ULLA KO CH- WESTENHOLZ
Carsten Niebuhr Institute, Copenhagen
BABYLONIAN VIEWS OF ECLIPSES
RESUME
POINTS DE VUE BABYLONIENS SUR LES
ECLIPSES
On trouve deux points de vues differents a propos des
eclipses qui sont attestees dans les sources babyloniennes : ]'un
peut ctre ap peJe "populaire", J'autre "scie ntifique", Dans
l'opini on popu!aire, les eclipses elaient des eve nements cala-
miteux, et necessitaient des rHuels apotropa"iques. D 'apres le
poi nt de vue sc ientifique, les ecl ipses etaient des signes qui
pouvaient clre interpre tes d'apres un nambre etabli de regles.
Une eclipse pouvait etre un signe favorable et, quand ce n'Clait
pas le cas, d'autres signes concomitants pouvaient annuler son
caractere de mauvais presage. En realite, les deux interpreta-
tions se confonden t sou vent.
Mots-cles
Astrologie babylonienne - eclipses - ritue ls apotropai"ques -
mythologie.
ABSTRACT
We find two di stinct Babylonian views of eclipses men-
tioned in the sources, one we may call the popu lar vi ew and the
other the scholarly. According to the popular view, eclipses
were in themselves calamitous events, and apotropaic rituals
had to be carried out. In the scholarly view, eclipses were signs
that cou ld be interpreted according to a fixed set of rules. An
ecl ipse might in fact be a favou rable sign; and even when it
was not, other concomitant signs might cancel its ill-portending
significance . The two views were of course intertwined.
Keywords
Babylonian astrology - eclipses - apolropa ic rituals
mythology.
• the neighbouring cultures that benefited from Baby-
• *
Even today, when most other celestial phenom-
ena are in visi ble because of light pollution , and are
largely ignored by most, eclipses of the Sun and the
Moon are conspicuous phenomena with a power to
fascinate and to inspire both awe and wonder. Solar
ecli pses are especially spectacular and eclipse
aficionados gladly travel across the globe for the
chance to witness a total solar eclipse. On average, a
Demons et merveilles d'Orienl.
Res Orientales. Vol. XIH, 2001.
total solar eclipse can only be observed in any given
location on earth once in 360 years si nce the area
where the moon appears to cover the solar di sc is
only about a hundred kilometers in diameter. Even
thou gh lunar eclipses ac tually occur more rarely
than solar eclipses they are visible from more than
half of the globe and can thus be observed quite
frequently in any given place. Solar eclipses occur at
New Moon when the sun and moon are in
conjunction, i.e., around the beginning or end of the
month according to the Babylonian lunar calendar
where each month begins with the firs t sighting of
the crescent of the new moon. Lun ar eclipses occur
around the middle of the Babylonian month at full
moon when the moon and the sun are in opposition.
Roughly speaking we find two di stinct Babylon-
ian views of eclipses mentioned in the sources, one
we may call the popular view and the other the
scholarly. According to the popular view, eclipses
were in themselves calamitous events, and apo-
tropaic rituals had to be carried out. In the scholarly
view, eclipses were signs that could be interpreted
according to a fixed set of rules. An eclipse might in
fact be a favourable sign; and even when it was not,
other concomitant signs might cancel its ill-portend -
ing significance. The two views were of course
intertwined; there were evidently no strict barriers
between them, as will be shown below .
Eclipses were also seen as harbingers of evil in
Ionian cultural influence, but the imported "wisdom
of the sons of the East" was not always put to use. In
a letter I to the king of Mari, the diviner Asqudum
informs the king that a lunar eclipse occurred on the
14th day and that (I. 7-8) nil-as-ku-un an-ta-a/-/e-e -
em sa-a-/i ma-ru-u~ "the setting of the eclipse is
bad. " Even though Babylonian astrological inter-
I ARM 26 no. 8 1 [A 372J from Asqudum to Yasmah-Addll.
7t
72
pretation of eclipses was probably not unknown in
Mari,' Asqudum does not proceed to interpret the
eclipse according to the scholarly literature, but
recommends that its significance be investigated by
extispicy. In Ugarit in the 14th century B.C. a solar
eclipse 3 was also not interpreted according to the
astrological omen series but investigated by liver
divination. In Hattusas, Babylonian astrological
literature including eclipse omens was both studied
in the original and translated into Hittite, but the
texts had no apparent practical application 4 In
Babylonia and Assyria in the first millennium
extispicy was apparently only employed to deter-
mine whether an eclipse would take place or not (see
below).
The scholarly tradition
From the very beginning of the written omen
tradition in Old Babylonian times, eclipses were
included in the scholarly divination literature and
their ominous significance interpreted. An eclipse
was a sign that could be interpreted according to a
fixed set of rules, it pertained to "us" or "them", it
might in fact be favourable and other signs could
even annul it. A lunar eclipse was a message sent by
the gods or by the moon god Sin himself - who
could also skip an expected eclipse at his own
discretion. In scholarly astrology, lunar, not solar,
eclipses were seemingly the most interesting and
Significant, probably because a lunar eclipse is a
phenomenon which occurs relatively often, and
because variations in its appearance can be easily
observed and classified. The scholarly interpretation
of eclipses is well documented and described in the
Babylonian divinatory literature. The application of
these divinatory techniques is amply illustrated by
the numerous letters and reports from Assyrian and
Babylonian astrologers attached to the court of the
Neo Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal.
Astrological omens pertain to public affairs, such as
war, harvest, and the king as persona pUblica. The
main preoccupation of the astrologers was indeed
the threat the eclipse portended for the king himself.
2 At least one meno!ogical lunar eclipse text found in Mari
is published, J. -M. Durand, Archives epistolaires de Mar; Ill,
no. 248.
3 Ugarit Forschungen 6, p. 464 ff. The dale of this solar
eclipse is much discussed, cf. C. Walker, Nature 338, p. 204 f.
4 U. Koch-Westenholz, "Mesopotamian Astrology at
Hattusas", Grazer Morgenlandische Studien 3, p. 231-246.
ULLA KOCH·WESTENHOLZ
Depending on the interpretation of the eclipse,
sometimes very extensive rituals were set in motion
to protect him, at othertimes they were not deemed
necessary .
Typical of Babylonian divination , eclipses were
interpreted according to a schematic set of para-
meters, which in the Old Babylonian period includ-
ed already phenomena that could not in fact occur in
nature. s Omens concerning lunar eclipses were
collected in tablet 15-22 of the astrological omen
series, Enuma Anu Enlil in the first millennium;
solar eclipses in tablet 31-39. The general rules for
the scholarly interpretation of lunar eclipses were set
out in the associated scholia , such as the factua l
commentary Summa Sin ina tamartisLl and the Great
Star List. Different schemata for the interpretation of
the same phen omenon coexisted, and it was
basically up to the discretion of the individual
scholar to determine which he would apply, just as it
was dependent on his knowledge and skills which
omina he excerpted and sent to the king as pertinent
to a given celestial occurrence.' These rules have
been discussed and presented in detail in several
recent studies,' and here I will give only a very brief
outline of the parameters.
