Digitized by the Internet Arciiive
in 2010 with funding from
Indiana University
http://www.archive.org/details/babylonianreligiOOinking
BOOKS ON
EGYPT AND CHALD/EA.
By E. a. WALLIS BUDGE, M.A., Litt.D., D.Lit.,
Keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in
the British Museum,
AND
L. W. KING, M.A.,
Assistant in the iJepartment of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in
the British Museum.
Crown 8vo, 3s. Gil. net each.
Vol. I. — Egyptian Religion : Egyptian Ideas of the
Future Life. l!y E. A. Wallis Budge.
Vol. II.— Egyptian Magic. By E. A. Wallis Budge.
Vol. III. — Egyptian Language : Easy Lessons in Egyptian
Hieroglyphics. By E. A. Wallis Budge.
Vol. IV. — Babylonian Religion : Baliylonian Religion and
Mythology. By L. W. King.
Vol. V. — Assyrian Language : Easy Lessons in Cuneiform
Inscriptions. By L. W. King, M.A.
Vols. VI., VII., VIII.— The Book of the Dead. An English
Translation of the Theban Recension, with
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., XVL— 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, TKENCH, TRUBNER & CO., LtS
Vol. IV.
BABYLONIAN RELIGION AND
MYTHOLOGY
PUBLISHERS' NOTE.
In the year 1894 Dr. Wallis Badge prepared for Messrs. Kegao
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 Beading Book," with
transliterations of all the texts printed in it, and a full vocabulary.
The success of these works proved that they had helped to satisfy
a want long felt by students of the Egyptian language, and as a
similar want existed among students of the languages written in
the cuneiform character, Mr. L. W. King, of the British Museum,
prepared, on the same lines as tbe two books mentioned above,
an elementarj'^ work on the Assyrian and Babylonian languages
("First Steps in Assyrian"), which appeared in 1898. These
works, however, dealt mainly 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 is to say, matters relating to the
archaeology, history, religion, etc., of the EgyjDtians, Assyrians, and
Babylonians. In answer to the numerous requests which have
been made, a series of sliort, popular handbooks, on the most
important branches of Egyptology and Assyriology has been pre-
pared, and it is hoped that these will serve as introductions to the
larger works on these subjects. The present is the fourth volume
of the series, and the succeeding volumes will be published at short
intervals, and at moderate prices.
3BooI?s on £QWt ant) Cbal6a;a
BABYLONIAN RELIGION
AND
MYTHOLOGY
L^ W' KING, M.A., F.S.A.
ASSISTANT IN THE UKPARTilENT OF EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES,
BRITISH MUSEUM
WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS
SECOND /impression
LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., LtP
PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARING CROSS ROAD
1903
\ lAS- A?.
PRINTED BV
WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
LONDON AND BECCLES.
IThe rights of translation and oj reproduction are reserved.)
^^..^v,- i:r^^ri7 :
PREFACE.
The object of the present work is to offer to the reader
in a handy form an account of the principal facts
concerning Babylonian religion and mythology. This
account is based upon the cuneiform inscriptions which
have been excavated in IMesopotamia during the last
fifty-five years, and, as far as possible, the Semitic
peoples of the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates have
been made to reveal their religious beliefs and super-
stitions by means of their own writings. Although
so much 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
as any important religious text remains unpublished.
The fragmentary nature of the available material alone
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
VI PREFACE.
difficulties. Moreover, the variations in the translations
made by English and German scholars proclaim the
difficulty of the subject, and no systematic and final
description of the religion of Babylonia and Assyria
is at present possible. In the preparation of this little
book the works of the most trustworthy writers on the
subject have been diligently consulted, and the trans-
lations of cuneiform texts given in the following pages
have been specially 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 it is clear that the
Babylonians and Assyrians believed in a series of
nature gods, and that they had no conception of the
existence of one supreme and almighty God. The
worship of their gods was tinctured with magic, and
many of their prayers and formulae which they recited
during the performance of their religious ceremonies
can be regarded as little else than spells, charms, and
incantations. Although little by little a higher idea
of the 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
power of magic, sorcery and witchcraft. He 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
of the cosmogony and the deluge written in cuneiform,
and only the most obvious parallels between parts
of them and certain chapters of Genesis have been
drawn. It was unnecessary to treat the subject ex-
haustively, as it is now generally admitted by scholars
that the writers of the Pentateuch drew upon the
traditions of Babylonia for a number of the statements
made in the early chapters of Genesis.
I take this opportunity of expressing my indebt-
edness to the works of Delitzsch, Jensen, Gunkel,
Zimmern, Jeremias, Jastrow, and others, and of
thanking Dr. Wallis Budge for his great help in the
preparation of the work.
L. W. KING.
London,
October 1th, 1899.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAOE
I. The Gods of Babylon .., ... ... 1
II. Heaven, Earth, and Hell ... ... 27
III. The Legends of Creation ... ... ... 53
IV. The Story of the Deluge ... ... 121
V. Tales of Gods and Heroes ... ... ... 146
VI. The Duty of Man to his God and to his Neighbour 200
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
CHAPIKP. PAGE
I. The Moo>'-Gor) ... ... ... ... 15
The Sux-God ... ... ... ... 19
II. The Eastern Door of Heaven ... ... 32
The Gods of the Ukderworld ... ... 39
III. The Fight between Marduk and TiImat 75, 102
Scene beside a Sacred Tree ... ... 113
IV. A Babylonian Shit ... ... ... ... 131
V. GlLGAMESH and Ea-BANI ... ... ... 1G2
Crossing the Waters of Death ... .„ 170
The Goddess Ishtar ... ... ... 152
The South- West Wind ... ... ... igg
VI. A Babylonian Deiion ... ... ... 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
Semitic origin ; and more than one writer on the
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
Euphrates. Eecent excavations in Babylonia, however,
have proved one fact with absolute certainty — that
before the Semites ever reached Babylonia a non-
Semitic race occupied the country, tilled the land,
tended herds of cattle, built cities, dug canals, and
advanced to a state of considerable civilization. But
BAB. BEL. B
2 THE ANCIENT SUMERIANS.
there are indications that even this race, the Sumerians ^
as they are called, were not the first possessors of the
land. It is probable 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. The first inhabitants of Babylonia
of whom we have definite knowledge are the Sumerians ;
and during recent years our knowledge of them has
been vastly increased. In any treatment of the
religious beliefs of the Semitic Babylonians, the
existence of the Sumerians cannot be ignored, for they
profoundly influenced the faith of the Semitic invaders
before whose onslaught their empire fell. The religious
beliefs of the Babylonians cannot be rightly under-
stood unless at the outset this foreign influence is duly
recognized.
To what date we are to assign the beginning 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 ^ in the country.
The decline of the political power of the Sumerians, on
' The SumeriaDS take their name from "Shumeru," an ancient
name for Southern Babylonia.
^ E.f]., Nippur, Ur, Shirpurla, etc.
INFLUENCE OF SUMERIAN BELIEFS. 3
the other hand, may be assigned approximately to the
period which lies between B.C. 2500 and B.C. 2300. At
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 com-
plete 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 only among the remains of a very
much later period that 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 dif-
ferent periods, from the historical and votive inscrip-
tions of kings and governors. But it is only at quite
a late date, that is to say a few years before the fall of
Nt leveh, that we gain a comparatively full knowledge
of Babylonian mythology and belief.
The great religious works of the Babylonians are
known to us from documents which do not date from
an earlier period than the seventh century B.C. In the
palaces that were unearthed at Kuyunjik, the site of
Nineveh, there were found, scattered through the
mounds of earth, thousands of clay tablets written in
4 THE SCRIBES OF ASSYRIA.
the Assyrian character, and in many cases with colo-
phons bearing the name of Ashur-bani-pal and the state-
ment that he had caused them to be included in his
library. This monarch reigned from B.C. 669 to about
B.C. 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 com-
positions of all classes which they found there. These
they collected and arranged in his palace at Nineveh,
and it is from them that the greater part of our know-
ledge of Babylonian mythology and religion is derived.
Though the tablets date from the seventh century
only, it is possible that the texts inscribed upon them
had 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 varia-
tions to have crept into the text. Besides this, the im-
perfect condition of many of the originals from which
the scribes made their copies, the notes and colophons
they added to the texts, and the lists and commentaries
they compiled to explain them, prove the antiquity of
the literature they studied. Such evidence is con-
clusive that the religious literature the Assyrians
have left us was not of their own production, but was
THEIR COriES OF EARLY TEXTS. 5
their inheritance from an earlier time. While the
Babylonians in their religious beliefs were profoundly
influenced by the Sumerians, they in their turn
exercised an even greater influence on the Assyrians.
The 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-
tions, was Babylonian to the core. Hence their
religious works and writings may be used as material
for the study of the Babylonian religion.
When we examine these Assyrian tablets, and
attempt to gain from them a knowledge of the gods
of Babylon, we find they present us with a truly
bewildering number of deities. The Babylonians and
Assyrians were a conservative people, and the priestly
class, to whose labours we are indebted for our know-
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 some extent from their literary side ; and
they sought to classify and arrange into some system
the numerous and sometimes conflicting traditions
which had arisen and obtained currency at different
6 LISTS OF THE GODS.
periods in quite different parts of the country. The
largest tablet that has been recovered from Ashur-
bani-pal's library, for instance, is inscribed with a list
of the names of the gods and their titles. The tablet
when complete must have measured some 11 x 16
inches ; it was inscribed on each side with six columns
of minute writing, every column containing over
one hundred and fifty lines, and nearly every line
giving the name of a separate deity.^ This is only one
out of many tablets inscribed with lists of the names
of the erods. and the existence of these documents
serves to show that in the literature of the period we
must expect to find the Babylonian religion in a fully
advanced state of its development.
Were we entirely dependent on such lists and
catalogues it would be hard to gather a very consistent
or very intelligible notion of what the Babylonian
gods were like ; but fortunately this is not the case.
Numbers of hymns and prayers have been recovered,
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
and legends of 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 tablet is exhibited in the British ^luseum, Nineveh Gallery,
Case I., No. 4.
OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION. /
of Babylonian and Assyrian kings, not only of this
late period, but also in those of rulers who occupied
the throne during many earlier periods of the country's
history. The 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 w^e
learn what gods were held in special reverence during
his reign. The kings of Babylon, too, were great
builders and delighted to construct new temples and
to restore the old ones which had fallen into decay.
From the records of their building operations, and
from the votive tablets deposited in the temples, we
gain much information regarding the worship of the
deities in 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 of them do the names of gods, serve to indicate
roughly the changes which the principal gods ex-
perienced in the popular estimation. It is of course
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. The
numerous indirect sources of information referred to,
however, enable us to control and classify the religious
8 DESCRIPTION OF THE GODS.
literature of the later Assyrian and Babylonian empires.
By these means it is possible to gain a knowledge
from native sources of Babylonian mythology and
belief, and to supplement the scanty references to the
religion of the country which are found in the Old
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
periods, were conceived as beings with very definite
and characteristic personalities. All the great gods,
while wielding superhuman powers, were regarded
as endowed with human forms, and, though they
were not visible, except in dreams and visions, to their
worshippers, each was thought to possess a definite
character and to have a body and features peculiar
to himself. Not only were they like unto men in
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.
The Babylonians, in fact, had a very material concep-
tion of the higher powers. They had no belief in a
supreme and abstract deity of a different mould and
nature to themselves ; and though they ascribed all
power and might to many of the greater gods they
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. 9
performed acts of bravery and valour, how others dis-
played cunning and treachery, and how others again
exhibited fear and greed. It is true that, unlike men,
their power was unlimited, they wielded magical
weapons, and uttered spells and words of power ; but
for all that they were fashioned in human mould;
the separation between the Babylonian and his god
was not in nature but in degree.
In following the doings of the gods and in noting the
attributes ascribed to them, we 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 betray 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 work around him in the natural world. He
saw the sun pass daily overhead, he observed the
phases of the moon and the motions of the stars ; he
felt the wind and feared the tempest ; but he had no
notion that these things were the result of natural
laws. In company with other primitive peoples he
explained them as the work of beings very like himself.
He thought of nature as animated throughout by
lO THE GREATER GODS.
numberless beings, some hostile and some favourable
to mankind, in accordance with the treatment he had
experienced from them. From the greater powers and
forces in nature he deduced the existence of the greater
gods, and in many of the legends and myths he told
concerning them we may see his naive explanation of
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 teaching.
Babylonian religion, therefore, in its general aspect
may be regarded as a worship of nature, and the gods
themselves may be classified as the personifications of
various natural powers. But here at the outset we
meet with a difficulty which has not yet been quite
satisfactorily explained. During its early history the
country was not a corporate whole under one adminis-
tration, but the great cities, with the land immediately
adjacent to them, formed a number of independent
states. It was only after many centuries of separate
existence, or of temporary coalition, that a permanent
fusion was brouglit about between these separate
kingdoms. Back in this dim past we can trace the
existence of many of the great Babylonian gods of
later times, and, as in later times, so still more at this
early period, we find their worship was not equally
prevalent throughout the country, but the cult of each
deity was specialized and centred in separate cities.
Enlil, the god of the earth, for instance, was worshipped
THEIR LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. II
in the earliest period at Nippur; Ea, the god of the
deep, at Eridu ; Nannar, the Moor -god, at Ur ; Utu,
the Sun-god, at Larsa, and so on. Fow taken in the
aggregate, the worship of all these deities presents a
consistent picture of the worship of nature in its
different parts, and for the later periods such a picture
no doubt accurately corresponds to the general char-
acter of the national religion. But in the earliest
period the great cities of the land were not parts of a
single kingdom ; and it is not quite clear how this local
distribution of the great natural gods among a number
of originally independent cities can be explained.
In seeking a solution of this problem it is necessary
to realize the fact that the religious system of the
Babylonians was the product of a long period of
gradual development. The consistent scheme of nature
worship practised by the later Babylonians was not
received by them in a complete and finished form from
their remote ancestors 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
horizon of these early peoples embraced little more
than the walls of the cities in which they dwelt, and
each city was content to worship and do battle for the
honour of its local god ; the fortune of the god was
bound up with that of the city, and the downfall of the
god followed close on the ruin of the city. "With the
gradual amalgamation of these separate cities into
12 GROWTH OF THE CITY-GOD.
larger states, an adjustment between the local gods
was necessary. In any such coalition the god of the
predominant city would naturally take precedence over
those of the conquered or dependent cities with which
he became associated. It is conceivable that in this
way the relationships between some of the gods of the
Babylonians arose. Even so, it is difficult to trace the
process by which a local 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
of the universe was inherent in his nature from
the beginning, or was due to some subsequent
development. Such questions present a number of
attractive ]3i"oblems, many of which will doubtless be
solved as more material relating to the earliest period
of Babylonian history is published. Meanwhile, in
whatever way we may explain it, the local worship in
different cities of Babylonia of many of the greater
natural gods is 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 main
to the periods of Babylonian history subsequent to the
rise of the city of 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 to push our enquiry back into the earliest
period when the Sumerian was in possession of the
SUMERIAN AND SEMITIC DEITIES. 1 3
country aud the influence of the Semite was still
unfelt. Although the study of the Sumeriau deities
is still in its infancy, it would be possible to give
their names as found in the early inscriptions from
Niffer, Mukayyar and Tell Loh, and, with the help of
the later explanatory lists of the Assyrians, to trace
in some measure their adoption and the modification
of their names, attributes, etc., 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, many of which are
still matters of conjecture. It will be better therefore
to treat only of those great Semitic deities who figure
so prominently in Babylonian mythology, and to refer
to their Sumerian prototypes only in 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
city was devoted, and around whose temple local tradi-
tions and local myths gathered and flourished. The
prominence which any one such local tradition attained
in the Babylonian system was in proportion to the
* See the names and attributes of the various deities collected by
Jastrow in his Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, pj). 51 ff.
14 ANU, BEL, AND EA.
political position and influence of the city in which
it arose. It is not a matter of surprise, therefore, that
we come across varying traditions with regard to the
positions and relationships of some of the gods. But
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
of the Babylonian gods which will harmonize with
. their position and character in the great religious and
mythological and legendary works of the nation.
At the head of the company of the gods may be
set the g'veat triad of deities Anu, Bel and Ea, whose
spheres of influence together embraced the entire uni-
verse. Anu was the god of heaven, Bel the god of
the earth angl of mankind, and Ea the god of the abyss
of water beneath the earth. At a very early period in
Sumerian history we find these three deities mentioned
in close connection with each other under their
Sumerian names of Anna (Anu), Enlil (Bel), and
Euki (Ea). Lugalzaggisi, who caused the inscription
to be written in which their names occur, was one of
the earliest Sumerian rulers of whose reign we have
evidence, and we can 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
SIN, SHAMASH, AND RAMMAN. 17
of the universe, remained unshaken. Each member
of the triad had his own centre of worship. Thus
Ami, 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 men-
tioned as one of the oldest cities of Babylonia in the
table of nations in Genesis.^ The god Bel, as has been
already stated, was identified by the Semites with
the Sumerian deity Eulil, whose worship in E-kur,
his temple in the city of Nippur, was the oldest local
cult of which we have evidence in the archaic inscrip-
tions that have yet been recovered. The worship of
the third member of the triad, Ea, originated in Eridu,
the southernmost of the great cities of Babylonia, the
site of which, now marked by the mound of Abu
Shahren, stands fifty miles from the mouth of the
Slmtt 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 Gulf.
After these three deities with their world-wide
dominion may be set a second triad, consisting of the
two great gods of light. Sin and Shamash, and the
god of the atmosphere, Eamman. Sin, the Moon-god,
identified also with Nannak, had two centres of wor-
ship, the temple E-gish-shir-gal in Ur, and the temple
E-khul-khul in Kharran, of which the former was the
more ancient. In Ur the worship of the Moon-god
' Genesis x. 10.
BAB. KEL. C
l8 POSITION OF THE SUN-GOD.
was celebrated from remote antiquity, and in influence
and splendour his cult appears to have eclipsed that
of Shamash, the Sun-god, whose ^yorship was centred
in the cities of Sippar and Larsa, in two great temples
each of which bore the name of E-babbara, " the bright
house." According to one tradition Shamash was
regarded as the son of the Moon-god, and this subordi-
nation of Sun-worship to the cult of the Moon 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
decision to which appeal was made in cases of wrong
and injustice. The god- Eammau, while particularly
associated with thunder and lightning, was in general
the god of the atmosphere and controlled the clouds,
the mist and the rain. He was held in especial
reverence by the Assyrian kings who loved 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. The extension of his influence
was a result of the rise of Babylon to the position of
the capital city in a united empire, and it is to this
fact we may trace his identification with the old
MARDUK AXD XABU. 21
Babylonian deity Bel, whose worship had flourished
for so many centuries at Xippur, and the prominent
part which he plays in Babylonian legend and
mythology. From the days of Khammurabi pnward
Marduk never lost this position of supremacy among
the other gods. Traces of his original subordinate
character at the time when Babylon was still unknown
may be seen in the fact that he was never regarded
as the oldest of the gods, nor as endowed from the
beginning with his later attributes ; he was conceived
as having won his power and supremacy by his own
valour and by the services he rendered both to gods and
jto ^mankind. In intimate association with Marduk
may be mentioned Xabu, the god of Borsippa, a city
which is marked to-day by the mound of Birs Nimriid,^
and which, built a little to the south-west of Babylon
on the opposite bank of the Euphrates, was in its later
period little more than a suburb of the capital. To
this fact we may trace the close connection of N'abu
with Marduk, whose son and minister he was supposed
to have been. E-zida, his temple in Borsippa, was
closely associated with E-sagil, IMarduk's great shrine
in Babylon, and these two sanctuaries were the most
famous in the country.
Another prominent deity was Xeegal, whose temple,
E-shidlam, in the city of Ktitil, or Cuthah, was one
' a place situated about two hours' ride from the modern city of
Hilhih.
22 NERGAL, NINIB, AND NUSKU.
of the oldest and largest sanctuaries in Northern
Babylonia. In general character Nergal was the god
of battle, and, no doubt from its destructive nature,
of pestilence also; in still another capacity he was
regarded as the god of the dead.^ The connection of
Nergal with the city of Cuthah was never severed
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 thousand years later, among
the Babylonians whom Sargon sent to colonize Samaria,
we read of certain men of Cuth, or Cuthah, who made
an image of Nergal,^ to whom they trusted to preserve
them from the lions tliat roamed through the devastated
land. A god who was in later times closely associated
with ]S[er>a;al is Ninib. The reading of his name is
conjectural, and 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 it
was to Nergal and Ninib that they ascribed the gift of
their mighty weapons. The Fire-god, Nusku, may
also be mentioned among the more important deities,
in view of the prominent position he occupies in the
magical works of the Babylonians.
The Babylonian goddesses, with one exception, are
not very imposing figures, nor are their characters
' See below, p. 37. ^ 2 Kings svii. 30.
BABYLONIAN GODDESSES. 23
very sharply defined or differentiated. Their position
corresponded to some extent with the inferior position
of women in Babylonia. It has already been remarked
that the Babylonian conceived his gods to be very
human in their form and feelings, and it was but
natural that his picture of their wives should have been
drawn after the same model. Their principal functions
in fact were to receive the favours of their lords and
to 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. Damkina, 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. Tsaepanitum,
Marduk's wife, however, was of little account away
from her partner, and the same may be said of
Tashmetu the wife of Nabu, Ningal the wife of the
Moon-god, Ai the wife of the Sun-god, Shala the wife
of Eamman, GuLA the wife of Ninib, and Laz the wife
of Xergal. In fact, the goddesses of Babylonia exercised
but little independent power, and, both in the ritual
of worship and in the myths and stories told about the
gods, they play a very unimportant and subordinate part.
24 THE GODDESS ISHTAR.
There is one very striking exception to this general
rule, namely the goddess Ishtae. This deity in her
own person appears to have absorbed the power and
influence which were, at times, ascribed to other
goddesses. She was identified with the Sumerian
goddess Ninni, and in the Assyrian inscriptions she
becomes the wife of the national god Ashur ; she was
also referred to as " Belit," i.e., " the Lady," and in this
character she assumed the titles and prerogatives of the
wife of Bel. In course of time the name " Ishtar " was
employed as a generic term for goddess. In Babylonia
moreover, she was known by two different local names,
which represented two quite distinct and separate
characters. Under the title 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 Moon-god and
of Ningal his wife. At the great temple of E-ana at
Freeh, on the other hand, she was worshipped as the
goddess of love and identified with Nana ; and in this
character she was regarded as the daughter of Ann
and Anatu. It was in her gentler character as the
goddess of love that she became connected in legend
with Dumuzi or Tammuz, her lover who died in
early youth, and for the sake of whose recovery she
descended to the realm of the dead. She was served
at Erech by numerous priestesses attached to her
worship, and the rites practised at her shrine, a later
THE GODS IN HEAVEN. 2$
form of which is described by Herodotus,^ were
performed in her honour as the goddess of love. By
the Assyrians she was chiefly revered as the goddess
of battle ; she had two famous shrines in Assyria, one
at 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 Bal^ylonians during the greater part of their history,
and the sketch here given, though drawn from the re-
ligious and historical literature, is not inconsistent with
the attributes assigned to them in the astrological and
astronomical inscriptions. The identification 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 the worship
of a host of local gods had given place to an organized
system of nature worship, and when the growth of
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, that 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 luminaries were believed to be directed by
them. At a later period the movements of the planets
' Book I., chap. 199.
26 SPIRITS AND DEMONS.
were also thought to be directed by gods whose symbols
they were, and it is probable that in this way tlie
identification of Marduk with Jupiter, of Ishtar with
Venus, of Ninib with Saturn, of Nergal with Mars
and of iSTabu with Mercury took place.^ The members
of the great triad of deities, who have been referred to
as standing at the head of the company of the gods, were
not omitted from this process ; Bel and Ea were trans-
ferred to heaven and placed side by side with Anu, and
the three henceforth divided the heavens between them.
