Religion of babylonia

553 Not knowing whether the bewitchment is due to & sorcerer or a sorceress, the victim has made an image of each, and then, referring more particu- larly to the witch, he exclaims— May she die! Let me live!’ Cleansing potions concocted of various herbs are drunk by the victim, who hopes in this way to become ‘as pure as water,’ ‘resplendent as fire.’ As a specimen of a genuine incantation formula the following may serve— Earth, earth, earth ! Gilgamesh is the master of your witchcraft ; What ye have done, I know; What I do, you know not ; All the mischief wrought by my sorcerers is destroyed, dissolved—is gone.’ What is here expressed as a fact is intended as a hope to be realized after the accomplishment of the incantation rites. A variety of symbolical rites are then prescribed, such as depositing the image of the witch in a boat placed on the waters, and surrounded by an enclosure so as to prevent her escape; while, in connexion with the burning of the images, hymns, at times most impressive in diction, are addressed to the fire-god Nusku or Girru. The purpose of thus furnishing a variety of rites is to afford a chance to the exorcizer to select the one appropriate to the case with which he is asked to deal. No fewer than ten different kinds of material are prescribed for the making of the images—wax, earth, bronze, honey, clay, pitch, sesame flour, pitch with clay, and two varieties of wood.t For each material a special incantation is prescribed, though the formulas do not differ very materially from one another. The thought, both in the mind of the exorcizer in rescribing and of the victim in carrying out the urning rite, is clearly brought out in the words uttered as the images are consumed— ‘On this day, arise { to my judgment ; Suppress the mischief, overpower the evil. As these images tremble, dissolve, and melt away, So may the sorcerer and sorceress tremble, dissolve, and melt away.’ Just as the images of the sorcerer and the sorceress were made to be burnt in certain prescribed cases, so, in others, images of the demons were destroyed in a similar manner. An incantation in connexion with such a rite furnishes the names of the chief classes of demons— ‘I raise the torch, their images I burn— Of the utukku, the shedu, the rabisu, the ekimmu, The labartu, the labasu, the akhkhazu. Of the lilu, lilitu, and ardat Lili, And of every evil that seizes hold of men. Tremble, melt away and disappear ! May your smoke rise to heaven ! May Shamash destroy your limbs! May the son of Ea,$. the chief exorcizer, restrain your strength !’ Of these demons the two first appear to have been of a general character, both terms convey- ing the idea of strength. Rabisu, signifying ‘the one who lies in wait,’ is a demon who springs upon his victim unawares; eXimmu, also used to describe the ‘ghost’ of a man, represents the class of demons that infest the graves. Labartu is the demon who is particularly dangerous to women and children; of labasu, ‘the one who throws down,’ and akhkhazu, ‘the seizer,’ we only know that they have the roe of securing their victims under their control ; while /i/u (‘night’), lilitu (feminine form of Jiu), and ardat lili (‘maid of night’) are mischievous spirits who ply their trade at night under cover of darkness. The semi-mythical hero whose deeds are celebrated in the Gilgamesh epic, upon which we shall touch later on. t One ¢f them cedar; the other, called binu, has not been \dentified. t The address is ‘to the fire-god.’ 6%.e Marduk. In regard to all these names, the remark applies that they represent general classes of demons rather than individual spirits, and that (excluding shedu) the first six named, moreover, are some- times used to designate demons in general. Simi- larly, two other designations that frequently occur in the incantation texts—alu, signifying probably ‘the strong one,’ and gallu, ‘the great one’—are used, though not always, in a very general way. This indicates that, if at one time a differentia- tion was attempted, that period was succeeded by one in which the various designations for demons represented, in the case of those most frequently used, merely the different forms of activity repre- sented by the demons, and in the case of others the time and the various ways in which they attack and secure control of their victims. Somewhat different is the use of the term shedu, which is applied both to a hostile demon and to the protecting spirit who stands by man’s side and helps him in his endeavour to thwart the attack of the demons, or to rid himself of them. The latter use is the more usual, and in this sense the term is generally associated with ldamassu, which likewise represents a protecting power. The two, shedu and lamassu, were symbolized by fan- tastic creatures—one with the features of a lion, the other with those of a bull—placed as guardians at the entrances of palace gates and doors. This symbolization, however, which is an outcome prob- ably of the idea of strength connected with the demons, and recalled by the lion and the bull, appears to have belonged to a comparatively late period, for in the days of Hammurabi we still find damassu used to designate the chief protect- ing deity of a place. It is only, therefore, as the differentiation between god and spirit becomes sharply defined, that /amassu—represented ideo- graphically by two signs with the force of ‘ strong god ’—is confined in its application to a protect- ing and favourably inclined spirit or demon, while the double sense in which shedu, also embodying the idea of ‘strength,’ is used, testifies to the currency of the earlier conception whereby the demons were viewed as either favourable or un- favourable. Corresponding to the tendency to differentiate gods from spirits, the view seems to have arisen that in general the gods were favourably inclined, or could be made so, by propitiation, appeals, and gifts ; whereas the demons, as a rule, were hostile, and could be overcome only with the help of the gods. The shedu and lamassu were the exceptions, and could therefore be appealed to in the struggle against the hostile forces equally with the gods. Accordingly, we frequently find the hope expressed in the incantations that the bad demons may be ' driven out of the body, and that the shedw and lamassu may enter into the head or into the limbs of the unfortunate victim in place of the utwkku, gallu, alu, etc., as the case may be. Continuing our analysis of the ‘Maklu’ series, the third tablet is concerned largely with descrip- tions of the witches who, possessing the same power as the demons, have the additional quality of being able to select their victims, whereas the demons stumble upon them, as it were, and strike whomsoever they happen to encounter. The witches—and the same applies also to the male sorcerers—appear to have acted not only on their own initiative but when engaged by others to cast their spells on individuals against whom they harboured a grudge for some reason or other. In this connexion it is interesting to note that the laws of Hammurabi, in order to safeguard this means of punishing an enemy, provide that, if a spell be unjustly cast upon a man, the one whe Code de Hammourabi’ (ed. Scheil), obv. col. iv. 56. 554 RELIGION OF BABYLONIA induced the bewitchment shall be put to death. The descriptions of the witches in the third tablet of the ‘ Maklu’ series form an integral part of the incantations. Thus we read at the beginning of this tablet— ‘The witch who goes about through the streets, Enters into houses, Glides into courts, Treads the open places, Turning forwards and backwards, Plants herself in the streets and retraces her steps, Interposes herself on the highway, Robs the good man of his strength, Robs the good maid of her fruit.§ At her sight, desire seizes him ; She sees the man, and robs him of his strength ; She sees the maid, and robs her of her fruit. With her witchcraft she barricaded the way ; With her spittle she blocked the road, The witch saw me, and pursued me.’ But the sorceress ig not always visible to her victim. She can work in silence and be unknown; and it would appear, indeed, that the invisible and unknown witch represents the more potent form of bewitchment. Hence the incantation is at times couched in the form of a question— ‘Who art thou, witch, Who carries the word of my misfortune in her heart, Whose tongue brings about my destruction, Through whose lips I am poisoned, In whose footsteps death follows? O witch, I seize thy mouth, I seize thy tongue, I seize thy piercing eyes, I seize thy restless feet, I seize thy active knees, I seize thy outstretched handa, m T tie thy hands behind thee. May Sin || give thee a fatal blow ! May he cast thee into an abyss of water and fire! O witch, like the setting of this seal ring, May thy tace glow and hecenas pale!’ The witch has endless means at her disposal for securing control of the selected victim. Her spittle is poisonous, and can torture one on whom it falls or whoever treads on it; the words that she utters have a mystic power; and her eye is deadly, and ean spellbind one on whom its glance is thrown. Ever active, moving about on the lookout for her victim, her hands can seize him at any time. Hence the victim, whether already caught, or in danger of falling into the witch’s hands, is told to prepare an image of the sorceress, whoever she may be; and, suiting the action to the word, binds fast the mouth, tongue, lips, limbs, and hands of the image, and then casts the helpless figure into the fire; and, not satisfied with this, drowns it in water. In other incantations in this tablet the witch is pictured as being imprisoned in a pit, and then drowned by having water poured over her; and, again, she is placed on a small ship and given over to the mercy of the elements. In all such cases we are justified in assuming that there was some eymbeneet act suited to the words, carried out in the hope that the symbol, fortified by the proper formulas, will be converted into a reality. More common, however, appears to have been the burning of the images; and, in connexion there- with, we encounter a considerable number of ad- dresses appropriately directed to the fire, god, Girru-Nusku, some of which merit the designation of hymns, embodying an imagery and conceptions that appear to transcend the intellectual horizon of belief in the efficacy of sacred formulas. As a Paragraph 1 of the ‘Code de Hammourabi: (ed. Scheil), obv. col. v. 26-32, Johns’ translation, The Oldest Code of Laws in the World, p. 1. t t.e. moves in all directions, and passes to and fro. ¢ A reference apparently to sexual vigour, § i.e. prevents conception, or brings about a miscarriage. || t.e. the moon-god. | i.e. ‘May thy face glow with the heat of the fire like the metallic setting of a stone seal cylinder, and then lose its colour —like the heated metal when thrown into the water.’ RELIGION OF BABYLONIA specimen — and this is perhaps the finest of this series of addresses—we may choose the one with which the second tablet of the series opens— ‘O Nusku, great god, chief of the great gods, Guardian of the offerings of all the /gigi, Founder of cities, restorer of sanctuaries ; Brilliant day, whose command is supreme ; Messenger of Anu,t obedient to the decrees of Bel; Mighty in battle, whose attack is powerful. Nusku, glowing, overthrower of enemies, Without thee no sacrificial feast is held in E-kur; Without thee Shamash the judge does not execute any judgment,’ Fire being an element common to heaven—aa shown by the lightning—and to earth, the god Nusku is appropriately figured as the messenger of the god of heaven, and as obedient to the dictates of Bel, who here represents the god of earth, The presence of fire in the sanctuaries, and its use in the sanctification of the sacrifices brought by the worshippers, suggest the references in the second and eighth lines of this hymn, while its power as an indispensable factor in all forms of civilization and its destructive force in war emphasize two other phases of the god’s nature. Up to this point we appear to have before us a hymn composed in honour of Nusku that might appropriately have been sung in connexion with a sacrificial ritual in a temple erected in honour of the god in question. The following lines, however, reveal the real bas! pose of the invocation. The victim, about to burn the images of the evil powers that have brought about his misfortune, is represented as saying— ‘I, thy servant So and So,§ son of So and So, Whose god is So and So,\ whose goddess is So and So, I turn to thee, I seek thee, I raise my hands, I prostrate myself before thee: Burn my sorcerer and my witch ; May the life of my sorcerer and my witch be taken hold of and destroyed ! Let me live that I may praise thee, and in bumility extol thee.’ The images, as has already been pene oul were made of various materials, and the secon tablet of the ‘Maklu’ series contains no fewer than eight Nusku hymns, introduced as preludes to the formulas prescribed for the burning of the images of the sorcerers and witches. We are to assume, of course, that the officiating priest selects the one appropriate to the occasion and to the material employed for the making of the image, and gives the necessary instructions to the wor- shipper in regard to the ceremonies to be performed in connexion with the exorcizing rites. But the witch and the sorcerer also have recourse to making images of their proposed victims, and have the power of transferring to the individual the sym- bolical tortures and miseries that they inflict upon his counterpart. The fourth tablet of the series is largely taken up with a description of the various manipulations to which the witches submit the images as a means of adding to the tortures of those whom the images represent. To symbolize | their victims and thus bring about their death, | the witches place the images in coffins and bury them, or immure them, or conceal them under the thresholds of houses—both representing primitive modes of burial,—or they are thrown into wells, or placed on bridges where they would be exposed to being trampled upon, and more of the like. As a counter move, the same treatment was prescribed for the images of the witches, to which, likewise, poisonous plants would be symbolically adminis- A designation for the throng of heavenly deities or spirits. + The god of heaven. t Name of the temple of Bel in Nippur, which, however, hag become a generic designation for a sanctuary, and also for the earth in general. § Here the name of the victim is to be inserted, j || Here the victim names the special patron god and Sere, f whom each individual is supposed to possess, See Jastrow, Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens, p. 194 f. RELIGION OF BABYLONIA tered in order to counteract the poison that the witches had, in some way, introduced into the bodies of their victims; and the attempt, it would seem, was also made to find the hidden images inade of the victims, and thus to release the un- fortunate ones from the ills with which they were afflicted. An incantation at the beginning of the fifth tablet, to be used in connexion with such rites, reads— ‘The witch and the sorceress— She sits in the shadow of the wall, Sits and brings about my bewitchment, makes my images. I will send thee khaltappan plant and sesame, To break ba thy charm, to make thy words return to thee ;t The bewitchment prepared by thee,—may it be for thee! The images that thou hast made,—may they represent thee! The water that thou hast concealed,t{—may it be for thee! coe aed incantation not come nigh, may thy words have no ec’ By command of Ea, Shamash, Marduk, and the great mistress of the gods.’ § This fifth tablet illustrates also the faintness of the demarcation between witch and demon, to which attention has already been directed, || for almost imperceptibly the incantations pass from denunciations of the witches to imprecations hurled against the demons. The last incantation of the tablet, applicable to the demons, furnishes a characteristic example of a direct formula in- tended to drive the demons out of a man’s body— “Away, away, far away, far away! For shame, for shame, fly away, fly away! Round about face, go away, far away ! Out of my body, away ! Out of my body, far away ! Out of my body, for shame! Out of my body, fly away ! Out of my body, round about face ! Out of my body, go away! Into he y do not return ! To my body draw not nigh! To my body do not approach ! Into my body do not force your way! My body torture not ! By Shamash, the mighty, be forsworn! By Ea, the lord of everything, be forsworn ! By Marduk, the chief exorcizer of the gods, be forsworn ! From the fire-god, who consumes you, be forsworn | From my body may you be restrained |’ The sixth tablet of the series is taken up with a series of addresses directed against the witches, and appeals to the fire-god, which furnish some further interesting portrayals of the partly hidden and wholly mischievous workings of the witches, without, however, adding anything of material value to our conception of these beings. In the seventh tablet we pass from incantations used in connexion with the burning of images and with other treatment accorded to them, to the use of oil and water as means of purification. A refer- ence in one of these incantations to the waters of Eridu, the old city sacred to Ea, at the head of the Persian Gulf, is a valuable indication of the place at which this part of the ‘ Maklu’ ritual origi- nated ; and in general, when waters of purification are referred to in the incantation texts, the two chief streams of Babylonia—the Euphrates and the Tigris—both of which had a sacred character, are introduced or implied, though the conception of purification has, in the course of time, widened so as to include the efficacy of water in general as a symbol of purification. It will be sufficient to re- produce one of these incantations, which may serve as a specimen of their general character— ‘I have washed my hands, cleansed my body, With the pure waters of a source which arises in Eridu ; Whatever is evil, whatever is not good, That is lodged in my body, in my flesh, in my limbs,— ie. images of me. t te. lose their power. t.¢. gathered for the purpose of pouring over the image. j t.e. Nin-makh or Ishtar. : I See p. 552a, RELIGION OF BABYLONIA 555 The evil arising from bad dreams, omens, and unfavourable portents, The evil of unfavourable omens for city and country, Which I see by day, Trample on in the street, cast aside,— The evil shedu, the evil utwkku ; Sickness, Pestilence, Fever, Distress, Pain, Complaint, Weakness, Groaning, Woe and Ache, severe bodily affliction, Terror and extreme Misery, etc. etc.’ —all manner of distress, it is hoped, may be effectually removed by the purifying power of the sacred element. The addition of such incantations, in which water plays the chief part of the ritual, points to the composite character of the ‘Maklu’ series, which, from dealing exclusively with the burning of images and with pre to the fire-god, is thus enlarged into a general incantation ritual, to serve as a guide for the exorcizing priest in picking out such portions as are applicable to the case brought before him. Further light is thrown on the prin- ciples underlying the combination of incantations into a fixed and elaborate ritual by the eighth and last tablet of the series, which furnishes a summary of all the incantations contained in the previous seven, by repeating their opening words or lines in uninterrupted succession. One is tempted to con- jecture that this arrangement, which is also found at the close of another incantation series, was in- tended to serve the purposes of an index or table of contents, to enable the officiating functionary of the temple to obtain a rapid survey of the in- cantations comprised in the ritual, and then to turn to those chosen by him. However this may be, the ‘ Maklu’ series, like the various other ones that have been put together from the tablets of Assur- banipal’s library,t clearly points to an elaborate process of composition and editing of the hundreds of formulas produced in the course of time for the purpose of relieving those attacked by the demons, or bewitched by the sorcerers and sorceresses, Besides the incantation series in the proper sense, the priests also compiled for their own use hand- books to serve as guides in the performance of incantation rites, in which specific directions of all kinds are given, detailing the manner in which the images of protecting spirits are to be grouped around the couch on which the man stricken with disease lies, so as to guard him against further harm from the demons; what sacrifices are to be offered in connexion with the recital of the incantations, where they are to be offered, what prayers or formulas should be spoken in connexion with these sacrifices, and more of the like. In the subdivision of priestly functions which followed with the growth of the temples of Babylonia and Assyria, a special class of priests arose, known as the dshipu,t into whose hands the carrying out of exorcizing rites was entrusted ; just as another class, known as the bara, took charge of the omen rituals. Indeed we are justified in concluding from the elaborate character of the incantation texts and the incanta- tion rituals, that, throughout the duration of the Babylono-Assyrian religion, the beliefs upon which The ‘Labartu’ series. See Myhrman, Zeitschrift fir Assyr. xvi. p. 190 f. t+ No fewer than six distinct series are now known, distin- guished by the following names :—1. Maklu, edited by Knudtzon ; 2. Shurpu, ‘Burning,’ ed. by Zimmern, Bettrdge zur Kenntnis der Babylonischen Religion, i., Leipzig, 1896; 3. Labartu, ed. by Mvhrman, Ztschr. fiir Assyr. xvi. 141-200; 4. Utukku limnuti, ‘Evil Demons,’ published in Cuneiform Teats from Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum, part xvi. with supplements in part xvii., London, 1903; 5. Ti’u, ‘Head sick- ness’; and 6, Ashakku marsu, ‘ dAshakku sickness.’ The two last named are published in Cuneiform Texts, part xvii. The last three are transliterated and translated by Thompson in Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia, vols. i. and ii. (London, 1903). t Cf. the equivalent Hebrew term ’ashshap (Dn 1% 2%), 556 RELIGION OF BABYLONIA the incantations rested, and the ceremonies con- nected with the incantations, continued to exer- cise a strong hold on the people, and constituted, in fact, one of the main factors of the religion itself, viewed from the side of religious practice. 4. Omens and oracles.—Inseparably linked to the beliefs on which the incantation texts and rituals rest, is a second branch of the religious literature of the Babylonians and Assyrians. While, as we have seen, the view gradually arose which attri- buted the small ills and minor worries and mis- fortunes of existence to the mischievous workings of evilly disposed demons, whereas the gods were regarded as, on the whole, favourably inclined, it was the gods with whom the control of the fate of the individual, as of the nation, in the final instance rested. To the gods, therefore, the appeal was made for relief from the sufferings caused by demons or witches; and it was of vital importance, even when the skies seemed serene, to retain the favour and goodwill of the gods, so as to be sure of their assistance when clouds appeared on the horizon. Moreover, the faith in the goodness of the gods was not so strong as to engender a feeling of absolute security in their wor- shippers. On the contrary, it was felt that their favour could easily be turned into hostility, and their favourable disposition towards man did not prevent them from manifesting their displeasure at any slight provocation. Failure to bring the proper homage, entering upon an important under- taking without assuring oneself of the support of the deity, or without making certain that it was begun at the proper moment, or even choosing the wrong formulas in an incantation ritual,—these and other errors might be fraught with disastrous consequences. Again, even after the incantation rites had been performed, the prayers recited, the sacrifices brought, the symbolical ceremonies carried out, it was necessary to know whether the hoped-for relief would be forthcoming. To keep the gods favourably disposed, and to determine if possible what help they would grant, were two goals that the worshipper in Babylonia and Assyria was ever Ro pellae to hold before him. Preventive measures were therefore called for, as well as remedial efforts. Punctiliousness in carrying out prescribed rites was an important element in such measures, but by no means the only one; it was is leh important to ascertain in some direct way