8

The minor divinities.

Among the hundreds of names which the lists furnish, a few are worthy of mention, either because of more than ordinary interest, or in consequence of their furnishing the name of some deity, chief in its locality, but identified elsewhere with one of the greater gods.

Aa.--This may be regarded either as the god Êa (though the name is written differently), or as the sun-god assuming the name of his consort; or (what is, perhaps, more probable) as a way of writing A’u or Ya’u (the Hebrew Jah), without the ending of the nominative. This last is also found under the form /Aa’u/, /ya’u/, /yau/, and /ya/.

Abil-addu.--This deity seems to have attained a certain popularity in later times, especially among immigrants from the West. As "the son of Hadad," he was the equivalent of the Syrian Ben-Hadad. A tablet in New York shows that his name was weakened in form to /Ablada/.

Aku, the moon-god among the heavenly bodies. It is this name which is regarded as occurring in the name of the Babylonian king Eri-Aku, "servant of the moon-god," the biblical Arioch (Gen. 14).

Amma-an-ki, Êa or Aa as lord of heaven and earth.

Amna.--A name only found in a syllabary, and assigned to the sun-god, from which it would seem that it is a form of the Egyptian Ammon.

Anunitum, the goddess of one of the two Sippars, called Sippar of Anunitum, who was worshipped in the temple Ê-ulmaš within the city of Agadé (Akkad). Sayce identifies, on this account, these two places as being the same. In a list of stars, Anunitum is coupled with

Šinunutum, which are explained as (the stars of) the Tigris and Euphrates. These were probably names of Venus as the morning and evening (or evening and morning) star.

Apsu.--The deep dissociated from the evil connection with Tiawath, and regarded as "the house of deep wisdom," i.e. the home of the god Êa or Aa.

Aruru.--One of the deities of Sippar and Aruru (in the time of the dynasty of Hammurabi called Ya’ruru), of which she was the chief goddess. Aruru was one of the names of the "lady of the gods," and aided Merodach to make the seed of mankind.

Bêl.--As this name means "lord," it could be applied, like the Phœnician Baal, to the chief god of any city, as Bêl of Niffur, Bêl of Hursag-kalama, Bêl of Aratta, Bêl of Babylon, etc. This often indicates also the star which represented the chief god of a place.

Bêltu.--In the same way Bêltu, meaning "lady," meant also the chief goddess of any place, as "Aruru, lady of the gods of Sippar of Aruru," "Nin-mah, lady of the gods of Ê-mah," a celebrated temple within Babylon, recently excavated by the Germans, "Nin-hur-saga, lady of the gods of Kêš," etc.

Bunene.--A god associated with Šamaš and Ištar at Sippar and elsewhere. He "gave" and "renewed" to his worshippers.

Dagan.--This deity, whose worship extends back to an exceedingly early date, is generally identified with the Phœnician Dagon. Hammurabi seems to speak of the Euphrates as being "the boundary of Dagan," whom he calls his creator. In later inscriptions the form Daguna, which approaches nearer to the West Semitic form, is found in a few personal names. The Phœnician statues of this deity showed him with the lower part of his body in the form of a fish (see 1 Samuel 5:4). Whether the deities clothed in a fish’s skin in the Nimroud gallery be Dagon or not is uncertain--they may be intended for Êa or Aa, the Oannes of Berosus, who was represented in this way. Probably the two deities were regarded as identical.

Damu.--a goddess regarded as equivalent to Gula by the Babylonians and Assyrians. She was goddess of healing, and made one’s dreams happy.

Dumu-zi-abzu, "Tammuz of the Abyss."--This was one of the six sons of Êa or Aa, according to the lists. His worship is exceedingly ancient, and goes back to the time of E-anna-tum of Lagaš (about 4000 B.C.). What connection, if any, he may have with Tammuz, the spouse of Ištar, is unknown. Jastrow apparently regards him as a distinct deity, and translates his name "the child of the life of the water-deep."

Elali.--A deity identified with the Hebrew Helal, the new moon. Only found in names of the time of the Hammurabi dynasty, in one of which he appears as "a creator."

En-nugi is described as "lord of streams and canals," and "lord of the earth, lord of no-return." This last description, which gives the meaning of his name, suggests that he was one of the gods of the realm of Ereš-ki-gal, though he may have borne that name simply as god of streams, which always flow down, never the reverse.