In the above sketch we have only enumerated the
ildni rahuti, or " great gods " of the Babylonians, and it
must not be forgotten that subordinate to them stood a
host of lesser gods as well as countless demons and spirits
possessing various powers and influences. Of these lesser
spirits the two classes most frequently met with in the
religious inscriptions are the Anunnaki and the Igigt,
the " Spiiits of the Earth " and the " Spirits of Heaven,"
respectively. Each class is generally mentioned in
connection with the other, and they are described as
carrying out the will of the great gods. In the magical
literature the number of demons and ghosts and spirits
which were hostile to mankind is very numerous, and to
escape their evil influence it was necessary to invoke
the assistance of magic and to employ powerful spells; by
these means the help and protection of the great gods
might be obtained to deliver a man from their baneful
acts.
' See Jeasen, Die KomioloQie der Hahylonier, pp. 131 ff.
( ^1 )
CHAPTEE II.
HEAVEN, EAETH, AND HELL.
The conception formed by the Babylonians with regard
to the shape 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 possess no treatise on these subjects
from the pen of a Babylonian priest, and we have
to trace for ourselves and piece together the beliefs
of the Babylonians on all these questions from pas-
sages in their historical and religious writings. That
the ancient Babylonians concerned themselves with
such problems there is ample evidence to show, and,
although they have left behind them no detailed
description of the universe, it is possible by a careful
study of the texts to obtain a fairly complete idea
of the world as they pictured it. To understand
many of the legends and stories told concerning the
Babylonian gods and heroes it is necessary to consider
28 SHAPE OF THE EARTH.
heaven, earth, and hell from their standpoint ; 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 the earth
we find a very interesting passage in a legend told con-
cerning the old Babylonian hero Etana. The Eagle was
a friend of Etana, and on one occasion this bird offered
to carry him np to heaven. Etana accepted the Eagle's
offer, and, clinging with his hands to the Eagle's pinions,
he was carried np from the earth. As they rose to-
gether 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
flight, he told him to look down, and each time the Eagle
spoke he compared the earth to some fresh object.
After an interval of two hours the Eagle said, " Look,
" my friend, at the appearance of the earth. Behold,
" the sea, at its side is the House of 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,t" Look, my friend, at tlie
"appearance of the earth. The sea is a girdle round the
" earth." After ascending for a further space of two hours
the Eagle exclaimed, " The sea has changed into a
" gardener's channel " ; and at a still higher point of their
' I.e., the dwcUing-pluce of En, the Lord of Wisdom, who dwelt iu
the deep.
POSITION OF THE SEA. 29
flight the earth had shrunk to the size of a flower-bed.
From these passages we see that the writer of the
legend imagined the earth to be like a mountain around
which flowed tlie sea. At the first stopping place Etana
and the Eagle were 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 it looked like a
girdle round the earth, and at length it appeared very
little larger than a "gardener's water-channel" made
for irrigation purposes.
The belief that the earth was hemispherical in shape,
resembling a mountain with gently sloping sides, was
common among the Babylonians as we know from other
passages. According to Diodorus Siculus, the Baby-
lonians said that tlie earth was " like a boat and
" hollow." ^ The boat used on the Tigris 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 whicli the sea encircled as a
' A Greek liistorian, boru iu Sicilj', wlio lived in the first century
before Christ, and wrote a history of tlie world in forty books.
2 Bk. II., ch. 31, ed. Vogel, vol. i., p. 222.
^ The boats used by the Babylonians and Assyrians are also
described by Herodotus (Bk. I., chap. 194), who says that they were
circular like a shield, their ribs being formed by willow branches and
covered externally witli skins, while no distinction was made between
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 Eemains, vol. ii. p. 3S1.)
30 THE DOME OF HEAVEN.
, girdle encircles a man. To a dweller on the plains of
Mesopotamia the earth might well seem to be a mountain
-the centre of which was formed by the high mountain
ranges of Kurdistan ; while the Persian Gulf and the
. Indian Ocean which were on the south-east of Baby-
lonia, and the Eed Sea and the Mediterranean lying to
the south-west and west respectively, doubtless led to
the belief that the ocean surrounded the world.
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
shape. Both earth and heaven rested upon a great
body of water called Apsij, i.e., the Deep. It is not
quite certain how the solid dome of heaven was sup-
ported, that is to say, it is not "clear whether it was
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 this outer wall
of hills the sea collected in the form of a narrow
stream. This conception coincides with some of the
phrases in the legend of Etana, but against it may
be urged the fact that the sea is frequently identified
with Apsii or the primeval Deep upon which the earth
rested. But if the edges of the earth supported the
dome of heaven, all communication between the sea
THE HEAVENLY BODIES. 3 1
and Apsii would be cut off. It is more probable there-
fore that the earth did not support the heaven, and
that the foundations of the heavens, like those of the
earth, rested on Apsu. In the beginning, before the
creation of the world, nothing existed except the water
wherein dwelt monsters. According to a version of
the creation story, however, 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
he had slain. Splitting her body into two halves, he
fashioned from one half the dome of heaven, and from
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
might 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 at the edge of the world,
he began his journey across the sky. In the evening
he came to the Mountain of the Sunset, and, stepping
upon it, he passed through the western gate of heaven
• See below, p. 55.
32
THE PATH OF THE SUN-GOD.
and disappeared from the sight of meu. According
to one tradition he made his daily journey across the
sky in a chariot, which was drawn by two fiery horses.
In representations on cylinder-seals, however, he is
generally shown making his journey on foot. In the
accompanying illustration Shamash is seen appearing
Sliamasli, the Sun-pod, comin<; forth tlirousjh the eastern door of heaven. (From
a cylinder-seal in the British Museum, No. 89,110.)
above the horizon of the world, as he enters the sky
through the eastern gate of heaven.
In the following hymn, addressed to the Piising Sun,
a reference is made to Shamash entering the world
through the eastern gate of heaven : —
" 0 Shamash, on the foundation of heaven thou hast
flamed forth.
" Thou hast unbarred the bright heavens,
" Thou hast opened the portals of the sky.
" 0 Shamash, thou hast raised thy head over the land.
" 0 Shamash, thou hast covered the lands with the
briditness of heaven."
THE GATES OF HEAVEN. 35
Another hymn, addressed to the Setting Sun, con-
tains a reference to the return of Shamash into the
interior of heaven : —
" 0 Shamash, when thou enterest into the midst of
heaven,
" The gate-bolt of the bright heavens shall give thee
greeting,
" The doors of heaven shall bless thee.
"The righteousness of thy beloved servant shall
direct thee.
"Thy sovereignty shall be glorious in E-babbara,
the seat of thy power,
" And Ai, thy beloved wife, shall come joyfully into
thy presence,
" And she shall give rest unto thy heart.
" A feast for thy godhead shall be spread for thee.
"O valiant hero, Shamash, [mankind] shall glorify
thee.
" O lord of E-babbara, the course of thy path shall
be straight.
" Go forward on the road which is a sure foundation
for thee.
" 0 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. For, beyond the sky which was visible to
BAB. EEL. D
34
THE INNERMOST PART OF HEAVEN.
men, and beyond the heavenly ocean which the dome
of the sky supported, was a mysterious reahn of tran-
scendental splendour and beauty, the Kirib Shame,
or " Innermost part of Heaven," where the great gods
at times dwelt apart from mankind. As a general
rule the greater number of the gods dwelt upon earth,
each in his own city and shrine, and each was believed
to be intent upon the welfare of his worshippers ; but
at any moment they could, if they so desired, go up
to heaven. Thus, the goddess Ishtar was wont to
dwell in the ancient city of Erech, but when 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 his wife,^ Again, the deluge sent by Bel upon
the earth, besides destroying mankind, 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, and
it is in accordance with this rule that the council-
chamber of the gods, where fate and destiny were
decreed, was not in heaven but upon the earth. The
name of this chamber was Upshukkinaku, and here
the gods gathered together when they were summoned
to a ffeneral council. This chamber was supposed to
» See p. 161. ' See p. 134.
THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD. 35
be situated in the east, in the Mountain of the Sunrise,
not far from the edge of the world where it was bounded
by the waters of the great Deep.
It has already been stated that the earth was thought
by the Babylonians to be in the form of a great hemi-
sphere, and we must now add that they believed its
hollow interior to be filled wnth the waters of the Deep
upon which it also rested. The layer of earth was
not, however, regarded as a tliin crust. On the
contrary, though hollow, the crust of solid ground was
throught to be of great thickness. Within this crust,
which formed the " mountain of the world," deep down
below the surface of the ground, was a great cavern -
called Arallu, and here was the abode of the dead.
In this region was the great House of the Dead '
which was surrounded by seven walls ; these were -
so strongly built, and so carefully watched and guarded
by beings of the underworld, that no one who had once
entered therein could ever hope to return again to
earth ; indeed another name for Arallu, or the under-
world, was mat Id tdri, " The land of no return." The
House of the Dead was dark and gloomy, and 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
birds, for they were clothed in garments of feathers ;
their only food was dust and mud, and over everything
thick dust was scattered. The Babylonians had no
■^G THE JOYLESS EXISTENCE OF THE DEAD.
hope of a joyous life beyond the grave, and they did
not conceive a paradise in which the deceased would
live a life similar to that he lived upon earth. They
made no distinction between the just and the unjust,
and the good and the bad, but believed that all would
share a common fate and would be reduced to the
same level after death. The Babylonians shared this
'conception of the joyless condition of the dead with
the Hebrews, by whom She5l, or Hell, was thought to
-be a place where the dead led an existence deprived
of all the joys of life. In Isaiah the dead, including
. " the chief ones of the earth " and " the kings of the
"nations," are pictured as trooping forth to meet the
king of Babylon when he joins their company; and
they answer and say unto him : " Art thou also become
" weak as we ? Art thou become like unto us ? Thy
" pomp is brought down to hell and the noise of thy
" viols : the worm is spread under thee and worms
" cover thee." ^ Ezekiel also emphasizes the same
contrast between the condition of the living and the
dead. Those that have caused terror in the land of
the living, when they are slain lie still, and " bear their
"shame with those that go down to the pit."^ The
Psalmist prays to Jehovah for deliverance, " for in
" death there is no remembrance of thee : in Sheol who
" shall give thee thanks ? " ^
The goddess who presided over this joyless realm
> Isaiah xiv. 10 f. * Ezekiel xxxii. 17 ff. ^ Psalm vi. 5.
THE GODS OF THE DEAD. 37
of the dead ^Yas named Allatu, or Ereshkigal, and
she was associated in her rule with the god Nekgal
in his character as the god of the dead. The name
of the wife of Nergal was the goddess Laz, but legend
tells how Nergal forced his way into the Lower World
with the purpose of slaying Allatu, and how the
goddess by her entreaties prevailed on him to spare
her life and marry her. Henceforth ISTergal and Allatu
ruled together over the realm of the dead. The chief"
minister of Allatu was ISTamtak, the demon of pesti-
lence and disease, who acted as her messenger and put
her orders into execution. Allatu's decrees were
written down by a goddess called Belit-tseei, " the
"Lady of the Desert," who possibly took her 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 named Nedu. The Anunnald, or
"Spirit of the Earth," also frequently acted under
the orders of Nergal and Allatu. In addition to these
chief deities Allatu exercised control over a number
of demons, who, like Namtar, spread plague and disease
among mankind, and so brought fresh subjects to the
realm of their mistress.
The form and appearance of certain of the gods and
demons of the underworld may be gathered from a
number of engraved bronze plates which have come
down to us ; these, it has been suggested, were in-
tended to be placed as votive tablets in the graves
38 A BABYLONIAN GRAVE-TABLET.
of the dead. The accompanying illustration has been
taken from the finest known specimen of this class of
object which was purchased in Syria some twenty
years ago ; it had evidently been brought there from
some ancient Babylonian city. On the back of this
tablet is cut in relief the figure of a mythical winged
beast with a lion's head ; it stands on its hind legs
and raises its head above the edge of the plate, the
top of which it grasps with its fore- paws. On the front
of the tablet, which is here reproduced, a funereal
scene is represented. The beast looking over the top
of the tablet is identified by some with the god Nergal,
who was believed to preside over the funeral rites
which are being performed for the deceased.
It will be observed that the scene is divided by
means of thick lines into four registers. The first
register contains the emblems of a number of the
gods. Here we have a group of seven small circles
or stars, and a crescent, and a winged solar disk, and a
circle containing an eight-rayed star, and a cylindrical,
horned head-dress, and other objects. It has been
suggested that these emblems had astrological signifi-
cance,^ and if this be the case they may perhaps
represent a particular grouping of the stars of the
heavens and so indicate the date of the death of the
man for whose benefit the tablet was made. The
occurrence of such emblems, however, is frequent, both
' See Clermont-Gaiinean, Bev. Arclce'uL, Nouv. S€r., vol. 37, p. 3J3.
Bronze plate on which aredfpicted thesro^'^ oftbcd''ad inattemlance upon adecea-sed
person and certain dfniims and dwellers in tLe underworld. (.From I'-eciie.
Archeolcgique, youv. Ser., Vol. 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 inscrip-
tion at Bavian), and on inscribed cylinder seals ; and
on these two classes of objects the emblems do
not appear to have any astrological significance. It
therefore seems more correct to explain their position
at the head of the tablet by assuming that they are
placed there as amulets to secure for the dead man
the favour of the deities whose emblems they were.
The next three registers into which the rest of the
scene is divided have been supposed to represent
different stages in the upper and lower world. It 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 seven mythical
creatures with the bodies of men and the heads of
beasts. They all are clothed in long tunics which
reach to the 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
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
42 GUARDIANS OF THE DEAD.
lion. Certain other gods or demons occur in the third
register. The first one on the right, who is in the form
of a bearded man, has his right hand raised in the same
manner 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. On the left is the
deceased in his grave-clothes; at his 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 is
remarkable, 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 on the plate are those
in the fourth register, for they represent two of the
chief deities of the underworld. The female figure in
the centre is the goddess Allatu, the queen of the dead.
She has the head of a lioness and the body of a woman ;
in each hand she grasps a serpent, and a lion Rangs
from each breast. She kneels upon a horse in a boat
and is sailing over the " Waters of Death," which
adjoin Apsu, the primeval ocean that rolls beneath
the earth. Tlie hideous, winged demon behind her is
Namtar, the demon of the plague, who waits upon her
and is ever ready to do her bidding. It is not certain
OTHER GRAVE-TABLETS. 43
what the objects in front of Allatu are, but it is
probable that they are intended to represent the
offerings which were placed in the grave with the
deceased. The purpose of the tablet seems to have
been to secure the safe passage of the dead man into
Arallu, or the underworld.
A somewhat similar bronze tablet, but less well
preserved, is in the Imperial Ottoman Museum at
Constantinople, and is said to have been found at
Surghul in Southern Babylonia.^ On the back of this
tablet, beneath the feet of the monster who looks over
the top, a space of four lines has been left blank to
receive an inscription which would either record
the name and titles of the deceased, or 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 is so badly
copied that it cannot be read with certainty.^ A still
smaller tablet of the same character is preserved in
the British Museum.^
' See the plate published by Scheil, Recueil de Travaux, Vol. XX.,
p. 55.
- See Lajard, Recherches sur le culte . . . de Venus, pi. XVII., No. 1-
» No. 86,262.
44 THE IMPORTANCE OF DUE BURIAL.
Perhaps in no matter do the Babylonians afford a
more striking contrast to the Egyptians than iu the
treatment of the dead. In the moist, alluvial soil of
Mesopotamia the dead body fell quickly into decay,
and 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. It is to this fact,
probably, that we may trace the ideas of the gloomy
existence which the Babylonians believed they would
lead when they passed beyond the grave. It must not
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
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 offal or leavings which it might
find in the street. It was in order to ensure such a
-fate to his foes that Ashur-bani-pal, on his conquest of
Susa, caused the graves of the kings who had been
dead and buried many years to be disturbed and their
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 t,o be devoured
by birds and beasts of prey.
To leave a body unburied, however, was not un-
WANDERING SHADES. 45
attended witli danger to the living, for the shade of
the dead man, during its wanderings over the earth,
might bewitch any person it met and cause him
grievous sickness. The wandering shade of a man was
called "ekimmu," i.e., spectre, and the sorcerer and the
witch claimed to possess the power of casting a spell
whereby an "ekimmu" might be made to harass a
man. On the other hand an " ekimmu " would some-
times settle on a man of its own accord, in the hope
that its victim would give it burial in order to free
himself from its clutches. We have in the British
Museum an interesting incantation which was intended
to be recited by a man on whom an " ekimmu " had
fastened itself,^ and from this we learn that a man, who
had fallen sick in consequence, might cry aloud in his
pain, saying : —
" 0 Ea, 0 Sham ash, 0 Marduk, deliver me,
" And through your mercy let me have relief.
"0 Shamash, a horrible spectre for many days
" Hath fastened itself on my back, and will not loose
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 my body, he maketh
mine eyes to start out,
' See King, BaUfonian Magic and Sorcery, p. 119 f.
46 LAYING A TROUBLED SPIRIT.
" He plagueth my back, he poisoueth my flesh,
" He plagueth my whole body."
The sick man in his despair prays to Shamash to
be delivered from the ekimmu, whoever he may be,
saying : —
"Whether it be the spectre of one of my own family
and kindred,
" Or the spectre of one who was murdered,
" Or whether it be the spectre of any other man that
haunteth me."
In order to ensure the departure of the spectre to
the underworld he next makes the necessary offerings
which will cause the spirit of the unburied man to
depart, and says : —
" A garment to clothe him, and shoes for his feet,
" And a girdle for his loins, and a skin of water for
him to drink,
" And ... ^ as food for his journey have I given him.
" Let him depart into the West,
" To Nedu, the chief Porter of the Underworld, I
consign him.
"Let Nedu, the chief Porter 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 all
' I cannot transl ite the signs in the text here.
MOURNING FOR THE DEAD. 47
due 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
perhaps also intended to alleviate his unhappy lot
after his arrival in the gloomy abode of the underworld.
Not many details have come down to us with regard
to the ceremonies that were performed at the grave,
but we know that after a man's death his house was
filled with mourners, both male and female, whom his
family hired in order that they might give public
expression to the grief occasioned by his death. Among
the Assyrian letter-tablets in the British Museum there
is one ^ which refers to the death of the reigning king
and to the regulations for mourning that were to be
observed at the court. " The king," the letter says,
"is dead, and the inhabitants of the city of Ashur
"weep." The writer of the letter then goes on to
describe the departure of the governor of the city with
his wife from the palace, the offering up of a sacrifice,
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 scale.
After the mourning for the dead man had been
performed, his body, duly prepared for burial, was
' British Museum, No. 81-2-4, 65.
48 BURIAL RITES.
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
representation on a stele which was set up to record
the victories of Eannadu, an ancient king of the city
of Shirpurla, who reigned in all probability before
B.C. 4000. On a portion of this stele is a representation
of the burial of those of his warriors who had fallen
in battle. The dead are laid in rows, with head to
feet alternately, and above them a mound of earth has
been raised ; their comrades are represented bearing
baskets containing more earth for the mound, or per-
haps funeral offerings for the dead.^ On the monuments
of later Babylonian and Assyrian kings we do not find
any representation of burial ceremonies, but in a broken
inscription of one of the later Assyrian kings, whose
name has unfortunately not been jDreserved, 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
• See De Sarzec, D^couvertes en Chald^e, pi. 3.
* British Museum, K. 7856; see Meissuer, Vierma Oriental Journal,
Vol. XII., pp. €0 ff.
THE INTERMENT OF A KING. 49
" I sealed its entrance,
" I protected it with an incantation.
*' Vessels of gold and silver,
" Such as (my father) loved,
"All the furniture that befitteth the grave,
"The due right of his sovereignty,
" I displayed before the Sun-god,
"And beside the father who begat mc,
" I set them in the grave.
" Gifts unto the princes,
" Unto the Spirits of the Earth,^
" And unto the gods who inhabit the grave,
" I then presented."
From this we learn that the king placed vessels of
gold and silver in the grave as dedicatory offerings,
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
propitiate the demons and dwellers in the underworld.
Another interesting point about this record is the
fact that the dead body is said to have been set " in
" kingly oil," for the oil was clearly used with the idea
of preserving the body from decay. Salt also seems
to have been used for the purpose of preserving the
dead, for Ashur-bani-pal tells how, when Nabu-bel-
shumati had caused himself to be slain by his
attendant to prevent himself falling alive into the
' The Anunuaki,
BAB. EEL. E
50 PRESERVATION OF THE DEAD BODY.
hands of Ashiir-bani-pal, Ummanaldas had the body
placed in salt and conveyed to Assyria into the
presence of the king.^ Besides salt and oil, honey
seems also to have been used by the Babylonians for
preserving the dead. Herodotus says that the Baby-
lonians buried in lioney,^ and that honey possesses
great powers of preserving the dead is proved by the
fact that the Egyptians also used it for this purpose.^
Moreover, it is recorded that Alexander the Great
when on his death-bed commanded that he should be
buried in honey, and it seems that his orders were
obeyed.* 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 " filled with honey.^
There is ample evidence, therefore, to show that the
Babylonians cared for their dead and took pains about
' their burial, and it is the more surprising on that
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.
" Bk. I., chap. 198. = See Budge, The Mummy, p. 183.
* See Budge, The Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great, Vol. II.,
P 349 f.
* See Brit. Mus. MS. Oriental 078, fol. \la, col. 1.
BABYLONIAN GRAVES. 5 I
in addition to these graves a few clay sarcophagi and
burial jars have been found. With the skeletons in
the graves are usually found a small 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 upon any of the objects
found therein, it is extremely difficult to 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
empires. To account for this dearth of graves the
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 Royal Prussian Museum sent
out an expedition to Babylonia, which, after excavating
the mounds of Surghul and El-Hibbah, thought they
had obtained conclusive evidence that the Babylonians
burnt their dead.^ But it has since been pointed out
that the tombs they excavated belong to a period
subsequent to the fall of the Babylonian Empire,
while the half-burned appearance of the charred
human remains they discovered seemed to suggest
that the bodies were not cremated but were accidentally
destroyed by fire. However the comparatively small
number of graves that have been found may be
' See Koldewey, Zeitsclin'/t fur Assyriologie, Bd. II., pp. 403 ff.
52 CARE FOR THE DEAD.
accounted for, we may confidently believe that the
Babylonians and Assyrians were in the habit 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 that they were usually scrupulous in
performing all rites which could possibly benefit the
dead.
( 53 )
CHAPTEE III.
THE LEGENDS OF CREATION.
The nations of the ancient world ^Yllo liave 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, it may
be concluded that primitive man was essentially a
maker of myths. Believing as he did that every object
and force in nature possessed a personality and will
like his own, he would explain the changes he saw
taking place in the world around him by means of
legends and stories. In these he would ascribe to the
mysterious beings, wliich seemed to liim to animate
the natural world, motives similar to those which
would control his own actions. At a more mature
54 LEGENDS OF CREATION.
stage in liis development he began to perceive a con-
nection or dependence between the various powers of
nature, such as the alternation of day and night, the
movements of the stars, and the regular recurrence
of the seasons ; these would tend to suggest that some
plan or system had been followed in the creation of
the world, and in seeking for the reason of things
along the familiar lines of myth, he would in process
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 in
Babylon about the year B.C. 300 we know in brief
outline from the extracts that have come down to us
from the history of Berosus, a Chaldean priest, who
ministered in the temple of Bel at Babylon at the end
of the fourth and the beginning of the third century
before Christ. Berosus wrote a history of Babylonia,
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 later writers.
His account of the creation, 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
' CliTon. I., ed. Schoene, col. 14 ff.