In the Babylonian astrological omen tradition the
four cardinal points, i.e . the political and geo-
5 Old Babylonian lun ar eclipse texts were from the
beginning well st ructured and concerned public affairs.
therefore their origin is not in "fortune-telling or superstitions",
see F. Rochberg-Halton. Aspects oJ Babylonian Celestial
Divination, 9, and the descripti on of the OB texts ibid" p. 19 ff.
See also the small compendium of solar eclipse omens
published by M. Die lrich, "Altbabylonische Omina ZUT
Sonnenfinsternis", WZKM 86, p. 99-105. These omens include
interpretations of a solar eclipse according to dale (the 1st, 2nd,
6th, 9th, 10th and 25th day of the month) , quarter of disc
eclipsed (left = enemy), colour of eclipse and setting while
eclipsed. In Enuma Anu Enlil the days for a solar eclipse are
1st, 9th, 11th, 13th-16th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 28th-30th and the
left quadrant corres ponds to Elam, the arch-enemy. Phenomena
other than eclipses were of course also treated in Old
Babylonian astrology, for references see e.g. U. Koch- I
Westenholz, Mesopotamian Astrology, p. 36 f.
6 See the case study of different astrological reports sent on
the occasion of the conjunction of Mars and Saturn on March
15th 669 S.c., U. Koch-Westenholz, Mesopotamian Astro-
logy, p. 140 ff.
7 S. Parpo la, Letters from Assyrian and Babylonian
I
Scholars Part 11, p. 406-408; F. Rochberg-Halton. Aspects of
Babylonian Ce lestial Divination: The Luna/' Eclipse Tablets,
p.36-63; U. Koch -Weslenholz, Mesopotamian Astrology,
p. 104- 113, D. Brown, Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-
Astrology, p. 140.
BABYLONIAN V I EWS OF ECLIPSES
graphical quarters of the world played a central role:
North: Subartu (As syria), South: Akkad (Baby-
lonia), West: Am urru, East: Elam. When interpret-
ing an eclipse the major concern was which of these
political entities it pertained to. Each was associated
with a quadrant of the lunar disc, independent of
their geographical location. Of most practical impor-
tance seems to have been whic h quadrant of the
lunar disc was covered by the eclipse shadow, in this
case the upper (northern) quadra nt pertained to
Amurru , the lower (southern ) to Subartu, the right
(western) to Akkad and the left (eastern) to Elam.
The direction of the movement of the eclipse
shadow across the face of the moon was also signi-
ficant, here a different schema was used: the
northern quadrant pertained to Akkad, the southern
to Elam, the eastern to Subartu, and the western to
Amurru. The date was also important, the twelve
months were divided among the 4 quarters thus I, V,
IX = Akkad, II, VI, X = Elam, Ill, VII, XI =
Amurru, lV, VIII, XII = Subartu, 13th day = Akkad,
14th = Elam, 15th day = Amurru , 16th day =
Subartu. Also of significance were the directi on of
the prevail ing wind, and whether the moon rose or
set eclipsed. The presence of the planets, especially
Venus and ~upiter, also played a role. If Jupiter, the
star of Marduk, was visible during an eclipse, it held
no evil portent for the king. Solar eclipses were
interpreted like lunar ec lipses according to which
quadrant was eclipsed (SAA ] 0 100:28 ff.), planets
present, etc. However, solar eclipses seem to have
been regarded as less sini ster than lunar. One scholar
comments on a partial solar eclipse (SAA ]0 148):
"The sun made an eclipse of two fingers at sunrise.
There is no apotropaic ritual against it; it is not like a
lunar eclipse. If you want me to, I can write down
the pertinent omen and send it to you".
The exact contents of the schemata changed over
time - for instance which quad rant of the lunar or
solar disc was associated with which quarter of the
world - but the general rules did not. In the Hellen-
istic period, lunar eclipse omens were correlated
wi th the 12 signs of the zodiac in stead of the 12
months, and the presence or absence of the planets
seem to play an even larger role than previously.'
8 E. Weidner, Gestirn-Da rsteliungen auJ babylonischen
TontaJeln; F. Rochberg-Halton, "New Evidence for the Hi story
of Astrology",JNES43, p. 115-140.
73
At some point the scholars started taking careful
notes about observed eclipses and other celestial and
terrestri al phenomena, and the revolutionary idea
arose that celestial phenomena occurred regularly
and their occurrence could be calculated in advance.
The Neo Assyrian and Babylonian scholars seem
already to have been able to predict total or near-
total lunar eclipses with relative confidence, and
partial lu nar eclipses as possibi li ties. Solar eclipses
were problematic,' it seems that the scholars applied
the rule-of-thumb, that solar eclipses may occu r at
the beginning or end of a month in which a lunar
eclipse was possible. We often hear that the watch
was intensified when solar and lunar eclipses were
expected. 11' The fac t that a celestial phenomenon
could be predicted with more or less certainty did
not diminish its ominous significance." Neither for
that matter did it diminish the fear of the eclipse in
itself, and apotropaic rituals were sti ll necessary.
In Classical antiquity the Chaldeans, or Babylon-
ians, were famous for their assiduous observation of
celestial phenomena. For instance, they were said to
have kept records of horoscopes for no less than
470,000 years," and, on a more sober note, they
were reputed to have recorded the appearance of
ecli pses since 747 B.cn This actually corresponds
to the date of the earliest preserved eclipse observa-
tion reports that go back to the second half of the 8th
century B.C .,14 though all are only preserved in
Seleucid copies from Babylon. They contain reports
of consecutive lunar eclipses, with an increasing
amount of detail , arranged in 18-year groups, (i.e.,
the so-called Saros-cycles). Day by day observations
were recorded in the "Diaries"," fittingly called
"regular observation" (na,a ru sa gine). We know
9 In SAA 10 170, a Babylonian astrologer urged by the kin g
to answer whether a predicted solar ecli pse will take pl ace or
not, asserts hi s ab ili ty to make observations and exhorts the
king to watch for the eclipse himself since he will be in the
open country.
10 E.g., SAA 10 45, 46, 224, 363.
II For instance. in SAA 8 150 a scho lar predicts a lunar
eclipse and sends his report complete with excerpted relevant
om ina and a suggestion as to how the king may prevent the
inundation portended by the eclipse.
12 Cicero. De divinatione I xix 36.
13 Ptolemaeus. Almagest III 7.
14 Published in T.G. Pinches, Lale Babyiol1ian Astro-
nomical and Related Texts, no. 1413 ff.
15 A. Sachs and H. Hunger, Astronomical Diaries alld
Related TextsJrom Babylonian.
74
that staff at the Esangil temple in Babylon made
such observations, scholars were especial ly
employed to "keep watch" and record their observa-
tions. All published Diaries are from Babylon, and
the earliest dates to 652 B.C. Such observations
were presumably made and recorded in all the major
Babylonian centres of learning. We have for in-
stance a Neo Babylonian letter (UET 4 168) from
the conscientious Kudurru, who writes to his brother
(or colleague) Sin-rimanni in Ur, saying that he
could not see whether an eclipse took place or not
since it was overcast when he looked, and could Sin-
rimanni please send him a careful report. In the
Diaries was listed information on the moon, e.g. the
appearance of earthshine (no. -391:2), and observed
eclipses with indication of, for example, date, time
of beginning (in terms of culminating star), entrance
direction of shadow, magnitude and duration of
maximal phase ("weeping", see below), direction in
which the shadow crossed the moon's face, also
meteorological phenomena (lightning or prevalent
wind) and the presence of planets and Sirius. The
diaries also made a note when a possible eclipse did
not occur. They also record solstices, equinoxes,
Sirius, meteors, the weather, prices, river level and
historical events.
