough investigation of the S ite .
Soon a well planned S inking operation ca me upon

-
one of the palace walls and subse quent digging was ,
rewarded by the discovery of many cha mbers and

halls faced with slabs of gypsu m c overed with m y t h o
logical gures battle scenes processions and similar
, , ,
subj ects He had in fact unearthed a palace b uilt

.
, ,
a t Nineveh by Sargon King of Assyria who reigne d, ,
7 2 2 7 5
0 B C one o.f the
. nest
, exa mples o f Assyrian
palatial architecture H e c ontinued his excavations
.
a t Kh orsa ba d until 1 845 and wa s successful in ,
bringing to light a te mple and a grand porch deco

rated by three pairs of wings under which pa ssed ,
the roa d fro m the c ity to the palace Many of the .
fruits of h is labours were re moved to Paris and

deposited in the L ouvre H is successor Victor .
,
Place continued B otta s work a t Kh orsa ba d and

, ,
discovered a c ity gate guarded by winged bulls ,
the bac ks of which supporte d the arch of the

entrance .
Sir H enry L ay ard

Meanwhile Mr a fterward Sir H enry L ayard ha d
, ,
visited the country in 1 840 and was g r e a t ly im p re sse d

,

by B otta s work and its results Five years later .
,
through the assistance of Sir Stratford Canning he ,
was enabled himself to co mmence excavations a t

Nim r d He soon unearthed the remains of extensive
.
buildings in fact he discovered two Assyrian palaces

on the very rst day of his excavations ! At the
outset he had only eleven men in his e mploy and ,
b eing anxious to push on the work in fear tha t the

34
F rom Gu ide t o t h e B a by loni a n a nd A ssy ri a n A nti quiti es , by p e r
m i o n of t h D rector of
s si e i t h e B n t rshM useu m .
34 1
MYTHS OF B A B YLO NIA AND
AS SY RIA
local Turkish governor or the approach of the winter
season would put an end to his operations he ,
increased his sta ff to thirty men The peasants .
laboure d enthusiastically but to the excavator s

,

disgust the Turkish authorities forbade him to pro

ceed . L ayard nevertheless hoodwinked the a u t h ori
, ,
ties and succeeded in uncovering several large

,
gures of winged bulls and lions .
Soon a fter this L ayard S pent Christ mas with

Sir Henry Rawlinson of the B ritish Museu m with ,
who m he ce mented a warm friendship and to ,
gether they were able to overcome the unfrie ndli

ness of the Turkish of cials H or m u zd Ra ssa m .
,
a n intelligent native Chris t ian ca me to Laya r d s ,

a ssistance an d operations were onc e more co m

,
m e nc e d a t Nim r d Ra ssa m s labours were quickly

.
crowne d by success for h e ca me upon a large hall

,
in a ne s tate o f preservation The serious work .
o f excava tion was not without its hu morous S ide ,
for if they chance d t o unearth a carven monster

with the body of a b ull and the hea d of a bearde d
man the native labourers threw down their tools
,
and ran The Turkish Governor too hearing fro m

.
, ,
a native source that Nimrod ha d been found sent ,
a message to the e ffect that his remains should be

treated with respect and b e no further disturbed .
L ayard ha d now unearthed many valuable s culp

tu res and he resolve d to attemp t their dispatch
,
to E ngland Rawlins on sent a S mall stea mer the

.
,
N it oer is to Nim r d but it was found impossible to

, ,
S hip the massi v e pieces on this frail craft and even ,
the smaller sculpture s had perforce to b e fl oated

down the Tigris on rafts L aya r d s health was by
.

this time in no very robust s tate but a two months ,
m ountain holiday in Kurdistan refreshed him and ,

B l ck O b el i sk of l m n e ser

Sh a a II
Th e
a
ll rm sd l nd t o
'
l lzo/ o It

. . 1 . a
HENRY LAYA RD SIR
once more he recommenced his labours at Nim r d ,
heartened by the news tha t the B ritish Government

had awarded a grant for the continuation of his
researches The grant however w a s distressingly
.
, ,
s mall and its inadequacy c ompelled him to limit

,
h is excavations in the most unsatisfactory way .
Despite this the new operations were rich in results

, ,
especially those in the building known a s the south

west palace This palace he ascertained fro m
.
,
bricks unearthed had been built by E sar haddon ,

-
,
King of Assyria S culptures glorifying King Assur

.
-
nazir pal ( 8 8 5 860 B C ) were also discovere d at . .
the north west palace some of the m of a most

-
,
S pirited character representing the King in battle , ,
crossing a river full of turtles and shes or leading ,
his army .
I t was in the central building however that one , ,
of his mos t important discoveries awaited him .
This was the obelisk of Shalmaneser I I ( 8 608 2 5

nearly seven fee t high and in admira ble preserva ,
tion The monarch had erecte d this in h is palace

.
to co mmemorate the leading military events o f his

career It contains twenty s mall bas reliefs and 2 1 0
.
-
line s o f cuneiform inscription alluding a mong other ,
things to the receipt o f the tribute of J ehu son o f ,

l
Om r i . This priceless relic is one of the treas ure s
in the keeping of the B ritish Museum .
L ayard devoted the rst four months o f 1 847 to

the exploration o f the north wes t palace and dis ,
closed painted chambers on which were represente d

hunting scenes and various religious c ere monies
-
,
each design separate d by a conventional representa

tion o f the sacred tree Many of the lesser obj ects .
found here exhibited E gyptian influence Here he .
1 B u t f 1 Ki ng s
1
i 1 6 ; 2 Ki ng s i
c . nd x x x , x a .
343
also ca me upon the oldest Assyrian arch ever dis
covered .
He had now collected a large nu mber of important

sculptures and of these he succeeded in s ending
,
three by ra ft t o B asra whenc e they were later shipped

,
to England B y the mid dle of Ma y 1 847 he had

.
nishe d his work at Nim r d and had co mmenced ,
h is search for the ruins of Nineveh in the mound of

Ko uyunj ik near Mosul where B otta ha d laboured
, ,
before him He dug for the platfor m o f sun dried

.
-
bricks which he knew by exp erien ce formed the

foundation of all large Assyrian edices and ca me ,
upon it as he ha d expected at a depth of twenty

, ,
feet shortly afterward discovering the entrance

, ,
flanked by the inevitable winged bulls B ut the .
building itself had been so da maged by re a s to

present little more than crumbling heaps of lime .
L ayard returned to England in Jun e 1 847 and ,
was appointed attach to the E mbassy at Constan

t inop le .Meanwhil e h is published works had create d
an extraordinary impression throughou t E urope and ,
the pressure of public opinion so wrought up on the

Govern ment that he was re quested to lead a second
expe dition to Nineveh .
Wh er e Raw l ins on Sl ep t
B etter e quipped L ayard left Constantinople in
,
August 1 849 and arrived at Kouyunj ik in O ctober .
Employing a bout a hundred men he set strenuously ,
to work removing only as much earth a s w a s

,
n ecessary to show the sculptured walls Having .
fairly s tarte d the work at Ko uyunj ik L ayard , ,
accompanied by Ra ssa m returned to Nim r d and , ,
recommenced work there O ne morning he w as .
inspecting the trenches when he found Rawlinson

344
WHE RE RAWLINSON SLE PT
asleep on the floor of an excavated cha mber wrapped ,
in h is travelling cloak wearied out b y a long and

,

harassing night s ride He was on his way home to
.
England which he had not seen for twenty two years

,
-
.
The rich nds in the painted palace o f Sennacherib

at Kouyunj ik consisted chiefly of mural painti ngs
and bas reliefs O f thes e Professor Hilp r e c h t says :
-
.
1
Hundreds of gures cover the face o f the slabs fro m

top to bottom We become ac quainted with the
.
peculiarities in type and dress of foreign nations

, , ,
and the characteristic features and products of their

lands ; we are introduced into the very life and
occupations of the persons represented The S culptor .
S hows u s t h e B abylonian swamps with their j ungles

of tall reeds fre quente d by wild boars and barbarous
, ,
tribes skimming over the waters in their light boats

o f wicker work exactly such as are use d to day by
-
,
-
the inhabitants of the same marshes ; or he takes

us into the high mountains of Kurdistan covered ,
with trees and crowne d with castles endeavouring ,
even to convey the idea o f a va ll ey by reversing

the tree s and mountains on one S ide o f the strea m ,
which is lle d with she s and crabs and turtles .
H e indicates the different head gear worn by female -
musicians or by captive wo men carried with their

,
husbands and children to Nineveh Some wear their .
hair in long ringlets some plaited or braided some

, ,
conned in a ne t others are characterized by hoods

tting close to their heads others by a kind of ,
turban ; Ela mite ladies with their hair in curls

falling on their shoulders bound above the temples ,
by a band or ll et while those fro m Syria wear

,
a high conical head dress S imilar to that which is

-
,

fre q uently found to day in those regions
-
.
1
Exp l r t ions in B ble L nd
o a i nd T C l r k a s a . a ,
345
MYTH S OF B A B YLONIA AND A SS Y RIA

The excavation of Sennacherib s palace with its
seventy rooms ha lls and ga lleries was indeed one
, ,
of the most striking results of Laya r d s secon d
expe dition to Nineveh B ut even more remarkable .
was the nd of Assur bani pal s famous royal library - -

at Nineveh which h a s already been described

,
.
Results at Nim r d too had been favourable per

, , ,
haps the most interesting being the discovery of

the tower of Calah regarded at rs t as the tomb o f
,
Sardanapalus No w for the second time L ayard

.
began to feel the e ffects of overwork and exposure ,
an d in April 1 8 5 1 accompanied by Ra ssa m he , ,
turned fro m the ruins of Nineveh with a heavy

heart . Twenty four years l ater he was to become
-
Ambassador a t Constantinople in which capacity ,
he loyally assiste d the zealous Rassa m h is worthy ,
subordinate .
In 1 8 5 1 Rawlinson was entrusted by the British

Govern ment with the excavations in Assyria and
B abylonia He had the invaluable assistanc e o f
.
Ra ssa m as chief practical excavator

Stationing .

his workmen at a s many sites a s possible he un ,
earthed the annals o f Tigla t h p ile se r I at Qal at -

Sh e r q at discovered E zide the temple of Nebo a t

,
-
,
Nim r d and a
,
S tele of Samsi Adad IV ( 8 2 5

-
81 2 At Kouyu nj ik he ca me upon the palace

of Assur bani pal A beautiful ba S relief wa s r e
- -
.
-
covered representing Assur bani pal in his chariot - -

on a hunting expedition The lion room the .

-
,
walls o f which repres ented a lion hunt was also -

,
unearthed and w a s S hown to have been used both

,
a s a library and a p icture gall ery many thousands -

,
of clay book tablets being found therein

-
.
Abandoning excavation for a political appoin tment ,
Mr Ra ssa m was followed by Willi am Kennet L oftus ,
346
G EO RG E SMITH
who did good work a t the ruins o f Wark a in B a bylo
nia Meanwhile the French expedition under F resnel
.
,
Op p e r t and Tho mes was excavating at B abylon

, ,
coming upon the re mains o f the Nebuchadrezzar

p eriod and excava ting the mound of B abil .
G e org e S m it h
O ne who wa s to perfor m yeoman S ervice for
Assyri o logy now entered the eld This was George .
S mith whose na me is so unalterably associated with

,
the romantic side of that science he love d so well .
W riting o f himself he says : E veryone has so me

b ent or inclination which if fostered by favourable
,
c ircu mstances wi ll colour the res t of his life My

,
.
own taste has always been for O riental S tudies and ,
fro m my youth I have taken a grea t interest in

E as tern explorations and discoveries partic ularly ,
in the grea t work in which L ayard and Rawlinson

were engaged For some years I did little or nothing
.
,
but in 1 8 66 seeing the unsatisfactory state of our

,
knowle dge of those parts o f Assyrian history which

bore upon the history o f the B ible I felt anxious ,
to do so mething towards settling the questions

1
involved . S mith found the Deluge tablets a mong
the s core s of fragments sent to the B ritish Muse u m
by L ayard and L oftus and this and other discoveries
,
whetted h is desire to go to Mesopota mia and unearth

its treasures with his own hands In conse quenc e .
o f the wide interest taken a t the time in these dis

c o v e r ie s the proprietors o f The Da ily Telegr ap h
ca me forward with the o ffer o f a thousand guineas
for fresh researches a t Nineveh with the provis o ,
that S mith should head the expedition and s upply

the j ournal with accounts of his discoveries The .
l A ss
y i n D i r ies p 9 ( Lo ndo n
r a scove , .
,
347
MYTHS O F BA B YLO NI A AND ASSYRIA .
offer was accepted and S mith now a me mber o f

, ,
the s taff o f the B ritish Museu m received leave of ,
a bsence for six months .
Arrived at Nim r d Smith settled down to excava

,
tion there commencing operations a t the te mp le

,
o f Ne bo ; but he found little to j ustify his labour ,
a s the structure w a s in a ruinous condition and had
la tterly be en used a s a granary O n each S ide of .
the entrance stood a colossal gure of the god with

crossed arms in an attitude of meditation an d lesser ,
images of him were foun d inside the ruined building .

S mith s reason for digging here wa s that he suspected
the presence of inscriptions which might cast light
u pon the reign of Tigla t h p ile se r I I ( 745 B C ) an d
-
. .
therefore upon B ible history His industry wa s .
rewarded by the discovery of the upper p ortion of

a tablet of this monarch but further nds of ,
importance were not forthcoming .
Th e Palac e f Nim r d
o
S mith then institute d syste matic excavations in

the south east palace and made some interesting
-
,
discoveries O n exa mining this part o f the mound

.
he sa w a considerable tunnel in the south fac e ,
co mmencing on the S loping part of the mound .
This tunnel appeared to go along the middl e of a

cha mb er the fl oor having been cut through and
,
appearing in a lin e on each S ide o f the tunnel .
F urther on the tunnel reache d the wall at the end

,
o f the cha mber and the face of this ha d been cleared

,
for some little distance ; then descending below ,
the foundation of t h is wall the passage ran for s ome

,
distanc e into the base of the mound He co m .
m e nc e d on the two sides of this cutting and cleared ,
away to the level of the p avement soon coming to ,
348
TH E PALA CE OF NI MROD
the wall on each side The Southern wall o f the
.
cha mber had fallen over into the plain as it was ,
here close to the edge of the platform and the cha mber ,
c ommenced with two parallel walls running north

and south The right hand wall in a place near
.
-
,
the edge where it was much broken down showed ,
thre e steps of an a scent which had gone apparently

to some upper cha mbers F urther on it S howe d
.
two recesses each ornamented on both S ides with

,
thre e s quare pilasters The left hand S howe d an

.
entrance into a second chamber running east to

west and fro m this turned a third running parallel
, ,
with the rst Altogether in this place he opened

.
six chambers all o f the same character the entrances

, ,
orna mented by clusters of s quare pilasters and

recesses in the rooms in the sa me style The wa lls .
were coloured in horizontal bands of red green and , ,
yell ow on plaster and where the lower parts of the

cha mbers were panelled with s mall ston e S labs the ,
plaster and colours were continued over these In .
one of these rooms there appeared a brick receptacle

let into the fl oor and on lifting the brick which
,
covered this S mith found six terra cott a winged -
gures closely packed in the receptacle Each gure

,
.
wa s full faced having a head like a lion four wi ngs

-
, , ,
with one hand across the breast holding a baske t ,
in the other and clothed in a long dress to the feet

, .
These gures were probably intended to preserve

the building against the power o f evil S pirits .
All the eastern and s outhern portions of the mound

of Nim r d had been destroye d by being turned into
a burial place The ruins had been excavated a fter
-
.
the fall o f the Assyrian e mpire wall s had been dug

,
through and chambers broken into and the openings

, ,
lled with cof ns .
349
Mr S mith then turned his attention to the ruins
of Nineveh at Kouyunj ik and Nebbi Yunas L ayard .
an d even the Turkish Govern ment had both been

before him here He co mmenced operations by
.
cutting trenches at the south eastern corner of Assur

-
bani pal s palace B ut a t rst nothing of great

.
interest resulted and he diverted O perations to the

,
palace of Sennacherib hard by Here he came upon .
a n u mber of inscriptions W hich co mp ensated him

for his labour At length the excavations in Assur
.
bani pal s palace bore fruit for there were unearthe d

-

,
the greater portion of seventeen lines of ins cription

belonging to the rst column of the Deluge narrative ,
and tting into the only place where there was a

s erious blank in the S tory .
The palac e o f Sennacherib also steadily produced

it s tribute of obj ects including a s mall tablet of
,
E sar haddon King o f Assyria some new fragments

-
, ,
of on e o f the historical cylinders of Assur bani pal - -

,
and a curious fragment of the history o f Sargon ,
King of Assyria relating to his expedition against

,
Ashdod which is mentione d in the twentieth chapter

,
of the B ook of Isaiah O n the same fragment was

.
also part of the list of Median chiefs who paid tribute

to Sargon .
The proprietors o f The Da ily Telegra p h considered

that with the nding of the Deluge fragment the
purpose of the expedition had been served and tha t ,
further excavation in Mesopotamia S hould b e carried

on un der national auspices Mr S mith was there
.
fore forced to return to England but not before ,
he had discovered further a valuable syllabary an d ,
two portions o f the sixth tablet o f the Deluge story ,
as well as other minor obj ects of interest .
About the end of 1 8 73 however the British , ,
35
TH E PALA CE O F NIMROD
Museu m authorities dispatched Mr Smith onc e
more to Mesopotamia where he recommenced opera
,
tions at Kou yu nj ik and unearthed on this occasion

,
an inscription of Shalmaneser I King of Assyria ,
( 3
1 00 recording that he founde d the palace
o f Nineveh and alluding to his restoration of the
,
temple of Ishtar Inscriptions of h is son Tu k ult i

.
ninip were also found at this place as were dedica ,
tions o f Assur nazir pal ( 8 8 5 B C ) and Shalmaneser I I

- -
. .
( 8 6 0 Some very curious pottery too came , ,
from this S pot ornamentations being laid on the

,
clay as in many exa mples of the pottery of the

,
Maya of Central America At the sa me time frag .
ments of sculptured walls represen ting marching

warriors were brought to light and some tablets ,
of great importance giving the na mes of six new

B abylonian kings a sixth table t of the Deluge series
, ,
and a bilingual tablet in ne preservation .
In the south west palace S mith excavated at

-
the grand entrance to see if any records re maine d

under the pave ment but there were none This, .
part o f the pave ment had been broken through ,
and anything under it had long ago been carrie d

away He san k so me trenches in the grand hall
.
and found a fragment of i ns cription and further on ,
in the palace several other fragments His principal .
excavation w a s however carried on over what

, ,
L ayard calle d the library chamber of this palace .
L ayard who discovered the library chamber describes

, ,
it as fu ll of fragments o f ta blets up to a foot or ,
more from the floor This cha mber L ayard ha d .
cleared out and he ha d brought it s trea sures to

England but Smith thought on examining the
,
coll ection a t the B ritish Museum that not one half -
of the library had been removed and steadily a dhered ,
3 51
MYTH S OF BAB YLO NIA AND AS S Y RIA
to t h e belief that the rest of the tablets must b e in
the palace of S ennacherib O n excavating he found
.
nearly three thousand fragments of tablets in the

cha mbers round Laya rd s library cha mber an d ,
fro m the position of these fragments he was led to

the Opinion that the library was not originall y
S it uated in thes e cha mbers but in an upper story
o f the palace an d that on the collaps e of the building
,
they fell into the cha mbers below Some of the .
cha mbers in which he found inscribed tablets had

n o communication with ea ch other while fragments ,
o f the same tablets were in the m ; and looking a t

this fa ct and the positions and distribution o f the
,
fragments he was convinced that the tablets were

,
s cattere d over a wide area and resolved to excavate

over an extensive section of the palace .

In the long gallery which contained Scenes
,

representing the moving o f winged gures says ,

S mith I found a great nu mber of ta blets mostly
, ,
along the oor ; they include d syllabaries bilingual ,
lists mythological and historical tablets Among

,
.
these tablets I discover ed a beautiful bronze Assyrian

fork having two prongs j oine d by orna ment al
,
shoulder to shaft of S piral work the sha ft ending in ,
the head of an ass This is a beautiful and uni q ue

.
S pecimen of Assyrian work and S hows the advances ,
the people had made in the rene ments of life .
South of this there were numerous tablets roun d

La ya rd s old library cha mber and here I found part

,
of a curious astrolabe and fragments of the history

,
o f Sargon King o f Assyria 72 2 B C In one place

, ,
. .
,
below the level of the fl oor I discovered a ne ,
fragment o f the history o f Assurb anipal containing ,
n ew and curious matter relating to h is Egyptian

wars and to the a ffairs of Gyges King o f L ydia
, , .
35 2
THE PALA CE O F NI MRUD
F ro m this part of the palace I gained also the
S houlder of a colossal statue with an inscription of ,
Assurbanipal In another spo t I obtained a bon e

.
spoon and a fragment of the tablet with the history

,
of the seven evil S pirits Near this I discovered a .
bronze style with which I believe the c uneifor m

,
tablets were impressed In another part of the .
excavation I found part of a monu ment with the

representation o f a fortication In the western .
part of the palace near the edge of the mound I, ,
excavated and found remains of crystal and alabas

te r vases and specimens of the royal seal Two
,
.
of these are very curious ; one is a paste seal the ,
earliest example of it s kind and the other is a clay ,
impression of the seal o f Sargon King o f Assyria , .
Near where the principal seals were discovered I

found part of a s culpture with a good gure o f a
dead buffalo in a strea m Among these S culpture s .
and in scriptions were nu merous s mall obj e cts in ,

1
c luding beads rings S tone seals etc
, , ,
.
B y January 1 1 8 74 Smith had no less than Six

, ,
hundred men employed B ut he had to encounter .
tre mendous local di fficulties especially de mands ,
that he S hould pay immense sums to the proprietors

o f t h e land which he excavated Soon afterward .
,
the season bei ng unpropitious he returned to ,
England A third visit to Mesopota mia proved

.
his las t as he beca me ill and passed away at Alepp o

,
in 1 8 76 to the universal regret not only of thos e

,
who were privileged to have his frien dship but to ,
all who had perused his works and were aware o f

his s trenuous life and s tudies Fro m the position .
o f a bank note engraver he had raised himself to

-
that of an esteemed scholar and his kindness of ,
A yr i n D
1
r p 1 48 ( Lo ndo n
ss a i s c ov e i es, .
,
z 35 3
MYTH S OF B AB YL O NI A AND A S SY RIA
heart and honesty o f purpose n o less than his out
,
standing abilities make him one of the most graciou s

,
gures in the history of a science to which m any men

of high endeavour have devoted the ir live s .
H orm uzd Rassam

Th e la mented dea th of S mith caused the British
authorities to re q uest Mr Horm uzd Ra ssa m who ,
ha d retired into private life in England to take up ,
the vacant pos t Mr Ra ssa m at once accepted the

.
trus t and started for Constantinople in November

,
1 8 76. At rst there was serious trouble with the

Turkish Govern ment b ut in January 1 8 78 Ra ssam
,
was enabled to commence excava tions which he ,
carrie d on almost continuously for ve years .
L ayard as ambassador a t Constantinople s tood

, ,
him in good S tead He took much a dvantage o f

.
native talent which if not up t o the standard of

, ,
E uropean ef ciency he found in n o wise despicable

, .
B ut too many excavations were being carrie d on a t

one an d the same time Again Rassa m was pron e
.
,
t o atte mp t sensational n ds rather than to keep

steadily at the more solid and less showy work of
excavation Guide d by certain indications of the
.
presenc e o f obj ects o f the Shalmaneser perio d a t

Kouyu nj ik he dug there once more and succ eede d
,
in unearthing the bronze pla ques which had covered

the cedar gates of a large Assyrian building at leas t
2 500 years old and built by Shalmaneser I I
,
They .
represented warriors and e questrian gures and it ,
was found that the S ite on which they were dis

covered had been the city of Imgur B el Ra ssa m -
.
also recovered further clay tablets from the library

of Assur bani pal at Kouyunj ik With his return to
- -
.
E ngland in 1 8 8 2 it may be said th a t the Assyrian

354
W ork of th e E c x av a tors n B bylo n
i a
O ne h u nd re d wo rk m n l b r d
e a ou e 1n d i g g i ng t h i cut w h i h i s
s ,
c
4 fe t d0 e ee p 54
C o py r i g h t t m lc n t oorl, L ond o n
'
U nd er w ood a nd
'
by
DE SARZ EC
excavations o f the nineteenth century in contra ,
distinction to thos e carried out on B a bylonian soil ,
came to an end .
De Sarzec
With the excavations of the F renchman de Sarze c
a t TellO the second great period o f Chaldean a r c h mo
logical research may be said to have c ommenced .
E rnest de Sa rze c was F rench Vice consul at B asra -

,
but by his private e fforts he succeeded in making

Te llO the Pompeii o f early Babylonian antiquity

.
The two principal mounds excavate d by him are

known to Assyriologists as Mound A and Mound
B . Digging in the for mer he soon collecte d suf cien t

evidence to convince him tha t he stood on a sit e

o f grea t antiquity He found indee d tha t Moun d A
.
consisted o f a platfor m of unbaked bricks crowne d

by an edice o f considera ble size an d extent He .
unearthed part o f a great statue on the shoulder of ,
which was engraved the na me o f Gudea ( 2 700

patesi or ruler of L agash with which city Mound A
, , ,
prove d t o be identical and later expose d nu merous

,
large columns o f bricks of the time of Gudea the

,
stele of vultures erected by King E anna t um and

-
,
two large terra cotta cylin ders of Gudea each ln

-
,
~
scribed with about 2 000 lines of early cuneiform

writing .
O n a later visit at the en d o f 1 88 0 and beginning

,
o f 1 8 8 1 he further developed excavation in Mound A

, ,
and discovere d nine large dolerite s tatues fragments ,
o f precious h a s reliefs and numerous inscriptions

-
, .
He also came upon layers of more ancien t re

main s beneath the building he had unearthed in
Mound A .
The collection o f early B abylonian sculptures r e

35 5
MYTH S O F B AB YLO NIA AND AS SY RIA
gained by de Sa rze c was hailed with accla mation
in Paris An O riental section was instituted in the
.
L ouvre and L on Heuzy commenced the publica

,
tion of a monu mental work De eouvertes en Cha lde e

ar Ernest de Sarze c ( Paris 8 8 which laid

p 1 4 , ,
the foundation for a methodical treatment of ancien t

Chaldean art . The subse quent excavation o f de
Sa rzec in Te llO and its neighbourhood carried the
history of the city back to at least 4000 B C and . .
,
a collection of more than ta blets of the time

o f Gudea was gradually unearthed
In 1 886
.
1 8 87 a German expedition under Dr

Koldewey explored the ce metery of E l H ibba to the
South o f Te ll O and succeeded in throwing much
,
light upon the b urial customs of ancient Babylonia .
A second Ger man expedition under Dr Andrae ,
working at Babylon in 1 8 89 laid bare the palac e

,
of Nebuchadrezzar and the great processional road .
and subse quently conducted excavations at Q al a t
Sh e r qa t the S ite of Asshur

,
.
Th e Am er ic an Ex p edit ion of 188 9

There had been keen interest in Babylonian
arch ae ology in America almost fro m the inception
of the series of excavations dealt with in this s ketch ,
and this w a s in all likelihood due to the pop ularity

of B iblical studies in the grea t republic of the Wes t .
The Babylonian Exploration F und wa s instituted

on Nove mber 30 1 8 8 7 Excavatory labours were
,
.
commenced at Nippur in 1 8 8 9 and on rst beholding

,
the immense mass of the mounds which conceale d

the ruins of the te mple city the members o f the
-

expedition were not a little disturbed Even a t .
a distance I began to realize that not twenty not ,
fty years would su ffice to excavate this important

356
THE A ME RI CA N EX PE DITION OF 188 9

S ite thoroughly writes Professor Hilp rec h t
,
1
The .

ruins resembled a pictures que mountain range
rather than the last impressive remains of human
LA N N I N E V E H (N I PP UR )
P OF
A P l ce of Se nn ch e b B P l ce of Assu r b ni p
. a a a ri . . a a -
a -
a l.
B y p e r mi ssi on f the
o D i rect or o
f th e B r i t i sh Mu seu m .

B u t the Americans

constructions . Sa t down
before the mass with the courage of their race ,
resolved to probe into its innermost secrets At .
rst they speculate d as to the character of the

1
E p l r t n in B bl L nd
x o a io s nd T C l r k
i e a s a . a ,
3 57
MYTH S O F B A B YLO NIA AND A S SY RIA
buildings hidden fro m their V iew The dire ctor .
,
Dr Peters was rapi dl y exhausting his fund of

,
without coming upon anything of value ,
and recognizing the ne cessity for the promp t dis

c ov e r
y of important obj ects if opinion at ho me was
t o be placated Hilp r e c h t p ointed out to him the
,
desirability of atta c king an isolate d mound which

in his j udgment containe d the residences of the
priests and the temple library Peters agreed to .
the proposal and almost a t once an important s erie s

,
of ta blets w a s discovered The moun d see med in .

,
deed inexhaustible and most of its contents were

, ,
o f a date about 2 000 B C but there were also later . .

,
tablets belonging to the reign of Na bop ola sse r ,
Nebuchadrezzar Nabonidus and even Cyrus Ca m

, , ,
by se s and Darius
, Shortly after this the rst expedi
.
tion was brought to a close .
In the S econd expedition also undertaken at ,
Nippur Dr Peters decided to dispense with the

,
services of Messrs Hilp r e c h t and F ield the expert ,
Assyriologists who had been dispatche d to advis e

him professionally Himself not an Assyriologist.
,
he laboure d at a disadvantage without the assistanc e

o f these experts The work of the rst expedition
.
had concentrate d a t three conspicuous points the

te mple the table t hill which ha d yielded such
,

good results and the Court of Columns
, The .
principal obj ective w a s now the conical hill of B int

e l Amir
-
containing the zikkurat and temple of B el
, .
Peters regarded t h e temple as having been built

by a king not far re moved fro m Nebu chadrezzar

in time but many of his inferences have been tra
,

vers ed by H ilp re c h t In h is endeavour to reach
.
the older re mains before the more recent strata ha d

been investigated in the leas t ade q uately Peter s ,
35 8
THE BU SINE S S Q U A RTE R OF NIPPU R
broke through the outer casing of the zikkurat ,

built of i mmense blocks of a dobe in a cavity o f ,
which he discovered a well preserve d goos e egg an d -

,
perceived that there w a s an older stage tower of -
quite a di fferent form and much s maller dimensions

enclosed within the other B y means of a diagonal .
trench cut through its centre he ascertained its ,
height an d characteristic features down to the level

o f Ur Gur an d ca me to the conclusion (which how
-
, ,
ever did not prove correct ) tha t the zikkurat of

,
this ancient monarch was the earliest erecte d a t

Nippur W ells and similar shafts were sun k at
.

other points of the te mple especially at the northern ,
and western corners where he reached original ,
r b l 6 8
constructions of Ash u a na p a ( 6 62 6 B C ) and . .
Ur Gur (about 2 700 and discovered scattere d

bricks S howing that many kings of many
age s ha d honoured the te mple of Bel a t Nippur 1
.