Gibil.--One of the names of the god of fire, sometimes transcribed Girru by Assyriologists, the meaning apparently being "the fire-bearer" or "light-bearer." Girru is another name of this deity, and translates an ideographic group, rendered by Delitzsch "great" or "highest decider," suggesting the custom of trial by ordeal. He was identified with Nirig, in Semitic Ênu-rêštu.

Gušqi-banda or Kuski-banda, one of the names of Êa, probably as god of gold-workers.

Išum, "the glorious sacrificer," seemingly a name of the fire-god as a means whereby burnt offerings were made. Nûr-Išum, "light of Išum," is found as a man’s name.

Kâawanu, the planet Saturn.

Lagamal.--A god identified with the Elamite Lagamar, whose name is regarded as existing in Chedorlaomer (cf. Genesis 14:2). He was the chief god of Mair, "the ship-city."

Lugal-Amarada or Lugal-Marad.--This name means "king of Marad," a city as yet unidentified. The king of this place seems to have been Nerigal, of whom, therefore, Lugal-Marad is another name.

Lugal-banda.--This name means "the powerful king," or something similar, and the god bearing it is supposed to be the same as Nerigal. His consort, however, was named Nin-sun (or Nin-gul).

Lugal-Du-azaga, "the king of the glorious seat."--The founder of Êridu, "the good city within the Abyss," probably the paradise (or a paradise) of the world to come. As it was the aim of every good Babylonian to dwell hereafter with the god whom he had worshipped upon earth, it may be conjectured that this was the paradise in the domain of Êa or Aa.

Mama, Mami.--Names of "the lady of the gods," and creatress of the seed of mankind, Aruru. Probably so called as the "mother" of all things. Another name of this goddess is Ama, "mother."

Mammitum, Mamitum, goddess of fate.

Mur, one of the names of Addu or Rammanu (Hadad or Rimmon).

Nanâ or Nanaa was the consort of Nebo at Borsippa, but appears as a form of Ištar, worshipped, with Anu her father, at Erech.

Nin-aha-kuku, a name of Êa or Aa and of his daughter as deity of the rivers, and therefore of gardens and plantations, which were watered by means of the small canals leading therefrom. As daughter of Êa, this deity was also "lady of the incantation."

Nin-azu, the consort of Ereš-ki-gal, probably as "lord physician." He is probably to be identified with Nerigal.

Nin-igi-nagar-si, a name somewhat more doubtful as to its reading than the others, designates Êa or Aa as "the god of the carpenter." He seems to have borne this as "the great constructor of heaven" or "of Anu."

Nin-mah, chief goddess of the temple Ê-mah in Babylon. Probably to be identified with Aruru, and therefore with Zer-panîtum.

Nin-šah, a deity whose name is conjectured to mean "lord of the wild boar." He seems to have been a god of war, and was identified with Nirig or Ênu-rêštu and Pap-sukal.

Nin-sirsir, Êa as the god of sailors.

Nin-sun, as pointed out by Jastrow, was probably the same as Ištar or Nanâ of Erech, where she had a shrine, with them, in Ê-anna, "the house of Anu." He renders her name "the annihilating lady,"[*] "appropriate for the consort of a sun-god," for such he regards Lugal- banda her spouse. King Sin-gasid of Erech (about 3000 B.C.) refers to her as his mother.

[*] This is due to the second element of the name having, with another pronunciation, the meaning of "to destroy."

Nun-urra.--Êa, as the god of potters.

Pap-sukal.--A name of Nin-šah as the "divine messenger," who is also described as god "of decisions." Nin-šah would seem to have been one of the names of Pap-sukal rather than the reverse.

Qarradu, "strong," "mighty," "brave."--This word, which was formerly translated "warrior," is applied to several deities, among them being Bêl, Nergal, Nirig (Ênu-rêštu), and Šamaš, the sun-god.

Ragimu and Ramimu, names of Rimmon or Hadad as "the thunderer." The second comes from the same root as Rammanu (Rimmon).

Šuqamunu.--A deity regarded as "lord of watercourses," probably the artificial channels dug for the irrigation of fields.

Ura-gala, a name of Nerigal.

Uraš, a name of Nirig, under which he was worshipped at Dailem, near Babylon.

Zagaga, dialectic Zamama.--This deity, who was a god of war, was identified with Nirig. One of this titles was /bêl parakki/, "lord of the royal chamber," or "throne-room."

