eighteen and twenty-five deities respectively; among them some like Gaga, Azag-shud, that occur again only in the religious literature ; also the list of twelve and eleven deities respectively in inscriptions of Esarhaddon, dealing with building operations in Babylonia (Meissner-Rost in Bettriige z. Assyr. iil. pp. 228 and 260).
* e.g. the text just published by T. G. Pinches, 7ransactions of the Victoria Institute, xxvii. (1896) p. 8, which has recently been used by Frdr. Delitzsch as a proof of his thesis that monotheistic beliefs were developed in Babylonia. See Johns’ translation of Delitzsch’s two lectures, Babel and Bible (London, 1903), pp. 75 and 144,
of becoming more than the god of a single people ; but neither Ashur nor Marduk was ever conceived as a deity who brooks no others by his side, as a logical consequence of a belief that there can be only one Power presiding over the Universe, from whom all things emanate. .That idea transcends the spiritual horizon of ancient Babylonia and Assyria, and was left to another people to evolve.
vi. THe RELIGIOUS LITERATURE OF BABY- LONIA.—Corresponding to the long period covered by the history of Babylonia and Assyria, an ex- ceedingly extensive and varied literature was pro- duced in the Euphrates Valley, a great portion of
which is distinctively religious in character, while
the parts that cannot be so designated yet contain traces of the influence exerted both by the popular religion and by the theologians who systematized the popular doctrines. In Babylonia, perhaps more than in any other centre of ancient culture, religion was the mainspring of the intellectual activity that was developed. Not only are the religious divisions of the Babylonian literature its oldest constituents, but they represent likewise the most valuable contribution of Babylonia to posterity; and, apart from the value of this literature as a means of penetrating still closer to the core of the Babylono-Assyrian religion, it contains much that is worthy of notice, and some of its productions can be matched in ancient times only by some of the finest writings contained in the Old Testament.
1. To what age the origin of this literature is to be traced is a question that in the present state of our knowledge cannot be answered. While, as already indicated, the bulk of our knowledge of the ancient Babylonian literature—using this word in the stricter sense—is gained from the tablets in the library of Assurbanipal, these represent merely the copies made in the 7th cent. from the origi- nals that existed in the temple archives of the south ; and a sufficient number of these originals have now been found to warrant full confidence in the assertion of Assurbanipal, that he actually sent his scribes to the temples in the old religious centres of Babylonia, for the purpose of haying copiesmade. Thescript in some of these originals, and above all the dating of a number of them, leave no substantial doubt that at the time of Hammu- rabi (ce. 2250 B.C.) a considerable literature had been produced, and, what is more, such notable productions as the great epic of a hero named Gilgamesh * were already in existence, though per- haps this epic had not yet the form in which it has come down to us in the tablets of Assur- banipal’s library. Again, the character of some of the oldest Babylonian inscriptions, and more particularly the diction of the prayers embodied in them, confirm the general impression that the age of Hammurabi represents the culmination of the first period of Babylonian literature, which may thus be safely dated. beyond 2500 B.c., and probably will be found to extend to a date close to 3000 B.c. Still, it is advisable to bear in mind that we are as yet without sufficient data to speak with any degree of positiveness as to the be- ginnings or the early phases of Babylonian litera- ture. We do know, however, that this literature, as was to be expected, is largely religious; and if we exclude the historical and votive inscrip- tions, which can scarcely be called literature, in its beginnings this literature is entirely religious. It centres around the ancient temples ; and since the priests attached to the temples remained for
* See, ¢.g., the fragment of a Deluge narrative (published by Scheil in Recueil de Travaux relatifs ala Phil. et Arch. Egypt. et Assyr.-xx. pp. 55-59; consult also Meissner, Hin altbaby- lonisches Fragment des Gtlgamos-Epos (Berlin, 1902).
RELIGION OF BABYLONIA RELIGION OF BABYLONIA 551
all times not only the scribes, but the authors of all literary Peon and the exponents of the entire intel ectual life, the literature never lost its association with the religion. Again, we are safe in assuming that this oldest religious literature arose from utilitarian motives, or at all events pur- sued the practical purpose of providing a suitable ritual, that had stood the test of experience in effectually securing the desired ends. It is there- fore to the cult that we must look for the key to an understanding of the Babylonian literature in its largest extent, and particularly in its oldest portions.
2. It is not necessary for the purpose of this sketch to determine how far the old Babylonian religion was based on animistic conceptions, or what other features entered into it, since we are unable to trace it further back than the literary evidence, the very existence of which betokens a comparatively advanced stage of thought —cer- _ tainly a stage far removed from a primitive state of religion. It is sufficient to recognize that the gods, however the belief in them arose, were approached mainly for two purposes—to secure the fulfilment of certain requests or hopes, and to ward off actual or threatened misfortunes. These purposes cover alike the occasions when the ordi- nary individual saw fit to approach the god, and those when the rulers sought out the ancient shrines; and, whatever the cause that prompted the approach, the favourable answer was dependent upon a single factor—the disposition of the god or gods invoked. But the gods, though each was all- powerful within the jurisdiction assigned to him or to her, were not supposed to control all occur- rences in the life of the individual. Their protec- tion extended only—except when specially appealed to—to a general surveillance of the affairs of the individual. The smaller mishaps and accidents incident to daily life were ascribed to the mis- chievous influence of a lower order of beings, whom, for want of a better name, we may designate demons or evil spirits. The current views with regard to such beings do not appear at any time to have been very definite, and it is therefore difficult to gather from the religious literature any adequate description of them. The demons were supposed to lurk everywhere. They could make themselves invisible, and indeed they gener- ally acted in so mysterious a manner that their presence was perceived only when the consequences of their activity became manifest. They assumed at times the forms of animals, and the strange movements of serpents—their sudden appearance as though coming up out of the ground, and their gliding away as noiselessly as they came —led to a preference being given to this species of teak life, as the mould in which demons took up their being ; but, besides serpents, we also have demons in the shape of birds, and in sculptured representations the demons are sometimes given a human shape with grotesque features or with heads of fantastic animals of terror-inspiring aspect.* At no time was one safe from ‘the attacks of evil spirits, who lurked in the streets, and who could pass through walls, chinks, and crevices into the house. Some were eee: inhabit groves, others had their hiding-places in fields or in ruins. ‘The tops of the mountains, the rivers and seas, and the wilderness, were alike infested with them. To these demons all manner of evil was ascribed: a fall, a headache, a quarrel, an explosion of temper, were all due to them, as well as the more serious diseases to which mankind is heir; and it was generally believed in these cases that some evil spirit had taken up its abode