Th e B usiness Q uar t er Of N ip p ur
The excavators soon conclude d that they had hit
upon the business quarter of Nippur basing their ,
belie f upon the commercial character o f the tablets

found the large nu mber of day labels pierce d for
,
attachment to sacks and j ars books of entry in clay , ,
and weights and measures So much da mage had .
been done t o the buildings while excavating how ,
ev er that the appearanc e and plan o f any o f the

B abylonian business houses and warehouse s c ould
not be arrived at .
In August 1 893 Haynes co mmenced a s earch for

the original bed and e mbankment o f the river
Chebar which he ca me upon a t a depth of twenty
,
1
Hilp h t E pl r t i n in B bl L nd p 2 32 ( T
re c ,
x o a o s nd T C l r k
i e a s, . . a . a ,
3 59
MYTH S OF B AB YLO NIA AND A S S Y RIA
feet fro m the surface In the dried up bed of the
.
-
river or canal he found a round terra cotta fountain -
in three fragments decorated with birds fro m whos e

,
m ont h s the water passed .
Th e Four t h Cam p aig n

The fourth ca mpaign covered the years 1 900 8
1 98-
,
and was under the direct control of the U niversity

o f Pennsylvania E xcavations were c ommence d at
.
the extreme south eastern end of the west ridge

-
.
Spring and su mmer were spent by Haynes in a

nervous search for ta blets although a strictly ,
Scientic examination of Nippur had been asked

for L ate tablets and c o f ns resulte d fro m this
.
search ; nds of old Babylonian character were

meagre The director did not se e eye to eye with
.
his architects and one of t he m Mr F isher resigned

, , , ,
returning however in the autumn of 1 899 The

, ,
.
Committee in America re quested Haynes to con ne

his e fforts to the exploration of the eastern half of
the temple court and to this task he addressed
,
himself with zeal if only with partial success .
Ta blets according to the directo r suf cient to

, ,

institute a distinct library by itself continue d to ,
p our out of Ta blet Hill B u t technical and expert

.

advice was lacking The architects desired to remove

.
a Parthian round tower Haynes reluctantly con ,
sented and upon it s re moval the gate of an ancient

,
te mple was unearthed .
H ilp r ec h t Ret ur ns
Professor Hilp r e c h tnow reappeared and his ,
coming put a n ew co mplexion on a ffairs A trained .
and efficient a rc h molog ist he saw a t once that ,

Tablet Hill represente d the site o f the temple
36o
H ILPRECH T RET U RN S
library so resolved to leave its excavation to a later
,
expedition and meantime to settle the more essen

,

tial topographical questions He sa w that these .

once answered it would b e a comparatively easy
,
task for the Committe e to have the single mounds

excavated one after another by somebody else if ,
necessity arose who w a s less fa m iliar with the ruins

,
and the history of their exploration Every trench .
c ut henceforthand there were a great manywas

c ut for the sole purpose of excavating structures
systematica lly and of gathering necessary data for
the history and topography of ancient Nippur I f .
these trenches yielded tangible muse u m res ul ts a t

the sa me time so much the better if they did not
, ,

he says ,
I was not troubled by their absence .

However antiquities were found So a bundantly
,
in the pursuit of the plan described that the prin ,
c i le was established anew that a strictly S cientic

p
method o f excavating is at the same ti me the

most protable .

Summarizing his explanations of the ruins a t
B int e l Amir Hilp re c h t writes :

- -
,
I A s tage tower .
-
of s ma ller dimensions existed at Nippur before

Sargon I ( about 3800 2 In pre Sargonic .
-
times the ground around the sacred enclosure was

a vast graveyard a regular re necropolis 3 O ne
, . .
o f the na mes of the S tage tower of Nippur suggested -
the ide a o f a to mb to the early inhabitants of the

country In the course of time certain zikkurats
.
were directly designate d by the B a bylonians a s

to mbs of the gods 4 The stage tower o f B e l did
. .
-
not occupy the centre of the enclosed platform b ut ,
the south west S ection of it while the north east

-
,
-
part was reserved for the house of B e l his principal ,

sanctuary which S tood at the S ide of the stage tower

,
-
.
36 1
MYTH S OF B A B YLO NIA A ND A S SY RIA
5 The temple of B el consisted of two large courts
.
adj oining each other the north west court with the
,

zikkura t an d the hous e of B el representing the
most holy place or the inner court while the s outh ,
eas t ( outer ) court see ms to have been studde d with

the shrines of all the di fferent gods and goddesses
worshippe d a t Nippur including one for B el himself ,
.
6 Im g u r Marduk and Nimit Marduk mentione d in

.
- -
,
the c uneifor m inscriptions a s the two walls of Nippur

( dru and Sh alk h ) cannot have surrounded the ,
whole city According to the results of the excava

.
tions conducted under my own supervision only ,
th e te mple was enclosed by a double wa ll while in ,
all probability the city itself re mained unprote cted .
7. The large complex o f b uildings covering the top

o f B int e l Amir h a s nothing to do with the ancient
- -
te mple below b ut represents a huge fortied Parthian

,
pala ce groupe d around and upon the re mains of the

1
stage tower then visible
-
.
B y means o f care ful tunnelling Hilp re c h t als o

unearthe d the south east S ide of a pre Sargonic - -
te mple tower but the nature of the excavation

-
, ,
risking as it did a sudden collapse of s oil and

bricks was too dangerous to permit o f further
,
labours upon it .
Th e H ou se of t h e Dead
A building record o f Assur bani pal was brought
- - -
to light which described the te mple tower of Nippur -
as E

-
i
g g u nn Hous e of the To mb,

B efore this .
other titles of it had been recovere d which alluded

to it as Mountain of the Wind and it was under ,

s tood to have been a local representation o f the

great mythological mountain of the world Kh arsag ,

Exp lo t i n in B ible L nd ( T and T C l k

1
ra o s a s . . ar ,
36 2
A BA B YLONIAN MU SEU M
kurkura This was puzzling until Hilp r e c h t found
.
tha t the tower penetrated so far into the earth a s

to descend to the city o f the dea d which according ,
to Ba bylonian belief w a s directly below and within

,
the earth .
Th e T em p l e L ibrary
Hilp r e c h t now turned his attention t o the te mple

library in Table t Hill with results most important
,
for the s cienc e of Assyriology This bu ilding con

.
,
te mporary with the time of Abra m now yielde d ,
large quantities o f ancient ta blets occurring in S trata

,
o f fro m one to four feet in thic kness as if they had ,
once been disposed upon wooden S helves .
A B aby lonianMuse um
An important nd was made o f a j ar containing
ab out twenty inscribed obj ects mostly clay tablets, ,
which constituted a veritable s mall B abylonian

museu m evidently collected by a late B abylonian
,
priest or s omeone connected with the te mple library .
Ar c h molog y w a s probably fashionable about the time

o f Na bonidus ( 5565 39 himself a monarch of
anti quarian tastes The collector o f this museu m
.
had actually ta ken a s queeze or impression o f an

inscription o f Sargon I ( 3800 in his time about
334 0 years old and had
,
even place d upon it a

label stating that the obj ec t was a s queeze or
mould of an inscribed s tone which Na bz rlish ir ,
the scribe sa w in the palace o f King Naram Sin a t

,
-

Agade .
Says Hilp re c h t c oncerning this re markable col

lection ,
The owner or cura tor o f the little
, ,
museu m of B abylonian originals must have obtained

h is speci mens by purchase or through personal
36 3
excavations carried out in the ruined buildings o f

B el s city He doubtless lived in the sixth century
.
,
a bout the time of King Na bo nidos and was a man ,
well versed in the ancient literature of his nation

and deeply interested in the past history of Nippur .
This follows fro m the fact that his vase was found in
the Ne o Babylonian stratu m of Tablet Hill and
-

,

fro m the circumstance that the latest anti q uity of

his collection is dated in the govern ment of Sin
Sh a r ish k u n the last representative of the Assyrian
,
dyna sty (about 6 1 5

In the second year of this campaign Peters con
tented himself with sounding a s many places as
possible rather than settling down to the steady
work of excavation in which preference he resemble d
,
Ra ssa m B u t his labours were crowned with no

.
little success for he ca me upon a large nu mber o f

,
Kassite votive obj ects the rst great collection of ,
antiquities of this dynasty ever found and a S hrine ,
of King B ur Sin I dedicated to B e l about 2 600 B C

-
. .
The excavation of the large and important building

re mains grouped around the te mple tower of B e l
was however Pe ters principal task during his
, ,

s econd ca mpaign B ut his hope of discovering many

.
inscribed tablets while excavating these ruins was

not to be realized He w as more fortunate how .
,
ever in the triangular mound ( that known as

,
Mound I V ) to the south of the temple which

,
yielded some 2 000 tablets S cientic literary and , , ,
nancial manuscripts and even school exercises ,
being turned u p by the spade About the sa me .
time excavations in the south eastern wing of the -
large mounds disclosed the presence of thousands

o f tablets and many gures of B e l and his consort
B eltis Most of the tablets here were co mmercial
.
,
364
H AY NES W O RK AT NIPPUR
and of date about 2 600 to 2 000 B C In May the . .
la bours of the second ca mpaign ca me to a close .
Hay nes Wor k at Nip p ur

The third ca mpaign ( 1 893 1 896) Peters delegated
to Hayn es who co mmence d operations a t Nippur
,
in the great ridge which S tretches along the south

ward bank o i the Shatt e n Nil where nu merous -
,
tablets had already been unearthed In about four .
months he ha d collected some 8000 tablets and ,
when the supply of thes e began to fail he trans

ferred h is attention to the temple mound which had
been worked a t before and which he continued to
,
explore until April 1 894 With the help of Joseph

.
A Meyer a young American architec t Hayne s

.
, ,
concentrated his work on the zikkurat a t Nippur .
Un fortunately Meyer died in December but no t ,
unt il he had rendered priceless service to Haynes in

his capacity a s advisory architect Ha ynes unable .
,
to continue the exploration of the te mple moun d -
without expert advice undertook to unearth a suf

,
c ie nt quantity of tablets to meet Peters demand

for inscribed material L ater he pursued excava

.
tions at the B int e l Amir where Pe ters had worked

- -
,
be fore him cleared the zikkurat o f Assur bani pal

,
- -
there and excavated the court of that building down

to the wa ter level The excavation of the immense
.
fa cade of this great erection was a work of enormous

labour hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of rub bish
,
having to be re moved before a partial clearance was

e ffected .
The excavation of the south west court of the -
zikkurat of Assur bani pal w a s the most interesting

- -

part of Haynes work on the te mple of B e l First .
he had to clear away the Parthian ruins super

36 5
MYTH S OF BAB YLONIA AND AS SY RIA
imposed upon the S ite until he ca me to the brick
pave ment of Assur
,
bani pal He then ca me upon

-
.
a pave ment of the Sargonic period which extende d

through a considerable part of the mound as a
dividing line The rubbish which lay beneath this
.
wa s about sixteen feet in depth and had been ,
accu mulated within a period o f more than thre e

thousand y ears ( 3800350 The most important
of the many S trata of this rubbish heap is that which -
lies between the pave ment o f King Ur Ninib and -
tha t immediately below it O ver 600 fragments o f.
vases s tatues and slabs were gathered here a ll

, , ,
see mingly deliberately broken by so meb ody who ,

lived between the reigns of U Gur of U r and Ur
r
Ninib of Nisin perhaps the leader o f an E la mite

raid . The famous text o f Lug alzuggisi King ,
of E rech with it s 1 32 lines of writing was found

, ,
here and restore d by Hilp re c h t fro m sixty four -
fragments .
Digging elsewhere Haynes unearthed the oldes t

,
a rch in the world at a considerable depth drain ,
pipes of the date about 4500 B C and pre Sargonic . .

,
-
cellars containing large wine or oil j ars In on e -

.
chamber twenty feet below the surface were found

the business archives of a great B abylonian rm ,
Mura sh u and Sons bankers and brokers a t Nippur

,
e
. 6
( 4 4 4 42
Rec ent Researc h

Recent research in Mesopota mia has c entred
around the S ite of Babylon where results o f a mos t ,
interesting and encouraging description have been

a chieved The German O riental Society commenced
.
work upon the site in the S pring of 1 899 and a fter ,
twelve years of incessant labour under the direction

366
Ru i n s f B b ylo n
o a
Unco r
ve e d a
tf r t w l y r l b by G m
e e ve ea s

a o ur er c
a n ar h l it
e o o g s s,
wh b g o e i ng m 9
a n e x c a vat 1 00 36 6
C opy r ig h t by Und e r wood a nd Uncle: wood Lond on
,
THE O U TE R W ALL
of Dr Robert Koldewey p ublished the report o f
,
their labours in 1 91 1 .
Th e Baby lon f Nebuc h adr ezzar

O II
The portion o f the city laid bare in these twelve
years of digging was conte mporary with the reigns
of Nebuchadrezzar I I and Nabonidus the las t native ,
King of B abylon but certain parts o f the ruins

,
unearthe d ha d been built in the much more ancient

era o f Kha mmura bi the great law maker and even
,
-
,
during the First Dynasty The later B abylon is .
known to us fro m the pages of Herodotus and Ctesias ,
and the explorers S peedily found tha t the accounts

o f these writers in nowise s quared with the actual
topographical conditions of the ruins unearthe d and
surveyed H erodotus speaks o f a B abylon 5 3 miles
.
in circu mference and Ctesias is not much more

,
modest in his estimate of over 40 miles The city .
wall to the north east side may S ti ll be trace d in its

-
entirety and remains to prove tha t the c ity on this

,
side measured not more than miles and j udging ,
fro m this we obtain an approximate circ umference

,

of 1 1 miles a gure far S hort of the estimate of the
F ather o f History .

Th e O ut er Wall
The walls themselves are of considerable interest .
The outer wall was nearly twenty feet in thickness ,
and wa s b uilt of burnt bricks impressed with the

royal stamp of Nebuchadrezzar Here and there .
its le ngth wa s broken by towers for outlook or

defensive purposes Herodotus states that so broad
.
was the top of the wall that a four horse chariot

could easily turn upon its surface and that two of ,
these vehicles had a su f ciency of roo m to pass on e

36 7
MYTH S O F BA BYLO NIA AND AS SYRIA
another without risk to horses or driver Companies .
of men co uld be moved along this mural highway in

time of siege so that a supply of de fenders could b e
,
brought with d ispatch to guard any portion of the

defences that was imminently threa tened .
B abil as a Cit adel

The mound o f B abil to which we have fre q uently
,
re ferred in this account of B abylonian excavation ,
was recognized by the German expedition a s a

c itadel built for defensive purposes by Ne buc h a d
rezzara plac e o f refuge to which the King an d
court could repair in case of the capt ur e o f the city
itself I t contained the royal Stores and treasury
.
,
a large armoury and arsenal and there is reason to

,
believe that the monarch resided there even in times

o f peace I t was indeed a miniature city a lesser
.
, , ,
B abylon containing everything ne cessary for the

,
royal support and pleasure .
B aby l on s Wat er Sup p ly

z
Th e question of a suitable water supply agitated

-
municipal Babylon j ust as keenly as it does any

of our own great centres of population an d recent ,
excava tions have illustrate d the manner in which

the E uphrates was utilized for this purpose Nabo .
p olasse r has left inscriptions t o S how how he re
built the walls of a channel called the Ar a kh t u to

lead the river Euphrates past the city boundaries .
Nebu cha drezzar built a massive fortication with

walls of fro m fty to S ixty feet in thickness into the
bed of the E uphrates to prevent the formation of
sandbanks in the river which possibly caused the
fl ooding of the left bank above the temple of
E Sa gila
-
This left a narrow channel between the
.
368
THE G REAT TH RO NE ROOM
new wall and the old quay and it is probable that ,
this huge construction caused a s ubse quent change

in the course of the E uphrates .
Ne buc h adr ezzar s Pal ac e
Nebuchadrezzar s palace

wa s situated in the
southern citadel on the moun d known as the Kasr .
O n this building he lavished both time and treasure .
When he came to the throne he found the S ite occupied

by the residence of his father Na bop ola sse r but when ,
he returne d fro m his triumphan t Egyptian ca m

a i ns he despised the plain old place and like so me
p g ,
modern potentates resolved to build himself a royal

,
edice which would symbolize the power and maj esty

of the e mpire he had won for himself He turned .
his father s palace into a mere platform upon which

to rear his own more flamboyant structure and lle d ,
in its room s c our t s and spa ces with rubble

, i ,
.
Th e Palac e Window s
w it h out
F or the most part the palace was b uilt roun d
open c ourts much in the Spanish fashion and there
, ,
is no trace of windows a pheno menon which con

,
s t a nt l rec urs in ancient buildings in the East in

y ,
Egypt and in Central America B u t when we

, .
consider the extre mes of hea t encou ntered in these

latitudes we can appre ciate the desire for a cool
se mi gloo m which called for the windowless chamber
-
.
The fl at roofs too were used for S leeping p urposes

, , ,
so that the inhabitants did not who lly dispense with
fresh air .
Th e G r e at T h rone Room
B u t by fa r the most interesting apartment in the
palace is the great Thron e Roo m of Ne buchadrezzar ,
2 A 369
the apartment upon which he lavished so much
p ersonal care an d considera tion I t S tands im
.
mediately south of the Great Court and is much the ,
most spacious room in the palace In the wall .
opposite the grand entrance from the court is a deep

recess or niche where it is thought the royal throne
,
must have stood so that not only the courtiers

,
in the Throne Room but the lesser dignitarie s

thronging the courtyard without could have had
sight of the monarch of the Eastern World seated
in all his S plendour upon his imperial throne .
Strangely enough the walls o f this great apartment

of S tate were merely plastered with white gypsum ,
while the brickwork of the outer fa cade which faced

the court was decorated with brightly coloured
enamels displaying the most involved designs floral ,
and geometrical in blue yellow black and white

, , , , .
S uch ornamentation would p r oba by b e banned from

the Throne Room because of the high re fl ections from
a brightly polished enamelled surface and as we ,
have seen heat and light were taboo in Babylonian

i nter i ors
.
Th e Dr ainag e Sy st em
Doors in the throne room wall communicated

-
with what were probably the King s private apart
ments The hare m and other purely private suites

.
were placed further to the west over the earlier,
residence of Na bop ola sse r the o f cial portion of the

,
palac e being situated towards the east There was .
a mos t elaborate drainage system which not only

carried rain water from the flat roofs but from the
-
c ourts and walls as well The larger drains had

.
corbel S haped roofs but the s maller ones were

-
,
formed of bricks se t together in the shap e of a V

37
Th e H an g in g G arden s of B b a ylon )
M . D o va st on, R B A . . . 0
Al u s rs l l ulc lu nsun a nd Co
{w m fssm u o f
.
Iiy w
T H E H A NG I NG G A RDE NS
and closed in at the top with other bricks l a id at .
Vertical sh a ft s and gutters were also in use and ,
t he s e were conducted down the side s of to wer s

and fortications .
Th e H ang ing Gardens

Ano t her s t r u c t u re
has bee n indicated as p erh a p s
the foundation of the fa mo u s Hanging Gardens
of B abylon I t c onsists of a nu mber of barrel
.
vaulted cells seven on each side of a central passage

,
.

The s e cell s are roofed over with semi circ u lar arches ,
and are an k ed on t he north by the palace wall I t .
is known that hewn stone was employed in the

construction of this wonder of t he world and only

,

in t hree o t her places in the palace de me sne ( the

Sacred R oad t he bridge over the E u phrates and the
, ,
Kasr Wall) is stone e mployed This p oints to t he .
identication o f the s ite in question as being t h a t

of the H anging Gardens on which layers o f earth
,
were laid and the shr u bs trees and arbo u rs which

, ,
d ecorated it planted thereon B e r o ssu s distinctly

.
state s that these gardens were within the b u ild

ings by which Neb u chadrezzar enlarged h is father s
palace B u t the dimensions of t h is struct u re do

.
not tally with t h o s e given by Strabo and Dio do ru s ,
and the imagination revolts a t t he conception of

t he s e famo u s and romantic gardens having for their
fo u n dation this obsc u re and prosaic cellarage .
Ar c h mology m u st leave u s something B y all means .
le t u s have tr u th and enlightenment unless where

truth is itself u glier than falsehood ! I t has been
shrewdly conj ect u red by P rofessor King that these 1
cellars formed t he palace granary and we m u s t be ,
gratef ul to hi m for the s uggestion .
H i t y f B byl n p 50
s or o a o ,
.
37 I
Th e I sh t ar
G r e at G at e o f
I t was in the spring of 1 902 that Dr Koldewey .
made the important discovery o f the Grea t Gat e of

the goddess I shtar which spanned t he Sacred Way o f
the imperial city This turreted erection orna men te d
.
,
in relief by the gures of mythical animals in coloured

brick has b een excavated clean out o f the sup er
,
inc umbent earth and constitutes a double monu ment

,
to its ancient builders and t o t he patient arch aeologists

who recovered it fro m the sands of antiquity It .
was the main gate in the north cit a del wall and had ,
been reconstructed by the zealous Neb uchadre zzar .
I t is double ( for t he fortication line in which it

stood wa s twofold ) and in fron t consists o f t w o
high towers with gate
,
houses behind The gures .
of the animals are so arranged tha t to the eye of

one approaching the city they would see m advancing
to meet him A t least 575 of these creatures w ere
.
depicted on t he gate t he favourite subj ects being

,
b ulls and dragons beautifully and realistically

,
modelled in relie f .
Th e Str eet of Pr oc e ssions

A portion of the Stree t of Processions upon which
this gateway O pened has also been excavated This .
highway was of imp osing breadth and ran its course ,
fro m north t o s o u th dire ctly across the city I t .
was a species of Via Sacra for o v er it s s tones was

,
carried the image of Merodach u pon his day of high

festival I ts u se wa s restricted to foot passengers
.
-
and n o chariots o r o t her horse

,
drawn vehicle s w ere

permitted to make use of it I ts foundation is o f
.
burnt brick u pon which is overlaid an upper pave

ment of brecci a (conglomerate rock) in slabs .
372
T H E T E MP L E S O F B A B YL O N
Th e T em p les of Baby lon
I nterest has naturally centred around the excava
tion of the ve grea t te mples o f B abylon the gro u nd ,
plans of four of which have been laid bare The .
te mple of E Makh dedicated to the goddess Nin

-
,
Makh was the rst to be excavated I t contains .
one of the only two altars found in B abylon a ,
structure o f plain crude brick simple and unadorned

, , ,
which stands o u tside its main entrance As the .
only ot her example in the city occupies an exactly

similar position we m u st conclude tha t c u sto m o r
,
rit u al dictated an exterior site for the sacricial altar .
The te mple of Nin Makh was a simple shrine o f mere

-
mud brick decorated with black and white designs

-
,
superimposed u pon a scanty coating of whitewash .
Nin Ma k h ( the great lady) w a s one of the titles of

-
I shtar The temple appears t o have been b u il t

.
ro u nd a large court and to have been entered by a

,
gateway flanked by a series o f s q u are solid towers , ,
thre e on e ither side There is a long narrow passage

.
,
behind t he shrine which probably gave access t o

,
a concealed O pening in the b a c k wall o f t he temple

behind the image of the goddess who co uld th u s ,
have been ma de to give forth orac ular utterances .
I n the co u rtyard was a well fro m which water w a s

drawn for the p u rpos e of performing l ustral rites .
We are ignorant o f the precise form o f the u pper

part of Babylonian temples (apart fro m t he z ik k u ra ts
o r towers ) as only the lower portions of their walls
,
in most cases remain to us B u t fro m certain .
pla ques and seals on which temples are represented

we can glean that they were probably t u rreted or
cas tellated in fron t and perhaps a t the sides as w ell ,
and that the entrance w a s arched the frontage ,
presenting a pict u re not very unli k e that o f a heavily

37 3
MYTH S O F B A B YL O NI A AND A SSY RIA
constr u cted castle of the Norman epoch I ndeed one .
u nidentied temple bears resemblance t o a prison so ,
forbidding is it in it s almost u nbroken line of turret

and retaini ng wall We mus t re me mber however
.
, ,
that colo u r lent e mbellishment to t he s e buildings ,
the otherwise heavy fa cades of which would have

been dreary indeed .
E Sag ila

The temple of E Sag ila which was dedicated to

-
,
Merodach patron deity of Babylon is of course by

, ,
far the most important within t he city bounds .
I t has not been wholly excavated fro m the mound

of Tell A mran b ut t he main western portion of it
,
has been bro u ght to light and has been shown like
, ,
o t her B a bylonian shrines to have consisted of a

,
s er ie s of chambers b u ilt round an open co u rt I n .
the centre of each side was an Open gateway where

once stood the famo u s eight bronze serpents two ,
to each entran ce The especial shrine of Merodach

.
,
which has not yet been unearthed lay on the we st er n ,
side and had a towered entrance and decorated fa cade

,
which Neb u chadrezzar stated he ca u sed to shin e
like the su n H e coated the walls of the shrine with

.

gold and roofed it with the choicest c edars from

L ebanon ,
t he noble forest H ere says H erodotus
.

, ,
the mighty gure of the god rested which with the , ,
throne dais and table before it was fashioned o f

, ,
p u re gold of 800 talents in weight To the north

,
.
of Merod a c h s temple rose it s zikk ur a t or tower SO

.
far excavation upon it has in a measure disproved

the accoun t of H erodotus that it consisted of a
steppe d tower in eight stages with the ascent to
the s u mmit encircling the o u tside The rst stage .
,
now uncovered has a triple stairway built against

,
374
E L DE R B A B YL O N
TH E
on e side of the tower bu t we shall never know what,
the upper stories were li k e for they have long since ,
c ru mbled into desert d u st Dr Koldewey considers . .
t hat the great tower w a s b u ilt in one stage decorated ,
with coloured bands and s u rmounted by a shrine,

.
The G r eat T ow er of N abu ( E Z ida)
The foundations of t he great tower o f Nab u a t

B orsip p a a s u burb of Babylon still awaits excava
, ,
tion but as it stands it rises to a height of o v er

,
1 00 feet above the desert The clearing of its base .
will necessitate a colossal a mo u nt of labour but ,
when e ffected our knowledge of these te mple towers

,
-
will be considerably enhanced .
Th e E up h at es B idg e r r
The bridge ov e r t he river E uphrates is worthy of

mention since it represents the Oldest bridge known
,
t o the sc ience of arch ae ology I t po s sessed stone .
piers b u ilt in the sh a pe of boats th u s showing that

, ,
it had been evolved from an earlier bri dge of boats .
The bo w s o f these piers point u p stream and th u s -

,
brea k the force of the c u rrent The river at t he point .
where it was crossed by t he bri dge w a s at least sixty

feet broad and t he passage way of wood was laid
,
-

across the boat piers and m u st have been rather ,
narrow The str u ct ure w a s the work of Na bop ola sse r

. .
Th e Elder B aby lo n
Du ri ng the rst years o f their lab o u rs the excava
tors were u nder the impre ssion that the destr u ction
of the older portions o f t he city by Se nnacherib
had been so complete tha t bu t few of its remains
were to be loo k ed for in the co u rse of excavation .
B u t a s time progressed it was found that the relics

375
of the older quarters lay mostly beneath t he present
water level I n the Menkes Mound a quarter of the
-
.
ancient city has been unearthed a t a depth of so me

thirty feet and the outline o f its streets clearly
,
shown Sti ll lower were found houses dating fr om

.
the period of Merodachbaladan I ( 1 2 0 1 1 1 8 9 B C ) . .
and Meli ship ok I I ( 1 2 1 6 1 2 02

-
A thick layer
-
o f a s he s showe d that a still earlier portion o f the city

had b een destroyed by re and this archaic quarter ,
has been identied a s the city of Kha mmurabi the ,

-
princely law maker ( 2 1 2 3 2 08 1 and h is imme
diate successors according to dated tablets found
a mong the burnt debris mut e witnesses o f the
,
disaster which overtoo k Babylon s First Dynasty

.
Tow a lanning
I t is noticeable th a t the later streets follow closely
the trend and plan of the older thoroughfares which , ,
generally spea k ing ran north and south parallel

, ,
t o the co u rse of the Sacred Way Professor King 1

.
gives it as h is opinion that here we have a deliberate

atte mpt a t town planning on a s cientic basis !
-
H e credits this to t he Semitic element in the p op u

lation as in Su merian towns t here is no trace of
,
town planning
-
A nd ye t B abylon w a s strangely
.
conservative A s sh e co mmenced s o s he continued

.
, ,
and her early e fforts were only sup erseded in mag

nit u de not in quality of purpose
,
.
1
History of B abylon, p . 85 .
37 6
CHAPT E R XV : T HE TWI L I GHT OF
T HE G ODS
I T H the fall of the A ssyrian empire in 606

B C
. Babylonia once m o re regained her
.
,
national stat u s This meant that her .
national god Merodach was no longer s u bservient to

the A ssyrian A ssh u r in a political sense and regained ,
his place a s sole head of the Ba bylonian pantheon .
Great must have been the satis faction of t he

people o f Babylon when this co mparatively mild ,
tyranny re moved they could worship their own

,
gods in their own way free fro m the humiliating

,
re membrance that their northern neighbours regarded

all Babylonian sacred things a s appanages o f t he
A ssyrian e mpire Na bop ola sse r and Neb u chadrezzar
.
,
his s u ccessor gave e ffect to these changes and the

, ,
latter king placed Na b u on a footing o f e q uality

with Merodach Wa s this the ca u s e o f his punish
.
ment Wa s it beca u se he had o ffended in a religio u s

sense tha t h e had to u ndergo t he terrible infliction
of which we read in the Scrip t u res The priesthood
of Merodach m u st have possessed immense and pra e
tically u nlimited power in B abylon and we may ,
feel s u re that any such interference with their new

found privilege as is here s uggested wo uld have
, ,
me t with speedy p u nishment Was the wretched .
monarch led to believe t h a t an enchantment had

been cast u pon him and tha t he had been transforme d
,
into animal shape at the c ommand of an o u traged

d eity P We cannot sa y The ca u se o f his misfort une
.
m u st for ever remain one of the mysteri e s of the

anc ient worl d .
The u nfort unate Nabonid u s too attempted t o , ,
replace the c ults of Merodach and Na b u by t h a t

377
MYT H S O F B A B YL ONI A AN D A SSY RIA
of Sha mash A n d that hastened his doom for the
.
,
priests beca me his bitter enemies and when the ,
P ersian Cyrus entered the gates of Babylon as a

con q u eror he was hailed as the saviour of Merodach s
honour .
The last native kings of Babylonia were great

temple b u ilders and this policy they continued until
-
,
the end I ndeed in the time o f Nebuchadrezzar

.
there was a revival of ancient and half forgotten -
cults and many local gods were exalted to a pitch

,
o f popularity hitherto unknown .
Th e C onquer ing C y r us
Then in 5 39 B C ca me the conquering Cyrus. .
,
and the period of the decay of the B abylonian reli

gion b egan The victor merely upheld the cults of
.
Merodach and Nabu for reasons of policy and w he n ,
in turn the Greeks ruled over B abylonia they followed

the Persian lead in this respect B y the defeat of the .
Persian Dari u s at the battle of A rbela ( 33 1 B C ) the . .
way to Babylon wa s left open t o the mighty Alex

ander the Great This was the beginning of t he end
. .
The old religion dragged out a bro k en existence

until about the beginning of the Christian er a then ,
slowly b ut surely vanished beneath the attacks of

H e llenic scepticism Christian propaganda and pagan
, ,
capr i ce .
That a faith s o virile so ancient so entren ched , ,
in the love of a people a s that of Babylonia should

fall into an oblivion so profo und a s to be totall y
forgotten for nearly nineteen centuries is a sole mn
an d impressive reminder of the evanescent cha
r a c t e r of h u man affa irs They were men of their .
hands these ancient Mesopota mians great t h e olo

, ,
gians great builders great soldiers Y et their mighty

, ,
.
378
A G RE A T L E SSO N
works their living faith le ft not a wrack behind
,
save mounds of r u bbis h which when excavated by ,
the modern antiq uary were fo und to contain a few

,
poor vestiges of t he Sp lendo u r tha t wa s B abylon

and the pomps of the city o f A ssh u r Does t here .
not reside in this a great lesson for modernity !

