9
On boundary-stones, etc. On the boundary-stones of Babylonia and the royal monoliths of Assyria the emblems of the gods are nearly always seen. Most prominent are three horned tiaras, emblematic, probably, of Merodach, Anu, and Bêl (the older). A column ending in a ram’s head is used for Êa or Ae, a crescent for Sin or Nannar, the moon-god; a disc with rays for Šamaš, the sun-god; a thunderbolt for Rimmon or Hadad, the god of thunder, lightning, wind, and storms; a lamp for Nusku, etc. A bird, perhaps a hawk, stood for Utu-gišgallu, a deity whose name has been translated "the southern sun," and is explained in the bilingual inscriptions as Šamaš, the sun-god, and Nirig, one of the gods of war. The emblem of Gal-alim, who is identified with the older Bêl, is a snarling dragon’s head forming the termination of a pole, and that of Dun-ašaga is a bird’s head similarly posed. On a boundary-stone of the time of Nebuchadnezzar I., about 1120 B.C., one of the signs of the gods shows a horse’s head in a kind of shrine, probably the emblem of Rimmon’s storm-bird, Zû, the Babylonian Pegasus.
Other divine figures.
One of the finest of all the representations of divinities is that of the "Sun-god-stone," found by Mr. Hormuzd Rassam at Abu-habbah (the ancient Sippar), which was one of the chief seats of his worship. It represents him, seated in his shrine, holding in his hand a staff and a ring, his usual emblems, typifying his position as judge of the world and his endless course. The position of Merodach as sun-god is confirmed by the small lapis-lazuli relief found by the German expedition at the mound known as Amran ibn ’Ali, as he also carries a staff and a ring, and his robe is covered with ornamental circles, showing, in all probability, his solar nature. In the same place another small relief representing Rimmon or Hadad was found. His robe has discs emblematical of the five planets, and he holds in each hand a thunderbolt, one of which he is about to launch forth. Merodach is accompanied by a large two-horned dragon, whilst Hadad has a small winged dragon, typifying the swiftness of his course, and another animal, both of which he holds with cords.
CHAPTER V THE DEMONS: EXORCISMS AND CEREMONIES
Good and evil spirits, gods and demons, were fully believed in by the Babylonians and Assyrians, and many texts referring to them exist. Naturally it is not in some cases easy to distinguish well between the special functions of these supernatural appearances which they supposed to exist, but their nature is, in most cases, easily ascertained from the inscriptions. To all appearance, the Babylonians imagined that spirits resided everywhere, and lay in wait to attack mankind, and to each class, apparently, a special province in bringing misfortune, or tormenting, or causing pain and sickness, was assigned. All the spirits, however, were not evil, even those whose names would suggest that their character was such--there were good "liers in wait," for instance, as well as evil ones, whose attitude towards mankind was beneficent. The /utukku/. This was a spirit which was supposed to do the will of Anu, the god of the heavens. There was the /utukku/ of the plain, the mountains, the sea, and the grave. The /âlû/. Regarded as the demon of the storm, and possibly, in its origin, the same as the divine bull sent by Ištar to attack Gilgameš, and killed by Enki-du. It spread itself over a man, overpowering him upon his bed, and attacking his breast. The /êdimmu/. This is generally, but wrongly, read /êkimmu/, and translated "the seizer," from /êkemu/, "to seize." In reality, however, it was an ordinary spirit, and the word is used for the wraiths of the departed. The "evil /êdimmu/" was apparently regarded as attacking the middle part of a man. The /gallu/. As this word is borrowed from the Sumerian /galla/, which has a dialectic form, /mulla/, it is not improbable that it may be connected with the word /mula/, meaning "star," and suggesting something which is visible by the light it gives--possibly a will-o’-the-wisp,--though others are inclined to regard the word as being connected with /gala/, "great." In any case, its meaning seems to have become very similar to "evil spirit" or "devil" in general, and is an epithet applied by the Assyrian king Aššur-bani-âpli to Te-umman, the Elamite king against whom he fought. The /îlu limnu/, "evil god," was probably originally one of the deities of Tiawath’s brood, upon whom Merodach’s redemption had had no effect. The /rabisu/ is regarded as a spirit which lay in wait to pounce upon his prey. The /labartu/, in Sumerian /dimme/, was a female demon. There were seven evil spirits of this kind, who were apparently regarded as being daughters of Anu, the god of the heavens. The /labasu/, in Sumerian /dimmea/, was apparently a spirit which overthrew, that