babylonian-religion-and-mythology

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BOOKS ON EGYPT AND CHALD/EA. By

E.

a.

WALLIS BUDGE,

M.A., Litt.D., D.Lit.,

Keeper of the Egyptian aud Assyrian Antiquities in the British

Museum,

AND L.

W. KING, M.A.,

Assistant in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum,

Crown Vol.

I.— Egfyptian

Svo, 3s.

Religfion

Future Life.

Vol.

By

By

of

the

Wallis Budge. E. A.

By

Language

Hieroglyphics.

Ideas

Egyptian

:

E. A.

II.— Egyptian Magic.

Vol. III.— Egyptian

net each.

Gil.

Wallis Budge.

Easy Lessons

:

E. A.

in Egyptian

Wallis Budge.

Vol. IV.— Babylonian Religion: Babylonian Religion and Mythology. By L. W. King, Vol.

v.— Assyrian Language

Vols. VI., VII.,

:

Easy Lessons

in

Cuneiform

W. King, M.A. VIII.— The Book of the Dead. An

Inscriptions.

Translation

By

of

L.

Theban

the

English with

Eecension,

Supplementary Chapters, Hymns, etc., and nearly 400 Vignettes which do not appear in the larger edition published in 1897. By E. A. Wallis

Budge,

Litt.D.

Vols. IX., X., XL, XII., XIIL, XIV., XV., XVI.

—A History

of Egypt, from the Neolithic Period to the Death of Cleopatra VII. (b.c. 30). By E. A, Wallis Budge. Profusely illustrated.

London

:

KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNEE &

CO.,

LtS


:SScoI?5

on Si^^pt and Cbalt)^a

Vol. IV.

BABYLONIAN RELIGION AND

MYTHOLOGY


PUBLISHERS' NOTE.

In the year 1894 Dr. Wallis Budge prepared for Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co., Ltd., an elementary work on the " Egyptian language, entitled First Steps in Egyptian," and two years later the

companion volume,

"An

Egyptian Reading Book," with

it, and a full vocabulary. success of these works proved that they had helped to satisfy

transliterations of all the texts printed in

The

a want long similar

felt by students of the Egyptian language, and as a want existed among students of the languages written in

W.

King, of the British Museum,

lines as the

two books mentioned above,

the cuneiform character, Mr. L.

prepared, on the

same

an elementary work on the Assyrian and Babylonian languages These ("First Steps in Assyrian"), which appeared in 1898. works, however, dealt mainl}'- with the philological branch of Egyptology and Assyriology, and it was impossible in the space allowed to explain much that needed explanation in the other branches of these subjects

—that

archaeology, history, religion, etc.,

Babylonians.

is

to say, matters relating to the

of the Egyptians, Assyrians, and

In answer to the numerous requests which have

been made, a series of short, popular handbooks, on tlie most important branches of Egyptology and Assyriology has been prepared, and

it is hoped that these will serve as introductions to the works on these subjects. The present is the fourth volume of the series, and the succeeding volumes will be published at short

larger

intervals,

and at moderate

prices.


Boolie on Sg^pt ant> Cbalb^a

BABYLONIAN RELIGION AND

MYTHOLOGY FY

L.

W. KING,

M.A.,

RS.A.

ASSISTANT IN THE DEi'ARTMENT OF EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES, BRITISH MUSEUM

WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS

SECOND IMPRESSION

LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER &

CO.,

PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARING CROSS ROAD 1903

Lt?


PRINTED BY

WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,

LONDON AND BECCLES.

BL C?'

^u

IThe rights of translation and q/ reproduction are

reserved."}


PREFACE. The in

a

object of the present

liandy form

work

is to offer to

the reader

an account of the principal

facts

concerning Babylonian religion and mythology.

account

based upon

is

tlie

This

cuneiform inscriptions which

have been excavated in Mesopotamia during the years,

fifty-five

and,

as

as far

possible, the

last

Semitic

and Euphrates have reveal their religious beliefs and super-

peoples of the valley of the Tigris

been made to stitions

so

much

by means

of

own

their

writings.

Although

has been done in recent years to explain their

religious literature,

no

finality in the

matter must be

expected for some time to come, certainly not as long

any important religious text remains unpublished. The fragmentary nature of the available material alone

as

is

a great obstacle to the construction of any consecutive

narrative,

and

to the correct

grouping of

facts,

while

the renderings of rare Sumerian words and complex

ideograms

in

some

cases

offer

almost

insuperable


PREFACE.

VI

Moreover, the variations in the translations

difficulties.

made by English and German difficulty of the subject,

scholars proclaim the

and no systematic and

final

description of the religion of Babylonia and Assyria

In the preparation of this little book the works of the most trustworthy writers on the is at

present possible.

subject have been diligently consulted, and the translations of cuneiform texts given in the following pages

have been

sjDCcially

prepared for the purpose.

Every

endeavour has also been made to incorporate the results obtained from recently discovered texts, to which in

all

important cases references are given.

From

the facts

here

printed

Babylonians and Assyrians

it

is

believed

clear that the

in

a series

of

nature gods, and that they had no conception of the

The supreme and almighty God. worship of their gods was tinctured with magic, and many of their prayers and formulae which they recited existence

of one

during the performance of their religious ceremonies

can be regarded as incantations. of the

little

Although

else little

than

by

spells, little

charms, and

a higher idea

majesty of certain gods was developed, and

although the Babylonian's conception of a man's duty

towards them and towards his neighbour eventually

became

of a comparatively high moral character, he

never succeeded in freeing himself from a belief in the


PREFACE.

Vll

He

power of magic, sorcery and witchcraft.

attached

great importance to the performance of burial

cere-

monies, imagining that his arrival in the next world

depended absolutely upon them; but the

life

which

he believed the soul would lead after death in the

underworld seems to have been of a peculiarly joyless character.

Owing

to

want

of space

no attempt has been made

to discuss from a comparative point of view the legends

cosmogony and the deluge written in cuneiform, and only the most obvious parallels between parts of the

of

them and

drawn.

It

haustively, as

that

certain

chapters of Genesis have been

was unnecessary

now

it is

the writers

generally admitted by scholars

of the

Pentateuch drew upon the

traditions of Babylonia for a

made

to treat the subject ex-

number

of the statements

in the early chapters of Genesis.

I take

edness

to

Zimmern,

this opportunity of

expressing

my

indebt-

works of Delitzsch, Jensen, Gunkel, Jeremias, Jastrow, and others, and of

the

thanking Dr. Wallis Budge for his great help in the preparation of the work, L. London, October 7th, 1809.

W. KING.



CONTENTS. CHAPTER I.

PAOB

The Gods of Babylon

,..

II.

Heavex, Earth, and Hell

III.

The Legends of Creation

IV.

The Story

V. VI.

...

The Duty of Man to

his

...

God and

i

27 ...

53 121

,„

...

...

...

...

...

of the Deluge

Tales of Gods and Heroes

...

...

14G

to ius Neighbour

200

...



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE

CHAPTER I.

The Moo^-God

The Sun-God II.

...

...

...

...

...

The Eastern Door of Heaven

The Gods

of the

Underworld

IV.

A

Scene beside a Sacred Tree

V.

Gilgamesh and Ea-bani

...

...

...

...

The Goddess Ishtar The South-West Wind VI.

A

Babylonian Demon

...

...

...

...

...

170 182

...

...

...

131

162

...

...

...

...

113

...

...

...

^^75, 102

...

Crossing the Waters of Death

32 39

...

...

The Fight between Maeduk and Tiamat

ShiiÂť

...

...

15 19

...

III.

Babylonian

...

...

189

203



BABYLONIAN RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY. CHAPTER

I.

THE GODS OF BABYLON. It was at one time the fashion with

many

scholars to

regard the civilization of the Babylonians as of a purely and more than one writer on the Semitic origin ;

religion of that country has

moulded

his

work on the

fundamental thesis that the Semitic Babylonians and they alone were the originators of the complicated system of religious practise and belief which we know existed from a very early period upon the banks of the Eecent excavations in Babylonia, however, fact with absolute certainty that

Euphrates.

—

have proved one before

the

Semites

Semitic race

occupied

tended herds of

advanced

ever

cattle,

reached Babylonia a non-

the

country, tilled

built

cities,

dug

the land,

canals,

to a state of considerable civilization.

BAB. EEL.

B

and

But


THE ANCIENT SUMERIANS.

2

there are indications that even this race, the Siimerians

as they are called, were not the land.

first

^

possessors of the

It is x^robable that they themselves

were

settlers

like the Semites of a later time, and that they reached

the fertile valley of the rivers from some mountainous home in the northern half of Central Asia. Who

occupied the country before the Sumerians came we cannot say, for of the aboriginal inhabitants of the land

we know

nothing.

whom we have

of

The

first

definite

inhabitants of Babylonia

knowledge are the Sumerians

;

and during recent years our knowledge of them has In any treatment of the been vastly increased. religious

beliefs

of

Semitic

the

the

Babylonians,

existence of the Sumerians cannot be ignored, for they

profoundly influenced the faith of the Semitic invaders before whose onslaught their empire beliefs of

fell.

The

religious

cannot be rightly under-

the Babylonians

stood unless at the outset this foreign influence

is

duly

recognized.

To what date we

are to assign

the

besfinninoj

of

Sumerian influence in Babylonia it is quite impossible to say, though such a date as six or seven thousand years before Christ is not an extravagant estimate for the foun-

dation of the earliest religious centres

The

decline of the political

^

in the country.

power of the Sumerians, on

The Sumerians take their name from "Sliumeru," an name for Southern Babylonia. ^

"

Eg., Nippur, Ur, Shirpurla,

etc.

ancient


INFLUENCE OF SUMERIAN BELIEFS. the other hand,

3

be assigned approximately to the between B.C. 2500 and B.C. 2300. At

may

period which lies

the latter date Babylon had been raised to a position of pre-eminence

among

the cities of the land, and the

Semitic population in the country had gained a complete ascendancy over their ancient rivals, whom they gradually absorbed

;

from

this

time onwards the city of

Babylon maintained her position and never ceased to be the capital of the country to which in later times she gave her name.

But

in spite of the early date to

which we must put back the beginnings of Babylonian civilization, it is

much

only

later period that

among the remains of a very we find adequate materials for

the study of the Babylonian religion.

It is true that

during the long course of the history of that country

and

of

Assyria

we

get

occasional

glimpses

of

the

religious beliefs and legends, which were current at different periods, from the historical and votive inscrip-

and governors. But it is only at quite that is to say a few years before the fall of

tions of kings

a late date,

Nineveh, that we gain a comparatively of Babylonian mythology and belief.

The great

known

to

full

knowledge

works of the Babylonians are us from';^docTiments which do not date from religious

than the seventh century B.C. In the palaces that were unearthed at Kuyunjik, the site of Nineveh, there were found, scattered throusjh the

an

earlier period

mounds

of earth, thousands of clay tablets written in


THE SCRIBES OF ASSYRIA.

4

the Assyrian character, and in

phons bearing the

many cases with coloname of Ashur-bani-pal and the state-

ment that he had caused them library. B.C.

to be included in his

This monarch reigned from

B.C.

669 to about

625, and, though one of the last kings to occupy

the Assyrian throne, he

made strenuous

efforts to pre-

serve the ancient literature of Babylonia and Assyria.

His scribes visited specially the ancient cities and temples in the south, and made copies of literary compositions of all classes

which they found

and arranged in

These

there.

his palace at

Nineveh, from them that the greater part of our knowledge of Babylonian mythology and religion is derived. Though the tablets date from the seventh century

they collected

and

it is

only,

had

possible that the texts inscribed

it is

upon them

their origin in a very remote period, and a detailed

study of them proves that such was the case. If, for instance, two or more copies of a text are found to differ greatly in detail from one another, we naturally assume that a considerable period has elapsed for such variations to have crept into the text. of perfect condition

many

the scribes

made

they added

to the texts,

they compiled the literature clusive

have

left

that

Besides

this,

the im-

of the originals from

which

and colophons and commentaries

their copies, the notes

and the

lists

to explain them, prove the antiquity of

they studied. the

religious

us was not of their

Such evidence literature

own

the

is

con-

Assyrians

production, but was


THEIR COPIES OF EARLY TEXTS. inheritance from

their

an

earlier

time.

5

While the

Babylonians in their religious beliefs were profoundly influenced

the

Sumerians, they in their turn exercised an even greater influence on the Assyrians.

The

by

latter people, at first

but a handful of colonists

from Babylonia, took with them the

faith of their

mother country, and, though they subsequently gained their independence, and after many centuries of conflict held the elder branch of their race in subjection, their system of religion, with but few changes and modifica-

was

Hence their Babylonian to the core. works and writings may be used as material religious tions,

for the study of the

Babylonian religion. examine these Assyrian tablets, and gain from them a knowledge of the gods

When we attempt

to

of Babylon,

we

they present us with a truly

find

number of deities. The Babylonians and were a conservative people, and the priestly Assyrians class, to whose labours we are indebted for our know-

bewildering

ledge

of

the Babylonian religion, faithfully collected

and chronicled

all

local

traditions

an*d

beliefs,

no

matter whence they came. Their religion was still a living thing, and they had not lost belief in the existence or the power of the gods, but they studied their national traditions to

they

some extent from

their literary side

;

and

and arrange into some system sometimes conflicting? traditions

sought to classify

the numerous

and

which had arisen and obtained currency

at different


LISTS OF

6

THE GODS.

The periods in quite different parts of the country. Ashiirfrom recovered has been larn-est tablet that a list bani-pal's library, for instance, is inscribed with names of the gods and their titles. The tablet

of the

when complete must have measured some 11 x 16 inches

;

was inscribed on each

it

minute

of

one hundred and

name

giving the

out of

every

writing,

fifty

side with six

column

lines,

columns

containing

and nearly every line This is only one

of a separate deity.^

tablets inscribed with lists of the

many

over

names

of these documents gods, and the existence serves to show that in the literature of the period we of the

must expect

to find the

advanced state of

Were we it

catalogues

its

Babylonian religion in a fully

development.

dependent on such lists and would be hard to gather a very consistent entirely

notion of what the Babylonian but fortunately this is not the case. Numbers of hymns and prayers have been recovered, or very intelligible

gods were like

which, by the

;

titles

and

attributes therein ascribed to

the gods, enable us to trace their relationships to one

another and their respective rank and power. Stories of and legends the gods have also been preserved, and

from these

it is

possible to construct a fairly complete

sketch of Babylonian mythology. Moreover, the names of the gods frequently figure in the historical inscriptions ^

The

Case

I.,

tablet is exhibited in the British

No.

4.

^Museum, Nineveli Gallery,


OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION. of Babylonian and Assyrian

kings, not only of this

late period, but also in those of rulers

the throne during history.

The

many

7

who occupied

earlier periods of the country's

victories gained over

enemies were ascribed

by each ruler to the help vouchsafed him by his own gods, and from the names of those he mentions we

what gods were held in special reverence during The kings of Babylon, too, were great reign.

learn his

builders and delighted to construct to restore the

From

the

new temples and

old ones which had fallen into decay.

records

of their

building operations, and

from the votive tablets deposited in the temples, we gain

much

deities in

information regarding the worship of the

whose honour they were made.

Another

source of information, especially for the early Sumerian period, are the lists of temple revenues

and accounts

;

while the very names of private persons preserved in business documents of various dates, containing as so

many

them do the names

of

roughly the

of gods, serve to indicate

changes which the principal gods ex-

It is of course perienced in the popular estimation. to be regretted that we do not possess copies of the

great religious and

mythological works of the Baby-

lonians during the earlier periods of their history, from

which

it

would be possible

to trace

with absolute cer-

tainty the course of their religious development.

numerous

The

indirect sources of information referred to,

however, enable us to control and classify the religious


DESCRIPTION OF THE GODS.

8

literature of the later Assyrian

these

By

from

means

native

it

is

sources

and Babylonian empires. to gain a

knowledge Babylonian mythology and

possible of

and to supplement the scanty references to the religion of the country which are found in the Old belief,

Testament and in the works of the

classical writers.

The gods of the Babylonians, in the forms under which they were worshipped during the later historical were conceived as beings with very

periods,

and

characteristic

while as

endowed

were not

personalities.

superhuman

wielding

with

visible,

definite

All the great gods,

powers, were regarded

human

forms, and, though they except in dreams and visions, to their

was thought to possess a definite have a body and features peculiar Not only were they like unto men in

worshippers, each

character to

and

himself.

to

body, but in thought and feeling they were also very human. Like men they were born into the world,

and

like

men

they loved and fought, and even died. in fact, had a very material concep-

The Babylonians,

They had no belief in a and abstract a different mould and of supreme deity nature to themselves and though they ascribed ail and to power might many of the greater gods they tion of the higher powers.

;

worshipped, they pictured these beings as swayed by human passions, and as acting in dependence on each other.

About

their gods they

composed strange tales and legends, in which we read how some of them


THEIR NATURE AND ORIGIN.

how

performed acts of bravery and valour,

9 others dis-

played cunning and treachery, and how others again It is true that, unlike men, exhibited fear and greed.

power was unlimited, they wielded magical weapons, and uttered spells and words of power; but

their

for

that they were fashioned

all

the separation

was not

human mould;

in

between the Babylonian and his god

in nature but in degree.

In followincj the doimrs of the gods and in notin^j the attributes ascribed to them, w^e are naturally confronted

by the problem as

to

what suggested

to the

Babylonian

his precise differentiation in their characters.

Was

it

merely fancy or arbitrary invention on his part ? We need not appeal to the comparative study of religion to

answer the question in the negative,

for the characters

of the gods themselves l^etray their origin. They are personifications of natural forces in other words, the ;

gods and

many

of the stories told concerning

them

are

the best explanation the Babylonian could give, after many centuries of observation, of the forces and changes

he saw

at

He

work around him in the natural world.

saw the sun pass daily overhead, he observed the phases of the moon and the motions of the stars he ;

wind and feared the tempest but he had no notion that these things were the result of natural

felt

the

laws.

;

In company with other primitive peoples he

explained them as the work of beings very like himself. thought of nature as animated throughout by

He


THE GREATER GODS.

lO

numberless beings, some hostile and some favourable mankind, in accordance with the treatment he had

to

From the greater powers and deduced the existence of the greater

experienced from them. forces in nature he

and in many of the legends and myths he told concerning them we may see his naive explanation of

gods,

the working of the universe.

He

did not speak in

allegory or symbol, but believed his stories literally, and moulded his life in accordance with their teachinfr.

Babylonian religion, therefore, in its general aspect N^ may be regarded as a worship of nature, and the gods themselves may be classified as the personifications of various

natural powers.

meet with a

difficulty

But here

at the outset

we

which has not yet been quite

During its early history the a was not corporate whole under one adminiscountry satisfactorily explained.

but the great cities, with the land immediately adjacent to them, formed a number of independent tration,

states.

It

was only

after

many

centuries of separate

existence, or of temporary coalition, that a

fusion

was

brought

Back

kingdoms. existence of

about

in this

many

of the

permanent between these separate

dim past we can great

Babylonian gods of

later times, and, as in later times, so still

early period,

we

find their worship

-J

trace the

more

at this

was not equally

prevalent throughout the country, but the cult of each deity was specialized and centred in sejoarate cities. Enlil; the

god of the earth,

for instance,

was worshipped


THEIR LOCAL DISTRIBUTION.

H

in the earliest period at ISTippur; Ea, the

god of the

deep, at

Eridu

Ur

Nannar, the Moon-god, at

;

the Sun-god, at Larsa, and so on.

Now

;

Utu,

taken in the

aggregate, the worship of all these deities presents a

consistent

picture

different parts,

and

of

the

worship of nature in its such a picture

for the later periods

no doubt accurately corresponds acter

of

the

national

to the general char-

But

religion.

in

the

earliest

period the great cities of the land were not parts of a and it is not quite clear how this local single kingdom ;

distribution of the great natural gods

a

among

number

of originally independent cities can be explained.

In seeking a solution of to realize the fact

that

this

problem

it is

necessary the religious system of the

Babylonians was the product of a long gradual development.

period

The consistent scheme

of

of nature

worship practised by the later Babylonians was not received by them in a complete and finished form from

and predecessors in the land. At this remote period we may assume that its state was a very simple and a very primitive one. The

their remote ancestors

horizon of these early peoples embraced

than the walls of the

each city was content to

honour of

its

local god;

bound up with that

amalgamation

more

the fortune of the god was

of the city,

and the downfall of the

god followed close on the ruin of the gradual

little

which they dwelt, and worship and do battle for the

cities in

of

these

city.

separate

With cities

the

into


GROWTH OF THE

12

CITY-GOD.

an adjustment between the local gods was necessary. In any such coalition the god of the predominant city would naturally take precedence over larger states,

those of the conquered, or dependent cities with which

he became associated.

way

It is conceivable that in this

the relationships between some of the gods of the

Even

Babylonians arose.

so, it is difficult to

trace the

city-god became associated with one of the great powers of nature, and to decide whether his aspect as a god of a special department

process by which a

\/

the universe

of

the

was or

beginning,

local

inherent

was

due

in to

nature

his

some

from

subsequent

Such questions present a number of development. attractive problems, many of which will doubtless be solved as more material relating to the earliest period of Babylonian

history

whatever way we

may

is

published.

explain

it,

different cities of Babylonia of

natural gods

is

Meanwhile, in

the local worship in

many

of the greater

one of the most striking characteristics

of the Babylonian system.

In giving a sketch of the principal gods of Babylonia it

will be expedient to confine ourselves in the

to the periods of rise of the city of

main

Babylonian history subsequent to the Babylon to power, which was followed

by the consolidation

of the separate portions of the

country into a single state.

It

would of course be

possible push our enquiry back into the earliest period v/hen the Sumerian was in possession of the to


SUMERIAN AND SEMITIC country and

in

still

their

its

names

Niffer,

influence

infancy,

as found

Mukayyar and

the later explanatory in

of

the

1

Semite was

3

still

Although the study of the Sumerian deities

unfelt. is

tlie

DEITIES.

some measure

it

in

would be possible

to give

the early inscriptions from

Tell Loh, and, with the help of lists

of the Assyrians, to trace

their adoption

of their names, attributes,

etc.,

and the modification

by the Babylonians.^

But to follow such a plan within the limits of the present volume would result in little more than a catalogue of names and equations, still

matters of conjecture.

of

many

It will be better therefore

to treat only of those great Semitic deities

so prominently in Babylonian mythology, to their

which are

Sumerian prototypes only in

who

and

figure

to refer

so far as they

illustrate their later characters.

Even during the Semitic period

the

Babylonian

company of the gods underwent considerable changes. The assimilation of the Sumerian deities was not a sudden process, and the meeting of the two systems did not produce uniform results throughout the country. Moreover, in the later as in the earlier periods, every city had its own local god, to whose service the whole

was devoted, and around whose temple local tions and local myths gathered and flourished. city

tradi-

The which one such local tradition attained any prominence in the Babylonian system was in proportion to the ^ See the names and attributes of the various deities collected by Ja&trow in his Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, pp. 51 IF.


ANU, BEL, AND EA.

14

and influence of the

political position it

arose.

city in

which

It is not a matter of surprise, therefore, that

we come

across varying traditions with regard to the and But positions relationships of some of the gods. with the gradual unification of the country many

such variant traditions were harmonized and explained by the priesthood. It is thus possible, while making full

allowance for the influence of local beliefs and of

political changes, to give a brief sketch of the

company

Babylonian gods which will harmonize with their position and character in the great religious and of the

mythological and legendary works of the nation. At the head of the company of the gods may be

Anu, Bel and Ea, whose spheres of influence together embraced the entire uniAnu was the god of heaven, Bel the god of verse. set the great triad of deities

Ea the god of At a very early

the earth and of mankind, and

the abyss

of water beneath the earth.

period in

Sumerian history we find these three deities mentioned in close connection with each other under their

Enki

Anna (Anu), Enlil Lugalzaggisi, who caused the

names

Sumerian (Ea).

to be written in

of

which

their

names

occur,

(Bel),

inscription

was one of

the earliest Sumerian rulers of whose reign evidence, and

we can

and

we have

thus trace back the existence

of this great triad of gods to the very beginning of history.

During the

later

periods the connection of

these deities with each other, as the three great gods


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SHAM ASH, AND R AMMAN.

SIN,

of the universe, remained of the

triad

had

his

Each member

unshaken.

own

1/

centre of worship.

Thus

Anu, though he had temples in other parts of the country, was paid peculiar reverence in Uruk, the Babylonian name of the city of Erech, which is mentioned as one of the oldest cities of Babylonia in the

The god

table of nations in Genesis.^

already stated, was the

Sumerian deity

by the Semites with whose worship in E-kur,

we have evidence

was the oldest

member

local

in the archaic inscrip-

tions that have yet been recovered.

the third

been

identified Eulil,

his temple in the city of Nippur,

cult of which

Bel, as has

The worship

of

of the triad, Ea, originated in Eridu,

the southernmost of the great cities of Babylonia, the site

of which,

now marked by

Shahren, stands

miles

fifty

the

mound

of

Abu

from the mouth of the

Shatt el-Arab, but which in

the earliest

period of

Babylonian history, before the formation of the present delta,

must have stood on the shore of the Persian

After

these

three

deities

with

their

Gulf.

world-wide

dominion may be set a second triad, consisting of the two great gods of light. Six and Shamash, and the god of the atmosphere, Eamman. Sin, the Moon-god, identified also with ISTannar, had two centres of wortemple E-gish-shir-gal in Ur, and the temple E-khul-khul in Kharran, of which the former was the

ship, the

more

ancient.

In Ur the worship of the Moon-god '

BAB. EEL.

Genesis

x. 10.

G


1

POSITION OF THE SUN-GOD.

8

was celebrated from remote antiquity, and in influence his cult appears to have eclipsed that

and splendour

of Shamash, the Sun-god,

whose worship was centred

in the cities of Sippar

and Larsa, in two great temples

each of which bore the

name

house."

According

to

one

of E-babbara, " the bright tradition

Shamash was

regarded* as the son of the Moon-god, and this subordi-

Moon

nation of Sun-worship to the cult of the

is

an

interesting peculiarity of early Babylonian religion. At a later period, when the system of mythology was more fully developed, the

Sun-god attained a position of greater prominence. He was then regarded as the judge of heaven and earth, and in the legends it was his

was made in cases of wrong The god Eamman, while particularly injustice. with thunder and lightning, was in general associated decision to which appeal

and

the god of the atmosphere and controlled the clouds,

the mist and

He was

the rain.

reverence by the Assyrian kings

held

who loved

in

especial

to

compare

the advance of their forces in battle to the onslaught of the Storm-god.

The most prominent deity in the company of the Babylonian gods was Marduk, who, as the local god of Babylon, naturally claimed the highest respect from

the

men

of his

own

city.

was a result of the

The extension

rise of

Babylon

of his influence

to the position of

the capital city in a united empire, and fact

we may

trace

his

identification

it is

to this

with the

old


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MARDUK AND

NABU.

21

Babylonian deity Bel, whose worship had flourished many centuries at iSTippur, and the prominent part which he plays in Babylonian legend and for so

mythology. From the days of Khammurabi onward Marduk never lost this position of supremacy among Traces of his original subordinate the other gods. character at the time when Babylon was still unknown

be seen in the fact that he was never regarded as the oldest of the gods, nor as endowed from the

may

beginning with his later attributes as having

won

his

;

he was conceived

power and supremacy by

his

own

valour and by the services he rendered both to gods and to

mankind.

may

In intimate association with Marduk

be mentioned

which

is

ISTabu, the

god of Borsippa, a

marked to-day by the mound

city

of Birs ISTimriid,^

and which, built a little to the south-west of Babylon on the opposite bank of the Euphrates, was in its later period

little

this fact

more than

we may

a suburb of the capital.

To

trace the close connection of Nabii

with Marduk, whose son and minister he was supposed to have been. E-zida, his temple in Borsippa, was closely associated with E-sagil, ^Marduk's great shrine

in Babylon,

and these two sanctuaries were the most

famous in the country. Another prominent deity was Xergal, whose temple, E-shidlam, in the city of Kutu, or Cuthah, was one

A

* place situated about two hours' ride from the modern city of Hilhih.


NERGAL, NINIB, AND NUSKU.

22 of

and

oldest

tlie

larc^est

sanctuaries

Babylonia."^ In general character ISTergal

of battle, and, no doubt from of pestilence also

;

in

still

Northern

in

was the god

destructive

its

nature,

another capacity he was

The connection

regarded as the god of the dead.^

of

with the city of Cuthah was never severed

jSTergal

throughout the long period of Babylonian history. Dungi, one of the earliest kings of the city of Ur, records the building or restoration of his shrine in that city,

and more than two tliousand years

whom

the Babylonians

we

read of certain

later,

among

Sargon sent to colonize Samaria,

men

of Cuth, or Cuthah,

who made

an image of Nergal,^ to whom they trusted to preserve them from the lions that roamed through the devastated land.

with

A god iSTergal

conjectural,

who was is

and

in later times closely associated

NiNiB.

The reading of

his

name

is

his original character is also a matter

of some uncertainty, but under the Assyrian kings his personality

was more

clearly indicated.

By them he

was regarded as a god of battle and the chase, and was to ^NTergal and Ninib that they ascribed the gift their

mighty weapons.

also be mentioned

among

The

Fire-god,

it

of

NusKU, may

the more important deities,

view of the prominent position he occupies in the magical works of the Babylonians.

in

The Babylonian goddesses, with one exception, are not very imposing figures, nor are their characters ^

See below,

p. 37.

^

2

Kiugs

xvii. 30.


BABYLONIAN GODDESSES.

23

very sharply defined or differentiated. Their position corresponded to some extent with the inferior position of

women

It has already

in Babylonia.

that the Babylonian

been remarked

conceived his gods to be very feelings, and it was but

luiman in their form and

natural that his picture of their wives should have been

drawn

same model.

Their principal functions in fact were to receive the favours of their lords and to

after the

become the mothers of a younger generation of gods.

In several instances we

may

trace their

position of

dependence in the very names by which they were known. Thus Anatu, the wife of Anu, and Belit, the wife

of

Bel, in

name

as

well as nature are merely

female counterparts of the male deities with

whom

they are associated. Damkixa, the wife of Ea, was a slightly more important personage to judge from the numerous hymns addressed to her in the later period, a fact that

may

perhaps be explained as arising from

her position as the mother of Marduk.

Marduk's

wife,

however, was of

Tsaepanitum,

account away may be said of

little

her partner, and the same Tashmetu the wife of Nabu, Ningal the wife of the

from

Moon-god, Ai the wife of the Sun-god, Shala the wife Eamman, GuLA the wife of Ninib, and Laz the wife

of

of Xergal.

but

In

fact,

the goddesses of Babylonia exercised

independent power, and, both in the ritual of Yv'orship and in the myths and stories told about the little

gods, they play a very unimportant

and subordinate

part.


THE GODDESS ISHTAR.

24

one very striking exception to this general namely the goddess Ishtar. This deity in her

There rule,

is

own person influence

appears to have absorbed the power and were, at times, ascribed to other

which

was

Slie

goddesses.

with

identified

Sumerian

the

goddess Ninni, and in the Assyrian inscriptions she becomes the wife of the national god Ashur she was ;

also referred to as

"

" Belit,"

the Lady," and in this

i.e.,

character she assumed the titles and prerogatives of the

wife of Bel.

employed

In course of time the name

as a generic

moreover, she was

term

for goddess.

known by two

which represented two quite characters.

Under the

title

"

Ishtar

was

In Babylonia

different local

distinct

"

and

names,

separate

Anunitu she was wor-

shipped as the goddess of battle at Agade and also at the city called Sippar of Anunitu and under this aspect she ;

was regarded

as the daughter of Sin the

At

of Ningal his wife.

Moon-god and

the great temple of E-ana at

Freeh, on the other hand, she was worsliipped as the goddess of love and identified with Nana and in this ;

character she was regarded as the daughter of

and Anatu.

It

was

goddess of love that she

with

Dumuzi

early youth,

or

and

Anu

in her gentler character as the

became connected in legend

Tammuz, her for the sake of

lover

who

died

in

whose recovery she She was served

descended to the realm of the dead.

Erech by numerous priestesses attached to her worship, and the rites practised at her shrine, a later at


THE GODS IN HEAVEN. form

which

of

described

is

25

were

by Herodotus/

performed in her honour as the goddess of love.

By

the Assyrians she was chiefly revered as the goddess of battle at

she had two famous shrines in Assyria, one

;

Nineveh and one

at Arbela,

and

at both she

was

worshipped in her warlike character.

Such are the

characteristics of the principal gods of

the Babylonians during the greater part of their history, and the sketch here given, though drawn from the religious

and

historical literature, is not inconsistent

them

the attributes assigned to

in the astrological

The

astronomical inscriptions.

identification

with

and

of the

planets with some of the greater gods was probably neither a very early nor primitive development, but

one which took place after the Babylonian company of the gods had been definitely formed. "When tlie worship of a host of local gods

had given place to an organized and when the growth of

system of nature worship, legend and

myth

necessitated a belief in the constant

intercourse of the gods with one another,

it

was not

unnatural for the Babylonians to assume that the gods dwelt together in some special place, tliat is to say in heaven.