Must our civilization o u r faith all that is ours and
, ,
that w e have raised must thes e things too fade , ,
into the shadows of unre membranc e a s did the

civilization of Mesopota mia
AG L esson
r e at
The answer to such a question depends upon

ourselves u pon each and every one of u s I f we .
q u it ourselves as civilized men striving and ever ,
striving to rene and p u rify o u r lives o u r cond u ct , ,
o ur intellect ua l o u t loo k to Spiritualize ou r faith

, ,
then tho ugh the thi ngs of o u r hands may b e d u st ,
the wor k s of ou r minds of o ur so uls shall not vanish

, ,
bu t shall remain in the conscio u sness of o u r des e en

dants so lo ng a s h u man memory lasts The faith .
of ancient B abylon went u nder bec a u se it w a s b uilt

rather on the worship of frail and bestial gods t h an
u
the love o f tr th gods many of whom w ere devils
,
in disg uise bu t devils n o w h it worse than o u r ends

,
of a mbition of greed of p ug nacity of u nsympathy

, , ,
.
Thro ugh the worship of s u ch gods B abylon ca me t o

oblivion Le t u s contemplate the colossal wreck
.
of that mighty work of man and as we gaze over ,
the g ulf of a score of centuries to w here its cloud

ca
pp

d towers and gorgeo u s palaces glitter in the
mirage of l e gend let u s bra ce o u rselves for the
,
str u ggle which h u manity has ye t to w a ge w ith

dar k ness with disease with s u perstition B u t while
, , .
We rememb e r her f a ll w ith sadness let u s thin k ,
379
MYT H S O F B A B YLONI A AND A SSY RIA
generously and kindly of her dea d mightiness of ,
the ancient e ffort sh e made striving a fter her lights

, ,
o f her pict u resq u e and many colo u red life and not
-
, ,
leas t of her achieve ments the invention of those

,
symbols by which the words o f man can b e trans

ferre d brother across t he silent ocean
t ime
.
G L OSS ARY AND INDE X
THE P RONU NCI AT I ON OF ASSYRI AN
A SS Y RIA N d in m any respec t s from th o t h er Sem it c langu ages

l
'
CI S e i .
T h ere are few g tt rals th ese h a ng b een m os t ly s m oo t h ed t Th s

u u vi ou u
and H adad Adad O n t h o th er h and it
, .
b ecam e

B l

B l a e . e
i t h o g h t t h a t t h c neiform inscrip t ions m y h a v e o m tt ed gutt ral
, ,
s u e u a i u
so nds Th c neiform sys t e m of wri t ing is so i m perfec t and com pli
u . e u
ca t d t h a t we m s t m a k e cer t ain reser v a t ions in
e u accep t ance of t h ou r e
t ranscrip t ions of con t em porary Assy iologis t s and i t m s t t h erefore b r u e
nders t ood t h a t A syrian n m es and words as we know th em and as
,
u s a
fo nd in t h presen t work and index m y b ye t grea t ly m od ed by

u e a e i
f t re researc h es Assyrian nam es as know n t o day are prono nced
u u . u
according t o analog y gleaned from t h pron nciat ion of t h o th er e u e
Se m i tic lang ages T h s Sh n ar is spel t W i t h t h H eb rew in

u . u i e a
( g tt ral ) in t h Scrip t res and w are naware w h e t h er t h Scr p t ral

,
u u a e u e u e i u
a t h or in t erpola t ed t h g tt ral or no t Analogy in th is ins t ance i
,
u e u u . s
not nearly so val a b le a g ide as in t h case of E gy p tian w h ere we h a v e
u u e
in Cop t ic t h m odern form of t h E gy p t ian lang age t o gu de

,
e nor e u i us ,
i i t a t all li k ely t h a t we s h all e v er know m c h m ore t h an we do concern
s u
ing t h pron ncia t ion of a lang age t h wr tt en sym b ols of w h c h are
e u u e i i
so ncer ain as regards t h eir precise alp h b e tic v al es

u t a u .
G L O SS ARY AND INDE X
A H A B King of Israel o v er
t h rown by Sh al m aneser II 4
,
A 2
Sargon d splaces A
,
A M

Hi - i -r i . i z u ri
AA or A Consort of Sh m as h . by a , 1 10 2 i o
A B E D N G On of Dan el s m A
,
'
E O M N. Mazda and S h e i

co H Ri

-
A . r aos a
panions 3 8 o v erco m e 3 3 7
A B R A M U r C i ty of A H U RA MAZ D A Good p n p l
, ,

49 ; 2 ri Ci e
N i m rod and 5 5 6 ; Jewis h of Z ara t h s t a s religion 3 3 4 ;
.
, ,

1 -
u r
legen ds 5 5 ; Persian t ra
,
crea t or of t h ni v erse 3 3 5
,
re , 1 2 e u
5 3 ; ano t h er t ra Th serpen t
, ,
d t n i 5 io s re , U 2 89 -
i B e 2
d t ion preser ved n t h E as t A KK A D Kingdom fo nded by
, ,

i re , i e u
5 3 5 6 ; s t ar Ven s and 5 5
.
,
- Se m t es 6 ; K ing Sargon of u i 1
A U HA BB A Th ancien t s it e
,
fo nds rs t g rea t Sem t c e m pire

, ,

B -
H . e u i i
of Si pp r 7 7 a in B a bylonia 6 1 1
St a t e m en t of AN Desc ip t ion of 3
, ,
A B YD E NU EaS A . ,
re ,
KK AD i

s . r 1
6 ; lang age
,
1 12 3 4 ; B by l 1 u 1 1 a o
nian Sem i t es recei v e germ s of
,
A Y SS T
,
B Paradise and 8 HE 2
A C C A D Par t of N i m rod s k ng
, ,

. c l t re from t h 4 m odern
i u u e 1
e q i valen t for t h older is t h
,
d m 49 o . u e e
son de expression S m n n 5 ; s t ars
,

A M C

C H JE E NI D Z
E y a x a re s u e a 1
t h rone d b y 3 3 3 s t died by 3
,
u 2 1
A D A D E q i v alen t H a dad 8 7 A KK U U ( E a t er) A tt endan t
, ,

u , , I -
L
91 1 b nd of Merodac h ou 2 02
A D A D E Ut N p h t m fe y A L A L U Th eagle ; Is h t ar and
,
' '
-
A -
a is i s rr -
. e
Gilga m es h cons l t s
.
,
m n 7 a 1 2 67 u 1
ALE A ND E R T H E G R E A T 3 7 8
, ,
7 ; Ut N p h m Gilga m es h
1 2 a is ti X
-
, ,
and 78 , 1 Mode rn Ara b ic na m e ,
A D A D N RA R IV S n of As

-
A 3 5 i . o 2
Dan I II 3 8
su r - ALL T U E q i v alen t E h k 0 -
A- u re s -
i
A D A M Th sons of 3 gal m i t ress of H ades
.
, ,
. e 9; 2 2 s I2
A D APA Th So t h \Vind and
, , ,

rea lm of 3 7 e u s 2
s t o y of 6 De c ip ti v e t erm of
.
, ,
r Al O m m 1 1 1 21 - -
. s r
A D A R S n god of Ni p p r P h oenicians for t h eir god s 3 7

,

. u -
u 2
H ym n t o 6 8 connec t ed W i t h A
, ,
,
O f Dodo and of Y h L r A R- s .
, a
t h pig 93 e 94 h 9 9 2 ve 1 0, 1 1
A L U B ll sen t b y Ann ga ns t
, , ,
AD N A i of Azar ; according

i e u , a i
t o an E t ern t rad t on t h Gil g a m es h 6 8 6 9

as i i e 1 1
paren t s of A b ra m 5 4 AL U DE MO N Th 7 7 7
, ,

-
. e, 2 1 2
m o t h er
, ,
A ON IS
O- Sm yrn a of A U Th nam e Mero -
i i AR

D UK e
m t h of
.
reference t o
, ,
7 dac h ori g na lly 1 2 y i 2 02
re la t ed t o t h a t of T mm z A
, , , ,
H IV King of a u si E x

-
EI

EP .
E yp t le tt ers t o unear h ed a t
,
31 1 g t
T el l Am arn a
,
A B DO RA U O f P nt b b l nCH S a i i o t e e -
22
A MO R I T
.
ference t o
, ,
H adad a god of t h
1 1 2 E -S e,
dei t y Dagon an 3 5
, ,
E Li AN O f G lg m ( Gilga m e h ) 88 i a os s
1 2
con ort of Ann

, , , ,
grandson of S k k 57 AV U lh o a ro s , 1 A I -
'
e s
O v a m pire 3 m o t h er of Is h t ar
,
68

A F - A N - As - i s r 66 n s 2 1 2 1
W O R S H I P Th C
.
A FR I C A 3 9 ; Se m tic religion in A
, ,
2 i h C E STO R - e a ii a a n
i t es and 3 6
.
, ,
I 2
33 ,
38 3
MYT H S OF B A B YLO NI A AND A SSY RI A
A N D R A E D R A Germ an ex A P O L O T em ple t t C ar t h a ge
, . L . o, a ,
pl 356
o re r , 33 0
A N I M A L S B a bylonian gods h a ving A P O LL O D O RU S St at em en t of

. . re
form of 9 93 ; m yt h ological
,
Ea 2, 1 12
m ons t ers and of C h aldea
, ,
89 Ap Th deep or h ouse 2

su . e
of knowledge 7 a lt erna tiv e

, , ,
98 ; t h dog 9 ; t h pig

2 9 e ,
2 0 2 -
2 e , , 2 ,
2 94 Zig un ; m o t h er of E a ar
A N I M IS T I C B ab ylonian re ligion
,
7 .
73 74 ; th pr m e v l 2 e i a
t ypically 3 7 3 9
, , ,
93 1 1 1
Appears from E u A Q U A R I U S SI G N O F Th deluge
, ,
AN N

-
A U E D -
I S . r . e
s t ory and 8 3
,
th n Sre a ea , 1 1 2 1
A nn n k Generic A R A B IA Sem it es belie v ed t h a v e

,
T

u- a- z, HE . . o
nam e for t h gods of t h ear th com e from 5 6 ; N aram Sin
e e I 1 -
sp iri t s of ear t h 9 ; de pene t rat es 7 ; Sem it ic reli g on

, , ,
8 2, 1 3 0 0 , 1 i
cree fa t e 73 ; t orch es carried
,
,33 1 1 11 . I
by 75 I AR AR H U N b p l and -

I . a o o a sse r
A N SA R God ; b ir th of 7 ;
.
t h c h annel called t h 36 8

.
, 1 e e,
T w t h and 7 6
ia a AR A Th nderworld 5 - -
L 1 e u 12
8 3
. .
A N S H A R Varian t of Ass h r Goddess ; v ar

, ,

.
7 u 1 2 1 1 1 1 . 2 . i
crea t ed W i th Kis h ar 8 Anu an t E res ln g l N ergal and
,
,
20 ,
- -
a
E a and Merodac h sen t t o de
, ,
I5 0
s t roy T w t h 8 AR B E L A Is h t ar s s h in in
,

ia a 20 -
. r e 212
b a tt le of 3 7 8
, ,
AN U

God of t h sky ; son of
. e ,
Ansar and Kisar 7 ; Ansar AR B a b ylon ian 46 2 C H ZE O L O G Y .

, , ,
and 76 ; Merodach and 79 ; 4 7 C h aldean 33 9 3 6 6 Am eri

m os t ancien t of B a b ylonian can in t eres t n B a by lonian
, , ,
i
dei t ies 9 ; h eld sway o v er
,
35 6 366 ; 0 fas h ionab le ab o t u

t i m e of N ab onid us ( 5 5 6
,
E rec h and Der 94 t em ple of th e
So t h W ind and
, ,
1 02 7 5 39
u 363 1 1 1 21 B C
ni v ersal
,
En lil E a and t h
-
A R E S Greek god 3 5 e u . 1
A R GO E a iden t i ed with
, , ,
t riad ; S igni cance 1 21 1 21

. a
consor t of s t ar in t h cons t ella tion 3 6
, ,
1 2 3 ; An t th a u, e , e , 2
1 2 3 B and 44 ; sacred b ll A R K Th B a b ylonian 74 7 8
au 1 u . e 1 -
1
sen t agains t Gilgam es h b y A A
, ,
Median m n h R r -

I os . o a rc
fa t h er of Is h t ar 6 8 ; N nn confo nded W i th 46
,
1 58 ; 1 a ar u 1
H adad wors h ipped W i t h a t A R TE M IS R eference t 3
, ,
. o, 1 2
Ass h r 8 8 ; t h T a b le t s of AR
,
u B a b ylonian
1 g m t e T S. -
e -
cu ~
Des t iny and 95 ; in a t riad t ing e t c 7 ; B a bylonian li t er

,
1 .
,
1
W th a t re and nder Kh am m rabi

, ,
i E a and B l b t m ore e u u u u
fre q en t ly in t h t ex t s apar t Grea t
, ,
u th ; all t h u nder e e 20 e,
from t h em 97 98 ; Dagan E a s pa t ronage 9
,

1 1 1 2
and 98 in Assyria n B a b y A RU RU Goddess w h aided
, , ,

1 i - -
. o
in v oked W th B l fo m a t ion of m n 8 8 6
,
lon 7 ; 2 1 th i e e r a 2,
crea t es a c h am p on
, , , ,
22 7 ; th Pole St ar 3 6 ; 3 e 2 12 i
agains t Gilgam esh 6
,
eclipses and 5 5 , 2 , 1 2
A U
N

L esser goddess m erg AR AN R ace t h Ph l is t ines
N IT .

Y- . e i
ed n concep t ion of Is h t ar
,
i h 3 4 o 2
Appella t ion of Mero
,
1 2 4 As A -

RI .
A PR R D e Is h t ar and c l t
-
o -
dac h
i r

m y b co m pared
. u 2 02 a e
of 4 ; Is h t ar and connec t ed W i t h Asar ( O m )
, ,
1 2 s s 2 02
AS H D OD T em ple of Dagon
, , , ,

2 35 .
A P O C R P H A L gend of B ] and
Y a t 5 Sargon s exped t on
. e e 1 1

i i
aga ns t
,
t h Dragon in 97
e 35 , i , 2 1 0, 2 1 1 , 0
8
3 4
G L O SSA RY AN D I N DE X
ASH TART or I S H T A R W ors hi pped dea ling wit h m a gic in lib rary

.
in C ar t h age 3 2 7 3 3 0 of 2 6 ; t h e v e h oun ds of 1
au t o biograp h y of
,
A S H I E R OI H o r As T A R I E I sh
, , ,

2 90
- 2 91 -
.
,
t ar known t o C anaan it es palace of d sco v ered

,
3 0 1 3 06 -
, , i
Ph oeni cians and Greeks as , by awlinson 3 46 ; frag
R
Ap h rodi t e m en t of hi s t ory of d sco v ered
, ,
4 3 9 3 6 ; th
1 2 1 2 e i
b y George Sm i t h 3 5
,
t ab let s
, ,
of t h Greeks 3 P h oenician e 1 1 2
of 3 5 4 ; zikkura t of 3 6 5
, ,
god 3 8 , 2 , ,
Ass r bani A u R D A N II I Th f t l eclipse

A U R AN A A S

SH B P L. ee u -
ss -
. e a a
pal . a nd 3 7 3 9 . 0 -
0
A -
U H U N A MI R
SH

S C reat ed by -

. A SS UR N A R A S n of T k l
-
z i

-
P L . o u -
u
E a,
3 1 o t i n Ari s t i
o
i 3
-
places H adad 2
A SIA S bmit t ed t o N in s 5 ; nadin akhi on th rone of B a b y
,
u u 2 -
III in v es t ed W th lon 3 ; Is h t ar and

. ,
T gl t h p l
i a -
i e se r i 2 4 ; 21
so v e ignty of 3 B el t and
,
N ini b and 4 6 ; C alah

,
er 0 i 21 21
Ass h r i n pan t h eon of 8
, , , ,
u 22 res idence of 5 ; Sh a m as h 2 1
A SIA MI N O R Greek colonies in
, ,
. , and 3 S n and 3 sc lp 22 i 22 u
3 6 ; peopled b y di v erse t res glorifying 3 43 ; dedica

, ,
35
2 2 u
near t h ed 3 5
, ,
races 3 4 ; wors h ip of A h 2 s t ions of , u 1

t art in 3 8
, ,
2 A SS UR N A R A 1 1 1 K ing of
-
z i

-
P L .
Assyria reference t o h i reign

,
A i pa Th W i zar d s 6 ;

s -
.
73 e , 2 0 2 , , s ,
2 2 3
74
A S K E L O N T em ple o f A h t t

-
. s ar A SS U R R S H I S H I N in ib and

-
I -

-

.
( Is h t ar ) a t 3 7
,
2 2 1 4
A SS H UR C i t y ; s it e of ex
,

1 .
, A ss

UR Y U A DH
-
Th Kas -
B LL I

. e
S i t e king of B a b y lon ia m arries
.
pl d by t h
ore Germ an expe d e i
ti on of 8 99 4 7 ; residence of 1 da ugh t er of 22
god Ass h r 7 B el s t e m ple
, ,
u 20

A SS Y RIA N R ace origin -

S. 1 2
God ; iden t i ed W th H i tt i t e and Am ori t e ele m en t s
, ,
in 7 22 . 2 . i
Merodac h 94 ; Is h t ar consort in t erm ingled W i t h

,
3 land 1 2 1
T i g ris and
, , , ,
of 5 ; reli gion of Assyria

1 2 b o ndaries u th e
6 E p h ra t es
, ,
cen t res in ; t ym 20 2 1 1 e o u th Akkadians 1 2 e

8 ; v arian t
, ,
logy i na m e o 20 , and 3 ; T g l t h p il 1 King i a -

e se r ,
m en t ioned in of 3 ; Se m ira m is t h Grea t
, ,
Ans h ar 8 20 2 e
inscrip t ion of Sa m si R a mm an
, , ,
-
Q een
u of 4 9 ; Ass r b an i 2 2 u -
con q er pal desi red t o m ake t h cen t re of

, ,
8 ; Sargon and t h
20 e u e
ing power of Is h t ar 2 1 0, 2 1 1 relig io s in ence of t h e m pi reu u e
3 5 ; Scy t h ians pene t ra t e in t o

, ,
and 4 B l Merodac h placed 21 e -
af t er in t h Assyrian Pan th eon 3 6 ; S n sar isk n las t King of

, ,
e , i - -
i
c neiform wri t ing of

, , ,
5 3 7 7 ; p isoner gods and

22 r 36 ; u
-
6 ; B eli t and 6 reli gion Sem i t ic n

, , ,
2 2 7 22 0 66 ; i
A SS UR AN A King of As
, ,
B

i -P L . ue n on 9 9 ; t h Pan
ce 1 2 e
sy ia ; Greek e q i v alen t S t h eon of 3
, ,
r u , ar religion of 20
h is t oric reali t y cen t res in Ass h r 6 ; grea t
, ,
d n p l a 3 a a us , 2 , u 20
3 3 ; dea t h of 3 3 ; s cceeded ness : secre t of 8 9 ; I h

,
u 20 20 s
t ar n 4 ; wors h i p of
, , ,
Esar h addon 3 4 ; Sam s m -

u -
su i , 21 1 2 1
b ro t h er of
,
y k n u i 34 ; h is R am m an in Sh m 2 20 a
dea t h 3 5 ; h l bra y a t m as h s c l t in
, , ,
'
is i r 3 B l u 2 22 22 e
5 ; c l t of
, , ,
N ine v e h 3 5 4 6 7 6 8 1 2 1 2 2 Merodac h and 22 u

pa t ron of li t era t re 5 4 N a b in t e m ples of
, , , , , , ,
3 46 u 1 8 ;
u 22
4 ; B el t and 5 ; c l t re ; progeni t ors

, , ,
S n and i 7 22 i 22 2 4
2 2 1 u u
cap t re of t wen t y gods of
, , ,
8
22 u of 5 ; m a gi c and dem onology
2 0
b elief in t a b oo
,
E la m t es by 4 ; t a ble t s
,
th e i , 20 2 5 7 88 2 78 ; ,
2
38 5
MYT H S O F B A B YL ONI A AND A SSY RI A
reli gi ons of B a bylonia and B A B EL Th T ower of 48 ;
e
com para t i v e v al e of 3 33 3 7 ;
.
,
H e b rew v erb b b l conf sed

,
u 1 a a u
re ligion of Z oroas t er s pplan t ed W i t h word b b l 4 8 s t ory of
,
u a e
t h a t of ancien t 3 3 e t h cs
,
T ower of s gges t ed by one of 2 i u
3 3 7 3 3 8 ; m odern exca v a t ions t owers of B ab ylon ; t h

, , ,
th e e
in 3 3 9 b eg nning of N m rod s kingdom
,
3 66 ; e m p ire fall of in
'
, , , i i
6 6 0 3 77 B C . was 49
A S T R O L OG Y B ir th place of 3 B A I L Mo nd and enclos re o f
.
, ,
.
,
2 1 S . u u
A A
r RA r H Th l ( or al t ar ) of .
3 3 4 7 ; as a c it adel 3 6 8
e a re 1 0
BA BU E sar h addon res t orer o f
, ,
Dodo carried fro m 9 ,

1 0

.
-
, ,
A TA R G A I U God ; Dagon wor
3 6 S 0
B A B YL O N IA N
.
s h ipped as 7 2 R acial origin - -

.
, 12
Al t erna t iv e Der m o t h er of as t rolo gy nd m a gi c
,
A R

rA Y Ar I s a
land b n daries t h T igris
,
ke t o F is h goddess legendary
.
,
-
1 2 ou e
and E p h ra t es
.
,
m o t h er of Se m ira mi s
,
t h Ak k
d ians and 3 ; Se mi t srece iv
5 , 2 u ,
1 2 e a
AT H E N A G O R AS Refers t o wor
.
,
1 e e
s hi p of Se mi ra m is 7 ger m s of c l t r fro m Akk 2 u u e a
AT H E N S Pira s por t of 3 8 d ans 4 ; l ng ua ge 4 ; c ivil
,
. eu 2 i , 1 a 1
A s A god a k in t o Adon is 3 o ffs h oo t of c l tur
, , ,
i t n

r ri 4 ,
1 2 za i o ,
1 u e
A U R A MA N Y U E v l principle of E ri d 5 ; rs t fo un ders
.

-
I- . i u, 1
of Z ara th s t ra s religion 3 3 4 5 ; Se m i t e con q erors en t er
,

u 1 u
A V E RR 6 ; rs t grea t Se miti c m
, ,
-
F riend of M i
-
o- Es.5 a 1 , 1 e
m nid o 3 e s, 2 pire in fo nded by Sargon of
2 , u
A V E S T A E arl ies t form of 2 Akkad 6 ; Syria and Pales 01 0 , 1
as t er s na m e in t h 3 3 3
.

t ine welded with by Sargon 7 e, , 1
b e t o t h ed of Sh a m kings vicegeren t of t h gods
,
A Th

YA . e r , s e
7 ; ar t ; g m c t ti ng
,
h
as 66 1 t 7; 1 e -
u e c ., 1
O n of N im rod s g ards ;
,
co mm n ica tion b tween isl nd

,
A

z AR . e u u e a
t rad iti onal fa t h er of A bra m of Cy pr s and 8 ; fall of Firs t , u ,
1

54 D yna ty of ; B rn b s 21 u s- ur
A R e v erence of for wor King of ; T k ul t i in

z r Ec s y as , 22 u -
Aris ti t kes nd slays Kin g

.
, ,
s hi p i T ol t ecs 6 7 o 22 22 a a
; b uil t b y S mira
,
A U R KIN G
, ,
z- -
Sargon disp lace
i, B t ily s, i a su , 2 2 e
6 ; n ally con q uered by
.
b y Ah imi t i mi ,
2 10 s, 2
Tigl t h p l III 3 a - i ese r ,
0 s ur
render f t h o gh s tar v a tion o ,
r u ,
B 3 4 ; l t era t r ; Ass ur b an i p l i u e - -
a
and 3 5 ; N b c h adrez ar leads e u z
Jews in t o cap t it y in 3 7 ;
,
B AA L Sun god H adad t h -

e su iv ,
Kings N a bon id s las t of 4

.
pre m e 8 9 ; m agi c and 5 8 ; 1 2 u , 0

independence of reco v red af t er
, , ,
P h oenician god 3 7 T m t all 2 a u , e

ded t o C o n t enance dea t h of Da i us 4 ; Persi ns
,
Th

r 1 a
i
as e u ,
o 33 con q er 4 0 des t r c tion of u , 1 u

Sele c ia b il t ut of r ins
,
C anaan it is h god 3 5 ;
r
4 , 2 1 u u o u
t erm appl ed by Ph oenicians of 4 arc h ology 46 4 7 ;
i 2 a
e , ,
on of t on g es
, ,
3 7 2 legend of conf s i u u
B AA L A MM O N or M
-
S and t owers of 4 7 ; E S g l

o L OCH ee - a i a,
t ower of 47 ; b l t by N m
.
,
Moloc h ui i
rod 5 ; c neifor m writing

,
B A A L HA MM A N Ph enician god

-
. o ,
0 u
wors h ipped in C art h age 3 7 of 6 6 6 ; cos m ogony 7 8 7 ;

, 2 ,
0- , 0
B

li m Presi d ing t 3 6 ; rel ig i on e rly 8 8 5 3 ; sp i ri ts 2 a 1
and gods in ancien t 8 95 3 ;

a a p . S lIl S, , ,
o f Ty re t h P h n i n and e ce ic a s ,
1
t
, ,
3 7 2 rel i gi on S e m i i c i n uenc on , e ,
38 6
GLO SSA RY AND I N DE X
91 , 2 ; rel on s gns of t o
igi i B EL a ylon ian n god 4 ;
. B b su -
1
Pan t h eon
, ,
t e m ism in , 92 ; t h e
E ar y
the Dragon and 7 ; Merodac h 1
l , 94, 95 : L a t er 8 4 1 and 7 9 94 ; a t N ipp r 1 u
N pp r preferred t o
,
looked on as crea t or of m n
, , ,
1 98 ; i u a
co n t ry of
,
r led a t N ipp r ( N ff )
,
1 96 ; t h e u B el, 86 ;
t m 5 2 2 u u i ur
s t ar wors p earlier v arian t Em lil
,
-
h i in , 2 3 1 2 3 8 e 94 -
ag c and descrip t ion of 95 97 ; legend

,
ples of 2 42 2 5 1 ; m i - -

, ,
de onolo y
m g , 57 2 88
2 b el ief in of t h Dragon and in t h e e
ta oo con q ered Sh l
,
b , 2 78 u by a Apocryph a 97 ; wors h p of a t , i ,
m anese I
t 3 08 ; rel g ons of
i i B a b ylon 98 King C yr s and u
Assyria and co m para ti ve v al e
, ,
u wors h p of 98 t h t e m ple
i 1 01 e
3 3 3 3 6 e t c ; cap ti vi t
5 ; disco v ery of M
, , ,
1 -
3 ; y , 2 1 of 1 01 1 0 r
reli gion pene t ra t ed t o B rit ain
, .
George Sm i t h t e m ple of
,
, , re
rel gion of Zoroas t er N e b o son of
,
33 th 1 e i 1 01 1 02
s pplan t ed t h a t of anc ien t 3 3 fa th er of N ig S3 I Ut
, ,
u 2 ir I
e t h cs 3 3 7 3 3 8 ; m y t h m
, ,
i co N p ht m a and is
74 76 i 1 . 1
pared w ith H ellen ic and Scandi Gilgam es h resor t s t o 8
, , , ,
1 0
T a b le t s of Des t iny and 93
,
na ian 3 3 8 ; m oral code 3 3 8 ;

v 1
m odern exca v a t i ons in
, , ,
339 1 95 ; Dagan and 98 6 ; 1 2 1
Assyrians and t h co n t y
, ,
of N e b ch adrezzar
,
366 ; t h e, u th e e u r
II 3 6 7 wa t er s pply of 3 6 8 u of 5 ; Merodac h 22 s rped u u
place of 7 t h Pole St ar
, , ,
h nging gardens of 3 7 ; t h
a 1 e 22 e
lder 3 75 3 76 ; na tional s t a t s ( of e q a t or ) 3 6 ; eclipses and