being the meaning of the root from which the word comes. The /âhhazu/, in Sumerian /dimme-kur/, was apparently so called as "the seizer," that being the meaning indicated by the root. The /lilu/, in Sumerian /lila/, is generally regarded as "the night-monster," the word being referred to the Semitic root /lîl/ or /layl/, whence the Hebrew /layil/, Arabic /layl/, "night." Its origin, however, is Sumerian, from /lila/, regarded as meaning "mist." To the word /lilu/ the ancient Babylonians formed a feminine, /lilîthu/, which entered the Hebrew language under the form of /lilith/, which was, according to the rabbins, a beautiful woman, who lay in wait for children by night. The /lilu/ had a companion who is called his handmaid or servant. The /namtaru/ was apparently the spirit of fate, and therefore of greater importance than those already mentioned. This being was regarded as the beloved son of Bêl, and offspring of /Ereš-ki-gal/ or Persephone, and he had a spouse named /Huš-bi-šaga/. Apparently he executed the instructions given him concerning the fate of men, and could also have power over certain of the gods. The /šêdu/ were apparently deities in the form of bulls. They were destructive, of enormous power, and unsparing. In a good sense the /šêdu/ was a protecting deity, guarding against hostile attacks. Erech and the temple Ê-kura were protected by spirits such as these, and to one of them Išum, "the glorious sacrificer," was likened. The /lamassu/, from the Sumerian /lama/, was similar in character to the /šêdu/, but is thought to have been of the nature of a colossus--a winged man-headed bull or lion. It is these creatures which the kings placed at the sides of the doors of their palaces, to protect the king’s footsteps. In early Babylonian times a god named Lama was one of the most popular deities of the Babylonian pantheon. A specimen incantation.
Numerous inscriptions, which may be regarded as dating, in their origin, from about the middle of the third millennium before Christ, speak of these supernatural beings, and also of others similar. One of the most perfect of these inscriptions is a large bilingual tablet of which a duplicate written during the period of the dynasty of Hammurabi (before 2000 B.C.) exists, and which was afterwards provided with a Semitic Babylonian translation. This inscription refers to the evil god, the evil /utukku/, the /utukku/ of the plain, of the mountain, of the sea, and of the grave; the evil /šêdu/, the glorious /âlû/, or divine bull, and the evil unsparing wind. There was also that which takes the form of a man, the evil face, the evil eye, the evil mouth, the evil tongue, the evil lip, the evil breath; also the afflicting /asakku/ (regarded as the demon of fever), the /asakku/ which does not leave a man: the afflicting /namtaru/ (fate), the severe /namtaru/, the /namtaru/ which does not quit a man. After this are mentioned various diseases, bodily pains, annoyances, such as "the old shoe, the broken shoe-lace, the food which afflicts the body of a man, the food which turns in eating, the water which chokes in drinking," etc. Other things to be exorcised included the spirit of death, people who had died of hunger, thirst, or in other ways; the handmaid of the /lilu/ who had no husband, the prince of the /lilu/ who had no wife, whether his name had been recorded or unrecorded. The method of exorcising the demons causing all these things is curious. White and black yarn was spun, and fastened to the side and canopy of the afflicted person’s bed--the white to the side and the top or canopy, the black to the left hand--and then, apparently, the following words were said:--
"Evil /utukku/, evil /âlû/, evil /êdimmu/, evil /gallu/, evil god, evil /rabisu/, /labartu/, /labasu/, /âhhazu/, /lilu/, /lilithu/, handmaid of /lilu/, sorcery, enchantment, magic, disaster, machination which is not good--may they not set their head to his head, their hand to his hand, their foot to his foot--may they not draw near. Spirit of heaven, mayest thou exorcise, spirit of earth, mayest thou exorcise." But this was only the beginning of the real ceremony. The god Asari-alim-nunna (Merodach), "eldest son of Êridu," was asked to wash him in pure and bright water twice seven times, and then would the evil lier-in-wait depart, and stand aside, and a propitious /šêdu/ and a propitious /labartu/ reside in his body. The gates right and left having been thus, so to say, shut close, the evil gods, demons, and spirits would be unable to approach him, wherever he might be. "Spirit of heaven, exorcise, spirit of earth, exorcise." Then, after an invocation of Êrêš-ki-gal and Išum, the final paragraph was pronounced:-- "The afflicted man, by an offering of grace In health like shining bronze shall be made bright. As for that man, Šamaš shall give him life.