the will of the gods and their future intentions. If happily one could forestall the future, then all fears might be dissipated, and, at all events, one would not be overwhelmed by an unexpected check to one’s endeavours. Naturally, the occasions when, through the mediation of the priests, oracles were sought, were chiefly such as concerned the general weal. The individual came in for his share, but that share, judging from the specimens of the oracle literature that have been preserved, was a small one in comparison with the part paved by matters of public concern. Most notable among these specimens is a group of prayers addressed to the sun-god, dating from the reigns of Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal. They have reference to expeditions undertaken against a group of nations to the north-east of Assyria known as the Kashtariti, who at various times, abetted by other tribes and peoples settled in their vicinity, appear to have given the Assyrians con- siderable trouble. The interesting feature of these prayers is the pattern according to which they are arranged—a pattern which points to the develop- ment of a fixed ritual prescribed for such occa- sions. Each prayer may be subdivided into five Published by J. A. Knudtzon, Assyrtsche Gebete an den Sonnengott (Leipzig, 1898). RELIGION OF BABYLONIA ——— parts, consisting (1) of a question or a series of questions addressed to the sun-god ; (2) an appeal to the god not to manifest anger, and to forgive errors unwittingly committed in the sacrificial rites that accompany the appeal; (3) a repetition of the question or questions, generally in a some- what varying form; (4) a second appeal; and, finally, (5) an examination of the omens to be derived from the inspection of the sacrificed animals. As in the case of the incantation rituals, the greatest possible care had to be observed in the performance of details. The sacrificial animal— generally a lamb—had to be guarded against all impurities. It must be physically sound, and before passing on to the inspection of the organs— aes the position, proportions, and character of which, together with any possible peculiarities, much depended—the priest was obliged to exercise almost innumerable precautions against interfer- ence with a trustworthy interpretation. He had to don the proper dress, guard himbelf against any kind of impurity; he had to assume the right — Fortsion in making the inspection, which itself | 1ad to proceed in a certain order; he had to speak | the proper words, and much more of the like. In — the questions that he asks, likewise, all contin- | gencies are to be taken into consideration, and ~ the ritual indicates all the various marks and | symptoms that should be sought for in the organs ~ of the sacrificial animal. A few extracts from one | of these prayers will serve as an illustration of the | general character of these oracles. The priest, who throughout the ritual acts as mediator, ad- dresses the sun-god— ‘O Shamash, great lord, as I ask thee, do thou im thy merey answer me, | ‘From this day, the 3rd day of this month of Iyyar (the 2nd month), to the 11th day of the month of Ab (the Bin month) of — thie year, a period of one hundred days and one hundred nights | is the prescribed term for the oracular inquiry.’ The request is thus specified—for an oracle that should indicate what is to take place during the coming 100 days. The question itself, always un- folded in a most elaborate manner, concludes in | one case as follows :— a ‘The capture of that city Kishassu, through any enemy what- | soever within the specified period—is it definitely ordained by | thy great and divine will, O Shamash? Will it actually come | to pass?’ " The phrases used to prevent any interference | with the correct and proper inspection of the | animal are generally as follows :— | ‘Prevent anything unclean from defiling the place of inspeo- tion. Prevent the lamb of thy divinity which is to be inspected from being imperfect and unfit., ‘Guard him who takes hold of the body of the lamb, who is clothed in the proper sacrificial dress, from having eaten, | drunk, or handled anything unclean. Make his hand firm; — guard the diviner, thy servant, from speaking a word hastily,’ After the inspection has been made and all the | various points noted, the priest prays— ‘By virtue of this sacrificial lamb, arise and grant true mercy, favourable conditions of the parts of the animal; may a declaration favourable and beneficial be ordained by thy great divinity ; grant that this may come to pass! To thy great | divinity, O Shamash, great lord, may it be pleasing, and may | an oracle be sent as an answer !’ re Following the same general model, a large | number of questions regarding the outcome of | military movements on the part of the Assyrian | rulers are propounded through the priest, who, in | his capacity as diviner, bears the specific designa- | tion of bdrdé. Subjects of a more personal char- | acter, connected with the royal household, are — likewise introduced. So in one instance an oracle | is sought of Shamash to determine whether Nika, | the mother of Esarhaddon, will recover from a de, ‘the seer ’ from bard, ‘to see,’ RELIGION OF BABYLONIA — sickness from which she is suffering ; and again, before giving his daughter in marriage to a foreigner, Bartatua, the king of Ishkuza,t Esar- haddon inquires whether he is to be trusted, ‘whether he will fulfil the promises that he has made, and execute the decrees of the Assyrian king in good faith.’ Another interesting illustra- tion is furnished by an inquiry on the occasion when the same king proposes to associate his son with him in the affairs of government t— O Shamash, great lord, as I ask thee, do thou in good faith answer me. Esarhaddon, the =] of Assyria, may his purpose be pleasing and meet with success Sresiear gn his son, whose name is written on this tablet and placed before thy great divinity, is it pleasing to thy great divinity, that he should enter into the government,§ is it acceptable in thine eyes? Thy great divinity knows it. Is the entry of Siniddinapal the son of Esarhaddon, whose name is written on this tablet by command of thy great divinity, is it ordained and fixed, O Shamash, great lord! Will it actually come to pass?’ In the oracle texts of the class published by Knudtzon the answers to the questions are not given, the purpose of the texts being to furnish and preserve the rituals observed for the occasions referred to, so that these might serve as models for future days, just as these rituals, no doubt, followed models that had been preserved from earlier days, reverting, in all probability, to the usages developed in the temples of Shamash in Babylonia. Other texts, however, furnish the answers. So we have a series of eight oracles delivered to the same Esarhaddon by the goddess Ishtar of Arbela.|| An interesting feature of these oracles is that, in most cases, the medium of com- munication is a priestess, which recalls the pro- minent part played by women as sorceresses in incantation texts. The female soothsayer forms the natural complement to the priestess; it is the attachment to the service of a deity that changes the priestess from a messenger of evil into one who can fathom the Divine intention. But both func- tions rest on the belief in the mysterious power of women—a belief which is widespread among ancient nations, and survives among people who are till in the primitive stage of culture. A reassur- ing message given to the king by a priestess Baya, a native of Arbela, and uttered by her in the name of Ishtar and Nebo, reads as follows : J— ‘Fear not, Esarhaddon, I, the Lord,* speak to thee. The beams of thy heart I strengthen as thy mother who gave thee life. Sixty tt great gods are with me, drawn up to pros thee. The god Sin is on thy right side, Shamash on thy left. Sixty great gods are round about thee, drawn up in battle array in the centre of the citadel. On men do not rely. Lift up thine eyes and look to me. I am Ishtar of Arbela, who has made Ashur gracious to thee. Thy weakness I will change to strength. Fear not! Glorify me! Is not the enemy subdued who has been handed over to thee? I proclaim it aloud. The future I will make glorious, as [I did] the past. I am Nebo, the lord of the writing tablet. Glorify me!’ Of a more definite character is a message sent to Esarhaddon from Ashur, who is, like Nebo and Ishtar, represented as addressing the king directly {— ‘ As for those enemies that plot against thee, that force thee io march out, since thou didst open thy mouth [saying], “I ese Ashur!” I have heard thy oe: Out of the great gate of heaven I proclaim it aloud. Surely I will hasten to let fire devour thei. Thou shalt stand among them. Before thee I shall appear. Insc the mountains I shall bring them to rain See the text in Knudtzon, tb. No. 101. +A district to the north-east of Assyria. See Knudtzon, No. 29. i Knudtzon, No. 107. Literally, bit ridatt, i.e. ‘house of government.’ 4 Rawl. iv. pl. 61. See the translations of Banks, American Journal of Semitic Languages, xiv. 272f., which, however, require correction at many points. §| Rawlinson, iv. 61; obv. col. ii. 16-39. * ie Nebo, ++ The number ‘sixty’ is chosen as representative of all the gods, so that the phrase is equivalent to ‘the entire pantheon.’ tt Strong Beitrage z. Assyriologie, ii. 628. RELIGION OF BABYLONIA 557 down upon them stones of destruction. Thy foes I shall cut down, filling the river with their blood. Let them behold and glorify me, for Ashur the lord of gods am I,’ Accompanying this message are instructions to pour out precious oil, and to offer sacrifices with sweet-smelling incense. The oil and the sacrifices at_ the delivery of an oracle may properly be regarded as prompted by the desire to retain the favour of the gods, and as a manifestation of grateful homage; but oil and the offering of animals also play an important part in securing the oracle itself. Inthe series of prayers addressed to the sun-god, of which we have above given a brief account, there are included indications of the features in the animals, the position of the organs, special marks and peculiarities to which the atten- tion of the officiating priests is directed. These indications are of primal significance, for on the results of the inspection the answer to the ques- tions depended. One is probably safe in asserting that no oracle was furnished without the inter- pretation of omens, so that, even when no refer- ence to omens is ey, made, we may feel certain that it is implied. Indeed the study and interpretation of omens appear to have formed in Babylonia and Assyria the basis of oracular utter- ances. In the prayers in question the priest is instructed to observe whether there is a slit at the nape of the neck on the left side, whether there is some peculiarity at the bottom of the bladder on the left side, whether the viscera are sound. The size of the limbs and organs of the animal were likewise of importance; and indeed there is no feature of any special character that could be overlooked, before, as a result of the most careful study, the priest was in a position to reveal from the various omens the intention of the gods. A special significance appears to have been attached to the diver, due, apparently, to an association of ideas—found among many nations of antiquity—between the liver and the general disposition and character. Among the tablets in the British Museum ™ there. is an interesting dia- gram of the liver of a sheep, divided off into smal] sections, with explanatory notes, to serve as a guide for the priests in their inspection, Not only the omens derived from sacrifices, but the appearance, position, number, andsize of the bubbles formed by oil poured into a goblet or bowl of water, constituted a means of determining the will or purpose of the gods. Here was a phase of the ‘oracle’ ritual that lent itself to an almost more detailed development than even the inspection of sacrificial animals. There were innumerable pos- sibilities to be considered, and we are fortunate in possessing some texts + which furnish the proof of the care expended in taking all imaginable con- tingencies into consideration. From these texts, which served as handbooks to the bdrz priests, it appears that, according as the oil bubbles appeared to the left or the right side of the goblet or bowl, separated into smaller bubbles or united into larger ones, it portended good or evil. The size and also the colour of the oil bubbles had a significance, as well as the action of the bubbles after their appear- ance on the surface. In short, an elaborate science of divination grew up in the course of time in Babylonia and Assyria, which embraced many more elements than the inspection of sacrificial animals, and the action of oil when mixed with water. Before turning to some of these other phases of Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets, ete., in the British Museum, pt. vi. pl. 1 (Bu. 89-4-28, 238). See Boissier, (a) ‘Note sur un monument babylonien se rapportant & l’extis- picine’ (Geneva, 1899); and (0) ‘ Note sur un nouveau document babylonien se rapportant 4 l’extispicine’ (Geneva, 1901), + Cuneiform Te2ts, etc., pt. iii. pl. 2-4, and pt. v. pl. 4-7. See Hunger, Becherwahrsagung bet den Babyloniern (Leipzig, 1903). 558 RELIGION OF BABYLONIA the science, it is necessary to point out here the natural extension of oracles and omens from public affairs of the State, and from the semi, public interests of royalty to the affairs of the individual. The fact that, in such a large portion of the oracle and omen literature, the national welfare and conditions affecting the political situation form the subject, must not mislead us into under- estimating the share that the individual had in benefiting from the prerogatives enjoyed by the priests as the mediators ‘between the gods and their worshippers. The preponderance of public affairs over the concerns of the individual which appears in these texts, is due in part to the circumstance that most of them were drawn up at the instigation of the rulers, and in part to the natural desire of the priests to provide, first of all, for proper guides in carrying out the demands made upon them by their royal masters. The example of Assurbanipal in ordering his scribes to provide him with copies of the literary productions of the country, was probably merely a continuation of a much older custom of Babylonian rulers in ordering the rituals required for the various purposes of official exigencies, and for the various occasions of the year, to be perpetuated in writing. Furthermore, the welfare of the countr was a natural preliminary condition to the happi- ness of the individual ; for, unless the gods showed a favourable attitude towards the country as a whole, it was not to be assumed that the indi- vidual could hope for Divine favour. Next to the attitude of the gods towards the State, their good- will towards the ruler was of primary importance, partly because of the close identification of the career of the ruler with the State, partly because of the continued strength of the belief that the ruler stood nearer to the gods than the ordinary individual, and that upon his conduct and upon the consequent disposition of the gods towards him a large share of the national welfare depended. Hence even such an event as illness or misfortune in the royal family was of public significance, for it portended, or at all events might portend, that some deity was angry with the ruler himself, and had thus manifested his displeasure. The ordinary individual could hardly hope for consideration in approaching a deity who had plainly shown his ill-humour towards the most important personage in the land. But such conditions represented, after all, the exceptional state of affairs. Unless the country was engaged in warfare, or unless some accident had befallen a member of the royal family, the supposition was that the gods were inclined to listen to petitions or to assist the individual in his appeals for help or advice; at all events, it was safe to make the attempt to approach the Divine throne through the mediation of the priest. Again, if some god had shown his anger by punishing an individual with sickness or by overwhelming him with disaster, it was perfectly reasonable to make the attempt to regain his goodwill, ‘to set the deity’s heart at rest,’ as the religious phraseology expressed it. The extension of the order of ideas which enabled the priests to