Many, though not all, of the observations listed in
the lunar eclipse reports and the astronomical diaries
were of Significance in divination, and some of them
were later used in the mathematical astronomical
texts to predict these same astrologically significant
phenomena. 16
Even at a time when the Babylonian astrologers/
astronomers were able to calculate the occurrence of
eclipses with certainty, I know of no evidence that
they had an astronomical explanation for why and
how they occurred. Babylonian cosmology was
based on numerical relationships rather than on a
geometrical, kinematic model of the universe; the
Babylonians found their harmonia mundi in numero-
logical orders, and symmetries based on the
sexagesimal system. In the sc holarly astrological
literature, the moon god Sin makes an eclipse or
omits it at his own discretion. The normal phrase in
the astrological literature is "S in/Shamash makes an
eclipse" (allala isakkan), and when an expected
eclipse is not observed, the scholars write that he
16 See D. Brown, Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-
Astrology, CuneIform Monographs 18, Chapter 4.
ULLA KOCI! - WEST EN HOLZ
(Sin/Shamash) "let it pass by" (lIsetiq) . However,
the subscript to the lunar eclipse section of the omen
series, Eniima Anu Enlil , alludes to several different
perceptions of a lunar eclipse. An eclipse is at one
. and the same time the result of the moon god's own
decision, one of a list of calamities decreed by the
gods, that might befall mankind , and finall y the
work of demons:
"These are the oracles when Sin makes a de-
Cision, the gods of Heaven and Earth decide as
their ... the doings of mankind, eclipse, flood,
illness, death, the great galla-demons, the
Seven keep blocking the moon". 17
Here we see clearly the interpenetration of the
scholarly and the popular views of eclipses.
Reflexes of popular conceptions
We can safely assume that in Mesopotamia, as in
so many other ancient and modern cultures, eclipses
in themselves were considered sinister in the popular
view. Eclipses were caused by evil gods, the moon
god was left helpless and crying, the baleful power
of the demons was plain for all to see, and all joined
in to avert the threat to the city, its temples and the
king. Eclip ses were cal amities in themse lves,
fraught with evil, contamination, and general rupture
of the world order. Only Ishtar could lightheartedly
claim ability to lighten an eclipse with he r love
alone." Their threat was independent of whether
they were total or partial, and all the other
parameters used in the scholarly interpretation of
them were just as irrelevant as was the interpretation
itself.
In order to deflect the evil portended by a lunar or
solar eclipse from the king, a substitute king could
apparently be enthroned before an expected
eclipse. I. The substitute king ritual 2. was probab ly
already practised in the Old Babylonian period, but
it is best known from letters and reports from
scholars attached to the Neo Assy rian court. A
person of low social status, or a prisoner, was
17 F. Rochberg-Halton, Aspects of Babylon ian Celestial
Divination, p. 216 and p. 269 f.
18 KAR 158 rev. ii 45, hymn incipit.
I. Cf. SAA 10377.
20 S. Parpola, Letters from Assyrian Scholars la the Kings
Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal Il, xxii ff., also J. Bottero,
Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning and the Gods, chapter 9.
BABYLONIAN VIEWS OF ECLIPSES
installed as king complete with queen, court, and a
substantial bodyguard. During the "rule" of the
substitute king, the real king was addressed by his
scholars as "the peasant". At the end of the period
affected by the eclipse, up to 100 days, the substitute
king and queen were put to death and apotropaic
rituals performed. 2l The king then resumed his
normal dignity. The theme of a substitute or
scapegoat to take the place of the person hit by
misfortune and bad omens is of course a staple in
Mesopotamian magic, here carried to an extreme on
account of the immense seriousness of the omen. To
further secure the king , purifying and apotropaic
rituals were also performed, among them the "Bath
House", bit rimki. This was an elaborate cleansing
ritual to drive away any evil that may disturb or
harm the king whether caused by sorcery, a broken
taboo or bad omens but it was typically performed
on account of an eclipse. In order to adapt it to this
use, the so-called attaLa-formula 22 was inserted
more or less organically into its prayers (Siptu) and
su-ita-incantations: "Against the evil of a lunar
eclipse which occurred in the month X on the Xth
day, evil of signs and unpropitious portents which
appeared in my palace and my land".
We have copies of su-itas written for specific
occasions and with the name of the king specified,
for instance Sargon and Samas-sum-ukin. The
attalU-formula was inserted into prayers to many
different gods, e.g. to Damkina, Gula, Ishhara, Sipa-
zianna (Orion), Marduk, Nergal, Shamash, and
Ninurta, but it is not found in prayers to Sin.
Even when it did not affect the king, a lunar
eclipse was nevertheless dangerous and the king
should still be careful and perform an apotropaic
ritual, a namburbu (SAA 10 347). A tablet from
Assurbanipal's library contains the remains of a
namburbu-ritual against the evil of a lunar eclipse
21 SAA 10 352 repOrlS that the substitute king and queen
had been executed and numerous namburbis, bit sa/ii' me and
bit rimki were performed. From SAA 10 219 and 220 it appears
that a solar eclipse could have postponed the execution of the
substitute king, but since the solar eclipse did not occur he can
go to his fate just after full moon. Perhaps he would otherwise
have been needed to carry the evil omen of a solar eclipse for
the real king as well. Preparations for a solar eclipse is men-
tioned in SAA 10216.
22 J. LaessS!Se, Studies on the Assyrian Ritual and Series bit
rimki, 48; W. Mayer, Untersuchungen zur Formensprache der
babylonische "Gebetsbeschworungen", p. 10 ff. and p. 100ff.
75
(BM 121037).23 This namburbu-ritual was appar-
ently unusually long, what we have appears to be the
description of the end of the 3rd day and the 4th day.
Even though namburbus were used to dispel the evil
of omens concerning private individuals, I find it
doubtful that the namburbu against an eclipse was
ever performed for anybody but the king. The ritual
was part of the series nam.bur.bi.mes, which is only
documented in Assurbanipal's library 24 and it has
no known duplicates.
We have a menology concerning lunar eclipses
CT 45-6 (Bu 88-5-12, 11) 25 written in Neo Assyr-
ian ductus but copied from a Babylonian original."