Zaraqu or Zariqu.--As the root of this name means "to sprinkle," he was probably also a god of irrigation, and may have presided over ceremonial purification. He is mentioned in names as the "giver of seed" and "giver of a name" (i.e. offspring).

These are only a small proportion of the names found in the inscriptions, but short as the list necessarily is, the nature, if not the full composition, of the Babylonian pantheon will easily be estimated therefrom.

It will be seen that besides the identifications of the deities of all the local pantheons with each other, each divinity had almost as many names as attributes and titles, hence their exceeding multiplicity. In such an extensive pantheon, many of the gods composing it necessarily overlap, and identification of each other, to which the faith, in its primitive form, was a stranger, were inevitable. The tendency to monotheism which this caused will be referred to later on. The gods and the heavenly bodies.

It has already been pointed out that, from the evidence of the Babylonian syllabary, the deities of the Babylonians were not astral in their origin, the only gods certainly originating in heavenly bodies being the sun and the moon. This leads to the supposition that the Babylonians, bearing these two deities in mind, may have asked themselves why, if these two were represented by heavenly bodies, the others should not be so represented also. Be this as it may, the other deities of the pantheon were so represented, and the full planetary scheme, as given by a bilingual list in the British Museum, was as follows:

Aku Sin the moon Sin Bišebi Šamaš the sun Šamaš

Dapinu Umun-sig-êa Jupiter Merodach Zib[*] Dele-bat Venus Ištar Lu-lim Lu-bat-sag-uš Saturn Nirig (acc. to Jensen) Bibbu Lubat-gud Mercury Nebo Simutu Muštabarru Mars Nergal mûtanu

All the above names of planets have the prefix of divinity, but in other inscriptions the determinative prefix is that for "star," /kakkabu/.

[*] This is apparently a Sumerian dialectic form, the original word having seemingly been Zig.

Moon and Sun.

Unfortunately, all the above identifications of the planets with the deities in the fourth column are not certain, namely, those corresponding with Saturn, Mercury, and Mars. With regard to the others, however, there is no doubt whatever. The reason why the moon is placed before the sun is that the sun, as already explained, was regarded as his son. It was noteworthy also that the moon was accredited with two other offspring, namely, Mâšu and Mâštu--son and daughter respectively. As /mâšu/ means "twin," these names must symbolise the two halves, or, as we say, "quarters" of the moon, who were thus regarded, in Babylonian mythology, as his "twin children."

Jupiter and Saturn.

Concerning Jupiter, who is in the above called Dapinu (Semitic), and Umun-sig-êa (Sumerian), it has already been noted that he was called Nibiru--according to Jensen, Merodach as he who went about among the stars "pasturing" them like sheep, as stated in the Babylonian story of the Creation (or Bel and the Dragon). This is explained by him as being due to the comparatively rapid and extensive path of Jupiter on the ecliptic, and it would seem probable that the names of Saturn, /Kâawanu/ and /Sag-uš/ (the former, which is Semitic Babylonian, meaning "steadfast," or something similar, and the latter, in

Sumerian, "head-firm" or "steadfast"--"phlegmatic"), to all appearance indicate in like manner the deliberation of his movements compared with those of the planet dedicated to the king of the gods.

Venus at sunrise and sunset. A fragment of a tablet published in 1870 gives some interesting particulars concerning the planet Venus, probably explaining some as yet unknown mythological story concerning her. According to this, she was a female at sunset, and a male at sunrise; Ištar of Agadé (Akad or

Akkad) at sunrise, and Ištar of Erech at sunset: Ištar of the stars at sunrise, and the lady of the gods at sunset. And in the various months.

Ištar was identified with Nin-si-anna in the first month of the year (Nisan= March-April), with the star of the bow in Ab (August-September), etc. In Sebat (January-February) she was the star of the water-channel, Ikû, which was Merodach’s star in Sivan (May-June), and in Marcheswan her star was Rabbu, which also belonged to Merodach in the same month. It will thus be seen, that Babylonian astronomy is far from being as clear as would be desired, but doubtless many difficulties will disappear when further inscriptions are available.