ascertain the intention of the gods when affairs of State or of the royal household were in question, resulted in the pre- paration of more or less elaborate handbooks covering the interpretation of all unusual pheno- mena, whether occurring in the heavens or on earth. Eclipses, disturbances in the usual order of natural events, the movements of the moon and sun, as well as of the planets and stars, and the On the position of the king as standing closer to the gods, and as originally viewed as the representative or even incarna- tion of a deity, see Frazer, The Golden Bough 2, i. 142 ff., 232, etc. RELIGION OF BABYLONIA appearance of the clouds, represent some of the main incidents to which the attention of the priests was directed for the purpose of determining their bearing on the general welfare, as well as on the fate of individuals. Coming to such terres- trial phenomena as enter more particularly inte the life of the individual, we find taat dreams, for instance, or unusual signs in the case of newborn children,—abnormally large or abnormally small features, monstrosities of all kinds,—were re- garded as revealing the intentions of the deities, or were looked upon as portents of future events, The movements of certain animals,—more par- ticularly of dogs,—the flight of birds, the appear- ance of snakes or of certain insects in the high- ways or in houses, as well as monstrosities among animals, were fraught with meaning, and, in general, it may be said that every incident that | had any unusual feature connected with it called | for an interpretation. In this way the omen literature representing the record of past experi- ence, and embodying the wisdom of the past in the interpretation of signs of all kinds, assumed in the course of time enormous dimensions—so large that it is quite difficult to obtain an accurate survey of the field covered ae the omen texts. For the purposes of this sketch, be sufficient to characterize briefly some of the chief classes of this branch of the religious litera- ture of Babylonia and Assyria. Taking as our first illustration unusual occur- rences in the movements of the heavenly bodies, it is natural to find special significance attached to | eclipses of the sun and moon; and it is also | obvious that such occasions were interpreted as | having a bearing chiefly on public affairs or on the | fate of the royal household, because of the close relations between the gods and earthly rulers— their representatives, in a measure—to which re- ference has already been made. : drawn up with indications of what the obscuring | of the sun or moon, through eclipses or through | the movements of clouds, on any particular day of | the month portended. Arranged in the order of | the months, the days of the month are entered on which, according to past experience, eclipses | occurred, and also those on which, according to | calculation, they might occur, and then the in- terpretation is set forth for each of the days enumerated. Interchanging with the references — to actual eclipses, a record is also made of what the concealment of the sun behind clouds on | certain days portended. Selecting from a long — text of this nature, covering many tablets, the section devoted to the month of Tishri, the 7th | month, we find the following entries recorded :— ‘If on the 1st day of the month of Tishri the sun is obscured, king against king will declare war. If on the 9th day, Adad ¢ will raise his cry. If on the 11th day, a disaster will occur, the king of Mar dies. | If on the 13th day, the king of Akkad { dies, and, in the case | ee! [the same fate] is portended for the king of, | Akkad. | If on the 14th day there is an eclipse of the sun, there willbe | destructive rains, and the king of Amurru dies. F If on the 15th day, the wealth of the sea perishes.§ h If on the 16th day, there will be food in plenty in the ie é the canals will be full, or [it portends that] the abkallu burst forth. || ; If on the 18th day, then will be peace for the king; Bel in | the country [will proclaim ?] an oracle regarding the landof | the enemy. a If on the 20th day, the country will be diminished, the throne | o Elam will be overthrown. ‘ei Craig, Astrological-A stronomical Texts, pl. 25, obv. 1-17. t Adad is the god of storme. The phrase is therefore to be taken as an indication that storms will sweep the land. t t.e. Babylonia. a § An expression which apparently refers to the destructionol | animal life in the waters. || Abkallu is a title of a high officer. The sense of this pre | diction is obscure. however, it will | Calendars were — | ets gf RELIGION OF BABYLONIA RELIGION OF BABYLONIA 509 If on the 21st day, the obscuration portends destruction to the country. If on the 28th day, Bel will cause destruction; the king of that land during that year will overrun the country or [it portends that] the king will be safe. If on the 29th day, in that year the king will die, the country will suffer misfortune. .. . If on the 30th day, the king will have a long reign . . . there will be food in plenty in the land. If from the 1st to the 30th day the sun is obscured, the gods will overwhelm the whole country [with disaster]. If the day is dark, but the planets Dilbar and Dapinu} are seen together, city, king, and people will be safe, canals will be full of water. If, contrary to calculation, the sun is obscured, the king will be in distress . . . If in the month of Tishri the sun is obscured, the king dies, the country will witness disaster or [it portends] Joy.’ Obscure as some of the predictions are—due in part to the defective nature of the text—their general character is quite clear. The references to specific personages like the king of Amurru, of Elam, of Akkad, may be taken as indications that at some time or another the death of a ruler in one of these countries took place on the day in question, or that some disaster overtook him. This occur- rence would then naturally be made the basis for determining the inauspicious character of the day. We are not therefore to suppose that the death of a particular ruler of the countries named is in- tended to be predicted ; but, from the circumstance that a ruler died on that day in the past, the obscuration of the sun on such a day portends a misfortune for the country, or ously for the ruler in question, Bearing in mind that these omen calendars are intended to serve as guides for the priests, one can also understand the contra- dictory notes recorded for one and the same day. Such statements must obviously be interpreted as embodying observations of various events that at some time in the past took place. It is, accordingly, for the officiating priest to determine by additional resources—such, ¢.g., as the inspection of sacrificial animals, or an oil and water test, or the like—whether the favourable or unfavourable omen is to be depended upon. That, in general, the disappearance of the sun owing to heavy clouds, or an actual eclipse, portends some eviJ, is a conclusion suggested by the natural assuciation of ideas between darkness and mis- fortune. Hence, at the close of the preceding and of the following omens dealing with the other mouths, it is stated as a general conclusion that an obscuration of the sun portends evil to the king, being a prediction of his death, and also indicating disaster to the country. But the text adds the possible alternative that on certain days and under certain conditions the phenomenon in- dicates ‘joy ’—+t.