It specifies what the king must do - or should avoid
doing - and prescribes some brief rituals to perform
in order to avert the evil predicted by an eclipse on
the 12th, 13th or 14th day of the 12 normal months,
there is no ritual for an intercalary month. According
to scholarly astrological tradition, an eclipse on the
13th day would certainly pertain to the king of
Akkad. Perhaps the phrase in line 2, tumnu switu
ana sarri ul isanniq, means that these rituals applied
only in cases where the eclipse had such a nature
that it did not affect the king directly, but still an
apotropaic ritual should be performed just to make
sure that nothing unpropitious lingered. The ritu als
are quite varied in nature and elaboration, so clearly
the additional maleficent significance of an eclipse
depended on which month it occurred. In Nisan, the
ritual began before the eclipse had taken place and
involved offerings to Anu and Enlil. In Dumuzu, the
king even had to spend two days in the bit meseri,
"House of Confinement", a ritual used to protect
against demons and to ward them off. But in most
months the evil portended by an eclipse could not
only be averted, by simple means it could even be
23 Or NS 40,166-168 text 65, photo pI. 13, copy eT 5167
no. 190, transliteration and translation S. Maul, Zukunftsbewiil-
tigullg, 458-460. M. Stol suggests this was a ritual for "the
commoner", "The moon as seen by the Babylonians", in
Natural Phenomena. Their Meaning, Depiction and Descrip-
tion in the Ancient Near East, ed. by D.J.W. Meijcr, Amster-
dam, p. 245-276, p. 258 with note 124.
24 S. Maul, Zukunftsbewaltigung, p. 216 ff.
25 First published in set types by C. Bezold, Z4. 3, p. 245 fr.,
translation and transliteration A. Boissier, "Materiaux pour
l'etude de la religion assyro-babylonienne", Proceedings of the
Society oJ Biblical Archaeology 24, p. 220 ff. and P. Jensen,
Texte zur assyrisch-babylonischen Religion, Keilinschriftliche
Bibliothek 6.2, p. 42-47.
26 CAD E, 397, mentions an unpublished parallel from
Sippar.
76
turned into a favourable event. The ritual actions
prescribed are of a nature familiar from other apo-
tropaic and hemerological texts. They incl uded
offerings to appease the gods, sympathetic magic
like the loosening of a rope, releasing a scapegoat to
carry away the evil, as well as food taboos, a rever-
sion of normal behaviour and daily practices. In
Elulu the prescription s are minimal because the
eclipse wou ld, in theory at least, coincide with the
heliacal rising of the supreme god EnliJ's celestial
manifestation, the constellation Bootes. It is never
stated who is to lead the king through the rituals, but
presumably, it is the exorcist the iisipu. The cultic
dancer and mime artist, kurgarru and assinnu, who
functioned in the temple cult of Ishtar, also make a
brief appearance as bringers of good fort une. The
pair sometimes acted in apotropaic ritual s fo r private
persons, mostly to carry the evil away." The text of
the menology runs as follows:
Idis ina iti.bar lu ud .12.kam lu ud .13.kam III
ud.14.kam 2an.mi d30 gar- un hul su-a-tu lugal
nu kur.kur 3u4 -um an.mi d30 sak-nu-um tug
sikhe. me.da 4ka ral-Ial nig.na ukur.kur ina 15
ka ana da-nu -um ta-sa-kan 5kas.sur.ra bal-q{ ul
tlls-ken nig. na Siffigig ina gub k:l 6ana den.lf! ta-
sak-kan gestin bal-q{ ul tus-k en ?lugal ra1
an.mi ut-ta-me -ru ana im.dis us-ken us
nam. tar.ri Ski l.gis gis.sur.mln hi.hi gis.mi tag
hul dUs-ar
"When in the month of Nissan e ither on the
12th day, the 13th or the 14th a lunar eclipse
occurs, (and) this evil does not affect the king:
On the day of the lunar eclipse yo u suspend a
cloth of red wool on the gate, you set up a
censer with ata ·isll- plants on the right of the
gate for Anu. You Iibate mazO-beer, do not
prostrate you rself, you set up a censer with in-
cense on the left of the gate for Enlil, do not
prostrate yourself, the king, from (the time) the
eclipse is seen, prostrates himself towards the
south, you mix swallow's blood with cypress
oil, yo u smear the bed wi th it, and the evil will
pass,"
27 The role of these cultie cross-dressers is much discussed,
see e.g. B. Groneberg, "Die sumerish-akkadi schc Inannal
Ish tar: Hennaphroditos?", Die Welt des Orierlfs 17, p. 25-46,
es p. p. 34.
UL Lt\ KO C Ii· WESTENHOLZ
9dis ina iti.gu4 kimin-ma a.mes sim.li tuS
slm. ses ses-as IOlu.kur.gar.ra igi.lal-ma
lu .kur.gar.ra a-na lugal i-kar-rab hul du s-ar
"If in the month of Ajj aru etc.: You sprinkle
him with juniper water, you anoint him with
myrrh, (the king) looks at the cultic dancer and
then the cultic dancer blesses the king, and the
evil will pass."
'ldis ina iti.sig4 kimin-ma dumu .nfta-su as-m a
ki pes.gal-sLt la dUII.duII 12z1.esa ana d30 bal-
q{ lis-har-ri-ir sal-.tis ul iota-me J3 a -na dnin -
urta li-sap-pi ~ab-tu bar-sir nar-bu tuk-si ul-
tab-bar
"If in the month of Simanu etc.: He should
curse his heir and not speak with hi s son, he
shall pour out fine flour for Sin , he should be
qUiet, he should not speak proudly, he shall
pray to Ninurta and re lease a prisoner, then he
will have greatness and grow old."
14diS ina itLSll kimin-ma 2 u4-me ina e me-sir
tu s ni-qu-u me-eh-ri IS/i-sam-hir ina gam-li li-
ta-li/-ma [kesJda zu.lum.ma su.sar 16li-pa-sir
ina gu id ina habrud kas dug gis.rgestinl
he.nag d30 ana munu s.sigs igi.bar-su
"If in the month of Du'uzu etc.: He shall spend
two days in the House of Confinement, let him
make offerings, he shall be cleansed by the
throw-stick 2K and undo the knot of a rope
made of date-palm fibre, let him drink good
beer and wine in a burrow on the river bank,
then Sin will look benevolently upon him."
17dis ina iti.ne kimi n-ma ina ku-tal giS.ig li-
na-al a pu tuS IStug.gada ezen mU4.mu4 ina <I-
sar pu-uz-ri a-mat lis-kin 19nig.ba lis-rik igi
munu s.su.gi lis-si-iq 20mu tuk-si : gaba.ri nu
tuk-si
"If in the month of Abu etc.: H e shall sleep
behind a door, wash himself with water from a
well, he shall dress in ceremon ial linen gar-
ments and speak in a secret place," give a gift,
28 Here a 1O01 of the exorcist used in various rituals to free a
person from e vil.
29 Doubtl ess a reference to the performance of extispicy
like the phrase il1a asar puzri baru qibiilamuta ul isakkan
found in the royal hemerology Enbu bel arhi. see e.g. Ch.
Virolleaud, "Quelque textes cunei formes inedits", Z4 19
(1905), p. 377-383, p. 377:7, and p. 383: 11.
BABYLON1AN VIEW S OF ECLIPSES
kiss the face of an old woman, then he may
gain fame / may have no rival."
2ldis ina iti.kin kimin-ma mUl.Su.pa ga gU7
l.nun.na tuS u-ta-.ta-al
"If in the month of Elulu etc.: When Bobtes
rises,3() he shall consume milk and anoint him-
self with ghee, and he will be rejuvenated."