, ,
e u u 2
B il e all ied W i t h
, , , ,
of regained 3 77 ; reli gion de 2 55 ; 3 7 ; 1
s h rine t o of King B S n I 3 6 4
, , , ,
ea r f 3 7 8 3 79 o ur - i
B b
, , , ,
a y l n A work b y I m
-
o

zc- a . a B l
e Th, Ob t n e In se r va i o s
bh h con t aining fragm en t s

c us , l ibrary fo nded b y Sargon u
8 ; t ransla t ed in t o Greek b y
,
of B a b ylonian h is t ory 5 6 ; refer 1
ence t o an epi t om e of t h b y
,
e, B 8
e ross u s , 1
Ph o t i s 5 6 u B EL I A generic t erm giv en t o

I .
T em ples as 5 5 Is h t ar 4 7 ; An s con
,
B A N KS

2 0, 2 1 2 1 22 u
B A HOM ET N a m e of pagan idol sort 7 ; g res as W ife of

. , , ,
P .
, , 22 u
2 93 Ass h r 7 ; T g l t h p l u I
,
22 i a -
i e se r
B A R B A R O J O SAP H A T C ne iform . u and 7 ; Ass r bani pal and , 22 u - -

,
w i t ng and 6
,
r i 1 22 7
K U DUR U Z UR Th las t of
,
B AR SA N E S K ng of Ar m en ia B

-
. i ,
EL - -
. e
th old Assyrian line k illed b y
e
B i
2 ,
ar Th seers 6 e 2 0 H adad nadin akhi 3 - -

2
DACH
. ,
L ayard sends sc lp t res

,
B AS RA M B a b ylon ian

u u B EL -
ER o - .
god ; a v enged by C yr s 4
.
t o 3 44 ; E rnes t de S a r ze c , u 1
F renc h ice cons l a t 3 5 5

,
son of E and D w k n 7 3
,
V u a a i a,
a bsor b ed in t o t h Assyrian
,
B A R EL I E F
S -
F o nd i n palace -
S u e
pan t h eon 5
.
of Sennac h erib a t K y ] k Ol l UD l 22
B E LO S v arian t B l Mero
, ,
3 45 fo nd in palace of Ass r u u

S . ee , e -
b ani pal 3 4 6 -
dac h 7 3 ,
God dess m o t h er of m n B a b ylonian p

,
BA U a B L1 . a
kind c h ief da gh t er of An pella t ion for Daniel 3 7
.

u u,
Varian N in lil ; t h
,
and 5
,

Z g m k u u 2 1 B EL I IS t e
4S
-
1 I a -
44
sanc t a y
, ,
W fe of E n lil
,
B D
E -
or B D
AD Th EN - AD e i
-
1 01 u r
of a t C irs
.
,
fa t h er of h E dom i t e H adad t e ; na m e gn u, 1 01 Si i
t a b le t s and
, ,
1 9 0 d elady ;

1 01
g res of fo nd b y Dr Pe t ers
,
B EL Z E B U B Magic and 5 8

E - - 2 u u
t ex t a t 6 5
. , , ,
B H
E- ON P
is r -
C TS l a D , 36 4
38 7
MYT HS O F B A B YL ONI A AND A SSY RIA
B L US
E

T em ple of ; m o nd of B U LL Sacred s l i n by Gilg
. u . a a
i den t i ed w it h
,
B ab i l 3 ; m es h and E b ni 58 ; R m , 10 a a , 1 a .
d hn t n
e of an im als pre
ea io m an s nam e t h
s great ;

e 2 20
ser ed i t e m ple of
,
v 4 form s of E a and Merodach 9

a 1 1 2 0
a ian t Dis 4 B U LL WI N G E D
, ,
v r , , Sym b ol of and
1 1 , .
B EL ZAK I R
-
UN Descendan t

Em lil 97
-
I SK

m t d wit h M .
-
, a sso a e e
of Ass r b an i pal 3 6 3 7 u -
rodach 8 9 9 -
, 0 0 2 2 0
A t t it ud of t t h
, ,
God h us b and o f M
,
B NA NI B U RME S E

E -
. e . e , o e
lil i 8 , 2 dead 6 9 , 2
B NI NI King of t h m ons t ers B UR N A UR YAS King of B a by

E -
. e ,
-B .
lon ia , 22
B ER os s s B ab ylon ian h i t
-

u BU N U
. 1 C une ifo m writ ing and
. s or R O F . r
i n ; t ransla t es Th Ob
,
a ti n 63 e se rva o s
f B l in t o Greek 8 narra ti v e B U SI N R epairs U rb an s

o e ik 1 R -
. z
crea tion of m n 8 k ra t 48 s h rine t B l dedi

,
of , re a 1 u 2 o e
h i s t a t e m en t
, ,
s E a copied b y t d by 36 4 re ca e ,
Alexander Polyhi s t or e t c B Jou rney of Isis t , . 1 12 Y B L US

. o,
q o t es v ers ion of t h
, ,
1 1
3 ; u 3 8 ; Ph lo of 3 8 e 2 i , 2
del ge m y t h 77 7 8 ; t h
u ,
1 ,
1 e
h a ging gardens of
n B a b ylon
and 3 7 , A pries t of B l 1 . 2 G . e
a t B a bylon 4 ; hi s t o y b y 2 r
4 5 ; ex t rac t s fro m hi s t ory CA L A H Sennac h erib t akes nu
, ,

4 2 .
of preser v ed by J osep h s and

,
l of Ass r b an i pal s lib u c eus u - -

E se bi s 4
u S th u u and rary fro m 5 4 ; res idence of
2 i su r s , 1
Nin ib s t e m ple
, ,
4 2 h legend of Oannes 4 is Ass h r 7 2 u 20

at
,
acco n t of t h del ge 4
,
h is u 5 ; residence of Ass r e u 2 2 1 u

, ,
44 ; D n and 7 ao naz ir
us pal 5 Sin s t e m ple of 12 , 2 1

A C el t ic de it y 3 7 3 ; t ower o f d isco v ered by

, ,
B I LE .
, 1 2 2 ,
B INT AMI R H ll of 3 5 8 3 6
-
EL - L ayard 3 46 . i 1 ,
A B E D isb elie f o f in
, , ,
C M AL E T, B .
v a m pires 66
,
B I RD ME SS E N G E RS Ut N p h .
-
a is 2
CA L N E H Par t of Nim rod s king
,
t im sends

t 76 ou 1 .
N I M RUD R ins of 3
,
B I Rs d m 49 . u 1 0 o .
Sacred s t ones
,
CAM S n of C yrus 4

B t
i T HE9 . 1 -
B Y SES . o , 1
First h is t oric
,
B IT -
A S U King of B ab ylon CA N AA N I TE S TH
I L -Y

. E .
sla in b y T k lt i in Ar is ti
,
dwell ers in Syria and Pales tine

,
u u - -
22
B OMB A Y Th P of 3 3 6
.

3 4 3 6 : gods
e f 3 5 3 6 :
a rSl S
,
2 2 o , 2 . 2
,
Si t e of N e b o s t m ances t or wors hi p and 3 6

,
'
B O R SI P P -
A . e -
, 2
ple a t 3 Th St ages of t h CA NN I N G S R ST RA T O RD Si
10 e e ,
I F . r
S e v en Sp h eres H enry L yard assis t ed by in
,
t h wonder of

e a ,
4 c h ief sea t o f N e b o s wor hi exca v a tions t N im r ud 3 4

, ,
'
10 s a ,
o
s h ip 8 4 1 CA R I C O RNU S SI G N O F S P . ea
B O TT A
, ,
M Arch ologi cal . goddess S bit and 8 3 e re a u , 1

searc h es t N ine v e h 46 ; CAP T I V I T T L O N IA N
,
a BA Y, HE BY
F renc h C ons l a t Mos l ; h
, ,
3 3 3 u u is 21 -
2
exca v a t ions in Mesopo t am ia CA R A V A N Th s t or y of t h m iss ,
. e e
ing 85 88 2 -
2
B R I T IS H MU S E U M C H E MIS H W ors hip of H
,
B ricks in

C . AR -
. a
con t a in ing Ass r b ani pal s
,
dad ex t ended fro m t E do m u - -

re , o ,
se a TC h 35 7 54 es i
SS 9 ; 89 ,
1 ,
1 ,
I , 2 0 I
o b elise of Sh al m aneser I I CA R T H A G E D ido t h res id ing .
, e p
1D , 3 43 dei t y of 9 ; B a al H a mm an , 1 0

-
388
G L O SSA RY AND I NDE X
wors h ipped in 3 2 7 ; Tanit h C RE A T I O N B a bylon ian y th of m

.
s t ory of in Genes is ;
, ,
h ono red a t 3 8 ; E h m n u 2 s u 7 87 ;
0
wors hi pped a t 3 8 ; religion of m yth s fo nd in E gyp t ian
, ,
2 u
papyri and t h a t in t h P p l
,
S mi t es of 3 9 ; Dido Q ueen
e 2 e o o
S e v en T a b le t s of 7
, ,
f 3 9 ; Apoll o s t e m ple a t 3 3 ; V h 7

o , 2 ,
0 u , o , 1
Mo h a m m edanis m a t 3 3 2 of m n b y Merodac h 8 8 ; a ,
0, 1
C ELT I C T e t onic relig on and
, ,
. u i ,
legend Aps and T w t h in u ia a ,
co m pared 3 7 dei t y ; B il , 1 1 93 ; C t h n legend i

u
94 e a o 2
3 3 7 1 2 96 comm on orig n of B i b lical i

and B a bylonian acco n t s of 3 3
,
C E RE S Reference t o 3 3

. 1 u 2
I m bl h u a na t i v e H is t ale P
, ,

CHA C

L CH I S . a ic s TE S I -A s nd re a r so e s,

.
of 5 6 1 4 6 49 reference t o 3 6 7
1
C UN E F O R M T E T S Merodac h
,
C H A L D E A N M T HO L OG Y Th ign
,
Y . e s -
I- X .
Ge m in i associa t ed W i t h t h t wo e and oo , 2
for m s of t h solar dei t y n 8 C UN E I F O R M W RI T I N G S W ri t ing
,
e i 1 2 . ee
CHAL A N B ir t h place C U S H or CAS H S e q i v alen t

,
-
DE

of - -
s . , . ee u
N i m rod K ng
,
A b ram 5 2 i Ch s u
of 5 s tar g azers C U T H A H T e m ple of N ergal a t
, ,
2 differ 2 02

.
ence b e t ween t h fai t h s of t h

, , ,
e e 8 2.
94 5 : 96 . 10 2
two grea t races of 4 as t ro 20 CU H -T

A L E G E ND TH
X
E
'
Of
N E
crea t ion 94 96
.
3 ; spec la t ions
, ,
l g
o e rs , 2 3 1 2 2 u ,
2 2
Scy t h an king of E
, ,
m agic 58 59 ; 2 2 C A AR
Y X ES. i c
b a t ana 3 6 ; son of de t h roned

, ,
b el ef in t a b oo
i 7 8 ; b h f in 2 e e ,
s pers ti t ions 8 ; di m t i n
, ,
u 2 o v a o by A h mm m d 333 c e ae ,
exca v a t ions in 3 3 9 C B E L E Th m o t h er goddess
, ,

2 8 1 Y . e -
C H A O S T w t h 93
, ,

. ia a 1 13 2
C H A R D I N J OH N C neiform wr t C RU S Am ong t h con q es t s
,
. u i YP . e u
of Sargon 8 ; com m nica t on
,
ing and 6 , 1 1 u i
C H E MO S H God of t h Moa bit e b e t ween B a b ylonia and island
,

. e
ki ng Mes h 9 a 1 0 of 9 ; wors h ip of A h t t a t
1 s ar
C H R IS T IA N I T Ini t ia t ed b y Se m
, , , ,
Y . i s
3 7 2
tic race 3 3 ; Jewis h in ence ,

1 u C Y RU S K I N G Th wors hi p of
, . e
u pn 3 o 20 B l and 98
e 1 01
s bs t i t t es for C Y RU S T H E PE R SIA N I n
, ,

CH Ro N os B . e ro ssus u u . v a Sl OD
E a n t h v ersion of t h del ge
i e e u 0 f B a b ylonia b y 4 t h pre 1 e
m y t h q o t ed in h h is t ory t ended a v enger i B l Mero

,
u 77 is 1 o e -
C H U S Th fE t h p e q i v alen t s
,
. e io u dac h 4 ; C am b yses son of 1
con q eror of B a bylon and

, , , ,
C s h or C as h ( a colo red race )

u u 4 1 u
sa v io r of Merodac h s h ono r
,
fa t h er of N im rod 4 9
,

49 u u
MA G I C C h aldean
, ,
CI R CLE T , 3 78
HE .
sorcerers and 7 5 7 6 2 2
C O D E MO R A L Of t h B a b y
, ,
, D . e
l n n
o 3 38
ia s,
C O L O SSI Ga t e of ; exa m ple
. D A D A A bb re via t ed for m of 1 01

.
of ar t of w h ic h E a was pa t ron
,
A b d H a d ad ; rese m b lan es b -
c e
t ween H adad Dido Da v ad
,
2 2 9
A MO UN T AI N S
, ,
and 8 9 9 Sh al m anese ( II )
,
Refe

CO R C Y RE-
-
N . r , I -
1 1 r
ence t o by B 44 spea k s of 8 9 e r os s us , , 1
C O RN SPI R I T S T h pr m ti v e 3 9 D A A N Pales t inian for m of

,

-
. e i i , 1 G .
C O RN W A LL P h enicians in 3 3 Dagon ; a h god sa m e as o 1 s -
C O S MOGO N Y B a bylon an 7 8 7
.
, ,
O annes or E a
. 6 7 ; as i o~ 2 1 2 1
J t w opin on 8 4 ; t ype of t d W th B l
, , ,
7 ; An n

as ro s i , , so c 1 a e i e , 2 1
84 8 7 -
and 98 , 1
3 89
MYT H S O F B AB YL ONI A AN D A SSY RIA
D A G O N God At g t

. wor DE A D Th doct rin of min is ar a us . e e
s h pped nder t h nam e of
i t erin g t o 8
u oft en left e , , 1 1
2 7 ; a h god 5 5 ; an s n b ried in B a bylon ia 6 9 ; 1 1 1 2 u u 2
-
, ,
Am ori t e dei t y 3 5 a tt i t de of B r m ese t 6 9 ;

,
,
2 u u o, 2
D A M AS O n of t h t wo e n ch s

. C an ani t es and c l t o f t h
e e u u a u e,
a p p m t d t o wa t c h R h d n
o e 3 6 ; Pers ians nd t h e ir 3 3 6 ; o a es 2 a ,
and S n ni 5 7 i o Parsis and t h eir 3 36 ; H o s

s, ,
u e
DAM AS C I U -
Th las t of t h

-
of t h
S. a t Nipp r 3 6 e e e u , 2
N eopla t on is t s 7 ; a t h or of DELL A V A LLE P I ET R O Cunei 2 u , .
form wri t ing and 6

,
D bt ou nd S l t n f th F t
s a o u io s o e zrs , 1
P m mp l r 73 DEL P H I W ors h ppers o f Apollo
es , . i
D AM AS C U S - W orship of H adad

send o fferin gs t o 3 3
. , 0
a t nder na m e of Rim m on DEL U G E TH B
u u accoun t , E. e ro ss s

of 4 45 reference t o acco n t
, ,
1 8 9 ; wors h p of R am m an in i , , 2- u
2 20 of in G lg m h Ep i 4 ; i a es c, 2
analogies W i th F lood My th 45
,
D A M R U On of t h lesser B a b y

. e e , ,
lonian gods 9 4 6 ; B a b ylonian and H e b rew

22
s t ory of h a v e a com m on orig n

,
DAN I
B a b ylon ian appella
-
EL i
t ion B el t es h azzar 3 7 ; N e b
.
,
4 5 3 3 ; m yt h of
,
, 73 ,
u , 2 , 1 12 , 1
c h d a and 3 7 4 ; Sh
r e z za r 78 ; refugees sa ed from ,
-
o a 1 v
drach Mesh ac h and A b ednego E t 5 a, e c ., 1 1
com panions of 3 8 ; reference DE M ETE R T anit co m pared w it h
, ,
a cor p t ed s t ory of t h
, ,
t o 33 ru e 0
del v erance of t h t h ree H e b rew DE MO N O L OG
i Of B a b ylon ia
e Y.
princes recorded by 5 3 B ook and Assyria 5 7 8 8 , , 2 -
2
of 97 ; t h wors h ip of B l and DE MO N S Many B a bylon ian gods

e e

, .
e vol v ed
,
8 m 6 8 ; B by l
n ian described 76 78
9 1 01 i:o , 2 a o
D A O N Th s h ep h erd king of

. e , , 2 2
P nt b b l n
a i i DE S T I N M mm t um t h m ake
o , 1 1 2 Y. a e , e r
DA -
NU
o or D A

K ng S of of 73 I Zn and t h T a ble ts os. i I e

,
B by l ma d B o 7 of
a, 93 95 ; t h
vz e Li F a il t h e r o ss u s , 12 , 1 1 e a , e
D AR I U S B by l m ind p n d St one of reference t o

a o 48 a e e 2
-
.
,
ence reco v ered af t er dea t h of DE I L

,
Possession by 6 , V -
S. 2 2
defea t ed a t Arb ela 3 7 8
,
D A NA Goddess 3 5 3 9
4 1 , I -
.
, 2 , 1
D A I D R ese m b lances b t ween D B A RR A

V . A v ar an t of N er e I-

. i
H dad D ada Dido and 8 9

a , gal 6 a B a bylon ian deit y
, , , 1 , 10
1 9 v arian t s Dod Dodo 9
1 placed in t h Assyrian pan
, , , 1 0 e
DAw KI N A -
B elos ( B l Mero

t h eon 9
. e -
, 22
dac h ) t h son of E a and 73 ; D e Rese m blances be tw een

I Do.
sa v ed from t h del ge 5 ;
, , ,
H adad D ada Da id nd e u 1 1 v a
8 99 ; Q een of C art h ge
,
Is h t ar iden t i ed W i t h 7 3 7
, , , ,
1 2 1 I 1 1 u a
consort of E a 97
, , ,
3 9 T ani t iden t i ed wit h

, 1 2
MO R G A N U near t h m on u
,
D E S3 . s I
m en t of N aran S n t S sa D V arian t of B e l s 4
-
i a u , IS . u , 1 1
1 7 cop y of Kh amm ra bi s D I I N A T I O N Prac tice of by u

V .
,
code fo nd by u B a b ylon ians and Assyrians

, 2 1 ,
D E SAR E RN E S T F renc h
Z E C,8 88 Sh m as h H adad and . 2 1 -
2 a ,
ice cons l a t B asra ; diori t e

,
Rim m on lords of
v -
u 83 ; 2
s t a t es of G dea ( 7
,
u ) P h en icians b elief in 3 9
u 2 00 B C . . o

, 2
fo nd by 47 ; exca v a t ions of D I V I N I T I E S T RI A L Th m os t
u , , B . e
a t T ello 3 5 5 3 5 6 ; D o t s t anding 94
,
t , , c ou oer es u ,
e n Ch ld p reference t
a D I V S Arc h de m ons and d mon
e ar , o, .
-
e s,
356 334

39
G L OSSA RY AN D I NDE X
DO D or Do no S Da vid ; wor . ee a byss 6 fa th er of
, 1 1 I -
I1
s hi p of by t h side of Y a h v e h , e , Merodac h I 9 Gree k , 1 1 ,
1 1
9 1 0 na m e O annes I n t 1 1 i s r uc
t ons t end ng t o h m anize m n

, ,
D OG- s .Th in B a b ylon ia ; v e e, i i u a

h o nds of Ass r b an i
u pal 9 u -
2 0, k nd i 3 ; wri t ngs of
1 12, 1 1 i ,
m yth crea t on of
, ,
9 2 legend of a 9 9
1 2 1 2 2 re i
D RA GO N T world and 5 ; v arian t Nin
, ,
B l and 7 HE . e 1 1 1
v arian t En k i
, , ,
Ch na and 8 ; in E g yp t i t
,
i 0 gal
a- 6 ; ,
1 1 -
,
serpent Ap p 8 ; in
, , ,
i th s e e 0 6 ;
1 1 Adapa son of 6 ; , 1 1
India t h serp n t V t (Ah )
, ,
e e ri ra i Dagon ( Dagan ) sa m e as 5 , 1 1 ,
and in par t s
, ,
8 ; in A t0 h us r a a 51 2 6 7 ; Ut N p i h t m
21 2 1 -
a s i
of N Am erica a grea t frog 8
,
ins t r c t ed b y
,
. 0 u74 76 ; in , 1 , 1
la t er tim es 9 93 D w k in
,
B eow lf and 8 ; F ffn u and 0 a ir , 1 1 -

1 a a,
consor t of 97 iden t ed W i th
, ,
8 ; legend of B l and in t h
0 e e 1 i
a s t ar in t h cons t ella tion

, ,
A p ocryp h 97 ; Merodach s a,

e
in Z oroas t er s rel
,
86 ;1 th e,

i Argo 3 6 : eclipses and 5 5 ;
, 2 , 2
8 1 0I1 .
337 de m ons and na m e of 6 3 ; 2
DREAM
,
N b h d g azelles nd

-S .
nd e uc a re z z a r s , a 9 a 2 2
Daniel 3 74 ; of Gyges King
,
EA B A N I Goddess Ar ru and

0 ,
-
. u ,
t em ple m aiden Ukh t and

,
of L y d a 3 3 3 i 02 0 86 u
A con t rac t ion of D
,
t yp i es prim i t i v e
, ,
D U MU - -
ZI . u 129 63 , 1
m aps ; nam e of T m
u ~zi - u a m n in Gilga m es h epic
a 55 1
de v ed from 6 6 ; t h m ons t er Kh m
, ,
m uz ri 12 1
59 1 0 e u
D UN G I G dea v assal of t h sl n b y wra t h
, ,
b a b a and

. u e 58 1 ai
t h one of 9 of Is h t ar 5 8 S h ade of
,
r 1 1
DY N AS TY Th Firs t of B a b y
, , ,
. e appears t Gilgam es h 6 o 1 o
a Kassi t e fo nded a sor t of sa t yr 6 3 t h

,
lon
,
; 2 1 u 1 e
Firs t of
, , ,
b y Kan d is ; th 2 1 e b eg iling of u 63 6 4 ; G lg 1 1 i a
Ur m es h m ee t s dea t h
, , , ,
; Kh m b b and an
1 01 u a a, 6 4 6 6 ; 1 1
E lam i t e reference t o of 7 ; Gilgam es h la m en t s
, ,
66 ; 1 1 0
Kassi t e 48 t h H a m m ra bi gh os t of designa t ed
, , ,
, 2 e u , 79 ;
1 ,
3 5 ; th 2 Sele cida and t h e u e e t kk

u u 8 u, 1 1
Ars a CI d ae 333 EA G LE Sy m bol of Ki s,

.
,
B a b ylonian fa b le th 9 6 98 re e 2 2
E L UR Goddess ; m algam a t ed
,
A . a
W i th Z p t m 86 ar ani u 1
T e m ple of a t E rec h
,
E A NN A
-
. , ,
E

A, or O AN N E S Th B a b y
-
e 52 o
rs t
.
lo ian god of lig h t and W isdo m

h E A NN A T U M
-
Sh a m as h
-
.
m en t ioned in reign of
,
1 4 ; h eld sway a t E r d 4 ; i u, 1 9 ; 10
s t ele of v l t res erec t ed b y

,
legenda y fa t h er f Se m ira m is r O u u
d sco v ered by de S
, ,
2 5 ; so rce of all t h ngs and u i i 355 a rze c ,
EA R T H
,
7 : Aps
2 (Z g n) m o t h er u i a ru Th An . k th e nuna i, e
spi i t s of 9 m o t h er wor
,
of 7 ; v arian t N d m m d 2 ,
u i u ,
r ,
0 ,
~
,
,
7 3 2 T w t h and 7 6 ; Mero ia a s h ip of 3 8 3 9 1 1
E B A BB A R A
, ,
,
dac h and 7 9 ; displaced ,

Th s h in ing

. e
poli t ically b y Merodac h 8 6 h o se ; n m e of Sh m as h s

u a a
sanc t a y 9 49
, ,
99 ; na m e of Jona h m y b
1 a e u r ,
10 ,
2
co m pared W i t h t h a t of 8 7 ; E c -
T A N A Cy
BA -
th S y

. a x a re s , e c
h for m
s of 93 ; t h god
- e
,
t h ian k ing of 3 0
E C L I PS E T error of t o B a b y
,
of t h d eep 93 ; E rid C i t y
,
e u, .
lonians 5 5 5 6 ; t h fa t al in
,
of 94 ; t e m ple of
,
; th 1 02 e ,
2 , 2 e ,
c se of As r Dan I l l 3 73 9
,
god of t h wa t ers and of t h

,
e e a su -
,
0 0
39I
E D OM W ors hi p of H adad ex ER

. K GAL ( All t ) Th

E SH - I- a u . e
t ended from C arc h em is h t o 8 9 m s t ress of H ades 9 1 i 1 2
c ivili
, ,
E G
-
N NO
I G- U H o se of t h -
ER B a b ylon i n
. u e -
I- D U . a za
T o m b ; t h t e m ple t ower of
ti on gro ped ro und 4 ; t h e -
u , 1 e
Nipp r 3 6 u , h o m e of E a or Oannes
2 th , , e
EG T YP Se m ti c imm igran t s in
. god of l igh t and wisdo m 4 ;
i , 1
5 ; con q ered by Se m ram is

,
1 U r near ne igh bo r of 5 ;
u i a u , 1
E ar h ddon wars W i t h c l t re of nd B a bylon 5 ;
,
6 ;
2 s -
a u u a , 1
3 ; N e b c h adre zar i n ades

,
e m ana t ed
,
m ag ical h y mns

1 u z v
3 7 3 C l t of Is h t ar in
,
u
4 ; fro m 6 8 ; wor h ippers of B 1 2 , s a
a t 7 ; t e m pl of E a t
,
Sem iti c re l g on in 3 3 i i , 1 exca , 2 e a , 1 1 1

t i n in 3 3 9
va o s th del ge and 6 s pre m
, e u , 1 1 u
E KUR
-
Th t e m ple of 48 .
53 acy of passes t o B ab ylon 99
e , 2 , 2 , 1
t e m ples of E S g l and 49 Merodac h origina t ed t
,
-
a i a 2 a 2 00
E L A M I TE S N ort h ern Mesopo E S I L A N b m d and t h
, ,

-
.
-
AG -
. a o us e
t am ia and o v ercom e by Sargon pries t s of 4 N eb o s S h rine 1

yoke of t h rown ff b y
, , ,
in t e m ple of
,
7 1 E Z ila 85 ; o -
1
nam e of Merodach s t em ple a t
, , ,
K h am m ra bi ; n m e of u 20 a

arg es enm i t y t em ples of E

,
Kh m b b u B a b ylon
a a ; u 2 oo
b e t ween B a b ylon and and 49 t em ple of 5
,
66 ; K , 1 ur , 2 , 2 0,
Ass r b ani pal and gods of
u -
3 6 8 3 74 3 75
-
, .
th 4 ; v o t i e o b j ec t from
e, 20 E SA T ower i B a by lon v G I LA . a
-
, ,
482 4 7 3 74 3 75
E B U GAT E SA R H A D D O N S n of Senna
,
L -
F eas t of 3 4 . 1

-

. o
D do confo nded w it h
,
E I S SA Ass r b ani pal

L -
. h b 3 i u , c e ri , 1 u - -
s uc
9 1 0 d d as King of Assyria 3 4 cee e

T er m e m ployed in Is h t ar and
, ,
Eloh m m os t

i . th ,
2 1 2 e
Genesis 3 7 , hk bl 2 of t h Ass y rian kings ea e e
palace b il t b y
,
EN K -
Varian t of E a 6
I .
3 6 3 7 ; 1 1 0 0 u ,
t e m ple of near t h ed by L ayard 3 43

, ,
EN LI L -
Th god 4 . e 1 , u
near th ed 4 7 ; Merodac h and E MUN Th god of force and
, ,
u , ,
SH . e
84 earlier na m e of B l 95 h ealing 3 8 3 3 e , , 2 ,
0
97 ; a god of v ege t a tion 96 ; E MU N M Ph eni ci n

H , SH -
EL K A R T . o a
sy mbol of W inged b ll p co m binat on 3 8 u re re i , 2
sen ts 97 word lil s ign i es , ES T H E R Is h t ar and 4 4 a

. 12 1 0
de m on 97 ; B el tis ( N in lil) B ook of w h y writt en
, ,

, 44
-
, 1
4 ; e q i v alen t Is h t ar
, ,
W ife of H adad rese m b led , 1 01 4 ; , 1 1 u 1 2

L ang on s t ory of 4
, ,
8 8 ; R a m m an son of
1 ; 43 ; 22 1 1 2, 1
and 43 ; v ar an t
, , , ,
t e m ple of E Ku sacred t o 48 X erxes -

r , 2 , 1 i ,
EN MAS H T I N a m e of N inib t rans H adassah 43 ; Dr Jas t row

-
. , 1
la t ed b y C anaan it es 3 6 on B ook of 43 a s, 2 , 1
E N O C H B OO K O F Q o t ed 94 E A N A Th legend of 95

. u 2 T-

. e , 1
E T H C S B ab ylon ian nd Assy ian
,
S n of Se t h
,
E

N os . 3 o , 2 2 I . a r
Pa t on ss of nd
,
E H

P U E s- S. r e , a
D iana 3 5 , ET H N O L OG I C A D I FF E RE N CE S B
2 L . e
E P H A N I U H is all ega ti ons
P -I -

tw een t h peoples i t h
-
s. e o e
N m rod 49
re i nort h ern and so th ern c ul t re u u
E R EC H Part of N m rod s k ng
,

. gro ps 3 i

i u 20
E U P H R A TE S Ri v er
,
d m 49 ; t e m ple of 8 ; Di
o 77 3 6 8 2 . 1 . 1
9 ; cen t re
, , , , ,
b arra pl nders 6 369 ;

u B ridge 3 75 10 -
10 2 .
of Is h t ar s c l t 4 Gilgam es h EU R A TE S T I G R IS V lley
, ,
'
u , 1 2 , PH -
. a
pr nce of 5 4 ; t em ple of I h
i C i l iza t ion of in enced Semi
, 1 s vi u
t ar t 48
,
a , t i eld 9
2 c , 2
392
G LOSSA RY AN D I NDE X
EU - SE BI
US
-
. Sanc h unia t h o n, P hi Greek way of represent ing As
lo and 3 9
, , 2 hu b n p l ( r Sardanapal s )
a a a r e. u
E XC AVATI ON
,
Modern in B a b y -
S. 3 2 on t h real and t h m ock e e