¢. is to be regarded as a favour- able omen. Here, again, when the indications for such days, based on past experience, are either favourable or unfavourable, it lies with the priest to determine by other means at his disposal which of the alternatives will be likely to occur. The omens derived from the second great heavenly body—the moon—were in some respects of eyen greater importance, because of the more definite character of its movements; or, aS we ought perhaps to put it, because of the greater ease with which these movements could be fol- lowed. Completing its course as it does in 29 or 30 days, the most obvious point to which the attention of observers would be directed would be the appearance of the new moon as the period marking the beginning of a new course. In the second place, note would be taken on what day— whether 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, or 16th day—the sun was to be seen together with the moon; for upon this phenomenon, as was ascertained by ex- perience, Hepatided the day at the end of the month when the moon and the sun would again be ¢ Jupiter or Marduk. Venus or Ishtag. in conjunction. Again, the varying appearance of the moon’s horns, the character of the halc around the moon, and naturally such more extraoidinary occurrences as the lunar eclipse, would serve as a basis for lunar omenology. Our knowledge of these omens is derived chiefly from reports from court astrologers to their royal masters. These reports are at times brief, consisting of only a few lines, as, ¢.g., the following connected with the appearance of the new moon on the Ist day of the calculated lunar month—that is, when the pre- ceding month had its full 30 days t— ‘If the moon is seen on the 1st day, [it portends that] the country will be favoured with tranquillity.$ If the day accord- ing to its calculation is long, it portends a reign of long days.’ [Report from Bullutu]. The same omen is furnished in the reports of quite a number of other astrologers that have been preserved to us, but in some cases further specifications are given. So in one report there is added that in the case of the months Nisan and Tishri—the Ist and 7th months—if the moon is full at the regular time, there will be good crops, and the king will be supreme.§ Somewhat dif- ferent is a report from an astrologer Nebo-shum- ishkun, who announces ||— ‘If the moon appears covered with a headband, the king will be supreme. If the moon is seen on the first day, the day being, in accordance with calculation, long, it portends a long rule. The month will have 30 days in full. If the moon appears on the first day, it §s favourable to Akkad (i.e. Babylonia), un- favourable for Elam or Amurru. If this happens in the month of Ab, then for Akkad it portends something favourable to the king, my lord.’ Coming to reports that furnish omens according to the day on which the moon and sun are seen to- gether, the following may serve as a specimen :*— ‘If the moon appears out of season,tt traffic will be small; on the 12th day the moon was seen with the sun. If, contrary to calculation, the moon and sun are seen together, a powerful enemy will come to the land. The king of Akkad will defeat his enemy. On the 12th day the moon with the sun was seen. If the moon is seen on the 12th day, it portends evil for Akkad, ise ae Elam and Amurru, but is an unfavourable omen for Comparing these two classes of reports, the guiding Pee in both is apparent. A full month of 30 days suggests by association of ideas —fulness, plenty, and general success, while a remature conjunction of the sun with the moon, indicative of a curtailment of the moon’s course, as against the calculated lunar month, portends shortness of crops, diminution of traffic, and loss of dominion. In accordance with this, the appear- ance of the moon and sun together on the 13th and on the 16th day of the month portends unfavour- able events, while on the 14th and 15th days the indications, varying somewhat according to the months, are, on the whole, favourable. That the various reports do not always agree, and that even in one and the same report alternatives are offered, or an intentional ambiguity appears, are features that point to differences in the methods adopted by the astrologers, or to the natural differences in experience which enter so largely into the judg- ment of the foretellers of events. An evidence of the high antiquity of the custom of deriving A large collection of these reports has been published and interpreted by R. O. Thompson in The Reports of the Magicians and Astrologers of Nineveh and Babylon (2 vola., London, 1900). + Thompson, No, 1. t Lit. ‘closing of month’—4.e. silence, as Thompson renders the phrase ; but it is to be understood in the sense of absence of disturbances, external or internal. § asharidutu tlak, ‘ will proceed to supremacy ’—apparently an idiomatic expression, to indicate that he will be successful in his endeavours. See Thompson, No. 9. | Thompson, No. 17. | Aqgu—also used to indicate the full moon, but here intended to designate some shadow on the moon, * Thompson, No. 119, tt At an unexpected time, or contrary to calculations, 560 RELIGION OF BABYLONIA RELIGION OF BABYLONIA omens from lunar phenomena is to be seen in the persistent ase of the geographical terms so con- stantly recurring in the texts. Akkad is retained as the old designation of Babylonia; Amurru, later the designation of Northern Syria, is used, as in very ancient historical texts, for the West in general; while Elam, in a similar manner, is applied to the East in general. These same geo- graphical designations occur in connexion with those most significant of all heavenly pheno- mena—the eclipses of the moon and sun; and it may be regarded as a noteworthy indication of the advance made in the interpretation of such phenomena, that under certain circumstances an eclipse which must have been startling to primi- tive nations, as a necessary omen of evil, might portend peace and prosperity. In a report from an astrologer, the various sections of the moon are made to correspond to the chief districts—the right side being Akkad or Babylonia, the left Elam, the top Amurru, and the bottom Subartu ; and according to the direction in which the shadow passes off from the moon is the eclipse to be inter- preted. The moon drawing off from the shadow in a south-westerly direction portends evil for Elam and Amurru, while, if the eastern and northern parts are not affected by the eclipse but remain bright—the eclipse being therefore a partial one—it is a good sign for Subartut and Akkad. In another reportt we encounter the following more specific indications :— ‘When an eclipse happens during the morning watch § and is complete (?), it portends corpses, and the ruler will also die. When an eclipse takes place in the morning watch and lasts through that watch, and a north wind comes, the sick in Akkad will recover. When an coven begins in the first section and remains in the second (t.e. epee it portends disaster for Elam. Guti will not approach Akkad. If the eclipse begins at the first section and the second remains bright (t.e. even more partial), it portends that disaster will overtake Elam but not reach Akkad. If the eclipse takes place and stands on the second side, it portends mercy to the country. If the moon is obscured in the month of Siwan,* Adad will inundate (the land) at the end of the year ; if there is an eclipse in the month of Siwan, there will be a fiood, and the product of the waters will be carried to the land.+t If an eclipse happens at the morning watch during the month of Siwan, it.portends disaster to the temples of the land, and Shamash will be hostile.tt If an eclipse takes place in Siwan on the 14th day, the king will com- plete the year and then die, and his son will strive for the rulership and seize the throne, and there will be hostility and corpses. If an eclipse happens in Siwan at any time from the Ist to the 30th day, it is an eclipse that portends something to the king of Akkad, There will be a general flood, and Adad will inundate the product of the land, and disaster will over- take a large army. . . . If an eclipse happens in Siwan out of the calculated time, the king of legions will die, and Adad will inundate; a flood will come, Adad will diminish the pro- duct of the land, and the leader of the army will encounter disaster.’ In general, as will be seen, the eclipse, by a natural association of ideas, reinforced by the survival of the primitive sense of terror at the startling phenomenon of the moon passing into a shadow, was generally regarded as an evil omen, and it was merely a question which quarter of the world was to be affected. The frequency of inun- dations in a land like the Euphrates Valley made it safe to hazard a prediction of an overflow of the Tigris and Euphrates; and a single coincidence of an eclipse in the spring, with particularly heavy floods during the rainy season, would be sufficient to establish in the minds of the people a connexion Thompson, No. 268. + Here used apparently for Assyria. { Thompson, No, 271. § The night and day were ordinarily divided into three watches of four hours each. See Delitzsch, Zettschr. fiir Assyr. vol. iv. pp. 284-287. | 7.2. many will die. {| A country to the north-east of Babylonia. The omen means that Babylonia need not fear an attack from this region. * The third month. tt i.e. the country will be so deeply inundated that the fish will swim about in all directions. tt te. there will be failure Of crops. between the two events. Indeed, so unusuaf an occurrence as an_ eclipse would necessarily prompt a closer attention to events—such ai pour crops, or the death of a king, or even a milita expedition with its inevitable result of greater or lesser loss of life—that at other times would be taken for granted as perfectly normal occurrences, or, if not normal, at least not of an extraordinary character. The principles underlying the omens derived from other conditions observed in connexion with the moon are of the same general character — natural association of ideas and conclusions drawn from past events coincident with the conditions in question. Thus, in an interesting series of reports regarding the significance of a halo around the moon, a favourable or unfavourable interpretation depends upon the character of the halo, whether bright or dark—the latter being regarded in general as an indication of. rain—or whether the halo was continuous or interrupted, and what planets or stars were to be seen within the halo. One of these reports, which begins with the omen to be derived from the conjunction of the moon and sun on the 16th day, passes on to halo omens, and furnishes the following data :— ‘If the moon has a halo, and the sunt stands within the halo of the moon, throughout the land one will speak justice, the father with his son will speak justice, the hosts will be successful. If the moon has a halo, and Mars stands within it, there will be destruction of cattle throughout the land, the planting of dates will not prosper, or it portends that Amurru will be diminished. If the moon has a halo, and two stars stand within the moon’s halo, it portends along rule. If Mars and a planet stand facing each other (within it], it portends an attack ba tebe If Mars passes out (?) of the halo, the king of Elam It thus appears that Mars, which bears a name (Mushtabarru mutdnu, i.e. ‘portending death’) that suggests ill-luck, is an anfayourail whereas the ‘sun’ planet, Saturn, earries with it associations of good fortune and prosperity. The presence of Mars with another planet suggests a conflict ; while Mars leaving the halo, again by a natural association of ideas transfers the ill-omen to Elam, the hated rival of Babylonia. Likewise, — from omens derived from observation of the move- ments of the planets, we learn that this distinction | between favourable and unfavourable planets is maintained, though there are circumstances under which a favourable planet like Marduk, Jupiter may become a portender of evil, while Nergal- — | Mars may under certain conditions bee his forbidding aspect to one of good fortune. Thus, when Marduk -Jupiter appears at the beginning | of the year, it portends a good crop of corn;} | whereas, if the moon casts his shadow on Marduk,§ © ear, or that | an eclipse of the sun or moon will take place, and | it means that a king will die in that a ‘great king’ || will die; and, again, it is interest- ing to observe the combination of favourable with — unfavourable omens in the approach of a planet | sition | like Jupiter towards Mars, or in their towards each other. We learn { that when Marduk stands in front of Nergal there will be prosper | men, crops, but also that it portends a slaughter o The approach of Nergal to Marduk means devas- | tation, death among cattle, or that the king of | Akkad will die in that year; but at the same time The evil suggested it indicates plentiful crops. by Nergal is therefore compensated in a measure by the favourable indications associated under — | Thompson, No. 99. See the general remarks on the halo of , the moon, in the Introduction, vol. ii. pp. xxiv-xxvi. + By sun is here meant the ‘sun star’ or the planet Saturn, as the text, No. 176, rev. 3-4, Epa states. " t Thompson, No. 184 § 1b, No. 192. { The ‘great king’ in these reports means apparently thy king of Babylonia, or perhaps also Assyria; whereas ‘a king means a ruler of some smaller country. { Thompson, No. 195. e planet, — RELIGION OF BABYLONIA most circumstances with Marduk. Again, though the omens connected with Nergal-Mars are on the whole unfavourable, there are notable exceptions; as, é.g., when a report tells us that if Mars is visible in the month of Elul—the 6th month—the crops of the land will be plentiful, and everything in the land will be prosperous; but, on the other hand, if Nergal approaches the moon, the god Sin will cause evil to descend upon the land;t and in this report the ‘unlucky’ character associated with Mars compensates the generally favourable nature of the portents in the case of other stars being seen near the moon, After this omen with reference to Nergal and Sin, the report con- tinues— ‘If any [other] planet stands on the left horn of the moon, the king will be powerful; or if a star appearsin front of the moon on the left side, the king will also be powerful. If a star stands behind the moon on the left side, the king of Akkad will be powerful. If the star Dilgan (i.e. Virgo) stands at the left horn, the crops in Akkad will be plentiful; or if Dilgan stands above the moon, the crops will be plentiful.’ The report continues ix this way with a further series of omens derived from stars appearing on the left side, which, while portending evil because of the association between ‘left’ and ‘unlucky,’ yet are in so far favourable as the evil—loss of territory, or floods—is predicted for an enemy and his land, and not for the king of Assyria, to whom the report is furnished. Wind and thunderstorms as well as earth-’ quakes are included within the scope of the natural phenomena on which the astrologers of Babylonia and Assyria render reports to their royal masters. In regard to both wind and thunderstorms, the season of the year is naturally the prime factor in the decision whether the omen is to be interpreted as favourable or un- favourable. The storms and rains forming in a land like Mesopotamia a natural season, upon which the fertility of the soil is dependent, are, in fact, under ordinary circumstances regarded as signs of the favour of the gods; and we may well suppose that the Babylonians, like the ancient Hebrews, included in their ritual, at the approach of the rainy season, prayers that the gods might send the rains and also the storms—since the former never came without the latter—over the land. In accordance with this view, a storm is ordinarily an omen of prosperity ; and it is only when the excessive severity of the rains causes a flood, or when the rain comes at the wrong time— in the spring instead of in the autumn and winter —that the omen is naturally unfavourable. A report from Asharidu, the servant of the king, reads {— ‘Tf a rainstorm comes over the land, crops will flourish, prices will be steady. If a rainstorm continiwes in the land, there will be an increase of royal power. If a rainstorm bursts forth in Shebet,§ there will be a Kassite eclipse. || A storm still later in the season, in Adar J (12th month), when the rains ordinarily have ceased, portends blighted crops; and as with rainstorms, so, up to a certain point in regard to thunder- storms, the season of the year determines whether the omen is to be regarded as favourable or un- favourable. But apparently a new factor enters into consideration here, for the voice of the god Adad himself is heard in the thunder ; and it is this voice that the astrologers are called upon to interpret. In consequence, as the priests were uided necessarily by observation of events that in the past had followed upon the sound of thunder wt a particular season of the year or time of the * Thompson, No. 233. + Ib. No. 234. $ Ib. No. 250. § i.e. the 11th month, towards the spring, when the severe storms aught to be over. An eclipse portending some evil for the country vorth-east of Babylonia. { e.g. Th mpson, No. 252.