From

the

earliest times the

sun and moon

were regarded as the symbols of the gods Shamash and Sin respectively, and the movements of the two great

them.

luminaries

At a

were

believed to

later period the '

Book

I.,

be directed

movements

cliap. 19a.

by

of the j)lanets


26

SPIRITS

AND DEMONS.

were also thought to be directed by gods whose symbols they were, and it is probable that in this way tiie identification of

Venus,

and

of

of the

Jupiter, of Ishtar with

Marduk with

of Ninib with Saturn,

of Nergal

with Mars

Nabu with Mercury took place.^ The members to great triad of deities, who have been referred company of the gods, were process Bel and Ea were trans-

as standing at the head of the

not omitted from this

;

Ann, and the three henceforth divided the heavens between them. In the above sketch we have only enumerated the ferred to

heaven and placed

ildni Tcihidi, or

must not be

side

"

"

great gods

by

side with

of the Babylonians,

host of lesser gods as well as countless

and

it

them stood a

forgotten that subordinate to

demons and spirits

possessing various powers and influences. spirits the two classes most frequently

Of these lesser

met with

in the

religious inscriptions are the Anunnaki and the Igigi, " " " the Spirits of the Earth and the Spirits of Heaven,"

Each class is generally mentioned in connection with the other, and they are described as In the magical carrying out the will of the great gods. respectively.

literature the

which were

number

hostile to

of

demons and ghosts and

mankind

is

spirits

very numerous, and to

it was necessary to invoke the assistance of magic and to employ powerful spells; by

escape their evil influence

means the help and protection

these

misfht be obtained to deliver a

of the great gods

man from

their baneful

acts. '

See Jensen, Die Koamologie der Eahylonier, pp. 134

ff.


(

27

)

CHAPTER

II.

HEAVEN, EAETH, AND HELL.

The conceptiou formed by to the shape

the Babylonians with regard

and nature of the earth on which they

lived,

and the ideas they held respecting the structure of the heavens, and the expectation which they entertained of one day dwelling in some region beyond the grave, can only be gathered from various stray references and allusions scattered throughout the remains of their literature.

We

from the pen

possess no treatise on these subjects

of

a Babylonian priest,

and we have

and piece together the beliefs to trace of the Babylonians on all these questions from pasThat sages in their historical and religious writings. for ourselves

the

ancient

Babylonians concerned themselves with

such problems there although they have

ample evidence to show, and, left behind them no detailed

is

description of the universe, it of the texts to obtain

study of

the

many

world

as

is

and

by a

careful

a fairly complete idea

they pictured

of the legends

possible

it.

To understand

stories told concerning the

Babylonian gods and heroes

it is

necessary to consider


SHAPE OF THE EARTH.

28 heaven,

and hell from their standpoint

eartli,

;

it

will

be well, therefore, to trace their views concerning these regions before passing to the

myths and legends that are

translated or referred to in the following chapters.

With regard to the formation and shape of we find a very interesting passage in a legend cerning the old Babylonian hero Etana. a friend of Etana, to carry offer,

him up

and on one occasion

Tlie

the earth told con-

Eagle was

this bird offered

Etana accepted the Eagle's

to heaven.

and, clinging with his hands to

tlie

Eagle's pinions,

he was carried up from the earth. As they rose together into the higher regions, the Eagle told Etana to look at the earth which grew smaller and smaller as

they ascended three times at different points of his him to look down, and each time the Eagle flight, he told ;

spoke he compared the earth to some fresh object. " After an interval of two hours the Eagle said, Look, " "

my

friend, at the

the sea, at

appearance of the earth. the

its side is

House

of

Behold,

Wisdom.^ Look how

"

the earth resembles a mountain, the sea has turned into

"

[a pool of] water."

After carrying Etana up for two

more hours the Eagle ''

"

said,

The

appearance of the earth.

Look, sea

is

my

friend, at the

a girdle

" earth." After ascending for a further space of

the Eagle *'

"

exclaimed,

gardener's channel *

I.e.,

" ;

two hours

The sea has changed

and

into

a

at a still higher point of their

the dwell in g-place of Ea, the Lord of

the deep.

round the

Wisdom, who dwelt

in,


POSITION OF THE SEA. flight the earth

From

had shrunk

these passages

we

29

to the size of a flower-bed.

see

that

the ^vriter of the

legend imagined the earth to be like a mountain around

which flowed the

At the

sea.

and the Eagle were

stopping place Etana

first

so high that the sea looked like a

pool of water, in the middle of which the earth rose.

Later the sea had become so small that girdle little

it

looked like a

earth, and at length it appeared very than a "gardener's water-channel" made larger

round the

for irrigation purposes.

The

belief that the earth

was hemispherical

resembling a mountain with gently sloping

common among passages.

the Babylonians as

that

the

earth

was

The boat used on the

"

other

the Baby-

like a

Tigris

was

sides,

we know from

According to Diodorus Siculus,

lonians said " hollow." ^

in shape,

boat and

and Euphrates,

and representations of which frequently occur on the monuments, had no keel and was circular in shape. ^

Such a boat turned upside down would give a very accurate picture of the Babylonian notion of the shape of the earth, the base of

which the sea encircled

as a

A Greek historian,

born in Sicily, who lived in the first century before Christ, and wrote a history of the world in forty books. 2 Bk. IL, eh. 31, ed. Vogel, vof. i., p. 222. 2 The boats used by the Babylonians and Assyrians are also described by Herodotus (Bk. I., chap. 104), who says that they were circular like a shield, their ribs being formed by willow branches and covered externally with skins, while no distinction was made betweeji ^

the head and the stern. At the present day similar vessels built of branches and skins, over which bitumen is smeared, are used at

Baghdad.

(See Layard, Nineveh and

its

Itemains, vol.

ii.

p. 381.)


THE DOME OF HEAVEN.

30

To a dweller on the plains of

a man.

girdle encircles

Mesopotamia the earth might well seem to be a mountain the centre of which was formed by the high mountain ransjes of

Kurdistan

while the Persian Gulf and the

;

Indian Ocean which were on the south-east of Baby-

and the Eed Sea and the Mediterranean lying to the south-west and west respectively, doubtless led to

lonia,

the belief that the ocean surrounded the w^orld.

At some

distance above the earth was stretched out

the heaven, a solid

dome

or covering in the form of

a hollow hemisphere, very

much

like the

earth in

Both earth and heaven rested upon a great

shape.

body of water called ApsiJ,

how

quite certain ported, that

the solid

to say,

is

it

is

i.e.,

the Deep.

dome

It is not

was supwhether it was

of heaven

not clear

supported by the earth, or was held up, independently of the earth, by the waters. According to one view the edge of the earth was turned up and formed around it a solid wall like a steep range of hills upon which the dome of heaven rested; and in the hollow be-

tween the mountain of the earth and of hills

the sea

stream.

This

this outer wall

collected in the form of a

conception coincides with

narrow

some of the

but against it may phrases in the legend of Etana, be urged the fact that the sea is frequently identified

with Apsu or the primeval Deep upon which the earth rested.

dome

But

if

the edges of the earth supported the

of heaven, all

communication between the sea


THE HEAVENLY and Apsu would be cut fore that the

BODIES.

It is

off.

more

3

1

proloable there-

earth did not support the heaven, and

that the foundations of the heavens, like those of the

In the ^beginning, before the creation of the world, nothing existed except the water earth, rested

on Apsu.

wherein dwelt monsters.

Accordino- to a version of

the creation story, hovrever, the god Bel or Marduk formed the heavens and the earth out of the body of a great female monster that dwelt in the Deep which Splitting her body into two halves, he half the dome of heaven, and from from one fashioned

he had

slain.

the other the earth.^

Above the dome

of heaven

was another mass of

water, a heavenly ocean, which the solid dome of heaven supported and kept in its place, so that it micrht not break through and flood the earth. On the

under side of the dome the

stars

had

their courses

and the Moon-god his path. In the dome, moreover, were two gates, one in the east and the other in the west, for the use of Shamash, the Sun-god,

who every

day journeyed from one to the other across the world. Coming from behind the dome of heaven, he passed through the eastern gate, and, stepping out upon the

Mountain of the Sunrise he began he came

upon

it,

at the

edge of the world,

his journey across the sky. to the

Mountain

In the evening

of the Sunset, and, stepping

he passed through the western gate of heaven *

See below,

p. 55.


THE PATH OF THE SUN-GOD.

32

and disappeared from the sight of men. ,

'

to one tradition he

made

According

his daily journey across the

sky in a chariot, which was drawn by two fiery horses. In representations on cylinder-seals, however, he is In the generally shown making his journey on foot.

accompanying

illustration

Shamash

is

seen appearing

.-f

r "3^^

n

'-^s:^

Sliamasb, the Sun-f;od, coming forth through the eastern door of heaven. a cylinder-seal ia the British Museum, No. 89,110.)

(From

above the horizon of the world, as he enters the sky through the eastern gate of heaven.

In the following hymn, addressed to the Rising Sun, is made to Shamash entering the world

a reference

—

through the eastern gate of heaven " Shamash, on the foundation of heaven thou hast :

flamed forth. "

Thou hast unbarred the

"

Thou hast opened the

" "

bright heavens,

portals of the sky.

Shamash, thou hast raised thy head over the land. Shamash, thou hast covered the lands with the brightness of heaven."


THE GATES OF HEAVEN.

35

Another hymn, addressed to the Setting Sun, contains a reference to the return of interior of

"

heaven

:

Shamash

into the

—

Shamash, when thou enterest into the midst of heaven,

**

The gate-bolt

of the bright heavens shall give thee

greeting, "

The doors

*''The

of heaven shall bless thee.

righteousness

of thy

beloved servant

shall

direct thee.

sovereignty shall be

"Thy

glorious

in E-babbara,

the seat of thy power, "

And

"

And

"

A feast for thy

Ai, thy beloved wife, shall

come joyfully

into

thy presence, she shall give rest unto thy heart.

godhead shall be spread

for thee.

"0

valiant hero, Shamash, [mankind] shall glorify

"

lord of E-babbara, the course of thy path shall

thee.

be straight. "

Go

forward on the road which

is

a sure foundation

for thee.

"

Shamash, thou

art the judge of the world,

thou

directest the decisions thereof.*'

Each evening when Shamash entered the innermost part of heaven he was met by Ai, his wife, and he feasted

and rested from his exertions in the abode of

the gods. BAB. EEL.

For,

beyond the sky which was

visible to

D


THE INNERMOST PART OF HEAVEN.

34

men, and beyond the heavenly ocean which the dome of the sky supported, was a mysterious realm of transcendental splendour and beauty, the Kirib Shame, "

Innermost part of Heaven," where the great gods As a general at times dwelt apart from mankind. or

number

rule the greater

each in his

own

to be intent

city

of the gods dwelt

and

shrine,

upon the welfare

at

any moment they could,

to

heaven.

dwell

of his worshippers

ancient

but

;

they so desired, go up

if

Thus, the goddess

the

in

upon earth, and each was believed

Ishtar was

city of Erech, but

wont

when

to

she

thought that an insult had been offered to her divinity by the hero Gilgamesh she at once ascended into

heaven and demanded vengeance from her father and mother, that is to say, Anu the god of heaven, and

Anatu

Again, the deluge sent by Bel upon

his wife.*

besides destroying mankind,

the earth,

overwhelmed

the shrines and temples of the gods who dwelt in the land, and they were driven forth and fled in fear to

heaven,

the realm

of Anu.^

It

was, however, only

upon

rare occasions that the gods left the earth,

it

in accordance

is

chamber of the

and

with this rule that the council -

gods,

where

fate

and destiny were

The decreed, was not in heaven but upon the earth. and here was chamber name of this Upshukkinaku, the gods gathered together when they were summoned This chamber was supposed to to a general council. Âť

See

p. 161.

*

See

p. 134.


THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD. be situated in the

east, in

the Mountain of the Sunrise,

not far from the edge of the world where by the waters of the great Deep. It has already

35

was bounded

it

been stated that the earth was thought

by the Babylonians to be in the form of a great hemisphere,

and we must now add that they believed

hollow interior to be

upon which not,

it

however,

filled

The layer of earth was

also rested.

regarded

its

with the waters of the Deep as

a

thin

crust.

On

the

contrary, though hollow, the crust of solid ground was throught to be of great thickness. Within this crust, "

mountain of the world," deep down below the surface of the ground, was a great cavern

wdiich formed the

Akallu, and here was the abode of the dead. In this region was the great House of the Dead

called

these were which was surrounded by seven walls and and watched so so strongly built, carefully guarded no one who that had the of once underworld, by beings ;

entered therein could ever hope to return again to earth indeed another name for Arallu, or the under;

world, was

House

mat

of the

la tari,

"

The land

of no return."

Dead was dark and gloomy, and

The in

it

the dead dragged out a weary and miserable existence. They never beheld the light of the sun, but sat in

unchanging

gloom.

In

appearance they resembled-

were clothed in garments of feathers; their only food w^as dust and mud, and over everything The Babylonians had no thick dust was scattered. birds, for they


THE JOYLESS EXISTENCE OF THE DEAD.

S6

beyond the grave, and they did not conceive a paradise in which the deceased would

hope of a joyous

life

he lived upon earth. They between the just and the unjust, made no and the good and the bad, but believed that all would share a common fate and would be reduced to the

live a life similar to that

distinction

same

The Babylonians shared

level after death.

this

conception of the joyless condition of the dead with the Hebrews,

by

whom

Sheol, or Hell,

was thought to

be a place where the dead led an existence deprived

In Isaiah the dead, including " and " the kings of the the chief ones of the earth

of all the joys of "

life.

"nations," are pictured as trooping forth to meet the

king of Babylon

when he

joins their

company; and

" Art thou also become they answer and say imto him " weak as we ? Art thou become like unto us ? Tliy :

''

" "

pomp viols

:

is

brought

the

worm ^

down is

and the noise of thy spread under thee and worms to hell

Ezekiel

also emphasizes the same of the living and the the condition between contrast

cover

dead.

thee."

Those that have caused terror in the land of

the living,

when they

are slain lie

"shame with those that go Psalmist x-rays to Jehovah " "

death there

is

still,

down for

shall Qfive thee thanks

?

Isaiali xiv. 10

f.

^

bear their

deliverance, :

The for in

in Sheol

who

^

The goddess who presided over '

"

to the pit."^ "

no remembrance of thee "

and

Ezekiel xxxii. 17

this joyless ff.

'

Psalm

realm vi. 5.


THE GODS OF THE DEAD. was named Allatu,

of the dead

37

Ereshkigal, and

or

Nergal

she was associated in her rule with the god

The name

in his character as the god of the dead.

was the goddess Laz, but legend wav into the Lower World

of the wife of ]^ergal tells

how

Nersjal forced his

with the purpose of

slaying Allatu,

and

how

the

goddess by her entreaties prevailed on him to spare Henceforth ISTergal and Allatu her life and marry her.

The

ruled together over the realm of the dead.

minister of Allatu was ISTamtar, the lence and disease,

who

her orders

execution.

written

into

down by

chief

of pesti-

acted as her messenger and put Allatu's

decrees

a goddess called Belit-tseri,

of the Desert,"

"Lady

demon

who

possibly took her

were "

the

name

from the wild and barren desert that shut in Babylonia on the west and the chief porter who guarded its ;

entrance was a god of

''Spirit

the

the orders of

named Xedu.

Earth,"

ISTergal

also

frequently

and Allatu.

chief deities Allatu exercised

of demons, who,

The Anunnaki, acted

In addition to these

control over a

like ISTamtar, spread plague

among mankind, and

or

under

number

and disease

so brought fresh subjects to the

realm of their mistress.

The form and appearance of

certain of the gods

of the underworld

number

of engraved bronze plates

down tended

to to

us

;

these, it has

may

and

be gathered from a

demons

which have come

been suggested, were

be placed as votive tablets

in-

in the graves


A BABYLONIAN GRAVE-TABLET.

38

The accompanyhig

of the dead.

illustration has

been

known specimen of this class of was which purchased in Syria some twenty object had it evidently been brought there from years ago taken from the finest

;

some ancient Babylonian

On

city.

the

back of this

tablet is cut in relief the figure of a mythical

beast with a lion's head

and

raises its

top of which of the

tablet,

head above the edge of the grasps with

which

is

its fore- paws.

winged

hind legs

its

plate,

On

the

the front

here reproduced, a funereal

The beast looking over the top represented. the tablet is identified by some with the god Nergal,

scene of

it

stands on

it

;

is

who was

believed to

preside over the funeral

which are being performed It will be

means

lines

into

is

divided by

The first number of the

four registers.

emblems

contains the

register

for the deceased.

observed that the scene

of thick

rites

of a

Here we have a group of seven small circles or stars, and a crescent, and a winged solar disk, and a

gods.

an eight-rayed horned head-dress, and other

circle containing

suggested that these cance,^

and

represent a

if

this

star,

and a

objects.

emblems had

grouping

has been

astrological signifi-

be the case they

particular

cylindrical,

It

of the

may

perhaps

stars

of the

heavens and so indicate the date of the death of the

man

for

whose

benefit

the tablet

was made.

occurrence of such emblems, however, '

See Clermont-Gaunean, Eev. ArcleoL, Nouv.

is

The

frequent, both

Ser., vol, 37, p. 343.

.


Bronze plate on which are dppicted the^ods of the d'^ad in attcnilance upon a defeased (_Froni /."et'iteperson and certain demons and dwellers in tLe underworld. Archeolcgique, youv, Sh\, \'ol. o7.)



A FUNEREAL SCENE.

4I

on royal monuments {e.g., the stele of Asliur-natsir-pal, and the stele of Shalmaneser II., and the rock inscription at Bavian), and on inscribed cylinder seals

on

these

two

classes

of

the

objects

;

emblems

and do

It not appear to have any astrological significance. therefore seems more correct to explain their position

by assuming that they are amulets to secure for the dead man

at the head of the tablet

placed there as

emblems they were. into which the rest of the

the favour of the deities whose

The next three divided

registers

been

have

supposed to represent It is different stages in the upper and lower world.

scene

is

preferable, however, to suppose that the three groups

of figures in the three registers are parts of one scene,

though they are placed, as is frequently the case in archaic sculptures, one above the other. The whole scene

represents

the

deceased

lying

on his

bier,

attended by demons and beings from the underworld.

In

the

second

register

we have

creatures with the bodies of beasts.

They

all

are

clothed

seven

men and in

mythical

the heads of

long tunics which

feet, and they all face towards the right, and the right hand of each is raised. Each being has the head of a different beast. Beginning on the right it will be seen that the first one has the head of a

reach to the

serpent, the second that of a bird, the third that of a horse, the fourth that of a ram, the fifth that of a bear,

the sixth that of a hound, and the seventh that of a


GUARDIANS OF THE DEAD.

42

Certain other gods or demons occur in the third

lion.

The

register.

one on the

first

right,

of a bearded man, has his right

manner

hand

who

is

in the form

same

raised in the

as the seven beings in the second register,

and

next to him stand two lion-headed creatures, clasping hands. All these gods or demons appear to belong to the region of the dead, and they seem to be guarding the bier of the deceased, who is lying upon it with

hands clasped and raised above him. deceased in his grave-clothes;

On

at his

the left

the

is

head and

feet

stand two attendants, with their right hands raised, and

they appear to be performing some mystic ceremony over the corpse. The dress of these attendants isremarkable, for they wear garments made in the form of a fish. Behind the attendant at the head of the bier is

a stand for burning^ incense,

The most

interesting figures

r^"''^"

^

on the plate are those two of the

in the fourth register, for they represent chief deities of the underworld.

the centre

is

The female

fisrure

in

the goddess Allatu, the queen of the dead.

She has the head of a lioness and the body of a woman ; hand she grasps a serpent, and a lion hangs

in each

from each

and

is

sailing

over the

adjoin Apsu, the

the earth. ISTamtar, the

and

is

She kneels upon a horse in a boat " Waters of Death," which

breast.

primeval

ocean that

rolls

beneath

The hideous, winged demon behind her

demon

of the plague,

who

ever ready to do her bidding.

is

waits upon her

It is not certain


OTHER GRAVE-TABLETS. what the

objects

that

probable

in

front are

they

of Allatu

intended

43 but

are,

to

is

it

the

represent

which were placed in the grave with the The purpose of the tablet seems to have deceased. offerings

been to secure the safe passage of the dead Arallu, or the underworld.

A

somewhat similar bronze

preserved,

in

is

the

Constantinople, and

into

but less well

tablet,

Imperial Ottoman Museum is

said

at

have been found at

to

On

Surghiil in Southern Babylonia.^

the back of this

beneath the feet of the monster

tablet,

man

who

looks over

the top, a space of four lines has been left blank to receive

an

inscription

name and

the

of

titles

would

which

either

the deceased, or

record

contain

an

incantation which was to be recited for his benefit.

On

the back of a similar, though somewhat smaller

tablet that

was evidently intended

to be

used

for the

same purpose (although it only represented the goddess Allatu, while the bier and the Plague-demon Namtar and the other gods or demons found on the larger tablets were wanting), a longer inscription was found. This tablet

was published by Lajard, but the text

copied that

it

is

so badly

cannot be read with certainty.^

A still

smaller tablet of the same character the British •

is

preserved in

Museum.^

See the plate published by Scheil, Becueil de Travaux, Vol. XX.,

p. 55. -

Âť

See Lajard, Recherches No. 86,262.

siir le culte

.

.

,

de Venus,

pi.

XVII., No.

1.


THE IMPORTANCE OF DUE BURIAL.

44

Perhaps in no matter do the Babylonians afford a striking contrast to the Egyptians than in the

more

In the moist, alluvial

treatment of the dead.

Mesopotamia the dead body

and

fell

soil of

quickly into decay,

in the absence of ranges of hills such as those

which run on each side of the Nile Valley, the making of rock-hewn tombs in which the bodies of the dead

might be preserved was impossible. probably, that

we may

It is to this fact,

trace the ideas of the

gloomy

existence which the Babylonians believed they would It must not lead when they passed beyond the grave.

be imagined, however, that the Babylonians attached no

importance to the rites of burial. On the contrary, the greatest misfortune that could befall a man was to be o deprived of burial, for, in this case, it was thought that his shade could not reach Arallu, and that it would

have to wander disconsolately about the earth, where, driven by the pangs of hunger, it would be obliged to eat

and drink any

find in the street.

offal

It

or leavings

was in order

which

it

to ensure

might such a

on his conquest of Susa, caused the graves of the kings who had been dead and buried many years to be disturbed and their

fate to his foes that Ashur-bani-pal,

bones to be dragged to Assyria; and the same object prompted the mutilation of corpses on the battlefield

and the casting forth of the dead bodies by birds and beasts of prey.

to

be devoured

To leave a body unburied, however, was not un-


WANDERING SHADES. attended witli danger to the living, for the dead man, during

its

45 tlie

shade of

wanderings over the earth,

any person it met and cause him The wandering shade of a man was grievous sickness. " called ekimmu," i.e., spectre, and the sorcerer and the bewitch

might

witch claimed to possess the power of casting a spell whereby an "ekimmu" might be made to harass a

On

man.

times settle on a that

its

ekimmu " would someown accord, in the hope

the other hand an

man

of its

victim would give

himself from

Museum an

its

''

clutches.

it

burial in order to free

We

have in the British

interesting incantation wliich was intended "

" by a man on whom an ekimmu had fastened itself,-^ and from this we learn that a man, who

to be recited

had

pain, saying "

"

Ea,

And

"0 "

"

might cry aloud in his

fallen sick in consequence, :

—

Shamash,

Marduk, deliver me,

through your mercy

let

me have

relief.

Shamash, a horrible spectre for many days fastened itself on my back, and will not loose

Hath

its hold upon me. The whole day long he persecuteth me, and in the

night season he striketh terror into me. "

He

sendeth forth pollution, he maketh the hair of my head to stand up,

"He

taketh the power from

mine eyes *

my

body, he

maketh

to start out,

See King, Balnfonian Magic and Sorcery,

p.

119

f.


LAYING A TROUBLED

46 "

"

He He

SPIRIT.

my back, he poisoiieth my plagueth my whole body."

plagueth

The

man

sick

in his despair prays to

flesh,

Shamash

be delivered from the ekimmu, whoever he saying "

:

may

—

Whether

it

be the spectre of one of

my own

to be,

family

and kindred, "

Or the

"

Or whether

spectre of one

who was murdered,

be the spectre of any other haunteth me." it

man

that

In order to ensure the departure of the spectre to the underworld he next

which will cause the depart, and says "

A garment

"

And And

—

spirit

to clothe him,

of the unburied

and shoes

offerings

man

to

for his feet,

a girdle for his loins, and a skin of water for

him *'

:

makes the necessary

to drink, ^

as food for his journey have I given him. Let him depart into the West, " To ISTedu, the chief Porter of the Underworld, I

...

"

consign him. JSTedu, the chief Porter

"Let

of the Underworld,

guard him securely, *'

And may

bolt

and bar stand firm (over him)."

It is clear, therefore, that in their

own

interest, as

well as in that of the deceased, a man's friends and relations took good care that he *

was buried with

I cannot tiansl.ite the signs in the text here.

all


MOURNING FOR THE DEAD.

47

respect, and ensured his safe journey to the lower world by placing in the grave offerings of meat and drink to sustain him by the way such offerings were

due

;

intended to alleviate his unhappy lot perhaps after his arrival in the gloomy abode of the underworld. also

have come down to us with regard to the ceremonies that were performed at the grave,

Not many but

details

we know

filled

that after a man's death his house

with mourners, both male and female, hired

family

in

whom

order that they might give

was his

public

expression to the grief occasioned by his death. the Assyrian letter-tablets in the British is

one

and

^

which

refers to the death of the rei^jning kinsf

to the ref^ulations for mourninoj that

observed at the court. *'is

Among Museum there

dead, and

"weep."

"

The

were to be

king,'* the letter says,

the inhabitants of the city of

The writer

of the

letter

Ashur

then goes on to

describe the departure of the governor of the city with from the palace, the offering up of a sacrifice,

his wife

and the wearing of mourning raiment by the whole court and it finally states that arrangements had been made with a director of music to come with his female ;

musicians and sing dirges in the presence of the court. The mourning on the death of a private citizen would of course be carried out on a

more modest

After the mourning for the

performed, his body, ^

British

dead

duly prepared Museum, No. 81-2-4,

scale.

man had been for 65.

burial,

was


BURIAL RITES.

48

carried forth to the grave.

That the burial of the dead

with accompanying rites and offerings was practised in Babylomia from a remote period is proved by a

was

representation on a stele which

set

up

to record

the victories of Eannadu, an ancient king of the city

who

of Shirpurla, B.C.

On

4000.

reigned in

all

a portion of this stele

probability before is

of the burial of those of his warriors

The dead

in battle.

feet alternately,

been raised

;

a representation

who had

fallen

are laid in rows, with head to

and above them a mound of earth has

their

comrades are represented bearing

baskets containing more earth for the mound, or per-

haps funeral offerings for the dead.^ of later

On

the

monuments

Babylonian and Assyrian kings we do not

any representation

of burial ceremonies, but in a broken

inscription of one of the later Assyrian kings,

name has

find

unfortunately not been preserved,

whose

we have

a brief but very interesting account of the ceremonies which he performed at his father's burial.^ He says

—

"

" " " **

*'

"

Within the grave, The secret place, In kingly

oil,

I gently laid him.

The grave-stone Marketh his resting-place.

With mighty bronze De

*

See

2

British

Sarzec, Deeouvertes en Chald^e, pi. 3. see Meissner, Vienna Oriental Journal,

Museum, K. 7856

Vol, XII., pp. eo

ff.

;


THE INTERMENT OF A *'

"

it

with an incantation.

Vessels of gold and silver,

Such as (my

father) loved,

"All the furniture that "

49

I sealed its entrance,

"I protected **

KING.

The due right

befitteth the grave,

of his sovereignty,

I displayed before the Sun-god,

And beside the father who begat me, " I set them in the grave.

tl

*'

Gifts unto the princes, " Unto the Spirits of the Earth,^ " And unto the gods who inhabit the grave, " I then presented." this we learn that the king placed vessels of silver in the grave as dedicatory offerings, and gold and after sealing up the entrance to the grave he pronounced a powerful spell to prevent the violation of the tomb by robbers he also presented offerings to

From

;

propitiate the

demons and dwellers

in the underworld.

Another interesting point about this record is the dead body is said to have been set " in

fact that the

"

kingly

oil," for

the

of preserving the to

have been used

was

oil

clearly used with the idea

body from decay. for

the purpose of preserving the

dead, for Ashur-bani-pal tells

shumati

had

attendant to

caused prevent *

BAB. EEL.

Salt also seems

himself

how, when ISTabu-belto

be

slain

by

his

himself falling alive into the The Anunnati.

E


PRESERVATION OF THE DEAD BODY.

50

hands of Ashur-bani-pal, Ummanaldas had the body placed in salt and conveyed to Assyria into the Besides salt and

presence of the king.^

oil,

honey

seems also to have been used by the Babylonians for Herodotus says that the Babypreserving the dead. lonians buried

in honey,^

and that honey possesses

great powers of preserving the dead fact that the it

Moreover,

Egyptians also used recorded

is

is

it for

proved by the this purpose.^

that Alexander the

Great

when on his death-bed commanded that he should be buried in honey, and obeyed.^

it

seems that his orders were

Tradition also says that one Marcellus having

prepared the body of Saint Peter for burial by means of large quantities of myrrh, spices, etc., laid it in a "

long chest

There

is

"

filled

with honey.^

ample evidence, therefore, to

show that the

Babylonians cared for their dead and took pains about burial, and it is the more surprising on that

their

account, that during the numerous excavations which

have been carried out in Mesopotamia, comparatively few graves have been discovered. Of the graves that have been found, some are built of bricks and are in the form of small vaulted chambers, while others have a

flat or

domed

roof supported

by a brick substructure

;

Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. V., pi. vii., 11. 38 fF. ^ gee Budge, The Mummy, p. 183. Bk. I., chap. 198. * See Budge, The Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great, Vol. II., P 349 f. ^ See Brit. Mus. MS. Oriental GTS, fol. 17a, col. 1. *

2


BABYLONIAN GRAVES.

5

in addition to these graves a iew clay sarcophagi

With

burial jars have been found.

the graves are usually found a small

1

and

the skeletons in

number of vases

and perhaps some simple objects of the toilet but from the fact that no inscriptions have been found ;

either over these graves or

found therein,

it

is

upon any of the to

difficult

extremely

objects

assign

to

them even an approximate date in fact, some have unhesitatingly assigned them to a period which is much later than that of the ancient Babylonian and Assyrian To account for this dearth of graves the empires. ;

suggestion has been

made

that the Babylonians burnt

their dead, but not a single passage has been found

in the cuneiform inscriptions in support of this view. It is true that in the winter of

1886 and in the spring

of the following year the Eoyal Prussian

Museum

sent

out an expedition to Babylonia, which, after excavating the mounds of Surgjhul and El-Hibbah, thought thev

had obtained conclusive evidence that the Babylonians burnt their dead.'^ But it has since been pointed out that the tombs they to

the

excavated belong to a period

fall

subsequent while the half-burned

human remains they

of

the

Babylonian Empire,

appearance

discovered

the

of

seemed

to

charred suggest

that the bodies were not cremated but were accidentally

destroyed by

number ^

of

fire.

graves

See Koldewey,

However that

the comparatively small

have

been found

Zeitsclirift filr Assyriologie,

Bd.

II.,

may

pp. 403

ff.

be


CARE FOR THE DEAD.

52

accounted

for,

we may

confidently believe

and Assyrians were

Babylonians

in

the

that

habit

tlie

of

burying, and not burning, their dead throughout the whole course of their history. We are right also in

saying that they imagined that burial, and offerings made at the tomb, would ameliorate the lot of the departed, and

performing dead.

that

all rites

they were usually scrupulous in which could possibly benefit the


(

53

CHAPTEK

)

III.

THE LEGENDS OF CREATION.

The

nations of the ancient world

who have

left

behind

any remains or traces of their literature possessed theories as to the manner in which the world came into being.

Such

theories, or

cosmogonies as they are

termed, are generally told in the form of myths or stories,

and, although

we only know them

in their later

and fully developed forms, their origin may be assumed to go back to a considerable antiquity. If we may judge from the studies and observations that have been

made

of undeveloped races at the present day,

be concluded that primitive

maker

man was

it

may

essentially a

Believing as he did that every object and force in nature possessed a personality and will of myths.

own, he would explain the changes he saw taking place in the world around him by means of In these he would ascribe to the legends and stories. like his

mysterious beings, which seemed to him to animate the natural world, motives similar to those which

would control

his

own

actions.

At

a

more mature


LEGENDS OF CREATION.

54

stage in his development he began to perceive a con-

nection or dependence between the various powers of nature, such as the alternation of day

movements

and night, the

and the regular recurrence these would tend to suggest that some

of the stars,

of the seasons

;

plan or system had been followed in the creation of the world, and in

seeking for the reason of things of myth, he would in process lines familiar the along of time develop a cosmogony or story of creation.

We

have evidence that at least two such

stories

were

current in Babylonia and Assyria in the later periods of their history.

The story

of the creation of

the world as told

Babylon about the year B.C. 300 we know in outline from the extracts that have come down from the history of Berosus, a Chaldean

priest,

in

brief

to us

who

ministered in the temple of Bel at Babylon at the end

and the beginning of the third century

of the fourth

Berosus wrote a history of Babylonia,

before Christ.

beginning with the creation of the world and extending

down to his own time, and although his work, which he translated into Greek, has been lost, extracts from it

have been preserved in the books of

His account

of the creation,

later writers.

for instance,

was repro-

duced by Alexander Polyhistor, from whom Eusebius quotes in the first book of his Chronicon} From this

we

learn that the Babylonians pictured to themselves *

Chron.

I.,

ed.

Schoene,

col.

14

ff.


THE VERSION OF EEROSUS.

55

a time when the world

had no existence, a time before things came into being, when darkness and The water, however, did not water alone existed.

remain uninhabited

for long, for monsters ar ose in_ity

men

with wings, and creatures with four wings i.e., and two human heads, and beings with two heads, one

male and one female.

