Greece and Babylon

Chapter X · The Concept of Divine Power and the Ancient Cosmogonies.

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It has often been popularly and lightly maintained that the Hellenic deities were subordinate to a power called Fate. This is a shallow misjudgment, based on a misinterpretation of a few phrases in Homer; we may be certain that the aboriginal Hellene was incapable of so gloomy an abstraction, which would sap the vitality of personal polytheism, and which only appears in strength in the latter periods of religious decay. Were it, indeed, a root-principle of Hellenic religion, it would strongly differentiate it from the Mesopotamian.

Had Greek religion and mythology been deeply impregnated with Babylonian influences we should find it difficult to account for this momentous difference.

We may also gather something for our present purpose from a comparison between the cosmogony or cosmic myths of East and West. Of these it is only the Babylonian and Hebraic that can claim a great antiquity of record. What is reported of Phoenician belief concerning these matters is of late authority, Eusebios quoting from Sanchuniathon or Philo Byblios, and this is too much permeated with later elements to be useful here. As regards the Hellenic theory of the origin of the world and of man, putting aside a few scattered hints in the Homeric poems, we have Hesiod for our first and insufficient witness. If we can detect Babylonian influence in the Hesiodic system, we must not hastily conclude that this was already rife in the second millennium: on the other hand, if Hesiod seems to have escaped it, it is far less likely that it was strong upon the proto-Hellenes.

If the hypothesis of Assyrian origin is reasonable here, many will regard it as still more reasonable in regard to the Deukalion flood-story. Certain details in it remind us, no doubt, of the Babylonian flood-myth; and as this latter was far diffused through Asia Minor, it was quite easy for it to wander across the Aegean and touch Hellas. But if it did, we have no indication that it reached the Hellenes in the early period with which we are here concerned, as Hesiod is our earliest authority for it.

Generally we may say that the Hesiodic cosmogony bears no significant resemblance to the Babylonian, and this negative fact makes against the theory of Mesopotamian influence upon pre-Homeric Hellas.

Notes in this chapter

Note 1 · In thus comparing the two religions according to their respective conceptions of divine power, we note two striking phenomena in the Eastern Note 2 · Now, in the respects just considered, the earliest aspect of Greek religion that is revealed to us presents a striking contrast. The relatio Note 3 · The same reflection is forced upon us when we observe that the Λόγος or Divine Word conceived as a cosmic power plays no part in the earlies Note 4 · For early Babylonian cosmogony our main evidence is the epic poem of creation, preserved on tablets found in the library of King Assurbanipa Note 5 · When we consider carefully the more significant features in this cosmogony, we are struck with its almost total unlikeness to anything that Note 6 · A different Babylonian mythological text from the library of Assurbanipal speaks of another battle waged by Marduk against Labbu, a male mon Note 7 · The last theme of high interest in the cosmogonic theory of ancient Babylonia is the creation of man. According to Berosos, this momentous a Note 8 · As a divine cosmogony implies some organic theory of the Universe, so the polytheisms that attempted such speculations would be confronted a Note 9 · The human family reflected into the heavens naturally suggests the divine trio of Father, Mother, Child. And this may be found on the Asia-M Note 10 · As for the artificial group of the twelve Olympians, we should certainly have been tempted to connect this with Babylonian lore, the number Note 11 · A severely organised polytheism with one chief divinity, to whom all the others were in definite degrees subordinated, might evolve a monoth Note 12 · In Greek religion the germs of monotheistic thought were still weaker and still less likely to fructify. The earliest Hellenic tribes had al