,
l on ia and Assyria 339 366 ,

Sardanapal s 34 T amm z u u
3 3 9 ; m p rela t ng
, ,
in E g y p t , a i and h G ld n B g h 3 4 is o e ou I
Is h t ar and 3 7 feas t of Pur m
,
t o, in B a bylon i and Assyr a a i 1 i

and 4 ; on Vas h t i 4 3
,
a t N ine ve h by George
,
34 ; 1 1 0 1
Smi t h 3 4 7 354 ; at K F renc h explora t ion ex
, ,
, y nj k ou u i FR N
ES EL .
by R m 3 5 4 3 5 5 ; of de
assa , , p d t n and 3 4 7
e i io
a t T ell o 3 5 5 3 5 6 ;
,
S a r ze c , ,
B a b ylon ian E xplora t ion F nd u

ins t it ted in A m erica 3 5 6
u 36 6; G ,
un der con t rol of t h U n iv er e

sit y of Pennsyl v an ia 3 6 36 6 ; G A RD E N HA N G I N G Of B a by 0 S, .
recen t b y Ger m an O rien t al

,
,
lon 3 7 , 1
Soc ie t y 3 6 7 3 7 7 G A R MU King of B abylon ;
.
-
S.
E ZI DA
-

T e m ple of N a b a t
. 1 ro m ance of Si monis and 5 6 6
. u , 0
v
,
52 d
o isco ered b y R awlinson R h d n and 5 6 6 o a es 0
Th m os t ancien t par t
,
3 46 ; Grea t t ower of N a b
2 . GA A u, TH S. e
3 75 of t h A v es t a 3 3 3 e
G A T U M DU G
,
E ZI L A
- Th . m h o se ;

e Goddess alliedr u

- -
.
N e b o s s h r ne in t em ple of

for m of B i 45 au, 1
E S g l-
85
a i a, G A ZA T e m ple f Dagon a t 5
1

. o 1 1
G A Z ELLE Goa t and gods 9
,
.
, , 2 2
94 2
GE M I N SI G N Gilga m es h and
-
I, .
E b n so m e rela t ion t o t h I8 a a i e, 2
FA B LE A B a byloni an th GE N E SIS B OO K O F Reference t re e , . o,
eagle 96 98 N i m rod 49 ; crea t ion s tory

. ,
2 2 re ,
grea t gods Ann 8 9 ; A b b L isy and

,
FA TF S . Thx in 7 e u ,
0, 2 o
3 3 ; t er m l h m in 3 7
,
nak decree 73 t h Ch am b er
i 3 1 e 22 ,
2 e o i 2
GE R M A N Y Goa t dem on adored
, ,
of .
-
FA T H E R
,
SK Y Of pri m i t i v e m y t h i n 93 2
G HO S T S Assy ian 7 7 7 8
. ,
ologies 96 1 . r 2 2
G I B I Prayer and t h god 6 8
, ,
,
F E AS T Th Jewis h of P ri m
-
S e u

. e
B Th god of re ; N sk
,
I I
.
G L
, ,
41 ; B
o a b ylonian 5 5 2 1 2 2

. e u u
FE S TIVAL and 5
, ,
O f Adonis 3S
-
sof I , 22
G I L G A M E S H H ero ; N i m rod iden
.
,
th S e or Z k m k 4 ac a
ea a u I 1 .
N ew Y ear ; N e b o and 8 5 ; w it h 5 epic ;

,
t d 56 ; , 1 i e , 0, 1
B a bylonian Z g m h sacred goddess Ar r g res in 8 6 ; a -

u u, u u u ,
t o B n 5 5 ; Sco tt is h a prince of E rec h 5 4 8 3 pro

2 1 2 2 , 1 -
1
C el t ic of B el t ane 3 7
,
sional na m e s dh b or
,
1 . Vi u a r,
FI EL D An exper t Assyriologis t Sh a m as h
, ,
I d b 56 ; nd z u ar, 1 a
b ir t h of rela t ed b y ZEl n
.
, ,
8 5 6 1 ia
3 5 ,
m o t h er of
,
FI RE GO D Gi bil t h 5 . 56 ; R m t b li t e, 2 2 1 i a e , ,
FI R E W O R S H I P Th cen t ral fea

,
-
5 8 ; s h ade of E b n appears e 1 a a i
t o 6 ; Is h t ar s lo v e for 6 7
.
t re of Z oroas t rian ri t al 3 3 5
u u ,
1 0

, 1 ,
FI S H E R M Arc h t ec t in A m eri
,
R 6 8 ; m o rn ing t h loss of E
i 1 u e a
q es t for t h
.
can explora t ion cam paign 3 6 b ani

,
7 ; h o I 0 is u e
secre t of perpe t al l ife 7 7 3 ;

, ,
F L OO D S Del ge ee u u 1 0- 1
h ances t or Ut N p h t m
.
,
V AS H I G ard ian spi ri t of

.
F RA

is a is 0
7 ;
-
u i 1
S n deli v ers
. , ,
t h Persians 3 3 6
e 7 ; see ks fro m i , 1 0
s cre t of
,
F RAZ E R S R J A ME S O n t h,
Ut N p h t m t h
I . e -
a is i e e
393
MYT H S O F B A B YLONI A AND A SSYRIA
perp t l li fe 73 8 ; Adad
e ua m oon god ,o f U r 4549 :
1 1 0 -
, 1 1
E and
a 78 79 , 1 Dagon a h 5 5
, I 6 s I 1 1 2, 21
G A M E S H EPI C THE Acco n t
, , ,
7 3 5 ; Ni ig or Enu R

G IL -
, . u 2 1 , 2 r ,
-
es
of del ge in reference t o 4 ; u t 53 ; Gilg m es h n 2 u, I a a su
one of t h grea t es t l it erary
, , ,
57 ; e E b ni a un 59 ; 1 a a s 1
L a t er Pan t h eon of B ab yloni a
,
prod c t ions of anc ien t B a b y

u
lonia 5 48 3 ; Is h t ar in 3 8 498 ; N e b o
,
I 1 84 86 3 6 ; 21 1 4 1 -
1 2
8 7 8 9
, , ,
B el ti s sanc t ary a t
,
CIR SU R am m an

. 95 7 u , 1 01 , 1 1 , 1 , 21
AR or I Z D U B A R Gil 3 5 ; H adad or Adad

G

I S- D H U B 222, 2

.
,
g m
a h pro
es v i s ional na
mse 5 6 8 7 9 3 5 ; B aal a un 1 1 1 1 ,
2 , s
G IS H ZI D A On of t h g ardi ans
,
-

89 3 7 3 8 ;
e D ada Dido e u 1 2 2
Dodo 8 99 ; Zn a s t orm
. , , , ,
of t h ga t es of h ea v en 8
e 1 1 1 1 1
G O A T S Gazell e and gods 9 94
, , ,
.
93 95 ; Merodac h origi na ll y , , 2 2 2 1 1
G OD - S . E a O annes 4 5 7 a n 99 ; t h great of
or 1 2 2 su 1 e

, , , , , ,
73 7 6 79 8 6 8 7 93 94 Assyr a 5 9 ; Ass h r 94 1 02 i 20 22 u
6
. . . . . . . . , , ,
6 9 ; En l l 6 N in h war god

1 1 1 1 1 2 1 4 22 1 1 2 20 -
2 1 1 -
i -
4 i
-
t
,
O
, , , ,
47 8
. 4 95 97 I I . B a b y and h u n er 4. 6 3 6 ; 2 1 21 2
lonian k ngs t h direc t ce

,
i th m oon 94 9 e 8 7 Vi e 10 1 2 1 0,
N sku 4
, ,
geren t s of t h on ear t h 7 ;
,
8 3 4 ;
e, , 1 1 0, 22 , 22 u , 22 ,
B a b ylon ian Merodac h 4 5 ; Gi b il t h 5 ; 22 e re 22

47 , , 1 , , ,
5 0,6 8 7 8
6 8 8 4 8 6 93 94 B l Merodac h
2 5 ; prisoner
1 e -
, 22
6 ; B e li t all ded t o as
, , , , ,

,
1 0 3 6 8 4 10 9 8 99 ; 5 1 1 1 2 02 22 , 22 u
Mo t h er of t h G r a t
, , ,
B l B a b ylon ian 8

e un 4 s 1 e e 22
t ill s t ra t ion
, ,
1 9 6 97 t h
1 b ir h of t h 7 procession e i e, 1 o see u
3 id g p h t h sa m efor s t r
, ,
8 7 ; T w t h Aps u and Mum ia a 2 o eo ra e a

t rini t y of 7 4 ; H or s
, ,
m u, a nd 34 ; plane t s iden t i ed u a , 2
reference t o 7 5 ; King ; Tia w it h 3 5 2 N a bu nd Merodach

, ,
u , 2 a ,
wa t h and 7 5 ; Merodach t h
,
8 ; D ib b 9 ; D mku e 22 a rra , 22 a
crea t or of t h 8 Se m i t es and
, ,
and Sh e, Il 2 9; m ny a rr u - u, 22 a
spi i t s and in ancien t
,
89 ; r B a b ylonian e v ol v ed fro m de
B a b ylonia 8 9
,
nd goa t
,
9 Anu m os t m ons 6 8 ; gazell e 1 , 2 a

ancien t of B a b ylon ian 9 94 H ellen ic d p r t m en t l
, ,
9 0, 1 2 1 2 2- 2 e a a
7 ; in v oked b y depart m en t l c h rac t er

, ,
1 2 3 97 , 98 1 , 1 3 5 ; ,
2 1 1 a a
Assyr an k ings 9 ; Kis t h
i i t of t h of B a bylon ia and 0 e s ics e,
Assy ia 3 5 3 6 ; g neral e q i
, ,
su n 93 94 ; nder n m l , 2 u a i a r , 1 , 1 e u
form s 9 93 ; t h grea t 93
,
2, v alen t l sed by C naani t es e , ,
e ,

u a
1 5 3 ; S n m oon 94 i 9 8 and H e b rews 3 5 3 6 of lig h t 10 1 2 2 2
t ,
, , , , ,
1 7 0,
3 5 ri b al 2 d m t 94 U 3 5 of t h t ni i n i v i i e s, ru , 2 e c a s,
pan t h eon t h a t h eld sway prior 3 7 3 9 R es h ep h C an an it 2 -
2 a a e,
t o Kh am m rabi 94 95 ; de
,
3 6 u3 8 ; M lk t h o f T yre 2 , 2 e ar
scrip t ion of B l 96 a t ri n it y of
, , ,
3 7 ; A h t t 3 6 3 7 33 :
e , 2 s ar . 2 . 2 . 0
( B l E a and Ann) 97 ; Si bi
e , , E h m n god of vi t al force 3 8 , ,
s u , 2
Moloc h 3 8 ; C ar t h agin ian M
,
10 8 ; Sh a m as h th n 4 e su 1 , 2 o
m ons t er
, ,
94 9 8710 3 3 5 ; 1loc h 3 3 ; P t h 2 22, 22 2 o a ec us , a

N ergal 8 94
, , ,
3 3 ; Illa t
, , ,
, 5 6 2, 3 3 ; Sakon 33 ;
, 10 , 10 , o , o ,
o
1 5 1 8 35 3 6 3 8 3 9 ;
1 0, T p h n 33
2 of B a b ylon m ore
2 2 2 sa o o
Adapa 6 ; Is h t ar 3
, , , , ,
,
1 1 dign i ed t h an t h ose of t h
1 21 1 2 e
Greeks or N orse m en 3 3 8 ; t h
,
1 44 T m m n god of E id
a u z , su -
r u,
6 4 4 ;
e
Is h t ar and Perse T w ilig h t of t h 3 7 7 3 8
,
1 2 1 e, -
0
p h one 3 3 5 ; N in G 1 G O DD E SS
1 1 Is h tar 8 94 -
i r su , -
E s. 2 1 01
44 5 8 6 5
,
, , , ,
1 44 ; B 44 ; Pap s k al au, 1 -
u , I , 1 , 1
m essenger of t h 3 ; G 68 76 4 3 6 ; e, I h 1 0 a 1 1 2 1 1 -
2 1 2 s
N annar t h
, , ,
t um d g -
45 ; u , t I a gene ic designa t ion for ,
e ar r
,
394
G LO SS A RY AND I N DEX
1 2 4: N
a na a n d An uni t , 1 2 4 ; of E st h er H AD -
A s s AH

V a ri a n t

.
,
Sa m k h a t of j o y , 1 3 1 ; Cy 43 I
bele ,
the m ot er
h I 32 ; B au, HA D E S D esce nt of Is h t r i nto
. a ,
m hot er of L g sa a h, I 44 , 1 4 5 8 3 B is h k g l
1 2 1 1 r -
i -
a
G a - t u m d ug , a l lie for of
d -
m (Al l t ) m istress of 9 a u , , 1 2
B a n, I 4 5 ; A za l u, 1 491 5 1 ; HA L L A I nn n tem p le t
-
BI. a a s

a ,
Sa b i t u, a se a 1 72 ; B lur
a ,
87 1
a ma lg te it
am a d W h Z a r p a ni t u m , HA M A N Th Book of E s t h er n d
. e a ,
1 86 ; I
mna h a or Ni i nn , 1 8 7 ; 4 ccep te d i d e ntity W it h 1 1 a
D a w ki na , 1 97 ; w ors
hi p of H m m n or H m m n 4 u a o a I 2
HA MM UR A B I D y n sty 3 5
,
gre t ot er
a m h , 3 1 8 , 3 1 9 Ta nit h , . a 2
C rt h g ni n h ero
,
3 2 8 : As h t a rt , 3 2 6 , 3 2 7 , 3 2 8 ; H

A N N i B AL -
. a a i a
T it
,
st r e
I sis ( A a t ) , 3 2 8 ; an t he 33 33 ; B l s n m e n 33 0, 2 aa
'
a i 0
R bb t U mm
,
HA O MA
,
m oo n 33 ; 0 Dep os te d n t h a a a, -

. i o e
3 3 ; T ni t 3 3
,
o a celesti l m ou n t i n 3 3 5 o a a
Ne bo
, ,
G R AI N G -
OD 86 . HA N Abr m s y ou ngest as , 1 R A -

. a

G R EECE C lt of Is h t r in 4
. u brot h er 5 a 1 2 , 2
G R EE K S B b y lo ni ru le d o er H AR R A N A ce ntre of lu n r
,
'
. a a v . a
by 3 7 8 . d or tio n 5 83 a a 2 0, 2
GE O R G C un e i for m H A RU B A L C rt h gi ni n h ero
,
GR

ND
w iting nd 6
O TE F E , . S D -
. a a a
r 64 a B l s n me n 33
, 2 aa

a i , 0
G U B A RR A Pr yer nd g d 6 8 HA U G D R T r n sl tor of t h

- . a a o . a a e
, ,
GU DE A A v ss l of t h t h o ne C at h as 3 3 3

-
. a a e r ,
of D u ngi 9 ; h g h p r i est of HA Y N E S E c v t ons of t

, 1 i -
. x a a i , a
L g s h 9 ; h i bu l d i ng nd
a a 1 Ni p p ur 3 6 3 6 6 s i a 0-
rc h tectur l b ili ty 9 47 ; HA Y N E S M J H Se nt n 8 8 9
, ,
a i a a . 1 2 , R . . i 1
d ior i t
,
st tues of found b y d
e a to e c te t N p p 4 7 e x av a a i ur ,
H E A V E N Th I g g t h s p i i ts
,
S 4 7 ; B n llu d e d to n
a r ze c , a a i . e z z e r
ancie n t nscri p t i o ns of 44 ;
i of g 1 o
by 8 7 H E B R E W
, ,
w ors h p of I n u n i Sym bol ; t ha sera 1 -

s. 1 e ~
Nm
.
,
g f our te of 5
i r su p e nt t h avfor m isch ef 8 5 i , 2 1 e, i ,
2 2 .
h e p tosco p y a nd 83 d Rel g o n B by l m n n ue n ea , 2 e i i a o a i c
S ar z e c nd 3 5 5 a u p on 3 3 21 22
R i tu l nd
, ,
G U L A C o sort of N i ni b 6
,

n H A os co 2 1 E P -
r -

-
PY . a a
G Y G E S K n g of L y d i ; Assur
.
,

i p r ctice of 8 88 a a 2 2 2

.
M lk t h e q u te d
,
b ni p l nd 3 3 3 G orge H
a -
a a ,
02 ,
0 e L R Ac L ES

. e ar a
Sm t h d s eries 3 5 W it h 3 8
'
i s i co v re , 2 ,
2
H LE S Refere nce to 8 7 E R CU-

.
,
H St te m e nts of

U ER O D or - -
s . a ,
re
H S e m ir m is 8 ; ccou nt of a , 2 a , re
te m p le of Bel 3 ; m , 1 01 , 10 ar
HA BB A U

A p ro p h et nt to
C- C g custo m s n B bylo ni se ri a e i a a
d escri b e d by
.
fee d D iel an , I oo3 ; refere nce , 12
HA D A D or A D A D R mm n or

t 3 6 7 3 74 a a o.
I A H Ki ng of Ju d h
.
,
Ri mm o n i d e nt e d W it h 8 7 H i 1 EZ E X - -

. a ,
rese m b l nces b et w ee n
,
3 7 ; Se nn c h e ib s c mp ig n
'
3 a o, a r a a
1 9 ; 1
D ad D i d o D i d nd 8 9
a, g i st 3 ; p r ise of su g b y
av a 1 a a n ,
0 a , n
Byro n n h H b w M l d 3
, ,
1 9 t h su p re m e B
1 l 89 e aa 1 a i is e re e o i es, o
C n nitis h g d 3 5 R A PO L
,
a aa II oMe m or ls of 2
-
i E - -

-
is . ia
HA DAD N Se m ir m is p reser
,

- Pl ce d n
A D i N- Ax iii d t 7 a o a ve a 2
P R O F E SS O R An
. ,
t h ro ne of B b ylo n by Assur H R a ILP E CH T, . ex
n l
a Z i r-
p 3 k i l ls t h Assy
a i ,
n p ert
2 A y n l g t 3 45 357 e r a ss o o is . . :
m o n c h Bel ku d ur uzur
ar ,3 36 363 - -
,
2 0-
395
MYTH S O F B AB YLO NIA AND AS S Y RIA
H I N K S R E D W A RD L ngu ge I H A EV . Go d d ess ; f m e of a a S

r R. a
Se m i r m is m i ngle d w i t h t h t
.
,
fou nd t Persep ol s d eci p h ere d a i a a

by 6 5 . of t h 8 g o d d ess of N eve h e, 2 in ,
H RU o

Th E gyp t i n g d of
S. 94 ecourt of Z m m nd a o 2 1 2 a a a a ,
w i t nesses p lu nd er of E rech
,
l gh t T w t h rem i nd s of 7 5
i ia a , 1 01
H O US E N O R U N E qu or by D b 6 7 EI bot h R .

i i ar ra , 10 , 10
v lent H d es 6
a m lea nd fe m le ;
I2 s i gu i a a a 1 1 1

,
H U I T Z I L OPO C H TL I ( p ro n H w t ge ner i c d
, ,
f c n ce 3 44 ; . ee i a 12 I e
S ign t i o n for go d d ess
,
il
z p t h tl )
-
o- Refere nce to
o c -
ee .
4 ; , a , 12
144 e q u le nt s As h terot h or As iva ,
H UR A AN -
Th storm g d
K- 1 t rte 4 3 7 ; cult of Ap h
. e -
o a a , I2 , 2 ro
l d d t in t h P p l V k 97
u e o d i te beg n in t h t of e o 4 ; o u a a I2
H YMN T o A d r 6 8 to Ne b o ,
,
-
S. E st h er nd 4 a 4 44 ; a , 1 2 , 1 0 1
i d e t i e d w i th Ve nus 4 3 5
, ,
69 to Nusku 6 9 m g c l a i a

n 1 2 , 2
i d e nt i e d W it h Nin l i l 4 t h
,
e m n te d from E ri d u 6 8
, ,
-
a a , 1 2 e
Akk d n n w h i ch T m m uz
,
a ia co nsort of Assh ur 5 d esce nt

i a 1 2
i nto H d es of 5 6 ; w
,
i s dd resse d 6 ; of Kh m
,
a ,
1 2 a a ,
1 2 1 2 ar
m bi u ra
9 to R m m n go d d ess 7 3 4 co sort
2 1 a a , 220 , 1 2 21 , 21 n
of T m m uz 7 ; co nsort of
, ,
a , 1 2
I M ero d c h nd Assur 7 ; a a 1 2
i d e nt i e d W h D w k in 3 7 ;
,
i a a, 1
I AM Li nu
-

BAut h or of B by
-c
go d d ess of veget t i o n 3 7
s. a a a a , 1 ,
l m o 56 ca, 3 8 ; sl y s E b ni 5 8 ; Ir 1 a a a 1
I D O L A T R Y L e ge nd orig i n of
,
ni n for m of 6 5 1 love of re a a 1

.
,
i
, ,
23 ; L b 2n s m ges 6 6 68 a for Gilg m es h 6 7 6 8 : An

a

a , 2 2 a 1 I u
Sp i rits of h e
, ,
I g i g TH

-
r,
'
en 9 E f t h er of 6 8 An t m ot h er
. av ,
0 a , 1 a u
IX S U D A ( Gr s p er ) Atte nd nt
-

of 6 8 ; L dy of t h Go d s
a a 1 a e

.
, ,
h ou nd of M ero d c h 7 ;6 Assyr i n s n d a 4; , 2 02 1 a a 2 1 1 2 1
I A B RAT M ni ster of An
,
L- -
7. Assur n z i r p l nd 4 ; n
i u, 1 1 -
a -
a a 21 co
ILL A T C rt h g i ni n d eit y 3 3
,

. afusion betw ee n Bel i t nd 8
a a ,
o a 22
( H ol d er )
,
IL I E H
-
U

Atte nd n t A p h ro d i te nd co nnecte d 3 5 . a a , , 2
h ou nd of Mero d c h s i t h m ont h s cre d to 3 6 ; a , 2 02 x a , 2
I M AGE St rs nd -
S.
33 te m p le of E nn d e d i c te d to
a a 2 -
a a a
I M R
,
C i t y of 3 5 4
,
-
B
G EL 5 . m g i c nd 58 v r i nt , 2 0 a a 2 a a
I N C A N T A T I O N O F E R I DU Th
, ,
A h t t 3 6 3 7 3 3 ; gre t

. e s ar , 2 , 2 ,
0 a
cere m o ny of t h 7 g te of d i scovere d by Dr Kol e, 2 0 a
I ND I A N Se m ir m i s m kes w
,
- S. d e w ey 3 7 a a ar , 2
on St b b t K g of 6 7 I S H U M Atte nd nt of D i b
ra ro a e s, in , 2 ,
2

. a at t a ,
follow ers of Z r t h ustr d to 6 8 a a a e 10 10
d esce nd n ts t h P of 3 3 4 ; I s s O s i ri s nd 3 3 j ourney
a , e a rsrs ,

i . a 1
Ar uc i n of C h le 3 3 6
,
a an a to Ast rte 3 8 ,
i , , as a , 2
IN

H ES Th p lot of E r d u .
5 I S R A EL I TE S W ors h i p of Do d o or
e i i , 1 1 .
IN M

M A O N C i ty of 8
A R-

D d by t h s i d e of Y h e h b y
.
, 10 o e a v
,
I N S CR I P TI O N
, ,
O f Sh l m neser th 9
-
S. a a e, 1 0
I 3 5 of T k lt i m nip 3 5
,
1 I Y A R Th second m o n t h s cre d
u u -
, 1

. e , a
I K
R

L A Th bo d e of ; t h
AL - . to E 3 6 e a e a, 2
h ouse of d rkness 8 I DU B A R or G Pro
69 a H , 1 2 , 1 z -
ISD U B AR .
I R N I N A A for m of Is h t r 6 5

-
. vi s i o n l n m e of G i lg m es h 5 6 a I a a a 1
I s AI A H Jerus le m d escri be d by
, ,

- . a ,
19 refere nce to S rgo n s

1
J a

ex
p dit i n g i n st As h d o d m n
e o a a e
t i n d by 3 5
o e J A C OB L b n nd 6 7
,
o

. a a a 2
J HO IA K I M
,
Ur s cou nsell or 6 9 K ng of J u
'
I SE NU . a , 2 E - -
. i er sa
3 96
G LO SS A RY AND I NDEX
le m ; Nebuc h d rezz r p uts to a a of 20 i s to be reg rd e d
; a as
B bylo i n Alfre d
,
e t 37
d a h the a n a 21
JE H U S n of Om n ( i ) obe lisk
,
t eon t h t h el d s w y p ri o
,

. o s c p an h a a r
of Sh lm neser nd 3 43 a a a to 94 ; w ors h i p of Mero d c h a
Ne b o T h m nd
, ,
JE N S E N Vie w of

H m on .
, re a , a nd 84 , 1 , as , a ,
1
4 43 ;
2 e p l n t on of 1 x a a i re 1 86 ; Sh m s h nd 87 ; a a a 1
go d d ess Inn n or Ni nni nd
, , ,
Ni n b 6 i 2 1 a a a
JE RU SA LE M Refere nce to d e li er
, ,
v 1 87 ; g of fertile in w r ters a e i

.
n ce of fro m Se nn c h eri b 3
, ,
a a o 1 9 ; H
2 y m n f R m m n nd o a a a
Ki ng Ne b uc h d rezz r w rs
, ,
a a a Sh m s h a p p e le d to in a 9 a a 21
buil d er of s nctu ri es 47
,
a g i nst 3 7 ; Is h d escribes
a ,
ai a , a a , 2
1
9 1 City of d iscovere d 3 76
K AR A K UR K UR A Mou nt i n
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J W
E Nebuc h d rezz r le d s
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s . a a a H S G -
.

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,
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K HO R SA C it y ; resi d e nce
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llusion to B b ylo ni n cos K H U M B A A Mo nster over
, ,

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m l gy 8 6 ; T w t h nd t h
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co ntrolle d st rs u nd er n m e a a a a a , 1
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of E gy p tAm e n
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b t d ra t Mecc 5
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K A N D I S A K ssite d y n st y

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fou nd e d by ,
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a- ur as , 2 2 a
K f m or K N m es Sh lm neser I of

a s sa p t a s sa -
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Assyri T k lt i in Ar st i
-
,
by w h ic h t h W i z r d nd t h e a a e a u u - -
i 22
of B b y l on B t ly
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B bylo n H d d n d i n kh i
,
KA D y n sty ;
ss i r E

fou nd e d a a a a -
a -
a
Ki ng of B b y
.
,
b y K nd is a 2 1 a 2 3 ; of Assyr Bel ku d ur ia -
uzur 3 of Ass y ri T g l t h
,
lo ni m r ies d ugh ter of

a a r a , 2 a i a
A SS W b ll l h of Assyr
UI - '
l lt ia , 2 2 p l I 3 3 46 of Ass y ri
i e se r , 2 , a
d y n sty r f re ce to 4 8 ;
a ,
e e n ,
2 Assur n p l III 3 -
4 a zrr - a ,
2 , 21
r lers nd te m p le t Ni p p ur
u a a 2 16 of As s y ri a
oti e o b j ects fou nd by Sh lm neser I I
, ,
48
2 v v a 4 3 43 a 2

, , ,
Dr Peters 3 5 8 3 5 0 3 6 4 3 6 5 35 of
1 Isr el Ah b 4 ; of a a 2
KHAM M A TH E GR EA T Ass y r S m s i R m m n 4
, , , , ,

UR -
Bi ia a -
a o 2
of A y n f Ni nus 5 of
-
.
Most f m ous n m e n B b y
,

a a i a ss a ,
2
l n n h istory
o ia ; t nd 20 ar a A m e ni
r B n 5 of a ar sa e s, 2
l ter ture b losso m e d u nd er c re I nd St b b t

,
i a a ia 6 of ra ro a e s, 2
397
th e W orl d
etc .
, etc Sem i .
'
3 45 ; G orge Sm i t h
e c v
s ex a a
r m i s 9 ; of A s y r i T g l t h
,
a ,
2 s a -
i a t on s
i at , 35 1 Ra ssam
'
s exca
p l i e se r II I 9 ; of Assy , 2 ri a v a t i on s at , 3 54 35 5 ,
Sh lm neser IV 3 ; of Ju d h K UK CAN Reference

H ezek i h 3 3 7 ; of Assyr UL - to the
a a , 0 a -
.
a ,
O, ia g od 224
Se nn c h er b 3 ; of Ass y r
,
- a i 0 ia
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3 43 3 5 ; of Ass y i Assur
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LA B A N J a cob and 2 6 7
,
( S r d n p lus )

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LA B A R T U Th e ha g d e m on
, ,
3 6 3 46 ; of Ass y

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3 23 , 01 -
0 , ri a .
-
, 2 71 ,
A h u b n p l 3 3 ; of Ass y i
Sin 77
s r a a a r a 2
LA D Y O F T H E G O D S
,
sk n 3 6 ; f E b
-
sa r -i i O c a Is h t r a t he,
t n Cy
.
,
a a 3 6 ; of B by a x a re s , a 1 76
lo ni N ebuc h d rezz r I I 3 6
a a a LA G AS H
. Th e m d rn o e T el lo -
,
e rl est e i te
,
4 0,47 4 of B by lon 10 a ia a i o u e nts S m m n m

C y rus i ests of
,
N b nd
a o 4 49 ;
i us, 0, 2 com e fro m 16 the pr
,
t h Pers i n 4
e f B bylo n a 1 O a bec m e k ngs 6 a Gu d e i 1 a
h ig h p r i est of
, ,
C m by ses 4
a Ale nd er t h 1 xa e
-
9 355 ; B u 1 a
Gre t 4 ; of Ch l d e N m
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m ot h er of

a 2 a a i 45 1
LA H A ME G d ; b i rt h f 7
, ,
ro d 5 R mm nn 2 I 9 ; a a i rari 0