Some

of men, but had the feet

and horns

creatures

had the

of goats

;

bodies-

some had

the legs of horses, and others, like hippocentaurs, had the bodies and legs of horses but the upper parts of Others, again, were in the form of bulls with

a man.

the heads of men, or dogs with four bodies ending in the tail of a

or

fish,

men and

horses with

tlie

heads of

dogs, and some had the head and body of a horse but

In the water also creeping things, and serpents, and many other monsters of strange and Over these monsters a woman varied shapes existed. the

tail of

reigned

a

fish.

called

Omoroka

(or

in

Omorka),

Chaldee

A change was brought about by the death of the woman Omorka, who was slain by a god named Bel..- Bel cleft her in twain, and from one half he made Thamte,^ or in Greek Thalassa, ''the Sea."

in this world of chaos

the earth, and from the other he

ruled.

made

;

also the

had_cieated the earth, he perceived that The

the heavens

monsters of the deep over whom she The account then goes on to say that after Bel

and he slew

it

was barren

Thalatth, which is probably a corruption of " See Robertson tdmtu the Babylonian for sea. ocean." Bd. VI., Smith, Zeitschrift fUr Assyriologie^ p. 339. *

Thamte,

text reads

i.e.,


DISCOVERY OF THE CREATION TABLETS.

56

and had no inhabitants his

own

to cut off his head and \vhich

flowed from

•directed

he therefore decided to use

;

He

blood for creation.

him

mix the

bade one of the gods earth with the blood

him, and from the mixture he

to fashion jiien

and animals.

Although

deprived of his head Bel did not die, for he is said to have also created the stars, the sun and moon, and the five planets, after his

head was cut

Such

off.

the

is

account of the Babylonian cosmogony as narrated by But as the Berosus, which Eusebius has preserved. latter writer quoted the story at

second hand,

it

is

more than probable that he accidentally misrepresented misunderstood certain portions of

•or

Fortunately we have not

to

it.

depend on Eusebius

alone for our knowledge of the Babylonian stories of creation, for we now possess far fuller accounts on

Assyrian and Babylonian tablets which have been published within the last twenty-five years. The credit of having

made known

to the

world the Babylonian

Creation tablets belongs to the late Mr. George Smith who, in 1875, published a story very like that told by Berosus,

inscribed

upon

fragments of tablets that

some

of

the

tablets

had been brought

to

and

England

Ashur-bani-pal's library at Nineveh The publication of the text and several years before. translations of the Creation tablets by Mr. Smith^ threw

from the

'

site of

See Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch., Vol. IV. (1876) p. 363 Genesis, London, 1876.

and The Chaldean Account of

f.

(six plates),


THEIR NUMBER AND CONTENTS. great light

57

upon the Babylonian cosmogony, and evoked

considerable interest in the subject.

From

the date of their

first

publication the tablets

have been closely studied, and from time to time fresh fragments of the legend have been identified in the British

Museum. of

Icnowleclge

During

the

increased, so that

Assyrian

more

a

period, moreover, the

this

language

has

greatly

accurate rendering of the

texts can now be given than was possible at the time of their discovery.^ From these inscriptions we gather

that at about the middle of the seventh century before Christ the Babylonian story of the creation was pre-

served at Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, in the form of a great poem, divided into a number of parts or sections, each of which was inscribed upon a separate tablet.

The

were distinguished by numbers,

tablets

"

When

in the height," from the opening words of the

First

and the whole

Tablet.

was named Enuma elish,

series

The poem

is

incomplete in passages, and the

very imperfect. We know that the series when complete contained at least six tablets, but it is

end

is

impossible

to

say

definitely

contained.

how many

In spite of

tablets

it

the

fragmentary poem, however, the thread of the narrative can generally be followed. originally

condition

of

many

parts of the

For the principal works dealing with the Creation tablets which have been published within recent years, see Jensen, Die Kosmologle der BahyJonier, pp. 2'i3 ÂŁf., Gunkel and Zimmern, Sclopfung und Chaos, pp. 401 ff., and Delitzsch, Das hahylonische WeltsoJiopfungsspos, ^

pp. 7

ff.

\


SUMMARY OF THE BABYLONIAN LEGEND.

58

This version of the Babylonian cosmogony is practically identical with that given by Berosus about three hundred and fifty years later.

According to the

version on the Assyrian tablets, chaos in the beginning, before the world was created, consisted of a watery mass.

Two the

primeval beings personified chaos, namely Apsu, "

Deep," and Tiamat, the universal mother,

corresponds to the

woman named Omorka,

who

or Thamte,

by Berosus. Beside Apsu and Tiamat no other being In existed, and they mingled their waters in confusion. the course of time the gods were created the first were Lakhmu and Lakhamu, Anshar and Kishar came next^ ;

after

many

ages,

and

great gods were born.

after a further period the other

But Tiamat, the monster

of the

Deep, who had taken

the form of a huge serpent, and revolted her consort, against the gods, and created Apsu,

a brood of monsters to destroy them.

Anshar, the

leader of the gods, having entrusted in vain the god

Anu, and

after

him the god Ea, with

the task of resist-

ing Tiamat, prevailed on Marduk, the son of Ea, to be the champion of the gods and to do battle with the monster.

The gods were summoned by Anshar

council that they might

confer supreme power

to a

upon

Marduk and arm him for the fight. After completing his preparations Marduk went out to meet Tiamat and her host and succeeded in slaying her and in taking He then split Tiamat's body in her helpers captive. half and from one half he formed the heaven, fixing.


ITS

RESEMBLANCE TO GENESIS.

59

firmament to divide the upper from the lower and waters, pLacing bars and sentinels that the waters

it

as a

Marduk then

should not break throuoh.

created the

heavenly bodies that they might regulate the seasons,

and he appointed the moon to rule the night. The poem at this point becomes mutilated, but there is evidence to show that

Marduk then

created the earth,

and the green herb, and cattle, and the beasts of the field, and creeping things, and man, in the order here given.

From

the above

of creation

it

of the

creation

Genesis

;

it

it

presents

as preserved in the is

some very

resemblance to the narrative

remarkable points of

and

of the Babylonian story

summary

will be seen that

first

chapter of

chiefly to this fact that the wide-

spread interest in the legend

due.

is

The bare outline

given by Berosus does not suggest a very close parallel to the Biblical account, but from the more detailed narrative as given on the

tablets

we

see that

many

features of the story of creation narrated in Genesis are also characteristic of the

Babylonian cosmogony. Thus

each account the existence of a watery The chaos preceded the creation of the present world.

according to

Hebrew word

telioni

translated

"

the deep

"

in Genesis,^

"

corresponds exactly with the Babylonian Tiamat," the monster of the deep who personified chaos and confusion.

The creation

of light recorded in Genesis is

the equivaleixt of the statement on the Creation tablets Âť

Gen.

i.

2.


6o

THE BIBLICAL AND BABYLONIAN ACCOUNTS.

that Tiamat was vanquished by Marduk, for he overcame the monster in his character as a solar god. Then there follows in each narrative the description of the creation of a firmament, or

dome

solid

of heaven^ to keep

the u;pperjwaters_in pl^i^e in each account the narrative of the creation of the heavenly bodies follows ;

that

of the

firmament,

and in each

also

they are

been suggested that the seven days of creation in Genesis correspond

appointed to regulate the seasons. to seven

definite acts of

It has

creation in

the Babylonian

but a careful study of the Babylonian poem has shown that such an arrangement was not contemplated by the Babylonian scribes, nor is there any

account

;

evidence to show that the creation was deliberately classified in a series of seven acts. slight perusal of

A

however, sufficient to prove that the two accounts present in many ways a very striking resemthe legend

is,

blance to each other

;

but in some respects the contrast

When we examine the they present aims and ideas which underlie and permeate the two is

no

less striking.

narratives, all resemblance

monotheism

between them

ceases.

The

of Genesis finds no echo in the Babylonian

poem, and in the

latter

no single and pre-existing deity

created the universe from chaos by his word, but the

gods themselves emerged from chaos, and it was only after one of their number had fought with and slain the mother of them all that the creation of the world took place.

\

/


THE CREATION OF THE GODS. Before

6l

we

proceed to consider the problem of the relationship of these two stories of the creation it will be well to give a translation of those portions of the Babylonian legends that have been preserved, and to trace their age

and history so

far as

they can be ascertained.

The beginning of the First Tablet contains a description of chaos and of the birth of the oldest gods it reads

:

;

—

"

When in the height heaven was not named, And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name " And Apsii the primeval, who begat them, " And chaos, Tiamat, the mother of them both "

^ ;

—

"

Their waters were mingled together, and

"

No field was formed, no marsh was to be seen "When of the gods none had been called

;

into

being,

"And

none bore a name, and no destinies [were

ordained]

;

"

Then were created the gods, [all of them], " Lakhmu and Lakhamii were called into beins:.

.

,

"Asjes increased " " " "

Anshar and Kishar were created Long were the days Ann, the father Anshar and Anil

The '

last line

"

but one evidently refers to the creation

According to Semitic ideas tliename of a thing was regarded as it8 hence to bear a name was equivalent to being in existence.

essence

;


REPETITIONS IN THE TEXT.

62 of the god

where

this

Aim

;

and from a passage in Damascius,

Babylonian theogony is reproduced/ we may and Ea were created along with

infer that the Gjods Bel

him.

It is probable that the creation of the other great

gods was then described. place to order,

Chaos was, in fact, giving but the gods were not for long allowed

remain in peace, for Tiamat, their mother, conceived a hatred for them, and with Apsu, their father, plotted to

their destruction.

The

First Tablet ends with a descrip-

tion of the brood of monsters

which Tiamat spawned

to

aid her in her fight with the gods.

Of the Second Tablet very

little

has been preserved,

but, as in the case of the First Tablet, sufficient frag-

ments of the text remain of the

story.

to indicate the general course

The piecing together of the

narrative,

however, would be well nigh impossible were for a strange characteristic of

this

practice

monsters, and

would be

the

description

Tiamat's

But

for

brood

of

Kingu

as their captain

it

remains on the frag-

The

description, however,

hardly any of

ments of the First Tablet. is

of

of her selection of

lost, for

not

Babylonian poetry, that

to say, the practice of frequent repetition.

is

it

repeated in the form of a message to the god Anshar

beginning of the Second Tablet; it is also repeated on the Third Tablet, once by Anshar to his the

at

Gaga, and again by Gaga when delivering Anshar's message to Lakhmu and Lakhamu. Had we minister

*

Quaestiones de primis principiis, chap. 125 (ed. Kopp, p. 384).


anshar's instructions to gaga.

6^

the complete text of the First and Second Tablets of

poem such

the

repetition

might be wearisome, but in

their present imperfect condition its advantages for the

restoration of the text are obvious.

On

hearing the news of Tiamat's preparations for battle the god Anshar was troubled, and he sent his

son

Anu

and to try to appease her but when he saw her he to her,

to speak with her

Anu went

anger.

The god Ea was next sent by fear. met with no better success. Anshar but he Anshar,

turned back in

then invited the god Marduk to do battle with Tiamat, and he consented on condition that the gods would

meet together and solemnly declare him their champion. The Second Tablet ends with Marduk's speech to Anshar, and the Third Tablet opens with Anshar's instructions to his minister of the

direct

to

a council

to carry tidings of

Lakhmu and Lakhamu, and to summon the gods who were to appoint

revolt

them

Marduk

summon

to

Gaga was ordered

gods.

Tiamat's

Gaga

to

The Third Tablet begins mouth, and

as their champion.

Anshar opened

his

[To Gaga] his minister spake the word [Go Gaga, thou minister] that rejoicest

:

—

:

'

[To

Lakhmu and La]khamu

let the gods, all of '

[Make ready sit,

my

spirit,

I will send thee.

for a feast], at a

them,

banquet

let

them


THE REVOLT OF TIAMAT.

64 "

[Let "

them

eat bread], let

[That for

Marduk],

decree the "

[avenger],

they

may

fate.

[Go Ga]ga, stand before them,

"[And

all that I] tell thee,

say) "

them mix wine,

their

*

repeat unto them, (and

:

Anshar your son has sent me,

"The purpose

of his heart he has

made known

to

me. <c

He

says that Tiamat our mother has conceived a

hatred for us, tl

With

all

her force she rages, full of wrath.

"

All the gods have turned to her

"

With

"

those,

whom you

;

created, they go at her side.

banded together, and they advance

at the side of

Tiamat

They

are

They

are furious, they devise mischief without rest-

;

**

ing night and day. "

for battle, fuming and raging have "They joined their forces and are making war. " Ummu-Khubur,^ who formed all things,

They prepare

;

"

Has made

"

spawned monster-serpents, Sharp of tooth, and cruel of fang

"With

in addition

weapons

invincible, she has

;

poison instead of blood she has filled their

bodies.

"

Eierce monster-vipers she has clothed with terror, *

Auother name of Tiamat.


HER BROOD OF MONSTERS.

6$

"With

splendour she has decked them, and she has caused them to [mount ?] on high.

"

Whoever beholds them

"

Their bodies rear up and none can withstand their

is

overcome by dread.

attack. i(

up the viper, and the dragon, and the (monster) Lakhamu,

She has

And

set

the hurricane, and the raging hound, and the

scorpion-man, ((

And mighty tempests, and the fish-man, and the ram

<l

They bear merciless weapons, without

;

fear of the

•

fight.

"

Her commands

none can

are mighty,

them

resist

;

"After this fashion, huge of stature, she has made eleven (monsters). the gods who are her sons, inasmuch as he gave her support, " She has exalted Kingu in their midst she has

"Among

;

raised "

To march

him

to power.

before the forces, to lead the host,

"

To give the battle-signal, to advance to the " To direct the battle, to control the fight, "

To him has she entrusted has

"

"

made him

sit,

;

attack,

in costly raiment she

(saying)

:

have uttered thy spell, in the assembly of the gods I have raised thee to power, The dominion over all the gods have I entrusted '

I

to thee.

BAB. EEL.

F


KINGU AND THE REBEL HOST.

66 "

Be

tbou

tliou exalted,

my

"

chosen spouse, over all [the world]/ Tablets of Destiny,^ on

Let them magnify thy name " Then did she give him the

his breast she laid them, (saying)

"

'

Thy command

shall not

be without

:

avail,

and the

word of thy mouth shall be established.' ''Now Kingu, (thus) exalted, having received the "

power of Ann, Decreed the fate for the gods, her sons Let the opening of your mouth quench the Fire:

"

'

god

;

"Whoso

prides himself on valour, let '

far

display

might Anshar has described the revolt of Tiamat

(his)

So

him

"

!

and the creation of the monsters who were her in the

fight,

to

help

and her selection of Kingu as the

captain of her host

;

all these

things are described in

He

the First Tablet in exactly the same language.

next mentions the measures he has taken on hearing of Tiamat's treachery in the following words " "

"

:

—

Anu, but he was unable to go' against her ISTudimmud ^ was afraid and turned back. I sent

Marduk has son

set out, the director of the gods,

;

your

;

The possession of the "Tablets of Destiny" carried with it supremacy among the gods; with a view of obtaining this supremacy the god Zu stole them from Bel, but Shamash the Sun-god compelled '

him 2

to restore

A

title of

them.

See pp. 193

the god Ea.

f.


MARDUK, THE CHAMPION OF THE GODS. "To

set out against

6*J

Tiamat his heart has prompted

(him). "

"

He ^

opened his mouth and spake unto

If

me

:

your avenger, Conquer Tiamat and give you life, "Appoint an assembly, make my fate pre-eminent and proclaim it. I,

'•'

"In Upshukkinnaku ^

seat

yourselves joyfully to-

gether.

"AVith

"Whatsoever "

'

my mouth

I do,

The word of

made

you will I decree fate. shall remain unaltered,

like

my

lips shall

never be changed nor

of no avail.'

"Hasten therefore and swiftly decree fate which you bestow,

for

him the

"That he may go and fight your strong enemy The narrative continues

—

:

"

Gaga went, he took

"Humbly

before

his

" !

way and

Lakhmu and Lakhamu,

the gods,

his fathers,

"He made

and he kissed the ground

obeisance,

at

their feet.

"

He humbled

himself

;

then he stood up and spake

unto them."

Gaga then to

repeats the message which

given with the speech of *

The Banie

Anshar has

corresponds word for word Anshar quoted above, it may here

him, but, as

it

of the place

uhere the gods met together.


THE ASSEMBLY OF THE GODS.

68

The narrative describes the

be omitted.

Gaga's message in the following words

:

of

effect

—

"

Lakhmu and Lakhamu

"

All of the Igigi wailed bitterly, (saying) What has been changed that they should conceive

heard and [were afraid], :

'"

'

[this hatred]

" " " "

We

?

do not understand the deed of Tiamat

Then did they collect and go, The great gods, all of them, who decree They entered chamber]

in

before

' !

fate.

filled

Anshar, they

[the

;

"

They pressed on one another, in the assembly "They made ready for the feast, at the banquet .

they sat

.

.

;

"

They ate bread, they mixed sesame-wine. " The sweet drink, the mead, confused their

"They became drunk with drinking, were filled (with meat and drink). "

Tlieir

limbs were wholly relaxed, and their

was exalted

"Then

[senses],

their

for

bodies

spirit

;

Marduk,

their avenger, did they decree

the fate."

At

this

point

the

Third

Tablet

the

of

series

ends.

The Fourth Tablet opens with ceremony "

"

of decreeing fate for

a description of the

Marduk

thus

:

—

They prepared for him a lordly chamber, Before his fathers as counsellor he took his place."


THEIR ADDRESS TO MARDUK.

When Marduk had him " *'

Thou

Thy

" "

taken his

in the following words art chiefest

—

seat, the

gods addressed

the great gods,

among

fate is unequalled,

Marduk, thou

:

69

thy word

art chiefest

is

among

Ann

^ !

thŠ great gods,

thy word is Anu "Henceforth not without avail shall be thy com-

Thy

fate is unequalled,

!

mand, "

In thy power shall it be to exalt and to abase. "Established shall be the word of thy mouth, sistible shall

"None

be thy the

among

command

gods

shall

irre-

;

thy

transgress

boundary.

"Abundance, the "

desire of the shrines of the gods,

Shall be established in thy sanctuary, even though

they lack (offerings).

"0 " "

Marduk, thou

art our avencrer

!

We

give thee sovereignty over the whole world.

Sit

thou down

in

majesty,

be exalted

in

thy

command. shall never lose its power,

"Thy weapon crush thy "

it

shall

foe.

lord, spare the life of

him

that putteth his trust

in thee, "

But

as for the "

his life "

*

I.e.,

god who led the

Thy word has "

*

Literally,

rebellion,^

pour out

I

the same power as that of Anu."

began the

evil."


MARDUK

70

But before Marduk

TESTS HIS POWER. set out to

do battle with Tiamat,

gods wished him

to put to the test the power the which they had conferred upon him, and with this object in view they brought a garment into their midst, and then addressed their avenger, saying :

"

'

May

thy

be supreme

lord,

fate,

—

among the

gods,

"

To destroy and to create speak thou the word, and (thy command) shall be fulfilled. ;

" "

Command now and let And speak the word '

reappear

the garment vanish

again and

let

;

the garment

"

I

words of the gods Marduk Spake with his mouth, and the garment vanished "Again he commanded it, and the garment re-

In obedience

to the

*'

;

appeared. "

When

the gods, his fathers, beheld (the fulfilment

of) his word, ((

They

rejoiced, '

saying), ((

and they did homage (unto him,

Marduk

'

is

king

!

They bestowed upon him the throne, and the ring,

sceptre,

and the

They gave him an invincible weapon, wherewith to overwhelm the foe. ti

'

'

Go,' (they said),

and cut

off the life of

Tiamat,

i(

And

((

(Thus) did the gods, his fathers, decree for the lord

let the

his fate

;

wind carry her blood

into secret places.*


HE PREPARES FOR BATTLE. "

They caused him and success.

"He made

71

to set out on a path of prosperity

ready the bow, he girded his weapon

upon him, "

He " He

slung a spear upon him and fastened it, hand he grasped .

raised the club, in his right

"

The bow and the quiver he hung

"

He

"

With burning flame he

.

.

(it),

at his side.

set the lightning in front of him,

"He made

a net

to

filled his

enclose

body.

the inward

parts

of

Tiamat, "

The four winds he escape

her micjht

set so that nothino- of

;

"The South wind, and

North wind, and the East wind, and the West wind " He brought near to the net which his father Anu the

had given him. ÂŤ

He

<(

The

created the evil wind, and the storm, and the

hurricane, four-fold wind,

the whirlwind,

equal

"He

sent

;

forth

seven in "

and the seven- fold wind, and wind which was without

the

the winds which he had

created,

all,

To destroy the inward parts

of

Tiamat

;

and they

followed after him.

"Then

the lord raised the thunderbolt, his mighty

weapon,


THE MEETING OF MARDUK AND TIAMAT.

72 "

He mounted

"

He

the chariot, an object unequalled for

terror,

"

harnessed four horses and yoked them to

[All of them] ferocious, swift of pace

''

"

and high

and

;

[They gnashed with] their flecked with foam,

They had been

it,

of courage,

teeth, their bodies

were

[trained to gallop], they had been

taught to trample underfoot." Thus, standing in his chariot, and followed by the seven winds he had created, did Marduk set out for the all

His advance against Tiamat in the sight of the gods is described in the following words fight.

:

" ''

Then the lord drew

He

"As (Marduk)

Tiamat he gazed,

nigh, on

beheld the scorn

(?)

—

of Kingu, her spouse.

was troubled in

gazed, (Kingu)

his

gait,

"

His will was destroyed and

"

And

"

Beheld their leader's

his

movements

who marched by

the gods, his helpers,

[distress],

ceased. his side,

and their sight was

troubled."

But Tiamat taunted

stood

Marduk and

safety behind him

;

firm,

wdth

the gods

to

these

by reproaching her with her for battle in these

unbent

neck,

and

who were gathered in Marduk replied

taunts

treachery,

words

—

and he bade her

prepare " Let thy hosts be equipped, and let thy weapons be '

set in order

!

:


THE DEATH OF TIAMAT. " *'

" ^'

"

"

Stand

!

When

73

and thou, let us join battle Tiamat heard these words, I

She was like one possessed, she She uttered loud, angry cries.

lost

' !

her senses,

She trembled and shook to her very foundations. She recited an incantation, she pronounced her spell,

"And

cried

out for their

"Then advanced Tiamat and Marduk,

the counsellor

the gods of the

battle

weapons. of the gods "

To the

fight

;

they came on, to the battle they drew

nigh. " "

The lord spread out his net to catch her, The evil wind that was behind (him) he let

loose in

her face. "

As Tiamat opened her mouth

"

He

"

The

"

And

to its full extent,

drove in the evil wind, while as yet she had not shut her terrible

lips.

winds

filled

her belly,

her courage was taken from her, and her

mouth

she opened wide. "

He seized the spear and broke through her belly, He severed her inward parts, he pierced her heart. " He overcame her and cut off her life " He cast down her body and stood upon it. " When he had slain Tiamat, the leader, "

;

"

Her might was broken, her

force

was

scattered,


CAPTURE OF THE REBEL HOST.

74 "

And

the gods, her helpers,

who marched by her

side, *'

Trembled, and were afraid, and turned back.

"

They took to flight to save their lives " In an enclosure they were caught, they were not ;

able to escape. " ((

({

He

took them captive, he broke their weapons In the net they were caught and in the snare they sat down. ;

[The whole] world they

filled

with

cries of grief.

"They received punishment from him, they were held in bondas^e.

on the eleven creatures

whom

with the power of striking

terror,

"And "

The troop

"

He

"

of devils

brought

Them and

which marched

affliction,

she had

filled

at her bidding

(?),

[he destroyed] their power

their opposition he trampled

;

under his

feet. ((

Moreover Kingu, who had been made leader [over all of]

t{

He

them,

conquered and like unto the god counted him.

...

he

"He

took from Kingu the Tablets of Destiny that were not [rightly] his, " He sealed them with a seal and on his own breast.

he laid them. "

Now

after the valiant

Marduk had conquered and

destroyed his enemies.


o cS

oo on

O

a

m 3

0}

o

o •4-3

a o

a a

cS

<u

.a



THE CREATION OF HEAVEN. "

And had made reed

jy

the arrogant foe even like a broken

(?),

"

He

"

And

"

Over the gods that were captive he strengthened

"

To Tiamat,

"

And

"

With

fully established

Anshar's triumph over the

enemy, attained the purpose of

Nudimmud.

his durance.

" "

whom

he had conquered, he returned, the lord stood upon Tiamat's hinder parts ;

his merciless club

he smashed her skull

He cut the channels of her blood, He made the North wind bear it away

;

into secret

places.

"His

fathers beheld, they rejoiced and were glad; Presents and gifts they brought unto him. " Then the lord rested, and ejazed on her dead bodv.

"

"He

divided the flesh of the body, having devised a

cunning plan. "

He

"

One

split

her up like a

flat fish

into

two halves.

half of her he set in place as a covering for

the heavens. "

He fixed a bolt, he stationed watchmen, " And bade them not to let her waters come forth. " He passed through the heavens, he surveyed the regions (thereof),

"Over against the Deep he Nudimmud. "

And

set

the

dwelling

the lord measured the structure of the Deep,

of


THE MEANING OF E-SHARA.

7S " " "

And he

founded E-shara, a mansion like unto

The mansion E-shara, which he created He caused Anu, Bel and Ea in their

it.

as heaven, districts to

inhabit."

With

these words the Fourth Tablet of the series

ends.

Marduk having conquered Tiamat, thus began the creation. From one half of the monster's body

work of

he fashioned heaven in the form of a

which he

also furnished

with bolts and watchmen to

keep the waters which were above

The dwelling

solid covering,

it

in their place.

of JSTudimmud he fixed in the deep,

i.e.,

the abyss of waters beneath the earth, and he also

founded E-shara.

and according

to

Some think that E-shara is the earth ^ this view Marduk may be regarded as ;

having now created and set in place, the heavens, and the earth, and the waters which were beneath the earth. Others, however, consider E-shara to be a

heaven, or for a part of

it,

the Fourth Tablet of the

and the

poem

two

for

lines of

certainly favour this

The most natural meaning that Marduk made the mansion view.

last

name

of the passage is

of

E-shara to be

heaven, which he then divided between the three gods Anu, Bel and Ea. Moreover we know from other sources that these three gods, in addition to ruling the heaven,

and the

earth,

astrolooical o ^

and the abyss respectively, in their divided the heaven between

characters

See Jensen, Die Eosmologie der Balylomtr, pp. 195

11'.


CREATION OF THE HEAVENLY BODIES. them

^

and the position of certain

;

astrological tablets

dominions of these

to the various

According to the former

deities.

view this passage in the

noted in

stars is

by apportioning them

79

poem means

that

Marduk

created E-shara (the earth) "like a heavenly vault/'

^

form of a hollow hemisphere like the firmament overhead but to obtain this sense the ordinary in the

i.e.,

;

of the words has to be strained considerably.

meaning

In the Fifth Tablet of the series Marduk continued

work

the

of creation.

He had

already portioned out

the heavens and the abyss, and he

part

its

separate

function,

now

assigned to each

and laid down laws

The

the reojulation of the whole.

for

tablet describes the

creation of the heavenly bodies and the regulation of

the seasons, but unfortunately only the beginning part

The

has been preserved. "

He made

"The

:

—

the stations for the great gods,

stars,

he fixed

"He

text reads

their images, (and)

constellations

;

ordained divided

the

the

and

year

into

sections

he

it.

"

For the twelve months he fixed three

"

From

the day

when

stars.

the year comes forth

^

until

(its) close,

"He

founded the station of Nibir^ their

'

^

determine

to

bounds ;

See above, p. 26. See Jensen, op. cit,

p. 289.

'

I.e.,

begins.

* I.e.,

Jupiter.


THE MOON TO RULE THE NIGHT.

So "

That none might err or go astray, set the stations of Bel and Ea along with him. opened great gates on both sides (of the firma-

"

He " He

ment), "

He made

strong the bolt on the left and on the

right,

" In the midst thereof he fixed the zenith. "

The Moon-god he caused

to shine forth, the night

he entrusted to him.

He

*'

appointed him, a being of the night, to determine the days.

"Every month without ceasing with the crown he covered "

'

(?)

him, (saying)

:

At

the beginning of the month, at the shining of the , .

"Thou

shalt

.

.

command

the horns to determine six

days, "

"

And on

the seventh day to [divide] the crown.' Here the text becomes too broken to make a con-

nected translation, though from what remains

it

may

be gathered that Marduk continued to address the Moon -god, and to define his position with regard to

Shamash, the Sun-god, at the course.

What

text contained

may

points of his

the actually missing portion of

we cannot say with

conjecture that

it

certainty, but

the

we

described further acts of creation.

That there was a Sixth Tablet line at the

different

is proved by the catchend of the Fifth Tablet, and the text of this


CREATION OF BEASTS OF THE FIELD. also

must have

referred to the

same

no evidence to show how in the Creation Series,

number was

that the

cannot

these

as

There

subject.

1

is-

were comprised many althoudi some have thouo-ht tablets

greater than six.

have been found which

tablets

and

8

be

Fragments of

refer to acts of creation,

fitted

into

tablets already described, it has been

in

places

the

suggested they

formed parts of the tablets which seem to be missing. One such fragment is of especial interest, for it contains "

"

the

a reference to field,

the cattle of the

things of the field."

ment belonged

"

the creation of the

It is

field,

beasts of

and the creeping

improbable that the frag-

to the Creation Series,

inasmuch

as the

gods as a body, and not Marduk alone, are credited by with the creation of the world, and besides this the

it

god Ea, Marduk's father,

mentioned

is

prominent part in the work.

taking a

as

The fragment

in fact

reproduces a variant form of the creation legend, but description of the creation of the beasts may well be

its

cited in favour of the of the

poem contained

which

contains

—

beMS " When :

"

Had " Had "

The

all

the

view that some missing portion

The fragment

a similar episode.

opening

the gods had

made

created the heavens,

lines

of

the

tablet

[the world],

had formed [the

brought living creatures into being

.

earth], .

.

,

cattle of the field, the [beasts] of the field,

the creeping things [of the field], BAB. KEL.

.

.

."

G

and


CREATION OF MANKIND.

82

The

of the fragment

rest

too broken to admit

is

of a trustworthy restoration of the text, though the reference to Nin-igi-azag,

a

title

" i.e.,

the lord of clear vision,"

of the god Ea, seems to connect

him with some

further act of creation.

There are also some grounds for believing that in addition to the creation of animals some portion of the

poem

A hymn

described the creation of mankind.

has been found inscribed upon a tablet which contains

number

a

of remarkable

of the god Marduk, and, as

addresses

many

of

them

in

honour

refer to his

has been thought that the comformed the concluding tablet of the series.-^ position After addressing him as one who shewed mercy to

acts of creation,

it

the gods he had taken captive, and

who removed

the

yoke from the neck of the gods his enemies,^ the hymn refers to his having created men and declares that his

word

shall be established

''

in the

"

whom

mouth

evidence

of the black-headed ones

may

the creation of are missing

;

and

it

is

Museum, K.

8522.

place in the tablets that

probable

we have

which Marduk was believed British

(i.e., mankind) In view of this

be concluded that the description of

mankind had a

fragment of a tablet^

*

shall not be forgotten

hands have created."

his it

and

that

upon another

a copy of the instructions to

have given

to

See G. Smith, Trans. Soe. Bihl. Arch.,

Vol. IV., p. 363, and plates 3 and 4. The allusion here is to the Fourth Tablet; see above, p. 74. 3 British Museum, K. 33G4. "^

man


THE DUTIES OF MAN. after

his creation.

The followiDg

83

extracts from this

fragment reveal a very lofty conception of man's duties

—

towards his god and towards his neighbour " Towards thy god shalt thou be pure of heart, :

"

For that

is the glory of the godhead and Prayer supplication and bowing low

"

;

to

the

earth, "

in

Early

him

A "

"

little

The

.

the .

shalt

morning

thou

offer

unto

."

further on

Marduk

continues

:

—

fear of god begets mercy,

Offerings increase

life,

"

And prayer absolves from sin. "He that fears the gods shall

not cry aloud [in

grief],

**He that fears the Anunnaki^ shall have a long [life]. *'

Against friend and neighbour thou shalt not speak [evil].

"

Speak not of things that are hidden, [practice]

"

When

mercy. thou makest a promise (to give), give and [hold] not [back]."

In the

hymn

w^hich has

been referred to in the

previous paragraph as having not improbably formed

the concluding tablet of the

series,

the other gods are

represented as addressing Marduk, their deliverer, by *

J.t.,

the Spirits cf

tl.e

Eaith.


LAST TABLET OF THE POEM.

84

name and

every conceivable

him

called *'

pure "

title of honour. They the gods," " the god of

"

the

"

the bringer of purification," " the god of

life,"

of all

life

"

the favouring breeze,"

the lord of hearing and mercy,"

"

the creator of abundance and mercy,

"

plenteousness, and increases all that

is also

said that

when

who

is

establishes "

small

;

and

it

the gods themselves were in sore

distress they felt his favouring breeze.

The

text con-

tinues in the above strain, referring to his his opponents, his conquest of

creation, titles

and Bel and Ea are made

on the story, the father prince or ruler

to

bestow their own

Finally the wise are bidden to ponder

upon him.

is to

teach

is to listen to its

Marduk

ode to

mercy towards and his acts of Tiamat,

it

to his son,

recitah

and the

With such an

as the god of creation the great

might fitly conclude. In addition to the great poem, there

is

poem

reason to

believe that several different accounts of the creation

were

Babylonian literature. One such preserved on a broken tablet from Ashur-

current

account

is

bani-pal's

in

library,

which

contains

a

very different

description of the great battle with the dragon to that

siven in the Fourth Tablet of the Creation Series.

In

this version the fight does not precede the creation of

man men and

the world but takes place after

has been created

and

gods are equally

cities

terrified

built.

In

fact,

at the dragon's appearance,

liver the lands

and

it

is to

de-

from the monster that one of the gods


ANOTHER DESCRIPTION OF TIAMAT. goes out and slays

the advent of Tiamat, "

The

:

The text begins with which came upon creation

him.

description of the terror

monster, and says

85

—

cities sighed,

who

has, however,

men

[groaned aloud],

become

a at

male

a

''Men uttered lamentation, [they wailed grievously]. " For their lamentation there was none [to help], ''

For their grief there was none to take [them by the

*'

Who

hand]. "

was the [great] dragon ? ^ was the [great] dragon

Tiamat

!