Merodach, first-born son of the Abyss, It is thine to purify and glorify.
Spirit of heaven, mayest thou exorcise, spirit of earth, mayest thou exorcise."
Rites and ceremonies. As may be expected, the Babylonians and Assyrians had numerous rites and ceremonies, the due carrying out of which was necessary for the attainment of the grace demanded, or for the efficacy of the thanks tendered for favours received.
Perhaps the oldest ceremony recorded is that which Ut-napištim, the Chaldæan Noah, made on the /zikkurat/ or peak of the mountain after the coming forth from the ship which had saved him and his from the Flood. The Patriarch’s description of this ceremony is short:-- "I sent forth to the four winds, I poured out a libation I made an offering on the peak of the mountain:
Seven and seven I set incense-vases there, Into their depths I poured cane, cedar, and scented wood(?). The gods smelled a savour, The gods smelled a sweet savour, The gods gathered like flies over the sacrificer."
Following in the footsteps of their great progenitor, the Babylonians and Assyrians became a most pious race, constantly rendering to their gods the glory for everything which they succeeded in bringing to a successful issue. Prayer, supplication, and self-abasement before their gods seem to have been with them a duty and a pleasure:-- "The time for the worship of the gods was my heart’s delight, The time of the offering to Ištar was profit and riches," sings Ludlul the sage, and all the people of his land were one with him in that opinion.
It is noteworthy that the offering of the Chaldæan Noah consisted of vegetable produce only, and there are many inscriptions referring to similar bloodless sacrifices, and detailing the ritual used in connection therewith. Sacrifices of animals, however, seem to have been constantly made--in any case, offerings of cattle and fowl, in list-form, are fairly numerous. Many a cylinder-seal has a representation of the owner bringing a young animal--a kid or a lamb--as an offering to the deity whom he worshipped, and in the inscriptions the sacrifice of animals is frequently referred to. One of the bilingual texts refers to the offering of a kid or some other young animal, apparently on behalf of a sick man. The text of this, where complete, runs as follows:-- "The fatling which is the ’head-raiser’ of mankind-- He has given the fatling for his life.
He has given the head of the fatling for his head, He has given the neck of the fatling for his neck, He has given the breast of the fatling for his breast."
Whether human sacrifices were common or not is a doubtful point. Many cylinder-seals exist in which the slaying of a man is depicted, and the French Assyriologist Menant was of opinion that they represented a human offering to the gods. Hayes Ward, however, is inclined to doubt this explanation, and more evidence would seem, therefore, to be needed. He is inclined to think that, in the majority of cases, the designs referred to show merely the victims of divine anger or vengeance, punished by the deity for some misdeed or sin, either knowingly or unknowingly committed. In the Assyrian galleries of the British Museum, Aššur-nasir-âpli, king of Assyria, is several times shown engaged in religious ceremonies--either worshipping before the sacred tree, or about to pour out, apparently, a libation to the gods before departing upon some expedition, and priests bringing offerings, either animal or vegetable, are also represented. Aššur-banî-âpli, who is identified with "the great and noble Asnapper," is shown, in bas-reliefs of the Assyrian Saloon, pouring out a thank-offering over the lions which he has killed, after his return from the hunt.
CHAPTER VI PROBLEMS WHICH THE STUDY OFFERS Monotheism. As the matter of Babylonian monotheism has been publicly touched upon by Fried. Delitzsch in his "Babel und Bibel" lectures, a few words upon that important point will be regarded in all probability as appropriate. It has already been indicated that the giving of the names of "the gods his fathers" to Merodach practically identified them with him, thus leading to a tendency to monotheism. That tendency is, perhaps, hinted at in a letter of Aššur-banî-âpli to the Babylonians, in which he frequently mentions the Deity, but in doing so, uses either the word /îlu/, "God," Merodach, the god of Babylon, or Bêl, which may be regarded as one of his names. The most important document for this monotheistic tendency, however (confirming as it does the tablet of the fifty-one names), is that in which at least thirteen of the Babylonian deities are identified with Merodach, and that in such a way as to make them merely forms in which he manifested himself to men. The text of this inscription is as follows:-- ". . . is Merodach of planting.
Lugal-aki-. . . is Merodach of the water-course.
Nirig is Merodach of strength.
Nergal is Merodach of war.
Zagaga is Merodach of battle.
Bêl is Merodach of lordship and domination.
Nebo is Merodach of trading(?).