-
o
'
o 1
of Persi C y rus 98 ; D o n
.
LA H M U G d ; b rth of 7
, , ,

a a . o i 1
A s p i r i t of S i m l r
, ,
L A M AS S U
,
th s h e p h erd of P nt ib b l n
e a i o
-

i a

.
, ,
1 12 ; of Persi X er es 4 a x 1 1 typ e to t h Se d u 77 e 2
of B byloni S k k
,
LA M E N T A T I O N F or T mm u
,
a 57 ; a o a ros , 1 S. a z,
of B bylo n M h Shik h u 8 7 ;
-
4 ; R i tu ls
Mo bite
a ia i -
1 53 55 1 0 a 2 -
2
LA N G U A G E Th Akk d i n 3
, ,
th e Mes h 9 ; of a a, 1 0 e a a 1
As h d o dAzu
.
,
B b y lo ni n p r est h oo d p
,
; of t i, 2 1 0, 2 1 1 1 4 a a i re
B by lo ni
a nd soot h s y ers a, a a ,
serve d id A kk d n tongue o a ia
2 6 ; t les of B b y lo ni n
0 a nd a a a as s cre d 4 Sum er ns
a a , 1 ia
Assy n ri a 99 3 N bu 2 -
12 a borro w e d from i ch Sem it i c r
tongue 5 cu ne i fo m w i t n g
,
U b Ki ng of S
sa i, p nu 3 a r ra a 00 1 r r i
6
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Gyges Ki ng of Ly d 3 ; ia, 02 0 66 W r t ng ; Me d n see i i ia

,
6 5 ; Sus n 6 5 ; Ass y ri n 6 5 ;
, ,
T gl t h p l
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99 3 i e se r 2 01 a a
of Assy r Assur D n III 3 8 ; tr nsl t i on of As
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L ng p

ia -
a 0 o e ri e r s a a
of Ass y ri A d d N r r I V
,
a sy i n 6 6 ; of B by loni nd
r a a a a
ro y l d y 3 9
a -
a a i
Ass y i com p re d 5
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3 8 ;0 a 3 ; a a 0 12 r a, a 20
of Ass y U Gur 3 5 9 3 6 6 ;
,
LA R SA Sh m sh w ors h i p p e d t
,

ria r -
a a
of A sy U Ni nib 3 6 6
. a
Kh m m ur b i s im p rove
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s ri a r -
10 9 a a
K I N G U G d ; onl y h usb nd
,
m e nts t

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LA Y A RD Si H E NR Y Assur
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of T w t h 7 5 ; bou nd by
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r .
b ni p l s l br ry t N neveh
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Mero d ch 7 8 ; a n of T so ia a -
a

i a a i
rc h ologi c l
,
w th a 94 , 1 a nd 3 5 46 , , a ae a re
K 15 .Th B by loni n un g d
e a a s -
o , se rch es t N neve h 46 5 5
a a i , , 1 ,
3 44 3 46 ; rese rch es of t a a
N m d 34 34
,
G d ; b i rt h of 7
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K AR

i s . o 1 i r 3 44 3 46 . 0, 2 .
K O L D E W EY D R Ge m n L E G E ND
,
. r a ex Je w s h Abr m nd
-
s. i re a a
Ni m ro d 5 Pers i n Abr m
, ,
pl ore r , 356 3 6 7 ; gre t g te , a a , 1 a , re a

of Is h t r d isco ere d by 3 7 ; a v , 2 a nd Ni m ro d 5 5 3 ; t h , 2, e
te m p le f E S g l nd 3 74 3 7 5 O -
a i a a , ,
cre t on 93 95 ; of E t n
a i , 1 - 1 a a,
K m l g
os o o ie Je ns n s 6
. e

21 1 95 ; of t h or gi n of st r e i a
K U Y UN J
,
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M Bott -
nd
IK. . a a w ors hip 3 th of U , 2 2 e, ra ,
m ou nd of 3 3 9 ; L y d 6 8 7 ; of d g

, a ar s 2 2 9 0 9 a o , 2 1 , 2 2
se rch es in m ou nd of 3 44 n of cre tio n

a , , C th u aa 94 96 , a , 2 -
2
3 98
G LO SS A RY AN D I NDEX
L E N O RMAN T . H ebre w and Assy M A K L U A ser es of
.

i t e tsx
r an i oe t y nd 3 p r a ,
22 kn o w n as , 2 61
L EO, I G N O F Rec lls t h sl y
S . a e a Ma m
le nt for t
i t. Eq u 1v a a boo ,
ing of K h m b b 8 u a a, I 2 2 78
L ETTE R F r nke d b y cl y se ls
-
s . a a a M M M ET U M Th m ker of d
A -

. e a es
be r n g n m e of S rgo n 8
a i a a , 1 ti ny 7 3 1
L E V I E H A Th B p h o m et
,
,
LIP S . e a M K I N D C re t i o n of by M ero
AN - . a ,
go t nd 93 a a ,
2 d ch a 8 8 go d d ess Aruru
,
0, 1
L IA FAI L T Th Sto n e of ,
HE . e a ssists in t h cre t o n of 8 e a i , 2 ,
Desti ny ; ref re nce to 48 e 2 86 h u m n izi n g of 3 a 1 1 2 1 1

LI B R A R Y Assur b ni p l s 3 5 46
, .
M A R A Z I O N S g n n Sem it i c
,

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7 6
1 8 3 46 ; t h
2 te mp le 1 2 2 e H ill by t h S 3 3 e ea,

1
MAR C H E S H U A N
,
in T blet H ill 3 6 3
, ,
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Mero d c h s . a
'
LI GH T Mero d c h nd Ti w t h a a a a m o nt h 5 2 1
M A R D U K S Mero d c h 75
. , ,
p r m l st ife bet w ee n

a nd t h e i a r . ee a ,
1 ,
d r k ness nd 7 9
a a 2 00
B b y lo ni n rt M A RR IA G E C ustom s in B b y
,
LI TE R A T UR E . a a
r
a . a
a nd u nd er Kh m m ur bi t h a a e lo ni 3 a, 12
; Assur b ni p l M A R S I d e nti e d w i t h Nerg l

,
Gre t a nd 20 -
a -
a a . a
B b y lo ni n 3 5 ; s cre d of
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B b y lo ni 6 7
a a a ,
2 35
M AS H U Th Mou nt i n of S n
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LI V E R R E A D I N G By p ri ests 8
-
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of t h s p i ri tu l
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2 83 M Az D A

On . e e a
L OF I U

W I LL I A M KE NN ET S

S, . uc p o w ers in Z oro ster s religio n a

'
,
cessor of M H m d R m r or uz a ssa , 337

MEC C A Refere nce t t h cele

. o e
L O K I G d of re ; Nerg l n t

. o a o b t d K
ra e b ( te m p le ) t 5 aa a a , 2
u nh k 6 e, Io ME D E Z oro ster 3 3 3. a a,
LU A BAN D A Storm b i r d g d ME D I A Su b d u d b y Ni nus 5

- -
G L- . o , . e , 2
l ke Prom et h eus 93 ME D I C I N E E g d of 9 a, a o 1 2
Z U GG I SI Ki ng of E r c h M
i .
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M LI LI
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M m o n sters 95 96 2 2
MEL I S H I P OK I I H ouses fou nd
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M AA T Refere nce to. 222 d t i n g fro m p er i o d of 3 7 6

a ,
M A G I Co nfou nd e d b y Z oro ster MEL K

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3 33 3 8 2
M A G I C A L T E T S D w k n llu X . a i a a M EL K

AR P h ni c i n g d ofTH . oe a o
d d to in t h
e 97 ; A nn m n e 1 e T yre 3 7 3 8 ; w ors h p of n 2 2 i i
of B b ylo ni C t h ge 3 3
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in Bi b le co m bi n tio n 3 8
,
t o 66 6 7 ; Circle 2 , 2 a 2
M M A N G A B L e d er of t h m n
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e, 2 2 E -
-
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M A G I C IA N
,
Th w or d of p o w er -
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s e rs , 2 95 96 2
ME M PH IS Assyr i n s e nter 3
,
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ME N K E S M O UN D 3 7 6
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M A HOM ET AN B p h om et cor
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f e nd of A erroes ; h
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m e nt r y n t h M hn h a 3 o e zsc a ,
2 2 M R
E

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2 1 0, 2 1 1
399
M R DAC
E

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B b y lo ni n g d M AH Refere nce t h i t er
E. a a o , ic

. o s a
te m p le f 47 3 7 4 : N m ph im 68
o . , i 2
d i d e n t e d w i t h 5 ; p r yer
,
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0 a . e a a
and g d 68 ; T w th o nd go t of t h w i tch cr ft of t h ia a a a e a e,

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7 6 8 ; cre tes m n 8 ; t h
2 93 a a , 1 e 2
ce ntr l gur of a p o p ul r M L I SH U
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IK E

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m yth 8 4 g d E , d i s p l ce d rch ; Sh m s h nd 8 7o a a a a a a 1
by 8 6 99 ; m y h e b ee n M h n h C omm e nt ry n t h
,

, ,
1 a av i sc a . a o e,
a b ull g d 93 ; w ors hi p p e d t
-
o , 3 a 2 2
B b ylo 94 ; Ass h ur d t i MI TA N I Provinces of conq uere d
a n, i en .
,
d w i t h 94 ; Nebuc h d rezz r
e ,
by Sh l m neser I 3 8 a a a a ,
0
and 4 : Di b 10 nd 6 ; M I T H R A R s h nu nd 3 3 7
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.
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14 ; 2 g re t fest i v l of th a h 49 a , e uc , 1
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of M O FF L AI N E S W oo d of 93
1 1 , . 2
rst p ro m i nent in d ys of M OH A MM E D A N IS M I ni t i te d by
,
a a
Kh m m ur b i 8 498 ; ssoc i
.
a t h Sem i t i c r ce 3 3 3 3
a , 1 1 a e a , 1 2
tio n w i t h Neb M O L O C H M g i c nd 5 8 ; w
,
8 4 8 6 ;

a o, 1 1 . a a 2 or
t h C h m ber of F tes in te m p le s h i p i in Ph oe ic i 3 8 w
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8 5 ; Z p nit m w i fe of
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r nt M r d uk 94
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Sh m s h a nd a : v r i nt s M MMU T A W A T H Th p r i m v l
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ar u u oc n 7 S M mi
, a , ar a a a , ea , 1 . ee ou s
a nd Mer g g ; tte n M O N S TE R
-
a a M y t h ologi c l ni
a, 2 02 a -
s . a a
d nt h ou n d s
a f ; usur p e d m ls nd of C h l d e O 8 9 98
2 02 a a a a, 2 -
2
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W it h 8 Ju p i ter i d ent i e d
22 of t h 94 96 ; P t h ,
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MON TH Ti t les of by B by
,
over b y 3 7 ; m o t h M 2 n ar -
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ch h es n belo nge d t
ua 5 ; lo n i n s 3 6 38 o, 2 1 a , 2 2
ecli p ses nd 5 6 ; d e m o ns M OO N B bylon n re li gi on nd
a ,
2 . a ia a
36 ; ci ty ; U r t h
,
and t h n m e of 6 3 ; four
e a 49 , 2
5 ; 2 , e, 2 , 2 0
d ogs of 9 ; h e d of t h Abr m p rob bly m oon w

2 1 a e a , a a -
or
B b y lo i n P nt h eon 3 77 s h i p p er 49 ecl i p ses nd t h
,
a n a a , ,
2 a e,
N boni d us 3 77
a 56 2
D A C H B A AN I H ouses M OO N DE I T I E S Os i r i s
,
M E R o-
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AL - -
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.
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fou nd d ti ng fro m p er i o d of a Ap h ro di te 3 8 Proserp ne , 1 i
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co mp i ons 3 8 an ,
Th Book of E st h e

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CA - I . e r
M ES o POT
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nd

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Nort h ern overco m e b y Mero d ch 4 a 1 2
rgo n 7 ; Se mi t i c rel i g i o n M O S UL M Bott F re nch C nsul
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Sa 1 . . a o
,
in e c v tio ns in 3 3 9 ff ;
3
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37 6 m yt 97 1
M E I C O Refere nc to reli gious M O T H E R G O DD E SS Th eo y 3 8

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s y stem of nc i e t 4 ; refer 3 9 a com p ou nd e d of v rious

n 20 1 a
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2 , 2
400
MO THER O F TH E GR EA T GO D S
Bel t llu d e d to i 8 a a s, 22
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M U M or MUM MU S n of NA N I D E S Arc h olog y f s h

O IS . o -
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a i n bl in t m of 3 6 3
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73 N A- E o - N I D U Th l st of t h
s. e a e
M O UN T AI N Of t h Su nset Gil . e , B bylo ni n k i ngs 4
a 83 a ,
0, 1 1 0 , 2
g m es
a h j our n eys to 5 S 59 , I , 1 , d is p l ce d by C yrus 4 ; cults
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7 ; of t h
1 1 Su n ise 5 3 ; of e r , 2 of Mero d c h N bu nd Sh a , a , a a
th E rt h 3 5 ; of t h Wi nd
e a 0 e , m sh and 3 7 7 , a ,
N A B O PO L AS S E R Refere nce t o
,
3 6 ; of t h W orl d 3 6
2 e ,
2 - -
.
MU L I L Th g zelle g d of i nscr p t o ns of 3 6 8 ; f t h er of

L- . e a o i i , a
N p p ur 9 i 2 2 Nebuc h d rezz r 3 6 9 3 7 E a a 0 u
MU R AS U A N D SO N S B nkers
, , ,
-
H

. a
ph t br d ge w ork of 3 7 5 :
ra es i ,
t N i p p ur 3 6 6
,
and brokers a , g d Mero d c h n d 3 7 7

o a a
M U R O W ors h i p of R m m n
,

. a a N A B U 7S 3 Nusku nd n

, I a , co
o i g n te d t
r i a a 2 20 n t d
ec e 5 ; Mero d c h nd 2 2 a a
M E Y E R J O S E PH A An A m eric n
, , ,
. a p ire d a 8 ; Bel p ire d W it h 22 a

rc h tect w h ssiste d H ynes
, , ,
a i o a a 22 8 ; R mm n N nd a a -
i r a ri a ,
at Ni p p ur 3 6 5 22 8 c lle d by S rgo n t h Seer a a e

MY RR H U se d t t h Ad o ni fes
,
. a e a wh gui d es t h go d s
o 8 ; h
e ,

22
t l
iva 36 ; tree nd A d o n s
,
1 -
a i , Mercury nd 3 5 te nt h m o n t h a ,
2
sa cre d to 3 7 ; to w er of 3 7 5 2
M g
13 , ,
YI O f S r d n p lus refer
-
S. a a a a , Nebuc h d rezz r nd 3 7 7 ; N a a a , a
e n e to 3 ; n logies W t h
c 2 a a i b n d o nd 3 7 7i us a
F loo d 45 ; Nort h A m e i c n
, ,
r a NA E U B
N -
Sh m s h sAL I D D I . a a
'
I nd i n refere nce to 46a , ; , ,

1 22 te m p le restore d by 49 , 2
Algo n q ui n refere nce to 46 ; N A B U Q U A T I Z A B A T Assur b ni

-

-

-
a
B b ylo ni n of cre tio n 7 8 7
.
, ,
a a a ,
0
p l nd 3 4
a a ,
0
NAB U U KIN G C d
,
co nf mg o nnecte d W it h E
us ,
c a,

-
SA B I,

r uc r e
; of d eluge 73 78 1 1 1 1 1 by Tigl t h p l II 3 00
-
1 1 2 , a -
i e se r
I SHIR Scri b e 3 6 3
, , ,
Of Mero d c h nd T w t h a a ia a N A- E U E -
Z R- L -
N A M T A R Th p l gue d e m o n 9
.
, ,
refere n to 7 8 4 ce 99 ; , , 1 1 , 1

. e a , 1 2
Me c n refere nce to
xi a 5 ; , , 1 1 N A N A Merge d n co ce p tio n of
. i n
Greek refere nce to 3 5 ; , 1 22, 1 Is h t r 4; aAssur b ni p l
, 1 2 -
a -
a
of T m m uz
,
6a 9; T m ,
1 2 -
12 a a nd 3 4 ,
0
m n d Is h t r
uz grou nd w ork
a a N A N N A R Th moo n g d of U r

e -
o

, .
,
of t h os of Greece nd Ro m e e a 1 45 49 1

,
13 ; of
1 A d o n is 3 33 ; 1 1 1 N A NN A R S tr p of B bylo n

-
Os . a a a
q uest f Isis
, ,
E gy p t n ia re O 1 46 49
-
1
T
, ,
133 m m uz Is h t r 35 a -
a 1 N A NN A U Th n w m oo n

-
E . e e es
t b l h d b y Mero d c h 7 9
, ,
var ious str t u nd erlyi ng t h a a e a is e a

NA RAM S
,
Gilg m es h 5 9 6 a of t h I 1 0 e

S n of S rgo n ;
-
IN. o a
title Ki ng of t h Four Z o ne
, , ,
sl ug h ter of T w t h
a ; ia a , 201 e s,
'
9 ; N b o ni d us
,
of Perse p h o ne nd of O siris a I 7 1 nd 4 ; a a 1
b ricks d sco ere d t h n m e of

, , ,
201 ; toot h c h e 6 6 3 ; a a 2 2 2 i v 1 a
Buil d er of t h T e m p le
, ,
P h nici n little k no w n
oe a ,
re , o n 47 ,
e
3 8 ; 2 I nd o Ger m nic -
a r e in i of En l l 4 7 ; o m e ns d -
i

2 an
i scri b e d
, , ,
n Z r t h ustr s reli m oul d of

n n
i sc e ce s i a a a 2 83 ; an n
gio n 3 3 4 ; c h r cter of B b y a a a sto e b elo ngi ng to S i go n I n

n a i
p l ce
,
l n n
o co m p re d W i t h t h t
ia a a a a f 36 3 O ,
H y m to 6 9 ;
,
of H elle n c nd S d n w n i a c a zi i a a ,
N E EO

. n f n , so O
3 38 Bel ; s h n e s cre d to
, 1 02 ri a ,
+ 01
1 02 ; Ta sh nit , w , 1
02 , 1 8 5 , i fe of m e n ts f X X II D y n st y O a as
I 8 6 3; a a n w h Mero ssoci tio it
N m t 5 ;
e d er t i o n of
ar ,

o i va
c
da h , 1 8 41 8 6 c ef se t
hi a , n me m y m e n
a rebel 5 ; a a ,

o
B O I Si p p a , I 8 4, 3 2 6 as gr
ai n lege nd s f l t d by P h lo in o ,
re a e i
g od , 1 8 6 lt rs of Y e
the a a ah v h h D G g nt b
is 5 ; Abr m
e i a i us , o a
r gge fro
d a d m , 1 90 ; te le of
mp a nd 5 5 6 ; K n g of C h l d e 1 i a a,
-
, ,
3 0 6 . 3 46 . 3 48 5 ; suggeste d
2 d e nt i ty W t h i i
N E B RO D
Se eNi rom d . Gilg m es h 5 6 a , I
N B U C H A R E Z Z A R I R mm n
E - -
D -

, a a N I M R UD S H e nr y L y d

. ir a ar

s
a nd 9 2 1 e c tion s t 3 4 3 4 3 44 ;
x av a a ,
0, 2-
N E B U C H A DR E ZZ A R I I ( or N
,
E R ma ssa se rc h es t 3 44 ;
s a a ,
B U H N C R ) K ng of B b y
AD E ZZ A i a George Smi t h s se rch es t 3 48
a a
lo ni reign of 3 6 4 ; nv d es
.
,
a, 0 i a 354
E gy p t 3 7 ; w rs g i nst Jeru N GAL
,
a a a I N A- V ri nt of E 6 . a a a, 1 1
s le m 3 7 ; p uts Je h oi ki m to
a a N I N Ev -E

H Built by Senn c h eri b . a
Assur b ni p l s li br r y t
, ,
de th 3 7 a sets p Z e d eki h ,
u a as 3 1 -
a -
a

a a ,
K ng f Jerus le m 3 7 ; D niel
i O a a 35 7 5 4 3 46 ; h
1 l g I l a rc a o o i ca
n d 3 7
, , , ,
a 4 h d re m s 37 4 ; 0 is a ,
0 rese rch es f L y r d nd Bott
a O a a a a
nd A b e d George Sm i t h s l bours
,
Sh d r c h M es h c h

a a ,
a , a a t 46 , a
nego nd 3 8 ; rui n s of p l ce t 46 Mr H m d R m
,
a ,
a a a , or uz a ssa s
of e p lore d n 8 99 4 7 ; S
,
x i 1 ,
ir w ork t 4 7 ; bu lt b y Ass h ur
a , i
H C R w l i nso n s d sco ery 4 9 ; t blet w r i tte n for t e m p l

,

. . a i v a e
Sh m s h s te m p le of Nerg l d sco ere d t 8 ;

re , 4 ; 10 a a a i v a 2
res i d e n ce of Ass h ur 7 I h
,
restore d b y 49 ; D r And r e s , 2 a

, 20 s
d sco er y 3 5 6 ; M ero d c h t r s S h r ne in ; M B tt

i v re , a a i , 212 . o a
a nd 3 7 7 a n d s i te of 3 39 3 4 ; L y rd 0 a a
N E B U C H A DR E ZZ A R II I K i n g of
, , ,
. a n d 3 44 ; p l n f 3 5 7
, a o ,
B b ylo n 4 a ia, 1 N N CI R S U
I -
N m e m e ns L r d
. a a o
N MA
E S

N i m ro d
R T. ee of G 4 4 : kno w n
i r su , Sh ul

1 as
N E R G A L T e m p le of t C ut h h

. , a a gur Lor d of t h corn h e p s e a
of C ut h h 94 p tro n
,
8 96
2, 2 a , a 44 3 i d e n ti e d w i t h T m m uz
1 a
4 4 ; v ri n t N in ib
,
g d of C ut h h
o 5 n t u n l ke a ,
10 o i 1 4 6 ;
a a , 2 1 2 1
L o ki 6 D b r i nt of
, ,
, 10 i a rr a , v a a , f vour i te of G u d e
a 5 a, 2 1
1 0 6 Ar lu nd 5 5 a a , 1 0, 1 1 te m p le of 8 3 2
s h d e of B b ni nd 8
,
a a a , a , 1 0 N I N I B 8 4 75
w ,g d 4 ; ,
1 a ar - o 21
ni tis h
,
M rs nd 3 5 C
a a 2 a n aa r n t of Nin gi
va ia
4 6 - '
r su , 2 1 2 1
T gl t h
, , ,
w g d 3 6 ; w ors h p p e d by
ar - o , 2 i i p l I Assur h hi
a i e se r ,
-
ri s i s ,
P h e nic ns 3 8 o i a ,
2 Assur n p l nd 4 -
a Z I r- a , a , 2 1 as
N W YEAR
E Asse m b ly of go d s t . a h u nter g d 6 e tolle d by -
o , 2 1 x
B bylo n n rst d y of
a ; o a ,
2 01 Tig l t h p l I a 6 in-
i e se r , 2 1
M ero d c h nd B a nd a ,
2 01 au a ,
vok d by Assur n z i r p l
e 6 -
a -
a , 2 1
2 5 ; Gu d e 1nd 5 a a , 2 1 Gul co nsort of 6 ; S turn
a, , 2 1 a
N B I RU Mero d c h s st r 7 9 tr nsl te d

E

I- . a a ,
nd
a 35 ,
2 a a as u
N I M R O D Th m g h ty h u n ter

e i M s h t i by C n n tes 3 6
a a aa i 2

. ,
of C h us t h N N I G I N A G I R SI R S e d w i th
,

49 5 6 ; n so I - - -
, e . av
ZEt h p 4 9 re p ute d d esee n
io , a E etc fro m d eluge 5
a, .
, , 1 1
d n t of H m 4 9 ;
a gures n a i N I N- L I L V ri nt of Belt s . a a i 1 01
Bi bli c l nd B bylo ni n tr d
, ,
a a a a a i co nsort of E l l ; Is h t r nd h -
i a a ,
tio n 49 ; built B bylo n 5 ; ,

a ,
0 1 2
4
Greek n m e d Nebro d or Nebros a N I N N I V ri n t of Inn n 8 7

. a a a a, 1
5 ; i d e n t i e d w it h Mero d c h
,
0 a , N IN S UM Gilg m es h resort s to

. a ,
Gilg m es h nd O i o n 5 ; a , a r ,
0 8
I 0
n m e fou n d in E g y p t n d ocu
a ia N I NU S Ki ng of Ass y ri

.
5 ; a, 2
02
4
G LO SS A RY AN D I N DEX
Se mi r am i s w i fe of 2 5 N ny s O RI ON N i m ro d i de nt i e d w i t h
, ,
i a ,
-
.
,
so nof 6 , 2 5 0
N S n of Ni nus ; d uri n g Is i s n d refere nce t o

O

I N YAS . o -
Si RI s . a
m nor i t y of Se mi r m s ssu m e d
, ,
i 3 3 ; refere n ce to 8 a i a 1 2 01 22
M A N D I AS Sh elley s n
, , ,
th rege ncy 6 e O 2 -
ZY -

.

so
N I PP UR B b ylo ni n c i vi l i z t i o n
,
. n t a n 3 7 a a e o ,
0
grou p e d rou nd 4 ; g d Bu d d , 1 o
nd
a 4 ; ity of U r colo ni ze d
, 1 C
by 5 ; Mr H y nes e c
t n
,
t 47 3 5 9 36
1
P a x av a
lo s a . 365 36 6 ,
0,
te m p le of 8 ; cos m ologi c l P AI N T I N G S Disco ere d in S n

, ,
, 2 a . v e
t les t 8 4 ; of Su m eri n
a a n h b p l ce t K Y J k a ac e ri

s a a a OU UD I
o ri g n 96 ; p refe re d to B b y
, ,
i , 3 45 r a
l no 96 l m e nt tio n itu l t P A L A CE
, 1 a Bu lt t N i ne e h by a r a a ,
-
S. i a v
1
99 ; t e m p le of E Kur
, 2 00 t S rgo n ; M Bott u n e rt h s 3 4 ; -
a a . a a o
4 8 ; busi ness q u rter

, ,
2 f n Assyri n t w d isco ere d t a O , u a , o v a
e rt h e d 3 5 9 3 6 ; st ge to w er N m d 3 4 ; built by E s r

a , 0 a -
i r ii o a
h d d o n u e rt h e d b y L y r d
, ,
of 3 6 te m p le to w er of 3 6
, 1 -
2 a n a a a
nd b y
, , ,
N R i nt

I G d ; IG . En 3 43 ;
o S nn h nt n f v ar a u c e ac e ou
L y r d 3 45 ; Assur
,
Restu Bel f t h er of 5 3 a b ni p l s 1 a a a -
a

d isco ere d b y R w li nso n 3 46 ;

,
F irst m o nt h ; s cre d to
, , ,
N

Iz AN . a v a ,
An n nd Bel of N m d George Sm it h s
36 a , 2 i r , ex
N O A H P tr rc h refere nce to

. a t n i a n 3 4 8 3 49 ; Nebu , ,
c av a io s i , ,
4 5 ; lege nd of d eluge nd E h d f e c te d 3 6 9 a a, c a re z z a s, x av a
r i nt Ut N p h t m
,
5 ;
1 1 va S7 a a is i I
-
,
P A LE S T I N E Syri nd i n d e d
,
6
1 1 . a a ,
va
N RET URN
O- L nd of 8 by S rgo n 7 ; w t p of
. a 1 2 a I o rs u
H d d n 8 8 t h C n ni tes
,
NU D I M M U D
,
-
V n t f n m e of
-
. a ri a o a a a i 1 e a aa
rst d w ellers n 3 4
,
E 73 ; T w t h nd 7 6
a, ia a a ,
i ,
2
N U MB E R S Assigne d to e c h of P A LL AS A H E N E Refere nce to

. a

-
T -
.
,
t h go d s e 37 38 2 2
N U S K U Th m esse nger of Mul PA N T H E A SS UR AN P A L S

, ,
'
. e -
ON, -
E I -
.
hl 6 8 ; h y m n to 6 9 ; te m p le of Belit nd Ass h ur n 8 a i 22
P A N T H E O N O F A SS Y R IA 3 3 ;
, , , ,
1 02 of t h Brilli n t Sce p tre e a

20 2 0
d i ffere n ces b et w ee n t h B by
, ,
2 2
4 5 N bu nd co nnecte d
22 a a ,
e a
5 ; ec li p ses nd
, ,
22 55 l n nd a D go n n , 2 o ni a a , a i ,
ssoci te d w h Ann 6 7 ; a a rt 2 1 2 1
b sor b e d n t h
, ,
B l Mero d c h e -
a a i e ,
O 5 ; E
: n th 9; [ Mb 22 a i e, 22
b nn i t h e 9 ar H 2 2
O PA N T H E O N B A B L O N IA
,
AN N E S S E
4 . ee a, 1 OE Y 1 .
E rly Prior to K h m m ur b i
.
O B EL IS K O f Sh l m neser II 3 4 3 . a a a . a a
O DA CO N
, ,
A p p e rs fro m of L ter ( e ner l

- . 94 95 a se a , . 2 4 a . G a
E th ru ra, c h nges in nd d d itio ns to

1 1 2 a a a
OM EN L i br y of S rgo n n
,
-
S 84 98 ; B V I nc
I
ar usur p e d a co 1 -
1 e s a o
b y Mero d c h
.
t d book d e li ng w it h
a i ne 8 ; n th a 7 1 i e , a 22
d i i n ti o n b y
, , ,
8 8 p H U U n t ure h 3 8
2 1 2 2 s T S C a o 1

v a , ,
O -
MO R C A C h l d

ic e q u i le
. t P S U A L Th m esse nger of
a a va n AP R

. e
T h l t h : Greek t h l
,
a a 4 th g d 3 , a a ss a , 1 1 e o s, r o
ON N ES

O n of Ni nus ge ner ls PA R A D IS E T h Al
e nd 8

a e i v ss a 2
O f Bo m b y 3 3 4
.
, ,
h usb nd of Se m ir m is i

a 5 P a 2 AR s s a
C te i s t le
, ,
O P EF R T F re n c h e .
p lor tio n P x a ex A R s o N D Es .

s a

a re ,
e di t i o n a nd 3 47 1 46 1
49
p ,
MYTH S O F B AB YLONIA AND A S SY RIA
PA T E C H U S G d; re p uls v of ki ng 8 3 sol my t h

-
. o a i e , 21 , 20 e o
m o nster 3 3 g ph h oo d cult nd

,
0 9 ra e rs, 1 1 ~
, a
P A T R IA R C H TH E S Abr m te m p les
, 39 4 : . wi r d s ee a , 2 2 1 za
N E or P R O S E R P I N E m gici n ;
c h m b r of t h 7 7 5 l i ver

P R
E -
H SEP o nd -
6 : th -
. a , 2 0 - a a e
Refere nc to 3 co res e , 1 2 , 2 01 r a e e, 2 0 2
p o nd s to All t 3 re d i ng by 8 : of T h ebes
a u, 1 2 a , 2 2 ,
P R
E -
Refere nce to 6