"

Bel in heaven has formed [his image]. "Fifty kashu'^ is his length, one Jcashu

[is

his

breadth], "

Half a rod

(?) is

The next few

his

mouth, one rod

(?) [his

.

.

.]."

lines continue the description of the

dragon, and give the measurements of other parts of " " and " sixty-five rods," his body as being sixty rods

and narrate how he wallowed his

in the water

and lashed

All the gods in heaven were afraid.

tail. They bowed down and grasped the robe of the Moon-god Sin, and they cried out asking who would go out and slay the monster, and deliver the broad earth, and so make

They then appealed to the god Sukh' undertake the task, but he made excuses. Who

himself king. to

1

^

i.e.,

Here called Tdmtu, " Ibe Sea." The kaihii is a space that can be covered about six or seven miles.

iu

two houi s' travellin


THE dragon's blood.

86

eventually consented to do battle with the dragon broken, but

do not know, for the text

is

that in this version also

Marduk was in which we

end of the composition,

it is

probable

the god,

find

him

:

;

Set the seal of thy

before thy face

life

battle,

in encourage-

ment, has fortunately been preserved it reads "'Stir up cloud, storm [and tempest], "

The

the hero.

whoever he may have been, setting out to do while one of the other gods cries to

we

—

^ .

.

.

,

'

And slay the dragon " He stirred up cloud, and storm [and tempest], " He set the seal of his life before his face " And he slew the dragon. ''

!

.

"

For three years and three months, day and

.

.

,

[night],

"

The blood of the dragon flowed ..." The details as to the size of the dracjon and the

amount

of his blood are of considerable interest.

the Creation Series the North carried

the blood

prominence

away

into

wind secret

places,

given to the dragon's blood in

and the

both versions

lends colour to a suggestion that has been

regard to

In

said to have

is

made with

one of the details in the account of creation

given by Berosus. In that version Bel is said to have formed animals and men from earth mixed with his

own

blood after one of the gods had, at his command, cut off his head. The account would afford a

much

closer parallel to the legend as *

I.e.y

we

as a protection against the monster.

find it

on


OTHER VERSIONS OF THE CREATION STORY. the tablets

if

we might assume

that

it

was not his

own blood, but that of Tiamat, which Bel used It

purpose.

is

that

possible

either

8/

for the

Polyhistor

or

Eusebius, or both, misunderstood the original story.

We

have described the great story of the creation durinsj the seventh

which was current in Assyria

century before Christ, as far as

its

contents can

to

us.

The

numerous

scribed with the

ruins

the

of

tablets

be

come down

ascertained from the fragments that have

and duplicates

in-

legend, which have been found in

Ashur-bani-pal's

important position

it

held

indicate

the

the religious

and

library,

among

and we are right mythological works of the period in assuming^ that this version of the creation was the ;

one most widely accepted during the reigns of the Assyrian kings. But, although the poem in the form in which we now have it represents the belief most generally held by the Babylonians and

later

Assyrians at this comparatively late period with regard to the manner in which the world came into being, it

can only have attained

this

position

gradually.

comprises fragments of other myths and legends which give different accounts of the way in which creation took place, and, as one

Babylonian

of

these

literature, in fact,

of

is

of the light

it

considerable

importance,

by reason

throws upon the age and history of it will be convenient to

such legends in Babylonia, describe

it

before considering

what connection there


THE SUMERIAN STORY OF CREATION.

SS

may have been between

the Babylonian

poem and the

story of creation in the first chapter of Genesis.

After

the

Creation

great

Series

the longest, and

indeed the only other distinct version of the story of the creation in Babylonian literature now known is found upon one side of a broken incantation-tablet,^

which was inscribed in the Neo-Babylonian period not It was found at Abu-habbah, the earlier than 600 B.C. site of

the ancient city of Sippar in Northern Baby-

lonia, in 1882.

The

inscription

of great interest, for

is

it is

written

in the ancient Sumerian language, and to each line

is

in Semitic Babylonian. Tlie account of the creation here given offers few parallels to the great Creation Series which has been described

attached a translation

above.

It is true that the

godMarduk

the creation of the world, but there

is

is

credited with

no mention of

the battle which the god successfully waged against the

powers of chaos before the earth came into being. In fact the god proceeds to the work of creation without

any previous struggle and entirely of his own free will. The tablet opens with a description of chaos at a period

when

the ancient cities and temples of the land had no

existence,

when no towns had been created — in

nor any In lands were sea. built,

short, all vegetation the account of the creation that follows

it is

possible

that the order in which the various acts are described >

British

Museum, No. 82-5-22,

1048.


DESCRIPTION OF CHAOS. is

89

not intended to be chronological, but is dictated by Otherwise we must assume

the structure of the poem.

that the cities of Eridu and Babylon and the temple E-sa2[il

were the

thinc^s

first

created,

and that

their

creation preceded not only the construction of the cities

of Nippur and Erech and their temples, but even the creation of mankind, and the beasts of the field, and vegetation,

and the

Marduk's act

rivers oi Babylonia.

of laying a reed, or bank of reeds, upon the waters and creating dust which he poured out round about it would

appear

to

be merely a device for forming dry land in

the expanse of waters, and his object

a

dam

or

embankment

in

laying in

at the edge of the waters

was

•evidently to keep the sea from flooding the land he had .so

formed.

The

text reads as follows

"The holy temple,

:

—

the temple of the gods, in the

holy place had not yet been made

;

"

No reed had sprung up, no tree had been created. " No brick had been laid, no building had been set up " No house had been erected, no city had been built No city had been made, no dwelling-place had been

;

;

*'

prepared.

^'Nippur had not been made, E-kur had not been built

;

^'

Erech had not been created, E-ana had not been

*'

The Deep had not been

built

built

;

:

created,

Eridu had not been


THE FORMATION OF DRY LAND.

90 "

Of the pure temple, the temple habitation had not been made.

"

All lands were sea.

"

At length there was a movement in the Then was Eridu made, and E-sagil was

"

of the gods, the

sea,

built,

"E-sagil, where in the midst of the Dee^D the god

Lugal-dul-azaga dwells. "

The

city of

Babylon was

built,

and E-sagil was

finished. -

"

The

the

gods,

Anunnaki, were

created

at

one

time; "

The holy

city,

the dwelling of their hearts' desire,

they proclaimed supreme. " "

"

Marduk

upon the face of the waters, He formed dust and poured it out upon the reed. laid a reed

That he might cause the gods

to dwell in the habi-

tation of their hearts' desire, "

He

"

The goddess Aruru together with him created the

**

He

*'

He

formed mankind.

seed of mankind.

formed the beasts of the the

field

and the

cattle of

field.

created the Tigris, and the Euphrates, and he set

them

in their place,

"

Their names he declared to be good.

"

The

ushsJm--pld.TLt,

the diUit-^ldin.t of the marsh, the

reed and the forest he created, "

The

lands,

and the marshes, and the swamps

;


THE CREATION OF MEN AND "

CITIES.

91

The wild cow and

lier young, that is the wild ox the ewe and her young, that is the lamb of the

;

fold; " *'

"

Plantations and forests

The

;

he-goat, and the mountain-goat, and the

The lord Marduk

laid in a

dam by

.

.

.

the side of the

sea,

"

.as

"

he brought into existence. trees he created,

" "

[Bricks] he

made

" ''

before he had not made,

in their place.

brickwork he made

;

[Houses he made], cities he built [Cities he made], dwelling-places he prepared. [Nippur he made], E-kur he built ;

" "

;

"

[Erech he made], E-ana he built." The rest of the legend is broken off, and the reverse of the tablet does not

contain a continuation of the

legend, but a prayer, or incantation, which recited for the purification of the

Borsippa.

to be

temple E-zida in

The connection between the legend and the

not obvious, but the fact that the legend found upon an incantation tablet does not detract

incantation is

was

from

its

is

value,

and does not indicate a In

late date for its

fact, as will presently be pointed out,

composition. there are grounds for believing that the legend

back to a time when Sumerian was language, and

when

it

still

a

may

go

living

was not merely a dead tongue


THE "CUTIIiEAN LEGEND OF CREATION.

92

employed in

religious ritual

and known only

)t

to the

scribes.

In

this

tablets, "

connection mention must be

which

are

frequently

said

to

made

of

two

contain

the

Cuthsean legend of Creation/' and have been thought

to describe a local account of the creation

current in the ancient city of Cuthah.

which was

It has

been

asserted that this legend gives an account of the creation

of the world

by

ISTergal,

the god of Cuthah, after he had

conquered the brood of monsters which Tiamat had brought forth. Eecently, however, it has been pointed out

^

that the tablets are not concerned with the creation,

but with the fortunes of an early Babylonian king. the reign of this king,

whose name

is

In

unknown, the land

was invaded by a strange race of monsters who were descended from the gods, and for three years the king waged war against this foe unsuccessfully, but at length

he defeated them.

In

fact,

whatever to do with the

the tablets have nothing

creation or with the

light

between Tiamat and the gods but, as the two tablets which contain this story have been regarded as frag;

ments of a legend of the

creation, it will perhaps be

The words of the well to give a translation of them. text are put in the mouth of the king himself, who throughout speaks in the first person the beginnings of both the tablets are missing, but where the text ;

^

317

See Zimmern, Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie, Bd. XII. (1898), pp. ff.


INVASION OF THE LAND BY MONSTERS.

93

becomes continuous we find a description of the strange monsters, which had invaded the land, in the following wordc

"A

:

—

who drink

people

turbid water, and

who drink

not pure water, "

Whose

sense

is

perverted, have taken (men) captive,

have triumphed over

tliem,

and have committed

slaughter. *'

On

a tablet nought ^

" *'

went not

I

is

written, nought

is left

(to

In mine own person

write).

forth, I did

not give them battle.

A people who men

have the bodies of birds of the hollow, who have the faces of ravens,

"

Did the great gods

"

In the ground the gods created a dwelling for them, Tiamat gave them suck,

"

create.

*'

The lady

*'

In the midst of the mountain (of the world), they .

of the gods brought

became

strong, they

waxed

them

into the world.

great,

they multiplied

exceedingly. " •''

"

Seven kings, brethren, fair and comely, 360,000 in number were their warriors, Banini, their father,

was king

;

their mother, Melili,

queen.

"Their

eldest

brother,

their

leader,

was

named

Memangab, I.e., the city was in confusion, and no business wa3 transacted, and no records kept. *


DEFEAT OF THE KING'S FORCES.

94 "

Their second brother was

The

named Medudii." names

tablet then gives the

brethren, all of

which

names a gap occurs the second column

are,

of the other five

After the

however, broken.

in the legend, for the beginning of of the principal tablet

is

missing.

again connected we find the king had enquired of the gods if he should give the enemy battle. He addressed them through his priests, and

Where

the story

offered

up

to

is

which he placed The answer of the gods was evidently

them

in rows of seven.

offerings of lambs,

favourable, for he decided to engage the for a space of three years every

the foe was destroyed. "

As

"

man

enemy

;

but

he sent against

The text continues

;

—

year drew near, 120,000 warriors I sent out, but not one of them the

first

returned alive. "

As

the second year drew near,

"90,000 warriors I sent out, but not one of them returned alive. "

As

"

60,700 warriors I sent out, but not one returned

the third year drew near,

alive.

"

Despairing, powerless, perishing, I

and

was

full of

woe,

I groaned aloud,

"

And said I to my heart By my life " What have I brought upon my realm I am a king, who hath brought no '

:

*'

his country,

!

!

prosperity to


HIS FINAL VICTORY.

95

*'And a shepherd, who hath brought no prosperity to his people. ''

But

will I go forth

"The

In mine own person

this thing will I do. !

pride of the people of the night I will curse

with death and destruction, "

With

"...

fear, terror,

.

.

.

and with misery

The king then

and famine, of every kind

'

"

!

foretold the destruction of his enemies

by means, apparently, of a deluge, and before out to meet them he again offered up offerings

setting to the

How

he conquered the enemy we do not know, gods. but the fact that he went forth in his own person to do battle against

them evidently secured

for

him

the favour

of the gods, and victory over the monstrous creatures who had so long oppressed his land. In the latter

portion

of the

legend the king addresses

words of

any future prince who shall rule over

encouragement

to

his kingdom.

The king exhorts

his successor

when

not to despair, but to take courage from his example, in the following words

peril,

:

"Thou,

king,

or

ruler,

—

or

prince,

or

in

own

any one

whatsoever, " "

Whom the god shall call to rule over the kingdom, A tablet concerning these matters have I made for thee,

" "

and a record have I written

for thee.

In the city of Cuthah, in the temple E-shidlam, ISTergal have I deposited it for thee.

In the shrine of


THE LEGEND OF CUTHAII

96 " " "

" " ''

*'

" "

Behold this record, and To the words thereof hearken, That thou mayest not That thou mayest not

despair, nor be feeble, fear,

nor be affrighted.

Stablish thyself firmly,

Sleep in peace beside thy wife,

Strengthen thy walls, Fill

thy trenches with water,

Bring in thy treasure-chests, and thy corn, and thy

and thy goods, and thy possessions, [And thy weapons], and thy household stuff," The ruler himself is bidden to take heed unto his silver,

"

own

safety,

not to go forth nor to draw near his foe. of the exhortation seems to be that as in

The meaning

days of old the gods helped the king of the land and turned his mourning into victory, so in the future when the land

king

is

is

in sore trouble

and the

foe is at the gate the

not to despair but to expect that the gods will

help him

also.

This legend has for some years been

Cuthasan legend of translation

it

will

Creation,"

be seen

known

as

"

the

but from the =^bove

that

the

description

is

was thought that the poem was spoken who was supposed to be waging war by against the brood of Tiamat, and it was assumed that

inaccurate.

It

the god Nergal,

Nergal took the place of Marduk in accordance with local tradition at Cuthah.

It is clear, however, that

although the tablet on which the legend was inscribed


NOT A CREATION LEGEND. was meant

to be preserved at

9/

Guthah in the

slirine of

Nergal (as stated towards the end of the poem) the speaker is not the god Nergal but an old Babylonian king and we have already seen that this king recounts ;

how

the gods delivered

hosts of the monsters. tion of the monsters,

him and

from the

his land

It is true that in the descrip-

some

which had the bodies

of

of birds and others the heads of ravens, Tiamat

mentioned

ment

as

having suckled them

but this state-

hardly affords sufficient evidence to justify their

identification with her

been

;

is

described in

monster brood which has already

the

probable that Tiamat

is

Creation

It

story.

is

more

called their foster-mother in

order to indicate their terrible nature.

Moreover, the

speaker in the poem does not perform any acts of creation, but does battle with the monsters merely to deliver his land from their assault.

In conclusion

it

may

be mentioned that last year a

Babylonian tablet

fragment

of a

Imperial

Ottoman

Museum

in

preserved

the

Constantinople was

at

published,^ which contains part of a copy of this legend the inscription upon it is a parallel and not a duplicate

;

text.

If,

the old

as has

been

stated, this

Babylonian period,

it

fragment belongs to will

afford

valuable

evidence of the early existence of these legends in

Babylonia.

The great Babylonian legend ^

See

BAB. EEL.

Sclieil,

of creation has been

Recueil de Travaux, Vol. XX.,

p.

65

f.

U


DATE OF THE CREATION LEGENDS.

98

examined and

its

variant forms have been traced, so far

as they can be restored from late Assyrian and Babylonian tablets, and from the extract from the history

of Berosus

which has come down

Not one

to us.

of

the tablets on which the legends are written belongs to a period earlier than the seventh century

B.C.,

and

the question naturally arises, Do the legends they contain also date from the seventh century, or must

they be referred to some earlier period words,

Were they composed by

had them written upon the actual possess, or did these scribes

?

In other

who which we

the priestly scribes tablets

simply copy the documents

belonging to an older period

?

And,

if

the scribes of

the seventh century were mere copyists and not composers,

we must

assign the origin

To what period must we of the old texts which they copied ?

also ask,

These questions can, fortunately, be decided by a careful examination of the available evidence.

The

question is best answered by considering forms which the Creation legends assume the various

on

first

different tablets.

Were

the legends brand-new com-

positions of the seventh century find all the copies

we should

which were written

at the

expect to

same time

and preserved in the same library agreeing closely with each other.

It is true that

we do

find several copies of the Creation tablets which correspond with each other

and these were, no doubt, made from some common archetype. But we also possess another

v/ord for word,


INDICATIONS OF TPIEIR EARLY ORIGIN. tablet

from Ashur-bani-pars

99

library, \Yhich gives quite

The

a different account of the struggle with Tiamat. tablet has been already referred to,^

that on

it

the fight

described as taking place after

is

and that Tiamat's body is not form the vault of heaven moreover, the dragon

and not before used to

and we have seen

creation,

;

is

a male and not a female monster, and the description

of

it is

and

quite different from that in the Creation Series

finally another god than

Anu

is first

Other events and slay her. on the been narrated have may

to go forth

described

only a fragment of

has been preserved

it

we have enumerated

;

;

of all asked differently tablet, for

but those that

are sufiicient to prove our point.

Such variant forms of the same story cannot have arisen

in

one

generation.

They presuppose many two accounts

centuries of tradition, during which the

were handed down independently. Though the two stories were derived from a common original, they were related in

different cities in different ways.

At

they were probably identical in form, but in course of time variations crept in, and two or more

first

forms of the story were developed along different lines. The process must have been gradual, and the resultant

forms of the story afford sufiicient evidence as

to the

That they were great age of their common ancestor. found together in Ashur-bani-pal's library is to be explained as

the

result '

of

that

See pp. 84

ff.

monarch's

energy


EVIDENCE FROM SEPARATE VERSIONS.

100

scouring the

in

country for

and

literary

religious

works.

A

similar conclusion follows if

separate and

we compare

distinct versions of the creation

is

twa

which

In both of them

have also been described above.^

Marduk

the

the creator of the world, but, while the

is chiefly taken up with the revolt and conquest of Tiamat as a necessary preliminary to the creation of the world, in the shorter Sumerian version

great Creation Series

there

is

no trace of such a

Tiamat even mentioned.

conflict,

In

nor

this tablet

is

the dragon

we have an

instance of quite a different version of the creation which

we may perhaps assume

goes back to a period

when

the dragon-myth had not become associated with the

of Creation

the legend,

"

The

"

Cuthsean legend cannot be cited as a true variant form of

creation of the world.

for, as

so-called

we have

seen,

legend at all, but a story of It contains a reference to the

it is

not a creation

an old Babylonian king. dragon Tiamat, however,

and evidently presupposes on the part of the reader a knowledge of the story concerning the monsters to which she is said to have given birth. If the frag-

mentary duplicate of the inscription which has recently been found ^ was written in the old Babylonian period,. this reference to Tiamat in the legend is important evidence for the early date of the dragon-myth. * I.e., the great Creation Series on pp. 61 version of the Creation on pp. 88 ff.

2

See

p. 97.

ff.,

But,

and the Sumerian


EVIDENCE FROM SCULrTURE. even

if

we

altocifetlier,

ICI

leave the Cuthcean tablet out of account

the existence of the two versions of the

Creation story and the variants

we have

traced in the

accounts of the fight with Tiamat prove conclusively their early origin.

So

far

we have

considered the internal evidence of

legends themselves. Additional evidence, pointing in the same direction, is afforded by a study of certain aspects of Babylonian and Assyrian date offered by

art.

tlie

In a temple built by Ashur-natsir-pal at

JSTimrtid,

the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Calah, there

was found a slab sculptured in relief with a represenbetween Marduk and Tiamat.^ The

tation of the fight

monster, half bird, half lion, turns roaring in anger towards the god who, in human form and borne upon four wings, swoops natsir-pal reigned

we

down from

to give battle. B.C.

884

Now

Ashur-

to B.C. 860, so that

here have evidence of the existence of the legend

more than two hundred years before the formation of the library of Ashur-bani-pal, who reigned from B.C. 669 to about B.C. 625. Moreover the battle between

Marduk and Tiamat was

a

very favourite

subject

upon cylinder-seals. Numbers of these have been found, and many give quite different repre-

for engraving

sentations of Tiamat.

represented

in

The god Marduk

human form with

is

wings,

generally

but

^ In the British Museum, Nimroud Gallery, Xos. 28 and 29. the illustration on p. 75.

the See


EVIDENCE FROM CYLINDER-SEALS.

102

monster

assumes

pictured as a

many

guises.

Sometimes she

winged and human-headed

is

lion, at other

times she has the body of a horse or bull, and the wings and crested head of a bird. On certain cylinder-

simply as a beast, while on others though she has an animal's body she has a woman's head/ On a very interesting cylinder, here published seals she figures

The god Manluk armed with

the thunderbolt and other weapons standinpc on the (From a cylinder-seal. in tlie British Museum,

back of Tiarnat and slaying her. No. 89,589 )

for the first time, she is represented as a

huge dragon on whose back the god Marduk, fully armed, has leapt, and he and his ministers are in the act of slaying her. It is true that

many

of these cylinder-seals belong to

the late Assyrian and Persian periods,

700

B.C.

to

B.C.

300

;

a few,

i.e.,

from about

however, are archaic

may be assigned to a somewhat earlier But without laying too much stress on the

in style and date.

possibly early date of '

some

of them, the great variety

For reproductions of several cylinder-seals of

Collection de Clercq, Plates xxix.

if.

this class, see the


EVIDENCE FROM HISTORICAL INSCRIPTIONS. IO3 same subject which they present

of treatment of the

certainly points to the existence of

many

variant forms

of the legend, and so indirectly bears witness to

ita

early origin.

A

third class of evidence for the early date of

tlie

legends of creation may be found in certain passages in the historical inscriptions which record the erection of statues and the

making

of temple furniture,

etc.,

In the

in the earlier periods of Babylonian history.

copy of an inscription of Agum, an early Babylonian king, who flourished not later than the seventeenth century before Christ, to the

we

have, fortunately, an allusion

dragon-myth of Babylonia.

do not possess an

actual

ISTow although

inscription of

of one in the British reign, the copy

we know, was made

for

this

we

king's

Museum, which,

Ashur-bani-pal,^

is

to

all

and purposes just as good. From this we Agum brought back to Babylon a statue of the god Marduk and one of the goddess Tsarpanitum, which at some previous time had been carried off to intents

learn that

the land of Khani Babylonia.

which lay to the north-west of The statues were carried to the temple

E-sagil in Babylon, and with much pomp and were re-installed in their shrines. Agum

the

at

ceremony recounts

sumptuous temple furniture which he

length caused to be made for this occasion, and also *

the

Published in Cuneiform Ingcriptions of Western Asia, Vol. V.,

plate 33.


agum's temple-furniture.

104

apparel and head-dresses for the statues of these gods,

which he caused

to be

made

made

at a later

he

itself,

tells

must have resembled

us, he also set a dragon, which

those

and inlaid

of fine gold

In the shrine

with precious stones.

time by Nebuchadnezzar and

dragon was connected with Tiamat of the Creation legend is clear from the fact Neriglissar,^

and that

this

that along with her he also set

up

figures of monsters,

including vipers, and monsters called lakhmu, and a

ram, and a hurricane, and a raging hound, and a fishman, and a goat-fish. The list of the eleven classes of monsters in the Creation Series gives us monsterserpents,

and

monster-vipers,

and

a

viper,

and

a

and a hurricane, lind a raging hound, and a scorpion-man, and temWe are not here pests, and a fish-man, and rams. dragon, and monsters

called lakliamu,

concerned with

astrological

the

character

of

these

monsters, nor with their connection with the origin of the signs of the Zodiac but what is evident from ;

the two

lists

is

that already in the

time of

Agum

the legend of Tiamat and her monster brood had been accepted and had become absorbed into the ancient religious traditions of the land.

A ^

further reference to the legend

When

Nebuchadnezzar

II. set

up

may

be seen in

colossal serpents in the gate-

in the sixth century before Christ, and when Nerisuch serpents which he had made glissar, his successor, set up eight of bronze and coated with silver, it is tolerably clear that these figures were intended to represent the dragon of the Creation story.

ways

of

Babylon


THE "deeps" of bur-sin AND UR-NINA.

IO5

the mention of another object used for ceremonial

purposes which was given by Agum to Marduk's In Marduk's shrine, beside the great serpent temple.

he set what he terms a

no doubt, a sea

brazen

large

tcimtu,

or

basin,

or

"

sea

''laver,"

"

this was,

;

similar to the

Solomon's temple which stood upon

of

Such a

twelve oxen.^

vessel,

as its

name

indicates,

symbolical of the abyss of water personified in the

was

legend by Apsii and Tiamat, and its mention in the inscription in such close connection with the dragon and the brood of monsters is jDeculiarly significant. Similar vessels, called apse,

we know from

as

" i.e.,

abysses," or

"

deeps,"

other inscriptions, were placed in the

temples of Babylonia from the earliest periods. BarSin, a king of Ur who lived about B.C. 2500, erected for the ''

that

god Enki, or Ea, a

was dear

to

him

"

^ ;

zit-ah ki-ag-ga-ni,

and

"

in the reign of

an abyss

Ur-Mna,

an ancient Sumerian king of Shirpurla, and one of the earliest rulers of that city whose names have come

down

to us, such vessels

ceremonies.

The

latter

were already used in religious monarch caused a limestone

tablet to be inscribed with the list of the temples erected

during his reign, and in the inscription upon it we read " " ^ that he constructed a zu-ah gal, or great abyss." 1

1

-

The

Kings

vii.

23

ff.

tablet containing this record is published in Gun. Inscr. of West. Asia, Vol. L, plate 3, No. XII. (1). ^ See De Sarzec, D^couvertes en Chaldee, plate II., No. 1, Col. III.,

1

5f.


SUMERIAN INFLUENCE.

I06

The

fact that at these early periods

Ur-Mna and Bur-

Sin provided their temples with "seas" and "deeps/* i.e., lavers, does not, of course, prove that the Creation legends

vt^ere

current

we

in which

find

among the Sumerians in the forms them on Assyrian tablets of the But the

seventh century before Christ. least indicate the source

may

be traced.

and period

to

references at

which the legends

The Semitic Babylonians learnt from

the Sumerians the art of writing;

in their business

transactions they adopted the legal forms and phrases

that were current in the land before they came there,

while as for the gods of the conquered race they either adopted them or identified them with their own deities. It

is

that

therefore,

probable,

from the Sumerians

also they took their ideas of the creation of the world.

We know scribes texts,

that at the time of

copied

and

out

from

and the

Khammurabi

studied

the Semitic

Sumerian

ancient libraries

of

religious

Southern

Babylonia we have recovered religious compositions bearing a striking resemblance to those which were

employed in the Assyrian temples of the later period but in this early Sumerian literature we have not yet found any fragment of the story of the creation, or

;

indeed of any mythological legend. sion of the creation inscribed tablet

is,

The shorter

ver-

upon a ISTeo-Babylonian

however, written in Sumerian and furnished

with a Semitic translation

;

and, although the scribes of

that late period, in all probability, frequently attempted


PROBABLE SOURCE OF THE LEGENDS. to

IC/

compose in the Sumerian language, that version of may well have been copied from

the Creation story

an early original Sumerian document. As the study of the Sumerian language progresses and the mass of tablets that have been brought to light within the last

few years are examined and published, we may

in time find definite proofs of the existence of such leo^ends.

to

Meanwhile the evidence

xissyria

available

is sufficient

of the creation current in

show that the legends

and Babylonia during the seventh and succeed-

ing centuries before Christ were based the existence of which

The actual

may

upon archetypes

date from Sumerian times.

text of the legends, no doubt,

underwent

many processes of editing the division of the great poem into sections, each written on a separate tablet, may well have been the work of later scribes; but ;

the legends themselves

were ancient and had their

origin in the earliest period of Babylonian history.

We

have now described the contents of the great Babylonian poem of the creation, we have referred to the variant traditions that have come

down

to us con-

cerning the several episodes of the story, and we have also examined a second version of the creation which bears but small resemblance to the great poem.

We

have suggested that the existence of so many variants is a proof of the great age of the leg-ends, and it has been seen that this evidence traces

which the legends have

is

corroborated

left in

by the

Babylonian and


BABYLONIAN AND HEBREW NARRATIVES.

I08

Assyrian

them

in

art, and by certain some early historical

indirect

references

to

The ex-

inscriptions.

from the tablets will have conveyed better than any summary would have done the exact nature of their contents, and, as the translations have been tracts given

made

as literal as possible, the reader has

been able

form his own opinion as to the nature of the resemblance which may be detected between these

to

ancient Babylonian stories and the account of

the

now remains to concreation in the Book of Genesis. sider what connection there is between the Hebrew and It

the Babylonian accounts of the creation of the world. That there must have been a connection between the

two accounts

is generally admitted, for it is only the tablets to be struck by their read necessary to resemblance to the Biblical narrative in many par-

ticulars

;

the question

now

does this connection consist

to be decided ?

is,

In what

Three possible solutions

of the problem suggest themselves (1) The Babytheir derived lonians may have legends from the :

Hebrews

;

(2)

both

Babylonians

and

Hebrews, as

different branches of the same Semitic race,

inherited the legends from a

common

may have

ancestral stock

;

Hebrews may have derived their legends from Babylonia. Of these possible solutions the first and

(3) the

During whatever period of their history the inhabitants of Mesopotamia came in

may

be dismissed at once.

contact with the peoples of the Mediterranean coast,


THE REASON OF THEIR RESEMBLANCE.

IC9

they always came in the character of conquerors, and

we know from

their inscriptions that the Babylonians

and Assyrians regarded the other nations of Western Asia only in the light of payers of tribute. It is inconceivable, therefore, that they should have borrowed their

sacred

from a race they considered

traditions

inferior to themselves

moreover, the existence of the

;

has been traced to a very early legends in Babylonia between the Babylonians and contact before any

period,

Hebrews can have taken place. The second theory has far more to recommend it, and has met with warm

the

It has been urged that, coming of the both stock, Babylonians and Hebrews possessed

supporters.

same

the legends of the creation as a common inheritance, and that each of these nations modified and developed

them independently.

Against this explanation

is

to

be set the distinctly Babylonian character and colour-

ing of the stories, and

it

is

generally regarded as

other than a Babylonian impossible for them to have Flood given in Genesis, of the account the In origin.

which will be referred

to in the following chapter, the

We are, more apparent. Babylonian origin therefore, reduced to the third solution as being the is

most probable

still

of the three.

The

legends,

we may

conclude, are Babylonian in origin and character, and the resemblances which the account in Genesis bears to

them must, we

influence.

think, be put

We may

down

to

Babylonian then ask, At what time, and by


no

THE HEXATEUCH.

what means, was traces

its

The

this influence exerted

which has

on the Hebrew story in Genesis

left

?

study of the text of Genesis has shown that this book, like the rest of the Pentateuch, is not critical

from the pen of a single writer, and that it is made up of a number of separate works. In the earlier periods of

woven

Hebrew

history these works had not been

into a continuous narrative,

in the form in

and they were not

which they are now known

work had a separate

existence.

to us

;

each

The evidence on which

this conclusion rests consists in part of the

numerous

repetitions which occur throughout the books, and in the existence of two separate and sometimes quite different, narratives

of the

culties in chronology,

the

Hebrew ^

century

text

by

same event, and

and the

like.

A

in diffi-

careful study of

scholars throughout

the present

has further shown that there are three prin-

cipal works on which the Pentateuch and the Book of Joshua are based. These works dealt with the early

history

of the

Hebrew

race,

and, as

each of them

frequently goes over the same ground as the others,

it

easy to explain the repetitions which the combined

is

narrative contains.

Each

of these books, or histories,

can be recognized with tolerable certainty by their differences in style and treatment, the use of phrases peculiar to themselves, the ^

Cf.

names

for

God which they

Cheyue, Founders of Old Testament Criticism: Biographical^

Vefnir-tice, aiid Critical Studies (Lou<lon, 1893).


COMPOSITE CHARACTER.

ITS

One

etc.

employ,

of these "

the groundwork of the

form

it

and explained

people,

to

Hexateuch/' or first six books

as it presented It

nology.

works was used

was well adapted for the purpose, an orderly system of chrodealt with the laws and customs of the

of the Bible, and

inasmuch

Ill

their

origin

;

and from the

general nature of its contents it is usually termed " " Priests' code." The the Priestly writing," or the

books which were incorporated with this Priestly writing," dealt with the legends and early

other two *'

history of the

Hebrew race

;

they are far more primitive

and picturesque in style than the more formal and annalistic narrative with which they are combined.

The

writers of these

two narratives are generally dis" " and " Elohist," Jehovist

tinguished by the names

from the

one of them the Divine

name

or Jehovah, translated as

"the

fact that in is

Jahweh

employed " Lord in the Authorized Version it is

Elohim, which

It is needless

relations

;

translated as

for our

"

God."

purpose to discuss here the

which these three works bear

or to enumerate

use was

is

while in the other

made

any

to

one another,

additional documents of

in the Hexateuch.

It will

state that in the early chapters of Genesis,

of the

— the ^

for

suffice

to

two only,

three writings referred to, have been used " ^ " and the " Jehovistic Priestly writing

The "Priestly writing" "

which

God."

also

mdkes use of the word Elohim


THE BIBLICAL VERSIONS OF CREATION.

112

Thus the account of the

narrative."^

Genesis

i.

1

—

4

ii.

(first

creation

half of the verse)

is

in

from the

former writing, and contains a complete account of the history of creation in a series of successive acts.

The

which follows in chapters ii. 4 (second half of the verse) iii. 24, is taken from "Jehovistic the narrative," and it gives another acstory of the garden of Eden,

—

is not marked by the literary of the first chapter. structure balanced and precision That account had given a complete description of the

count of creation which

making

of the world

;

the second narrative begins at

the beginning again, going back to a time when there were no plants, nor beasts, nor men, and then narrates

their

creation.

If

we compare

these

accounts

with the two principal traditions of the creation preserved in Babylonian literature, and which we have already described,^

we

see

that

the

account in the

chapter agrees more closely with the longer with the shorter; on the Babylonian narrative than

first

other

hand the

earlier

part

in its garden of Eden, both of its phrases,

is

of

the

story

of

the

structure and in several

not unlike the shorter Babylonian

version.