22dis ina iti dui kimin-ma ep-se-tu-su li-pis
nu.nu ba-ru-un-di 2lki su.gur nll4.subu ina
su.si-su tur kesda 24ina gis.mi uru gis.tukul
l.gis gis.sur.min ses uzu gU4 25uzu musen nu
gU7 sigS
"If in the month of Tasritu etc.: he shall go
about his work, he shall tie a hank of coloured
yarn on his little finger together with a ring of
subil-stone, he shall anoint himself with cy-
press oil in the shadow of the main city, he
must not eat beef or fowl, and it will be well."
26dis ina iti .apin kimin-ma sag.ki nu dadag a-
Ita damar.utu u dsakkan 26udu.siskur bal-q[ us
a-na im.4 li-sam-hir 27kall14-mi ni-gu-tu lis-
kin lugal u4-me mu.an.na.md-s,i 29gfd.mes :
igi.tab 1-1£
"If in the month of Arahsamna etc.: he must
not clean his forehead, he shall sacrifice a
sheep to Marduk and Sumuqan and offer the
blood towards west," there shall be merry-
making all day, then the king will live long /
the god will watch over him."
30dis ina itLgan kimin-J11a ina tu bu -lim a-na
igi bu-lim a bal-q[llsiskur bal-q[ us kud-si ki
kas pa-a$ kii is-sal-lah 32 fsel.muss kal mi ina
ka im.l ta-sa-rap 33[igi] mul.ud.ka.duh.a
mul.gfr.tab us-kin ti.la tah
"If in the month of Kisl imu etc.: At the arrival
of the cattle he shall libate water in front of the
call le, he shall make a sacrifice, he mixes the
blood of the slaughtered (animal) with beer
and the gate is sprinkled with it, you burn
)U According to the ideal calendar the 5u.pa star rose heli-
acally in Elulu, cf. mul.apin I ii 46 "On the 15th of Elulu
Boates, Enlil, becomes visible", H. Hunger and D. Pingree,
MUL.APIN. All ASlronomical Compendium in Cuneiform,
Archiv Jiir Orientforschullg Beiheft 24, p. 42.
31 Or "in all four directions"? Thus CAD M 1 p. 69. though
one would expect im.Hmmu .ba.
J7
barley all night in the south gate, he prostrates
himself [before] the Panther (Cygnus) and
Scorpio, then he will prolong his life."
rl[dis ina iti. ab ki]min-ma munus gar tu kud-
sa en ina su.min lu.muhaldim r2[x x x] igi -har
distar ana sig5-tim igi.bar-su
Ifin the month of Tebetu etc.: ... in the hand of
a cook, [x x x] he shall offer, and Ishtar will
look benevolently upon him.
rl[diS ina it]i. zfz kimin-ma a.mes nu nag ga
uzu nu gU7 r4[x xl-mu su.min-su la i-ka-par
ina e du-ri li-rib r5[t]a e du-ri li-sa-a ana im.3
lis-kin gis.sinig ina a r6ina-is-ma ninda as.a.an
me-ri-is HUI!.nun! I hal-$a li-kul r7nindase-am
ki uzu.ka.ne gU7-ma kas nag r8lugal a-a-bi-s,i
ina-a-ra sHim-mu dingir u distar r9 si.sa buru 14
na-ha-as dNisaba
"If in the month of Saba\u etc.: He shall not
drink water or consume milk or flesh [x x x]
and does not wipe his hands, he may enter and
leave a fortress, he shall prostrate himself
towards the East, he chews tamari sk in water.
He shall eat emmer bread, candy made of
honey and ghee, and pressed-out oil, he may
eat barley bread with roasted meat and drink
beer, then the king will slay his enemy, god
and goddess will be benevolent, the crop will
thrive and Nisaba (grain) will prosper."
rlOdis ina itLSe kimin-ma ku6 musen! nu gU7
rllki [ibil]a-s,i ul i-ta-me giS.sinig ina u.hab
u.sikil rI2u.[x]l.giS ses u.hi!.a!? sd ku.gi rllen
7-s" hab? kas ninda ab-Iu ki u.sar ki-ri-i li-kul
rl4sag.us hl!.ur.munus tag-ut a-a-bi-s,i kur-ad
rl5kur-su ina dug4.ga-su tus-ab
"If in the month of Addaru etc.: He shall not
eat fish or fowl, he shall not speak with his
h[eir], he shall anoint himself with tamarisk in
b,isunu-plant, sikillu-plant, [xl-plant and oil,
plants(?) of gold he shall ... 7 times, he shall
eat a biscuit with garden vegetables, let him
touch the head of an asinnu-priest, and he will
slay his enemy, his land will abide by his
word."
rl6gaba.ri en.lfl.ki gim bad-su sar-ma ba-ri
"Written and collated according to an original
from Nippur."
78
In the first mi llenn ium extispicy was apparently
used on behalf of the king to fi nd out whether an
eclipse would occur or not - not in order to deter-
mine its ominous significance.32 We have tamifus,33
questions to Shamash and Adad, concerning lunar
and solar ecli pses. K 2884 34 is written in Babylon-
ian ductus, according to the broken co lophon the
property of some king, probably not Assurbanipal - I
could not find a neat match with any of that king's
colophons usually emp loyed on extispicy tablets.
About half the tablet is misSing and originally it
probably contained two tamitus both concerned with
lunar eclipses, as also appears from the remains of
the colophon. Only the final few broken lines of the
first tamitu are left. The well preserved second
tamitu is phrased as negative questions "Will an
eclipse not take place?", so perhaps the first one was
phrased as positive questions , like the tam itu
concerning a solar eclipse quoted below seems to
have been - insofar as its poor remains allow us to
judge. Interestingly K 2884 gives a list of disaste rs
that could befall the kin g and might by themselves
portend an eclipse, and both refer to the people
observing the ecli pse, the rituals of mourning and
the apotropaic locking of gates.
Shamas h, lord of dec ision, Adad, lord 3S of
divinati on, will Sin, the light of the pure sky,
not make an eclipse in this month ei the r on the
12th day, the 13th day, the \4th day, the 15th
day or the 16th day, either in the evening
watch, or in the middle 36 watch, or in the
morning watch? Will its darkness 31 not come
forth? Will the people of the land not observe
32 Sargon had extispicy performed following a lunar eclipse
that occurred during his campaign against Urartu. Strainin g the
rules of interpretation a liltle, the eclipse was described as per-
taining to Gutium (Texles cunei/orllles a Louvre 3:317). The
eclipse eviden tly caused a bre ak in the military proceedings,
and the king had to make sure of the continued support of the
gods. Assurhanip al under similar cond iti ons does not refer to
taking furt her omens CA C. Piepkorn, Assurbanipal, AS 5,
p. 105 ff.).
33 Cr. Lambert. "Questio ns addressed to the Babyion ian
Oracl e. The lamitu Texts", in l G. Hein tz, Oracles et prop" e~
lies dans 1'Antiquite, p. 85-98. An edilion of the tamitu texts by
W.G. Lambert is aVidly awa ited .
34 Publ ished by E. Weidner in Archiv for Orientforschung
11, p. 360 L, duplicated by Cuneiform TextsJrom Nimrud IV,
61 ii 1 ff.
35 EN left out in copy but prese nt on the original, collated.
36 Read murub4-ti rather than i-sa-li, collated.
31 lll -'; ad-ru-us-su la u~-~a-am·ma, collated.