S E P OL I S. M e m p h i s nd On 3 4 ; of , 1 , a 1
N i p p ur nd E rec h 3 4
,
l ngu ge fou nd t d eci p h ere d

a a a , a 1
b y L ow e n stern nd H i n ks 6 5
,
P RI E S TE SS E S In B b y lo nia
4 , . a a, 2 0,
L ngp i
o tr nsl te d l ngu g r er 4 a a a a e 2 1
fou nd t 6 6 a P R I E S T HOO D S P i es t
,
- . ee r s
PE R S E U Refere nce to 8 7

-
s. P R I S O N E R G O D S Ass y i n rulers ,
-
. r a
PE R SIA N Si gns in co nn e i o n
-
s. nd 5 6 x a 22 22
w i t h cu ne i for m w ri t i ng 6
, ,
66 PR M E TH E U

L ug lb nd nd ,
0 O- - s. a a a a
relig i on of
,
33 93 : Z n nd 95 2 a , 1
3 36 t ; fe r of d l m nt
, e c. P SA L M S B OOK O F T H E N t i o n l
a e e e , , . a a
; p oet i c l
,
3 35 n t ndi vi d u l 3 o i a , 20 a
PETE R S D R Director of A m er for m of 3
. i 22
n e p e d i t i o ns 3 5 8 3 5 9 3 6 4
, ,
ca x P U N I C Rel i g i o n 3 3 , , , ,

. ,
0
365 P UR I F I C A T I O N 7 ; by w t r 2 0 a e
P H I L IS T I A S r go n s e p e d i
,
in co nn e i o n w i t h B b y lo ni n
,

- -
. a x x a a
t i o n g i nst a a m gi c 7 , 2 1 0, 2 1 1 a 2 0
N I C I A W orsh p of Moloc h P OR I M F e s t of 4 4
,

PH CE - -
. i , a , 1 0, 1 1
in 3 8 , 2
PH N cE AN I CITh Go d s of t h -S e e,

.
3 62 3 9 relig i on E g yp t n
2
Q
ia
i n ue nce 3 8 , 2
P I CT UR E W RI T I N G -
C u neifor m Q A L A T SH E R Q AT Ann l of .
'
. a s
nd 6 6
a S,
W rit i n g . T gl t h p l ee I d i scovered by i a -
i e se r
P R E US Port of At h e ns 3 8 R w l nson 3 46 D And r s

I -
Z . , 2 a i r ae
SI G N O F
,
B b n e c v t o ns t 3 5 6

P i s c E s, nd . a a i a , x a a i a ,
83
1
PL A CE V I CT O R Bott s w ork t
,
. a

a
Kh b d co nti nue d by 3 4
PL A N ET
o r sa
I d enti e d W it h go d s
-
S.
a ,
R ,
0
35
2 RA W ors hip of in E gyp t 3 . 22
PL U T A R C H Is i s ( Ast rte ) nd 3 8 RA AT UM M A Th Gre t
, ,

. a a ,
2 E B . e a
PL U T O Referen ce to 3 3

. Mot h er 3 3 , 1

o
P O ET R Y Ass y ri n 3 3
,
. RA U A lur ki ng d em on 76
a ,
2 1 , 22 E i s -

.
, 2 ,
P OLG AR H P h en ci n w or d
T .
77 o i a 2
c i ty nd 33 a R A CE S As i M i nor p eop le d wi th
,
1 . a
R ALE X A N D E R G d d iverse 3 4

P O L -Y -H I S TO , . o ,
2
E nd
a a 3 R A C H EL Th s t olen i m ges nd
1 12 1 1 e a a
6 6 6 8
.
,
P O LYT H E IS M Se m t i c 3 3
, ,
. i , 1 2 2
P p l Vuh
o

o Refere nce to 97 RA M . Refere nce t 6 , , CH

ET. o, 1
5
1 1 R A M M A N 7S : e q u i v lent Rim
I a
i d e n t e d wi t h H d d
, ,
Pos D N Greek g d 3 5
-
EI

O m n ;
, o , 1 o i a a
P R A YE R T th -
n g d etc
s, or A d d 8 7 8 9 t h T blets
O e su -
o , .
,
a , 1 - 1 e a
67 68 of Dest ny nd 95 ; p p u i a 1 o
Akk d i n to ngue p n d fu nct i o ns
, ,
PRI E S T -
S. l it y a a7 ; re ar a 21 - 222
serve d by B b ylo ni n 4 w ors h i p of
,
w e p o ns of 8 a a ,
1 a , 21
t h ose of L g s h bec me ki ngs

,
n d ys of
a aK h m m ur b nd a ,
i a a a i a
1 6 ; h i g h of Ass h ur too k title Nebuc h d rezz r I 9 ; Ass u
, ,
a a , 21 r
404
G LO S SA RY AN D I N DEX
na z ir p l nd -
a a 2 9 ; ttr bu t es
1 2
3 4 32 6 ; C rt h agini an
a i a 32 9 ;
s i gni c tio n
, ,
a nd 8 ; a , 2 1 -
222 e t c 3 9 3 3 Pu nic
S mi i ,
2 , 1 , 3 3o ;
eleve nt h m ont h s cre d to a ,
Mo h m m e d nism 3 3 3 3 a a , 1 ,
2
237 f th
O Pe si ns ( Z oro ster ) e r a a
of B b ylo n ns 3 3 8
,
R A M M A N N I R A R I I Th A nim

- -

. e 33 337 2 a ia ,
n k a nd I g g ii nd 9
a i a 0 d ec y of B bylo n i n 3 7 8 3 7 9
a a a
RE S H E PH K no w n to t h C
,
R A M M A N N R A R I III N bu
, ,

-
I- . a ex . e a
a lte d t e p e nse of Ass h ur b y

a x n n t
aa 3 6 ; th i l g h t m ng
e s, 2 e i
origi n ; i d e nti e d W i t h
,
22 8 g d ; o
R AS H NU Mit h r nd 3 3 7

. a a ,
A p ollo 3 8 , 2
RA SSAM MR H R MU

, Assur O

ZD . R Ho D A N E S Rom nce of Si no
-

a
b n p l s h b y t Ni ne e h
a i -
a

ra r a v n nd 5 6 6
is a -
0
R I M A T BEL I T M oth er of Gil
,
a nd 35 ; ,hi rc h ologic l s a a
e a

-

.
rese rc h es t N ne e h nd t
a a i v a a g m es h 5 8 ; nterp rets Gil
a 1 i
Abu h bb 4 7 ; sto ne t b let

,
g m h d re m

-
a a, a a es64 s a 1
R I M MO N S R m m n
,
fou nd t S p p d by 9 ; a i ar , 2 2

. ee a o
rese rch e t N m d 3 4
a s a i r ,
2 ,
R I T U A L L m e nt tion t Ni p p ur
. a a a ,
99
1 of h e p tosco p y 8 3
2 00 a 2
8 8 ; Z oro stri n re w ors h i p

,
R A WL I N S O N M A J O R ( S R) H E NR Y
,
I 2 a a
C u neifo m w r ti ng nd 6 46 6
.
,
r i a , ce ntr l fe ture of 3 35 a a ,
h is d scove y iN b h d r re e uc a
rezz r 4 ; L y r d nd 3 4
a , 10 a a a , 2,
S
R D I ND IA N S
E T tles of m o nt h s . i
a nd 36 , 2 S A BB A T I C G O A T of . W itc h cr a ft
RE I N A C H Refere nce to 3 3 4 . Mi d d le Ages nd t h 93 a e 2
REL I G I O N
, ,
Akk d i n to ngue -
s . a a S AB I T U Th
-

go d d ess ; Gil
. e se a -
use d s cre d l ngu ge b y

as a a a a g m es h nd 7 ; S i gn C p ri
a a ,
1 2 a
B b y lo ni n p iest h oo d 4 ;
a a r 1 cornus n d 8 3 a 1
rl y B bylo n n 8 8 5 3 J w
, ,
SA C A O n of t h eu nuc h s

ea a ia 1 e . tw e e o
p p o i nte d to w tc h Rh d
,
i h
s 8 8 ; of
, n c e nt Me ico a r x ,
a a o ane s
88 ; V d f I nd i e 8 8 ; S m itic
ic, o a, e an d Si mo nis 5 7
i n ue nce n B bylo ni n 9 Th As i t i c e q u i v le nt
,

o a a , 1 , SA C IE-
A . e a a
9 ; 2 f l s y ste m of B by
o Ci a a of t h S tur n li 3 3 ; festi l
e a a a, va
io ni n and Ass y ri n 9 ; a a 2 of Z k m k or 4 a u , , 1 1
E u p h r tes T igris n B bylo ni n 4
,
Se m t c i i , a -
i SA C R I F I CE -
S. a a ,
2 1 ,
n
ue n 9 ; ce tote m is m n o 2 i 24 2
B by loni n 9 ; syste m of R A B U MA T A T I Th gre t
,

a a 2 S AD i - - - . e a
B b ylo ni o ers h d o w e d
,
m ou nt i n of t h e rt h 3 5
,
in a a, v a a e a 0
SA G G A L T e m p le of Mero d c h
,
b y Mero d c h J t

99 ; a ,
1 a s ro w s . a ,
R lg ne i n B by l m
io nd i a o a a 3 5 0
A y ss q uote d 99
ri a 1 2 1 2 SA K O N

C rt h gi ni n d eity 3 3 a a a o
st r
.
, , ,
a w ors h p th ori gi n of i e S M
A -
UM Y U
As S I N Viceroy of
- -

R .
q uote d
,
B b ylo ni 3 4 ; r ises re olt

,
237 ; f t h S m it o e e es a a, a v
in Assyr i n
,
9 1 ,
cult of t h go d s e , m p ire 3 4 ; h a e ,
is
29 ; 2 co m p r ti e v lue of a a v a de th 34 a
of B b ylo ni nd Assyri
,
th e, a a a a, S AM

Go d d ss of j y 3
K II AT . e o r 1
T euto nic S M M UR A M U T
,
3 3 3 36
1 nd n ; a o A -
Assyri n t itle

-
. a
and C eltic co m p r so ns 3 6 ; a i 1 of S m ir m is S Se m ir m is
e a . ee a
B b ylo ni n typ ic lly SA M SI

, ,
a a , a a ni

A D A D I V R w li nso n
. a
m istic 3 7 3 8 ; w ors h i p of
,
1 ,
1 d isco ers stele of 3 46 v ,
gre t e rt h m ot h er 3 8 3 9 ;
a a -
1 1 SA

R MM N
iii s r -
S n of Sh l A

O . o a
J e w is h 3 9 3 9 ; C n nite
, ,
,
1 -
2 a aa , m n a II ; succee d s h f t h er
e se r is a
0
4 5
MYTH S O F B A B YLO NIA AN D A SS Y RIA
as Ki ng of Assyr i 4 ; S m SA T URN I d e nt i e d wi t h N i ni b a, 2 a

.
,
m m t ur a f ourite of 4 ; a 35 av , 2 2
Ass h ur m e ntione d n i n scri p tio n SA U L M U G I N A Rebell i ous i

.
of 8 20 brot h er of Assur b ni p l 3 4 -
a -
a 0
SA N C H U N A H N
, ,
-
Ph ilo nd SC H R A D E R Ass y r n p oet y nd
-
I -

T O . a , . ia r a ,
p reser e d n w orks of E useb us

v i i ,
3 9 2 SC I E N CE St r w ors h i p t h ori . a -
e
SA O S H Y A N T Th s v i our in .
g in of 3 7 t h root of e 59 a , 2 e s 2
Z oro ster s relig i o n 3 3 7 SC I LL Y I S L A ND S
, ,
a
'
Ph en ci ns in . o i a
SAR A A G A M V ri nts of Mero
, ,

G 33 a a I
- -
.
d ch SC O R P I O SI G N O F G i lg mesh
a 2 02 , . a
Greek e q u i v le nt for
,
SA A nd

R -
K os . 8 a a , 1 2
Sin s rk i n 3 6-
a SC O TL A ND
, Go t d em on d ore d . a -
a
SA D A N A P A L U S T H E SP LE N D I D in

R - - -
93 . 2
Assur b ni p l know n to Greek SC U L P T UR E D i scovery of glo i
,
-
a -
a -
s. r
lege nd 3 K i ng of Assyr i Assur n
,
as , fy ng 1
p l 3 43 ; a, i -
a zrr a ,
3 1 refere nce to in Th G ld n B byloni n d scovere d by d ,

e o e a a , i e
B gh 3 ; Si J m es F r zer
ou , 2 S 35 5 r a a ar z e c ,
on 3 3 4 ; p ro m ne n t fe tures
2 SC Y T H IA N P n tr t i nt o As i a -
s. e e a e
syr i 3 6
,
in lege n d s of 3 3 ; w e v i ng of
,
,
a a,
lege nd of 3 4 SE D U A gu r d i n ( som et im es
. a a
SA R GO N
,
1 Of Akk d fou n d s m l) s p i rit i nvoke d wi t h

. n . a , a e
rst gre t Se m t i c e m p ire in a th L m u 77 i e a ass 2

B bylo ni 6 ; B bylo ni n S U A C i ty bu i l t ut of
,

a a, 1 a a a EL E CI - .
, o
Art h ur 6 ; th lege n d of I ru ns of B bylon 4 2 1 e i a 2
b i rth 6 7 ; i n sio n s S M I R A M IS T H E G R E A T As
, , ,

h is 1 1 va E - -
syr i n Q uee n 49 ; le ge n
, .
,
of Sy r nd P les t i ne 7 ;
ia a a , 1 a , 2 2
E l m nd N M eso p ot m i
a a d y or i g n 5 w i fe of O nnes
. a a. ar i , 2
nd l ter f N i n us
,
o erco m e by 7 ; N r m
v , 6 Niny1 a a a a O , 2 as
Sn i n of 7
so 9: letters n of ,
6 ; e ng ges in b ttle
1 , 1 so , 2 a a
fr n ke d by cl y se ls be r i n g
a St b b t K i n g of I nd i
a a a ra ro a e s, a,
n m a of S rgo n 8 ; rst
e 7 ; f m e of a 8 9; S m , 1 2 a , 2 , 2 a
fou nd er of B b ylo ni n l i br ry m m t h aAssyr n t tle a a ,
ur a a , er ia i
br i cks d iscovere d w i t h W ife of S m s i R m m n

,
18 ; 9; 2 a -
a o
m yt h i c l co nne i o n w i t h
,
n me of n 4 7 ; A h
a , 9 o ,
ss ur s 2 a x
con q uering p o w er nd Is h t r 9 ; w ors hip p e d by a , 2 1 0, a , 2
21 1 ; K ng A i nd ;i th Sy r i n s 7 ; estee me d
zur a , 210 e a , 2 as
Ah imiti n d ; Y r n nd a th d ug h ter of D 2 10 t 7 ; a a a e a e r c a us , 2
d i str i ct ro und L k V n c lle d
, ,
2 10 ; Sin nd 3 ; Bel nd a , 22 a ,
a e a a
22 7 ; N bu ter m e d t h taS eer fter S h mi m g d 8 a a , a ra a er , 2
g u i d es t h go d s SE M I TE S Ger m s of cultur
wh o 8 ; e , 22 . e te
Bu i l d er f t h T e m p le of i d O fro m Akk d i n s by e ce ve a a
En l i l -
4 7 ; h e p t osco p y nd

2 B bylo ni n 3 ; t h e i r lov a a ,
a a , 1 e
2 83 ; p l ce
,
built by u n
a a of w i s d o m 4 5 : B by lo n , , 1 , 1 a
e rth e d t N i ne e h 3 4 ;
a e ntere d by 5 6 ; b l i eve d
a v , 0 , 1 , 1 e
Georg Sm ith n d s fr g m e n ts
e to h ve co m e fro m Ar b i a a a a,
of h i stor y of 3 5 I I U surp i ng 5 6 ; m d e by t h co d e of
2 . . 1 , 1 a e
K h m m ur bi n c i e nt
,
ge ner l cl i m e d d esce n t fro m

a ,
a nd a a , 2 1 a , a
S r go n t h
a Gre t 3 ; f t h er go d s 8 9 ; serp e nt lo t h e d by
e a , o a , a ,
of Se nn ch er i b 3 a 89 ; ni m i st i c i n ue nces ;
,
0
p 2 a a
SA R R A P A N U T g l t h p l II p e l of to 3 8

- -
i a -
i e se r a ,
1
SE M I T I C E m p i re rst gre t
.
,
c p tures 99
a 2 .
, a ,
found e d in B by lo ni by S
,
SASS A N I AN
-
Rulers 333

-
. ,
a a ar
406
go n of Akk d 6 relig i ous a , 1 a nd , 156, 1 65 ; K h m m ur b i a a
t h oug h t 3 5 Z w ors h i p n d , 2 a , a nd , 1 87 ; Zn c p ture d b y
a ,
l m e nt tio ns 5 3 p olyt h eis m

a a ,
2 1 Mero c
95 ; nd ; da h a 2 00
cult of n Assyri
,
3 3 1 co nser tis m 3 6 cults va , 1 3 ; ,

i a, 222 , 22
B bylo ni n i n ue nce u p o n 3 4 ;
a a 2 se e t h m o nt h s cre d to 3 6 ;
v n a , 2
C n nitis h g d 3 5 N b n
,
religio n 3 9 3 3 p eo p les ;
, 2 ,
1 a a aa o ,
2 a o i
p eculi r p eo p le 3 3 f it h gre t

a a 2 a d nd us
3 77 Th a . 2 . e a
i nclu d es v rious m nifest
, , ,
a a a i d ol of 49 ,
2
tio ns 3 3 , 2 S H AR RU I L U O n of t h

lesser-
. e e
S N NACH E RIB
E -
S n f usur p i ng

-
. o O B b ylo ni n go d s 9
a a 22
SH A TT
,
ge ner l S rgo n 3 ; c m p ig n
a a ,
o a a EN I E c t o ns N L . x av a i
of g i nst H ezek h 3 Ni e
a a ia o n lo ng b nk of by H y nes
a a a
h built b y 3 ; E s r h d d o n
, , , ,
ve 0 a a 365
-
Q U EE N O F
,
n of t kes n ucleus of S T gl t h

so 3 1 a HE E A . i a
I I q u rrels W t h 3
,
Assur b ni p l s li b r ry fro m
,
p l

-
a -
a a i e se r a i 01
C l h 5 4 soot h s yers nd h SH E PH E RD
,
a a , 1 a a is Th n th of t h . e su e, e
de th 6 ; L y d d isco eries st rs 3 6 En lil of t h d rk

a , 2 0 a ar s v a , 2 -
, e a
in p l ce of 3 4 5 a a h e d e d p eo p le a 54 2
SH E PH E RD K I N G T
, ,
SE R P E N T Th nc i e nts . nd t h e a a e ,
D o n of , HE, a ,
2 89 e q ui le nt A bu t h va i e P n t b bl n a i i o , 1 1 2
SH I N A R PL A I N O F B by lo n
,
e ne m y 89 2

, . a
S ET 0. n d refere n ce to
5 11 1 5 a 33 1 b uilt n 5 o 2
A w e lt h y B b ylo ni n SH U L G UR
, , ,
S ET A-

Po . a a a V ri n t of Nin Cirsu
-
. a a -
h r b ours S n n
,
wh o a 59 i o is, 44 I
SE V E N SPH E R E S T H E ST A G E S S n of U b r

S

or H U RI P P A K -
. 1 . o a a
A b uil d i ng t h w o n d er of T utu 7 3 C ity of 7 7 7 8

.
,
e 1 . 2 .
, I 1
SH U T U
, , ,
B O I Si
pp 4 a, 10 V ri n t of Sout h W nd

. a a i
SE V E N T A B LET S O f cre t i o n
,
. a 71 1
p i m ry ob j ect of 7 SI E I Th g d 8

r a 1 . e o 10
SH A D R A C H O n of D ni el s
, ,
SI C I LY W ors h i p of A h t t

m

. e a co . s ar
p n io n s 3 8
a ( Is h t r ) t 3 7 a a 2
SH A L
, ,
M R I K ng of As SI D D A Th te m p le 3 6

A N E SE~
. i . e 0
SI D O N T yre nd n touc h w i t h
,
syri 3 8 T k lt
a, 2 2 Aris t i
,
0 u u i ih - -
,

. a , i
so n of ; Nusku nd 22
4 ; a 22 Assyri 3 7 ; A h t t or I h a, 2 s ar s
i nsc i p tio n of u ne rt h e d by
, ,
r , a t te m p le of n 3 7 E hm n
ar, ,
i ,
2 s u
George Sm t h 3 5 i 1 w ors h i p p e d t 3 8 a 2
SH A L M A N II K i ng of As SI G N L eo V i rgo
, ,
G m ni

- -
E S ER .
-
s er ,
T urus Scor p io 8 C p ri
, ,
syri n successio n to Assur

a i a 1 2 a
co n us A q u rius Pisces 8 3
, ,
n zir p l I I I
a -
4 ; o ert h ro w s
a 2 v r a 1
TO W E R S O F P
, , , ,
A h b Ki g of Isr el 4 ;
a ,
n a , 2 SI LE N CE , . a I Si s
'
S m si R m m n
a -
n of 4 ; a o so , 2 d e d nd t h a 336 a e,
th g d D d
e nd
o 8 9 ; Mero a a a ,
1 S IN ( p er h p s p ro n S W ) Th a . . e
d ch a ( 3 1) d 5 0 an , 2 2 22
'
m oo g d 94 3 n- 4 ; rule d o , ,
22 , 22
d isco ery of o b el sk of U r 94 ; Sh m s h n of
,
v i ,
t
a , a a so ,
d e d ic tio n s of u ne rt h e d 3 5 9 ; Is h t r d ug h ter of 8 '
a a 1 1 0 a a ,
12
SH A L M
, ,
-
IV
A NE S ER
~
Successor

. Gilg m es h d eli ere d by 7 a v ,
1 0 ,
of T g l t h p l i III 3 a -
i e se r 0 Gilg m es h resorts to 8 ; a , I 0
SH A M AS H T e m p le of t S p
,

1 a i ecli p ses nd g d 5 6 ; a o 2 a
C i tis h g d 3 5
.
,
b y N bo i d us
,
p ar, restore d a n a na a n o 2
PE N I N S U L A Se m it i c
, ,
d ore d Si p p r

4 ; 1 t a 91 ; a a , S i N A iT Ic - -
.
th e n g d su 9 ; -
n of o 10 -
I I I so religio n n 3 3 i 1
S N O N IS
, ,
S in, 9; A co nsort of
10 ; a, 1 10 I -
Ro m nce of G m

a ar us

.
,
Is h t r nd 3 ; Gilg m es h
a a ,
1 0 a a nd , 56 60
07
4
S N A IS KIN L st K i ng of S IL Y A T m m uz co m p re d

i -
S R -
. a T . a a
Assyri 3 6 t h S k of a, w i th 7 e a ra os , 1 2
th Greeks 3 6
e ST O N E Th Mo b i te 9 ; . e a 1 0 ex
SH A R I S K UN
, ,
S Th l st re m in d b y Professors S in

IN - -
E . e a a e oc
p rese t t ve of t h n a iAss y ri n nd Sm nd 9 e a a e 1 0
B A TE S Ki ng of I ndi ;
,
d y n st y 3 6 4 ST R A

a -B Ro -
. a
SI P P A R Sh m s h w ors hi p p e d t Se m i r m i s m kes w
,

. a a n 6 7 a , a a ar o 2 2
9 ; A w ors h i p p e d
, ,
SU M E R I M o d ern q i
1 0 t a ; a , 1 1 0 - -
AN . e u va
Ab H bb b t h u~ nc e n t S ite
a le t for t h old p ress i o n
a e a r n e ex
subst i tutes
,
of 7 7 B , I Akk d i n 5 e r o ss u s , a a ,

1
for Sh ip p k 7 8 ; Kh m SU Mero d ch s i d eogr p h i s
ur a 1 a N . a

a
i m p rove m e nts t
,
m bi
u ra

s th k now n t h W y a , e , 2 02 as e a
8 7 ; Sh m s h s te m p le t of An Bull of

1 a a34 ; t h a , u, 2 e
249 L igh t 9
2 0
T e m p le of n g d S GO D S G d s
,

SI P P A- R A . su -
o , UN- . ee o .
Mr R m d sco ers 4 7 9 SU P E R S T I T I O N I n Ch l de 8
assa i v , ,
2 2 -
S. a a, 2 0,
S IS U T RU S Th F loo d Myt h
-

E 8 . e 2 1
and 4 5 . SU SA Mo nu m e nt of N r m Sin
. a a -
SI W A N Mont h s cr d to 8 m 3 6 u ne rt h e d by d Morg n t 7 ;

. a e 2 a e a a , 1
SM I T H GE O R G E Refere nce to
,
,
co p y of Kh mm ur b i s co d e
. a a

arc h ologic l l bours 46 5 5

ae fou nd t by J d Morg n
a a , ,
1 , a , . e a , 2 1
3 47 3 5 4 ; d isco er y of Bel SU S I L ngu ge ; ltern

-
v ,
re ,
-
AN . a a a a
1 01 d scover y of T gl t hi ti e Me d i n 6 5 re i a v , a ,
II 99 ; B bylo i n SU S I N
,
p l i e se r I d ol of 3 4
2 a n a

-
AY . 0
n d Ass y r i n p oetr y n d 3
,
P lest i ne nd i nv de d
,
a S Y R IA a a ,
22 . a a , a
SM Y R N A Mot h er of A d o ni s by S rgo n 7 ; w orship f

. , a , I O
refere ce to 7 n H d d in 8 8 ; t h C n ni tes
, 1 2 a a , 1 e a aa
SO U L Su p p ose d to res i d e in t h
. rst d w ellers in 3 4 e 2
SY S TE M of rel i gi o n
,
liver 8 2 1 O f l -
S . Ci a ,
SP AI N Moh mm e d ni s m in 3 3 nd Ass y ri
,
. in B b y lo ni
a 9 a 2 a a a a, 2
SP E A K I N G H E A D L b n
,
T of religio n in B by l m 99 ; HE . a a a o a, 1
reli g ous of ncie nt M e i co
,
an d 67 2 i a x
SP I R I T Ass y i n 7 7 78
, , ,
-
s. Gu tem l n d Y uc t n ; re
r a 2 , 2 a a a, a a a
F i rst ki g to re i gn
,
S

fere nce t o 4 ; H ellen c nd
Rom n 3 5 ; reli gio nsJu d
O K K A R os -
. n 20 i a
in B b ylo ni
,
fter t h d eluge
a a a e , a 2 a
i m C h i st nit y
,
15 7 E li t h gr n d so n of 57 an e Moh mm e d a , 1 s r ia a
3 3 ; of rel i g ous r ces

,
SOO T H SA YE R S
,
Se nn c h erib nd n m . a a a is 1 i a
in As i
, ,
26 0 Mi nor 3 4 Z t h u a 2 a ra s
M g i str te w h
,
S O R A C CH -
U

tr s m or l 3 3 4
S. a a , o a

a
se n d s Si mo ni s to B bylo n 5 8
,
a ,
S o R CE R E Rs Ch ld e d th . a an , an e
m g c ircle
a i 75 76 C
T 2 , 2
SR O S H A
,
Soul c rri e d by t

A -
. a o
T A LET H I LL H ynes di
,
th be y ond 3 3 6 3 3 7
e

B .

a

s
F or m e d b y Belus
, ,
ST A R -
S. 5 ; i t 36 ; t h tem p l ,
1 1 c ov e r e s a , 0 e e
B bylo ni n w ors h i p of 3
a libr ry n 3 6 3 K ng N b n
a , 2 1 a i i a o i
( N b o ni d us )
,
d eogr p h t h s m e for se fou nd t

238 ; i d a e a os a va a ,
n th

g d nd
o 34 ; th a 364 2 e su e
T A B LET S T w elve of t h Gilg
,
s h e p h er d of t h 36 ; Ann e, 2 .
, e a
th Pole 3 6 ; Bel t h Pole

e m es h e p ic 5 5 5 8 5 9 ;
2 e 1 1 I
m i n t i o n of
, , , ,
( e q u tor ) 36 ; E
a n d st r d et ile d e 2 6 a a a a xa a , 1 1
in co nstell t i o n
,
Argo 3 6 ; 8 ; of Desti ny 93 95 ;
a , 2 1 0 ,
1 -
1
-g zers of C h l d e 5 8
a cu ne i form d e l ng w i t h m g ic
a a, 2 , a i a ,
408
G LO SS A RY AN D I NDEX
261 , 2 62 refere nce to 4 ; of D go n
; Su rp u a nd M klu a , , 1 1 a ,
ser es of 6 ; t h
i t As h d o d nd G z
2 2 5 ; of e d eluge a a a a, 1 1
Mero d c h t B by lo n 8 5
, ,
d iscovere d by Sm it h 3 4 7 3 5 , , 1 , a , a a , I ,
35 ; d isco ere d b y R
2 m 3 74 of Ass h ur 7 of S n t
v a ss a 20 i a
C l h
, , ,
3 5 4 ; of N b p l Ne b u 3 ; ap riest h oo d
o cult o a ss e r , a a , 22
of B b y lo ni
,
c h d a N b md C yrus
re z z a r , nd 39 4
a o us , a 2 2 1 a a
C m b yses nd D rius 3 5 8
, ,
a n d Assyri a 4 5 ; ol d est a a a, 2 2 2 1
T A B OO Pr y ers etc g i nst n B b ylo i
, , ,
E Kur

a w 48 a a i a n a, as 2
-
. .
b n ks 5 b egu n by E s r
, , , ,
2 6 ; b h f
2 n n Ch l d e e e i ,
i a a, as a ,
2 0 a
2 78 ; kno w n n B b y lo ni h d d o n 3 5 ; S gg l of Mero i a a as a ,
0 a a ,
m m t a 78 z 2 d ch 3 5 Si d d 3 6 of A h a , 0 a, 0 s
T A M M U Z O n f t h gu rd ns
,

. t rt Is h t r t Si d o n nd
e O e a ia a or a , a a
of t h g tes of h e e n 8 ; e Askelo n 3 7 ; to A p ollo 3 3 ;
a av ,
1 1 , 2 , o
Is h t r s se rc h for 6 m yt h
a

Z oro stri n 3 3 5 of Nebo 3 48 ;
a 12 a a

, , ,
of 6 9; n m
1 2 e d eri e d
- of B
1 2 bylo n 3 73 3 75 a v a
from Dum u 6 ; Professor T E R A H F t h er of A b r h m 5