Sin is Merodach the illuminator of the night.
Šamaš is Merodach of righteous things.
Addu is Merodach of rain.
Tišpak is Merodach of frost(?).
Sig is Merodach of green things(?).
Šuqamunu is Merodach of the irrigation-channel."
Here the text breaks off, but must have contained several more similar identifications, showing how at least the more thoughtful of the Babylonians of old looked upon the host of gods whom they worshipped. What may be the date of this document is uncertain, but as the colophon seems to describe it as a copy of an older inscription, it may go back as far as 2000 years B.C. This is the period at which the name /Yaum-îlu/ "Jah is God," is found, together with numerous references to /îlu/ as the name for the one great god, and is also, roughly, the date of Abraham, who, it may be noted, was a Babylonian of Ur of the Chaldees. It will probably not be thought too venturesome to say that his monotheism was possibly the result of the religious trend of thought in his time.
Dualism.
Damascius, in his valuable account of the belief of the Babylonians concerning the Creation, states that, like the other barbarians, they reject the doctrine of the one origin of the universe, and constitute two, Tauthé (Tiawath) and Apason (Apsu). This twofold principle, however, is only applicable to the system in that it makes of the sea and the deep (for such are the meanings of the two words) two personages--the female and the male personifications of primæval matter, from which all creation sprang, and which gave birth to the gods of heaven themselves. As far as the physical constituents of these two principals are concerned, their tenets might be described as having "materialistic monism" as their basis, but inasmuch as they believed that each of these two principals had a mind, the description "idealistic monism" cannot be applied to it--it is distinctly a dualism. And Monism.
Divested of its idealistic side, however, there would seem to be no escape from regarding the Babylonian idea of the origin of things as monistic.[*] This idea has its reflection, though not its reproduction, in Genesis 1:2, Genesis 1:6-7, water is represented as the first thing existing, though not the first abode of life. This divergency from the Babylonian view was inevitable with a monotheistic nation, such as the Jews were, regarding as they did the Deity as the great source of everything existing. What effect the moving of the Spirit of God upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2) was supposed by them to have had, is uncertain, but it is to be noted that it was the land (Genesis 1:11-12) which first brought forth, at the command of God.
[*] Monism. The doctrine which holds that in the universe there is only a single element or principle from which everything is developed, this single principle being either mind (/idealistic monism/) or matter (/materialistic monism/). (Annandale.) The future life. The belief in a future life is the natural outcome of a religious belief such as the Babylonians, Assyrians, and many of the surrounding nations possessed. As has been shown, a portion of their creed consisted in hero-worship, which pre-supposes that the heroes in question continued to exist, in a state of still greater power and glory, after the conclusion of their life here upon earth.
"The god Bêl hates me--I cannot dwell in this land, and in the territory of Bêl I cannot set my face. I shall descend then to the Abyss; with Aa my lord shall I constantly dwell." It is with these words that, by the counsel of the god Aa, Ut-napištim explained to those who questioned him the reason why he was building the ship or ark which was to save him and his from the Flood, and there is but little doubt that the author of the story implied that he announced thereby his approaching death, or his departure to dwell with his god without passing the dread portals of the great leveller. This belief in the life beyond the grave seems to have been that which was current during the final centuries of the third millennium before Christ--when a man died, it was said that his god took him to himself, and we may therefore suppose, that there were as many heavens--places of contentment and bliss--as there were gods, and that every good man was regarded as going and dwelling evermore with the deity which he had worshipped and served faithfully during his lifetime.
Gilgameš, the half-divine king of Erech, who reigned during the half-mythical period, on losing his friend and counsellor, Enki-du, set out to find him, and to bring him back, if possible, from the underworld where he was supposed to dwell. His death, however, had not been like that of an ordinary man; it was not Namtaru, the spirit of fate, who had taken him, nor a misfortune such as befalls ordinary men, but Nerigal’s unsparing lier-in-wait--yet though Nerigal was the god of war, Enki-du had not fallen on the battlefield of men, but had been seized by the earth (apparently the underworld where the wicked are is meant) in consequence, seemingly, of some trick or trap which had been laid for him. The gods were therefore prayed, in turn, to bring him back, but none of them listened except Êa, who begged him of Nerigal, whereupon the latter opened the entrance to the place where he was--the hole of the earth--and brought forth "the spirit (/utukku/) of Enki-du like mist." Immediately after this come the words, "Tell, my friend, tell, my friend--the law of the land which thou sawest, tell," and the answer, "I will not tell thee, friend, I will not tell thee--if I tell thee the law of the land which I saw, . . . sit down, weep." Ultimately, however, the person appealed to--apparently the disembodied Enki-du--reveals something concerning the condition of the souls in the place of his sojourn after death, as follows:-- "Whom thou sawest [die] the death(?) [of][*] . . . [I see]-- In the resting-place of . . . reposing, pure waters he drinketh. Whom in the battle thou sawest killed, I see-- His father and his mother raise his head, And his wife upon [him leaneth?]. Whose corpse thou hast seen thrown down in the plain, I see-- His /edimmu/ in the earth reposeth not. Whose /edimmu/ thou sawest without a caretaker, I see-- The leavings of the dish, the remains of the food, Which in the street is thrown, he eateth."