THE VERSION OF BEROSUS. 55
a time when the world had uo existence, a time
before things came into being, when darkness and
water alone existed. The water, however, did not
remain uninhabited for long, for monsters arose in it,
i.e., men with wings, and creatures with four wings
and two human heads, and beings with two heads, one
male and one female. Some creatures had the bodies
of men, but had the feet and horns of goats ; some had
the legs of horses, and others, like hippocentaurs, had
the bodies and legs of horses but the upper parts of
a man. Others, again, were in the form of bulls with
the heads of men, or dogs with four bodies ending in
the tail of a fish, or men and horses with the heads of
dogs, and some had the head and body of a horse but
the tail of a fish. In the water also creeping things,
and serpents, and many other monsters of strange and
varied shapes existed. Over these monsters a woman
reigned called Omoroka (or Omorka), in Chaldee
Thamte,^ or in Greek Thalassa, " the Sea." A change
in this world of chaos 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
the earth, and from the other he made the heavens ;
and he slew also the monsters of the deep over whom she
ruled. The account then goes on to say that after Bel
had created the earth, he perceived that it was barren
' The text reads Thalatth, wbicli is probably a corruption of
Thamte, i.e., tamtu the Babylonian for " sea, ocean." See Robertson
Smith, Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie, Bd. VI., p. 330.
50 DISCOVERY OF THE CREATION TABLETS.
and had no inhabitants ; he therefore decided to use
his own blood for creation. He bade one of the gods
to cut off his head and mix the earth with the blood
which flowed from him, and from the mixture he
•directed Mm to fashion men 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 off. Such is the
Account of the Babylonian cosmogony as narrated by
Berosus, which Eusebius has preserved. But as the
latter writer quoted the story at second hand, it is
more than probable that he accidentally misrepresented
or misunderstood certain portions of it.
Fortunately we have not to 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 some of the tablets and
fragments of tablets that had been brought to England
from the site of Ashur-bani-pal's library at Nineveh
several years before. The publication of the text and
translations of the Creation tablets by Mr. Smith^ threw
' See Trans. Soc. Bill. Arch., Vol. IV. (1876) p. 3G3 f. (six plates),
and The Chaldean Account of Genesis, Londun, 187G.
THEIR NUMBER AND CONTENTS. 57
great light 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. During this period, moreover, the
knowledge of the Assyrian language has greatly
increased, so that a more 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 tablets were distinguished by numbers,
and the whole series was named Enuma elish, " When
in the height," from the opening words of the First
Tablet. The poem is incomplete in passages, and the
end is very imperfect. We know that the series when
complete contained at least six tablets, but it is
impossible to say definitely how many tablets it
originally contained. In spite of the fragmentary
condition of many parts of the poem, however, the
thread of the narrative can generally be followed.
' For the principal works dealing with the Creation tablets which
have been published within recent years, see Jensen, Die Kosmologie
der Sabylonier, pp. 2*)3 ff., Guukel and Zimmern, SclSpfung und
Chaos, pp. 401 ff., and Delitzsch, Das bahylonisclie Weltschopfungsepos,
pp. 7 ff.
58 SUMMARY OF THE BABYLONIAN LEGEND.
This version of the Babylonian cosmogony is prac-
tically 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 primeval beings personified chaos, namely Apsu,
the " Deep," and Tiamat, the universal mother, who
corresponds to the woman named Omorka, or Thamte,
by Berosus. Beside Apsu and Tiamat no other being
existed, and they mingled their waters in confusion. In
the course of time the gods were created ; the first were
Lakhmu and Lakhamu, Anshar and Kishar came next,
after many ages, and after a further period the other
great gods were born. But Tiamat, the monster of the
Deep, who had taken the form of a huge serpent, and
Apsu, her consort, revolted against the gods, and created
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-
ino- Tiamat, prevailed on Marduk, the son of Ea, to b&
the champion of the gods and to do battle with the
monster. The gods were summoned by Anshar to a
council that they might confer supreme power 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
lier helpers captive. He then split Tiamat's body in
half and from one half he formed the heaven, fixing.
ITS RESEMBLANCE TO GENESIS. 59
it as a firmament to divide the upper from the lower
waters, and placing bars and sentinels that the waters
should not break through. Marduk then 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 summary of the Babylonian story
of creation it will be seen that it presents some very
remarkable points of resemblance to the narrative
of the creation as preserved in the first chapter of
Genesis ; and it is chiefly to this fact that the wide-
spread interest in the legend is due. 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
according to each account the existence of a watery
chaos preceded the creation of the present world. The
Hebrew word tehom translated "the deep" in Genesis,*
corresponds exactly with the Babylonian " Tiamat," the
monster of the deep who personified chaos and con-
fusion. The creation of light recorded in Genesis is
the equivalent of the statement on the Creation tablets
> 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 solid dome of heaven, to keep
the upper waters in place ; in each account the narra-
tive of the creation of the heavenly bodies follows
that of the firmament, and in each also they are
appointed to regulate the seasons. It has been suggested
that the seven days of creation in Genesis correspond
to seven definite acts of creation in the Babylonian
account ; but a careful study of the Babylonian poem
has shown that such an arrangement was not contem-
plated by the Babylonian scribes, nor is there any
evidence to show that the creation was deliberately
classified in a series of seven acts. A slight perusal of
the legend is, however, sufficient to prove that the two
accounts present in many ways a very striking resem-
blance to each other ; but in some respects the contrast
they present is no less striking. When we examine the
aims and ideas which underlie and permeate the two
narratives, all resemblance between them ceases. The
monotheism 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. 6l
Before we proceed to consider the problem of the
relationship of these two stories of the creation it will he
well to give a translation of those portions of the Baby-
lonian 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 descrip-
tion 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 Apsu 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 Lakhamu were called into being. . .
"Ages increased
" Anshar and Kishar were created
" Long were the days
" Ann, the father
" Anshar and Ann "
The last line but one evidently refers to the creation
' According to Semitic ideas tlie'name of a thing was regarded as its
..essence ; hence to bear a name was equivalent to being in existence.
62 REPETITIONS IN THE TEXT.
of the god Anil ; and from a passage in Damascius,
where this Babylonian theogony is reproduced,^ we may
infer that the gods Bel and Ea were created along with
him. It is probable that the creation of the other great
gods was then described. Chaos was, in fact, giving
place to order, but the gods were not for long allowed
to remain in peace, for Tiamat, their mother, conceived
a hatred for them, and with Apsu, their father, plotted
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 to indicate the general course
of the story. The piecing together of the narrative,
however, would be well nigh impossible were it not
for a strange characteristic of Babylonian poetry, that
is to say, the practice of frequent repetition. But for
this practice the description of Tiamat's brood of
monsters, and of her selection of Kingu as their captain
would be lost, for hardly any of it remains on the frag-
ments of the First Tablet. The description, however,
is repeated in the form of a message to the god Anshar
at the beginning of the Second Tablet; it is also
repeated on the Third Tablet, once by Anshar to his
minister Gaga, and again by Gaga when delivering
Anshar's message to Lakhmu and Lakhamu. Had we
' Qaaestiones de primis principiis, chap. 125 (ed. Kopp, p. 384).
ANSHARS INSTRUCTIONS TO GAGA. 6^
the complete text of the First and Second Tablets of
the poem such 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 to speak with her and to try to appease her
anger. Anu went to her, but when he saw her he
turned back in fear. The god Ea was next sent by
Anshar, but he met with no better success. Anshar
then invited the god Marduk to do battle with Tiamat,
and he consented on condition that the gods woul''
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 Gaga to summon a council
of the gods. Gaga was ordered to carry tidings of
Tiamat's revolt to Lakhmu and Lakhamu, and to
direct them to summon the gods who were to appoint
Marduk as their champion. The Third Tablet begins : —
" Anshar opened his mouth, and
" [To Gaga] his minister spake the word :
" ' [Go Gaga, thou minister] that rejoicest my spirit,
" [To Lakhmu and La]khamu I will send thee.
" let the gods, all of them,
" [Make ready for a feast], at a banquet let them
sit,
64 THE REVOLT OF TIAMAT.
" [Let them eat bread], let them mix wine,
" [That for Mardnk], their [avenger], they may
decree the fate.
" [Go Ga]ga, stand before them,
" [And all that I] tell thee, repeat unto them, (and
say) :
" ' Anshar your son has sent me,
"The purpose of his heart he has made known to
me.
"He says that Tiamat our mother has conceived a
hatred for us,
" 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.
" They are banded together, and at the side of Tiamat
j ' they advance ;
j ** They are furious, they devise mischief without rest-
/ ing night and day.
" They prepare for battle, fuming and raging ;
" They have joined their forces and are making war.
" Ummu-Khubur,^ who formed all things,
" Has made in addition weapons invincible, she has
spawned monster-serpents,
" Sharp of tooth, and cruel of fang ;
"With poison instead of blood she has filled their
bodies,
" Fierce monster-vipers she has clothed with terror,
* ADother name of Tiamat.
MAP OF
^ND ASSY
ING
dursha'IPAL CITIE'^'''
^Z' Ancient nameC"^^^
^ Mli^uK Modern
kalaV the
^ Nimru
^
iPPROXIMATE: SCAl
. i50
nm ;
the
ade
L as
has
,ck,
she
■ the
isted
64 THE REVOLT OF TIAMAT.
" [Let them eat bread], let them mix wine,
" [That for Marduk], their [avenger], they may
decree the fate.
" [Go Gajga, stand before them,
" [And all that I] tell thee, repeat unto them, (and
say) :
" ' Anshar your son has sent me,
"The purpose of his heart he has made known to
me.
"He says that Tiamat our mother has conceived a
hatred for us,
" 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.
" They are banded together, and at the side of Tiamat
/ ' they advance ;
" They are furious, they devise mischief without rest-
ing night and day.
" They prepare for battle, fuming and raging ;
" They have joined their forces and are making war.
" Ummu-Khubur,^ who formed all things,
" Has made in addition weapons invincible, she has
spawned monster-serpents,
" Sharp of tooth, and cruel of fang ;
"With poison instead of blood she has filled their
bodies.
" Fierce monster- vipers she has clothed with terror,
* Another name of Tiamat.
RIA
IS
3.<3S-NlPPUR,rwt^s
« -Niffer "
lOO
_| MILLS
HER BROOD OF MONSTERS. 65.
"With splendour she has decked them, and she has
caused them to [mount ?] on high.
" Whoever behokls them is overcome by dread.
" Their bodies rear up and none can withstand their
attack.
" She has set up the viper, and the dragon, and the
(monster) Lakhamu,
" And the hurricane, and the raging hound, and the
scorpion-man,
" And mighty tempests, and the fish-man, and the ram ;
" They bear merciless weapons, without fear of the
fight.
" Her commands are mighty, none can resist them ;
"After this fashion, huge of stature, she has made
eleven (monsters).
"Among the gods who are her sons, inasmuch as
he gave her support,
" She has exalted Kingu ; in their midst she has
raised him to power.
" To march before the forces, to lead the host,
" To give the battle-signal, to advance to the attack,
" To direct the battle, to control the fight,
" To him has she entrusted ; in costly raiment she
has made him sit, (saying) :
" ' I 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
to thee.
BAB. EEL. F
66 KINGU AND THE REBEL HOST.
" Be thou exalted, thou my chosen spouse,
"Let them magnify thy name over all [the world].'
" Then did she give him the Tablets of Destiny,^ on
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 Anu,
" Decreed the fate for the gods, her sons :
" ' Let the opening of your mouth quench the Fire-
god ;
"Whoso prides himself on valour, let him display
(his) might ! ' "
So far Anshar has described the revolt of Tiamat
and the creation of the monsters who were to help
her in the fight, and her selection of Kingu as the
captain of her host ; all these things are described in
the First Tablet in exactly the same language. He
next mentions the measures he has taken on hearins
of Tiamat's treachery in the following words : —
" I sent Anu, but he was unable to go against her ;
" Nudimmud ^ was afraid and turned back.
" Marduk has set out, the director of the gods, your
son ;
' The possession of the " Tablets of Destiny " carried with it
supremacy among the gods; with a view of obtaining this supremacy
the god Za stole thera from Bel, but Shamash the Sun-god compelled
him to restore them. See pp. 193 f.
^ A title of the god Ea.
MARDUK, THE CHAMPION OF THE GODS. ^^
" To set out against Tiamat his heart has prompted
(him).
" He opened his mouth and spake unto me :
" ' If I, your avenger,
" Conquer Tiamat and give you life,
"Appoint an assembly, make my fate pre-eminent
and proclaim it.
"In Upshukkiunaku '" seat yourselves joyfully to-
gether.
"With my mouth like you will I decree fate.
" "Whatsoever I do, shall remain unaltered,
" The word of my lips shall never be changed nor
made of no avail.'
"Hasten therefore and swiftly decree for him the
fate which you bestow,
" That he may go and fight your strong enemy ! "
The narrative continues : —
" Gaga went, he took his way and
"Humbly before Lakhmu and Lakhamu, the gods,
his fathers,
"He made obeisance, and he kissed the ground at
their feet.
"He humbled himself; then he stood up and spake
unto them."
Gaga then repeats the message which Anshar has
given to him, but, as it corresponds word for word
/ with the speech of Anshar quoted above, it may here
\
• The Bame cf the place •where the gods met together.
6S THE ASSEMBLY OF THE GODS.
be omitted. The narrative describes the effect of
GaG^a's messaf^e in the followin;^ words : —
" Lakhmu and Lakhamu heard and [were afraid],
" All of the Igigi wailed bitterly, (saying) :
" ' What has been changed that they should conceive
[this hatred] ?
" We do not understand the deed of Tianiat ! '
" Then did they collect and go,
" The great gods, all of them, who decree fate,
" They entered in before Anshar, they filled [the
chamber] ;
" 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 [senses],
" They became drunk with drinking, their bodies
were filled (with meat and drink).
" Their limbs were wholly relaxed, and their spirit
was exalted ;
"Tlien for Marduk, their avenger, did they decree
the fate."
At this j)oii^t the Third Tablet of the series
ends.
The Fourth Tablet opens with a description of the
ceremony of decreeing fate for Marduk thus : —
" They prepared for him a lordly chamber,
" Before his fathers as counsellor he took his place."
THEIR ADDRESS TO MARDUK. 69
When Marduk had taken his seat, the gods addressed
hiin in the following words : —
" Thou art chiefest among the great gods,
" Thy fate is unequalled, thy word is Anu ! ^
" 0 Marduk, thou art chiefest among the great gods,
" Thy fate is unequalled, thy word is Anu !
"Henceforth not without avail shall be thy com-
mand,
" In thy power shall it be to exalt and to abase.
"Established shall be the word of thy mouth, irre-
sistible shall be thy command ;
" None among the gods shall transgress thy
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 avenger i
" We give thee sovereignty over the whole world.
"Sit thou down in majesty, be exalted in thy
command.
"Thy weapon shall never lose its power, it shall
crush thy foe.
" 0 lord, spare the life of him that putteth his trust
in thee,
" But as for the god who led the rebellion,^ pour out
his life ! "
^ I.«., " Thy word has the same power as that of Ann."
* Literally, " began the evil."
70 MARDUK TESTS HIS POWER.
But before Marduk set out to do battle with Tiamat,
the gods wished him to put to the test the power
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 fate, 0 lord, be supreme among the
gods,
" To destroy and to create ; speak thou the word,
and (thy command) shall be fulfilled.
" Command now and let the garment vanish ;
" And speak the word again and let the garment
reappear ! ' "
In obedience to the words of the gods Marduk
" Spake with his mouth, and the garment vanished;
"Again he commanded it, and the garment re-
appeared.
" When the gods, his fathers, beheld (the fulfilment
of) his word,
"They rejoiced, and they did homage (unto him,
saying), ' Marduk is king ! '
"They bestowed upon him the sceptre, and the
throne, and the ring,
" They gave him an invincible weapon, wherewith
to overwhelm the foe.
" ' Go,' (they said), ' and cut off the life of Tiamat,
" And let the wind carry her blood into secret places.*
" (Thus) did the gods, his fathers, decree for the lord
his fate ;
HE PREPARES FOR BATTLE. 7 1
" They caused him to set out.oii a path of prosperity
and success.
"He made ready the bow, he girded his weapon
upon him,
" He slung a spear upon him and fastened it, . . .
" He raised the club, in his right hand he grasped (it),
" The bow and the quiver he hung at his side.
" He set the lightning in front of him,
" AVith burning flame he filled his body.
" He made a net to enclose the inward parts of
Tiamat,
" The four winds he set so that nothing of her might
escape ;
"The South wind, and the North wind, and the
East wind, and the West wind
" He brought near to the net which his father Anu
had given him.
" He created the evil wind, and the storm, and the
hurricane,
" The four-fold wind, and the seven- fold wind, and
the whirlwind, the wind which was without
equal ;
"He sent forth the winds which he had created,
seven in all,
" To destroy the inward parts of Tiumat ; and they
followed after him.
"Then the lord raised the thunderbolt, his mighty
weapon.
72 THE MEETING OF MARDUK AND TIAMAT.
" He mounted the chariot, an object unequalled for
terror,
" He harnessed four horses and yoked them to it,
'' [All of them] ferocious, and high of courage, and
swift of pace ;
" [They gnashed with] their teeth, their bodies were
flecked with foam,
"They had been [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 fight. His advance against Tianiat in the sight of
all the gods is described in the following words : —
" Then the lord drew nigh, on Tiamat he gazed,
'' He beheld the scorn (?) of Kingu, her spouse.
^'As (Marduk) gazed, (Kingu) was troubled in his
gait,
" His will was destroyed and his movements ceased.
" And the gods, his helpers, who marched by his side,
" Beheld their leader's [distress], and their sight was
troubled."
But Tiamat stood firm, with unbent neck, and
taunted Marduk and the gods who were gathered in
safety behind him ; to these taunts Marduk replied
by reproaching her with her treachery, and he bade her
prepare for battle in these words : —
" ' Let thy hosts be equipped, and let thy weapons be
set in order !
THE DEATH OF TIAMAT. , 73
*' Stand ! I and thou, let us join battle ! '
" When Tiamat heard these words,
" She was like one possessed, she lost her senses,
" She uttered loud, angry cries.
" She trembled and shook to her very foundations.
" She recited an incantation, she pronounced her
spell,
"And the gods of the battle cried out for their
weapons.
^'Then advanced Tiamat and Marduk, the counsellor
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 to its full extent,
" He drove in the evil wind, while as yet she had
not shut her lips.
" The terrible winds filled her belly,
" And 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.
74 CAPTURE OF THE REBEL HOST.
"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 bondage.
"And on the eleven creatures whom she had filled
with the power of striking terror,
" The troop of devils which marched at her bidding (?),
"He brought affliction, [he destroyed] their power;
" Them and their opposition he trampled under his
feet.
"Moreover Kingu, who had been made leader [over
all of] them,
"He conquered and like unto the god ... he
counted him.
3^" " 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,
THE CREATION OF HEAVEN, yj
" And had made the arrogant foe even like a broken
reed (?),
" He fully established Anshar's triumph over the
enemy,
" And attained the purpose of Nudimmud.
" Over the gods that were captive he strengthened
his durance.
" To Tiamat, whom he had conquered, he returned,
" And the lord stood upon Tiamat's hinder parts ;
" With 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 gazed on her dead body.
"He divided the flesh of the body, having devised a
cunning plan.
" He split her up like a flat fish into two halves.
" One 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 set the dwelling of
Nudimmud.
" And the lord measured the structure of the Deep,
78 THE MEANING OF E-SHARA.
" And he founded E-shara, a mansion like unto it.
" The mansion E-shara, which he created as heaven,
"He caused Anu, Bel and Ea in their districts to
inhabit."
With these words the Fourth Tablet of the series
ends.
Marduk having conquered Tiamat, thus began the
work of creation. From one half of the monster's body
he fashioned heaven in the form of a solid covering,
which he also furnished with bolts and watchmen to
keep the waters which were above it in their place.
The dwelling of Nudimmud he fixed in the deep, i.e.,
the abyss of waters beneath the earth, and he also
founded E-shara. Some think that E-shara is the earth ; ^
and according to 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 name for
heaven, or for a part of it, and the last two lines of
the Fourth Tablet of the poem certainly favour this
view. The most natural meaning of the passage is
that Marduk made the mansion 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, and the abyss respectively, in their
astrological characters divided the heaven between
' See Jensen, Die Eosmologie der Balylonier, pp. 195 If.
CREATION OF THE HEAVENLY BODIES. 79
them ; ^ aud the position of certain stars is noted in
astrological tablets by apportioning them to the various
dominions of these deities. According to the former
view this passage in the poem means that Marduk
created E-shara (the earth) "like a heavenly vault," ^
i.e., in the form of a hollow hemisphere like the firma-
ment overhead ; but to obtain this sense the ordinary
meaning of the words has to be strained considerably.
In the Fifth Tablet of the series Marduk continued
the work of creation. He had already jDortioned out
the heavens and the abyss, and he now assigned to each
part its separate function, and laid down laws for
the regulation of the whole. The tablet describes the
creation of the heavenly bodies and the regulation of
the seasons, but unfortunately only the beginning part
has been preserved. The text reads : —
" He made the stations for the great gods,
"The stars, their images, (and) the constellations
he fixed ;
"He ordained the year and into sections he
divided it.
" For the twelve months he fixed three stars.
"From the day when the year comes forth ^ until
(its) close,
"He founded the station of Nibir* to determine
their bounds ;
' See above, p. 26.
* See Jensen, op. cit, p. 289. » I.e., begins. * I.e., Jupiter.
So THE MOON TO RULE THE NIGHT.
" That none might err or go astray,
" He set the stations of Bel and Ea along with him.
" He opened great gates on both sides (of the firma-
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 deter-
mine th'e 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 different points of his
course. What the actually missing portion of the
text contained we cannot say with certainty, but we
may conjecture that it described further acts of creation.
That there was a Sixth Tablet is proved by the catch-
line at the end of the Fifth Tablet, and the text of this
CREATION OF BEASTS OF THE FIELD. 8 1
also must have referred to the same subject. There is.
110 evidence to show how many tablets were comprised
in the Creation Series, although some have thought
that the number was greater than six. Fragments of
tablets have been found which refer to acts of creation,
and as these cannot be fitted into places in the
tablets already described, it has been suggested they
formed parts of the tablets which seem to be missing.
One such fragment is of especial interest, for it con-
tains a reference to the creation of the " beasts of
"the field, the cattle of the field, and the creeping
" things of the field." It is improbable that the frag-
ment belonged to the Creation Series, inasmuch as the
gods as a body, and not Marduk alone, are credited by
it with the creation of the world, and besides this the
god Ea, Marduk's father, is mentioned as taking a
prominent part in the work. The fragment in fact
reproduces a variant form of the creation legend, but
its description of the creation of the beasts may well be
cited in favour of the view that some missing portion
of the poem contained a similar episode. The fragment
which contains the opening lines of the tablet
begins : —
" When all the gods had made [the world],
" Had created the heavens, had formed [the earth],
" Had brought living creatures into being . . . ,
" The cattle of the field, the [beasts] of the field, and
the creeping things [of the field], . . ."
BAB. iiv.L. G
82 CREATION OF MANKIND.
The rest of the fragment is too broken to admit
of a trustworthy restoration of the text, though the
reference to Mn-igi-azag, i.e., " the lord of clear vision,"
a title 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 described the creation of mankind. A hymn
has been found inscribed upon a tablet which con-
tains a number of remarkable addresses in honour
of the god Marduk, and, as many of them refer to his
acts of creation, it has been thought that the com-
position formed the concluding tablet of the series.^
After addressing him as one who shewed mercy to
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 and shall not be forgotten
" in the mouth of the black-headed ones {i.e., mankind)
" whom his hands have created." In view of this
evidence it may be concluded that the description of
the creation of mankind had a place in the tablets that
are missing ; and it is probable that upon another
fragment of a tablet ^ we have a copy of the instructions
which ]\Iarduk was believed to have given to - man
' British Museum, K. 8522. Pee G. Smith, Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch.,
Vol. IV., p. 303, and pLates 3 and 4.
^ The allusion here is to tlie Fourth Tablet; see above, p. 74.
= British Museum, K. 3304.
THE DUTIES OF MAN. 83
after his creation. The following 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 ;
" Prayer and supplication and bowing low to the
earth,
" Early in the morning shalt thou offer unto
him . . ."
A little further on Marduk continues : —
" The 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]
mercy.
" When thou makest a promise (to give), give and
[hold] not [back]."