, ,

Zi , 12 . a a a , 1 ,
S yce a nd 6 ; d d resse d a 5 1 2 a as 2
T E S T A M E N T O D Nerg l m n
,
s h ep h erd nd lor d n Akk a i a , L . a e

d i n h ym n
a 6 ; Is h t r n t n d n , 5 D gon n 5
1 2 a ,
co io e i , 10 a i ,
1 1 ,
sort f 7 ; A d o nis m yt h
o , 5 ; D i d of t h
1 2 9 I 2 av e, 1 0
rel te d to t h t of 3 ; S
a p oetic l form of 3 a 1 1 ir a 22
J m es F r zer s G ld B g h T E U T O N I C C eltic relig i o n nd
, ,

a a o en ou . a ,
a nd 34 ; l m e nt tio ns for
1 com p re d 3 6 3 7 a a , a 1 1
T E T S C UN E I F O R M S C u nei
, , ,
1 35 36 4 ;, g d of veget
1 , 1 0 a o a X , . ee
t o n 3 7 3 8 N n G ( Sh ul
i 1 fo m 1 i -
i r su r
gur ) i d e nti e d W i t h 4 ; t h T E T S M A G I C A L D w k in l
, ,
14 e X . a a a
b r d egroom of Is h t r s yout h
, ,
l d d to n 97 ; Ann m e ntio ne d

i a u e i 1
9 ; Ni n i b nd
, ,
1 6 7 ; D i d o nd in 97 98 ;
a ser es k no w n
, 1 0 a , , 1 , 1 a i as
2 1 6 M klu 6 6 a

2 1 2 2
T M Mu A D O N IS PO C A Refere nce to
, ,
A

W ors h p p e d
z -
T -
A

. i Ez C -
T LI - -

.
n C rt h ge 3 3
,
i a a o 2 22
T A M T U Ass y ri n term S g nify TH A L A T H C h l d i c e q uiv le n t

,

. a i -
. a a a
d ee p for Om
i ng th 7 e 4 se a , 2 or c a , 1 1
T A N I T Go dd ess of t h h e ve ns TH E IAS K I N G Refere nce to 3

. e a . I 2
D EE P
, ,
m oo n ; co m p re d W it h T h m or
' '
a nd t h e T w th a o ia a a
D e m eter 3 3 ; i nscr p tio ns to p r llel to t h Old T est m e n t
0 i a a e a
3 3 ; i d e nti e d W it h D i d o 3 3
, ,
0 e p ressio n 7 1 x 2
Go d d ess h o noure d t THOM E S F re nc h e p lor tio n

, ,
TA N

I TH . a . x a ex
C rt h ge 3 8
,
a a p d t n nd 2
3 47 e i io a
Ne b o s co nsort THO T H Refere nce to 8 5
, ,
TA

sH IT , 1 02 , .
, 1 ,
2 22 ,
1 85 8 6 ; p tro n of w riti n g
I a ,
TH UND E R B I RD Nort h Am eric n

,
85
I -
.
-
a
T A U RU S SI G N O F Re p rese te d

I nd i n co nce p tio n 93 . n a 1
b y t h sl yi ng of t h celesti l TH UND E R G H d d 8 S 8 9
, ,
e a e a -
OD . a a a I 1
b ull Alu 8
, ,
T MA V ri nt of T t h
I 2 I A-

I . a a i a ii a
T ELL A M R A N Mou nd of 3 74
, , ,

7 .
, 1
T EL L O-
E rn est d S T W V r nt T i m t 7 c a r zc c s
'
re i A

A TH . a ia a a 1
llel to O ld T est m e n t
, .
s rc h es t 3 5 5 3 5 6
ea a p a a ra a
T E MP LE O f Bel 5 7 ;
, ,
-
S e p ressio n T 7 ( 101 10 22 x 1 0 : 01
f Ne b o nd T h m t
, ,
O of E a 7 73 h ill W ill to w rd t h
as i ,
1 02 a 2 , er -
a e
a nd Nusku ; f B l nd g o d s of h e 76 78 ; h 1 02 O e a eav n, -
er
d e t h b y Mero d c h
,
An u, of Belus refere ce
1 02 , 78 99 ; n a a , , 1
to 3 ; of E I I I ; of Belus
,
10 th h of J o n h nd 8 7 ;
a, , e

s a a ,
409
c h os 93 ; sl ugh ter of m T
a , 1 N C r t h g i ni n d e i t y a , e S A PH O

. a a a ,
acte d ; th h ost of 2 01 3 ; 33 e 2 2 0
N AR IS T I
, ,
n t th
o o nl y B b y lo n n m n TU U
e S n of a ia o R -
L Tr r

- - -

. o
ster 8 9 2 Sh lm eser I ; t kes B by lon a an a a
T I G L A T P I L E S E R I Altern nd sl y s its ki n g B t ly
,

E - -
. a a a ,
i i a su , 2 2
ti e T k l t p l E s ri Ki g TU U L T I N N
v , u u i S n of Sh l
-
a - -
a a, n K -

-
I

I P. o a
of Assyri 3 g d Bel ( En lil ) a, 2 m I nscri p t ons of 3 5 o -
a n e se r i i 1
T Y R E Si d o n nd n t ouch W t h
,
and 95 ; , Is h t r nd a a , 2 1 2 . a , i i
Ni ib nd n 4 6 ; Sh
a Assyr 3 7 ,
2 1 ,
21 a i a, 2
m s h nd a Mero d c h nd
a ,
222 a a ,
2 27 ; R wh n d scovers a n so i ah
n l of 3 46
a s
U
T I G L A T P I L E S E R I I T les of
,

E - - . a ,
U B A R A TU T U

299 3 01 Sh ip p k n - - -
. ur a so
T IG L

A P I L E S E R 1 1 1 Seco nd
TH -
of 7 3 -

. 1
Assyr n Em p ire com m e nce d U E S H U KE N N A ( or Up h k k in

,

ia -
s u a
W th i 9; co q uers B b ylo n
, 2 k ) Th bri lli nt Ch m ber n a u . e a a
and is i n este d W it h t h sove v w h ere t h un t kes h r se e e s a is i ,
gnt y of Asi 3 6
re i a,
T I G R I S Th r ver 6 3 4
. U e U B b ni nd 9 6 3
i ,
20 , 2 K H

T . a a a 12 1
TO L TEC S Refere nce to Aztecs
, ,
n of t h s cre d w om en of t h

.
, o e e a e
and 6 7 22 t e m p le of Is h t r
22 63 a 1
TO N G U E S B by lo ni n tow ers U U MU ( Se zer) Atte nd nt
, , ,

. a a KK -
i . a
and lege nd of q n of 4 7 h ou nd of Mero d c h c on io a 2 02
lege nd of nq n of fou nd n U ND E R W O R L D T
, ,
co 5 8 io i HE, 12 1 2
C e ntr l Am er c 4 8 ; m o ng B b ni d esce nd s
, , ,
a 3 36 ; i a, a 1 2 , 1 a a
Afric n tr bes som e such m yt h
a i nto 6 d escr p t i o n of in
i , 1 0 i ,
fou nd 49 ; cert i n A t h n VI I t h of Gilg m es h t blets 69 a us ra a a a 1

U R C it y from w h e ce Abr m
, ,
and Mo n goli p eop les p ossess an . n a

a S i m il r tr d itio 4 9 a c me a ne r nei g h bour of n, a a a
TOO T H A C H E MYT H A
,
6 E ri d u colonize d by Ni p p ur 5 2 2 1
TO TE M IS M Signs of n B by l
, , , ,
. f ll of t h d yn st y N nn , i a o a e a , 2o a ar,
n i n rel gio
a 9 i th m oo n g d
n, f 45 49 2 e -
o O 1 -
1
TO W E R O F B A B EL L ege nd o f
, ,
t h m oo n C t y 49 5 . e -
i ,
2 , 2 1
confusio n f to gues d 47 U R A Th legend of 6 8 7 O n an .

. e 2 -
2 0
B b el G A L 75
, ,
S ee a UR -
A- 1
T R EE A d o ni s nd m yrrh 3 7 U R B A U B llu d e d to in in
,

-
s . a 1 . au a
D ms a d t m r sk 3 7 Attis
an pt n a of 4 4 ; Z ikkur t
a i 1 sc ri io s 1 a
3 8 ; T m m uz b uilt by t Ni p p ur 48
,
an d p i ne 37 1 ,
1 a , a 2
U R G A A to w n n Mesop ot m i
,
nd ce d r

a 38 a I . i a a
T R IA D S T ri i t y e q uiv le nts C m t nd D i r
,
. ee n a a ra i a a
T R I B A L D I V I N I T I E S Th m ost b ekr 5
,
. e , 2
outst nd i ng 94 a U GU K ng of Ass y i 3 5 9 R- R . i r a,
T R I N I TY A T w t h Ap su nd
, ,
.
366 ia a a
U NIN I B
, , ,
M mm u 74 ; Bel E u, nd Reference t p ve , a, a R -

. o a
An 97u, 9 96 98 ; m e nt of 3 6 61 1 1 , 1 1 , 1 -
1 ,
U RU C n nitis h g d of l i gh t
,
En h l Ann

E
-
nd , ; a, a , 1 21 . a aa o
of e rt h i nd a 97 ; n m e fou nd n U
a r, S hm 3 5 a se a , 1 a i r u- a , 2
R m m n S n nd Sh m s h U U A A G G A B u s tem p le t
,
'
a a ,
i ,
a a a , R -
z -
. a a ,
2 19 E Ann nd Bu h l evolve da, 45 a 1

U R U K Pl ce 8 4
,
from d em ons 6 8 2

. a
C i lg
,
U RU K I N A B u llu d e d t
,
T Th h u ter ;

S AI D U . e n a -
AG -
. a a o
m es h E b ni nd , 63 66a n i nscri p t o n s of
a 44
, a ,
1 -
1 i i , 1
10
4
G LO SS A RY A N D I N DEX
Ur NAP- -
I SH TI M.

V r nt of WE S TE R G AA RD Me d i an l ngu a ge
a ia . a
No h 6 6 ; h ero of B by
a 1 1 1 0 a a nd , 65
l n n d eluge m yt h gures n O U T H Ad
, ,
o ia i W I ND S . a
pa a nd the
6
, , ,
Gilg m es h ep ic 5 5 5 8 6 ;
a sto y of ; ri nt I I 1 0 r 1 1 1 21 va a
Gilg m es h s ncestor 7 7 3
, , , , ,
Sh utu

a 7 a 1 0 1 1 1
W I ND O W S No ne in N b h d
, ,
Gilg m es h seeks secret of p

a er . e uc a
l h f fro m p l ce t B b ylo n 3 6 9

p t e ua 73 78 ; t h e 1 1 e re z za r s a a a a
-
W I TC H
, ,
d eluge m y t h nd 73 78 K now n a K pl , 1 -
1 . as a ssa u,
U U
I -
U G h ost of E b n d
KK 6 nd n g 7

7 5 ; orgies a a i e 2 1 - i 2 2 2 -
n F r n ce
. ,
gn t d
Si 8 ; n a el sp r t 93
1 1 a e vr i i i a 2
W I Z A RD S 6 6 3
, , ,
276 Priestl y .
, 2 0 2 2
U z G d w ors h p p e d u nd er form
. o k no w n K p 6 i as a ssa a, 2 1
of go t 93 9 a W O RD a P W T 2 Th 2 0F O F R, HE e
J O N A T H A N B N Th m g ci ns of C h l d e
, ,
U

zz I E L , nd 63 E . e a i a a a a 2
W O R S H I P Of go d s b y go d s 7 7 ;
, ,
t rgum of 6 7
a ,
2 .
,
f go d s u nd e r ni m l form s 9 O a a ,
2 ,
93 : of Bel 98 ; of Sh 1 01 a
-
V
,
m sh 9; of A ; of a ,
10 a, 1 10
V A MP I R S B bylo ni n 6 4 6 6
Is ht r 4 ; of D go n 5 ; a , 1 2 a , 1 1
V A N L ke 3 3
E
of Mero
.
d ch 84 a
85 ; of a ,
2 2
a 1 1
b
, ,
.
Ne
a
o 84 85 of 1
H d d n 1
V AS H T I Refere nce to 4 ;
,
, , 1 a a ,
i
.
Syr 8 8 ; of t h S n g d n I 2
F r zer n 43
,
ia , 1 e u -
o i
a
VE D I C G O D S Refere nce to 7 7 C o
n nd , 1
Ph n 9 a na a a ce i Ci a , 1 0
d o or D d b y t h S i d e of

of D o .
V E G ET A T I O N E n li l ( Bel ) g d
,
o , e
Y h eh 9 ; of R m m n
.
-
9
, a o
a v 1 0 a a 2 1
of 96 ; Is h t r gre t m ot h er
,
; of Aztecs a
d T oltecs
, a
220
,
an
, ,
of 3 3 7 3 8 6 8 ; se e n
, I 2 ,
6 7
I
of st rs ,
B b ylo
1
ni n , 1 v
2 2 2 2 a a
,

a
g tes of Ar lu nd t h d ec y
a
3 8 ; lu n r
a
3 6 ; m oo n
a e a
2 1
,
2
, ,
of 3 7 ; T m m uz g d of
,
1
3
49 ; Se m tic nd l m e nt
a , a o ,
2 i
a ,
a
2
a a
I
37 38 4 ; , A d o nis nd I
tio ns 5 3 ; of t h
, I
g zelle
0
nd
a
2
,
e a a
A p h rod ite co nnecte d W it h 3 9 go t f gre t e rt h
1
,
2
C eres 9 94 ; 2
,
a 2 O a a
m m ot h er
,
39 ; m ot h er 3 8 3 9
a co
f ncestors
1
-
, ,
1 1 O a
Proserp i ne s m e n ture 3 9 C nites 3 6 ;
,
of
a
Moloc h a , 1
a na a
, ,
2
O m si ntro d uce d corn nto
s
3 8 ; C rt h gi n i n
3 9 33 ;
i
2 a
,
a a 2 2
,
E gyp t 3 ; Mord ec i g d ,
Z oro 1
stri n
0
33
336 of re a as o
a a 2
,
of 4 4 H m m n n E l m ite
,
1
3 3 5 etc
u a a a
, , ,
g d of
.
W R I T I N G C UN E I F O R M R t
,
o 44 I
VE NU S St r ; A b r m nd 5 5 ;
,
, . e s o ra
te m p le of 5 8 ; Is h t r nd 4
.
tio n of 6
a
6 7 ; Jos p h t B
a a ,
0 a a ar
b ro nd 6 ; Pietro d ll
, a a , 12 ,
a a , 1 c a
2
35
V I R GO SI G N O F Is h t r nd V lle nd 6 ; S Jo hn a a 1 ir
C b
,
,
h r d i n nd 6 Nie u h r nd . a a
a a , 1 a
th 8
,
e, 1
6
2
; Ty h n nd 6 ; M n 1 c se a , 1 u
ter nd 6 Georg G t f nd a ,
1 ro e e ,
W d 6 Professor L sse n nd an ,
2 a a ,
63 ; Bu nou t nd 6 3 ; M j or r a a
W R Is h t r g o d d ess of
,
A 7 H e n ry R aw li n so n n d 6
4 66 I2 a a
g d Ni ni b
, , , ,
2 1
3 4 , 2 1
4 ; V) t g
, d nd-
6 5 ; Mor is
o , a, 2 1 es e r aa r a , r
g d
-
R mm no , d 6 5 ; L Ow
a t an nd 6 5 a, 22 1 an , e ns e r a
W R A W ork of L oftus
,
A -
H t . H i ks nd 65 ; L gp a , n a , on ri e r
nd 66 ; origi of 6 6 6 7 ; a n
Pu i c tio n by 7
,
A TE R
, ,
n obe lisk of Sh l m neser I I

r a 2 0 o a a
O F D E A T H Gilg m es h
, ,
VV A TP RS 343 . a
crosses 5 8 5 9 WR I T I N G
, I Religio ns of B by
, I -
s. , a
11
4
MYTH S O F B A B YLO NIA AND AS S Y RIA
lo ni 6 7 of O nnes 3 6
a, Z A RA H U a RA S Z oro s t r 1 1 1 1 - -
T S T

. ee a e
Nebo cre dite d like E W it h t h Z A R A N UM Go dd ess w i f
,

a, e -
P -
I T . e
i n ent o n of 8 5 T s hm it
, ,
v i of Mero d c h 8 6 1 ; E lu a a 1 2 02 a r
m lg m te d w i t h
, , ,
p tro n of
a 8 5 ; st rs t h of1 a86 e, a a a a 1
Z r t h ustr i n Z EC H A R I A H Allus i o n of t
, , ,
he en 3
-
av 2 1 a a a -
.
, o
H d d Ri mm on 8 9
,
s cre d 33 4
a a a -
1
Z E D K I A H K ng of Jerus lem ;
, ,

E -
. i a
Nebuch d rezz r nd 3 7 a a a ,
X Z E U S Reference to 3 3 5 . 1 2, 1
G V ri nt of A p su 7
,
Z I A RUN -
a 2
K I N G Refere nce t
-
a
XER XES
.
K
,
,
Z I U RAT
.
St ge d to w ers ; o, -
K - -
S. a
I 4 1E st h er t h cro w n n m e of ,
d escr b d e
4 46 ; o f Assur
-
a
i e 2 2, 2
J e w s h wife of 43
i
b n p l 365
, 1
a i- a
,
Z I R A T B A N I T Th se t of 3 6
,

-
. e a 0
ING
,
Y
Z U HR K B is -

T OS, . e rossu s
subst tu t s for Ut N p i h tim i e ,

-
a s ,
YA H W E H Th H ebre w n m e of

e a
Si g ns of t h
.
G d 4 9 ; w ors h p of by t h

o
Z A i
in th e
o DI c . e, e
,
S i d e of D o d o by t h Isr eli t es B b y loni n s t rologi c l s y stem

e
,
a
a a a a ,
t h go t n of
, ,
1 0
83 3 3 ; 1 2 1 2 2 e a o e
9 , ,
YA R A N S rgon nd

a
t h S i gn s of t h
a 9 2 1 0, 2 1 1
e e, 2 2
Z OG A N E S Th of t h S
.
,
YEA R N W S N w

4
-
e, e a c asa , I 2
E ee
.
e
AS TE R Th re ligion of
.
,
Z R O -
o -
. e ,
33 h t form of n m 2 e ar es a e
Z Z r t h ustr 3 3 3 ; Me de a a a, a
nd ev i l p r i nc i p les
,
3 3 3 ; goo d a
Z A B Th i er 7
. e r v of religio n of 3 3 4
20
ZA G M U K U (Z k mul ) F es t i l Z U Th storm g d ; ret i ne d
, ,

-
a -
e va e -
o a a
bi rd l ke form 93 9395
. .
of S em or 4 ; go d d ess
a a 1 1 - i 1 1

, , ,
B au nd 5 a 2 lege n1d of 93 95 1 1
Z A K M U K S Z g
,
Z U B I RD
,
-
m u ku
. ee Th bir d 0
a in A .
-
. e 1 0, ra
Z A M A M A C ourt of Is h t r nd

. bi n N ig h t p oss ble d ese n a a , a s, a i e
1 01 d n t of 93 a , 1
H ERO TAL ES er L EG END S
OF T H E SERB I AN S
By WOISLAV M PETROVI TCH , At t ac h t o t h e Se rb an Royal
. i
Le ga ion t o t r
t h e C ou rt o f St J a m e s t h a P e fac e by . Wi
M C HEDO MIYATOVICH fo m e l y Se rbi n Mi ni ste r
.
,
r r a to the
Court of St J a m e s I ll ust ra t e d w i t h 3 P l a t e s in . 2 C olou r
by W I LL I AM SEWEL L and G I L B ERT J A MES Full . I nde x .
4 2 0 p ag e s . Size 8 2x 5 %inc h e s . 1 2 5. 6 d ne t . .
A warm int e re st w i
be a t ac t e d t o t h is a c c ount
symp at h e t c i ll tr
of t h e le ge nd s a nd fo t a e s of t h e a ia nt lk l
t e na o n by w h o e -
v l lit l ti s
i
s de t h e A ie d P ow s ll
ange d t h e m se e s in t h e G re at War
er r lv .
We are p roud of our vic or e , says M Ch c d o Miyat ovic h ,

t i s .
r
in h is admi a ble int rod uc t on t o t h e vo um e ,
but w e a t e r i l t
o urse lve s t h at our nat on m a y w in sym p at h y and re p e c t by i s
il
o t h e r t h an m it ary fe at ure s o f our nat o na c h arac t e r We w h i l . is
t h at our B rit sh frie nd s sh ould i
no w our na t o n as it is We k i .
i
w sh t h e m t o be ac qua nt e d w t h our nat ona p syc h o ogy

i i i l l .
NO be t t e r or more att rac t i e mea ns t o t h e at t a nm e nt of t h e nd v i is

c ould be d e s re d t h a n a p e rusal o f t h e p ag e s o f M P e t rov it c h s
i
.
book I n it we are give n not on y t h e d e igh t fu st o e s a nd

. l l l ri
ballads an d an ac c ount o f t h e c ur ous sup e r t ons h a t h a e i s iti t v
p asse d on from ge ne rat ion t o g e ne ra t on of t h is re m a ab i r k le
ri i
p e op le , but a d e sc p t o n o f Se rb an ma nne rs a nd c ust o m s, a nd i
t
t h us m any a p ee p in o t h e re al e e ryd ay l fe of Se rb a as it h as v i i
be e n a nd is Th e book is w ort h y i ust ra e d wi h t h rt y t wo
. il ll t t i -
p ls t c s in c o ours l .

Fu l l o f ch a r m l r f l g nd h r i nd p p
su d Int e re st for ov e s o e e s, e o c a o u
la r Bu t th d t il f S r bi n l i f
e nd i
s rti l r h m rri g
O e a a n cu a t e
th m th i r p i l u ; d t h b k W ill b w l m d
. e a e, a a a e
t
c us om s, giv e e e s ec a avo r an e oo e e co e
p r p rl y p n t h rm f th n i nt

by a ll w h o a re o e o e o e c a o th
e se a c e s c lm p h m
cs .
Time : L it e r a ry Supp lement .

Th s de g h fu i
li t l b l lu b l
o ok is not on y v a a i r cti
e fo r it s nt o d u on t o t h e
r rb t t ri r tr ic t i r
le genda y h e ro e s o f t h e Se s , and t o h a w ar o p o e y w h h is h e
t r i u i rt l rit bl t r u ti l
m os p e c o s nh e i a nc e ; it is a so a v e a e s o e h o se o f Se t h na o na
t
cus o m s , a nd of sup e s r ti t i
o ns w hic i l i C it
h are of c ur o us y m x e d h r s ia n and
ri
p a g a n o g in

D a i /) Ck r am t le
. .
T h
tud nt f m p t i f lk l r
o t e s w ll
e ot th l yr d r
co s rs vc o -
o e , as e as o e a en e .
th i b k h ul d p r i nt r ti g d i tru ti
s oo s o It th r
ov e i tr i g
e es n an ns c ve . ows sn n e e st n
li g h t hon h r t r nd m i nd f h S b
t e c a ac e d h uth r by h i im p l
a o t e er an t e a o s s e,
tr i gh t f r w d t ll i g f t h t i d m h r p d
, ,
s a o ar re e n h r gg d
o e s o r e s, oe s uc to e ro uc e t e u e
int n it y f th ig i l b l l d Th b i ll tl y ill t t d

e s o e or na a a s. e oo k s e xc e en us ra e
"
th rou g h n L o S m _ rot a n.
E AC H V o lu m e De m y , 8 y o, abo u t 400 pa g e s , w thi fr o m 32 to 64 Pl tea s and
I nd ex. C l ot h e t r a x , : 2 5 6d . . ne t .
TH E MYTHS OF GREEC E AND ROME

Th eir Sto rie s Sign i t i n and O ri g i n By Hca A G O ER ER
o , . . . B .
5 7 F ull p ag e I llus t r a t i o ns 4 6 pag e s

,
-
. 1 .
MYTH S OF TH E NORSEMEN
F r o m t h e Eddas and Sagas By H A G UERB ER W i t h 33 F ull . . . .
I llus t r a t i o ns by e m i n e nt C o n t i n e n t al an d Engl s h Ar t i s t s 4 6 p ag es i . x .
MYTH S AND LEGENDS OF TH E MIDDLE AGES

By H A G U R ER Wi t h 36 E q u i s i t e F ll p g I llus t r a t i o ns 4 6 p
. . E B . x u v
a e . 1
T H E o bj e t of t h i s w o r k i s t o fa m i l i a ri e s t ud e n t s w i t h t h e m y t h s and l e g e nds
c z
fo r m t h e pri n ip al su bj e t s of m e d ie al l i t era t u re and w h o s e in u e n e i e ery

c c v c s v
a pp a re n t i n t h e su b s e q u e n t h i s to ry of li t er a t u re and a r t
,
HE RO MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF TH E BRITISH RAC E

-
By M I E UTT M A W i t h 5 O ri ginal Full pag e I llus t r a t i on

. . BB , . . 1 -
J H F B A C O N R I B YA M SH A W W H MA R G ET S O N R I G D :
. . .
, . .
, , . .
, . .
, .
HA MMO N D R I an d PA I TEN WI LS O N 400 pa g e s

, . .
,

. .
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF TH E CELTIC RACE

By T W RO LLES T O N W i t h 46 O i g i na l Full p ag e I l l us t r t ion
. . . r -
a
STE H EN RE I D
P Se o n d Ed i t i o n Re i e d
. c464 p ag e s , v s . .
THE MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF J APAN

By F HA D L A N D D s W i t h 3 E qu i s i t e P la t e s in Co l ou by Ev
. avi . 2 x r
P A U L 448 p g e s
. a .
TH E MYTHS OF MEXI C O AND PERU

By a S EN C E
rs P Wi t h 48 P la t e s in H al f t one nd 4 P l at
,
-
a
C o l o u r 38 4 p g
. a e s.
TH E MYTHS OF TH E NORTH AMERIC AN INDI ANS

By L w S E N CE F
a rs P au t h o r o f My t l f M i nd P u
. u o ex co a er .
3 P la t e s C o l o u r by J A ME S J 400 p a g e s
,
0 I !) ac x . .
THE MYTHS OF ANC IENT EGYPT

By LE W IS S E N CE P W i t h 6 Co l o u r P l a t e s an d m ny o t h er
, 1 a
p ag e Illus t r a t i o ns 384 p ag e s . .
MYTHS OF TH E HINDUS AND BUDDHISTS

By SI TE R e nn A and D A N A N D A C MARA W AMY W i th 3
S
'
rr r OO S . 2
t t i n i n Co l o u r by A AN D RO N AT H T A GO R E an d o t h er I n di a n A
ra o s B I r
4 r6 p ag e s .
TH E MYTHS OF BABYLONI A AND ASSYRIA

By L E W IS SP E N CE ,
F RA I
. . . . W i th m an y P la t e s i n Co l o u r a nd H al f
400 p ag e s .
HE RO TALES AND LEGENDS OF TH E SERBI ANS

By W O ISL A V M PET RO V I TC H
. W i t h 3 P la t e s i n Co l o u r 4 pag e s . 2 . 20 .
A Sp e c ial Prosp e c rue Imp o r tan t S ri e e ent t o an y addr e e

of tbrs s w ill be s
es
Univ r ity oi Ca IiIornia
I I
SO UTHERN REG O NAL L B RARY FAC L TY II
l e e
405 Hi g a rd Av nu Los Ang l
, e es CA 90024- 1 38 8
,
e s
R t urn t h i mate ria l to th e IIbrary
from wh ic h It was borrow d e .

MythsLegendsofBabyloniaAssyria 10000585

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UN I F O RM WIT H T HIS VO L UM E

Th e illus t r at ions , w h ic h ar e a feat ur e of t h is

3 Pl t s in Colo r and ot h r Ill tr tions

2 t5 3 PO RT SMOU TH STREET KI NG SWAY wc . .

but to extract and present t o the reader the treasures

of which has b een recognized since the early days

a Sp ecial study have rarely b een able to triumph

p ages of R awlinson Smith L ayard an d Sayce are

enlivened at intervals with pictures O f A ssyrian

in lengthy dis quisitions which t oo often must b e

I t was s uch a consideration which p rom p ted the

Babylonian romance free d fro m the darker ore O f

in the pure stat e is notoriously unserviceable an d ,

an alloy which renders it o f great er utility may

romance in thes e days it will not do to furnish stories

O f the gods without attem p ting some denition o f

their nature and origin F or mor e than ever b efore

romanc e an d knowledge are a n ecessary blend in

Nevertheless it is anticipate d that it will b e t o the

modern reader who loves the romance Of antiquity tha t

the greater part O f Chaldean romanc e clusters around

B abylonia an d A ssyria has not b een neglected The

grea t na mes in its records will b e found t o recur

a nie d by a tale or legend which will illu minat e the

c onnexion with Chaldea b een forgotten ; the rea der

I . B A B YLO N IA A N D A SSYRIA I N H I ST ORY AND

X . T HE MAGI C A N D D EMON OLO G Y OF B A B YL ON IA

X III . T HE C OMPA RA T I VE V AL U E OF TH E B A B YLON IA N

Th L ib r ary of K ing Assu bani p l a t N ine e h

Th e Murd e r of Se t ap o ( Evely n P a ul) 58

Ass y r ian Ty p e of G ilg m e h a s 1 62

Tig lat h - Pil e se r I d ire c t e d by N inib ( Evely n P a ul) 2 1 6

Ass u n a ir p al t t en d e d by a W in g e d Myt h logi l B e in g

Z ikku r t s oi t h e Anu Ad ad at Ash ur

E o c isin g D m ons of D ise ase

( Ambrose D u d ley) 308

Th e Ma rria g e Ma r k e t ( Edwin L ong R A ) , .

A Royal H unt 318

Elij ah p e ailin g o e r t h e P r ie st s of B l (Ev ly n P ul)

0 our fathers until well nigh a century ago

B abylon was no more than a mighty name

which hid fro m V iew the remains o f the glow and

o f scholars and explorers whos e lives and work must

The name Babylon carries with it the s ound o f

b e uttere d in the recesses o f se cret te mples I t .

awakens a thousand echoes in the imagination I t .

holds a mus ic richer than that Of E gyp t B abylon .

Babylon the sonorous charm O f the word is a s a

o f the historian like distant thunder B ehind th e .

grandeur O f R ome an d the b eauty o f Greec e it looms

kings an d priests con querors and tyrants de mi

gods and mighty b uilders pas s through the gloo m

half light and partially relieved d us k o f u ncertainty

O ther shapes again move like ghosts in com p lete

B ut the Spirit of Babylon is no s oft and alluring

a thing stark and Strong informed with fa te and

epical in its intense recognition o f destiny I n .

Babylonian history there are but two figures of

with a rac e austere and stern a race of rigorous ,

religious devotees and conquerors the R o mans of

the E ast but not an unimaginative race for the ,

B abylonians an d A ssyrians ca me of that stock

J udaism Christianity and Moha mmedanis m a race