ULLA KO CH-WESTEN HO LZ
it and mourn? Should NN the owner of this
hair and hem 38 not squat down in the mourn-
ing place for a lunar eclipse in this month?
Should the bolt not be locked in this mo nth?
Disregard if an eclipse of the sun , of Venus
and of any other star (occurs). Di sregard if
Sin, the great lord, should give a sign for a
solar eclipse. Disregard if in this month a sign
is given and something damaging shou ld be
observed in the sky or on earth, the moon be
surrounded by a drawing, a star approac h its
ring or stand either in front of it, behind it, to
its right or to its left, the moon beco me
covered by mist and the mist is covered by ... ,
the day be obscured or the night be obscured,
or that a famous prince, or the king, or the
king's daughter or a relati ve of the ki ng, or the
king's beloved have died of heartache, or the
king's army be slain by divine command or be
defeated in the slaughter of the battlefield and
a palace revolution take place. Disregard if on
this day all that I have recounted for you
(happens), a storm arises, rain pours, Adad
thunders, may it be taken and put aside! " (to)
Shamash and Adad thus.
Weidner refers to 83-1-\8, 424, which is rather
less well preserved.' o 83- 1-\8 , 424 is a frag ment
from the upper left-hand corner of the tablet, more
than half of each line is missing. It is written in Neo
Assyrian ductus, but not from Assurbanipal's
scriptorium. Here, I offer a transliteration and trans-
lation of this unpublished text:
\ dutu en di-Ilim dim en [bi-ri - - - - - - - - - -]
2 lu ud.30.kam dutu man an-e [- - - - - - - - --]
3 ina iti ne dutu sal-mu-su [- - - - - - - - - - --]
4 un.mes kur ip-pal-Ia-sa-[!iuma - - - - - - - -]
I
5 ta !ie-rim en an.baIf II an.u[san - - - - - an-e] I
6 kug.mes i- ,ba J
a ina ud.da [- - - - - - --]
- '-
7 ina ud-me du.a.bi ina en.nun .mes [- - - - - -]
8 ba-ni-!iii dutu u dim a-[- - - - - - - - - - --]
9 ,i-tak-ki-Iu ~al-ma -[at - - - - - - - - - - - - - -] I
I
3R Beginning of line 16: r ncnoP en sig u lug.sfg ne, collated.
39 For this interpretation of th e closing fonnu la hi nasJui lIt
bera see I. Starr, State Archives of Assyria IV, xxvi i.
40 Closely related is Cuneiform Texts from Nimrud IV 62
iii, which unfortunately also is quite fragmentary.
BABYLONIAN VIEWS O F ECLIPSES
to igi igi se se-e 41 dutu [- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -]
11 e-zib sa ina sa ud-me an-[nll-tu - - - - - - - ]
Breaks
rI' Colophon
gaba.ri-e gis.le-u5- [um sa!irma bari]
Shamash, lord of decision, Adad, lord [of
divination - - - - - - -] or on the 30th day
[will] Shamash, king of the sky [make an
eclipse]? In this month [will] the sun
safely [- - - - - - - - -]? Will the people of
the land watch [for it? - - - - -] from
dawn until noon and dusk [- - - -] will he
traverse the pure [sky] in daylight [- - --
-] during all day in the watches [- - - - - -]
its creator, Shamash and Adad [- - - --]
they encouraged ... [- - - - -] will he who
can see, see it? Will he who can hear,
hear it? Shamash [- - - -] Disregard if on
this day [- - - - - ]
Breaks
Colophon:
According to a writing board [written and
collated
A prayer 42 to an unnamed god describes the
reaction of gods and men to an eclipse and refers to
some of the rituals connected with it. The text comes
from a private house in Assur belonging to a family
whose most prominent members were chief singers,
llargallu 43 Hymns and rituals form the nucleu s of
this small library , which also included literary and
lexical texts. According to its colophon, the prayer
was hastily written, presumably for performance on
the occasion of an eclipse. CAD (e.g. vol. Q p. 180
sub qata 4. a) 1 ') assumes that the prayer is
addressed to Sin and concerns a lunar eclipse. [ must
agree with Ebeling th at there can be little doubt that
the prayer is addressed to Shamash, not least
because of the reference to the standstill of normal
cui tic activities and the work of the peasant who
4J Abbreviation of the term iimiru lIJ1mar selllu lsemme.
Also written thus in another unpublished tam itu compendium
K 2556 ii 3. CTN IV 62 iii 14f. has igi-ru igi -r; se-u se-e.
<l2 V AT 13832, published by E. Ebeling, "Ein Gebet an
einen "verfinsterten GOlt" aus neuassyrischer Zeit", Or NS 19,
p. 416-22, copy p. 420 (= Ebeling, Paljiimrezep'e pI. 49).
4) O. Pedersen , Archives and Libraries in the City DJ Assur,
Part Il , p. 34 fr, text no. 55 from the library N3.
79
certainly mu st go about his sowing during daylight.
Also it is the sun who " illuminates the underworld",
there he is during the night. Who is the god referred
to as "beloved of Mami" in the first line? It could be
Nergal, Mami's husband. The celestial manifestation
of Nergal is the planet Mars - and neither the god
nor the planet normally has anything to do with
either the sun or the moon. However, slight
indication exists that he could perhaps be identified
with Shamash."
Beloved ofMami, [red li]ara [of the sky],"
why has [your] face darkened,
Mami' s torch, who illuminates the
Under[ world],
the [gigi became afraid, the sky has grown
sinister,
5 the Anunnaki cry, the heart of the nether world
sighs,
the queen of the underworld, her arms have
been stripped,
in the gate of heaven darkness 46 has been set,
the temples, replicas of he[avenly] plan s, have
darkened,
their administrators are afraid, they lie over-
whelmed on the ground,
10 the black-headed people moan like a singer,
the peasant is afraid, he does not tend his
sowing.
Repair your decay, let the sky become bright
again,
may the [gigi steadily turn back and forth in
their watch posts,
may the Anunnaki rejoice, the heart of the
netherworld [gladden],
15 may the queen of the underworld lock the ga te
[of the underworld],
may there be brig[ht day] in the gate of heaven,
44 See E. von Weiher, Der babylonische GOlt Nergal,
AOAT 11, p. 81 ff.; 1. Epping und J.N. Strassmaier, "Neue
babylonischc Planelen-Tafcln", ZA 6 (1891), p. 217-244, has
the ent ry "Shamash and Nergal are one" (though it is a late
text, from 138 S.C.). Star lists identify the constellat io n the
Great Twins with Sin and Nergal. Sin and Nergal are not infre-
quently paired for instance in prayers.
45 Ebeling suggests the recons truction agli I'IlSSU, based on
KAR 55: 3, a sll-iia to Sham ash perfonned for Assurbanipal
perhaps as part of bit rimki, see J. Laess"e, Studies 011 the
Assyrian Ritual and Series bit rimki, p. 34-35; J. Cooper, ZA
61, p. 9, ZA 62, p. 69.
46 Accepting Ebeling's suggestion (p. 421) 10 understand e-
fe- [tu ] as e.tutu.