In the hymn which 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
> I.e., the Spirits cf tie E.uth^
84 LAST TABLET OF THE POEM.
every conceivable name and title of honour. They
called him " the life of all the gods," " the god of
" pure life," " the bringer of purification," " the god of
" the favouring breeze," " the lord of hearing and mercy,"
" the creator of abundance and mercy, who establishes
" plenteousness, and increases all that is small " ; and it
is also said that when the gods themselves were in sore
distress they felt his favouring breeze. The text con-
tinues in the above strain, referring to his mercy towards
his opponents, his conquest of Tiamat, and his acts of
creation, and Bel and Ea are made to bestow their own
titles upon him. Finally the wise are bidden to ponder
on the story, the father is to teach it to his son, and the
prince or ruler is to listen to its recital. With such an
ode to Marduk as the god of creation the great poem
might fitly conclude.
In addition to the great poem, there is reason to
believe that several different accounts of the creation
were current in Babylonian literature. One such
account is preserved on a broken tablet from Ashur-
bani-xjal's library, which contains a very different
description of the great battle with the dragon to that
given in the Fourth Tablet of the Creation Series. In
this version the fight does not precede the creation of
the world but takes place after man has been created
and cities built. In fact, men and gods are equally
terrified at the dragon's appearance, and it is to de-
liver the lands from the monster that one of the gods
ANOTHER DESCRIPTION OF TIAxMAT. 85
goes out and slays him. The text begins with a
description of the terror which came upon creation at
the advent of Tiamat, who has, however, become a male
monster, and says : —
" The cities sighed, men [groaned aloud],
"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
hand].
" Who was the [great] dragon ?
" Tiamat ^ was the [great] dragon !
" Bel in heaven has formed [his image].
"Fifty kashu^ is his length, one kashtt [is his
breadth],
" Half a rod (?) is his mouth, one rod (?) [his . . .]."
The next few lines continue the description of the
dragon, and give the measurements of other parts of
his body as being " sixty rods " and " sixty-five rods,"
and narrate how he wallowed in the water and lashed
his tail. All the gods in heaven were afraid. 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
himself king. They then appealed to the god Sukh
to undertake the task, but he made excuses. Who
' Here called Tdmtu, "Ibe Sea."
^ The Icatbu is a space tliat can be covered in two houi s' travelling ;
i.e., about six or seven miles.
86 THE dragon's blood.
eventually consented to do battle with the dragon we
do not know, for the text is broken, but it is probable
that in this version also Marduk was the hero. The
end of the composition, in which we find the god,
whoever he may have been, setting out to do battle,
while one of the other gods cries to him in encourage-
ment, has fortunately been preserved ; it reads : —
"'Stir up cloud, storm [and tempest],
" Set the seal of thy life before thy face ^ . . . ,
" 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 dragon and the
amount of his blood are of considerable interest. In
the Creation Series the North wind is said to have
carried the blood away into secret places, and the
prominence given to the dragon's blood in both versions
lends colour to a suggestion that has been made with
regard to 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 com-
mand, cut off his head. The account would afford a
much closer parallel to the legend as we find it on
* I.e., as a protection against the monster.
OTHER VERSIONS OF THE CREATION STORY. 8/
the tablets if we might assume that it was not his
own blood, but that of Tiamat, which Bel used for the
purpose. It is possible that either Polyhistor or
Eusebius, or both, misunderstood the original story.
We have described the great story of the creation
which was current in Assyria during the seventh
century before Christ, as far as its contents can be
ascertained from the fragments that have come down
to us. The numerous tablets and duplicates in-
scribed with the legend, which have been found in
the ruins of Ashur-bani-pal's library, indicate the
important position it held among the religious and
mythological works of the period ; and we are right
in assuming that this version of the creation was the
one most widely accepted during the reigns of the
later 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
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.
Babylonian literature, in fact, comprises fragments of
other myths and legends which give different accounts
of the way in which creation took place, and, as one
of these is of considerable importance, by reason
of the light it throws upon the age and history of
such legends in Babylonia, it will be convenient to
describe it before considerint:^ what connection there
SS THE SUMERIAN STORY OF CREATION.
may have been between the Babylonian poem and the
story of creation in the first chapter of Genesis.
After the great Creation 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
earlier than 600 B.C. It was found at Abu-habbah, the
site of the ancient city of Sippar in Northern Baby-
lonia, in 1882.
The inscription is of great interest, for it is written
in the ancient Sumerian language, and to each line is
attached a translation in Semitic Babylonian. The
account of the creation here given offers few parallels
to the great Creation Series which has been described
above. It is true that the godMarduk is credited with
the creation of the world, but there is 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 built, nor any
veGtetation created — in short, all lands were sea. In
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,
DESCRirXION OF CHAOS. 89
is not intended to be chronological, but is dictated by
the structure of the poem. Otherwise we must assume
that the cities of Eridu and Babj'lon and the temple
E-sagil were the things first created, and that their
creation preceded not only the construction of the cities
of Nippur and Erecli and their temples, but even the
creation of mankind, and the beasts of the field, and
vegetation, and the rivers of Babylonia. j\Iarduk's act
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 expause of waters, and his object in laying in
a dam or embankment 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 ;
" jSTo 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
built ;
*' The Deep had not been created, Eridu had not been
built;
90 THE FORMATION OF DRY LAND.
" Of the pure temple, the temple of the gods, the
habitation had not been made.
" All lands were sea.
" At length there was a movement in the sea,
" Then was Eridu made, and E-sagil was built,
"E-sagil, where in the midst of the Deep the god
Lugal-dul-azaga dwells.
" The city of Babylon was built, and E-sagil was
finished.
" The gods, the Anunnaki, were created at one
time;
" The holy city, the dwelling of their hearts' desire,
they proclaimed supreme.
" Marduk laid a reed upon the face of the waters,
" He formed dust and poured it out upon the reed.
" That he might cause the gods to dwell in the habi-
tation of their hearts' desire,
" He formed mankind.
" The goddess Aruru together with him created the
seed of mankind.
" He formed the beasts of the field and the cattle of
the field.
" He created the Tigris, and the Euphrates, and he
set them in their place,
" Their names he declared to be good.
" The wsA-s/m-plant, the Mttu-plsint of the marsh, the
reed and the forest he created,
" The lands, and the marshes, and the swamps ;
THE CREATION OF MEN AND CITIES. 9 1
" The wild cow and her young, that is the wikl 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 before he had not made,
" he brought into existence.
" trees he created,
" [Bricks] he 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 was to be
recited for the purification of the temple E-zida in
Borsippa. The connection between the legend and the
incantation is not obvious, but the fact that the legend
is found upon an incantation tablet does not detract
from its value, and does not indicate a late date for its
composition. In fact, as will presently be pointed out,
there are grounds for believing that the legend may go
back to a time when Sumerian was still a living
language, and when it was not merely a dead tongue -
92 THE "CUTH^AN LEGEND OF CREATION."
employed in religious ritual and known only to the
scribes.
In tliis connection mention must be made of two
tablets, wliicli are frequently said to contain the
" Cuthsean legend of Creation," and have been thought
to describe a local account of the creation which was
current in the ancient city of Cuthah. It has been
asserted that this legend gives an account of the creation
of the world by Nergal, 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. In
the reign of this king, whose name is 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, the tablets have nothing
whatever to do with the creation or with the fight
l)etween 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
well to give a translation of them. The words of the
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
' Sec Zimmern, Zeitschrift fur Asstjriologie, Bd. XII. (1898), pp.
317 ff.
INVASION OF THE LAND BY MONSTERS. 93
becomes continuous we find a description of the strange
monsters, wliich had invaded the land, in the following-
words : —
"A people who drink 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 is written, nought is left (to
write) .-^ In mine own person
" I went not forth, I did not give them battle.
" A people who have the bodies of birds of the hollow,
men who have the faces of ravens,
" Did the great gods create.
" In the ground the gods created a dwelling for them,
" Tiamat gave them suck,
" The lady of the gods brought them into the world.
" In the midst of the mountain (of the world), they
became strong, they waxed 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.y the city was in confusion, and no business was transacted,
and no records kept.
94 DEFEAT OF THE KING'S FORCES.
" Their second brother was named Med.udu."
The tablet then gives the names of the other five
brethren, all of which are, however, broken. After the
names a gap occurs in the legend, for the beginning of
the second column of the principal tablet is missing.
•Where the story is 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
offered up to them offerings of lambs, which he placed
in rows of seven. The answer of the gods was evidently
favourable, for he decided to engage the enemy ; but
for a space of three years every man he sent against
the foe was destroyed. The text continues : —
" As the first year drew near,
" 120,000 warriors I sent out, but not one of them
returned alive.
" As the second year drew near,
"90,000 warriors I sent out, but not one of them
returned alive.
" As the third year drew near,
" 60,700 warriors I sent out, but not one returned
alive.
" Despairing, powerless, perishing, I was full of woe,
and 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 prosperity to
his country.
HIS FINAL VICTORY. 95
" And a shepherd, who hath brought no prosperity
to his people.
" But this thing will I do. In mine own person
will I go forth !
"The pride of the people of the night I will curse
with death and destruction,
" With fear, terror, . . . and famine,
"... and with misery of every kind ! ' "
The king then foretold the destruction of his enemies
by means, apparently, of a deluge, and before setting
out to meet them he again offered up offerings to the
gods. How he conquered the enemy we do not know,
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
encouragement to any future prince who shall rule over
his kingdom. The king exhorts his successor when in
peril, not to despair, but to take courage from his own
example; in the following words : —
"Thou, 0 king, or ruler, or prince, or 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,
" In the shrine of Nergal have I deposited it for thee.
g6 THE LEGEND OF CUTHAII
" Behold this record, and
" To the words thereof hearken,
" That thou mayest not despair, nor be feeble,
" That thou mayest not 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
silver, and thy goods, and thy possessions,
" [And thy weapons], and thy household stuff,"
The ruler himself is bidden to take heed unto his
own safety, not to go forth nor to draw near his foe.
The meaning of the exhortation seems to be that as in
days of old the gods helped the king of the land and
turned his mourning into victory, so in the future when
the land is in sore trouble and the foe is at the gate the
king is not to despair but to expect that the gods will
help him also.
This legend has for some years been known as " the
Cuthajan legend of Creation," but from the above
translation it will be seen that the description is
inaccurate. It was thought that the poem was spoken
by the god Nergal, who was supposed to be waging war
ao^ainst the brood of Tiamat, and it was assumed that
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. 97
was meaut to be preserved at Cutliali in the shrine 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 him and his land from the
hosts of the monsters. It is true that in the descrip-
tion of the monsters, some of which had the bodies
of birds and others the heads of ravens, Tiamat is
mentioned as having suckled them ; but this state-
ment hardly affords sufficient evidence to justify their
identification with her monster brood which has already
been described in the Creation story. It is more
probable that Tiamat is 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
fragment of a Babylonian tablet preserved in the
Imperial Ottoman Museum at Constantinople was
published,^ which contains part of a copy of this legend ;
the inscription upon it is a parallel and not a duplicate
text. If, as has been stated, this fragment belongs to
the old Babylonian period, it will afford valuable
evidence of the early existence of these legends in
Babylonia.
The great Babylonian legend of creation has been
' See Scheil, Becueil de Travaux, Vol. XX., p. 65 f.
B.U3. KEL. - H
98 DATE OF THE CREATION LEGENDS.
examined and its variant forms have been traced, so far
as tliey can be restored from late Assyrian and Baby-
lonian tablets, and from the extract from the history
of Berosus which has come down to us. Not one 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 ? In other
words. Were they composed by the priestly scribes who
had them written upon the actual tablets which we
possess, or did these scribes simply copy the documents
belonging to an older period ? And, if the scribes of
the seventh century were mere copyists and not com-
posers, we must also ask, To what period must we
assign the origin of the old texts which they copied ?
These questions can, fortunately, be decided by a careful
examination of the available evidence.
The first question is best answered by considering
the various forms which the Creation legends assume
on different tablets. Were the legends brand-new com-
jDOsitions of the seventh century we should expect to
find all the copies which were written at the 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
word for word, and these were, no doubt, made from
some common archetype. But we also possess another
INDICATIONS OF THEIR EARLY ORIGIN. 99
tablet from Ashur-bani-pal's library, which gives quite
a different account of the struggle with Tiamat. The
tablet has been already referred to/ and we have seen
that on it the fight is described as taking place after
and not before creation, and that Tiamat's body is not
used to form the vault of heaven ; moreover, the dragon
is a male and not a female monster, and the description
of it is quite different from that in the Creation Series ;
and finally another god than Anu is first of all asked
to go forth and slay her. Other events differently
described may have been narrated on the tablet, for
only a fragment of it has been preserved ; but those that
we have enumerated are suf&cient to prove our point.
Such variant forms of the same story cannot have
arisen in one generation. They presuppose many
centuries of tradition, during which the two accounts
were handed down independently. Though the two
stories were derived from a common original, they
were related in different cities in different ways. At
first they were probably identical in form, but in
course of time variations crept in, and two or more
forms of the story were developed along different lines.
The process must have been gradual, and the resultant
forms of the story afford sufficient evidence as to the
great age of their common ancestor. That they were
found together in Ashur-bani-pal's library is to be
explained as the result of that monarch's energy
' See pp. 8i ff.
100 EVIDENCE FROM SEPARATE VERSIONS.
in scouring the country for literary and religious
works.
A similar conclusion follows if we compare the two
separate and distinct versions of the creation which
have also been described above.^ In both of them
Marduk is the creator of the world, but, while the
great Creation Series 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
there is no trace of such a conflict, nor is the dragon
Tiamat even mentioned. In this tablet 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
creation of the world. The so-called " Cuthsean legend
of Creation " cannot be cited as a true variant form of
the legend, for, as we have seen, it is not a creation
legend at all, but a story of an old Babylonian king.
It contains a reference to the 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. But,
* I.e., the great Creation Series on pp. 61 IT., and the Sumerian
version of the Creation on pp. 88 IT.
2 See p. 97.
EVIDENCE FROM SCULPTURE. lOI
even if we leave the Ciithfean tablet out of account
altogether, 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
date offered by tlie legends themselves. Additional
evidence, pointing in the same direction, is afforded by .
a study of certain aspects of Babylonian and Assyrian
art. In a temple built by Ashur-niitsir-pal at Nimrud,
the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Calah, there
was found a slab sculptured in relief with a represen-
tation of the fight between Marduk and Tiamat.^ The
monster, half bird, half lion, turns roaring in anger
towards the god who, in human form and borne upon
four wings, swoops down to give battle. Now Ashur-
natsir-pal reigned from B.C. 884 to B.C. 860, so that
we 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
for engraving upon cylinder-seals. Numbers of these
have been found, and many give quite different repre-
sentations of Tiamat. The god Marduk is generally
represented in human form with wings, but the
' In the British Museum, Nimroud Gallcrj', Xos. 28 and 29. See
the illustration on p. 75.
102
EVIDENCE FROM CYLINDER-SEALS.
monster assumes many guises. Sometimes slie is
pictured as a winged and human-headed 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-
seals she figures 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
The god Marfuk armed with the thumlerbolt ami other weapons standing on the
bact of 'rirmiat and slaying her. (From a cylinder-seal, in tUe British Museum,
No. b9 5890
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, i.e., from about
B.C. 700 to B.C. 300 ; a few, however, are archaic
in style and may be assigned to a somewhat earlier
date. But without laying too much stress on the
possibly early date of some of them, the great variety
' For reproductions of several cylinder-seals of this class, see the
Collection de Ctercq, Plates xxix. ff.
EVIDENCE FROM HISTORICAL INSCRIPTIONS. I03
of treatment of the same subject which they present
certainly points to the existence of many variant forms
of the legend, and so indirectly bears witness to its
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 earlier periods of Babylonian history. In the
copy of an inscription of Agum, an early Babylonian
king, who flourished not later than the seventeenth
century before Christ, we have, fortunately, an allusion
to the dragon-myth of Babylonia. Now although we
do not possess an actual inscription of this king's
reign, the copy of one in the British Museum, which,
we know, was made for Ashur-bani-pal,^ is to all
intents and purposes just as good. From this we
learn that 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
the land of Khani which lay to the north-west of
Babylonia. The statues were carried to the temple
E-sagil in Babylon, and with much pomp and ceremony
were re-installed in their shrines. Agum recounts
at length the sumptuous temple furniture which he
caused to be made for this occasion, and also the
' Published in Cuneiform Imcriptions of Western Asia, Vol. V.,
plate 33.
104 AGUM S TEMPLE-FURNITURE.
apparel and head-dresses for the statues of these gods,
which he caused to be made of fine gold and inlaid
with precious stones. In the shrine itself, he tells
us, he also set a dragon, which must have resembled
those made at a later time by Nebuchadnezzar and
Neriglissar,^ and that this dragon was connected with
Tiamat of the Creation legend is clear from the fact
that along with her he also set up figures of monsters,
including vipers, and monsters called lakhmic, and a
ram, and a hurricane, and a raging hound, and a fish-
man, and a goat-fish. The list of the eleven classes
of monsters in the Creation Series gives us monster-
serpents, and monster-vipers, and a viper, and a
dragon, and monsters called lahhamu, and a hurricane,
and a raging hound, and a scorpion-man, and tem-
pests, and a fish-man, and rams. AVe are not here
concerned with the astrological 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 may be seen in
^ When Nebuchadnezzar II. set up colossal serpents in the gate-
wa3's of Babylon in the sixth century before Christ, and when Neri-
glissar, his successor, set up eight such serpents whicli he had made
of bronze and coated with silver, it is tolerably clear that these figures
were intended to represent the dragon of the Creation story.
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
temple. In Marduk's shrine, beside the great serpent
he set what he terms a tamtu, or " sea " ; this was,
no doubt, a large basin, or "laver," similar to the
brazen sea of Solomon's temple which stood upon
twelve oxen.^ Such a vessel, as its name indicates,
was symbolical of the abyss of water personified in the
legend by Apsu and Tiiimat, and its mention in the
inscription in such close connection with the dragon
and the brood of monsters is peculiarly significant.
Similar vessels, called apse, i.e., "abysses," or "deeps,"
as we know from other inscriptions, were placed in the
temples of Babylonia from the earliest periods. Bur-
Sin, a king of Ur who lived about B.C. 2500, erected
for the god Enki, or Ea, a zu-ah Tci-ag-ga-ni, " an abyss
"" that was dear to him " ; ^ and in the reign of Ur-Xina,
an ancient Sumerian king of Shirpurla, and one of the
■earliest rulers of that city whose names have come
down to us, such vessels were already used in religious
ceremonies. The latter 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-ctb gal, or "great " abyss." ^
' 1 Kings vii. 23 ff.
- The tablet containing this record is iiublislied in Gun. Inscr. of
We4. Asia, Vol. I., plate 3, No. XII. (1).
' See De Sarzec, D^couiertes en Chaldee, plate II., No. 1, Col. III.,
a. 5 f.
I06 SUMERIAN INFLUENCE.
The fact that at these early periods Ur-Nina and Bur-
Sin provided their temples with "seas" and "deeps,"
i.e., lavers, does not, of course, prove that the Creation
legends were current among the Sumerians in the forms
in which we find them on Assyrian tablets of the
seventh century before Christ. But the references at
least indicate the source and period to which the legends
may be traced. 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 probable, therefore, that from the Sumerians
also they took their ideas of the creation of the world.
We know that at the time of Khammurabi the Semitic
scribes copied out and studied Sumerian religious
texts, and from the ancient libraries of 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. The shorter ver-
sion of the creation inscribed upon a Neo-Babyloniau
tablet is, 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. IC/
to compose in the Sunierian language, that version of
the Creation story may well have been copied from
an early original Sunierian 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
legends. Meanwhile the evidence available is sufficient
to show that the legends of the creation current in
Assyria and Babylonia during the seventh and succeed-
ing centuries before Christ were based upon archetypes
the existence of which may date from Sumerian times.
The actual 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 legends, and it has
been seen that this evidence is corroborated by the
traces which the legends have left in Babylonian and
I08 BABYLONIAN AND HEBREW NARRATIVES.
Assyrian art, and by certain indirect references to
them in some early historical inscriptions. The ex-
tracts given 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
made as literal as possible, the reader has been able
to form his own opinion as to the nature of the
resemblance which may be detected between these
ancient Babylonian stories and the account of the
creation in the Book of Genesis. It now remains to con-
sider what connection there is between the Hebrew and
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
necessary to read the tablets to be struck by their
resemblance to the Biblical narrative in many par-
ticulars ; the question now to be decided is, In what
does this connection consist ? Three possible solutions
of the problem suggest themselves : (1) The Baby-
lonians may have derived their legends from the
Hebrews ; (2) both Babylonians and Hebrews, as
different branches of the same Semitic race, may have
inherited the legends from a common ancestral stock ;
and (3) the Hebrews may have derived their legends
from Babylonia. Of these possible solutions the first
may be dismissed at once. During whatever period of
their history the inhabitants of Mesopotamia came in
contact with the peoples of the Mediterranean coast,
THE REASON OF THEIR RESEMBLANCE. IC9
tliey 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 in-
conceivable, therefore, that they should have borrowed
their sacred traditions from a race they considered
inferior to themselves ; moreover, the existence of the
legends in Babylonia has been traced to a very early
period, before any contact between the Babylonians and
the Hebrews can have taken place. The second theory
has far more to recommend it, and has met with warm
supporters. It has been urged that, coming of the
same stock, both Babylonians and Hebrews possessed
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
impossible for them to have other than a Babylonian
origin. In the account of the Flood given in Genesis,
which will be referred to in the following chapter, the
Babylonian origin is still more apparent. We are,
therefore, reduced to the third solution as being the
most probable 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 think, be put down to Babylonian
influence. We may then ask, At what time, and by
no THE IIEXATEUCH.
what means, was this influence exerted which has left
its traces on the Hebrew story in Genesis ?
The critical study of the text of Genesis has shown
that this book, like the rest of the Pentateuch, is not
from the pen of a single writer, and that it is made
vip of a number of separate works. In the earlier
periods of Hebrew history these works had not been
woven into a continuous narrative, and they were not
in the form in which they are now known to us ; each
work had a separate existence. 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 same event, and in diffi-
culties in chronology, and the like. A careful study of
the Hebrew text by scholars throughout the present
century ^ 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
is easy to explain the repetitions which the combined
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 names for God which they
' Cf. Cheyue, Founders of Old Testament Criticism : Biographical,
T>e"rijtiee, and Critical Studitt (Loudon, 1893).
ITS COMPOSITE CHARACTER. Ill
employ, etc. One of these works was used to form
the groundwork of the " Hexateuch/' or first six books
of the Bible, and it was well adapted for the purpose,
inasmuch as it presented an orderly system of chro-
nology. It dealt with the laws and customs of the
people, and explained their origin ; and from the
general nature of its contents it is usually termed
the " Priestly writing," or the " Priests' code." The
other two books which were incorporated with this
"Priestly writing," dealt with the legends and early
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-
tinguished by the names " Jehovist " and " Elohist,"
from the fact that in one of them the Divine name
employed is Jahweh or Jehovah, translated as " the
Lord " in the Authorized Version ; while in the other
it is Elohim, which is translated as " God."
It is needless for our purpose to discuss here the
relations which these three works bear to one another,
or to enumerate any additional documents of which
use was made in the Hexateuch. It will suffice to
state that in the early chapters of Genesis, two only,
of the three writings referred to, have been used
— the " Priestly writing " ^ and the " Jehovistic
' The "Priestly writing" also makes use of the word ElGhitn
for " God."
112 THE BIBLICAL VERSIONS OF CREATION.
narrative."^ Thus the account of the creation in
Genesis i. 1 — ii. 4 (first half of the verse) is from the
former writing, and contains a complete account of the
history of creation in a series of successive acts. The
story of the garden of Eden, which follows in chapters
ii. 4 (second half of the verse) — iii. 24, is taken from
the "Jehovistic narrative," and it gives another ac-
count of creation which is not marked by the literary
•^precision and balanced structure of the first chapter.