To the greater part of the story of the garden of Eden, no parallel has been found in Babylonian ^

An

analysis of the first eleven chapters of the

on these lines is given in Prof. Driver's Introduction of the Old Testament, (6th ed.), pp. 14 ff. 2 See above, pp. Gl ff., and 88 ff.

Book to the

of Genesis

Literature


THE GARDEN OF EDEN. mythology

;

it

has, however, been

113

pointed out that

in the description of Paradise Babylonian sources have

been largely drawn upon. The illustration here given has been by some supposed to be a Babylonian representation of the story of the temptation of Eve but ;

no cuneiform text in support of

as

forthcoming,

the

identification

this

view has been

the

female figure

of

y-^* "y^^ '?

--*ÂŤ:

-Tl

%

•'

r-$'

-^^

Impression of a cylinder-seal representing a male and a female figure ?eated near a sacred tree behind the woman is a serpent. (British Museum, !S'o. 89,326.) ;

with Eve must be regarded as somewhat fanciful. Writers on Babylonian mythology have sought to find in the Babylonian legends the counterparts of

Adam

and Eve, but without success. Eecently Ea-bani, a mythical and savage hero of the Gilgamesh legend,-^ has been identified with Adam, and the maiden Ukhat, by whom he was tempted, with Eve,^ but the grounds

on which the

identifications are

made

are

not con-

vincing.

In consequence of

the

many

points

of

identity

between the Hebrew and the Babylonian versions of *

*

See below, pp. 150 fF. See Jastrow, Amtr. Jour. Semit. Lang.,\o\. XY., No. 4 (July, 1899). V,kV.

EEL.

1


JEWS AND BABYLONIANS.

114

the creation, some advanced critics hold that the Jews

heard the Babylonian stories for the their exile in Babylon,

captivity

they brought them

them

incorporated this

and that on

likely the captive

legends from their place of honour

from

back with them and

in their sacred writings.

has been urged that

it

assumption

time during

first

their return

it

Against is

hardly

Jews would have adopted strange conquerors, and raised them to a

among

their national traditions.

But,

apart from this consideration, such an assumption not necessary in order to explain the resemblances

indeed

hardly admissible, for

it is

it

is

—

takes no account of

the striking differences and variations which the narralives present.

Moreover, in

the Old Testament,

we

many

passages throughout

find traces of the

Babylonian dragon-myth, and it is scarcely possible that all such references should date from the post-exilic period. In several passages we find allusions to a dragon or serpent

who

the prophet

God's hands

is

thought to inhabit the deep.

Amos, describing when He comes

how none

Thus

shall escape

in judgment, exclaims,

*'And though they hide themselves in the top of '' Carmel, I will search and take them out thence ;

"

and though they be hid from

"

of the sea, thence will I

"he

shall

sometimes

bite

them."

referred

to ^

^

my

command This

as

sight in the

the serpent, and

serpent

"Leviathan"

Amos

ix. 3.

bottom

or or

dragon

is

"Eahab,"


TRACES OF THE DRAGON-MYTH. and in several passages allusion

is

made

II5 a battle

to

with the dragon of the deep, in which the dragon was pierced or slain. " Awake, awake, put on strength, ''

arm

of the Lord

awake, as in the days of old, "the ixenerations of ancient times. Art thou not it

''

that cut

Eahab

in pieces, that pierced the dragon

Here the allusion "

;

to a battle

in days of old,"

place " " " divide (Heb. break " "

"

"

^

with a dragon, that took "

unmistakable.

is

" ?

Tliou didst

"

up ") the sea by thy strength thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, :

thou gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness."

^

In

this

and

following

the

in

passage from the Book of Job the connection of the ^ " He stirreth dragon with the deep is brought out :

*'

his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through Eahab. By his spirit the lieavens " are garnished his hand has pierced the swift serpent."^ In the last sentence quoted the parallelism between

up the sea with

"

;

the garnishiug of the heavens and the piercing of the

Marduk

serpent recalls the Babylonian myth, in which

formed the heavens from half of the dragon's body. phrase in an earlier chapter of Job appears to reflect

A

another episode of the

Babylonian legend

course of a description of the power of parison with man's impotence 1

Tsaiali

'

See also Psalm Isxxix. 9

li.

it is

2

9.

*

f.

God

stated

pgj^i,^^

;

" :

f.

the

in

com-

God

will

i^xiv. 13

Job xxvi. 12

in

f.


RAHAB AND LEVIATHAN.

Il6 "

not withdraw his anger the helpers of Eahab do ^ The '' helpers of Eahab/' stooping stoop under him." ;

''

beneath their conqueror, "

who went

helpers,"

call to

mind

''

the gods, her

at the side of Tiamat,

and shared

her defeat. It is doubtful if the Babylonian

Eahab has been found

in a

form of the name

synonym employed

for

but at on one of the creation fragjments,^ the dracion CD O '

least

the conception and description of the monster

be regarded as based on the Babylonian myth. Egypt is sometimes referred to as Eahab,^ but this

may

of the

term

Babylonian

origin.

The

"

"

application

Behemoth

him

many

in Job xl. 15

liippopotamus

;

ff,

not conflict with

its

origin of the kindred monster

may, on the

traced to Egypt, for to

does

other

hand, be

rightly

of the characteristics assigned are evidently taken from the

while the picture of Leviathan, which

immediately follows that of Behemoth, offers a distinct contrast to

it,

and would not be inappropriate as a In the passages

description of the monster Tiamat.

and unmistakably referred to. The passages are poetical, and the language is to a great extent figurative and symbolical; the cited above a

dragon-myth

is

clearly

figures and symbols employed, however, are drawn from mythology, and presuppose a knowledge of the

legend. *

Job

Traces of the

ix. 13. ^

myth may perhaps

also be seen

2 gee Gunkel's Schopfung und Chaos, pp. 29 and 418> See Psalm Ixxxvii. 4, and Isaiah xxx. 7.


TERIOD OF BABYLONIAN INFLUENCE.

11/

in certain phrases or expressions, as in Gen. xlix. 25, "

\Yhere the expression

seems

But

the deep that coucheth beneath

it is

very easy to press imagery too

see mythological references in

own

the poet by his ever,

".

to suggest the picture of a beast about to spring.

we

pictures

select only those passages in the

to

suggested to

observations of nature.

which the dragon-myth we have sufficient evidence

and

far,

If,

how-

Old Testament,

in

is

must have been

show that the myth the Hebrews longf before

familiar to

definitely referred

to,

to

the exile.

now remains

It

to enquire at

what period before the

from Babylon could have reached The question is one that does not admit

exile these legends

the Hebrews.

of any certain or definite answer, but least to search for

theory

may

it is

permissible at

any evidence on which a conjectural Such evidence is furnished by

be based.

one of the most surprising discoveries of Babylonian In tablets that has been made during recent years. 1887 at Tell el-Amarna, a village in Upper Egypt on the east

bank

of the

ISTile,

the natives unearthed about

three-hundred-and-twenty clay tablets inscribed in the Babylonian character. The ruins near the village mark the

site of a

town that was

who was king

built

by Khu-en-aten,

or

Egypt about B.C. 1500. Amenophis IV., The finding of these Babylonian tablets on Egyptian soil

was

of

of the greatest historical interest,

and has con-

siderably modified the notions generally held

up

to the


THE TELL EL-AM ARNA TABLETS.

Il8

time of their discovery with regard to the early influence of Babylonia upon the other nations of the nearer East.

An

examination of the tablets showed that some were

letters

and drafts of

letters

that passed

between the

kings of Egypt, Amenophis III. and IV., and contem-

porary kings of countries and districts of Western Asia others proved to be letters and re^^orts addressed by

;

princes and governors of cities in Palestine, Phoenicia,

and Syria

to the

King

of Egypt.

It is not necessary

for our present purpose to give a detailed description of

the contents of these documents, and

it

will suffice to

point to the evidence which they furnish of the far-

reaching influence of Babylonian

XVth

century

B.C.

culture during the

That correspondence between kings Egypt should be conducted

of Assyria, or Babylon, and

in the Babylonian language

not so very surprising,

is

but that governors of Egyptian the Mediterranean coast should

cities

make

and provinces on

their reports in the

same tongue shows that a knowledge of Babylonian was common throughout Western Asia, and that the Babylonian language, like Erench at the present day, was at this period the

language of diplomacy. It is obvious that the Babylonian literature must have found its way

among

the nations that used

was the case there Tell

is

its

language, and that this

conclusive evidence

el-Amarna tablets themselves.

ments, in

Two

among

the

of these docu-

fact, are not letters or reports, but relate to

Babylonian legends, one containing a legend concerning


BABYLON AND WESTERN

ASIA.

II9

the goddess Ereshkigal, the other inscribed with the It is clear, therefore, that the legends

legend of Adapa.^

Babylon were known to the Egyptians of this time and the inference is justified that the tribes of Syria and the Mediterranean coast must have also been acquainted of

with them.

We

conclude, therefore, that the Baby-

may

lonian legends of creation had penetrated to Canaan

long before the immigration of the Israelites, and, as the Israelites after the conquest of the country had close intercourse with

its

prcA^ous inhabitants,

probable that they received from them legends and myths, which they in from Babylon.

earlier time,

many

their turn

not imof the

had derived

Hebrews

of a

during the patriarchal period,

may

It has even been su^^jo-ested that still

it is

the

have acquired the legends by direct contact with BabyTradition held that Terah, the ancestor of the

lonia.

had dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees,^ which generally identified with the city of Ur in South-

Israelites, is

now

ern Babylonia, and

urged that Abraham, Terah's son,

it is

when migrating from Mesopotamia to Canaan may have carried with him the leo-ends of the land of his nativitv. If this

were

so,

we should expect to them among the earlier

however,

frequent references to of the Hebrews, and

it

seems

to be

find

more

literature

more probable that

the acquisition of the legends should be assigned to a time subsequent to the conquest of Canaan. At some Âť

See below, pp. 188

ff.

2

Gen.

xi. 28.


THE JEWS OF THE CAPTIVITY.

120

unknown

period, then, wlietlier

by inheritance from the

Canaanites or by contact with Babylonia itself, we may assume that the Hebrews acquired the Babylonian legends which w^e find incorporated in their national In the absence of any positive information traditions.

one point,

at least, is clear, that is to say, the

Jews of

come across Babylonian mythology as new and unfamiliar subject, much of which

the exile did not

an

entirely

they adopted and modified on their return to Jerusalem. It is possible that their sojourn in

Babylon during the

given an impetus to their study of the Babylonian elements in their own traditions, but the wide differences which these present to the forms of

captivity

may have

the corresponding legends that have been recovered in tlie cuneiform inscriptions forbid the supposition that

they w^ere directly borrowed at this period.

In the apoc-

ryphal story of the destruction of the great dragon in Babylon by Daniel we doubtless have a late reproduction of the Babylonian myth, and the contrast this narrative presents to the Biblical stories of creation instructive.

From

the

is

singularly

absence in the latter of

all

grotesque and mythological detail, from the monotheism which is strictly in accord with the teaching of the

prophets before the

exile,

we may

infer that the stories

had long been familiar in Israel, and that Ezra and the Jews of the restoration did not compose these narratives but were compilers of earlier traditions of their race.


(

121

)

CHAPTER

IV.

THE STOEY OF THE DELUGE. In the traditions of

many

races scattered in various

parts of the world

to be

found a story, under

is

different forms and with

many

many

variations, of a great

Hood or deluge which in former times inundated and laid waste the land in which they dwelt. The explanation that such traditions refer to a universal deluge

which took place in the early ages of the world, now generally regarded as inadmissible, inasmuch

is

as

no trace of such a catastrophe in the earth's Moreover science has shown <2eoloQ;ical formation.

there

is

that in the present physical condition of the world

such a universal deluge would be impossible. It is not necessary on the other hand to refer all these scattered legends to the direct influence of the Biblical

story of the flood.

Primitive races, dwelling in low-

lying and well-watered districts, in their conflict with nature meet with no more destructive foe than inundation,

and amongst such races

it

would be surprising

if


THE BABYLONIAN DELUGE STORY

122

we

did not find stories of past floods from which but

few dwellers in the land escaped.

It is probable,

ever, that the story of the flood in Genesis for

some of the

is

deluiie legjends, thouQ,ii it is

that the Biblical story itself

is

how-

responsible

now

certain

not original, but was

derived from a similar legend of the Babylonians.

From

the extracts that have been preserved of the

history of Berosus

^

we

obtain a brief

Babylonian version of the deluge. ten

summary

of the to this

According

kings reigned before the deluge, which occurred in the reign of a king named account,

Babylonian

To

Xisuthros.

this

king the god Chronos appeared in

a vision and warned

him

that a flood

would take place

which would destroy mankind. The god therefore bade him write a history of the world from the beginning,

and place

it

in Sippar, the city of the sun

;

he was

then to build a ship into which he might bring his and every kind of bird and beast.

friends and relations,

Xisuthros did as the god told him, and the flood came upon the earth. After the flood had begun to abate, Xisuthros sent out birds from the vessel to see

if

the

waters had fallen, but as they found no resting-place they returned. After some days he again sent them this time they came back with mud upon their The third time he sent them out they did not He therefore came forth from the vessel, with return.

out,

and

feet.

his wife, his daughter, *

and

See Eusebias, Chron.

tlie pilot, I.,

ed.

and upon the side

Schoene,

col.

20

ff.


ACCORDING TO BEROSUS. of the

123

mountain upon which the ship was stranded he and immediately he and his three

offered a sacrifice,

companions were taken up into heaven. Those who had remained in the ship then came forth, and as they could not find Xisuthros they lamented and called on

He did not appear to them, however, his voice telling them that he and heard though they his companions were now living with the gods. him by name.

Xisuthros further informed them that the land they vv^ere in was called Armenia, and he told them to return

Babylonia and to search for and recover the writings hidden at Sippar. Those that were left carried out to

his

and found the writings and and thus Babylon was again inhabited.

instructions,

cities

;

built

This legend preserved from the history of Berosus

was long supposed

to

have taken

account in Genesis, but

it is

its

colouring from the

now admitted

that Berosus

derived the storv from Babvlonian sources.

On

the

from Ashur-bani-pal's library a very complete These tablets the legend has been recovered. of form

tablets

date from the seventh century

on them appears ancient hero

named Gilgamesh.

into twelve sections, each of

separate tablet

;

no

many

The poem was divided

which was written upon a

these are described in detail in the

following chapter. that

and the story told poem concerning an

B.C.,

as part of a great

It

must here

suffice to point out

of the stories comprised in the

or^ianic connection

with the

oriirinal

poem have

legend of the


TSIT-NAPISHTIM'S STORY.

124

Gilgamesh was the most prominent heroic figure

hero.

in Babylonian mythology, and, as with

name has formed

the past, his

and

stories

legends

of

quite

gathered in the course of time.

many

heroes of

a centre around distinct

which have

origin

One such legend

is

the

story deluge which occurs on the Eleventh Tablet of the series. The story, of which we give a of the

loses

translation,

It

context.

there

nothing by being taken from its forms a complete tale related to

Gilgamesh by Tsit-napishtim, who together with his family was saved from the deluge. That the legend

had originally no connection with the story of Gilgamesh is sufficiently clear from the artificial manner of its

introduction, but,

if

further proof were needed,

it

has recently been supplied by the discovery of a broken Babylonian tablet, which contains a version of the story as

it

was

told at an early period of Babylonian

history.

The

tablet

is

dated in the reign of Ammizaduga, one

of the last kings of the First

may It

Dynasty

of Babylon,

and

therefore be roughly ascribed to about B.C. 2100.

was found during the excavations that were recently by the Turkish Government at Abu-

undertaken

Habbah, the doubt

it

site

of the ancient city of Sippar,

and no

represents the local form of the legend that

was current in that

city during this early period.

The

tablet is unfortunately very badly preserved, but from

what remains of

it, it is

quite certain that

it

has been


AN OLD BABYLONIAN VERSION.

1

25

inscribed with a variant account of the story of the deluge.

Even

at this time the story

was not a short

one, for the text is written in eight columns, four

each side of the tablet.

on

In the second column of the

tablet a god appears to be giving directions for sending

upon men, while

destruction

in the seventh column,

towards the end of the tablet, the god Ea remonstrates with this deity for sending the deluge and destroying

mankind

;

over, the

name Atrakhasis

in the last line but one of the text, moreoccurs.^

So

little

has been

preserved of the tablet, however, that its chief interest derived from the note, or colophon, with which it

is

concludes. facts

:

Erom this we learn two very important name of the composition of which the

(1) the

tablet forms a part,

was written.

we

and

(2) the date at

With regard

find that the story

is

which the tablet

to the first of these points

not described as the Eleventh

Tablet of the poem of Gilgamesh, but as the Second We have thus Tablet of quite a different composition. direct evidence that it

poem

at a

was inserted into the former

comparatively late period of

Of

development. the writing of the

still

greater interest

is

its

literary

the date of

tablet, for it proves conclusively that

an early date must be assigned to the legends which are known to us from tablets written in the seventh century for the library of Ashur-bani-pal.

In

this

fragmentary version of the deluge story, found upon a Âť

See Scheil, Eecueil de Traiaux, Vol.

XX.

(1S98), pp. 55

ff.


126

THE NARRATIVE OF BEROSUS COMPARED. was written more than 1300 years before

tablet vrhicli

Asliur-bani-pal's time, the internal evidence furnished

by the

Assyrian tablets is amply corroborated. Eetnrning to the account of the deluge preserved in late

the Gilgamesh poem,

we

there find a form of the legend

which in general resembles the story reproduced from Berosus.

We

there read that the gods in the city of

Shurippak decided to send a deluge upon the earth. In a dream the god Ea revealed their intention to a man of the city

named Tsit-napishtim who,

in accordance

with Ea's instructions, saved himself, and his family, and every kind of beast, by building a ship in which they escaped from the flood. The thread of the narrative is identical with that of Berosus, though it differs

from

it

in details.

The hero of the

story, for instance,

dwells in Shurippak, not in Sippar, and the god does not bid him write a history of the world to instruct posterity after the deluge has destroyed all other The warning of Xisuthros by Chronos, howrecords. ever, corresponds to that of Tsit-napishtim

by Ea, and

name Xisuthros finds its equivalent in Atrakhasis, Ivhasisatra, a name by which Tsit-napishtim is referred to in the speech of Ea at the end of the story. the or

Both heroes, moreover, are from the ship. With regard

deified after to the

coming forth

name Tsit-napishtim,

must be mentioned that the reading

of the first part a matter of conjecture, and that some scholars render it Par-n apish tim whichever be

it

of the

name

is

still

;


TSiT-NAnSHTIM AND ATRAKHASIS. correct the "

of the

meaning

refers to Tslt-napishtim "

in

abounding

to be

"

the

been stated that Ea

It has already

offspring of life."

means

name appears

12/

by the name Atrakhasis, which " wisdom and a theory has ;

recently been put forward to account for the occurrence of these two

ing to it

^

names

for the hero of the legend.

Accord-

the story of the deluge in the Gilgamesh epic

made up of two legends which have been interwoven. One was a nature myth describing a universal deluge,

is

and the other a

local legend referring to the destruction

of a sinole city.

Atrakhasis

myth, and Tsit-napishtim,

"

the hero of the local legend

;

is

the hero of the nature

man of Shurippak," is while both names are given

the

to the hero in the story, as told in the

The theory

mesh.

is

ingenious, but

it

of Gilga-

poem

lacks evidence.

Before proceeding to compare the Babylonian story of the flood with that preserved in Genesis,

we

give a translation of the former version, so far as the present state of preservation of the text will allow.'^

mouth

put into the

The whole

of Tsit-napishtim,

who

story

is

it to

Gilgamesh, without interruption, from beginning

to

end.

He

begins by describing

how

tells

the gods in

council, in the city of Shurippak, decided to send a

deluge upon the earth, and '

288 ^

(fer

how Ea

revealed the secret

See Jastrow, Zeitschrift fur Assyriologle, Bd, XIII. (1899), pp, ff.

Cf

Jerraeias, Izdubar-Nimrod, pp. 32

ff.

and Ziramern

in

Babylonier, pp. 367

Chaos, pp. 423

ti.

ff.

;

Jensen, Die Eosmologie Gunkel's Schopfung und

;


THE GODS AND THE DELUGE.

128

Tsit-napislitim, one of the dwellers in the town.

to

The opening

lines of Ea's address to Tsit-napishtim, " wall, wall I reed-hut, reed-hut " O understand has proved hear wall, reed-hut,

which begins, "

!

!

!

a rather puzzling passage to commentators, for quite obvious

why Ea should

manner when he

it is

not

address a dwelling in this

gives his warning to Tsit-napishtim. of the passage seems to be that

The best explanation

Ea, before speaking to Tsit-napishtim,

the hut in which he

is sleeping.

Ea

end of the story that

We

first

addresses

know from

the

levealed the secret to Tsit-

in napishtim in a vision, and in view of the passage Ea's speech, it is not unnatural to suppose that Tsit-

of napishtim was sleeping at the time in a hut built reeds, a common form of dwelling among the poorer

inhabitants of Babylonia.

Tsit-napishtim begins his story thus

"I

will

to thee,

reveal

:

—

Gilgamesh, the hidden

word, "

And

"

Shurippak, a city which thou knowest,

"

Which

"

the decision of the gods will I declare to thee.

on the bank of the Euphrates, That city was old and the gods within it, lieth

;

'•'Their hearts

prompted the great gods

deluge.^ "

There was their father Anu,

"

And

their counsellor the warrior Bel, *

I.e.,

upon

tlie city

and iijankind.

to

send a


EAS WARNING TO TSIT-NAPISHTIM. "

And And

"

"

The

their

messenger Ninib,

their governor Ennugi.

lord of wisdom, Ea, sat also with them,

And

''

he repeated their purpose to the hut of reeds,

(saying) "

'

"

:

reed-hut, reed-hut

reed-hut, hear

wall, wall

!

!

wall, understand

!

"

Thou man of Shurippak,^ son

"

Pull

!

of Ubara-Tutu,

down thy house, build a sliip, Eorsake thy possessions, take heed for thy Abandon thy goods, save thy life,

'^

"

129

"And

life

!

bring up living seed of every kind into the

ship. " " "

As

for the ship,

"Well

which thou shalt

planned must be

Its breadth

and

its

its

build,

dimensions,

length shall bear proportion

each to each, "

And

"

thou shalt launch

it

in the ocean

' !

and spake unto Ea, my lord, (saying) my lord, which thou hast given, [The command], " I will honour, and w411 fulfil. "

"

"

I took heed,

:

'

But how

shall I

make answer unto

people and the elders thereof ? Ea opened his mouth and spake,

the city, the

'

''And he said unto me, his servant, Thus shalt thou answer and say unto them

"

"

'

Bel hath cast

me

forth, for

he hateth me,

*

I.e.,

BAB. REL.

Tisit-napislitim.

K

:


EAS INSTRUCTIONS.

130 "

And

"

ISTor

"

I can no longer live in

your city on Bel's earth can I any longer lay

I will therefore go

my

lord Ea.'

The next few

down

;

to the

my

head.

deep and dwell with

"

which contain the end of the

lines,

answer which Tsit-napishtim is to give to the people, are broken, and their meaning is not quite plain.

The general his is

drift

departure leaving,

for

will

perity,

passage

bring

blessings

will

know when set

the lord of darkness, the god

upon them an abundant that

assuring are

his

to expect their pros-

Eamman,

rain.

fellow

of

will pour

down

to

this

According

is

ordered to allay any

citizens

them beforehand that the

marks

may

coming prosperity, and not of

make no its

secret of the

birds

by

destruction.

that

Tsit-

coming deluge,

advent and the destruction of

including

living things

feel

signs of the deluge

Some explain the passage by assuming napishtim is to but to foretell

he

multi-

it

an appointed time, when

interpretation Tsit-napishtim

misgivings

on the land

and will grant a plenteous

fish,

They for Shamash has

be that

to

Bel will shower down upon

tudes of birds and harvest.

seems

of the

and

fish.

all

The former

rendering seems to agree better with the earlier part of his answer otherwise Ea would have told him to say ;

tliat

Bel hated, not himself only, but mankind at

large.

Quite a different version of Ea's instructions to Tsit-

napishtim

and of

his

answer

to

the god

is

given


THE BUILDING OF THE on another

to

watch

131

which

only a fragment has Accordincj to this version Ea told

tablet,

been recovered.

him

of

SHIP.

for

the

appointed time and then to

enter the ship, wherein he was to bring his corn, and his property,

and

his possessions,

and

his family,

and

and handicraftsmen, toGfether with certain and beasts of the field. In his answer to the

his household cattle

god Tsifc-napishtim does not ask how he is to explain his action to his fellow citizens, and only seems to be troubled by the practical difficulties of his task. He complains that he has never yet built a ship, and

A

Eabylouian ship.

(From a cyliader-seal

Museum, No.

asks the god to trace out a

therefore vessel

upon the ground.

breaks

off.

After receiving Ea's lected the

At

fifth

plan of the

commands Tsit-napishtim

ship

day he laid

89,349.)

this point the version

wood and the materials necessary

construction of the

on the

in the British

it

for

four whole

down.

days,

He made

col-

for the

and

the hull

in the form of a fiat-bottomed barge, 120 cubits in

width.

Upon

the hull he constructed a sort of house

or cabin, 120 cubits in height.

This great deck-house


THE EMBARKATION.

132

he divided into six

stories,

and

eacli story

contained

The outside of the ship he rendered watertight by pouring six measures of bitumen over smeared with pitch. He then it, and the inside he nine rooms.

be brought and he slaughtered oxen ; and, after filling jars with sesame-wine, and oil, and caused

oil to

'' like that of New Year's grape-wine, he held a feast " Day." On the seventh day the ship was ready, and

Tsifc-napishtim then hastened to carry out Ea's instructions,

and

to

fill

narrative continues "

With

with

it

all that I

:

all

—

had I

The

that he possessed.

filled

it.

''With

all

the silver I had, I filled

With " With

all

the gold I had, I filled

all

living seed of every kind that I possessed,

*^

I filled

" I brought

it,

it,

it.

up into the ship

all

my

family and

household, "

The

cattle of the field,

and the beasts of the

the handicraftsmen —

" "

all of

them

I brought

A fixed '

field, in.

time Shamash had appointed, (saying) The lord of darkness will at eventide send a heavy

ram

:

;

''

Then go into the ship, and shut thy " The appointed season arrived, and

door.'

'^The ruler of the darkness sent at eventide a heavy rain.

"

Of

the storm I saw the beginning;


\

THE COxMING OF THE FLOOD. "

1

33

To look upon the storm I was afraid I entered into the ship and shut the door. ;

" *'

To the

pilot of the ship, to

Puzur-Bel the

sailor,

"I committed the great building/ and the contents thereof.

"

When

"

There came up from the horizon a black cloud. Eamman in the midst thereof thundered,

*'

And

*'

the early

!N"abu

dawn

appeared,

and Marduk went before,

"They passed

like messengers

over mountain and

country. '*

Uragal parted the anchor-cable. "There went Mnib, and he made the storm to burst. "

The Anunnaki

"

And

carried flaming torches,

with the brightness thereof they

lit

up the

earth.

"The whirlwind

of

Eamman mounted up

into the

heavens, and

"All light was turned into darkness." The tempest raged for a whole day.

The waters

was confusion; men by reason of the darkness could see nothing, and they perished miserably. rose,

and

all

The text continues ''

"

:

—

Xo man beheld his fellow, No longer could men know heaven ^

J.e.,

the

sliip.

each

other.

In


ishtar's lamentation.

134 "

The gods were

"

They retreated, they went up into the heaven The gods crouched down like hounds,

" " " ''

of Anu.

In the enclosure (of heaven) they sat cowering. Then Ishtar cried aloud like a woman in travail,

The Lady

of the gods lamented with a loud voice,

(saying) "

afraid of the deluge,

'

:

The old race

of

man

hath been turned back into

clay, "

Because I assented to an evil thing in the council

"

Alas

of the gods !

I

!

have assented

to

an

evil

thing in the

council of the gods, "

And

agreed to a storm which hath destroyed

people "

That which

"

Like the spawn of

" *'

"

"

my

1

I brought forth

—where

is it ?

fish it filleth the sea

' !

The gods of the Anunnaki wept with her, The gods were bowed down, they sat down weeping, Their lips were pressed together

.

.

.

For six days and six nights blew, and the deluge and the tempest

"The wind

overwhelmed the land. the seventh day drew nigh, then ceased the tempest and the deluge, and the storm,

**

When

"

Which had

"

Then the

fought like a host.

became quiet and the hurricane and the deluge sea

it

went down

ceased.

;

and


THE STRANDING OF THE

SHIP.

1.35

" I looked

upon the sea and cried aloud, mankind was turned back into

"

Tor

"

In place of the

"

I

all

fields a

swamp

clay.

lay before me.

opened the window and the light cheek

fell

upon

my

;

"

bowed myself down, I sat down, I wept " Over my cheek flowed my tears. " I looked upon the world, and behold all was I

;

sea.

"

After twelve (days

"

To the land Nitsir the ship took its course. The mountain of the land of Nitsir held the ship fast and did not let it slip.

"

"

The

first

day, the second day, the mountain Nitsir

held the ship "

The

fast.

third day, the fourth day, the

held the ship

"The

?)

the land appeared,

fifth day,

mountain Nitsir

fast.

the sixth day, the mountain Nitsir

held the ship fast. "When the seventh day drew nigh, I

sent out a

dove, and let her go forth. "

The dove flew hither and

"

But there was no resting-place

thither, (for her)

and she

returned. "

Then

"

The swallow flew hither and

"But

I sent out a swallow,

there

and

let

her go forth.

thither,

was no resting-place

(for her)

and she

returned. "

Then

I sent out a raven and let her go forth.


J

THE

36 "

SACRIFICE.

The raven flew away and beheld the abatement of the waters,

''

And

she came near,

wadmg and

croaking, but did

not return.

"Then

I brought (all) out unto the four winds, I

an

offered " " "

I

made

By

offering,

a libation on the peak of the mountain.

sevens I set out the vessels,

Under them

I heaped

up

reed,

and cedar-wood, and

incense. "

The gods smelt the savour, " The gods smelt the sweet savour,

"

like flies about

The gods gathered

"

up the sacrifica. Then the Lady of the gods drew

"

And

him

that offered

nigh,

she lifted up the great jewels, which

made according to her wish, (and said) "*What gods these are! By the jewels which are upon

lazuli

forget ^*

them

''Let the gods "

But Bel

:

of la2ns

neck, I will

not

!

These days I have set in forget

my

Anu had

my memory,

never will I

!

come

shall not

to the offering,

come

to the offering,

"

Since he refused to ask counsel and sent the deluge,

"

And handed

"Now when ''

He

over

my

people unto destruction.'

Bel drew nigh, saw the ship, and he was very wroih ;


ea's protest. "

He was

filled

(saying) ''

"

'

Who

with anger against the gods, the

then hath escaped with his

No man

Then Ninib opened

And '

life

?

shall live after the destruction

"

"

Igigi,

:

"

''

137

his

mouth and

' !

spake,

said to the warrior Bel,

Who

but

Ea

could have done this thing

For Ea knoweth every matter

?

' I

mouth and

^'

Then Ea opened

''

And

*'

'

*'

But thou wouldst not take counsel and thou hast

*'

On On

his

Thou

art the governor of the gods,

sent the deluge

^'

spake,

said to the warrior Bel, warrior,

!

the sinner visit his sin, and

the transgressor visit his transgression

"

But hold thy hand,

"

And

;

that all be not destroyed

(?), that all be not [confounded] " Instead of sending a deluge,

forbear

Let a lion come and minish mankind " Instead of sending a deluge,

!

!

'*'

!

"Let a leopard come and minish mankind " ^'

" ''

" *'

Instead of sending a deluge, Let a famine come and [waste] the land

!

!

Instead of sending a deluge,

Let the Plague-god come and [slay] mankind

!

I did not reveal the purpose of the great gods. I caused Atrakhasis to see a dream,

heard the purpose of the gods.'

and (thus) he


DEIFICATION OF TSIT-NAPISHTIM.

138 "

" " *'

Thereupon Bel arrived at a decision, And he went up into the ship.

He He

my hand and brought me forth, brought my wife forth, he made her at my side, took

"He

turned towards us, he stood between blessed us, (saying)

"

*

to kneel

us,

he

:

Hitherto hath Tsit-napishtim been of mankind, let Tsit-napishtim be like unto the gods,

"But now even "

And

us,

Tsit-napishtim dwell afar off at the mouth

let

'

of the river "

!

Then they took me, and

afar off, at the mouth of made me to dwell." now have gained a notion of the

the rivers, they

The reader

will

form of the deluge story current in Assyria during the seventh century B.C., but, before comparing it with the Biblical account, following

Gen.

vi.

9—

ix.

given in the

it

The

facts.

will be necessary to consider the

Biblical

story is

contained in

17, and, like the stories of the creation

and second chapters of that book,

first

—

taken from two separate writings the "Priestly "writing" and the "Jehovist narrative," brief de-

is

scriptions of

which have already been

case of the accounts of the creation

given.^

we have

In the

seen that

the two stories were not interwoven one with the other.

and that one was

first *

given and then the other.

See aboye, pp. 110

f.

In


THE BIBLICAL STORY OF THE FLOOD.

1

39

on the other hand, the two

the case of the deluge

accounts are not given separately, but have been united so as to form a single narrative. The compiler,

however, has made very

little

in his two

alteration

sources of information, and has scrupulously preserved

Even where the

the texts upon which he has drawn.

two versions

from each other in points of detail he has not attempted to harmonize them, but without differ

change has given each as he found

it

;

thanks to this

two accounts with

fact it is possible to disentangle the

absolute certainty.

As

the text reads at present

differences

in

we

find considerable

passages with

certain

regard

to

two

important details of the story,

viz., the length of the duration of the deluge, and the number of the animals

which were preserved. flood took

According

place seven days after

build the ark; in Gen.

vii.