80
may the temples, replicas of heavenly plans,
rejoice,
may their food offerings be established, their
incense offerings regular,
may the singer with his lyre loudly exult,
20 may reconciliation be established before their
administrators,
may the peasant finish his sowing in your light,
may the singer with his lyre praise the king of
the gods,
may the lamentation priest cover up the
kettledrum!
25 Copied [and collated] according to its original
quickly [excerpted] for reading.
From Neo Assyrian times, we have further refer-
ences to a ritual involving the playing of the cultic
kettledrum at temple gates. It was necessary to per-
form the ritual in every city to protect the city, its
major temples, the populace, and the king. In SAA
10347 the Assyrian king's special agent in Baby-
lonia, Mar-lStar, reports that the kettledrum was
played in Borsippa, Nippur and Akkade in con-
nection with a partial lunar eclipse in 670 B.C. As
he duly notes, according to astrological interpreta-
tion the eclipse did not affect the king and in
agreement with the ru les equating eclipsed quad-
rants with the quarters of the world: "all its evil is
heaped upon the Westland (Amurru)"; but the astro-
logical interpretation was clearly irrelevant for the
performance of the ritual. Two texts from Uruk
concern the playing of the kettledrum on account of
an expected lunar eclipse June 15th 531 B.C. n At
the same time as the lamentation priests of the
temple of the Lady of Uruk, Eanna, performed the
ritual in Uruk - wh ich functioned as a regional
administrative center - the lamentation priests of
Shamash' temple Ebabbar in Larsa p layed the
copper kettledrum at the gate of their temple. We
hear that the performance started at sunset on the
13th before an expected lunar eclipse, and the
eclipse was announced to all the people of Larsa. In
fact, the eclipse occurred during the day and thus
was not visible; and the lamentation priests were
called to account for not con sulting with the two
high officials of Eanna, who presumably had access
47 P.. A, Beau lieu and 1. P. Britton, "Rituals for an Eclipse
Possibility in the 8th Year of Cyrus". Jo urnal of Cuneiform
Studies 46, p. 73-86.
ULLA KOCH-WESTENHOLZ
to more reliable eclipse calculation s than those used
as the basis for initiating the ritual" From Hellen-
istic Uruk we have detailed ritual description." It
involved braziers set up in the temple gates and
main street. These were to be kept burning until the
eclipse had cleared. The lamentation priests were to
perform a litany of lamentations during the eclipse
and play their drums. All the temples were to be
protected by a magic ring of flour around them and
the gates of Uruk sealed. In one verSion, the "people
of the land" take part by covering their heads and
shouting: "May hardship, murder, rebellion , and
eclipse not come near to Uruk, the Res temple, the
Esgallu, the Baramah , the Eanna and the other
temp les of Tiranna". On the day following the
eclipse, the seals on the gates were broken , the
magic flour circles and other magiC impedimenta
were thrown into the river, the exorcists were to
perform purifying rites for all temples, including
Sin' s temple, outside which incantations from the
series Evil Demons, utukku lemmitu, were also to be
recited. The ritual descriptions end with a section
that contains quotes and references to the eclipse
myth found in tablet 16 of utukku lem""lu. The
section does not appear to be a cult commentary as
such but presumably gave the raiso/! d'etre of the
rituals.'"
Tablet 16 of the incantation and ritual series
against the work of evil demons, ulukk" lemlllilu ,
contains a mythological explanation of eclipses:"
Seven evil gods have arisen in the Foundation of
Heaven, they are the messengers of Anu but they
roam about up to no good, they strive to commit
murder and bring darkness upon the cities, "they are
48 The eclipse was seemingly predicted using to the so-
called 'Saros' cycle that implied that similar lunar eclipses
should occur 223 months, or roughly 18 years apart. Eclipses
observed in the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. fined this scheme,
but since it is an approximation it was already unreliable in the
late 7th century, see the description by Beaulieu and Britton,
(previous footnote).
49 See D. Brown and M. Linssen, "BM 134701 = \965 - 10-
14, I and the Hellenisti c Period Eclipse Ritual from Uruk",
Revue d'Assyriologie 91, p. 147-166, with previous literature.
I
su Layard, cited by S. Parpola L.4S I1, 268, relates how his
Arab guests banged on kitchen utensil s to frighten away the
I
linns who had laid hold of the moon and caused it to be
eclipsed.
SI er 16 19-23, R. Campbell Thompson, Th e Devils and
Evil Spirits of Babylonia I, p. 88-115. also translated by
A. Kil mer in Journal of the American Oriental Society 98,
p.372-374.
I3ABYLONJAN VIEWS OF ECLIPSES
a dense cloud which makes darkness in the sky, they
are a blast of the rising wind which brings darkness
(etatu) in broad daylight" (CT 16 19:33-37). Enlil
and Ea install the celestial triad Sin, Shamash, and
Ishtar (Venus) to guard the Foundation of the
Heavens day and night. When the seven demons
break loose and circle furiously in front of Sin, his
colleagues Shamash, Adad, and Ishtar are helpless.
Sin himself is powerless and remains eclipsed night
and day, and there is nobody to restrain the demons.
Fortunately Enlil sees him and sends to Ea for help,
and Ea dispatches his son Marduk. The outcome of
the battle is lost, but presumably, Marduk was
victorious. The purpose of the ritual seems in part to
prevent the demons from also eclipsing the king,
who is likened to the moon.
Apart from the brief passage concluding the lunar
eclipse section of the Entima Anu Elllil quoted
above, there is hardly any trace of the eclipse myth
in scholarly astrology. One possible reflection is the
expression lumull libbi, "distress", which is used
about the moon in its eclipsed state in Emima Allu
Enlil," and occurs already in Old Babylonian omen
texts. 53 Occasionally, the moon or sun are said to
weep, a figure of speech e xplained in learned
commentaries as "eclipsed".s4 The expression is
found in various contexts, but in the astrological
literature, it was never a fully integrated technical
term. Most instances I know of, stem from the
commentary Summa Sin ina tamart"isu, e.g. A Ch
2.Suppl. 18:2 I' -22': "[If the M]oon, the Pure in
Divine Powers (ellamme ) weeps for Ekur" is
explained as "There is an eclipse on the 15th day of
the month of Kislimu". The catchline to tablet 5 of
the same commentary was "If the sun weeps at the
decision of the Anunnaki" " explained as "the sun
makes an eclipse" (ACh 2. Suppl. 40:7). The term
"er" was used as a technical term in eclipse observa-
tion reports and diaries for the period when the
eclipse grows to its maximal phase. The period
52 See e.g. tablet 20, Rochberg-Halton, Aspects of Babylon-
ian Celestial Divinalion , p. 179 and passim.
~3 Quoted by F. Rochberg-i-Ia1ton, Z4 77, p. 221.
54 Civil, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 33, p. 332, 334. A
similar expression is the Hittile "the moon dies".
ss ACh 2. SuppJ. 19 r25'. The protasis is quoted and
commented upon in EmAma Anll Elllillablel 24, see van Soldt,
Solar Omens of Enuma Anu EI1Lil: Tablets 23 (24) - 29 (30),
p. 36. Also used in the late Babylonian astrology, TCL 6 13 ii
14,16.
81
when it clears was called "becoming bright" (zahig).