That account had given a complete description of the
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 nar-
rates their creation. If we compare these accounts
with the two principal traditions of the creation pre-
served in Babylonian literature, and which we have
already described,^ we see that the account in the
first chapter agrees more closely with the longer
Babylonian narrative than with the shorter; on the
other hand the earlier part of the story of the
garden of Eden, both in its structure and in several
of its phrases, is 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 Book of Genesis
on these lines is given in Prof. Driver's Introduction to the Literature
of the Old Testament, (Gth ed.), pp. 14 ff.
- See above, pp. Gl if., and 88 ff.
THE GARDEN OF EDEN.
II
mytliology ; it has, however, been 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 repre-
sentation of the story of the temptation of Eve ; but
as no cuneiform text in support of this view has been
forthcoming, the identification of the female figure
Imprpsslon of a cylinder-seal representing a uiaie and a female figure seated near
a sacred tree ; betiind the woman is a serpent. (British Museum, No. 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, Amer. Juur. Semit. Lavg., Yol. XT., No. 4 (July, 1899).
T,kV: EEL. 1
114 JEWS AND BABYLONIANS.
the creation, some advanced critics hold that the Jews
heard the Babylonian stories for the first time during
their exile in Babylon, and that on their return from
captivity they brought them back with them and
incorporated them in their sacred writings. Against
this assumption it has been urged that it is hardly
likely the captive Jews would have adopted strange
legends from their conquerors, and raised them to a
jplace of honour among their national traditions. But,
apart from this consideration, such an assumption is
not necessary in order to explain the resemblances —
indeed it is hardly admissible, for it takes no account of
the striking differences and variations which the narra-
tives present. Moreover, in many passages throughout
the Old Testament, we 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 is thought to inhabit the deep. Thus
the prophet Amos, describing how none shall escape
God's hands when He comes 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 my sight in the bottom
" of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and
- " he shall bite them." ^ This serpent or dragon is
sometimes referred to as " Leviathan " or " Eahab,"
> Amos ix. 3.
TRACES OF THE DRAGON-MYTII. II5
and in several passages allusion is made to a battle
with tlie dragon of the deep, in which the dragon
was pierced or slain, "Awake, awake, put on strength,
" 0 arm of the Lord ; awake, as in the days of old,
" the generations of ancient times. Art thon not it
" that cut Eahab in pieces, that pierced the dragon ? " ^
Here the allusion to a battle with a dragon, that took
place " in days of old," is unmistakable. " Thou didst
" divide " (Heb. " break 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 in the following
passage from the Book of Job the connection of the
dragon with the deep is brought out : ^ " He stirreth
" lip the sea with his power, and by his understanding
" he smiteth through Eahab. By his spirit the heavens
" are garnished ; his hand has pierced the swift serpent."'*
In the last sentence quoted the parallelism between
the garnishing of the heavens and the piercing of the
serpent recalls the Babylonian myth, in which Marduk
formed the heavens from half of the dragon's body.
A phrase in an earlier chapter of Job appears to reflect
another episode of the Babylonian legend ; in the.
course of a description of the power of God in com-
parison with man's impotence it is stated : " God will
' Isaiah li. 9. 2 Psalm Ixxiv. 13 f.
* See also Psalm Lxxxis. 0 f. * Job xxvi. 12 f.
Il6 RAHAB AND LEVIATHAN.
" not withdraw liis anger ; the helpers of Eahab do
" stoop under him." ^ The " helpers of Eahab," stooping
beneath their conqueror, call to mind " the gods, her
" helpers," who went at the side of Tiamat, and shared
her defeat.
It is doubtful if the Babylonian form of the name
Eahab has been found in a synonym employed for
the dragon on one of the creation fragments,^ but at
least the conception and description of the monster
may be regarded as based on the Babylonian myth.
Egypt is sometimes referred" to as Eahab,^ but this
application of the term does not conflict with its
Babylonian origin. The origin of the kindred monster
" Behemoth " may, on the other hand, be rightly
traced to Egypt, for many of the characteristics assigned
to him in Job xl. 15 ff., are evidently taken from the
liippopotamus ; while the picture of Leviathan, which
immediately follows that of Behemoth, offers a distinct
contrast to it, and would not be inappropriate as a
description of the monster Tiamat. In the passages
cited above a dragon-myth is clearly and unmistakably
referred to. The passages are poetical, and the language
is to a great extent figurative and symbolical; the
figures and symbols employed, however, are drawn
from mythology, and presuppose a Jvuowledge of the
legend. Traces of the myth may perhaps also be been
* Job ix. 13. ^ See Gunkel's Schopfung mid Chaos, pp. 29 and 418.
' See Psalm Ixxxvii. -l, ami I-.aiali xxx. 7.
TERIOD OF BABYLONIAN INFLUENCE. 11/
in certain phrases or expressions, as in Gen. xlix. 23,
where the expression " the deep that coucheth beneath "
seems to suggest the picture of a beast about to spring-.
But it is very easy to press imagery too far, and to
see mythological references in pictures suggested to
the poet by his own observations of nature. If, how-
ever, we select only those passages in the Old Testament,
in which the dragon-myth is definitely referred to,
we have sufficient evidence to show that the myth
must have been familiar to the Hebrews lono- before
the exile.
It now remains to enquire at what period before the
exile these legends from Babylon could have reached
the Hebrews. The question is one that does not admit
of any certain or definite answer, but it is permissible at
least to search for any evidence on which a conjectural
theory may be based. Such evidence is furnished by
one of the most surprising discoveries of Babylonian
tablets that has .been made during recent years. In
1887 at Tell el-Amarna, a village in Upper Egypt on
the east bank of the Nile, 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 built by Khu-en-aten, or
Amenophis IV., who was king of Egypt about B.C. 1500.
The finding of these Babylonian tablets on Egyptian
soil was of the greatest historical interest, and has con-
siderably modified the notions generally held up to the
Il8 THE TELL EL-AM ARNA TABLETS.
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, Amcnophis III. and IV., and contem-
porary kings of countries and districts of Western Asia ;
others proved to be letters and reports addressed by
2:)vinces 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 culture during the
XVth century B.C. That correspondence between kings
of Assyria, or Babylon, and Egypt should be conducted
in the Babylonian language is not so very surprising,
but that governors of Egyptian cities and provinces on
the Mediterranean coast should make their reports in the
same tongue shows that a knowledge of Babylonian was
common throughout Western Asia, and that the Baby-
lonian language, like French 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 its language, and that this
was the case there is conclusive evidence among the
Tell el-Amarna tablets themselves. Two of these docu-
ments, in fact, are not letters or reports, but relate to
Babylonian legends, one containing a legend concerning
BABYLON AND WESTERN ASIA. II9
the goddess Eresbkigal, the other insciibed with the
legend of Adapa.^ It is clear, therefore, that the legends
of 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
with them. We may conclude, therefore, that the Baby-
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 i
intercourse with its previous inhabitants, it is not im-
probable that they received from them many of the
legends and myths, which they in their turn had derived
from Babylon.
It has even been suggested that the Hebrews of a
still earlier time, during the patriarchal period, may
have acquired the legends by direct contact with Baby-
lonia. Tradition held that Terah, the ancestor of the
Israelites, had dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees,^ which
is now generally identified with the city of Ur in South-
ern Babylonia, and it is urged that Abraham, Terah's son,
when migrating from Mesopotamia to Canaan may have
carried with him the legends of the land of his nativity.
If this were so, however, we should expect to find more
frequent references to them among the earlier literature
of the Hebrews, and it seems to be more probable that
the acquisition of the legends should be assigned to a
time subsequent to the conquest of Canaan. At some
» See below, pp. ISS if. ^ Gen. xi. 28.
120 THE JEWS OF THE CAPTIVITY.
unknown period, then, whether by inheritance from the
Canaanites or by contact with Babylonia itself, we may
assume that the Hebrews acquired the Babylonian
legends which we find incorporated in their national
traditions. In the absence of any positive information
one point, at least, is clear, that is to say, the Jews of
the exile did not come across Babylonian mythology as
an entirely new and unfamiliar subject, much of which
they adopted and modified on their return to Jerusalem.
It is possible that their sojourn in Babylon during the
captivity may have given an impetus to their study of
the Ijaby Ionian elements in their own traditions, but the
wide differences which these present to the forms of
the corresponding legends that have been recovered in
the cuneiform inscriptions forbid the supposition that
they were 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 is singularly
instructive. From the 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 STORY OF THE DELUGE.
In the traditions of many races scattered in various
parts of the world is to be found a story, under many
different forms and -^-ith many variations, of a great
Hood or deluge which in former times inundated and
laid waste the land in which they dwelt. The explana-
tion that such traditions refer to a universal deluge
which took place in the early ages of the world, is
now generally regarded as inadmissible, inasmuch as
there is no trace of such a catastrophe in the earth's
geological formation. Moreover science has shown
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 inunda-
tion, and amongst such races it would be surprising if
122 THE BABYLONIAN DELUGE STORY
we did not find stories of past floods from wliich but
few dwellers in the land escaped. It is probable, how-
ever, that the story of the flood in Genesis is responsible
for some of the deluge legends, though it is now certain
that the Biblical story itself is 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 summary of the
Babylonian version of the deluge. According to this
account, ten Babylonian kings reigned before the
deluge, which occurred in the reign of a king named
Xisuthros. To 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
friends and relations, and every kind of bird and beast.
Xisuthros did as the god told him, and the flood came
upon the earth. After the flood had begun to abate,
^visiithros 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
out, and this time they came back with mud upon their
feet. The third time he sent them out they did not
return. He therefore came forth from the vessel, with
his wife, his daughter, and tlie pilot, and upon the side
1 See Euseljius, Citron. T., ed. Schoene, col. 20 ff.
ACCORDIXG TO BEROSUS. I 23
of the mountain upon which the ship \yas stranded he
offered a sacrifice, and immediately he and his three
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
him by name. He did not appear to them, however,
though they heard his voice telling them that he and
his companions were now living with the gods.
Xisuthros further informed them that the land they
were in was called Armenia, and he told them to return
to Babylonia and to search for and recover the writings
hidden at Sippar. Those that were left carried out
his instructions, and found the writings and built
cities ; and thus Babylon was again inhabited.
This legend preserved from the history of Berosus
was long supposed to have taken its colouring from the
account in Genesis, but it is now admitted that Berosus
derived the story from Babylonian sources. On the
tablets from Ashur-bani-pal's library a very complete
form of the legend has been recovered. These tablets
date from the seventh century B.C., and the story told
on them appears as part of a great poem concerning an
ancient hero named Gilgamesh. The poem was divided
into twelve sections, each of which was written upon a
separate tablet ; these are described in detail in the
following chapter. It must here suffice to point out
that many of the stories comprised in the poem have
no organic connection with the original legend of the
124 TSiT-NAPISHTIM'S STORY.
hero. Gilgamesh was the most prominent heroic figure
in Babylonian mythology, and, as with many heroes of
the past, his name has formed a centre around which
stories and legends of quite distinct origin have
gathered in the course of time. One such legend is the
story of the deluge which occurs on the Eleventh
Tablet of the series. The story, of which we give a
translation, loses nothing by being taken from its
context. It there 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 Gilga-
mesh is sufficiently clear from the artificial manner of
its introduction, but, if farther 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 Dynasty of Babylon, and
may therefore be roughly ascribed to about B.C. 2100.
It was found during the excavations that were recently
undertaken by the Turkish Government at Abu-
liabbah, the site of the ancient city of Sippar, and no
doubt it 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 on
each side of the tablet. In the second column of the
tablet a god appears to be giving directions for sending
destruction upon men, while in the seventh column,
towards the end of the tablet, the god Ea remonstrates
with this deity for sending the deluge and destroying-
mankind ; in the last line but one of the text, more-
over, the name Atrakhasis occurs.-^ So little has been
preserved of the tablet, however, that its chief interest
is derived from the note, or colophon, with which lb
concludes. Erom this we learn two very important
facts : (1) the name of the composition of which the
tablet forms a part, and (2) the date at which the tablet
was written. With regard to the first of these points
vre find that the story is not described as the Eleventh
Tablet of the poem of Gilgamesh, but as the Second
Tablet of quite a different composition. We have thus
direct evidence that it was inserted into the former
poem at a comparatively late period of its literary
development. Of still greater interest is the date of
the writing of the 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
» See Scheil, Recueil de Tmmux, Vol. XX. (1S98), pp. 55 fi".
126 THE NARRATIVE OF BEROSUS COMPARED.
tablet which was written more than 1300 years before
Ashur-bani-pal's time, the internal evidence furnished
by the late Assyrian tablets is amply corroborated.
Eeturning to the account of the deluge preserved in
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 narra-
tive 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
records. The warning of Xisuthros by Chronos, how-
ever, corresponds to that of Tsit-napishtim by Ea, and
the name Xisuthros finds its equivalent in Atrakhasis,
or Khasisatra, a name by which Tsit-napishtim is
referred to in the speech of Ea at the end of the story.
Both heroes, moreover, are deified after coming forth
from the ship. With regard to the name Tsit-napishtim,
it must be mentioned that the reading of the first part
of the name is still a matter of conjecture, and that
some scholars render it Par-napishtim ; whichever be
TSiT-NAPISHTIM AND ATRAKHASIS. 12/
correct the meaning of the name appears to be '' the
" offspring of life." It has ah'eady been stated that Ea
refers to Tsit-napishtim by the name Atrakhasis, which
means " abounding in wisdom " ; and a theory has
recently been put forward to account for the occurrence
of these two names for the hero of the legend. Accord-
ing to it ^ the story of the deluge in the Gilgamesh epic
is made up of two legends which have been interwoven.
One was a nature myth describing a universal deluge,
and the other a local legend referring to the destruction
of a single city. Atrakhasis is the hero of the nature
myth, and Tsit-napishtim, " the man of Shurippak," is
the hero of the local legend ; while both names are given
to the hero in the story, as told in the poem of Gilga-
mesh. The theory is ingenious, but it lacks evidence.
Eefore 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.'-^ The whole
story is put into the mouth of Tsit-napishtim, who tells
it to Gilgamesh, without interruption, from beginning
to end. He begins by describing how the gods in
council, in the city of Shurippak, decided to send a
deluge upon the earth, and how Ea revealed the secret
'' See Jastrow, Zeiischrift fiir AfsyrioJogie, Bd. XIII. (1899), pp.
288 ff.
^ Cf Jerraeias, Jzduhar-Nimrod. pp. 32 fi'. ; Jensen, Die Kosmologie
der Babyloiiitr. pp. 307 fl'. ; and Zimmern iu Guukel's Schopfung und
Chaos, pp. 423 tt.
128 THE GODS AND THE DELUGE.
to Tsit-napishtim, one of the dwellers in the town.
The opening lines of Ea's address to Tsit-napishtim,
which begins, " 0 reed-hut, reed-hut ! 0 wall, wall !
" 0 reed-hut, hear ! 0 wall, understand ! " has proved
a leather puzzling passage to commentators, for it is not
quite obvious why Ea should address a dwelling in this
manner when he gives his warning to Tsit-napishtim.
The best explanation of the passage seems to be that
Ea, before speaking to Tsit-napishtim, first addresses
the hut in which he is sleeping. We know from the
end of the story that Ea levealed the secret to Tsit-
napishtim in a vision, and in view of the passage in
Ea's speech, it is not unnatural to suppose that Tsit-
napishtim was sleeping at the time in a hut built of
reeds, a common form of dwelling among the poorer
inhabitants of Babylonia.
Tsit-napishtim begins his story thus : —
" I will reveal to thee, 0 Gilgamesh, the hidden
word,
*' And the decision of the gods will I declare to thee.
" Shurippak, a city which thou knowest,
" Which lieth on the bank of the Euphrates,
" That city was old ; and the gods within it,
'■ Their hearts prompted the great gods to send a
deluge.^
'•' There was their father Anu,
" And their counsellor the warrior Bel,
' I.e., upon the city and Oiankind.
EAS WARNING TO TSIT-NAPISHTIM. 129
" And their messenger Ninib,
" And their governor Ennugi.
" The lord of wisdom, Ea, sat also with them,
" And he repeated their purpose to the hut of reeds,
(saying) :
" ' 0 reed-hut, reed-hut ! 0 wall, wall !
" 0 reed-hut, hear ! 0 wall, understand !
" Thou man of Shurippak,^ son of Ubara-Tutu,
" Pull down thy house, build a ship,
"Eorsake thy possessions, take heed for thy life !
" Abandon thy goods, save thy life,
"And bring up living seed of every kind into the
ship.
" As for the ship, which thou shalt build,
" Well planned must be its dimensions,
" Its breadth and its length shall bear proportion
each to each,
"And thou shalt launch it in the ocean! '
" I took heed, and spake unto Ea, my lord, (saying) :
" ' [The command], 0 my lord, which thou hast given,
" I will honour, and will fulfil.
" But how shall I make answer unto the city, the
people and the elders thereof ? '
" Ea opened his mouth and spake,
"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., Tbit-napislitim.
BAB. REL. K
130 EAS INSTRUCTIONS,
" And I can no longer live in your city ;
" Nor on Bel's earth can I any longer lay my head.
" I will therefore go down to the deep and dwell with
my lord Ea.' "
The next few lines, which contain the end of the
answer which Tsit-napishtim is to give to the people,
are broken, and their meaning is not quite plain.
The general drift of the passage seems to be that
his departure will bring blessings on the land he
is leaving, for Bel will shower down upon it multi-
tudes of birds and fish, and will grant a plenteous
harvest. They will know when to expect their pros-
perity, for Shamash has set an appointed time, when
the lord of darkness, the god Eamman, will pour down
upon them an abundant rain. According to this
interpretation Tsit-napishtim is ordered to allay any
misgivings that his fellow citizens may feel by
assuring them beforehand that the signs of the deluge
are marks of coming prosperity, and not of destruction.
Some explain the passage by assuming that Tsit-
napishtim is to make no secret of the coming deluge,
but to foretell its advent and the destruction of all
living things including birds and fish. 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 SHIP.
I^I
on another tablet, of which only a fragment has
been recovered. According to this version Ea told
him to watch 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
his household and handicraftsmen, together with certain
cattle and beasts of the field. In his answer to the
god Tsit-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 cylinder-seal iu the British Museum, No. 89,349.)
therefore asks the god to trace out a plan of the
vessel upon the ground. At this point the version
breaks off.
After receiving Ea's commands Tsit-napishtim col-
lected the wood and the materials necessary for the
construction of the ship for four whole days, and
on the fifth day he laid it down. He made the hull
in the form of a flat-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
132 THE EMBARKATION.
lie divided into six stories, and eacli story contained
nine rooms. The outside of the ship he rendered
watertight by pouring six measures of bitumen over
it, and the inside lie smeared with pitch. He then
caused oil to be brought and he slaughtered oxen ;
and, after filling jars with sesame-wine, and oil, and
grape- wine, he held a feast " like that of New Year's
" Day." On the seventh day the ship was ready, and
Tsit-napishtim then hastened to carry out I^a's instruc-
tions, and to fill it with all that he possessed. The
narrative continues : —
" With all that I had I filled it.
"With all the silver I had, I filled it,
" With all the gold I had, I filled it,
" With all living seed of every kind that I possessed,
I filled it.
" I brought up into the ship all my family and
household,
" The cattle of the field, and the beasts of the field,
the handicraftsmen — all of them I brought in.
" A fixed time Shamash had appointed, (saying) :
" ' The lord of darkness will at eventide send a heavy
rain ;
'■' Then go into the ship, and shut thy door.'
" The appointed season arrived, and
" The ruler of the darkness sent at eventide a heavy
rain.
" Of the storm I saw the beginning;
THE COMING 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 tlie ship, to Puzur-Bel the sailor,
"I committed the great building,^ and the contents
thereof.
" When the early dawn appeared,
" There came up from the horizon a black cloud.
" Eamman in the midst thereof thundered,
*' And Nabu and Marduk went before,
"They passed like messengers over mountain and
country.
" Uragal parted the anchor-cable.
" There went Ninib, and he made the storm to
burst.
" The Anunnaki carried flaming torches,
" And 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
rose, and all was confusion; men by reason of the
darkness could see nothing, and they perished miserably.
The text continues : —
" No man beheld his fellow,
" Xo longer could men know each other. In
heaven
' I.e., the sliip.
134 ishtar's lamentation.
" The gods were afraid of the deluge,
" They retreated, they went up into the heaven of Anu.
" The gods crouched down like hounds,
" 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) :
" ' The old race of man hath been turned back into
clay,
" Because I assented to an evil thing in the council
of the gods !
" Alas ! I have assented to an evil thing in the
council of the gods,
" And agreed to a storm which hath destroyed my
people !
" That which I brought forth — where is it ?
" Like the spawn of 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
"The wind blew, and the deluge and the tempest
overwhelmed the land.
" When the seventh day drew nigh, then ceased the
tempest and the deluge, and the storm,
" Which had fought like a host.
" Then the sea became quiet and it went down ; and
the hurricane and the deluge ceased.
THE STRANDING OF THE SHIP. 1.35
" I looked upon the sea and cried aloud,
" For all mankind was turned back into clay.
" In place of the fields a swamp lay before me.
" I opened the window and the light fell upon my
cheek ;
" I bowed myself down, I sat down, I wept ;
" Over my cheek flowed my tears.
" I looked upon the world, and behold all was sea.
" After twelve (days ?) the land appeared,
" 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 fast.
" The third day, the fourth day, the mountain Nitsir
held the ship fast.
"The fifth day, 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 thither,
" But there was no resting-place (for her) and she
returned.
" Then I sent out a swallow, and let her go forth.
" The swallow flew hither and thither,
" But there was no resting-place (for her) and she
returned.
" Then I sent out a raven and let her go forth.
J36 THE SACRIFICE.
" The raven flew away and beheld the abatement of
the waters,
"And she came near, wading and croaking, but did
not return.
" Then I brought (all) out unto the four winds, I
offered an offering,
" I made a libation on the peak of the mountain.
" By 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,
" The gods gathered like flies about him that offered
up the sacrifice.
" Then the Lady of the gods drew nigh,
" And she lifted up the great jewels, which Anu had
made according to her wish, (and said) :
" * What gods these are ! By the jewels of lapis
lazuli which are upon my neck, I will not
forget !
" These days I have set in my memory, never will I
forget them !
" Let the gods come to the offering,
" But Bel shall not come to the offering,
" Since he refused to ask counsel and sent the deluc^e,
" And handed over my people unto destruction.'
"Xow when Bel drew nigh,
" He saw the ship, and he was very wro;h ;
ea's protest. 137 I
I
" He was filled with anger against the gods, the Igigi,
(saying) :
" ' Who then hath escaped with his life ?
•'' Xo man shall live after the destruction ! '
" Then Ninib opened his month and spake,
" And said to the warrior Bel,
" ' Who but Ea could have done this thing ?
"' For Ea knoweth every matter ! '
" Then Ea opened his mouth and spake,
" And said to the warrior Bel,
" ' Thou art the governor of the gods, 0 warrior,
" But thou wouldst not take counsel and thou hast
sent the deluge !
" On the sinner visit his sin, and
*' On the transgressor visit his transgression ;
" Bu't hold thy hand, that all be not destroyed !
" And forbear (?), that all be not [confounded] !
" Instead of sending a deluge,
*' 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 1
" 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, and (thus) he
heard the purpose of the gods.'
138 DEIFICATION OF TSIT-NAPISIITIM.
" Thereupon Bel arrived at a decision,
" And he went up into the ship.
" He took my hand and brought me forth,
" He brought my wife forth, he made her to kneel
at my side,
"He turned towards us, he stood between us, he
blessed us, (saying) :
" ' Hitherto hath Tsit-napishtim been of mankind,
"But now let Tsit-napishtim be like unto the gods,
even us,
" And let Tsit-napishtim dwell afar off at the mouth
of the river ! '
" Then they took me, and afar off, at the mouth of
the rivers, they made me to dwell."
The reader will now have gained a notion of the
form of the deluge story current in Assyria during
the seventh century B.C., but, before comparing it with
the Biblical account, it will be necessary to consider the
following facts. The Biblical story is contained in
Gen. vi. 9 — ix. 17, and, like the stories of the creation
given in the first and second chapters of that book,
is taken from two separate writings — the "Priestly
" writing " and the " Jehovist narrative," brief de-
scriptions of which have already been given.^ In the
case of the accounts of the creation we have seen that
the two stories were not interwoven one with the other,
and that one was first given and then the other. In
' See above, pp. 110 f.