12 and

to Gen. vii. 10, the

Noah was

are said to have prevailed for forty days

;

told to

the w^aters

viii. 6,

and accord-

ing to Gen. viii. 6-12, the waters subsided after three These passages give the periods of seven days each. total duration of the

of

preparation,

as

deluge, including the seven days

sixty-eight

days.

On

hand, in Gen. vii. 11, the flood is said to

other

have bec^un

hundredth year of Noah's life, in the " second month, on the seventeenth day of the month

"in the "

the

six

;

in Gen. "

vii.

24,

it

is

stated that

"

the waters prevailed

upon the earth an hundred and

"

fifty

days

;

and


TWO VERSIONS

140

according to Gen. *'

hundred and

13 and 14, the waters finally

viii.

disappeared, and the first

earth became dry in the " six " of Noah, " in the second year

"month, on the seven "month."

and

statement that

is

twentieth these

to

Thus, according

total duration of the

—a

IN GENESIS.

day of the passages,

the

deluge was more than a year

not compatible with the pre-

which give the length of its duration as sixty-eight days. The second most striking instance of divergence occurs in the numbers of the viously cited passages

animals to be

Gen.

vi.

ark

preserved in the

19, lN"oah is told to preserve

while in Gen.

Noah

according to

;

two of every

sort,

preserve seven of every clean beast, and two of every beast that is not clean. These are perhaps the two most striking instances of vii. 2,

is to

divergence in the narrative, for they cannot be reconciled except on the supposition that they are the

accounts of two different

writers

which have been

interwoven with each other.

Other evidence, such as the occurrence of double accounts of the same episode, each written in a style its own, points in the same direction; and it is

of

possible

on the basis of such evidence

the two threads of the narrative. are so distinct that any one self in the

may

to

separate

These two threads trace

them

for

him-

Authorized Version of the English Bible. if we mark with a line at the

This will be apparent side

of

the

column the following passages

of

the


SEPARATION OF THE NARRATIVES. narrative: Gen. "

as

and "

2 (down

and

to

after the

vii.

9-22; "

end

were ")

;

6,

vii.

11, 13-16 (down to 18-21 and 24; viii. 1

3 (from viii. stopped ") " viii. 13 to from (down ;

-5

;

14-19; and ix. 1-17. When has been done and these passages read consecu-

off the

this

vi.

God commanded him")

I4I

earth");

tively, it will

viii.

be seen that

we have

a perfectly complete

and consistent account of the deluge. If the passages which have been left unmarked are next read, it will be seen that, although one fragment of a verse has been transposed (chapter vii., the second half of verse 16),

we have

here another complete and consistent account

of the deluge.^ * we will This will be apparent from the following summaries summarize the marked passages first, which together contain the " " Because account of the deluge according to the Priestly writing the earth was corrupt God decided to send a deluge. He therefore warned Noah to build an ark, giving him precise directions with regard to its size and to the mode of its construction when it was finitrhed he was told to bring his own family into the ark, and two of every kind of living creature, male and female, as well as food for himself and for them; Noah did as he was commanded (vi. 9-22). Noah -was six hundred years old when the flood began (vii. 6) in the six hundredth year of his life the flood was caused by the breaking up of the fountains of the great deep and by the opening of the windows of heaven (vii. 11). On the self-same day Noah and his family entered the ark, and he brought in the animals in pairs (vii. 13-16). And the waters increased and covered the high mountains, and the depth of the flood was fifteen cubits, and every living creature perished (vii. 18-21). And the waters prevailed for an hundred and fifty days, when God sent a wind to assuage the waters; and the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were slopped (vii. 2I-viii. 2). After the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased and ;

:

—

;

;

month the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. the waters decreased continually until the tenth month, when

in the seventh

And


SUiMMARY OF THE ACCOUNTS.

142

The reader

will see that each account repeats plirases

characteristic to itself,

and each, when separated from

the other, contains a consistent and uncontradictory the tops of the mountains were seen (viii. 3-5). And on the first day of the six hundred and first year the ^Yaters were dried up from the earth (viii. 13), and by the seven and twentieth day of the second

month the earth was quite dry

(viii. 14).

And Noah came

forth from

15-19), and God blessed Noah and his sons, and He made a covenant that He would not again send a flood to destroy the earth, and as a token of tlie covenant He set His rainbow in the clouds (ix.

the ark

(viii.

Such is the story, complete and consistent with itself, which given by the marked passages. The unmarked passages represent the " Jehovistic narrative," In the marked jDassages the reader will have noticed that the Divine 1-17).

is

" " is God," which corresponds to the Hebrew word Elo"hiiu"; in the unmarked passages he will notice that the word " the Lord," representing tlie Hebrew word generally used is

name used

"Jahveh"

or

Jehovah.

The "Jehovistic narrative"

is

not quite

a complete account, for its beginning, whicli contained the command " to build the ark, is omitted, doubtless because the Priestly writing" of From of the " Jehovistic full an account it. what remains so gives "narrative" we gain the following picture of the flood: Since Noah

—

had been righteous in his generation, the Lord bade him and all his house go up into the ark. Noah was also told to bring into the ark with him seven of every kind of clean beast and two of every unclean beast, the greater number of clean beasts no doubt being taken to serve as food during the time Noah and his household should be shut up in the ark. Noah was warned that iu seven days' time the Lord would cause it to rain upon the earth for forty days and forty nights, and every living thing the Lord had made would be destroyed (vii. Noah therefore did as he was commanded he took the clean 1-5). and unclean beasts into the ark wiih him (vii 7-9) and the Lord shut him in (vii. 16). As had been foretold, after seven days the flood came upon the earth (vii. 10), and the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights (vii. 12). And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased and bore up the ark (vii. 17) and every living thing was destroyed, except Noah and they that were with him in the ark (vii. 22 and 23). Then the rain from heaven was restrained and the waters returned from off the earth continually (viii. 2 and 3), and at the end of foity days Noah opened the window ;

;


POINTS OF CONTRAST. narrative

of the

accordance with

The

event. its

I43

''Priestly writing,"

annalistic

character, gives

in

exact

detailb concerning the size and structure of the ark,

records the depth of the flood in cubits, gives precise

when the flood began, when the ark rested upon Ararat, when the tops of the mountains were seen, when the waters were dried up, and also when the earth was quite dry. by day and month and

dates,

Episodes peculiar to fountains

it

of the

year, as to

breaking up of the cause of the flood, the

are the as

a

deep on the mountains of Ararat, and the covenant with the rainbow as its of the making

resting of the ark "

token.

The

resque

the Lord shuts

;

Jehovistic narrative

the sweet savour of

He

Noah

"

is far

more pictu-

He smells and He says in

into the ark,

JSToah's sacrifice,

not again send a deluge. The episodes peculiar to this account are the distinction made between clean and unclean animals, the bringing

His heart

will

and sent forth a raven, which flew to and fro and did not then a dove, which, finding no rest for the sole of her foot, returned to him. He waited another seven days and again he sent forth the dove, which this time brought in lier mouth an olive leaf plucked off; so Noah knew the waters were abated. He waited yet another seven days and then again sent forth the dove, which this of the ark

return

;

time did not return (viii. 6-12). So Noah removed the covering of the ark and beheld that the face of the ground was dried (viii. 13). And Noah built an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled the sweet savour, and said in His heart He would not again curse the ground nor smite every living thing while the earth ;

remained, the natural order of the universe should not be changed (viii.

20-22).


COMPARISON WITH THE BABYLONIAN POEM.

144

on of the deluge by a heavy rain only and not by the breaking up of the fountains of the sending forth

of

building of the altar

The

chief

points

narratives, that of

length

the

is

tlie

the great deep,

raven and the dove, the

and the

sacrifice

to

Jehovah.

the two divergence as to the statements the to say,

between

of

flood's

duration,

have

been referred

to already.

When we

compare the Babylonian account of the two versions in the book of Genesis, these with deluge

we

see that

both.

The

it

contains

details

many

of the peculiarities of

with regard to the form and struc-

ture of the ship are very similar to those of the ark

in the "Priestly writing," both accounts stating that

the vessel was built in stories, and that pitch was

used for making it watertight in both narratives the ark is said to have rested upon a mountain and Ea's ;

;

protest against the sending of a deluge in the future

perhaps the equivalent of God's covenant with Noah On that mankind should not again be so destroyed.

is

the other hand,

many

of the features peculiar to the'

*'Jehovistic narrative" also appear in the Babylonian

Such are the seven days which elapsed between the warning and the coming of the deluge, version.

the cause of the deluge ascribed to heavy rain, the sending forth of birds to test the condition of the waters, the burning of a sacrifice from which a sweet

savour rose,

etc.


ORIGIN OF THE HEBREW VERSIONS.

We

have therefore

m

Genesis

145

beyond doubt two

independent versions of the deluge story, both originally derived from Babylonian sources, but neither directly copied from the Babylonian version as we know it on the tablets from Ashur-bani-pal's library.

already noted they were derived from Babylon at

indications that

some period

In the case

we have

of the legends of the creation

prior to the exile,

and the arguments there

brought forward apply with equal force to the story It is a striking fact, however, that the

of the deluge. latter narrative

the

earlier

has not

Hebrew

left

so strong a

as did

wTitings

In the second

dragon-myth.

half

the of

mark upon Babylonian the book of

Isaiah the ^vrath of Jehovah in sending the captivity

is

in Ezekiel^ ISToah,

compared

to

also there is

"

Jews

the w^aters of Noah,"

^

into

and

an interesting reference to

which presupposes a knowledge of the Biblical

story of the flood

;

but traces of the story in the other

books of the Old Testament are not very numerous. Moreover the resemblance between the Hebrew and is very much the that between than closer corresponding accounts These facts indicate a later date for of the creation.

the Babylonian versions of the deluge

the adoption of the deluge story a

by the Hebrews, but

which may have been centuries before the

date

taking of Jerusalem. Âť

BAB.

Isaiab

liEL.

liv. 9.

2

Ezckicl xiv. 12-20.

T.


146

(

)

CHAPTEE

V.

TALES OF GODS AND HEROES.

In the two preceding chapters we have described the legends of the Babylonians which have left their mark

upon Hebrew

literature.

Of such legends those which

dealt with the creation of the world formed in themselves a complete body of traditions, and these we have treated as such in Chapter III. The story of the

deluge, on the other hand, which formed the subject of

Chapter IV., has not come down to us as a separate legend, but occurs in the course of a long poem which describes the adventures of a great Babylonian hero

named Gilgamesh.

As

the account of the deluge there

narrated forms a complete story, context, in

order to

legends of creation.

maining

treat it

We

will

portions of this great

we took

it

from

in connection with

now

poem

describe

its

the

the re-

of the Babylonians,

wdiich deals with the exploits of Gilgamesh, the greatest

mythical hero of their race. The name of the hero was, for *'

Izdubar," or

"

many

years, read

Gishdubar," but we now know

that the


THE POEM OF GILGAMESH.

I47

Babylonians pronounced the ideogram which formed " ^ It has been suggested that Gilgamesh."

the name,

to

is

Gilgamesh

be identified with the hero Nimrod,

who was "a mi^htv hunter

Lord," and

the

before

whose kingdom was "Babel, and the beginning " Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of of

"

beyond the fact that both Mmrod and Gilgamesh were great Babylonian heroes of antiquity, there are no other grounds for assuming *'

Shinar

their

^

but,

;

told

is

ferred to,

Mmrod we know

Of

identity.

what

us

the

in

in

passage

little

besides

Genesis

re-

but the deeds of Gilgamesh are recounted poem that has come down

in the longest Babylonian It is written

to us.

which, like those of the

made

Creation

The

guished by numbers. linson

a series of twelve tablets,

upon

series,

late Sir

the suggestion that the

are

distin-

C.

Henry poem was

Eaw-

a solar

myth, the twelve tablets corresponding to the twelve

months

of the year, but the contents of the majority

of the tablets do not origin.

poem

In into

fact, it is

twelve

arrangement, the

fit

in with this view of their

probable that the division of the

sections

work

was a comparatively

of the

and edited the ancient legends. We and legends of the hero Gilgamesh ^

^lian mentions an ancient king Gilgamos,

took from the hero of this poem. 2

Gen.

X. 8-10.'

late

who collected know that stories

scribes

a

go back name he

into

evidently


INTRODUCTION TO THE POEM.

148

remote antiquity, for cylinder-seals, made during the Sumerian period/ have been found, on which are

The

engraved the deeds of valour performed by him. actual poem, however, in

which we read these

stories,

most of the other legends of the Babylonians, known to us from Assyrian tablets which were

like is

written in the seventh century before Christ. of the

copies library,

work were made

for

and, from the numerous

that are in the British

Museum,

Several

Ashur-bani-pal's

fragments of them

it is

possible to piece

together the story, and to give several of the episodes

The

of the narrative in detail.^

story clings to the

ancient city of Erech, the chief seat of the worship of the

of

his

lands,

The

goddess Ishtar, and, although in the travelled

into

adventures, Gilgamesh he always returned to the city of Erech. First Tablet of the series is

much

course distant

broken.

A

fragment has been found which not improbably contained the opening words of the poem, for it seems to describe the

benefits that will

accrue to a

man who

will study the poem and make himself acquainted with the hero's history. After these prefatory remarks,

the text introduces the the misfortunes

name

that have

of Erech,

fallen

upon

and describes this

ancient

city in consequence of a siege that has taken place.

All living things that are in the *

I.e., *

and men,

B.C. 4000 to B.C. 2300. Iziubar-Nimrod, Leipzig, 1891.

from about

Cf. Jeremias,

city, gods,


THE SIEGE OF ERECH. and

beasts, are confused

as follows ''

She asses [tread down]

"

Cows

"

Men And

" " *'

''

"

:

and

terrified

—

[turn upon]

tlieir

;

149 the text reads

young,

their calves.

cry aloud like beasts,

maidens mourn like doves.

The gods of strong-w^alled Erech Are changed to flies, and buzz about the The

spirits of strong-walled

Are changed

to serpents,

streets.

Erech

and glide into holes

(?).

"

For three years the enemy besieged Erech, "And the doors were barred, and the bolts were shot,

"

And

Ishtar did not raise her

head against the

foe."

We have no mention of Gilgamesh upon these fragments of the First Tablet, but, as on the Second Tablet we find the inhabitants of Erech groaning under his not improbable that the foe mentioned as Erech was led by Gilgamesh, and that they besieging Another view is that succeeded in capturing the city.

rule, it is

Gilgamesh came forward and delivered Erech from her enemies, and in return for his services was elected ruler of the city.

By

whichever of these means he

obtained his throne in Erech, there his rule soon

young men off

became unpopular,

saying

—

no doubt that

he forced

all

the

of the city into his service and carried

the maidens to his court. :

is

for

The

elders complained,


THE TYRANNY OF

I50 "

Gilgamesh hath not

"Nor

maid

the

left

to the

GILGAIMESII.

the son to his father, the wife to her

hero, nor

husband." therefore cried to the goddess

They

Arum

against the

tyranny of Gilgamesh, complaining that he acted in this despotic manner because he had no rival to keep him in check. Day and night the people raised their complaint,

and the gods of heaven heard them and had

And

compassion upon them.

the gods also cried aloud

to Aruru, bidding her create a being, equal to Gilga-

mesh

in strength,

his power.

who might

fight

with him and limit

They urged that as she had created Gilgamust now create his rival. Aruru listened

mesh,^ so she to their

being

words and proceeded

who should be

to

plan and to create a

capable of opposing Gilgamesh.

The passage referring to the creation was named Ea-bani, reads as follows "

" *'

"

of this being, :

—

who

Upon hearing these words {i.e., the words of the gods) Aruru conceived a man of Anu ^ in her mind. Aruru washed her hands, She broke

off a piece of clay,

she cast

it

on the

ground. "

Thus she created Ea-bani, the hero." Ea-bani, however, was not wholly human *

It will

in form.

be remembered that according to one version of the CreaAruru, in company with Mardulc, is credited

tion story, the goddess

with the creation of mankind 2

;

see above, p. 90.

a divine man, a demi-god. " a general name for god." I.e.,

In this phrase "

Anu "

is

used as


THE CREATION OF From

EA-BANI.

I51

upon cylinder-seals we know that he had the head, and body, and arms of a man, but his The following description legs were those of a beast. his picture

of Ea-bani "

is

given in the

poem

:

—

The whole

of his body was [covered] with hair, clothed with lonc^ hair like a woman.

"

He was

"

The quality

*'

of his hair

was luxuriant,

like that of

the Corn-god. He knew [not] the land and the inhabitants thereof,

"He was

clothed with garments as the god of the

field.

"

With the gazelles he ate herbs, " With the beasts he slaked his thirst, "With the creatures of the water his heart A new personage now comes on the scene the abruptness

with which he

is

rejoiced."

and, from

introduced,

it

is

evident that he has already been described in some previous portion of the

new personage

poem

that

is

wanting.

This

Tsaidu, "the hunter," who appears to have been sent into the mountains by Gilgamesh is

in order to capture Ea-bani.

The gods no doubt

in

due time would have brought Ea-bani to Erech to do battle with Gilgamesh, and the object of Gilgamesh in sending Tsaidu to capture Ea-bani was clearly to forestall

their

intention.

"

The hunter

"

accordingly

went out into the mountains and lay in wait for For three days Tsaidu watched Ea-bani as Ea-bani. he went down to the stream to drink, but he thouMit


TSAIDU,

J52

THE HUNTER.

he was too strong to overcome in single combat. therefore returned to Erech

monster's

strength;

He

and told Gilgamesh of the

he described his own terror at

beholding him, and added that he destroyed traps which had been set for him, saying :

—

all

the

"He "

rangeth over [all] the mountains, Eegularly with the beasts [he feedeth],

*'

Eegularly his feet [are set] towards the drinking-

^'

But

place.

I

was

afraid, I could

not approach him.

"

hath

"

hath destroyed the nets which I [spread], hath caused the cattle and the beasts of the

He He "He

filled

field to

"

And

up the

pit

escape from

he doth not

let

which I digged,

my

hands,

me make war (upon

them)."

Gilgamesh was not discouraged by Tsaidu's want of success, and he revealed to him a device by which he

might capture Ea-bani, who had proved too cunning the ordinary snares of the hunter, saying "

Go,

my

Tsaidu, and take

"And when

:

for

—

Ukhat with thee. down to the drinkinof-

the beasts come

place, *'

Then

let her tear off

her clothing and disclose her

nakedness. '*

(Ea-bani) shall see her, and he shall draw nigh

"

And

unto her, the cattle, which grew

forsake him."

up on

his field, shall


Ukliat,

THE PLOT TO CAPTURE EA-BANI.

1

whom

was

Tsaidu was told to take

one of the sacred Ishtar

women who were

and were attached in

that goddess

continues

:

the

—

city

^Yitll liim,

in the service of

to

the ancient

of

Erech.

The

temple of narrative

"Tsaidu departed, and took with him the Ukhat. "

They took the

53

woman

straight road,

*'

And on

"

Then Tsaidu and the woman placed themselves

''

For one day,

the third day they reached the appointed

place.

in

hiding.

two days, they lurked by the

for

drinking-place. " "With the beasts (Ea-bani) slaked his thirst, '* With the creatures of the w^aters his heart rejoiced. *'

Then Ea-bani (approached) With the gazelles he ate herbs, " With the beasts he slaked his thirst, "With the creatures of the water his heart rejoiced." As Ea-bani came near, Ukhat caught sight of him, .

.

.

,

"

and Tsaidu exclaimed "

:

—

Ukhat, loosen thy girdle, "Uncover thy nakedness that he may receive thy That

is he,

favours,

"

Be not

"

He

"

Open thy garment, and he

faint-hearted, lay hold

shall see thee,

and

shall

upon his soul. draw nigh unto

thee.

shall lie in thine arms.


EA-BANI TEMPTED BY UKHAT.

154 "

Give him pleasure after the manner of women.

"

His

which grew up in

cattle,

his field, shall forsake

him, "

While he holdeth thee in the embraces of

Ukhat did

as Tsaidu bade her,

attended with success, as lines

:

and the

we may see from

love."

plot

was

the following

"Ukhat loosened her garment, she uncovered her nakedness, "

She was not faint-hearted, and she laid hold upon his soul.

" "

She opened her garment, and he lay in her arms. She gave him pleasure after the manner of women,

"

And

"

For six days and six nights Ea-bani drew nigh and tarried with Ukhat.

"

After he had satisfied himself with her abundance,

"

He

" *•

he held her in the embraces of love.

turned his attention to his

His gazelles

The beasts

lay,

and looked

of the field turned

"

Ea-bani was

"

His knees stood

terrified, his still,

cattle.

at Ea-bani,

away from him.

body grew

stiff,

as his cattle departed."

Ea-bani, however, did not attempt to pursue to

induce them

to return to him.

dismay he turned once more and

side "

He

them or

Eecovering from his

to the

companion

at his

returned to love, he sat at the feet of the

woman.


HIS LOVE FOR " " *'

THE WOMAN.

I55

And he gazed up into her face, And as the woman spake he listened. And the woman said nnto Ea-bani :

"

"

"

'

Thou

unto a god. Why then dost thou

Come,

"To

Ea-bani, and art like

art of great stature,

let

the

me

lie

with the beasts of the

field

?

bring thee to strong- walled Erech,

bright house, the

dwelling of

Anu

who

perfect

and

Islitar,

"To

of

the palace

Gilgamesh,

is

in

strength,

"And

who, like a mountain-bull, wieldeth power

over men.' "

" " " "

"

She spake unto him and he hearkened unto her word, In the wisdom of his heart he wished

'

Come

for a friend.

woman Ukhat, lead me away,

Ea-bani spake unto the then,

:

To the bright and holy dwelling of Anu and Ishtar, To the palace of Gilgamesh, who is perfect in strength,

"And who

like [a "

mountain-bull wieldeth power]

over men.'

The

text of the

poem which

follows

is

broken, and

it

only with difficulty that the thread of the narrative can be made out. Ea-bani had heard so much of the

is

micrht of Gilgamesh from his friendship

;

but,

it

Ukhat

that he desired to

appears, he

first

wished to

win test


GILGAMESH AND EA-BANI.

156

the hero's strength, and to

was with

this object that

city of Erech,

jom with him

in

which

lie

It

he set out with Ukhat for the

and they happened

the celebration of a festival.

dream

in battle.

to arrive there

during

Ea-bani, however, had a

was warned

to

from

refrain

do battle with Gilgamesh. He was told that Gilgamesh was more powerful than he, and that,

attempting to

by day and by night he did not rest, he could not hope to take him unawares. He was also told in his

as

dream that Gilgamesh was beloved

of

Shamash, the

Sun-god, and that the three great gods, Anu, Bel, and Ea, had given wisdom unto him.

Meanwhile Gilgamesh

also

had a dream, and he was

troubled because he could not interpret fore

went

to his

it.

He

there-

mother Aruru and enquired of her

the meaning of his vision.

He

seemed

told her that in his

upon him, and his mother seems to have interpreted the dream as foretelling the coming of Ea-bani, and also to have advised vision the stars of heaven

him

to

make

to fall

friends with Ea-bani.

Gilgamesh and Ea-bani did not enter into combat, and the Third Tablet of the series tells how they

became remain,

friends. it

Erom

the frai:^ments of the text which

appears that Ea-bani did not at

first

give

heed to the warning vouchsafed him in his dream,

and

it

was only

after the personal intervention of the

Sun-god that he gave

up the

desire to do battle with

Gilgamesh, and consented to treat him henceforth as


EXPEDITION AGAINST KHUMBABA.

5/

In order to induce Ea-bani to remain

his comrade.

Sbamash conferred on him

at Erech,

1

royal rank, and

he promised him that he should recline on a great conch while the princes of the earth kissed his feet, and that the people of Erech should proclaim their submission unto him.

and consented

god,

to

Ea-bani listened to the Sun-

remain in Erech as the friend

of Gili?amesh.

The next

section of the

poem

is

also incomplete,

but enough of the text remains to enable us to make out the story, which concerns an expedition under-

taken by both heroes

named Khumbaba. tion

against

an Elamite despot

The preparations

^

for the expedi-

and the battle with Khumbaba are described upon

the Fourth and Fifth Tablets of the series.

Before

setting out for the castle of Khumbaba, Ea-bani prayed

and Gilgamesh recounted to his friend dream which had been sent to him, in

to the Sun-god,

a favourable

which he beheld the dead body of Khumbaba. In due time the two heroes came to a wood of cedar trees, in built.

the middle of which Khumbaba's castle was

Khumbaba was

feared

by

all

who dwelt near

him, for his roaring was like the storm, and any man, who was rash enough to enter into his cedar wood, perished.

The two

heroes, however,

undismayed by

the reports of their enemy's power, pressed forward '

The people

tauiia, were,

cf Elam, which was situated to the east of Mcsopofrom an early period, in coustant conflict with Babylonia.


THE SLAYING OF KHUMBABA.

158

on their journey.

amazed

They entered the wood, but were

at the great size of the trees that

grew therein, and in the words of the poem " They stood still, and marvelled at the wood, "

—

They gazed

at the height of the cedars,

"

They gazed at the entrance of the wood, "The place where Khumbaba was wont and

"

to

walk

set his foot.

The road had been

laid out,

and the path was well

made." After describing the beauty of the greatest of the cedars, which possessed a pleasant and delightful shade

and a sweet

smell, the tablet breaks

off.

How

the

heroes penetrated to the castle, and in what manner

they succeeded in slaying Khumbaba, we do not know but that they were successful in the fight is clear from ;

the last line of the tablet.

and reads

may

"

Half

this line is preserved

Khumbaba," from which we that Gilgamesh and Ea-bani, after

the head of

perhaps infer

slaying the tyrant, cut off his head from his body.

Hitherto the heroes

had only met with

success.

Enjoying the favour of the Sun-god, they had succeeded in slaying a powerful enemy of their city, and they now returned to Erech elated with their victory.

From so

this

time forward, however, their

lot

was not

happy, and the Sixth Tablet gives the reason of

their misfortunes, for it narrates

how Gilgamesh

curred the wrath of the powerful goddess Ishtar.

in-

The


ishtar's passion for gilgamesii.

159

with an account of how, on his return

tablet opens

from Erech, Gilgamesh removed the stains of battle, and clothed himself in his royal robes, in the following

words " ''

''

:

—

he polished his weapons, from armour upon him, [He removed] he clothed himhis soiled took garments, [He off]

[He cleansed]

his weapons,

his

self in clean raiment.

"He

donned

[his robes

honour, he bound

of]

on

his diadem, "

Gilgamesh wore

his

he

crown,

bound

on

his

diadem."

The

sight of the hero thus arrayed on his return

from battle kindled with love

for

him the heart

of

The poem tells how she beheld the goddess Ishtar. the comeliness of Gilgamesh, and addressed him in these words " "

:

—

Come, Gilgamesh, be thou Bestow thy strength upon

"And

thou shalt be

thy

my

my

spouse.

me

as a gift,

husband, and I will be

wife.

"

I will set thee in a chariot of lapis lazuli

"

With wheels made

"

And mighty

of gold

and

gold,

and horns made of

diamonds,

"Thou

.

.

.

steeds shalt thou yoke to

of cedars. "

When

it.

shalt enter our house with the sweet scent

thou enterest our house,


GILGAMESH REPULSES

l60

ISIITAR.

"

[The great and] the mighty shall kiss thy feet. "Kings, and rulers, and princes shall bow down before thee,

"And

from mountain and plain shall they bring >> gifts unto thee as tribute.

The goddess promised in addition that

his

flocks

should bear twins, that the horses of his chariot should

be swift, and that his cattle should be unrivalled.

But Gilgamesh refused her proffered love, remembering the fate of those who had already enjoyed it, and thus upbraided her with her treachery j"

" "

On Tammuz, Thou didst lay

:

—

the spouse of thy youth,

Thou

affliction

every year.

didst love the brilliant AUalu-bird,

"

But thou

"

He

"

Thou

"

Seven by seven didst thou dig snares

"

Thou

" "

didst smite

him and break

stands in the woods, and

wing

my

;

wing.*

didst also love a lion, perfect in strength, for

him.

didst also love a horse, pre-eminent in battle

Bridle, spur,

Thou

his

'

cries,

didst

;

and whip didst thou lay upon him,

make him

to gallop for

SQYen

Jcashu,

"

Trouble and sweating didst thou force him to bear, " And on his mother Silili thou didst lay aftiiction.

"

Thou

"

Who continually poured out

"

And

didst also love a shepherd of the flock, for thee the libation

daily slaughtered kids for thee

"But thou

didst smite him,

into a leopard,

(?),

;

and didst change him

"


THE BULL FROM HEAVEN. own sheep- boy hunted him, own hounds tore him to pieces.'*

''

So that his

"

And

his

Giigamesh

l6l

also recounted the sad fate of a gardener

in the service

of

Anu,

Ishtar's father,

whom

she had

Every day he brought her costly gifts and made the dish from which she ate but when she grew bright

loved.

;

tired of

him she changed him

into a cripple, so that

henceforth he could not rise from his bed.

ended his taunts with the words, "As " wouldst love me, and like unto " [afflict

for

Giigamesh me, thou

them thou wouldst

me]."

When Ishtar heard this

she was enraged and she went

into heaven, where she sought out her father Anu, and her mother Anatu, and complained that Gilgamesli had scorned her. Anu attempted to soothe her, but she

up

demanded vengeance upon Giigamesh, and asked Anu to create a monstrous bull,

destroy

the

hero.

Anu

named Alu, which should

yielded

to

his

imperious

daughter and created the bull in accordance ^\'ith her The account of the battle between the bull and wish.

two heroes Ea-bani and Giigamesh, is very incomplete, but the struggle seems to have been long and the

fierce,

and towards the end of the account we read that

Ea-bani seized the bull by the tail so that Giigamesh was no doubt enabled to slay the monster with his

In the accompanying illustration, we see GiiEa-bani each engaged in conflict with a and gamesh The picture may possibly be based upon some bull. sword.

BAB. EEL.

M


THE FIGHT WITH THE BULL.

l62

variant form of

tlie

legend, according to which

Ann

two divine bulls against Gilgamesh and his Perhaps of the

it is

simpler, however, to regard

it

sent

friend.

as a picture

two heroes on a hunting expedition,

for

on

other cylinder-seals they are frequently represented as strusjo-lincf with several bulls and lions at the same time. It will tree

fir

be noticed that in the centre of the picture is a growing upon what appears to be a pile of stones. if >'.-

^

-m '

-0

:

M*^'f

-.J

%f

-.

-....../ / 'SI

;/:

Ea-baui and Gilgamesh in conflict with two bulls. British

The small half are

circles,

conventional

Museum, No.

(From

a cylinder-seal in the

89,308.)

however, which look like stones,

representations

of

mountains

;

the

engraver intended to convey the impression that the hght with the bulls took place in a well- wooded and

mountainous country. The poem next describes the wrath of Ishtar death of the bull as follows

:

—

at the

''

Then Ishtar went up on

*'

She mounted to the top and she uttered a curse,

Erech

to the wall of strong- walled

;

(saying),


EA-BANI TAUNTS ISHTAR. *'

'

Cursed be Gilgamesh, who has provoked

1

me

63 to

anger,

"

And

"

"When Ea-bani heard these words of

has slain the bull from heaven.' Ishtar,

He tore out the entrails (?) of the bull, " And he cast them before her, (crying),

*'

"

As

'

for thee, I will

"And

I will

him/

conquer thee, do to thee even as I have done to

"

Thus Ea-bani drew down upon himself the wrath of Ishtar.

Then Ishtar assembled the

three grades of priestesses

made lamentation

attached to her service and they

over

the death of the bull.

The horns

of the bull were of great value, for they

were exceeding] y large and each of them held six measures of oil. Gilgamesh, therefore, in gratitude for his victory,

dedicated

them

the Sun-god,

to

described in this passage of the

name

of Lugal-Marada, that is

being a city in Babylonia.

with

and

much ceremony

his attendants

and then

washed

set out for Erech.

and he

King of Marad," Marad

After dedicating the horns

Gilgamesh hands in the Euphrates

their

On city,

their arrival they rode

and the people gathered

The upon them as they passed. the city also came out to meet Gilgamesh,

to gaze

princesses of

is

at the altar of the god,

through the streets of the together

"

who

poem under the local

cried out unto them, saying

—


EA-BANI'S DEATH.

64

1

"

" *'

Who is glorious among heroes Who is mighty among men

?

?

Gilgamesh

is

glorious

among

heroes,

"

Gilgamesh is mighty among men." In this manner he passed through Erech and entered There he prepared a banquet at which he entertained his friends in honour of his victory over

into his palace.

the great bull.

After the banquet the guests reclined

upon their couches and slept. During Ea-bani's sleep he saw a vision, and when he awoke in the morniug he drew nigh to Gilgamesh and began things which he had seen.

to tell

him

of the

The Seventh Tablet begins with Ea-bani's account of his dream, but so few fragments of the text of this

and the following tablet have been preserved that is

it

not possible to follow the course of the narrative at All we know for certain is that Ea-bani's

this point.

He death occurs at the end of the Eighth Tablet. seems to have received a wound in battle, but in what manner and say.

All that

at the

we can

hands of what

foe,

we cannot

gather from the mutilated text

is that he was laid low upon his bed with the sickness which resulted from his wound. For twelve days he

summoned Gilgamesh to his bedin which he side, and having told him the manner had received his wound, he died. We may reasonably lay sick, and having

conjecture Ishtar,

that

his

death was

whose anger he had aroused.

brought

about

by

Gilgamesh himself


THE GRIEF OF GILGAMESH. we

escaped from death, but

find lie

165

had been smitten

with a sore sickness, which no doubt was also due to the anger of the

goddess whose

great

love he

had

scorned.