Stars identified with Merodach. The same fragment gives the celestial names of Merodach for every month of the year, from which it would appear, that the astrologers called him Umun-sig-êa in Nisan (March-April), Dapinu in Tammuz (June-July), Nibiru in Tisri (September-October), Šarru (the star Regulus), in Tebet (December-January), etc. The first three are names by which the planet Jupiter was known. As for the planets and stars, so also for the constellations, which are identified with many gods and divine beings, and probably contain references, in their names and descriptions, to many legends. In the sixth tablet of the Creation-series, it is related of Merodach that, after creating the heavens and the stations for Anu, Bêl, and Ae, "He built firmly the stations of the great gods-- Stars their likeness--he set up the /Lumali/, He designated the year, he outlined the (heavenly) forms.

He set for the twelve months three stars each, From the day when the year begins, . . . for signs." As pointed out by Mr. Robert Brown, jr., who has made a study of these things, the "three stars" for each month occur on one of the remains of planispheres in the British Museum, and are completed by a tablet which gives them in list-form, in one case with explanations. Until these are properly identified, however, it will be impossible to estimate their real value. The signs of the Zodiac, which are given by another tablet, are of greater interest, as they are the originals of those which are in use at the present time:-- Month Sign Equivalent Nisan (Mar.-Apr.) The Labourer The Ram Iyyar (Apr.-May) /Mulmula/ and the Bull of heaven The Bull Sivan (May-June) /Sib-zi-anna/ and the great Twins The Twins Tammuz (June-July) /Allul/ or /Nagar/ The Crab Ab (July.-Aug.) The Lion (or dog) The Lion Elul (Aug.-Sep.) The Ear of corn(?) The ear of Corn (Virgo) Tisri (Sep.-Oct.) The Scales The Scales Marcheswan (Oct.-Nov.) The Scorpion The Scorpion Chisleu (Nov.-Dec.) /Pa-bil-sag/ The Archer Tebet (Dec.-Jan.) /Sahar-maš/, the Fish-kid The Goat Sebat (Jan.-Feb.) /Gula/ The Water-bearer Adar (Feb.-Mar.) The Water Channel and the Tails The Fishes Parallels in Babylonian legends. The "bull of heaven" probably refers to some legend such as that of the story of Gilgameš in his conflict with the goddess Ištar when the divine bull was killed; /Sib-zi-anna/, "the faithful shepherd of heaven," suggests that this constellation may refer to Tammuz, the divine shepherd; whilst "the scorpion" reminds us of the scorpion-men who guarded the gate of the sun (Šamaš), when Gilgameš was journeying to gain information concerning his friend Enki-du, who had departed to the place of the dead. Sir Henry Rawlinson many years ago pointed out that the story of the Flood occupied the eleventh tablet of the Gilgameš series, corresponding with the eleventh sign of the Zodiac, Aquarius, or the Water-bearer.

Other star-names.

Other names of stars or constellations include "the weapon of Merodach’s hand," probably that with which he slew the dragon of Chaos; "the Horse," which is described as "the god Zû," Rimmon’s storm-bird--Pegasus; "the Serpent," explained as Ereš-ki-gal, the queen of Hades, who would therefore seem to have been conceived in that form; "the Scorpion," which is given as /Išhara tântim/, "Išhara of the sea," a description difficult to explain, unless it refer to her as the goddess of the Phœnician coast. Many other identifications, exceedingly interesting, await solution.

How the gods were represented. On cylinder-seals.

Many representations of the gods occur, both on bas-reliefs, boundary-stones, and cylindrical and ordinary seals. Unfortunately, their identification generally presents more or less difficulty, on account of the absence of indications of their identity. On a small cylinder-seal in the possession of the Rev. Dr. W. Hayes Ward, Merodach is shown striding along the serpentine body of Tiawath, who turns her head to attack him, whilst the god threatens her with a pointed weapon which he carries. Another, published by the same scholar, shows a deity, whom he regards as being Merodach, driven in a chariot drawn by a winged lion, upon whose shoulders stands a naked goddess, holding thunderbolts in each hand, whom he describes as Zer-panîtum. Another cylinder-seal shows the corn-deity, probably Nisaba, seated in flounced robe and horned hat, with corn-stalks springing out from his shoulders, and holding a twofold ear of corn in his hand, whilst an attendant introduces, and another with a threefold ear of corn follows, a man carrying a plough, apparently as an offering. On another, a beautiful specimen from Assyria, Ištar is shown standing on an Assyrian lion, which turns his head as if to caress her feet. As goddess of war, she is armed with bow and arrows, and her star is represented upon the crown of her tiara.