[*] (?)"The death of the righteous," or something similar?
It is naturally difficult to decide in a passage like this, the difference existing between a man’s /utukku/ and his /edimmu/, but the probability is, that the former means his spiritual essence, whilst the latter stands for the ghostly shadow of his body, resembling in meaning the /ka/ of the Egyptians. To all appearance the abode described above is not the place of the punishment of the wicked, but the dwelling of those accounted good, who, if lucky in the manner of their death, and the disposal of their bodies, enjoyed the highest happiness in the habitation of the blest. The other place, however, is otherwise described (it occurs in the account of Ištar’s descent into Hades, and in the seventh tablet of the Gilgameš series--the latter differing somewhat):-- "Upon the land of No-return, the region of . . ., [Set] Istar, daughter of Sin, her ear. The daughter of Sin set then her ear . . .
Upon the house of gloom, the seat of Irkalla--[*] Upon the house whose entrance hath no exit,[†] Upon the path whose way hath no return, Upon the house whose enterers are deprived of light, Where dust is their nourishment, their food mud, Light they see not, in darkness they dwell, Clothed also, like a bird, in a dress of feathers.
Upon the door and bolt the dust hath blown."
[*] One of the names of Nergal.
[†] Or "whose enterer goeth not forth."
Seven gates gave access to this place of gloom, and the porter, as he let the visitor in, took from her (the goddess Ištar in the narrative) at each an article of clothing, until, at the last, she entered quite naked, apparently typifying the fact that a man can take nothing with him when he dieth, and also, in this case, that he has not even his good deeds wherewith to clothe himself, for had they outweighed his evil ones, he would not have found himself in that dread abode. On the arrival of Ištar in Hades, Erêš-ki-gal commanded Namtaru, the god of fate, to smite Ištar with disease in all her members--eyes, sides, feet, heart, and head. As things went wrong on the earth in consequence of the absence of the goddess of love, the gods sent a messenger to effect her release. When he reached the land of No-return, the queen of the region threatened him with all kinds of torments--the food of the gutters of the city were to be his food, the oil-jars of the city (naptha?) his drink, the gloom of the castle his resting-place, a stone slab his seat, and hunger and thirst were to shatter his strength. These were evidently the punishments inflicted there, but as the messenger threatened was a divine one, they were probably not put into execution, and he obtained his demand, for Ištar was set free, receiving back at each gate, in reverse order, the clothing and ornaments which had been taken from her when she had descended thither. It is uncertain whether Tammuz, for whom she had gone down, was set free also, but as he is referred to, it is not improbable that this was the case.
WORKS BEARING UPON THE RELIGION OF THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYRIANS Hibbert Lectures, 1887. The Religion of the Ancient Babylonians, by Professor A. H. Sayce. The Religious Ideas of the Babylonians, by the Author, 1895 (Journal of the Victoria Institute, also separately). The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, by Morris Jastrow, jun., 1898. (German edition, vol. i. 1905, vol. ii. in progress.) Babylonian Religion and Mythology, by L. W. King, M.A., 1899.
Gifford Lectures, 1902. Religions of Egypt and Babylonia, by Professor A. H. Sayce. The O.T. in the Light of the Records of Assyria and Babylonia, by the Author, 1903. (The portions referring to Babylonian Mythology.) The Hymns to Tammuz in the Manchester Museum, Owens College, by the Author, 1904.
ARTICLES UPON THE ASSYRIAN AND BABYLONIAN DEITIES, AND THE RELIGION OF THREE NATIONS, IN Dictionary of the Bible, edited by Dr. James Hastings, and Encyclopædia Biblica, edited by Professor Cheyne.