The Ninth Tablet opens with the lament of Gilgafor the death of his friend, and with his resolve

mesh

to seek out his

ancestor, Tsit-napishtim,

perhaps help him begins as follows

:

to escape a similar fate.

who might The

tablet

—

'*ror his friend Ea-bani "

Gilgamesh wept bitterly and he lay stretched out

upon the ground. " "

"

'

(He

cried)

:

Let

me

not die like Ea-bani

Grief hath entered into I fear death,

and

my

I lie

!

body, and

stretched out

upon the

ground. " To (test) the power of Tsit-napishtim, son of UbaraTutu, "

I will set out,

and

I will not tarry

by the way.' Gilgamesh describes his journey thus :— To a mountain gorge I came by night,

"

'*

" " "

Lions I beheld, and I was I raised

And

my

terrified.

head and I prayed to the Moon-god,

to the [chief] of the gods

came

my

cry,

"

[And he hearkened and] showed favour unto me." From what remains of the text it appears that Gilgamesh had a dream in which the Moon-god shewed him the way by which he might safely pass over the


1

THE MOUNTAIN OF THE SUNSET.

66

mountains.

Gilgamesli succeeded in crossing the

first

mountain range which barred his path, and he next came to a still greater mountain named Mashu, that is to say, the Mountain of the Sunset. The poem continues as follows

:

—

"

Then he came

to the

"

The

of

portals

Mountain of Mashu,

which

are

guarded

daily

[by

monsters] Their backs mount up to the rampart of heaven, " And their fore parts reach down beneath Arallu. ;

"

"

Scorpion- men guard the gate (of

"They

strike terror [into men],

Mashu) and

;

it is

death to

behold them.

"Their splendour mountains

is

great, for it

overwhelms the

;

"From " "

sunrise to sunset they guard the Sun.

Gilgamesh beheld them, his face grew dark with

And "And

fear

and

terror,

the wildness of their aspect robbed

him

of

his senses."

One

of the Scorpion-men then caught sight of Gil-

gamesh, and, turning to his wife, told her that the body of the man they saw approaching resembled that of a god.

divine told

His wife replied that Gilgamesh was partly The Scorpion-man then

and partly human.

her

how

Gilojamesh had

set

out on his long:

journey in accordance with the will of the gods,

and

he described the steep mountains which he had already


THE REGION OF THICK DARKNESS.

1

6/

Gilgamesh, seeing that the monster regarded him with friendly eyes, recovered from his fright, and crossed.

told to

him

of the purpose of his journey, namely, to go

Tsit-napishtim.

his

assembly of the gods,

ancestor,

who

stood

and had the power over

in

the

life

and

The Scorpion-man replied by describing the difficulties and dangers which he would encounter if

death.

he persisted in his purpose of traversing the Mountain of Mashu, adding that for twelve hashu, that is, for a space of twenty-four hours, he would have to pass through thick darkness. But Gilgamesh w^as not dis-

The Scorpion-man, therefore, yielded to and opened the gate of the mountain and

couraged.

his

request,

let

him throudi. "

For twenty-four hours Gilgamesh marched onwards, and the darkness was thick and there was no lidit."

and dreadful journey he came out once more into the light of the sun, and the

But

at the

end of

this long

thing he beheld was a beautiful and wonderful The poem describes the tree in the following tree.

first

words

:

—

" Precious stones

it

bore as

"Branches hung from

it

fruit,

which were beautiful

to

behold. *'

"

The top of the tree was it was laden with

And

of

him

lains lazuli, fruit

which dazzled the eye

that beheld."

This tree grew in a great park or orchard beside


THE PRINCESS

l68

SABITU.

other trees which were also laden with precious stones

;

but Gilgamesh did not tarry among the trees nor stop The shore of the sea was not to gather their fruit. far off

and he wished

to lose

no time in reaching

it,

he knew that he must cross the sea to reach

for

Tsit-napishtim his ancestor. the Tenth Tablet reveals to us Gilga-

The text of mesh involved

which he had now come,

named

went

Without her

into

she had shut

not open

it

shore.

he drew

shut the door.

Gilgamesh could not her door and demanded

went up to it, and threatened that

he would break

text prevents us from

When

threat.

and,

afar,

her palace and

as

assistance, however,

cross the sea, so he

why

by the

in a palace

She beheld Gilgamesh from

sea- coast, to

by a princess

w^as ruled over

who dwelt

Sabitu,

near, she

The

in further troubles.

the

it

knowing

text

is

down.

A

if

she did

gap in the

Sabitu's answer to this

again continuous

we

find

Gilgamesh telling Sabitu the reason of his journey, namely, that he may learn how to escape the fate of he ended by asking her the way to of abode the Tsit-napishtim, saying " Sabitu, which is the way to Tsit-name] [Tell his friend Ea-bani

pishtim

;

—

?

"

If it is possible, I will cross the sea.

"

But

if it is

not possible, I will

the ground in despair."

Sabitu replied, saying

—

lie

me down upon


ARAD-EA, THE SAILOR. *'

"

169

Gilgamesh, there hatli never been a ferry (here), j^either hath any one ever crossed the sea. sea, but, besides

''

The hero Shamash hath crossed the

''

The crossing is difficult, the way is very hard, The Waters of Death are shut in (?), they are closed

Shamash, who can cross ''

lip as

with a

it

?

bolt.

"

Gilgamesh, how canst thou " And if thou shouldst come to

what wouldst thou do Sabitu, however, told

cross the sea

?

the Waters of Death,

" ?

Gilgamesh that there was one

who might perhaps help him, namely, Arad-Ea, the To him she sent him sailor who served Tsit-napishtim. and told him to ask Arad-Ea to take him across. If he Gilgamesh would have

refused,

to turn back.

Gik^amesh sought out Arad-Ea and told him of his he then made of the reason of his journey .grief, and ;

the request that he would show him the way to Tsitnapishtim, and ended his demand wdth the words he

had already used *'

"

If

it is

But

to Sabitu, saying

—

possible, I will cross the sea,

if it is

not possible, I will

lie

me down upon

the ground in despair."

Arad-Ea consented

to

make

the journey,

and told

Gilgamesh to go into the wood and cut dowm a tree out of which he might make a large rudder for the ship, since they would need

The poem then

special tackle for the voyage.

describes

how

they

made

their pre-

as follows parations and set out on their journey,

—


THE WATERS OF DEATH.

I/O "

Gilgamesh on hearing

this

(i.e.j

Arad-Ea's instruc-

tions) "

Took

"

And he went

"

And

"

Gilgamesh and Arad-Ea then went up into [the

"

The ship was thrust out into the

his axe in his

hand ....

into the

wood and

[cut] a rudder, five

measures in lenoth, he smeared

it all

over with pitch.

ship].

weaves,

and they

began their voyage.

" Gilgamesh and Arad-Ea crossing the ocean and the AV^aters of Death." On the left of the picture is a representation of Gilgamesh and Ea-bani in conflict with a lion. (From a cylinder-seal in the British Museum, No. 89,588.)

"

A

"

And

course of one

month and

five

days within three

days [did they accomplish], thus Arad-Ea arrived at the Waters of Death."

To pass over the Waters of Death was a task attended with difficulty and danger, and Arad-Ea needed all the help that Gilgamesh could give him to steer the ship in After they had made the passage, Gilgamesh safety. loosened his girdle and rested from his exertions.

Then they drew nigh the shore

of the

land where


THE MEETING WITH TSIT-NAPISHTIM. Tsit-napislitim

and

his wife dwelt apart

171

from mankind.

Tsit-napishtim beheld Gilgamesh afar off and marvelled man cross the Waters of Death. Gilga-

to see a living

mesh then approached the shore and, while

still sitting

in

the ship, he explained to Tsit-napishtim the reason he had sought him out. He told him of his adventures with Ea-bani, and he described the sad death of his friend

own

and

his

had

set out to seek help

o-rief

He

at his loss.

how he and how

recounted

from Tsit-napishtim,

journey he had passed over steep mountains and He ended his long recital by crossed dangerous seas. how he his ancestor might escape the sad fate of asking

on

his

death that had overtaken Ea-bani his

friend.

Tsit-napishtim was grieved at the words of Gilgamesh, but told him he could do nothing to help him to escape

He

from death. that no "

man

As long

told

him

that death comes to

could escape from as houses are built,

all,

and

it, .

.

.

"

And as long as brethren quarrel, " And as long as there is hatred in the land, " And as long as the river beareth its waters

[to the

sea]."

He

added that the gods whose

death pass sentence could said " "

—

tell

when

his

lot it is

when they will, and that no man own time might come. And he

The Anunnaki, the great gods, decree fate, with them Mammetum, the maker of

And

to decree

destiny.


TSIT-NAPISHTIM'S STORY.

172 "

And

tliey

determine death and

life,

"

But the days of death are not known." With these words the Tenth Tablet of the poem ends.

On

Eleventh

Tablet

the reason

of his

the

napishtim

Gilgamesh asked Tsitescape from death.

own

He

gazed upon him, and, seeing that his appearance

was

like that of a living

"

I behold thee,

thou

—

Tsit-napishtim,

"But thy appearance art

man, said

is

not changed.

As

I

am, so

also.

"Yea, thou art not changed.

As

I am, so art thou

also."

He "

then asked him the reason, saying, [Tell me], How didst thou obtain the life which thou dost enjoy in the assembly of the gods

" ?

In reply to this question, Tsit-napishtim told Gilga-

mesh

the story of the deluge, which has been already

described in Chapter IV.

During the

telling of the story,

ing at a little distance

Gilgamesh sat listenfrom the shore in the ship, for,

sore-smitten as he was with sickness, he was not able to

go up from the ship.

When

Tsit-napishtim had

own adventures he turned to him to healthy for that at least he could do, though he could not show him a way to escape from death when his time should come. As a first step towards the recovery Tsit-napishtim bade him finished the tale of his

the hero and promised to restore


THE HEALING OF GILGAMESH. sleep.

173

For six days and six nights Gilgamesli consit in the ship, and at the end of that time

tinued to

sleep csuDQ

upon him suddenly

''like a storm."

While

Gilgamesli slept, Tsit-napishtim told his wife to prepare

some magic while he felt

food,

slept.

which she administered unto him

On awaking from

his sleep

that he was enchanted, and asked

Gilgamesh

what had been

done to him, and they told him of the magical food which had been prepared and which he had eaten. To complete his cure Tsit-napishtim caused Arad-Ea to carry Gilgamesh to a certain fountain where he washed his sores in the healing waters,

from

his

terrible

disease.

and he was cleansed

When

he was about to

depart on his homeward journey, the wife of Tsit-napishtim asked her husband what they could give him to

own land. Although had told that no man already Tsit-napishtim Gilgamesh could escape from death, yet now, as the latter was preensure his safe return to his

paring to take his leave, he disclosed to him the existence of a magic plant which had the power of prolonging

Gilgamesh then set sail in company with Arad-Ea to go and search for the plant. They succeeded in finding it, and Gilgamesh joyfully cried that he would carry life.

Erech with him, and that by eating it he would regain his youth. Gilgamesh and Arad-Ea then turned it to

back carrying the plant with them. And when they had journeyed thiny Tcashc, they came to a brook wherein flowed cool and refreshing water.

And when


GILGAMESH MOURNS FOR EA-BANI.

174

Gilgamesh went down to the brook to drink, a demon in the form of a serpent darted out and carried away the Gilgamesh bitterly lamented the

plant.

loss

of the

He therefore plant, but could do nothing to recover it. and in time due returned to continued his journey With

Erech.

this

incident

Eleventh

the

Tablet

closes.

The Twelfth Tablet mesh, to

after his return

lament

for Ea-bani.

He

which

poem

now

called to

mind

the

common

—

canst no longer stretch thy

earth

Gilga-

his friend

world, and addressing Ea-bani he said

"Thou

how

relates

could no longer life, that he was imprisoned in the under-

acts of daily

perform,

of the

from his long journey, continued

bow upon

the

;

"

And

"

Thou canst no longer bear a

"

And

" "

Thou canst no longer wear shoes upon thy feet; Thou canst no longer raise thy war-cry on the

"

No more

"

No more

those

who were

slain with the

bow

are round

about thee. sceptre in thy

hand

;

the spirits of the dead have taken thee captive.

earth.

dost thou kiss thy wife

whom

thou didst

love; dost thou smite thy wife

whom

thou didst

hate.

"Ko more

dost thou kiss thy daughter

didst love

;

whom

thou


RETURN FROM THE DEAD.

EA-BANl'S "

Xo more

"

The sorrow

dost thou smite thy daughter

whom

1

75

thou

didst hate. of the

Underworld hath taken hold

thee."

upon

Gilgamesh tlien appealed to the gods to help him in and to enable him to again behold his friend.

his sorrow

With

this object

he went alone into the temple of the

god Bel, and, addressing him as of his trouble

his

"

father," told

him

He

next

but Bel could not help him.

;

told his sorrow to Sin, the Moon-god, but he too could

do nothing for him and Ea, to whom he next appealed, Last of all he besought could do naught to help him. Nergal, the god of the dead, to use his power and to ;

restore Ea-bani

Gilgamesh,

forth

On

him.

granted caused the

ISTergal

the ground, and ''

to

'''

hearing the

his

opened Ea-bani to come

request.

spirit of

from the earth like a wind."

Gilgamesh thereupon asked Ea-bani

him " " "

me

the underworld, crying, ;•

prayer of

He

tell

me

Tell me,

to describe to

my

friend, tell

the appearance of the land which thou

hast seen."

But Ea-bani

my

cannot

friend, I

"

" replied,

tell thee.".

of the abode of the dead

I

cannot

tell thee,

This refusal to speak

was not due

to

any command

upon Ea-bani not to reveal such matters to the living, but was prompted by his grief at the dreariness

laid

of the region from which he

had just been released. down and weep, he pro-

After bidding Gilgamesh sit ceeded to describe the underworld as

an

abode of


TPIE

176

CONDITION OF THE DEAD.

where was the worm which devoured, and where all was cloaked in dust. The text is here immisery,

but the closing lines of the tablet which contain

perfect,

the end of Ea-bani's description of the condition of the

In

dead are preserved.

the lot of the warrior,

with that of the

on the "

Ea-bani contrasts

this passage

who

has received due burial,

man whose

field, in the following

corpse

words

:

is left

uncared for

On a couch he lieth And drinketh pure water, The man who was slain in battle — thou and *'

'*

oft seen

I

"

His father and his mother [support] his head^

"

But the man whose corpse is cast upon the " Thou and I have oft seen such an one

"And

have

such an one.

his wife [kneeleth] at his side. field

" '•'

His

spirit resteth

The man whose

not in the earth.

spirit

has none to care for

"

*'

it

Thou and I have oft seen such an one The dregs of the vessel, the leavings of the "

And

that which

is

cast out

upon the

feast,

street, are

his food."

With

these words the

poem comes

to

an end.

We

have followed the exploits of the hero Gilgamesh as they are told on the tablets from Ashur-bani-pal's library,

and from their varied nature

they have been drawn from

What

historical foundation

it is

clear that

different sources.

many may underlie

the tales told


COMPOSITION OF THE POEM.

we cannot

of this early king of Erecli

but

say,

1

7/

it

is

legitimate to suppose that some early ruler did perform acts of valour in the past, and that his name has formed a centre around

which

stories

and legends gathered

in

To separate the different which have narratives been combined to form the poem course

the

as

of

we know

it

centuries.

would scarcely repay the trouble of enumeration of the principal

analysis, but a bare

sections of the story will suffice to

The rule

nature.

Ukhat and

of

Gilgamesh

show

its

composite

in Erech, the story of

Ea-bani, the expedition against

Khumbaba,

the love of the goddess Ishtar for Gilgamesh, the slay-

ing of the monstrous bull, the journey of Gilgamesh to the Mountain of the Sunset, the passage of the Waters of Death, Tsit-napishtim's

story of the

Deluge, the

search for the Plant of Life, and the recall of Ea-bani's spirit

into

from the underworld

which the poem

deluge

is

falls.

— such are the chief sections Of these the account

of the

the section most loosely connected with the

story of Gilgamesh, but other sections of the poem,

which

have

doubtless

at

been

more

one time

skilfully

entirely

interwoven,

independent of

were the

narrative.

We may

assume that many of these tales go back hoary antiquity, and that in the course of time they became associated with the name of Gilgamesh, having to

previously been associated with heroes.

It is interesting to

B\B. KEL.

the

names

of other

note that as Gilgamesh

N


178

GILGAMESPI

was thus

credited

AND ALEXANDER.

with

adventures that were

not

by right, so at a later time soma of his exploits were borrowed to add lustre to the fame of another his

popular hero, Alexander the Great. As Gilgamesh set out to learn the secret of immortality, and in the course of his journey came to the Mountain of Mashu, and

passed through a region of thick darkness, and crossed the AVaters of Death, so Alexander is said to have

journeyed in search of the Waters of

Life,

come

or Masis,

to

a mountain called

Musas

and

have passed through the land of darkness, and crossed the foetid sea.^

to

have

and to

to

have

This journey of Gilgamesh,

moreover, in consequence of its being ascribed to Alexander in the text of Pseudo-Callisthenes, has found an

echo in the Koran. ^

Of the various

sections

of

the

great

Babylonian

Gilgamesh the most interesting portions are perhaps those towards the end in which Ea-bani talks with Gilgamesh after the release

poem

describing the deeds

of

of the former from the underworld

;

for

from these

we

gain some information with regard to the passages formed by the Babylonians of a future life. conceptions Another of the principal legends of the Babylonians recounts

how

the goddess Ishtar once left the eartli

and descended into the underworld, and the poem in See Budge, The Eutory of Alexander the Great, -pp. 148, and The Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great, Vol. I., pp. iMoissner, Alexander und Gilgamos, pp. 4 *

li",

^ (

Sura, xviii.

171 xi,

ff., i".

;


ishtar's descent into

the underworld.

179

legend has been preserved enables us to augment the fragments of Ea-bani's description of the

\N'hicli

this

dead that have come down to

The poem describing

us.^

the descent of the goddess begins as follows

:

—

"

To the land whence none return, the place of

"

Ishtar the dau2jhter of Sin inclined her ear.^

"

The daughter of Sin inclined her ear To the house of darkness, the seat

darkness,

"

of

the

god

Irkalla,

"To

the house from which none

who

enter

come

forth again, *'

To the road whose course returns

"

To the house wherein he who from the

not,

enters

is

excluded

light,

*'To the place where dust

is

their bread,

and

mud

their food. *'

They behold not the

"

And And

" "

" (I

ÂŤ

light,

they dwell in darkness,

are clothed like birds in a

garment of feathers

over door and bolt the dust

scattered.

is

AVhen Ishtar drew near the gate of the land whence none return, She spake to the porter '

Ho

!

Porter

1

at the gate

Open thy

Ox^en thy gate that I

gate

may

:

!

enter in.

' Cf. Jeremias, Die hahylonisch-assijrisclicn Yoi sttlhmgen vom Lthen nnrh dem Tode, pp. 10 ff. ^ I.e., tuintd her attention.


I

THE GATES OF THE UNDERWORLD.

So

" If thou openest not thy gate, so that I

may

not

enter,

" "

I will

smite the door, I will shatter the bolt,

and tear down the doors, up the dead, that they may devour the

I will smite the threshold

'^I

will raise living^,

"

And

"

The porter opened

"

And

"

the dead shall outnumber those that his

mouth,

addressed the mighty Ishtar

'

Stay,

O

live.'

Lady, do not throw

it

:

down.

"Let me go and declare thy name

to

the

queen

Allatu.'"

The porter then went to Allatu, the queen of the but underworld, and told her of Islitar's coming Allatu was angered at the news and wept for Islitar's ;

victims, "

"

and she bade the porter admit

her, saying

—

Go, porter, open thy gate for her, And take possession of her according to the ancient laws."

The poem then describes how Ishtar was admitted, and how she was gradually stripped in the following

"The

porter

words

:

—

went and opened

of her clothing,

his

gate

for

her,

(saying),

"

'

Enter,

Lady,

let

Cuthah

^

be glad at

[thee].

In Cuthah was E-shidlam, the great temple of Nergal the god the name of the city is here used as a synonym for the

of the dead

uiideiworld.

;


ALLATU'S CRUELTY. *'

Let

whence none return

palace of the laud

the

l8l

rejoice before thee.' "

The

First Gate he

made her

enter,

.

.

.

and he took

the great crown from off her head. *'

Why, O

'

from "

'

Enter,

porter, didst

off

my

head

thou take the great crown

'

?

Lady, for thus are the laws of Allatu.'

"

In this manner was Ishtar made to pass through At every grates of the underworld.

each of the seven

gate an article of her apparel w^as removed, and to her

remonstrances the porter always made the same reply, bidding her pass through the gate, for such were the

laws of Allatu.

Thus, naked and powerless, she was

brought into Allatu's presence. The queen of the underworld did not receive her with favour, and

commanded Xamtar,

the

strike her with disease in

But Ishtar was not The absence

Allatu.

demon

all

the

left for

creatures

News

ceased

the plague,

to

of her body.

ever in the clutches of

of the goddess of love from the

earth soon brought disaster upon

they no longer

of

members

men and

beasts, for

felt

the desires of the body, and all

to

perform their natural functions.

of this calamity

was carried

to

Shamash the

Sun-god by Pap-sukal, the minister of the gods, and

Shamash hastened to Sin and to Ea to consult with as to what measures should be taken to remedy

them

Ea thereupon created a being state of things. named LTddushu-namir, whom he sent down to the

this


1

ishtar's

82

underworld

return to earth.

to procure the release of Islitar.

Following

Ea's instructions Uddnsliu-nlimir obtained admittance to the

underworld and appeared before Allatu.

He

conjured her by the power of the great gods to grant

him

the Waters of Life,

by means

of

which he intended

Allatu was enraged at the request, and, although she could not resist the power he had invoked on behalf of Ishtar, she wreaked her

to restore

Ishtar to

life.

*>—<tn!ett«''»g"^' w*'

^'

*.'

"""«""i"'

'

'ii'iri^iiiiiiri'aS

"»•-

Eepresentation upon a Babylonian cylinder-seal of the goddess Ishtar and other deities. In the centre is Sliamash, the sun-god. rising on the horizon. On liis right, bj-- the On her side of a sacred tree, stands the goddess Ishtar, with outstretched wings. right is a god holding a bow and a lion, and on her left are a river-god and another is of the the left of the written to owner name of the seal, The picture, deity. " Adda, the scribe." (British Museum, No. 89, 115.;

vengeance upon him and cursed him with a terrible She then turned to Namtar and told him to curse.

Waters of bring Ishtar forth and sprinkle over her the Life. When this had been done Ishtar was led out at through the seven gates of the underworld, and each of the gates the article of her apparel that had Thus previously been taken from her was restored.

was she brought back again

to earth.


TAMMUZ AND

ISHTAR.

1

8$

In the actual text of the legend we are not told Ishtar's motive in descending into the underworld, but

we may perhaps

see a reference to

few lines of the poem.

in the last

it

Considerable doubt exists with

regard to the interpretation of these lines, but it

seems

clear that they are not a continuation of the narrative

and that they were intended

to be addressed to the

persons who -may be supposed

to

have heard the poem for the dead. In

recited — perhaps to certain mourners this

exhortation

the

reciter

refers

to

Tammuz, the

spouse of Ishtar's youth, and he bids his hearers pour out pure water in his honour and offer him goodly oil.

A "

little

further on a reference

Tammuz

"

is

made

to

"

the day of

when male and female mourners made lamentation and when incense was burnt. It may as a time

be conjectured therefore that the motive of the goddess in descending to the underworld

was

to bring

back her

youthful husband from the dead, and the poem in the form in which we have it would in that case contain

only a part of the original legend. goddess

Ishtar

festival held in

was possibly commemoration

when women mourned

This story of the at the annual

recited

of the death of

Tammuz,

dead god in Babylonia, as they mourned for him at Jerusalem in the time of for the

the prophet Ezekiel.^ have seen that a portion of the

We

mesh, and the legend of the goddess *

Ezek.

viii.

H.

poem

of Gilga-

Ishtar, contained


ETANA AND THE EAGLE.

184 "descriptions

and

underworld

was

stories

a

of the

mysterious

underworld abode

;

for the

about which

Heaven was also a legends would naturally gather. place of mystery, and it is not surprising that stories of heroes

who had journeyed

thither should also find a

place in Babylonian mythology. •of

One such

story

is

told

an old Babylonian hero named Etana, who, with the

help of his friend the Eagle, succeeded in penetrating into heaven. series of tablets existed in Ashur-bani-

A

pal's library, which recounted the deeds of Etana,^ and on most of the fragments that remain the Eagle appears

as Etana's friend

On

and comrade.

one occasion, when

the wife of Etana was about to bear him a son, but could not bring the child to

the

birth,

the Eagle "

"

helped Etana to procure the Plant of Birth which On another occasion would ensure a safe delivery. carried Etana to heaven. the Eagle The hero up clung to the Eagle's wings, and they mounted together they could see the gates of heaven. As they drew

till

near to the Gate of Anu, Bel, and

Ea and

to

the

Sin, Shamash, Eamman, and Ishtar, they beheld a throne of great splendour, and Etana was

Gate

of

afraid

and cast himself down at the

foot of the throne.

But the Eagle encouraged Etana to mount with him After every two still higher and they again set out. ' The legends of Etana Lave been edited by E. T. Harper, Beitrage zur As<yrwlogie, Bd. II., pp. 391 if., and Morris Jastrow, op. cit.^

Bd.

III., pp.

363

ff.


etana's journey to heaven.

185

pointed to the earth below them, which grew smaller and smaller as they ascended, and at length they reached the Gate of

hours of Lis

Ann,

Bel,

fliglit,

the Eagle

After resting for a while the

and Ea.

him Eagle proposed to Etana that he should carry higher to the dwelling of the goddess Ishtar. Again they set out, but when they had flown for six hours Etana cried to the Eagle to stop. What mis-

up

still

we do not know,

fortune then overtook the pair

the text of the legend

is

broken

what

;

still

for

remains,

however, recounts that they fell headlong through the air and were dashed upon the ground.^ ^

Anotlier portion of tbe story of Etana refers to the subsequent Eagle and it may here be described as it illustrates a

fate of the

;

olass of Bab)-lonian myths in which beasts and birds are represented s,s talking like men, and appealing to the gods for help and advice. The story tells how the Eagle incurred the hatred of the Serpent, and

how fitory

the latter, with the help of the Sun-god, took his revenge. begins with the following lines

" His heart

He

prompted the Eagle

.

:

—

.

.

,

him To " The Eagle opened his mouth and spake un'o The young of the Serpent will I eat

'•

"

considered, and his heart [prompted eat the young of his companion .

'*

.

.

.

.

.

.

.]

his young, saying,

'

" I will ascend

"I

will

;

Serpent's) brood.' of the young birds

who was endowed with much wisdom,

addressed the Eagle, his father '

Do

.

and [mount up] into heaven swoop down upon the top of a tree and I will eat (the

"One *'

The

not eat,

:

O my

" The snare and

father, (for; the net of Shamash is laid. the ban of Shamash will fall upon thee and will

catch thee. "

Whoso

transgresseth the law of Shamash, will

Shamash

terribly

[requite].'

''But he did not hearken his

young one.

to

them, and gave no heed

to the

word of


1

THE EAGLE AND THE SERPENT.

86

From tlie portion of the legend quoted in the note we learn the Eagle's fate, but we are not told what became

of his friend,

the hero Etana.

Etana must

"

He swooped down and ate The Serpent then repaired

the youug of the Serpent." to Shiimash the Suu god, who as judge of heaven and earth could not allow such a wrong to go unpunished,

and he

told

him

scribed

how

his nest

and devoured " "

his story

was

and appealed to him for justice. He dea tree and how the Eagle espied it,

set in

his young, saying ute [my :

He swooped down and

young ones]

!

he hath done me. " Thy net is like unto the broad earth ; Help, O Shamash " Thy snare is like unto the distant heaven '• Who hath ever escaped from thy net ? '' Even Zfi, the worker of evil, who raised the head of evil, [did not

Shamash, the

[Behold],

evil

!

!

)

"

escape]

The

story of

!

Zu which

is

here referred to by the Serpent has been

partly recovered from other tablets from Ashur-bani-pal's library, and there read of Zii's treachery, iri described later on in this chapter.

We

and how he stole the Tablets of Destiny from Anu, and how he escaped with them to his mountain home. From the Serpent's reference to his fate we gather that the Sun-god succeeded in catching and punishing him. In the story of the Serpent and the Eagle, Shamash does not himself punish the Eagle, but explains to the Serpent a The narrative condevice by which he may obtain vengeance. tinues

:

[" When

he had listened to] the prayer of the Serpent, Shamash opened his mouth and to [the Serpent spake] "'Take the road and go [into the mountain],

"

" "

And

:

hide thyself in a wild [ox that is dead]. its bowels, [tear open its belly], take up thy dwelling [in its belly].

Open

"

And

"

[All] the birds of

heaven

[shall

swoop down],

"And "The Eagle [shall come] with them, " And not knowing [thy plot (?)], " He will seek a piece of the Hesh, moving " And making for the hidden parts.

swiftly,

" Wlien he hath entered into the midst, do thou seize

wing.

him by

his


THE eagle's fate.

187

have incuiTed the anger of the gods by attempting mount to their abode, and it is possible that he

to

was dashed to the

to

pieces

when he

with

fell

the Eagle

ground from the height of heaven.

" Tear off his wings, his pinions, and his claws, " Pull him in pieces and cast him into a pit, " That he may die a death from himger and thirst.' .

"At

.

.

the word of Shamash, the hero, the Serpent departed and went into the mountain.

"And " And "And

the Serpent came upon a wikl ox,

"

But the Eagle

"

And

(at first) suspected his evil purpose, with the flock of birds did not eat of the flesh.

"

Then the Eagle opened his mouth and spake unto his young Come let n.s swoop down, and let us also eat of the flesh of

he opened its bowels, he tore open its belly, he took up his dwelling in its belly. " All the birds of heaven swooped down ami ate of the

flesh.

'• '

!

:

this

'

wild ox " One of the young birds, who was endowed with much wisdom, "To turn aside [his] father spake [" O my Father], the Serpent lurks iu [the flesh of] this wild ox !

.

.

.

:

'

'

"But he

!

did not hearken to them, and gave no heed to the word of

young one. " He swooped down and stood upon the wild ox. examined the flesh, he looked about carefully "The Eagle before and behind him. "He again examined the flesh, he looked about carefully before and behind him. " Then, moving swiftly, he made for the hidden parts. " When he had entered into the midst, the serpent seized him by his

.

.

.

his wing."

,

So far everything had fallen out as the Sun-god had foretold. The Eagle, now that he sees he is in his enemy's power, begs for mercy^ and tries to bribe the Serpent, But the latter reminds him that an appeal to Shamash is irrevocable, and that if he did not carry out the Sun-god's bidding, he would himself share in the punishment which lie

now inflicts. The Eagle opened

"

[his

mouihj and spake

to the Serpent

:


ADAPA AND THE SOUTH WIND.

l88

A

is

legend

of another

told

named

ancient hero,

Adapa, who also journeyed to heaven, but in this case

by his own devices, was summoned but thither by Anu, the god of heaven. The legend is preserved on one of the tablets that was the hero did not seek to get there

found at Tell el-Amarna,^ and, in the form in which

we have

dates from the

it,

half of the fifteenth

first

*

century before Christ.

The story narrates that Adapa, the son of Ea, was one day out on the sea in a boat, engaged in catching fish for his father's house. Suddenly Shutu, the South wind, blew and upset his boat and threw him into the

Adapa was furious at this outrage, so he caught the South wind by her wings and broke them. water.

In

South wind

this passage the

female monster, and also she

it is

was thought

no representation of for the "

'

to

her,

was a creature

she

pictured as a winged possible that in other respects

of

is

resemble a

but

it

may

We

bird.

have

be inferred that

unprepossessing

appearance,

South wind was dreaded by the Babylonians

Have mercy upon me, and

I will

present thee with a gift

according to thy pleasure.' " "

The Serpent opened his mouth and spake to the Eagle If I release thee, Shamash will against us, .

"

:

'

.

.

And

thy punishment will be transferred to rne, as a punishment, I execute on thee.' " So he tore off his wicgs, his pinions, and his talons, '•

Which now,

"

He pulled him in pieces and cast him into a pit, And he died a death from hunger and thirst."

" ^

See above,

pp. 418

ft;

p.

118

f.

;

cf.

Harper, Beitiage

.

.

,

ziir Assyriologie,

Bd.

II.,


Head

oftlie

demon

ot the

South-west wind.

(British

Museum, No.

22,459.

>



ADAPA inasmiicli as

it

IS

SUMMONED TO HEAVEN.

I9I

caused destructive floods in the low-

lying regions of the Euphrates valley.

The accompanydemon of the

ing illustration of a kindred spirit, the

South-west wind,

is

taken from a marble head in

Museum, and it well represents the hideous conception formed by the Babylonians of the monster who caused destructive storms and tempests. the British

When Adapa

had broken Shutu's wings, the South able to blow over the earth. wind was no longer O After seven days had passed, Ann, the god of heaven,

asked his minister Ilabrat ceased to

why

the South wind had

blow, and he told him that Adapa had

broken her wings. Ann thereupon summoned Adapa Before he set out to heaven to answer the charge.

Adapa received instructions from his father Ea, who him how, by putting on garments of mourning,

told

he would

who

gods

propitiate

Tammuz and

Gishzida, the two

stood at the gate of heaven, and who, if

approached with due deference, would secure for him a

favourable reception before Anu.

him

Ea

also

warned

that after he entered Ann's presence they

offer

him

"

Meat

of

Death

"

and

"

Water

neither of these was he to touch.

bring avoid

him ;

a garment and

of

would

Death

" ;

They would then

and these he need not the garment he might put on and with the oil oil,

he might anoint himself.

On

arriving

at

the

secured the favour of

gate

of

heaven Adapa duly Gishzida and was

Tammuz and


adapa's pardon.

192

Ann's presence. Ann asked him why he had broken the wings of the South wind, and Adapa led

into

related

how

tlie

South wind had upset his boat while

he was fishing on the sea. Tammuz and Gishzida then interposed on Adapa's behalf, and at their words

Ann's anger against Adapa was turned away.