THE BIBLICAL STORY OF THE FLOOD. 1 39
the case of the deluge on the other hand, the two
accounts are not given separately, but have been
united so as to form a single narrative. The compiler,
however, has made very little alteration in his two
sources of information, and has scrupulously preserved
the texts upon which he has drawn. Even where the
two versions differ from each other in points of detail
he has not attempted to harmonize them, but without
change has given each as he found it ; thanks to this
fact it is possible to disentangle the two accounts with
absolute certainty.
As the text reads at present we find considerable
differences in certain passages with 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. According to Gen. vii. 10, the
flood took place seven days after Noah was told to
build the ark ; in Gen. vii. 12 and viii. 6, the waters
are said to have prevailed for forty days ; and accord-
ing to Gen. viii. 6-12, the waters subsided after three
periods of seven days each. These passages give the
total duration of the deluge, including the seven days
of preparation, as sixty-eight days. On the other
hand, in Gen. vii. 11, the flood is said to have begun
"in the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the
" second month, on the seventeenth day of the month " ;
in Gen. vii. 24, it is stated that " the waters prevailed
" upon the earth an hundred and fifty days " ; and
140 TWO VERSIONS IN GENESIS.
according to Gen. viii. 13 and 14, the waters finally
disappeared, and the earth became dry in the "six
" hundred and first year " of Noah, " in the second
"month, on the seven and twentieth day of the
"month." Tims, according to these passages, the
total duration of the deluge was more than a year
— a statement that is not compatible with the pre-
viously cited passages which give the length of its
duration as sixty-eight days. The second most striking
instance of divergence occurs in the numbers of the
animals to be preserved in the ark ; according to
Gen. vi. 19, ISToah is told to preserve two of every sort,
while in Gen. vii. 2, Noah is to preserve seven of every
clean beast, and two of every beast that is not clean.
These are perhaps the two most striking instances of
divergence in the narrative, for they cannot be recon-
ciled 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
of its own, points in the same direction; and it is
possible on the basis of such evidence to separate
the two threads of the narrative. These two threads
are so distinct that any one may trace them for him-
self in the Authorized Version of the English Bible.
This will be apparent if we mark with a line at the
side of the column the following passages . of the
SEPARATION OF THE NARRATIVES. 141
narrative: Gen. \i. 9-22; vii. 6, 11, 13-16 (down to
" as God commanded him") ; vii. 18-21 and 24 ; viii. 1
and 2 (down to " were stopped ") ; viii. 3 (from
" and after the end ") -5 ; viii. 13 (down to " from
off the earth"); viii. 14-19; and ix. 1-17. When
this has been done and these passages read consecu-
tively, it will 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.^
' TIjIs will be apparent from the following summaries ; we will
summarize the marked passages first, which together contain the
account of the deluge according to the "Priestly writing": — Because
the earth was corrupt God decided to send a deluge. He therefore
warned Noah to build an ark, giving liim precise directions with
regard to its size and to the mode of its construction ; when it was
finished 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
sis hundredth year of his life the flood was caused by tlie 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 daj's,
when God sent a wind to assuage the waters ; and the fountains of
the deep and the windows of heaven \Yere stopped (vii. 21-viii. 2).
After the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased and
in the seventh month the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.
And the waters decreased continually until the tenth mouth, wbea
142 SUMMARY OF THE ACCOUNTS.
The reader will see that each account repeats phrases
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 tlie waters were dried up from the
earth (viii. 13), and by the seven and twentieth day of the second
montli the earth was quite dry (viii. 14). And Noah came forth from
the ark (viii. 15-19), and God blessed Noah and liis sons, and He maiie
a covenant tliat He would not again send a flood to destroy the earth,
and as a token of the covenant He set His rainbow in the clouds (ix.
1-17). Such is tlie story, complete and consistent with itself, which
is given by the marked passages.
The unmarked passages represent the " Jehovistic narrative." In
the marked passages the reader will have noticed that the Divine
name used is " God," which corresponds to the Hebrew word " Elo-
"hiiii"; in the unmarked passages he will notice that the word
generally used is " the Lord," representing the Hebrew word
"Jahveh" or Jehovah. The " Jehovislic 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"
gives so full an account of it. From what remains of the " Jehovistic
"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 lo
serve as food during the tiaie Noah and his household sliould 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.
1-5). Noah therefore did as he was commanded ; he took the clean
and unclean beasts into the ark with 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 windov\r
POINTS OF CONTRAST. I43
narrative of the event. The "Priestly writing," in
accordance with its annalistic character, gives exact
details concerning the size and structure of the ark,
records the depth of the flood in cubits, gives precise
dates, by day and month and year, as to 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.
Episodes peculiar to it are the breaking up of the
fountains of the deep as a cause of the flood, the
restinc' of the ark on the mountains of Ararat, and
the making of the covenant with the rainbow as its
token. The " Jehovistic narrative " is faf more pictu-
resque ; the Lord shuts Noah into the ark, He smells
the sweet savour of Noah's sacrifice, and He says in
His heart He will not again send a deluge. The
episodes peculiar to this account are the distinction
made between clean and unclean animals, the bringing
of the ark and seut forth a raveri, which flew to and fro and did not
return ; then a dove, which, finding no rest for the sole of her foot,
returned to him. He waited another seven days and again he seut
forth the dove, which this time brought in her 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
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 oftered 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 tldng ; while the earth
remained, the natural order of the universe should not be changed
(viii. 20-22).
144 COMPARISON WITH THE BABYLONIAN POEM.
on of the deluge by a heavy rain only and not hy
the breaking up of the fountains of the great deep,
the sending forth of the raven and the dove, the
building of the altar and the sacrifice to Jehovah.
The chief points of divergence between the two
narratives, that is to say, the statements as to the
length of the flood's duration, have been referred
to already.
When we compare the Babylonian account of the
deluge with these two versions in the book of Genesis,
we see that it contains many of the peculiarities of
both. The details 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
is perhaps the equivalent of God's covenant with Noah
that mankind should not again be so destroyed. On
the other hand, many of the features peculiar to the
" Jehovistic narrative " also appear in the Babylonian
version. Such are the seven days which elapsed
between the warning and the coming of the deluge,
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. 145
We have therefore in Genesis beyond doubt two
independent versions of the dekige 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. In the case
of the legends of the creation we have already noted
indications that they were derived from Babylon at
some period prior to the exile, and the arguments there
brought forward apply with equal force to the story
of the deluge. It is a striking fact, however, that the
latter narrative has not left so strong a mark upon
the earlier Hebrew writings as did the Babylonian
dragon-myth. In the second half of the book of
Isaiah the wrath of Jehovah in sending the Jews into
captivity is compared to "the waters of ISToah,"^ and
in Ezekiel^ also there is an interesting reference to
Noah, 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
the Babylonian versions of the deluge is very much
closer than that between the corresponding accounts
of the creation. These facts indicate a later date for
the adoption of the deluge story by the Hebrews, but
a date which may have been centuries before the
taking of Jerusalem.
» Isaiali liv. 9. ' 2 Ezcldel xiv. 12-20.
BAB. EEL. T.
( 146 )
CHAPTER 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 them-
selves 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, we took it from its
context, in order to treat it in connection with the
lefrends of creation. We will now describe the re-
maining portions of this great poem of the Babylonians,
which deals with the exploits of Gilgamesh, the greatest
mythical hero of their race.
The name of the hero was, for many years, read
" Izdubar," or " Gishdubar," but we now know that the
THE FOEM OF GILGAMESII. I47
Babylonians pronounced the ideogram wliicli formed
the name, " Gilgamesh." ^ It has been suggested that
Gilgamesh is to be identified with the hero Nimrod,
who was "a mighty hunter before the Lord," and
the beginning of whose kingdom was " Babel, and
" Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of
" Shinar " ; ^ but, beyond the fact that both Mmrod
and Gilgamesh were great Babylonian heroes of
antiquity, there are no other grounds for assuming
their identity. Of Nimrod we know little besides
what is told us in the passage in Genesis re-
ferred to, but the deeds of Gilgamesh are recounted
in the longest Babylonian poem that has come down
to us. It is written upon a series of twelve tablets,
which, like those of the Creation series, are distin-
guished by numbers. The late Sir Henry C. Piaw-
linson made the suggestion that the poem was a solar
myth, the twelve tablets «orresponding to the twelve
months of the year, but the contents of the majority
of the tablets do not fit in with this view of their
origin. In fact, it is probable that the division of the
poem into twelve sections was a comparatively late
arrangement, the work of the scribes who collected
and edited the ancient legends. We know that stories
and legends of the hero Gilgamesh go back into
' ^lian mentions an ancient king Gilgamos, a name he evidently
took from the hero of this poem.
' Gen. X. 8-10.
148 INTRODUCTION TO THE POEM.
remote antiquity, for cylinder-seals, made during the
Sumerian period,^ have been found, on which are
engraved the deeds of valour performed by him. The
actual poem, however, in which we read these stories,
like most of the other legends of the Babylonians,
is known to us from Assyrian tablets which were
written in the seventh century before Christ. Several
copies of the work were made for Ashur-bani-pal's
library, and, from the numerous fragments of them
that are in the British Museum, it is possible to piece
together the story, and to give several of the episodes
of the narrative in detail.^ The story clings to the
ancient city of Erech, the chief seat of the worship
of the goddess Ishtar, and, although in the course
of his adventures, Gilgamesh travelled into distant
lauds, he always returned to the city of Erech.
The First Tablet of the series is much broken. A
fragment has been found which not improbably con-
tained 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 name of Erech, and describes
the misfortunes that have fallen upon this ancient
city in consequence of a siege that has taken place.
All living things that are in the city, gods, and men,
> I.e, from about B.C. 4000 to B.C. 2300.
" Cf. Jereinias, Iziubar-Nimvod, Leipzig, 1891.
THE SIEGE OF ERECH. I49
and beasts, are confused and terrified ; the text reads
as follows : —
" She asses [tread down] then* young,
" Cows [turn upon] then' calves.
" Men cry aloud like beasts,
" And maidens mourn like doves,
" The gods of strong-walled Erech
" Are changed to flies, and buzz about the streets.
" The spirits of strong-walled Erech
" Are changed to serpents, 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 frag-
ments of the First Tablet, but, as on the Second Tablet
we find the inhabitants of Erech groaning under his
rule, it is not improbable that the foe mentioned as
besieging Erech was led by Gilgamesh, and that they
succeeded in capturing the city. Another view is that
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 is no doubt that
his rule soon became unpopular, for he forced all the
young men of the city into his service and carried
off the maidens to his court. The elders complained.
saying :—
150 THE TYRANNY OF GILGAMESII.
" Gilgamesli hath not left the son to his father,
"Nor the maid to the liero, nor the wife to her
husband."
They therefore cried to the goddess Aruru 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 com-
plaint, and the gods of heaven heard them and had
compassion upon them. And the gods also cried aloud
to Aruru, bidding her create a being, equal to Gilga-
mesh in strength, who might fight with him and limit
his power. They urged that as she had created Gilga-
mesh,^ so she must now create his rival. Aruru listened
to their words and proceeded to plan and to create a
being who should be capable of opposing Gilgamesh.
The passage referring to the creation of this being, who
was named Ea-bani, reads as follows : —
" 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 in form.
' It will be remembered that according to one version of the Crea-
tion story, the goddess Aruru, iu company with Marduk, is credited
with the creation of mankind ; see above, p. 90.
" I.e., a divine man, a demi-god. In this phrase " Auu " is used as
a general name for " god."
THE CREATION OF EA-BAXI. 151
From his picture upon cylinder-seals we know that he
had the head, and body, and arms of a man, but his
legs were those of a beast. The following description
of Ea-bani is given in the poem : —
" The whole of his body was [covered] with hair,
" He was clothed with long hair like a woman.
" 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 rejoiced."
A new personage now comes on the scene and, from
the abruptness with which he is introduced, it is
evident that he has already been described in some
previous portion of the poem that is wanting. This
new personage is Tsaidu, "the hunter," who appears
to have been sent into the mountains by Gilgamesh
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
Ea-bani. For three days Tsaidu watched Ea-bani as
he went down to the stream to drink, but he thou'>-ht
152 TSAIDU, THE HUNTER.
he was too strong to overcome in single combat. He
therefore returned to Erech and told Gilsfamesh of the
monster's strength; he described his own terror at
beholding him, and added that he destroyed all the
traps which had been set for him, saying : —
"He rangeth over [all] the mountains,
" Eegnlarly with the beasts [he feedeth],
*' Regularly his feet [are set] towards the drinking-
place.
" But I was afraid, I could not approach him.
" He hath filled up the pit which I digged,
" He hath destroyed the nets which I [spread],
"He hath caused the cattle and the beasts of the
field to escape from my hands,
" And he doth not let 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 for
the ordinary snares of the hunter, saying : —
" Go, my Tsaidu, and take Ukhat with thee.
"And when the beasts come down to the drinkins:-
place,
" Then let her tear off her clothing and disclose her
nakedness.
" (Ea-bani) shall see her, and he shall draw nigh
unto her,
" And the cattle, which grew up on his field, shall
forsake him."
THE PLOT TO CAPTURE EA-BANI. 1 53
XJkhat, whom Tsaidu was told to take with him, was
one of the sacred women who were in the service of
Ishtar and were attached to the ancient temple of
that goddess in the city of Erech. The narrative
continues : —
" Tsaidu departed, and took with him the woman
Ukhat.
" They took the straight road,
" And on the third day they reached the appointed
place.
" Then Tsaidu and the woman placed themselves in
hiding,
" For one day, for two days, they lurked by the
drinking-place.
" "With the beasts (Ea-bani) slaked his thirst,
" With the creatures of the waters 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 : —
" That is he, Ukhat, loosen thy girdle,
"Uncover thy nakedness that he may receive thy
favours,
" Be not faint-hearted, lay hold upon his soul.
" He shall see thee, and shall draw nigh unto thee.
" Open thy garment, and he shall lie in thine arms.
154 EA-BANI TEMPTED BY UKHAT.
" Give him pleasure after the manner of women.
" His cattle, which grew up in his field, shall forsake
him,
" While he holdeth thee in the embraces of love."
Ukhat did as Tsaidu bade her, and the plot was
attended with success, as we may see from the following
lines : —
"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 he held her in the embraces of love.
" For six days and six nights Ea-bani drew nigh and
tarried with Ukhat.
" After he had satisfied himself with her abundance,
" He turned his attention to his cattle.
" His gazelles lay, and looked at Ea-bani,
'• The beasts of the field turned away from him.
" Ea-bani was terrified, his body grew stiff,
" His knees stood still, as his cattle departed."
Ea-bani, however, did not attempt to pursue them or
to induce them to return to him. Eecovering from his
dismay he turned once more to the companion at his
side and —
" He returned to love, he sat at the feet of the
woman,
HIS LOVE FOR THE ^YOMAN. 155
" And he gazed up into her face,
" And as the woman spake he listened.
*' And the woman said unto Ea-bani :
" ' Thou art of great stature, 0 Ea-bani, and art hke
unto a god.
" Why then dost thou lie with the beasts of the field ?
" Come, let me bring thee to strong-walled Erech,
" To the bright house, the 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.'
"She spake unto him and he hearkened unto her
word,
" In the wisdom of his heart he wished for a friend.
" Ea-bani spake unto the woman :
" ' Come then, Ukhat, lead me away,
" 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
is only with difficulty that the thread of the narrative
can be made out. Ea-bani had heard so much of the
might of Gilgamesh from Ukhat that he desired to win
his friendship ; but, it appears, he first wished to test
156 GILGAMESH AND EA-BANI.
the hero's strength, and to join with him in battle. It
was with this object that he set out with Ukhat for the
city of Erech, and they happened to arrive there during
the celebration of a festival. Ea-bani, however, had a
dream in which he was warned to refrain from
attempting to do battle with Gilgamesh. He was told
that Gilgamesh was more powerful than he, and that,
as by day and by night he did not rest, he could not
hope to take him unawares. He was also told in his
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 it. He there-
fore went to his mother Aruru and enquired of her
the meaning of his vision. He told her that in his
vision the stars of heaven seemed to fall upon him, and
his mother seems to have interpreted the dream as fore-
telling the coming of Ea-bani, and also to have advised
him to make friends witli Ea-bani.
Gilgamesh and Ea-bani did not enter into combat,
and the Third Tablet of the series tells how they
became friends. Erom the fragments of the text which
remain, it 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. 1 5/
his comrade. In order to induce Ea-bani to remain
at Erecli, Sliamash conferred on him royal rank, and
he promised him that he should recline on a great
couch while the princes of the earth kissed his feet,
and that the people of Erech should proclaim their
submission unto him. Ea-bani listened to the Sun-
god, and consented to remain in Erech as the friend
of Gilgamesh.
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 against an Elamite despot ^
named Khumbaba. The preparations for the expedi-
tion 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
to the Sun-god, and Gilgamesh recounted to his friend
a favourable dream which had been sent to him, in
which he beheld the dead body of Khumbaba. In
due time the two heroes came to a wood of cedar
trees, in the middle of which Khumbaba's castle was
built. 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 of Elam, which was situated to the east of Mcsopo-
xa-.maj were, from an early period, in coustant conflict with Babylonia.
158 THE SLAYING OF KHUMBABA.
on their journey. They entered the wood, but were
amazed 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 to walk
and 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. Half this line is preserved
and reads " the head of Khumbaba," from which we
may perhaps infer that Gilgamesh and Ea-bani, after
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 suc-
ceeded in slaying a powerful enemy of their city, and
they now returned to Erech elated with their victory.
Erom this time forward, however, their lot was not
so happy, and the Sixth Tablet gives the reason of
their misfortunes, for it narrates how Gilgamesh in-
curred the wrath of the powerful goddess Ishtar. The
ishtar's passion for gilgamesii. 159
tablet opens with an account of how, on his return
from Erech, Gilgamesh removed the stains of battle,
and clothed himself in his royal robes, in the following
words : —
" [He cleansed] his weapons, he polished his weapons,
" [He removed] his armour from upon him,
" [He took off] his soiled garments, he clothed him-
self in clean raiment.
" He donned [his robes of] honour, he bound on
his diadem,
" Gilgamesh wore his crown, he 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 goddess Ishtar. The poem tells how she beheld
the comeliness of Gilgamesh, and addressed him in
these words : —
" Come, Gilgamesh, be thou my spouse.
" Bestow thy strength upon me as a gift,
"And thou shalt be my husband, and I will be
thy wife.
" I will set thee in a chariot of lapis lamli and gold,
" With wheels made of gold and horns made of
diamonds,
" And mighty . . . steeds shalt thou yoke to it.
" Thou shalt enter our house with the sweet scent
of cedars.
" When thou enterest our house.
l60 GILGAMESH REPULSES ISHTAR.
" [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 Ms 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 : —
" On Tammuz, the spouse of thy youth,
" Thou didst lay affliction every year.
" Thou didst love the brilliant AUalu-bird,
" But thou didst smite him and break his wing ;
" He stands in the woods, and cries, ' 0 my wing.'
" Thou didst also love a lion, perfect in strength,
" Seven by seven didst thou dig snares for him.
" Thou didst also love a horse, pre-eminent in battle ;
" Bridle, spur, and whip didst thou lay upon him,
" Thou didst make him to gallop for seven Icaslm,
" Trouble and sweating didst thou force him to bear,
" And on his mother Silili thou didst lay affliction.
" Thou didst also love a shepherd of the flock,
" Who continually poured out for thee the libation (?),
" And daily slaughtered kids for thee ;
" But thou didst smite him, and didst change him
into a leopard,
THE BULL FROM HEAVEN. l6l
"So that his own sheep- boy hunted him,
" And his own hounds tore him to pieces."
Gilgamesh also recounted the sad fate of a gardener
in the service of Anu, Ishtar's father, whom she had
loved. Every day he brought her costly gifts and made
bright the dish from which she ate ; but when she grew
tired of him she changed him into a cripple, so that
henceforth he could not rise from his bed. Gilgamesh
ended his taunts with the words, "As for me, tliou
" wouldst love me, and like unto them thou wouldst
" [afflict me]."
When Ishtar heard this she was enraged and she went
up into heaven, where she sought out her father Anu,
and her mother Anatu, and complained that Gilgamesh
had scorned her. Anu attempted to soothe her, but she
demanded vengeance upon Gilgamesh, and asked Anu
to create a monstrous bull, named Ahi, which should
destroy the hero. Anu yielded to his imperious
daughter and created the bull in accordance with her
wish. The account of the battle between the bull and
the two heroes Ea-bani and Gilgamesh, is very in-
complete, but the struggle seems to have been long and
fierce, and towards the end of the account we read that
Ea-bani seized the bull by the tail so that Gilgamesh
was no doubt enabled to slay the monster with his
sword. In the accompanying illustration, we see Gil-
gamesh and Ea-bani each engaged in conflict with a
bull. The picture may possibly be based upon some
BAB, EEL. M
l62 THE FIGHT WITH THE BULL.
variant form of the legend, according to which Ann sent
two divine bulls against Gilgamesh and his friend.
Perhaps it is simpler, however, to regard it as a picture
of the two heroes on a hunting expedition, for on
other cylinder-seals they are frequently represented as
struggling with several bulls and lions at the same time.
It will be noticed that in the centre of the picture is a
lir tree growing upon what appears to be a pile of stones.
-5 .. '\ - .rj^^
'yPPIJTi^PWI^tlP^IM
]j[¥--/
J
Ea-baui and Gilgamesh in conflict with two bulls. (From a cylinder-seal in the
British Museum, No. 89,308.)
The small half circles, however, which look like stones,
are conventional representations of mountains ; the
engraver intended to convey the impression that the
fight with the bulls took place in a well- wooded and
mountainous country.
The poem next describes the wrath of Ishtar at the
death of the bull as follows : —
" Then Ishtar went up on to the wall of strong-walled
Erech ;
" She mounted to the top and she uttered a curse,
(saying),
EA-BANI TAUNTS ISHTAR. 163
" ' Cursed be Gilgamesh, who has provoked me to
anger,
*' And has slain the bull from heaven.'
" When Ea-bani heard these words of Ishtar,
" He tore out the entrails (?) of the bull,
" And he cast them before her, (crying),
" ' As for thee, I will conquer thee,
"And I will do to thee even as I have done to
him.'"
Thus Ea-bani drew down upon himself the wrath of
Ishtar.
Then Ishtar assembled the three grades of priestesses
attached to her service and they made lamentation over
the death of the bull.
The horns of the bull were of great value, for they
were exceedingly large and each of them held six
measures of oil. Gilgamesh, therefore, in gratitude for
his victory, dedicated them to the Sun-god, who is
described in this passage of the poem under the local
name of Lugal-Marada, that is " King of Marad," Marad
being a city in Babylonia. After dedicating the horns
with much ceremony at the altar of the god, Gilgamesh
and his attendants washed their hands in the Euphrates
and then set out for Erech. On their arrival they rode
through the streets of the city, and the people gathered
together to gaze upon them as they passed. The
princesses of the city also came out to meet Gilgamesh,
and he cried out unto them, saying —
1 64 EA-BANl'S DEATH.
" 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
into his palace. There he prepared a banquet at which
he entertained his friends in honour of his victory over
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 morning he
drew nigh to Gilgamesh and began to tell him of the
things which he had seen.
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 it
is not possible to follow the course of the narrative at
this point. All we know for certain is that Ea-bani's
death occurs at the end of the Eighth Tablet. He
seems to have received a wound in battle, but in
what manner and at the hands of what foe, we cannot
say. All that we can 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
lay sick, and having summoned Gilgamesh to his bed-
side, and having told him the manner in which he
had received his wound, he died. We may reasonably
conjecture that his death was brought about by
Ishtar, whose anger he had aroused. Gilgamesh himself
THE GRIEF OF GILGAMESH. 165
escaped from death, but we find he had been smitten
with a sore sickness, which no doubt was also due to
the anger of the great goddess whose love he had
scorned.