"er" could be a metaphor reflecting the myth of the
besieged moon. It has also been suggested that "er",
"weeping", should rather be understood as " lamenta-
tion" with reference to the ritual lamentation s th at
were performed during this stage of an eclipse, since
no songs are prescribed for the time when the
eclipse clears, or, at least none are preserved"
However, in the Uruk eclipse ritual the kalus are to
perform their ritual (nepes sa kali) until the eclipse
has cleared (unammir, BRM 4 6: 17), and braziers are
to be kept burning and the people are to cover their
heads and shout until the eclipse clears (adi attala
unammaruliz.akkLl,BRM 46:18', 21', 28'). Perhaps
the threat had already lessened when the eclipse
started to clear - in contrast to scholarly astrology
where the very last phase of an eclipse, the quadrant
where it shed its shadow, was also of significance.
The weeping sun also occurs in a totall y different
context, an incantation 57 for a woman in child
labour. Shamash weeps at the sight of the woman in
labour, metaphorically referred to as " the cow in the
cattle pen of Shamash". Normally it is Sin's job to
take care of the cow," but here in Larsa, the sun god
takes over. In the text he is also referred to by the
name Ellammu, a name otherwise used about the
moon when eclipsed. The text also mentions the
seven and seven, daughters of Anu, who shal l
somehow help in bringing the baby forth, but si nce
these daughters of Anu are frequently invoked as
helpers in magic, there is really no reason to relate
this to the eclipse myth and the seven demons who
stand in the way of Sin. The seven evil demons are
sometimes also referred tn in utukku lemniitu as the
seven and the seven (e.g., seven of the sky, seven of
the earth, CT 1614 iii 25 f).
Both astrological and other forms of omens, such
as oil divination and extispicy, could predict
eclipses. Often the apodosis is simply "ecli pse",
which points to the simple fear of eclipses them-
selves, but sometimes in a way that also reflects the
scholarly interpretation of eclipses. For instance
when the occurrence of a hole, a sign associated
511 See D. Brown and M. Linssen, RA 91, p. 15 1- 152, fn. 14.
51 VAS 1734. See e.g. , B.R. Foster, Before the Muses, no.
11.30 and M. Stol, Birth in Babyionia and the Bible, ils Medi-
lerran eall Sellil1g, p. 63 f.
ss N. Veldhuis, A Cow of Sin, in the Cow of Sin incanta -
tions there arc no hint at eclipses. Two lamassus come to the
rescue.
82
with death, in the top, middle or base of the right
side of a certain part of the liver is correlated with an
eclipse of the evening, midnight and morning watch
respectively." Solar eclipses were the only natural
phenomenon potent or spectacular enough to enter
the chronological literature which otherwise mostly
mention political and military events. The Old
Babylonian Mari eponym chronicle has the
following entry: "In the eponym of Pusaja, Shamshi-
Adad was born, there was a solar eclipse ([,,)a-ah-
du-ur dutu), and Aminum died".60 Perhaps the solar
eclipse was seen as tied to the birth of Shamshi-
Adad and the death of Aminum or maybe it was
simply a very unusual phenomenon that deserved
mention. In the first millennium, a solar eclipse in
Simanu 763 B.C. is also mentioned in the terse
Assyrian Eponym list (RLA 2, 430 rS') together with
an uprising in Assur.
The part played by the Babylonian legacy in
Hellenistic astrology has often been stressed, despite
their fundamentally different religious and cosmo-
logical basis, which has equally often been under-
lined. The references in classical historical and non-
astrological sources to observed eclipses mostly
describe the fear they struck in uneducated people.
In De re publica (I xv 23 - xvii 26), Cicero main-
tained that various army commanders had rationally
explained the nature and regularity of the occurrence
of solar and lunar eclipses to their men and thus
succeeded in dispelling the fear of their soldiers.
Cicero's discussion partner is understandably
sceptical that it actually worked. Tacitus, Annales
1. 2S, describes how the Roman legionaries super-
stitiously worried by a lunar eclipse start making a
racket by beating brass cauldrons and blowing horns
so that the goddess may regain her brilliance. The
practice of making noise to prevent the moon from
hearing spells maliciously cast on it by magicians,
especially Witches, to force it down from the sky, is
also mentioned e.g. by the poet and astrologer
Manilius, ASlronomica 1.227. It has been suggested
that a similar belief lies behind a passage from a
Neo Assyrian report concerning some troublemakers
in Guzana: "The womenfolk of these people would
"MAH 15874:1-9, RA 44 pI. Ill , ed. ibid. 33-40.
~' Published by M. S irol MA RI 4, p. 219-242, A 1288 i 18-
21, for the reading of the line see 1.-M. Durand et M. GUichard.
Mhnoires de N.A.B .V. 4, F/orilegiwn Marianum 3, 43.
ULLA KOCH · WES TEN HQLZ
bring down the moon from the skyl" 61 As Reiner
notes, if it were not for the Classical parallels, one
would be tempted to dismiss this as hyperbole," but
it may well be a local, North Mesopotamian
tradition. The eclipse ritual where the copper
kettledrum is played and lamentations are
performed, and people instructed to cry their lungs
out, is specifically associated with the eclipse myth
of the seven demons who obscure the moon and
block his passage."
But eclipses also played a role in the branch of
Hellenistic astrology that concerned universal events
rather than the fate and character of the indi Vidual,
and here the similarities with Babylonian astrology
are striki ng . The first two books of Pto lemy's
Tetrabiblos concern general astrology. First he
tabulates a zodiacal geography, correlating signs of
the zodiac with lands and cities, then he sets out the
rules for interpreting lun ar and solar eclipses which
are described as a main cause for general conditions
and events in particular regions and cities. Like the
Babylonian astrologers, Ptolemy is only interested in
observable eclipses. From the appearance of the
eclipse it can be determined what place will be
affected, the time and duration of the event, what
classes (i.e. humans, wild or tame four-legged
animals, fowl or fish) will be concerned and in what
way. Into consideration must be taken the zodiacal
sign where the eclipse occurs, time of beginning of
occultation, duration and also the position of the
planets during the eclipse," all elements familiar
from Babylonian astrology.
ULLA KOCH-WESTENHOLZ
Carsten Niebuhr Institute
Snorresgadc [7-19
DK-2300 Copenhagen S
61 CT 53 46:18 ff.
62 E. Reiner, Astral Magic, p. 98 f. , also M. Stol, ''The
Moon as seen by the Babylonians", p. 259.
63 See D. Brown and M. Linssen, "BM 134701 = 1965- 10-
14, I and the Hellenistic Period Eclipse Ritu al from Uruk",
Revue d'Assyriologie 91, p. 147-166.
64 Manilius is more vague in his description of eclipses and
the link with zodiacal geography is Jlot exp licit. He merely
says that the influ ence of the zodiacal sign and the one dia-
metrically opposile it (Le. where the sun is), is weakened when
a lunar eclipse takes place in il (AstrGllomica 4.839-865).
BABYLONIAN VIEWS OF ECLIPSES 83

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SAA State Archives of Assyria
TCL Textes cune/formes du Louvre, Paris
VET Vr Excavation Texts
VAS Vorderasiatische Schriftdenkmiiler del' Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin
ZA Zeitschriftfiir Assyriologie

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