The Mythology of Ancient Mesopotamia. Donald A. Mackenzie
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Thou wilt destroy, what issues from their mouth thou wilt dissipate.
Thou knowest their transgressions, the plan of the wicked thou rejectest.
All, whoever they be, are in thy care....
He who takes no bribe, who cares for the oppressed,
Is favoured by Shamash,--his life shall be prolonged.74
The worshippers of Varuna and Mitra in the Punjab did not cremate their dead like those who exalted the rival fire god Agni. The grave was the "house of clay", as in Babylonia. Mitra, who was identical with Yama, ruled over departed souls in the "Land of the Pitris" (Fathers), which was reached by crossing the mountains and the rushing stream of death.75 As we have seen, the Babylonian solar god Nergal was also the lord of the dead.
As Ma-banda-anna, "the boat of the sky", Shamash links with the Egyptian sun god Ra, whose barque sailed over the heavens by day and through the underworld of darkness and death during the night. The consort of Shamash was Aa, and his attendants were Kittu and Mesharu, "Truth" and "Righteousness".
Like the Hittites, the Babylonians had also a sun goddess: her name was Nin-sun, which Jastrow renders "the annihilating lady". At Erech she had a shrine in the temple of the sky god Anu.
We can trace in Babylonia, as in Egypt, the early belief that life in the Universe had a female origin. Nin-sun links with Ishtar, whose Sumerian name is Nana. Ishtar appears to be identical with the Egyptian Hathor, who, as Sekhet, slaughtered the enemies of the sun god Ra. She was similarly the goddess of maternity, and is depicted in this character, like Isis and other goddesses of similar character, suckling a babe. Another Babylonian lady of the gods was Ama, Mama, or Mami, "the creatress of the seed of mankind", and was "probably so called as the 'mother' of all things".76
A characteristic atmospheric deity was Ramman, the Rimmon of the Bible, the Semitic Addu, Adad, Hadad, or Dadu. He was not a presiding deity in any pantheon, but was identified with Enlil at Nippur. As a hammer god, he was imported by the Semites from the hills. He was a wind and thunder deity, a rain bringer, a corn god, and a god of battle like Thor, Jupiter, Tarku, Indra, and others, who were all sons of the sky.
In this brief review of the representative deities of early Babylonia, it will be seen that most gods link with Anu, Ea, and Enlil, whose attributes they symbolized in various forms. The prominence accorded to an individual deity depended on local conditions, experiences, and influences. Ceremonial practices no doubt varied here and there, but although one section might exalt Ea and another Shamash, the religious faith of the people as a whole did not differ to any marked extent; they served the gods according to their lights, so that life might be prolonged and made prosperous, for the land of death and "no return" was regarded as a place of gloom and misery.
When the Babylonians appear before us in the early stages of the historical period they had reached that stage of development set forth so vividly in the Orations of Isocrates: "Those of the gods who are the source to us of good things have the title of Olympians; those whose department is that of calamities and punishments have harsher titles: to the first class both private persons and states erect altars and temples; the second is not worshipped either with prayers or burnt sacrifices, but in their case we perform ceremonies of riddance".77
The Sumerians, like the Ancient Egyptians, developed their deities, who reflected the growth of culture, from vague spirit groups, which, like ghosts, were hostile to mankind. Those spirits who could be propitiated were exalted as benevolent deities; those who could not be bargained with were regarded as evil gods and goddesses. A better understanding of the character of Babylonian deities will therefore be obtained by passing the demons and evil spirits under review.
50. Indian Myth and Legend, p. 100.
51. Maspero's Dawn of Civilization, p. 156 et seq.
52. Egyptian Myth and Legend, p. I et seq. The saliva of the frail and elderly was injurious.
53. Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection, E. Wallis Budge, vol. ii, p. 203 et seq.
54. Brana's Popular Antiquities, vol. iii, pp. 259-263 (1889 ed.).
55. The Religion of the Semites, pp. 158, 159.
56. Castes and Tribes of Southern India, E. Thurston, iv, 187.
57. Omens and Superstitions of Southern India, E. Thurston (1912), pp. 245, 246.
58. Pausanias, ii, 24, 1.
59. Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia, R.C. Thompson, vol. ii, tablet Y.
60. Animism, E. Clodd, p. 37.
61. 2 Kings, xvi, 3.
62. Ezekiel, xx, 31.
63. Leviticus, xviii, 21.
64. Indian Myth and Legend, p. 65.
65. Religious Belief in Babylonia and Assyria, M. Jastrow, pp. 312, 313.
66. The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, T.G. Pinches, p. 81.
67. In early times two goddesses searched for Tammuz at different periods.
68. Indian Myth and Legend, p. 30.
69. Early Religious Poetry of Persia, p. 35.
70. Early Religious Poetry of Persia, p. 37.
71. The Golden Bough (Spirits of the Corn and Wild, vol. ii, p. 10), 3rd edition.
72. Indian Wisdom, Sir Monier Monier-Williams.
73. A History of Sanskrit Literature, Professor Macdonell.