The Ninth Tablet opens with the lament of Gilga-
mesh for the death of his friend, and with his resolve
to seek out his ancestor, Tsit-napishtim, who might
perhaps help him to escape a similar fate. The tablet
begins as follows : —
"For 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 my body, and
** I fear death, and I lie stretched out upon the
ground.
" To (test) the power of Tsit-napishtim, son of Ubara-
Tutu,
" 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 terrified.
" I raised my head and I prayed to the Moon-god,
" And 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 Gil-
gamesh had a dream in which the Moon-god shewed
him the way by which he might safely pass over the
1 66 THE MOUNTAIN OF THE SUNSET.
mountcains. Gilgamesh succeeded in crossing the first
mountain range whicli 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 Mountain of Mashu,
" The portals of 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 Mashu) ;
"They strike terror [into men], and it is death to
behold them,
"Their sj^lendour is great, for it overwhelms the
mountains ;
"From sunrise to sunset they guard the Sun.
" Gilgamesh beheld them,
" And his face grew dark with fear and terror,
"And 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. His wife replied that Gilgamesh was partly
divine and partly human. The Scorpion-man then
told her how Gilgamesh 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 67
crossed. Gilgamesb, seeing that the monster regarded
him with friendly eyes, recovered from his fright, and
told him of the purpose of his journey, namely, to go
to Tsit-napishtim; his ancestor, who stood in the
assembly of the gods, and had the power over life and
death. The Scorpion-man replied by describing the
difficulties and dangers which he would encounter if
he persisted in his purpose of traversing the Mountain
of Mashu, adding that for twelve hasbu, that is, for a
space of twenty-four hours, he would have to pass
through thick darkness. But Gilgamesh was not dis-
couraged. The Scorpion-man, therefore, yielded to his
request, and opened the gate of the mountain and let
him through.
For twenty-four hours Gilgamesh marched onwards,
" and the darkness was thick and there was no light."
But at the end of this long and dreadful journey he
came out once more into the light of the sun, and the
first thing he beheld was a beautiful and wonderful
tree. The poem' describes the tree in the following
words : —
" Precious stones it bore as fruit,
" Branches hung from it .which were beautiful to
behold.
" The top of the tree was /apis lazuli,
" And it was laden with fruit which dazzled the eye
of him that beheld,"
This tree grew in a great park or orchard beside
l68 THE PRINCESS SABITU.
other trees which were also laden with precious stones ;
but Gilgamesh did not tarry among the trees nor stop
to gather their fruit. The shore of the sea was not
far off and he wished to lose no time in reaching it,
for he knew that he must cross the sea to reach
Tslt-napishtim his ancestor.
The text of the Tenth Tablet reveals to us Gilga-
mesh involved in further troubles. The sea- coast, to
which he had now come, was ruled over by a princess
named Sabitu, who dwelt ^ in a palace by the shore.
She beheld Gilgamesh from afar, and, as he drew
near, she went into her palace and shut the door.
Without her assistance, however, Gilgamesh could not
cross the sea, so he went up to her door and demanded
why she had shut it, and threatened that if she did
not open it he would break it down. A gap in the
text prevents us from knowing Sabitu's answer to this
threat. When the text is again continuous we find
Gilgamesh telling Sabitu the reason of his journey,
namely, that he may learn how to escape the fate of
his friend Ea-bani ; he ended by asking her the way to
the abode of Ttit-napishtim, saying —
" [Tell me] 0 Sabitu, which is the way to Tsit-na-
pishtim ?
" If it is possible, I will cross the sea.
" But if it is not possible, I will lie me down upon
the ground in despair."
Sabitu replied, saying —
ARAD-EA, THE SAILOR. 169
" 0 Gilgamesli, there hatli never been a ferry (here),
" Xeither hath any one ever crossed the sea.
" The hero Shamash hath crossed the sea, but, besides
Shamash, who can cross it ?
" The crossing is difficult, the way is very hard,
" The Waters of Death are shut in (?), they are closed
np as with a bolt.
" 0 Gilgamesh, how canst thou cross the sea ?
" And if thou shouldst come to the Waters of Death,
what wouldst thou do ? "
Sabitu, however, told Gilgamesh that there was one
who might perhaps help him, namely, Arad-Ea, the
sailor who served Tsit-napishtim. To him she sent him
and told him to ask Arad-Ea to take him across. If he
refused, Gilgamesh would have to turn back.
Gilgamesh sought out Arad-Ea and told him of his
grief, and of the reason of his journey ; he then made
the request that he would show him the way to Tsit-
napishtim, and ended his demand with the words he
had already used to Sabitu, saying —
" If it is possible, I will cross the sea,
" But 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 down a tree
out of which he might make a large rudder for the ship,
since they would need special tackle for the voyage.
The poem then describes how they made their pre-
parations and set out on their journey, as follows —
I/O
THE WATERS OF DEATH.
" Gilgamesli on hearing this {i.e., Arad-Ea's instruc-
tions)
" Took liis axe in his hand . '. . .
" And he went into the wood and [cut] a rudder, five
measures in length,
" And he smeared it all over with pitch.
" Gilgamesh and Arad-Ea then went up into [the
ship].
" The ship was thrust out into the waves, and they
began their voyage.
1.4/ >. J Jv
Gilgamesli and Arad-Ea crossing the ocean and the " Waters 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 course of one month and five days within three
days [did they accomplish],
" And 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
safety. After they had made the passage, Gilgamesh
loosened his girdle and rested from his exertions.
Then they drew nigh the shore of the land where
THE MEETING ^^TTH TSIT-NAPISHTIM. 17I
Tsit-napishtim and his wife dwelt apart from mankind.
Tsit-napishtim beheld Gilgamesh afar off and marvelled
to see a living man cross the Waters of Death. Gilga-
mesh then approached the shore and, while still sitting in
the ship, he explained to Tsit-napishtim the reason he
had sonrrlit him out. He told him of his adventures with
Ea-bani, and he described the sad death of his friend
and his own o-pief at his loss. He recounted how he
had set out to seek help from Tsit-napishtim, and how
on his journey he had passed over steep mountains and
crossed dangerous seas. He ended his long recital by
asking his ancestor how he might escape the sad fate of
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
from death. He told him that death comes to all, and
that no man could escape from it,
" As long as houses are built, . . .
" 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 lot it is to decree
death pass sentence when they will, and that no man ,
could tell when his own time might come. And he
said —
" The Anunnaki, the great gods, decree fate,
" And with them Mammetum, the maker of destiny.
1/2 TSIT-NAPISHTIM'S STORY.
"And they determine death and life,
" But the days of death are not known."
With these words the Tenth Tablet of the poem
ends.
On the Eleventh Tablet Gilgamesh asked Tsit-
napishtim the reason of his own escape from death.
He gazed upon him, and, seeing that his appearance
was like that of a living man, said —
"I behold thee, 0 Tsit-napishtim,
" But thy appearance is not changed. As I am, so
art thou 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, Gilgamesh sat listen-
ing at a little distance from 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
finished the tale of his own adventures he turned to
the hero and promised to restore him to health, 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
THE HEALING OF GILGAMESH. 173
sleep. For six days and six nights Gilgamesh con-
tinued to sit in the ship, and at the end of that time
sleep came upon him suddenly "like a storm." While
Gilgamesh slept, Tsit-napishtim told his wife to prepare
some magic food, which she administered unto him
whUe he slept. On awaking from his sleep Gilgamesh
felt that he was enchanted, and asked 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, and he was cleansed
from his terrible disease. When he w^as about to
depart on his homeward journey, the wife of Tsit-na-
pishtim asked her husband what they could give him to
ensure his safe return to his own land. Althoudi
Tsit-napishtim had already told Gilgamesh that no man
could escape from death, yet now, as the latter was pre-
paring to take his leave, he disclosed to him the exist-
ence of a magic plant which had the power of prolonging
life. Gilgamesh then set sail in company with Arad-Ea
to go and search for the plant. They succeeded in find-
ing it, and Gilgamesh joyfully cried that he would carry
it to Erech with him, and that by eating it he would
regain his youtli. Gilgamesh and Arad-Ea then turned
back carrying the plant with them. And when they
had journeyed thirty kasbu, they came to a brook
wherein flowed cool and refreshing water. And when
174 GILGAMESH MOURNS FOR EA-BANI.
Gilgamesh went down to the brook to drink, a demon
in the form of a serpent darted out and carried away the
plant. Gilgamesh bitterly lamented the loss of the
plant, but could do nothing to recover it. He therefore
continued his journey and in due time returned to
Erech. With this incident the Eleventh Tablet
closes.
The Twelfth Tablet of the poem relates how Gilga-
mesh, after his return from his long journey, continued
to lament for Ea-bani. He called to mind the common
acts of daily life, which his friend could no longer
perform, now that he was imprisoned in the under-
world, and addressing Ea-bani he said —
"Thou canst no longer stretch thy bow upon the
earth ;
" And those who were slain with the bow are round
about thee.
" Thou canst no longer bear a sceptre in thy hand ;
" And the spirits of the dead have taken thee captive.
" Thou canst no longer wear shoes upon thy feet ;
" Thou canst no longer raise thy war-cry on the
earth.
" No more dost thou kiss thy wife whom thou didst
love;
" No more dost thou smite thy wife whom thou didst
hate.
"No more dost thou kiss thy daughter whom thou
didst love ;
EA-BANl'S RETURN FROM THE DEAD. 175
" No more dost thou smite thy daughter whom thou
didst hate.
" The sorrow of the Underworld hath taken hold
upon thee."
Gilgamesh then appealed to the gods to help him in
his sorrow and to enable him to again behold his friend.
With this object he went alone into the temple of the
god Bel, and, addressing him as his " father/' told him
of his trouble ; but Bel could not help him. He next
told his sorrow to Sin, the ]Moon-god, but he too could
do nothing for him ; and Ea, to whom he next appealed,
could do naught to help him. Last of all he besought
Nergal, the god of the dead, to use his power and to
restore Ea-bani to him. On hearing the prayer of
Gilgamesh, Nergal granted his request. He opened
the ground, and " caused the spirit of Ea-bani to come
" forth from the earth like a wind."
Gilgamesh thereupon asked Ea-bani to describe to
him the underworld, crying, " Tell me, my friend, tell
" me ; tell me the appearance of the land which thou
" hast seen." But Ea-bani replied, " I cannot tell thee,
" my friend, I cannot tell thee." This refusal to speak
of the abode of the dead was not due to any command
laid upon Ea-bani not to reveal such matters to the
living, but was prompted by his grief at the dreariness
of the region from which he had just been released.
After bidding Gilgamesh sit down and weep, he pro-
ceeded to describe the underworld as an abode of
176 THE CONDITION OF THE DEAD.
misery, where was the worm which devoured, and
where all was cloaked in dust. The text is here im-
perfect, but the closing lines of the tablet which contain
the end of Ea-bani's description of the condition of the
dead are preserved. In this passage Ea-bani contrasts
the lot of the warrior, who has received due burial,
with that of the man whose corpse is left uncared for
on the field, in the following words : —
" On a couch he lieth
" And drinketh pure water,
" The man who was slain in battle — thou and I have
oft seen such an one.
" His father and his mother [support] his head,
"And his wife [kneeleth] at his side.
" But the man whose corpse is cast upon the field —
" Thou and I have oft seen such an one —
" His spirit resteth not in the earth.
" The man whose 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 feast,
" And that which is cast out upon the 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 it is clear that
they have been drawn from many different sources.
What historical foundation may underlie the tales told
COMPOSITION OF THE POEM. 1 77
of this early king of Erech we cannot say, but 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
the course of centuries. To separate the different
narratives which have been combined to form the poem
as we know it would scarcely repay the trouble of
anal3^sis, but a bare enumeration of the principal
sections of the story will suffice to show its composite
nature. The rule of Gilgamesh in Erech, the story of
Ukhat and 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 from the underworld — such are the chief sections
into which the poem falls. Of these the account of the
deluge is the section most loosely connected with the
story of Gilgamesh, but other sections of the poem,
which have been more skilfully interwoven, were
doubtless at one time entirely independent of the
narrative.
We may assume that many of these tales go back
to hoary antiquity, and that in the course of time they
became associated with the name of Gilgamesh, having
previously been associated with the names of other
heroes. It is interesting to note that as Gilgamesh
B\B, EEL. N
178 GILGAMESH AND ALEXANDER.
was thus credited with adventures that were not
his by right, so at a later time some of his exploits
were borrowed to add lustre to the fame of another
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 Waters of Death, so Alexander is said to have
journeyed in search of the Waters of Life, and to have
come to a mountain called Musas or Masis, and to
have passed through the land of darkness, and to have
crossed the foetid sea.^ This journey of Gilgamesh,
moreover, in consequence of its being ascribed to Alex-
ander in the text of Pseudo-Callisthenes, has found an
echo in the Koran.^
Of the various sections of the great Babylonian
poem describing the deeds of Gilgamesh the most
interesting portions are perhaps those towards the end
in which Ea-bani talks with Gilgamesh after the release
of the former from the underworld ; for from these
passages we gain some information with regard to the
conceptions formed by the Babylonians of a future life.
Another of the principal legends of the Babylonians
recounts how the goddess Ishtar once left the earth
and descended into the underworld, and the poem in
' See Budge, The History of Alexander the Great, pp. 148, 171 fF.,
and The Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great, Vol. I., pp. xl. 1'. ;
Jloissner, Alexander und Gilgamos, pp. 4 fl',
' Sura, xviii.
ishtar's descent into the underworld. 179
which this legend has been preserved enables us to
augment the fragments of Ea-bani's description of the
dead that have come down to us.^ The poem describing
the descent of the goddess begins as follows : —
" To the land whence none return, the place of
darkness,
" Ishtar the daughter of Sin inclined her ear.^
" The daughter of Sin inclined her ear
" To the house of darkness, the seat of the god
Irkalla,
"To the house from which none who enter come
forth again,
" To the road whose course returns not,
" To the house wherein he who enters is excluded
from the light,
"To the place where dust is their bread, and mud
their food.
" They behold not the light, they dwell in darkness,
" And are clothed like birds in a garment of feathers
" And over door and bolt the dust is scattered.
" When Ishtar drew near the gate of the land whence
none return,
" She spake to the porter at the gate :
" ' Ho ! Porter ! Open thy gate !
" Open thy gate that I may enter in.
' Cf. Jeremias, Die bah>jIora'sch-assi,rit!i]icn Voi sttUnngcn vom l.then
nnch dem Tode, pp. 10 ff.
^ I.e., turned licr attention.
I So THE GATES OF THE UNDERWORLD.
"If thou openest not thy gate, so that I may not
enter,
" I will smite the door, I will shatter the bolt,
" I will smite the threshold and tear down the doors,
"I will raise up the dead, that they may devour the
living,
" And the dead shall outnumber those that live,'
" The porter opened his mouth,
" And addressed the mighty Ishtar :
" ' Stay, 0 Lady, do not throw it down.
"Let me go and declare thy name to the queen
Allatu.' "
The porter then M-ent to Allatu, the queen of the
underworld, and told her of Ishtar's coming ; but
Allatu was angered at the news and wept for Ishtar'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 of her clothing,
in the following words : —
"The porter went and opened his gate for her,
(saying),
" ' Enter, 0 Lady, let Cuthah ^ be glad at [thee].
In Cuthah was E-shidlam, the great temple of Nergal the god
of the dead ; the name of the city is here used as a synonym for the
underworld.
TAMMUZ AND ISHTAR. 1 83
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 it in the last
few lines of the poem. 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
recited — perhaps to certain mourners for the dead. In
this exhortation the reciter refers to Tammuz, the
spouse of Ishtar's yoiith, and he bids his hearers pour
out pure water in his honour and offer him goodly oil.
A little further on a reference is made to " the day of
" Tammuz " as a time when male and female mourners
made lamentation and when incense was burnt. It may
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. This story of the
goddess Ishtar was possibly recited at the annual
festival held in commemoration of the death of Tammuz,
when women mourned for the dead god in Babylonia,
as they mourned for him at Jerusalem in the time of
the prophet Ezekiel.^
"We have seen that a portion of the poem of Gilga-
mesh, and the legend of the goddess Ishtar, contained
> Ezek. viii. 11.
184 ETANA AND THE EAGLE.
descriptions and stories of the underworld ; for the
■underworld was a mysterious abode about which
legends would naturally gather. Heaven was also a
place of mystery, and it is not surprising that stories
of heroes who had journeyed thither should also find a
place in Babylonian mythology. One such story is told
of an old Babylonian hero named Etana, who, with the
help of his friend the Eagle, succeeded in penetrating
into heaven. A series of tablets existed in Ashur-bani-
pal's library, which recounted the deeds of Etana,^ and
on most of the fragments that remain the Eagle appears
as Etana's friend and comrade. On 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
would ensure a safe delivery. On another occasion
the Eagle carried Etana up to heaven. The hero
clung to the Eagle's wings, and they mounted together
till they could see the gates of heaven. As they drew
near to the Gate of Anu, Bel, and Ea and to the
Gate of Sin, Shamash, Kamman, and Ishtar, they
beheld a throne of great splendour, and Etana was
afraid and cast himself down at the foot of the throne.
But the Eagle encouraged Etana to mount with him
still higher and they again set out. After every two
' The legends of Etana have been edited by E. T. Harper, Beitrage
zur As^yviologie, Bd. II., pp. 391 ff., and Morris Jastrow, op. cit.,
Bd. III., pp. 363 ff.
etana's journey to heaven. 185
hours of his flight, the Eagle pointed to the earth
below them, which grew smaller and smaller as they
ascended, and at length they reached the Gate of
Anu, Bel, and Ea. After resting for a while the
Eagle proposed to Etana that he should carry him
up stni 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-
fortune then overtook the pair we do not know, for
the text of the legend is broken ; what still remains,
however, recounts that they fell headlong through the
air and were dashed upon the ground.^
' Another portion of the story of Etana refers to the subsequent
fate of the Eagle ; and it may here be described as it illustrates a
•class of Babylonian myths in which beasts and birds are represented
as 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 the latter, with the help of the Sun-god, took his revenge. The
story begins with the followin;^ lines : —
" His heart prompted the Eagle . . . ,
'• He considered, and his heart [prompted him . . .]
'• To eat the young of his companion . . .
" The Eagle opened his mouth and spake un'o his young, saying,
•• ■ The young of the Serpent will I eat . . .
" I will ascend and [mount up] into heaven ;
"I will swoop down upon the top of a tree and I will eat (the
Serpent's) brood.'
""One of the young birds who was endowed with much wisdoai,
addressed the Eagle, his father :
■" ' Do not eat, O my father, (for^ the net of Shamash is laid.
" The snare and 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 to them, and gave no heed to the word of
his vonng one.
l86 THE EAGLE AND THE SERPENT.
Erom the 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 yoimg of the Serpeut."
The Serpent then repau-ed to Shumash the Suu god, who as judge
of heaven and earth could not allow such a wrong to go unpunished,
au<l he told him his story and appealed to him for justice. He de-
scribed how his nest was set in a tree and how the Eagle espied it,
and devoured his young, saying : —
" He swooped down and ate [my young ones] !
" [Behold], 0 Shamash, the evil he hath done me.
"Help, 0 Shamash ! Thy net is like unto the broad earth ;
" Thy snare is like unto the distant heaven !
" Who hath ever escaped from thy net ?
'• Even Zii, the worker of evil, who raised the head of evil, [did not
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
is described later on in this chapter. We there read of Zii's treacliery,
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 liimself punish the Eagle, but explains to the Serpent a
device by which he may obtain vengeance. The narrative oon-
tinues : —
[" When he had listened to] the prayer of the Serpeut,
" 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].
" Open its bowels, [tear open its belly],
" And take up thy dwelling [in its belly].
" [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 flesh, moving swiftly,
" And making for the hidden parts.
" When lie hath entered into the midst, do thou seize him by hia
wiuf!-.
THE eagle's fate. 1 87
have incurred the anger of the gods by attempting
to mount to their abode, and it is possible that he
was dashed to pieces when he fell with the Eagle
to the 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 l^hamash, the hero, the Serpent departed and went
into the mountain.
"And the Serpent came upon a wild ox,
" And he opened its bowels, he tore open its belly,
" And he took up his dwelling in its belly.
" All the birds of heaven swooped down and ate of the flesh.
" But the Eagle (at first) suspected his evil purpose,
'• And with the flock of birds did not eat of the flesh.
" Then the Eagle opened his mouth and spake unto his young :
'• 'Come ! let us swoop down, and let us also eat of the flesh of 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 in [the flesli of] this wild ox ! '
"But he did not hearken to them, and gave no heed to the word of
his young one.
" He swooped down and stood upon the wild ox.
"The Eagle . . . examined the flesh, he looked about carefully
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.
"^Vhen he had entered into the midst, the serpent seized him by
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
he now inflicts.
" The Eagle opened [his mouth] and spake to the Serpent :
l88 ADAPA AND THE SOUTH WIND.
A legend is told of another ancient hero, named
Adapa, who also journeyed to heaven, but in this case
the hero did not seek to get there by his own devices,
but was summoned thither by Anu, the god of heaven.
The legend is preserved on one of the tablets that was
found at Tell el-Amarna,^ and, in the form in which
we have it, dates from the first half of the fifteenth
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
water. Adapa was furious at this outrage, so he
caught the South wind by her wings and broke them.
In this passage the South wind is pictured as a winged
female monster, and it is possible that in other respects
also she was thought to resemble a bird. We have
no representation of her, but it may be inferred that
she was a creature of unprepossessing appearance,
for the 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 sj^ake to the Eagle :
" ' If I release tliee, Shamash will . . . against us,
" And thy punishment will be transferred to me,
'• Which now, as a punishment, I execute on thee.'
" So he tore oif his wings, his pinions, and his talons,
" He pulled him in pieces and cast him into a pit, . . ,
" And he died a death from hunger and thirst."
' See above, p. 118 f. ; cf. Horp er, Bcitragi zur Assyriologie, Bd. II.,
pp. 418 ft'.
Head of the demon ot the South-west wind. (British Museum, No. 22,453. >
ADAPA IS SUMMONED TO HEAVEN. I9I
inasmucli as it caused destructive floods in the low-
lying regions of the Euphrates valley. The accompany-
ing illustration of a kindred spirit, the demon of the
South-west wind, is taken from a marble head in
the British Museum, and it well represents the hideous
conception formed by the Babylonians of the monster
who caused destructive storms and tempests.
When Adapa had broken Shutu's wings, the South
wind was no longer able to blow over the earth.
After seven days had passed, Anu, the god of heaven,
asked his minister Ilabrat why the South wind had
ceased to blow, and he told him that Adapa had
broken her wings. Anu thereupon summoned Adapa
to heaven to answer the charge. Before he set out
Adapa received instructions from his father Ea, who
told him how, by putting on garments of mourning,
he would propitiate Tammuz and Gishzida, the two
gods who stood at the gate of heaven, and who, if
approached with due deference, would secure for him
a favourable reception before Anu. Ea also warned
him that after he entered Ann's presence they would
offer him " Meat of Death " and " Water of Death " ;
neither of these was he to touch. They would then
bring him a garment and oil, and these he need not
avoid ; the garment he might put on and with the oil
he might anoint himself.
On arriving at the gate of heaven Adapa duly
secured the favour of Tammuz and Gishzida and was
192 ADAPAS PARDON.
led into Ann's presence. Ann asked him why he
had broken the wings of the South wind, and Adapa
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 " that he might eat. But Adapa would not eat
the " Meat of Life " ; neither would he drink the
" 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
therewith. And Ann, when he saw that Adapa had
not partaken of the " Meat of Life " and the " Water
" of Life," asked him, saying, " Come, Adapa, why
" dost thou neither eat nor drink ? For now thou
" canst not live." And Adapa answered that he had
refused to eat and drink, because Ea his lord had so
commanded him. The reason which prompted Ea to
lay these injunctions upon his son seems to have been
that he feared the gods would seek to slay Adapa.
Ann, on the other hand, decided to make Adapa
immortal, and did not offer him deadly food as Ea had
predicted. Thus Adapa, through his fatlier's suspicions,
missed the privilege of enjoying immortality.
