LEWIS SPENCE F.R.A.I.

AUTHOR OF "THE MYTHS OF MEXICO AND PERU" "THE CIVILIZATION OF ANCIENT MEXICO" "THE POPOL VUH" "THE MYTHS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS" "MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF ANCIENT EGYPT" ETC.

WITH EIGHT PLATES IN COLOUR BY EVELYN PAUL AND THIRTY-TWO OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS

LONDON

GEORGE G. HARRAP & COMPANY, LTD.

2 & 3 PORTSMOUTH STREET KINGSWAY W.C.

1916

Assault on a City from a bas-relief representing the Campaigns of Sennacherib Photo W.A. Mansell and Co.

PREFACE

The purpose of this book is to provide not only a popular account of the religion and mythology of ancient Babylonia and Assyria, but to extract and present to the reader the treasures of romance latent in the subject, the peculiar richness of which has been recognized since the early days of archæological effort in Chaldea. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, writers who have made the field a special study have rarely been able to triumph over the limitations which so often obtrude in works of scholarship and research. It is true that the pages of Rawlinson, Smith, Layard, and Sayce are enlivened at intervals with pictures of Assyrian splendour and Babylonian glory—gleams which escape as the curtains which veil the wondrous past are partially lifted—but such glimpses are only interludes in lengthy disquisitions which too often must be tedious for the general reader.

It was such a consideration which prompted the preparation of this volume. Might not a book be written which should contain the pure gold of Babylonian romance freed from the darker ore of antiquarian research? So far, so good. But gold in the pure state is notoriously unserviceable, and an alloy which renders it of greater utility may detract nothing from its brilliance. Romance or no romance, in these days it will not do to furnish stories of the gods without attempting some definition of their nature and origin. For more than ever before romance and knowledge are a necessary blend in the making of a satisfactory book on mythology.

Nevertheless, it is anticipated that it will be to the modern reader who loves the romance of antiquity that this book will especially appeal. It is claimed that the greater part of Chaldean romance clusters around the wonderful mythology and religion of that land; it is therefore of these departments of Chaldean lore that this volume chiefly treats. But the history of Babylonia and Assyria has not been neglected. The great names in its records will be found to recur constantly in these pages, in most instances accompanied by a tale or legend which will illuminate the circumstances of their careers and serve to retain these in the mind of the reader. Nor has the Biblical connexion with Chaldea been forgotten; the reader will find as he proceeds frequent references to the pages of the most picturesque Book in the world.

L. S.

CONTENTS

I.BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA IN HISTORY AND LEGEND11

II.BABYLONIAN COSMOGONY70

III.EARLY BABYLONIAN RELIGION88

IV.THE GILGAMESH EPIC154

V.THE LATER PANTHEON OF BABYLONIA184

VI.THE GREAT GOD MERODACH AND HIS CULT199

VII.THE PANTHEON OF ASSYRIA203

VIII.BABYLONIAN STAR-WORSHIP231

IX.THE PRIESTHOOD, CULT, AND TEMPLES239

X.THE MAGIC AND DEMONOLOGY OF BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA257

XI.THE MYTHOLOGICAL MONSTERS AND ANIMALS OF CHALDEA289

XII.TALES OF THE BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN KINGS299

XIII.THE COMPARATIVE VALUE OF THE BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN RELIGIONS313

XIV.MODERN EXCAVATION IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA339

XV.THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS377

GLOSSARY AND INDEX381

(Extended TOC — added by transcribers.)

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Sacrificing to Bel (Evelyn Paul) Frontispiece Assault on a City Basalt Stele engraved with the Text of Khammurabi's Code of Laws Sennacherib receiving Tribute The Death of Sardanapalus (L. Chalon) The Library of King Assur-bani-pal at Nineveh (Fernand L. Quesne) Daniel interprets the Dream of Nebuchadrezzar (Evelyn Paul) Grant of Privileges to Ritti-Marduk by Nebuchadrezzar I Birs Nimrûd, the Tower of Babel The Murder of Setapo (Evelyn Paul) The Seven Tablets of Creation "Mighty was he to look upon" (Evelyn Paul) Conflict between Merodach and Tiawath Types of En-lil, the Chief God of Nippur, and of his Consort Nin-lil Ishtar, as (1) Mother-goddess, (2) Goddess of War, (3) Goddess of Love The Mother-goddess Ishtar (Evelyn Paul) Assyrian Rock Sculpture Assyrian Type of Gilgamesh Ut-Napishtim makes Offering to the Gods (Allan Stewart) Nebo Hall in Assyrian Palace (Sir Henry Layard) Tiglath-Pileser I directed by Ninib (Evelyn Paul) Assur-nazir-pal attended by a Winged Mythological Being Zikkurats of the Anu-Adad at Ashur Stage-tower at Samarra Excavated Ruins of the Temple of E-Sagila Exorcising Demons of Disease Clay Object resembling a Sheep's Liver Eagle-headed Mythological Being Capture of Sarrapanu by Tiglath-Pileser II (Evelyn Paul) The Fatal Eclipse (M. Dovaston, R.B.A.) Shalmaneser I pouring out the Dust of a Conquered City (Ambrose Dudley) The Marriage Market (Edwin Long, R.A.) A Royal Hunt Elijah prevailing over the Priests of Baal (Evelyn Paul) The 'Black Obelisk' of Shalmaneser II Outline of the Mounds at Nimrûd (Sir Henry Layard) The Palaces of Nimrûd (James Ferguson) Work of the Excavators in Babylon Ruins of Babylon The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (M. Dovaston, R.B.A.)