Then

Ann, having pardoned Adapa for his offence, decided that, as he had seen the interior of heaven, he must be added to the company of the gods. He therefore " commanded that they should bring Adapa Meat of "

Life

"

But Adapa would not eat neither would he drink the

that he might eat. "

"

Meat of Life "Water of Life" which was next placed before him. But when they brought him a garment he put it on, and when they offered him oil he anointed himself And Anu, when he saw that Adapa had therewith. " " Meat of Life and the " Water not partaken of the the

"

;

asked him, saying, *' Come, Adapa, why " For now thou dost thou neither eat nor drink ? "

of Life,"

canst not live."

And Adapa answered

refused to eat and drink, because

commanded him.

lay these injunctions upon that he feared the gods w^ould the

his lord

had so

The reason which prompted Ea his son

Anu, on

Ea

that he had

other

immortal, and did not

hand, offer

seems

to

to

have been

seek to slay Adapa.

make Adapa him deadly food as Ea had decided

predicted. Thus Adapa, through

to

his father's suspicions.

missed the privilege of enjoying immortality.


THE TABLETS OF DESTINY.

I95,

In the legends of Etana and Adapa we have

who by presumptuous

of mortals into

selves

however, ambition

in the legend of

aimed

deities

with the gods.

conflict

themselves,

at obtaining

company Marduk was older god

identified

Bel,

we

the creation

the control

in

time

off to his " "

of the lesser

of the whole

remembered that of time

course

with the

are told that he captured the Tablets of the host

captain

In the following^ leo-end we read

Tiamat.

the god&

and in the great legend of

of Destiny from Kingu, the

later

Among

It will be

or Enlil,^

them-

was not absent, and

Zu we read how one

of the gods.^

stories

acts brought

Zti stole

them from Bel and

mountain.

The legend runs

how

carried

as follows

:

of

at a

them

—

His eyes beheld the symbols of Bel's dominion, The crown of his sovereignty, and the robe of

his

godhead. "

Zu gazed

"

And

"

And

at his divine Tablets of Destiny,

he gazed at the father of the gods, the god of

Duranki, a longing for Bel's dominion

was held

fast in

his heart. "

"

"

'

I will take the Tablets of the gods,

And I

I will direct the oracles of all the gods.

will

estabKsh

my

throne

and

dispense

my

commands. " •

I will rule all the Spirits of Heaven.'

See Harper, op.

BAB. EEL.

cit, pp.

408

fF.

2

ggg above, pp. 18

flf.


ZU'S THEFT.

194 "

And

"

At

his heart meditated battle

the entrance of the hall, where he beheld as he

dawn

waited the t(

Now when

It

And

his

of the day.

Bel was pouring out the clear water,

diadem was taken

and lay upon the

off

throne, " "

(Zu) seized the Tablets of Destiny, He took Bel's dominion, the power

of

giving

commands. *'

Then

Zu

fled

and

away

hid

himself

in

his

mountain."

The gods were dismayed through the hall

in

rage.

at the theft,

and Bel strode

Then Anu, the god of

heaven, addressed the gods, his sons, and called for a champion,

upon

the

who should

gods

called

recover the Tablets.

upon Eamman

to

be

Theretheir

champion, and Anu promised him honour and power But Ramman refused the offer, as should he succeed. did also two other deities

conquered Zu and certain, for

when

asked.

Who

recovered the Tablets

the end of the legend

is

is

eventually

not quite

missing.

From

a passage in the legend of Etana, however, it may be conjectured that the Sun-god undertook the task,

and vanquished Zu by catching him in his net. Such are the principal legends and stories, as far as we know them, that were told in Babylonia concerning the gods and the heroes of olden time. That they were not idle tales, but had a religious significance


RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF THE LEGENDS. for tlie people

among whom we

find

them,

is

I95

what

might be inferred from a comparison of them with the mythologies of other nations.

We

have, moreover,

evidence to this effect in some of the poems that have been already described. In the poem which recounts the descent of Ishtar into the

reason to believe that

was

it

underworld, recited

in

we saw

connection

with the yearly festival held in commemoration of the death of

Tammuz.

The introduction

to the long

poem which records the history of Gilgamesh stated that a knowledge of the hero's achievements would the

bring prosperity to

man who made

himself ac-

quainted with them, and it is probable that this statement was not regarded as a mere conventional preface,

but was implicitly believed. It is true that in the legend we are not told that Gilgamesh was raised to the

company as

of the

a

god regarded prayer in the British

he was undoubtedly There is a popular belief.

gods, but

in

Museum^

in

which a sick man

beseeches Gilgamesh to cure him of his sickness, and he addresses him as the " perfect king, the judge of **the

Anunnaki, the great arbiter among men who

''orders

the four quarters

''of the world, *'

earth

" ;

the

governor

and the lord of the regions of the

the sick

"judge, and

of heaven,

man

also

exclaims,

"

Thou

unto a god thou givest

like

It is clear therefore that to 1

Sm. 1371

+

art

a

decisions.'''

Gilgamesh was ascribed

Sru. 1877.


LEGENDS AS AMULETS.

196

no small authority and power.

The estimation

which both he and the hero Etana were held attested

by the

fact that the determinative for

in

also

is

"

'*

god

always placed before their names. piece of evidence that these mythological compositions were put to very practical uses is afforded

is

A further

by certain tablets which have been found inscribed with legends concerning the chief Plague-god of the Babylonians/ describing the destruction which he and attendant deity Ishum spread upon the earth. Both gods are therein pictured as warriors who held bloody sway in the cities of Babylonia, and undertook his

These legends last one of

military expeditions into distant lands.

inscribed

are

on several

how

the series recounts

tablets,

and the

the anger of the Plague-god

and ends with a speech of the Plague-god, in which he promises protection and prosperity to all those who make known his wondrous

was

at length appeased,

deeds. "

He

continues,

"

Should I be angry, and should

the seven-fold god cause destruction

"tablet

is set,

last section

and

;

the dagger of

approach the house wherein this

"pestilence shall not it

shall

remain unharmed."

This

of the poem, including the passage just

quoted, has been

found on two interesting tablets in At the top of each tablet is a

the British Museum.^

small projection in which a hole has been bored, and 1

The name

and Girra are *

of this god

is

generally read as Dibbarra, though

also possible readings.

See Zeitschrift fur

Assjjriologie,

Bd.

xi,

pp. 50

if.

Ura


NATURE-MYTHS.

197

was passed a cord by which it might be suspended. There is no doubt that these tablets were hung up in the entrance of a house, and that they it

through

served as amulets for keeping off the plague. there are

many

Thus

myths and legends

indications that the

of the gods played an important part in the practical

and worship of the Babylonians. To decide in what manner these various legends of the gods arose, and to trace the changes which they religion

underwent in the long course of Babylonian history, V70uld result in an interesting, but certainly a very speculative, enquiry.

Conjecture, based mainly on the

by the myths themselves which they have come down to us,

internal evidence furnished in the forms in

naturally cannot

lead

one broad conclusion the

with

tablets

at

to

may

very definite results;

but

be drawn from a study of

least

some probability of

its

can hardly be disputed that changes in the aspect of nature suggested many of the legends It

being correct.

about the gods.

Perhaps the clearest instance of this

explanation of natural processes

by legend

in the legends of the Plague-god

;

is

presented

the campaigns he

he waged, were doubtless suggested by the ravages of disease which The descent of were regarded as his handiwork. undertook,

Ishtar

into

and the bloody

the underworld

battles

and the languishing of

nature in consequence, which was followed by her restoration to earth and the renewal of the powers all


HISTORY-

198

AND LEGEND.

men and beasts, was clearly intended to explain the decay of nature in the autumn, and the quickening of the earth in the spring. Zu's treacherous usurof

pation of Bel's sovereignty

perhaps be based on the sudden overwhelming of the sun by storm and

may

clouds.

There

is

another element in

which must not be

many

lost sight of,

of these legends

and that

is

the sub-

stratum of historical fact which underlies the story, and was the nucleus around which it gathered. Echoes

from the history of the remote past

may

perliaps be

traced in such episodes as the expedition of Gilganiesh

and Ea-bani against Khumbaba king of Elam, as well some of the conflicts described in the Plaque-ixod

as in

The growth of legends around the

legends.

of prominent heroes

is

common

figures

in every race that has

a history, and this was particularly the case in Baby-

A

lonia.

down

to

kings, of

number us

of legends, for instance, have

concerning

whose

certain

ancient

historical existence

come

Babylonian

we have abundant

Sargou I. was an actual proof from other sources. king, who ruled in the city of Agade about B.C. 3800,

and many of whose inscriptions have recently been found at Nippur. Yet we possess a legend concerning this

him

monarch, in which he tells how his mother set floating on the Euphrates in a basket made of

rushes,

how Akki the gardener rescued him and brought as his own son, and how while he was still-

him up


LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS.

199

him and eventually him over the kinodom which he ruled. The text

a gardener the goddess Islitar loved set

of the lesfend of Sars^on

was a

loncj one,

but

little

more

than this story of his youth has been preserved.

It

show how myth and legend gathered around the figures of famous kings and heroes The legend of Sargon is not a solitary of old time. will at least

example "

of

suffice

this

to

process. "

legend of Creation

The

so-called

"

Cuthsean

describes a legend of an early king

Cuthah/ and fragments of similar myths have been found in Ashur-bani- pal's library which recount the of

legendary deeds of Maram-Sin, the son of Sargon, who lived about B.C. 3750, and of Dungi, king of Ur, about B.C. 2500, and of Khammurabi, king of Babylon, about B.C.

2200, and of Nebuchadnezzar

about

B.C.

The

1120.

tablets

I., king of Babylon which contain these

legends are very fragmentary, but they illustrate the

by which historical personages in course time became demi-gods and legendary heroes.

process

'

See above, pp. 92

fl".

of


(

200

CHAPTER

)

VI.

THE DUTY OF MAN TO HIS GOD AND TO HIS NEIGHBOUR.

In the three preceding chapters the principal legends and myths that have been found in Babylonian literature have been described, and the extracts which have been quoted from them will have enabled the reader to form a conception of what the more powerful Babylonian gods were believed to be like.

We

have seen

Anu

administering the powers of heaven, we have seen Bel upon the earth destroying mankind in his anger

and

directing the oracles of all the gods,

Deep

regulating the

revealing secrets

by

affairs of his

his hidden

and Ea in the

own household and

wisdom.

Shamash, the

Sun-god, has been seen in his cliaracter as the just judge of the whole earth, hearing the appeals of such as

had suffered wrong, and giving help and advice to those who needed it. The great goddess Ishtar has been revealed in cruel and

two

wanton

to her passion

characters.

She has appeared as a

lover, persecuting those

who

yielded

and seeking revenge upon those who


A man's spiritual foes. refused her love

;

201

she has also been seen in her gentler

character as a devoted wife, descending to the under-

Other deities have also

world to seek her husband.

been described in the exercise of their own peculiar functions, especially

who

Marduk, the city-god of Babylon, and the champion of the

appears as the leader

gods when they are in distress. In addition to these greater gods many other deities, of less power and importance, have been incidentally

mentioned in the course of the legends. These, however, scarcely give an adequate idea of the number of supernatural beings

who were

believed to exist in the

the earth, and beneath the earth.

heavens and upon that have been described are

The legends

cliiefly

con-

more powerful gods and and they naturally do not

cerned with the doings of the

the great heroes of antiquity, •deal with the sprites, and goblins, and spectres, which

were believed to haunt and harass a life

and in the performance of

man

his

in his daily

ordinary duties.

For the ancient Babylonian moved in a world peopled by demons and spirits, whom he could not see, but whose influence at any moment might cause him misfortune, sickness, or death.

Many

of these spirits were

an incessant warfare actively hostile to man and waged Others, tliough less actively hostile, were against him. to be no less feared, for at any time a

wittingly incur their wrath by

upon

some

act

their jealously guarded rights.

man might unwhich trenched

An

ill-omened


BABYLONIAN DEMONS.

202

word, or the eating or drinking of an impure thing was sufficient to rouse the wrath of some one of these

and, although the victim might have

beings;

committed no intentional act of disobedience, he had to endure their persecution, sometimes without even a knowledge of

its

cause.

These beings were conceived

and repulsive appearance, often uniting in strange combinations the bodies and limbs of various birds and beasts. The accompanying illustration is a to be of hideous

specimen of an evil Babylonian demon, taken from a clay figure in the British Museum. The head of the monster

was no doubt partly suggested by that its

ferocious aspect betokens

have the misfortune

ill

to the

of a lion,

and

man who might

to ]A^qq himself within its power.

In order to realize the great number and variety of such beings it would be necessary to turn to the spells

and incantations and magical formulae which occupy so large a place in the religious literature of the

BabyTo ignore this lower aspect of the belief of the Babylonians would be to give a one-sided and

lonians.

incomplete picture of their religion, but Babylonian magic does not fall within the limits of the present

volume.

AYe are here concerned with the higher side

of the Babylonian religion, and, having already described

the general character of the greater gods, to enquire in deities,

what relation man stood

and also

affected his

duty

to

what extent

to his fellow

man.

it

now remains

to these great

his religious beliefs


A Babyloaiaa demon.

(British

Museum,

^'o. 22,4jii.)



THE CONCEPTION OF GOD. It

lias

205

already been stated that, so far as

we can

see from their relif>ious literature, the Babylonians

had

no conception of a single supreme and all-powerful God. In this matter they did not resemble the ancient Egyptians, who believed that such a being existed above the company of the gods and on a different plane from them. The Egyptian held that this all-

powerful God could manifest his might in the persons of the gods of various departments of nature, but at the same time they believed that he was the ultimate cause of the entire universe and was the creator and director

both

of

gods

knew no such supreme that

and men.^ deity, but

some few passages in

it

The Babylonians should be added

their inscriptions perhaps

indicate a glimmering belief in that direction.

The Babylonian word for ''god" is ilu, and the ideograph for the word is always placed as a determiOne of native particle before the names of deities. its

most common uses

Ham

rabuti,

denotes the

is

in the plural, in the phrase

"the great gods," an expression which of the great gods as distinguished

company

from the host of lesser

deities

occurs in the singular

it

the

description

of

phrases iho ralm, ''

of

my

passages *

is

and

spirits.

When

some particular deity, as in the great god," and iht ali-ia, "god

"a

In other applied to the god Marduk. takes a pronominal suffix, as in the phrases

city," it

ilu

usually in the course of

See Budge, Egyptian Ideas of

the

Future Life, chap.

I.


THE WORD

206 " ili-ia,

my

ILU." "

"

thy god

god/' ili-ha,

it

or "

;

"

with the substantive these cases

"

goddess

islitar,

it ;

is

clear that the reference is

is

coupled

and in both

made

to

some particular deity. There are, however, a few passages in which ihb stands entirely by itself, and where it

possible that

is

should be translated as "god"

it

without any qualifying phrase. Such a passage occurs towards the end of the poem of the ancient king of Cuthah, which has been described in Chapter III.^

Here the king, ceeds

to

offer

after narrating his

advice

own

any future

to

history, pro-

ruler,

and

he

addresses his words to any "king, or ruler, or prince, " or any one whatsoever, whom the god shall call to rule "

No

over the kingdom."

and

ilu occvirs entirely

particular god

by

itself;

it

is

ever, to refer the phrase to Nergal, the

in

whose temple the legend

this use of

ilic

is

is

mentioned,

possible,

how-

god of Cuthah,

In any case, of rare occurrence, and it would be is

preserved.

rash to rely on this evidence alone for proving that the Babylonians conceived an abstract and supreme deity apart from the separate and distinct gods of the

various divisions of the natural world.

Perhaps the Assyrians approached nearer to such a conception than the Babylonians, for their god Ashur was the symbol

own

national existence, and, although they retained the worship of the other gods from the Babyof their

lonians, they assigned to ^

Ashur

See above

a position of

p. 95.

supremacy


MARDUK THE INTERCESSOR. among them and

ascribed to liim

which belonged properly

Among

the

many

20/

of the attributes

to the older gods.

Babylonians the god Mardiik in the

course of time acquired a position of peculiar interest.

As

the god of Babylon he was naturally from the

of easy access to the inhabitants of his

own

first

city,

and

intimacy with his own people was gradually extended until we find him appearing before his father

this

Ea

in

and intercessor on

the character of mediator

We

have already seen how Marduk was regarded as the creator of the world and of mankind, and it is in accordance with this tradition that behalf of men.

he should have been thought behalf of the creatures

whom

character as intercessor

is

to use his influence

well illustrated by the follow-

ing extract from a religious text, the recital of

would

procure relief

for

a

the evil spell by which he

reads

—

"An

evil curse like a

The text

troubled.

demon has

beset the man,

Sorrow and trouble have fallen upon him,

"

Evil sorrow has fallen upon him,

"

which

man and remove

sick

was

"

"An

on

Marduk 's

he had made.

evil curse, a spell, a sickness.

The

evil curse has slain that

man

like a

lamb.

"

His god has departed from his body, " His guardian goddess has left his side. "

He

is

covered by sorrow and

garment, and he

is

trouble as with a

overwhelmed

;


MARDUK THE

208

P^RIEND OF MAN.

"

Then Marduk beheld him,

"

And he

entered into the house of his father

he said unto him "

'

my

father,

an

Ea and

:

demon has

evil curse like a

beset

the man.' "

"

Twice he spake unto him, (and he added) '

I

know not what he

'*

"

"

" "

"

that

man

:

has done, nor whereby

be cured.'

may

And Ea made answer *

to his son, Marduk, (saying) what dost thou not know ? what can I

my

son,

tell

thee more

:

?

Marduk, what dost thou not know tell thee more ?

What Go,

I

my

know, thou son,

Take him

?

what can

I

also knowest.

Marduk,

to the

house of purification,

" Dissolve the spell from upon him, remove the spell

from upon him.'

The prominent of the gods

"

position of

Marduk

attested in the

is

in the company numerous hymns

amply and prayers that have been found addressed to him. Prayers and hymns, however, of a very similar nature were addressed to the other great gods, and these were believed to detract in no to

Marduk

or to

that each god,

any other

way from deity.

when worshipped

It

in his

the deference due

seems to be clear

own

temple, was

regarded with profound reverence and could even be credited with sovereign power over the other gods


A MAN

S

OWN GOD AND

GODDESS.

2C9

without exciting their jealousy, and without laying his worshippers open to rebuke. In the description of the sick man's evil plight, quoted " his above, two lines occur in which it is stated that "

"

god has departed from his body, his guardian goddess has left his side." The explanation of these two lines

brings us to at the

what

perhaps the most interesting, and

is

same time the most

characteristic, feature of the

relationship which existed between the ancient Babylonian and his god. We have seen that Marduk

,

appears in general as the protector and the friend of mankind, but every Babylonian had in addition two divine protectors, with

j

intimately connected.

whom

his fortunes

Each man had

his

were most

own

patron

god and goddess, wlio made his welfare their peculiar charge, and to whose service he was specially devoted.

In any trouble or affliction he would first turn to these two deities and implore them to exert their influence

on

The mere

his behalf.

fact that

he had fallen into

adversity, however, was often proof that his god and goddess were temporarily estranged, and, should this

be the case, -

it

was necessary

wrath and then

for

him first

to secure their assistance.

to pacify their

"What prin-

ciples actuated the Babylonians in their choice of patron deities are not clearly indicated in their religious literature.

It is not unreasonable to

parents dedicated

it

suppose that a child's

at its birth to the care of

and goddess, and that the choice was BAB. EEL.

some god

left entirely to-

P


BELIEF IN GUARDIAN DEITIES.

210 them.

We may

be sure that whatever deities were

they were among those who had temples or in the city in which the parents lived, and who shrines

selected

would therefore be in a position to effectually protect The belief in guardian deities is their offspring. intimately connected with the magical side of Babylonian religion, and the pacification of a man's angry

god and goddess was one of the commonest objects to which spells and incantations were applied. It may be inferred therefore that the belief in these protecting

gods goes back to a remote period in Babylonian history. In his combat with the invisible demons and spirits in the midst of which a

man was

believed to live

it

would

have gone hard with him if he had been left to his own unaided efforts. His natural protectors were his own patron god and goddess, and he was sure of their constant care and protection, if he did nothing to offend them or estrange them from him.

When

misfortune or sickness

fell

upon a man and he

perceived that his patron deities were offended with him, his first act

was

to hasten to the

temple of his god and

goddess and secure the services of a priest

him

who might

The design most frequently engraved upon Babylonian and Assyrian cylinder-seals is a representation of the owner of the aid

in regaining their favour.

seal being led

by a

priest into the presence of his

god

;

and clear that the priest's mediation was necessary in order that the offended deity might be duly appeased. it is


PRIESTLY MEDIATION.

211

Frequently upon the seals an attendant is represented walking behind the owner and bearing offerings into the temple, and, when these had been handed over to the priest, the penitent was ready to be led into the The priest then took him by the hand god's presence. priest and penitent raised their otlier hands as In this order a symbol of worship and supplication. of his offended the the man was led into god. presence

and both

If he

was

sore afflicted with disease, or oppressed

sense of guilt, he

would

sit or lie

by

his

upon the ground, and

with bitter sighs and groans would declare his sin and pray for absolution.

Among

the religious works of the

Babylonians and Assyrians a number of tablets have been found which served as service-books for the use of

and penitent when they had entered the presence of the offended deity.^ In these service-books the priest

priest

sometimes addresses the god and describes the sad condition of the

man who

wishes to

make

The following tions

:

is

—

The

"

priest

:

confession

his

at other times the penitent himself takes

up

;

the prayer.

an extract from one of these composi-

In sorrow there he

sits

;

With

^

cries

"

of affliction, in trouble of heart.

With

"

in bitter sorrow, Like the doves he

moans grievously,

'*

night and day. *

Unto

bitter tears

his merciful god, like a wild cow,

Cf. Zimmeru, Bahylonische Busspsalmen, Leipzig, 1885. In this and the following extracts the capital letter marks the beginning of a new Hue in the text. 2


CONFESSION OF

212 ''

he

cries,

He

SIN.

malros a grievous sighing.

Before his god

"

he casts dovrn his face in supplication,

"

that he

may

approach, that nothing

He

weeps, hold him

may

^'back." "

The "

penitent

:

My

deed

deed which cannot be declared.

"

I

will

My

declare,

my

words will I

my words which cannot be repeated. my my deed will I declare, my deed which cannot be

repeat,

'*god, "

declared."

In another prayer a penitent addresses his god and goddess together, and prays to be purified from his sin in the following words "

my god, who who

*'

goddess, *'

Eeceive

''

my

" " "

receive

angry,

my prayer. my my supplication.

Let

my

me and

accejDt

sins be forgiven, let

my

rest.

my

trans-

Let the ban be torn away, Let the seven winds carry I will rend away my wickedness,

gressions be blotted out. let

the bonds be loosened.

away

my

sighs.

let the bird

off

my

bear

it

to the heavens.

misery, let the river sweep

'•'beast of

"

art angry, accept

art

goddess, look with pity on

supplication.

"

—

supplication and let thy spirit be at

my

" "

:

the field take

it

waters of the river wash

from me.

me

Let the it

away.

fish carry

Let the

Let the flowinc:

clean."

Sometimes the god or goddess to whom the prayer is addressed is mentioned by name, as in the following extract, in which the penitent snbmits himself entirely to the will of the goddess Ishtar

and seeks

to arouse her


MISERY OF THE PENITENT.

213

pity by a reference to his condition of abject misery. He makes his appeal to the goddess as follows :

" ''

mother of the gods, who

fulfils their commands, mankind, who makes the green herb to

lady of

"

Who

spring up,

created all things,

''

"

who

guides

the

mother Ishtar, whose side no exalted lady, whose command

whole of creatioa, ^'god can approach, ''

—

A

prayer will I utter. That which appears mighty, unto her, may she do unto me my lady, good is

!

''

"

from the days of

*'my nourishment. " were my drink. *'

my

youth

Food have

to misfortune.

I

have been much yoked

I not eaten,

Water have

My

lieart

I

not

weeping was drunk, tears

never rejoices,

my

spirit

never glad." A man's appeal to his god and goddess was not always successful, for his sin may have been so great is

that his petitions for forgiveness were not sufficient in

In such a case, themselves to appease their wrath. when the penitent found that his appeals remained unanswered, he had recourse to some more powerful god or goddess by whose assistance he sought to bring about his reconciliation with his patron deities. The following is an extract from a service-book which was intended for the use of priest and penitent upon such

an occasion

:

—

The penitent " I, thy servant, full of sighs, cry unto ''thee. Whosoever has sinned, thou acceptest his The man on whom thou lookest in fervent prayer. :

*'

BAB. EEL.

p 3


THE ANGER OF PATRON

214

"pity, that " "

man

ruler of all things, lady of

merciful one, whose turning

mankind,

who

lives,

DEITIES.

is

propitious,

acceptest supplication." "

Since his pod and his goddess are with him, he cries unto thee. Turn to him "angry " thy countenance and take his hand."

The

priest

:

The penitent

" :

" " "

no deity who

is

In justice look on

"guides aright. "

Beside thee there

me

with pity

and accept my supplication. Declare my forgiveness and let thy spirit be appeased. When, O my lady, will thy

countenance be turned

?

I

moan

like the

doves, I satiate myself with sighs."

The

"

priest

"

oppressed. It

:

He

With pain and

grief his

is

spirit

sheds tears, he utters cries of woe."

happened sometimes that a

man

through

his

while he transgressions offended some powerful deity, still retained the help and sympathy of his own god

In such a case he made his appeal at the shrine of the deity he had offended, and he believed that his own god and goddess made intercession for

and goddess.

him

at his side.

The following

a prayer to be delivered by a

extract

is

taken from

man who had

offended

Ai, and who Shamash the Sun -god and his his own god and sought to appease their wrath, while The priest his to appeal. goddess added their voice first described the man's humility and grief; the ex-

wife

tract reads as follows

The

priest:

"By

:

—

his

face,

which through

tears

he


THEIR HELP IN TROUBLE. makes lamentation

'does not raise, he '

'

his feet,

to thee.

'

ness, '

'

on which

fetters are set,

his hand,

By

which

which utters

cries as of a flute,

By

spent through wearithee.

his breast,

By

he makes lamentation

to thee."

The Penitent

"

lady, through bitterness of heart

:

'

I cry to thee in sorrow

'

lady, say to thy servant,

'

be appeased.

'in

Declare

:

'

my

forgiveness.

O

Let thy heart

It is enough.'

Bestow mercy on thy servant who is Turn thy countenance towards him, Turn in mercy towards thy supplication.

affliction.

'

accept his

'

servant, with

'

hands

'

Intercede for

whom

thou wast angry.

my

lady,

are bound, I prostrate (?) myself before thee.

me

before the mighty hero, Shamash,

thy beloved spouse, That

may walk before

'

I

'

thee, that

'

to tliee.

5

he makes lamentation

is

he makes lamentation to

21

made

thy heart

for

thee.

may

a

My

life

of

many

days

god has prayed to

be at rest

;

My

goddess has

supplication to thee, that thy spirit

may

be

appeased."

A

penitent usually trusted to his condition of grief

and misery to move the pity of an angry god or goddess. Sometimes, however, the priest would make a reference

which the penitent would make, when he was pardoned and restored to health and prosperity. Such an inducement to pardon a penitent is urged to the offerings

by a priest extract — :

upon an

angry god in the

following


CONCEPTION OF

2l6 "

Open

his bonds,

"his countenance, " "

"

^'

"

"

commend him

bright

to his god, his creator.

Eeceive his

purchasegift, accept his walk before thee in a land of he may money, That peace. That with overflowing abundance he may fill

thy shrine, That in thy temple his offerings may be set, That with oil as with water he may anoint thy

" bolts,

"

Make

his fetters.

Give thy servant life, that he may praise thy power. That he may bow down before thy greatness in all dwellings.

"

remove

SIN.

And

that with oil in abundance he

may make

thy threshold overflow." No doubt in the early periods of their religious

development, the offences which the Babylonian committed were of a formal and ceremonial character. Their sufferings might be due to the infringement of a reli2,"ious ordinance, or to the eatino- or drinking? of an impure thing, or to an ill-omened

There

is

word

or action.

no doubt, however, that in the course of

time moral considerations tinged their earlier beliefs. Misfortune was still believed to be the result of sin

and

transgression, but the character

and

Injustice gradually changed. believed to anger a man's god as

against

his

own

peculiar

rites,

of the

sin

evil-doing

much

and in

was were

as offences this

way

a

man's duty towards his god led to a conception of the duty he owed towards his fellow man. The belief oppression and injustice were followed by material misfortune is well attested in a document from

that


GROWTH OF MORALITY.

21/

Asliur-bani-pal's library, ^Thich contains a

warnings

to a

cally

states

recoil

upon himself or upon

of this tablet reads as follows "

" *'

*'

:

heed to

The beginning

justice, his people

overthrown and his land shall be brought to

If he gives

no heed

law of

to the

If

he gives no heed

his land, Ea, the

to his nobles, his days shall

If he gives no heed to the wise-men, his land shall

revolt against him.

"If he gives heed to wisdom "

—

(not) be long. "

"

his land.-^

king of destinies, shall change his destiny, and shall visit him with misfortune. "

*'

of

confusion. "

"

If the king does not give

shall be

number

king against injustice, and which unequivothat any act of that description would

(?),

the king shall behold

the strengthening of the land.

"If he gives heed *'

"

gods shall

to the commands of Ea, the great endow him with true knowledge and dis-

cernment. "

man of Sippar with injustice and a harsh decision, Shamash, the judge of heaven ''gives If he treats a

a harsh decision in his land,

'•'and

earth, shall give

"and

shall appoint a just prince

"

and a just judge in

place of injustice. "

'

If the

men

The

is

Vol. IV.,

text

pi. 48.

of

Nippur come

to

him

for

judgment

published iu Cuneiform Inscrqitions of Western Asia,


A man's duties TO HIS NEIGHBOUR.

2l8

"and he *'

accepts gifts and treats

them with

injustice,

Bel, the lord of the world, shall bring a foreign foe

*'

him and

overthrow his army, and his "prince and his leader they shall hunt as outcasts (?) against

shall

*'throuorh the streets. " If the men of Babylon take

"give

bribes,

and

he favours

money with them and the

cause

of (these)

"Babylonians and turns to (their) entreaty, Marduk, "the lord of heaven and earth, shall bring his foe *'

"

against him, and shall give his goods

and

his posses-

enemy. And the men of Nippur, Sippar, Babylon who do these things shall be cast into

sions to his

*'or

" prison."

would

this tablet it is clearly stated that the gods

In

punish oppression and there

is

injustice with misfortune, and

evidence of this belief in other Babylonian

documents of a religious nature. masical incantations

man

by a

against

punishment no panied any

we

a

series of

learn that a wrom:? committed

neighbour carried with it a severe than that which accom-

his

less

offence

From

against a ceremonial

code.^

The

man might commit are enumeform of questions, and the following

various sins which a rated in

the

extract will serve to indicate their general character "

Has he estranged the

" he "

the

his

father

estranged estranged the mother from her daughter ^

Cf. Ziramern,

? ?

—

? Has Has he Has ho

father from his son

son from

:

Bie Bescliwdrungstafeln Schurpu, pp. 3

if.


LIST OF OFFENCES. "

"he "

"

the

estrangjecl

from

daiTQ:hter

Has

?

he

mother

her

the

estranf^ed

Has

?

from her daughter-

estrancred the mother-in-law

in-law

219

dauoiiter-in-law

Has he estranged the Has he estranged the " friend ? his Has he estranojed the comfriend from " panion from his companion ? Has he refused to set "

from

"a "

her mother-in-law

?

from his brother

brother

?

captive free, or has he refused

who

to loose one

? Has he shut out a prisoner from the said of a captive 'Hold him fast/ Has he "light? " or of one who was bound has he said, Strengthen " Has he committed a sin against a god, his bonds ?

was bound

'

'

"

" "

"

committed a sin against a goddess ? Has he offended a god, or has he held a goddess in light

or has he

esteem

"to one "

"

Is his

?

sin against his

older

sin

than

himself,

god, or

Has he done

?

has he

or

is

his

violence

conceived

Has he held

his

and mother in contempt, or has he insulted

his

hatred against an elder brother father

own

against his

own goddess

?

"

Has he been generous in small things, elder sister ? but avaricious in great matters ? Has he said yea " Has he said nay for yea ? Has he for nay ?

"

'

'

" "

'

'

'

'

'

spoken of unclean things, or [has he counselled] dis= Has he uttered wickedness ? obedience ? Has .

"

" " "

'

he used account,

or

.

.

Has he accepted a wrong has he refused a riglitful sum ? Has

false scales

?

.

.

.

he disinherited a legitimate son, or has he recognized an illegitimate son ? Has he set up a false landmark.


A HIGH MORAL CODE.

220 "

or has he refused to set

"

he removed bound, border, or landmark

" ''

" ''

? Has Has he Has he drawn

up a true landmark ?

broken into his neighbour's house ? near his neighbour's wife ? Has he shed his neighhour's blood ? Has he stolen his neighbour's gar-

ment

" ?

Here we have enumerated a comprehensive series of sins and offences, the commission of any one of which was considered in the seventh

down upon a man Taken together they prove that

sufficient to bring

the wrath of his god.

century before Christ,

if

not

earlier,

the Babylonians and Assyrians possessed a system of

morality which in many respects resembled that of the descendants of Abraham.

THE END.

VKINTED BY WILLIASI CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLE3.

'



DATE DUE

OEc

MW

irw e

1

£0

V9

198 »

unEsJcn*'

DEC 2

2001

i

I*

liim.

CAVLORO

phimteo

in u. s.a.


BL1620 K5

CLAPP

3 5002 00225 6670 King, L.

W.

Babylonian religion and mythology

/

BL 1620 AUTHOR

K5_

King.

TITLE

Babylorxian religion and mythologyÂŤ._

BL 1620

K5



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