THE TABLETS OF DESTINY. I95
In the legends of Etana and Adapa we have stories
of mortals who by presumptuous acts brought them-
selves into conflict with the gods. Among the gods
themselves, however, ambition was not absent, and
in the legend of Zu we read how one of the lesser
deities aimed at obtaining the control of the whole
company of the gods.^ It will be remembered that
Marduk was identified in course of time with the
older god Bel, or Enlil,^ and in the great legend of
the creation we are told that he captured the Tablets
of Destiny from Kingu, the captain of the host of
Tiamat. In the following legend we read how at a
later time Zu stole them from Bel and carried them
off to his mountain. The legend runs as follows : —
" His eyes beheld the symbols of Bel's dominion,
" The crown of his sovereignty, and the robe of his
godhead.
" Zu gazed at his divine Tablets of Destiny,
" And he gazed at the father of the gods, the god of
Duranki,
" And a longing for Bel's dominion was held fast in
his heart.
" ' I will take the Tablets of the gods,
" And I will direct the oracles of all the gods.
" I will establish my throne and dispense my
commands.
•' I will rule all the Spirits of Heaven.'
• See Harper, op. cit., pp. 408 ff. - See above, pp. 18 fF.
BAB. EEL. O
194 ZU'S THEFT.
" And his heart meditated battle
" At the entrance of the hall, where he beheld as he
waited the dawn of the day.
" Now when Bel was pouring out the clear water,
" And his diadem was taken off and lay upon the
throne,
" (Zu) seized the Tablets of Destiny,
" He took Bel's dominion, the power of giving
commands.
" Then Zu fled away and hid himself in his
mountain."
The gods were dismayed at the theft, and Bel strode
through the hall in rage. Then Anu, the god of
heaven, addressed the gods, his sons, and called for
a champion, who should recover the Tablets. There-
upon the gods called upon Kamman to be their
champion, and Anu promised him honour and power
should he succeed. But Eamman refused the offer, as
did also two other deities when asked. Who eventually
conquered Zu and recovered the Tablets is not quite
certain, for the end of the legend is 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 con-
cerning the- gods and the heroes of olden time. That
they were not idle tales, but iiad a religious significance
RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF THE LEGENDS. I95
for the people among whom we find them, is 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 underworld, we saw
reason to believe that it was recited in 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
bring prosperity to the man who made himself ac-
quainted with them, and it is prol^able that this state-
ment M'as 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 of the gods, but he was undoubtedly
regarded as a god in popular belief There is a
prayer in the British 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 M'ho
" orders the four quarters of heaven, the governor
"of the world, and the lord of the regions of the
" earth " ; the sick man also exclaims, " Thou art a
"judge, and like unto a god thou givest decisions."
It is clear therefore that to Gilgamesh was ascribed
1 Sm. 1371 + Sm. 1S77.
196 LEGENDS AS AMULETS.
no small Authority and power. The estimation in
which both he and the hero Etana were held is also
attested by the fact that the determinative for " god "
is always placed before their names.
A further piece of evidence that these mythological
compositions were put to very practical uses is afforded
by certain tablets which have been found inscribed
with legends concerning the chief Plague-god of the
Babylonians/ describing the destruction which he and
his 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
military expeditions into distant lands. These legends
are inscribed on several tablets, and the last one of
the series recounts how the anger of the Plague-god
was at length appeased, and ends with a speech of
the Plague-god, in which he promises protection and
prosperity to all those who make known his wondrous
deeds. He continues, " Should I be angry, and should
"the seven-fold god cause destruction; the dagger of
"pestilence shall not approach the house wherein this
"tablet is set, and it shall remain unharmed." This
last section of the poem, including the passage just
quoted, has been found on two interesting tablets in
the British Museum.^ At the top of each tablet is a
small projection in which a hole has been bored, and
1 The name of this god is generally read as Dibbarra, though Ura
and Girra are also possible readings.
* See ZeUschrift fur Assijriologie, Bd. xi. pp. 50 ft'.
NATURE-MYTHS. IQ/
through it 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
served as amulets for keeping off the plague. Thus
there are many indications that the myths and legends
of the gods played an important part in the practical
religion and worship of the Babylonians.
To decide in what manner these various legends of
the gods arose, and to trace the changes which they
underwent in the long course of Babylonian history,
would result in an interesting, but certainly a very
speculative, enquiry. Conjecture, based mainly on the
internal evidence furnished by the myths themselves
in the forms in whicli they have come down to us,
naturally cannot lead to very definite results ; but
one broad conclusion may be drawn from a study of
the tablets with at least some probability of its
being correct. It can hardly be disputed that changes
in the aspect of nature suggested many of the legends
about the gods. Perhaps the clearest instance of this
explanation of natural processes by legend is presented
in the legends of the Plague-god ; the campaigns he
undertook, and the bloody battles he waged, were
doubtless suggested by the ravages of disease which
were regarded as his handiwork. The descent of
Ishtar into the imderworld and the languishing of
all nature in consequence, which was followed by her
restoration to eartli and the renewal of the powers
198 HISTORY AND LEGEND.
of men and beasts, was clearly intended to explain
the decay of nature in the autumn, and the quicken-
ing of the earth in the spring. Zu's treacherous usur-
pation of Bel's sovereignty may perhaps be based on
the sudden overwhelming of the sun by storm and
clouds.
There is another element in many of these legends
which must not be lost sight of, 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 Gilgauiesh
and Ea-bani against Khumbaba king of Elam, as well
as in some of the conflicts described in the Plague-god
legends. The growth of legends around the figures
of prominent heroes is common in every race that has
a history, and this was particularly the case in Baby-
lonia. A number of legends, for instance, have come
down to us concerning certain ancient Babylonian
kings, of whose historical existence we have abundant
proof from other sources. Sargon I. was an actual
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 monarch, in which he tells how his mother set
him floating on the Euphrates in a basket made of
rushes, how Akki the gardener rescued him and brought
him up as his own son, and how while he was still
LEGENDS OF EARLY KINGS. I99
a gardener the goddess Islitar loved him and eventually
set him over the kingdom which he ruled. The text
of the legend of Sargon was a long one, but little more
than this story of his youth has been preserved. It
will at least suffice to show how myth and legend
gathered around the figures of famous kings and heroes
of old time. The legend of Sargon is not a solitary
example of this process. The so-called " Cuthsean
" legend of Creation " describes a legend of an early king
of CuthalV and fragments of similar myths have been
found in Ashur-bani- pal's library which recount the
legendary deeds of Naram-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 I., king of Babylon
about B.C. 1120. The tablets which contain these
legends are very fragmentary, but they illustrate the
process by which historical personages in course of
time became demi-gods and legendary heroes.
* See above, pp. 92 ft".
( 200 )
CHAPTER VI.
THE DUTY OF MAN TO HIS GOD AND TO HIS
NEIGHBOUE.
In the three preceding chapters the principal legends
and myths that have been found in Babylonian litera-
ture 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 Baby-
lonian gods were believed to be like. We have seen
Ann 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, and Ea in the
Deep regulating the affairs of his own household and
revealing secrets by liis hidden 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 two characters. She has appeared as a
cruel and wanton lover, persecuting those who yielded
to her passion and seeking revenge upon those who
A MAN S SPIRITUAL FOES. 20I
refused her love ; she has also been seen in her gentler
character as a devoted wife, descending to the under-
world to seek her husband. Other deities have also
been described in the exercise of their own peculiar
functions, especially Marduk, the city-god of Babylon,
who appears as the leader and the champion of the
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, how-
ever, scarcely give an adequate idea of the number of
supernatural beings who were believed to exist in the
heavens and upon the earth, and beneath the earth.
The legends that have been described are cliiefly con-
cerned with the doings of the more powerful gods and
the great heroes of antiquity, and they naturally do not
deal with the sprites, and goblins, and spectres, which
were believed to haunt and harass a man in his daily
life and in the performance of his 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 mis-
fortune, sickness, or death. Many of these spirits were
actively hostile to man and waged an incessant warfare
against him. Others, tliough less actively hostile, were
to be no less feared, for at any time a man might un-
wittingly incur their wrath by some act which trenched
iipon their jealously guarded rights. An ill-omened
202 BABYLONIAN DEMONS.
word, or the eating or drinking of an impure things
was sufficient to rouse the wrath of some one of
these beings ; and, although the victim might have
committed no intentional act of disobedience, he had
to endure their persecution, sometimes without even
a knowledge of its cause. Tliese beings were conceived
to be of hideous and repulsive appearance, often uniting
in strange combinations the bodies and limbs of various
birds and beasts. The accompanying illustration is a
specimen of an evil Babylonian demon, taken from a clay
fisure in the British Museum. The head of the monster
was no doubt partly suggested by that of a lion, and
its ferocious aspect betokens ill to the man who might
have the misfortune to place himself within its power.
In order to realize the great number and variety of
such beings it wouUl be necessary to turn to the spells
and incantations and magical formulae which occupy
so large a place in the religious literature of the Baby-
lonians. To ignore this lower aspect of the belief of
the Babylonians would be to give a one-sided and
incomplete picture of their religion, but Babylonian
magic does not fall within the limits of the present
volume. We are here concerned with the higher side
of the Babylonian religion, and, having already described
the general character of the greater gods, it now remains
to enquire in what relation man stood to these great
deities, and also to what extent his religious beliefs
affected his duty to his fellow man.
A Babylonian demon. (British Museum, JS'o. 22,45ii.)
THE CONCEPTION OF GOD. 20$
It has already been stated that, so far as we can
see from their religious 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 of both gods and men.^ The Babylonians
knew no such supreme deity, but it should be added
that some few passages in 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 determi-
native particle before the names of deities. One of
its most common uses is in the plural, in the phrase
Hani rabuti, "the great gods," an expression which
denotes the company of the great gods as distinguished
from the host of lesser deities and spirits. When ilu
occurs in the singular it is usually in the course of
the description of some particular deity, as in the
phrases iho rahu, "a great god," and iht ali-ia, "god
" of my city," applied to the god Marduk. In other
passages it takes a pronominal suffix, as in the phrases
' See Budge, Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life, chap. I.
206 THE WORD " ILU."
ili-ia, " my god," ili-ka, " thy god " ; or it is coupled
with the substantive islitar, " goddess " ; and in both
these cases it is clear that the reference is made to
some particular deity. There are, however, a few pas-
sages in which ilu stands entirely by itself, and where
it is possible that it should be translated as "god"
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, after narrating his own history, pro-
ceeds to offer advice to any future ruler, and he
addresses his words to any "king, or ruler, or prince,
" or any one whatsoever, whom the god shall call to rule
" over the kingdom." No particular god is mentioned,
and ilii occurs entirely by itself; it is possible, how-
ever, to refer the phrase to Nergal, the god of Cuthah,
in whose temple the legend is preserved. In any case,
this use of ilu is of rare occurrence, and it would be
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
of their own national existence, and, although they
retained the worship of the other gods from the Baby-
lonians, they assigned to Ashur a position of supremacy
* See above p. 95.
MARDUK THE INTERCESSOR. 20/
among them and ascribed to him many of the attributes
which belonged properly to the older gods.
Among the Babylonians the god IMarduk in the
course of time acquired a position of peculiar interest.
As the god of Babylon he was naturally from the first
of easy access to the inhabitants of his own city, and
this intimacy with his own people was gradually
extended until we find him appearing before his father
Ea in the character of mediator and intercessor on
behalf of men. We have already seen how Marduk
was regarded as the creator of the world and of man-
kind, and it is in accordance with this tradition that
he should have been thought to use his influence on
behalf of the creatures whom he had made. Marduk's
character as intercessor is well illustrated by the follow-
ing extract from a religious text, the recital of which
would procure relief for a sick man and remove
the evil spell by which he was troubled. The text
reads —
"An evil curse like a demon has beset the man,
" Sorrow and trouble have fallen upon him,
" Evil sorrow has fallen upon him,
"An 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 trouble as with a
garment, and he is overwhelmed ;
208 MARDUK THE FRIEND OF MAN.
" Then Marduk beheld him,
" And he entered into the house of his father Ea and
he said unto him :
" ' 0 my father, an evil curse like a demon has beset
the man.'
" Twice he spake unto him, (and he added) :
" ' I know not what that man has done, nor whereby
he may be cured.'
" And Ea made answer to his son, Marduk, (saying) :
** ' 0 my son, what dost thou not know ? what can I
tell thee more ?
" 0 Marduk, what dost thou not know ? what can I
tell thee more ?
" What I know, thou also knowest.
" Go, my son, Marduk,
" Take him to the house of purification,
" Dissolve the spell from upon him, remove the spell
from upon him.' "
The prominent position of Marduk in the company
of the gods is amply attested in the numerous hymns
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 way from the deference due
to Marduk or to any other deity. It seems to be clear
that each god, when worshipped in his 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. 209
•without exciting their jealousy, and without laying his
worshippers open to rebuke.
In the description of the sick man's evil plight, quoted
above, two lines occur in which it is stated that " his
" god has departed from his body, his guardian goddess
" has left his side." The explanation of these two lines
brings us to what is perhaps the most interesting, and
at the same time the most characteristic, feature of the
relationship which existed between the ancient Baby-
lonian 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 whom his fortunes were most
intimately connected. Each man had his own patron
god and goddess, who 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 his behalf. The mere 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 for him first to pacify their
wrath and then to secure their assistance. What prin-
ciples actuated the Babylonians in their choice of patron
deities are not clearly indicated in their religious litera-
ture. It is not unreasonable to suppose that a child's
parents dedicated it at its birth to the care of some god
and goddess, and that the choice was left entirely to-
BAP. EEL. P
2IO BELIEF IN GUARDIAN DEITIES.
them. We may be sure that whatever deities were
selected they were among those who had temples or
shrines in the city in which the parents lived, and who
would therefore be in a position to effectually protect
their offspring. The belief In guardian deities is
intimately connected with the magical side of Baby-
lonian 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 con-
stant 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 who might
aid him in regaining their favour. The design most
frequently engraved upon Babylonian and Assyrian
cylinder-seals is a representation of the owner of the
seal being led by a priest into the presence of his god ;
and it is clear that the priest's mediation was necessary
in order that the offended deity might be duly appeased.
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
god's presence. The priest then took him by the hand
and both priest and penitent raised their other hands as
a symbol of worship and supplication. In this order
the man was led into the presence of his offended god.
If he was sore afflicted with disease, or oppressed by his
sense of guilt, he would sit or lie 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
priest and penitent when they had entered the presence
of the offended deity.^ In these service-books the priest
sometimes addresses the god and describes the sad con-
dition of the man who wishes to make his confession ;
at other times the penitent himself takes up the prayer.
The following is an extract from one of these composi-
tions : —
The priest : " In sorrow there he sits ; With ^ cries
" of affliction, in trouble of heart. With bitter tears
" in bitter sorrow. Like the doves he moans grievously,
" night and day. Unto his merciful god, like a wild cow.
' Cf. Zimmeru, Babylonische Busspsalmen, Leipzig, 1S85.
^ In tliis and the foUow-ing extracts the capital letter marks the
beginning of a new line in the text.
212 CONFESSION OF SIN.
" he cries, He makes a grievous sighing. Before his god
" he casts down liis face in supplication, He weeps,
" that he may approach, that nothing may hold him
" back."
The penitent : " My deed will I declare, my
" deed which cannot be declared. My words will I
" repeat, my words which cannot be repeated. 0 my
'^god, my deed will I declare, my deed which cannot be
" declared."
In another prayer a penitent addresses his god and
goddess together, and prays to be purified from his sin
in the following words : —
" 0 my god, who art angry, accept my prayer. 0 my
"goddess, wdio art angry, receive my supplication,
*' Eeceive my supplication and let thy spirit be at rest.
" 0 my goddess, look with pity on me and accept my
" supplication. Let my sins be forgiven, let my trans-
" gressions be blotted out. Let the ban be torn away,
" let the bonds be loosened. Let the seven winds carry
" away my sighs. I will rend away my wickedness,
" let the bird bear it to the heavens. Let the fish carry
" off my misery, let the river sweep it away. Let the
'•' beast of the field take it from me. Let the flowing
" waters of the river wash me 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 submits 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 : —
" 0 mother of the gods, who fulfils their commands,
" 0 lady of mankind, who makes the green herb to
"spring up, "Who created all things, who guides the
"whole of creation, 0 mother Ishtar, whose side no
"god can approach, 0 exalted lady, whose command
" is mighty, A prayer will I utter. That which appears
" good unto her, may she do unto me ! 0 my lady,
" from the days of my youth I have been much yoked
" to misfortune. Food have I not eaten, weeping was
"my nourishment. Water have I not drunk, tears
" were my drink. My heart never rejoices, my spirit
" is never glad."
A man's appeal to his god and goddess was not
always successful, for his sin may have been so great
that his petitions for forgiveness were not sufficient in
themselves to appease their wrath. In such a case,
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. AYhosoever has sinned, thou acceptest his
" fervent prayer. The man on whom thou lookest in
BAB. BEL. p 3
214 THE ANGER OF PATRON DEITIES.
"pity, that man lives, 0 ruler of all things, lady of
" mankind, 0 merciful one, whose turning is propitious,
" who acceptest supplication."
The priest : " Since his god and his goddess are
"angry with him, he cries unto thee. Turn to him
" thy countenance and take his hand."
The penitent : " Beside thee there is no deity who
"guides aright. In justice look on 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 : " With pain and grief his spirit is
"oppressed. He sheds tears, he utters cries of woe."
It happened sometimes that a man through his
transgressions offended some powerful deity, while he
still retained the help and sympathy of his own god
and goddess. 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
him at his side. The following extract is taken from
a prayer to be delivered by a man who had offended
Shamash the Sun -god and his wife Ai, and who
sought to appease their wrath, while his own god and
goddess added their voice to his appeal. The priest
first described the man's humility and grief; the ex-
tract reads as follows : —
The priest: "By his face, which through tears he
THEIR HELP IN TROUBLE. 21 5
"does not raise, he makes lamentation to tliee. By
" his feet, on which fetters are set, he makes lamentation
" to thee. By his hand, which is spent through weari-
" ness, he makes lamentation to thee. By his breast,
" which utters cries as of a flute, he makes lamentation
" to thee."
The Penitent : " 0 lady, through bitterness of heart
" I cry to thee in sorrow : Declare my forgiveness. O
" lady, say to thy servant, ' It is enough.' Let thy heart
" be appeased. Bestow mercy on thy servant who is
"in affliction. Turn thy countenance towards him,
"accept his supplication. Turn in mercy towards thy
" servant, with whom thou wast angry. 0 lady, my
" hands are bound, I prostrate (?) myself before thee,
" Intercede for me before the mighty hero, Shamash,
' thy beloved spouse. That for a life of many days
" I may walk before thee. My god. has prayed to
" thee, that thy heart may be at rest ; My goddess has
" made 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
to the offerings which the penitent would make, when
he was pardoned and restored to health and prosperity.
Such an inducement to pardon a penitent is urged
by a priest upon an angry god in the following
extract : —
2l6 CONCEPTION OF SIN.
" Open his bonds, remove his fetters. Make bright
"his countenance, commend him to his god, his creator.
" Give thy servant life, that he may praise thy power.
" That he may bow down before thy greatness in all
" dwellings. Eeceive his gift, accept his purchase-
" money, That he may walk before thee in a land of
'' 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, 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 com-
mitted were of a formal and ceremonial character.
Tlieir sufferings might be due to the infringement
of a religious ordinance, or to the eating or drinking
of an impure thing, or to an ill-omened word or action.
There is 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 of the sin was
gradually changed. Injustice and evil-doing were
believed to anger a man's god as much as offences
against his own peculiar rites, and in this way a
man's duty towards his god led to a conception of the
duty he owed towards his fellow man. The belief
that oppression and injustice were followed by
material misfortune is well attested in a document from
GROWTH OF MORALITY. 21/
Ashur-baui-pal's libraiy, uhich contains a number of
•warnings to a king against injustice, and which unequivo-
cally states that any act of that description would
recoil upon himself or upon his land.^ The beginning
of this tablet reads as follows : —
" If the king does not give heed to justice, his people
" shall be overthrown and his land shall be brought to
"confusion.
" If he gives no heed to the law of his land, Ea, the
" king of destinies, shall change his destiny, and shall
" visit him with misfortune.
" If he gives no heed to his nobles, his days shall
" (not) be long.
" If he gives no heed to the wise-men, his land shall
" revolt against him.
" If he gives heed to wisdom (?), the king shall behold
" the strengthening of the land.
" If he gives heed to the commands of Ea, the great
"gods shall endow him with true knowledge and dis-
" cernment.
" If he treats a man of Sippar with injustice and
"gives a harsh decision, Shamash, the judge of heaven
" and earth, shall give a harsh decision in his land,
" and shall appoint a just prince and a just judge in
" place of injustice.
" If the men of Nippur come to him for judgment
' The text is published in Cuneiform Inscrij-itions of Western Asia,
Vol. IV., pi. 48.
2l8 A man's duties TO HIS NEIGHBOUR.
"and he accepts gifts and treats them with injustice,
*'Belj the lord of the world, shall bring a foreign foe
"against him and shall overthrow his army, and his
"prince and his leader they shall hunt as outcasts (?)
" through the streets.
" If the men of Babylon take money witli them and
"give bribes, and he favours 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-
" sions to his enemy. And the men of Nippur, Sippar,
"or Babylon who do these things shall be cast into
" prison."
In this tablet it is clearly stated that the gods would
punish oppression and injustice with misfortune, and
there is evidence of this belief in other Babylonian
documents of a religious nature. From a series of
magical incantations we learn that a wrong committed
by a man against his neighbour carried with it a
punishment no less severe than that which accom-
panied any offence against a ceremonial code.^ The
various sins which a man might commit are enume-
rated in the form of questions, and the following
extract will serve to indicate their general character : —
" Has he estranged the father from his son ? Has
" he estranged the son from his father ? Has he
"estranged the mother from her daughter ? Has ho
' Cf. ZimmerD, Die Bescliivdrungstafeln Schurpu, pp. 3 if.
LIST OF OFFENCES. 219
"estranged the daughter from her mother? Has
"he estranged the mother-in-law from her daughter-
" in-law ? Has he estranged the daiighter-in-law
" from her mother-in-law ? Has he estranged the
" brother from his brother ? Has he estranged the
" friend from his friend ? Has he estranged the com-
" panion from his companion ? Has he refused to set
"a captive free, or has he refused to loose one who
" was bound ? Has he shut out a prisoner from the
"light? Has he said of a captive 'Hold him fast/
" or of one who was bound has he said, ' Strengthen
" his bonds ? ' Has he committed a sin against a god,
" or has he committed a sin against a goddess ? Has
" he offended a god, or has he held a goddess in light
" esteem ? Is his sin against his own god, or is his
" sin against his own goddess ? Has he done violence
"to one older than himself, or has he conceived
" hatred against an elder brother ? Has he held his
" father and mother in contempt, or has he insulted his
" elder sister ? Has he been generous in small things,
" but avaricious in great matters ? Has he said ' yea '
" for ' nay ' ? Has he said ' nay ' for ' yea ' ? Has he
" spoken of unclean things, or [has he counselled] dis=
" obedience ? Has he uttered wickedness ? . . . Has
" he used false scales ? . . . Has he accepted a wrong
" account, or has he refused a rightful sum ? Has
" he disinherited a legitimate son, or has he recognized
" an illegitimate son ? Has he set up a false landmark.
220 A HIGH MORAL CODE.
" or has he refused to set up a true landmark ? Has
" he removed bound, border, or landmark ? Has he
" broken into his neighbour's house ? Has he drawn
" near his neighbour's wife ? Has he shed his neigh-
" hour'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 sufScient to bring down upon a man
the wrath of his god. Taken together they prove that
in the seventh 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.
■CKINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SDKS, LUIITEK, LONDON AND BECCLE8,
A_'
rr
THIS ITEM DOES NOT
CIRCULATE WITHOUT
A PHASE BOX OR OTHER
PROTECTIVE ENCLOSURE
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11