* Tiamat. 4
t In Eusebius, Chronicle (ed. Schoene), vol. i. pp. 14, 15. See Zimmern, Keilinschrijten wnd das Alte Testament, pp. 488- 490,
RELIGION OF BABYLONTA
the Babylonian and Assyrian theologians ; and it is to be observed that even in the Biblical account, where the Universe, with all it contains, is con- ceived as coming into existence by the decree of one supreme Power, the chaos, represented by ‘darkness resting upon the deep,’ is regarded as a real substance. In short, ancient man no less than his modern successor was unable to conceive of a real beginning of things, and it is merely a ques- tion as to where the boundary line representing the limitation of human logic or of human fancy is to be placed. Beyond that border line we pass into the domain of faith, or of mystic speculation.
‘The second and third tablets of the Creation story are taken up with the preparation and preliminary stages of the great conflict about to ensue between Tiamat and the gods. The connecting link be- tween this conflict and the previous one between Apsu and Ea is revealed at the beginning of the second tablet, where it is said that Tiamat formu- lated her evil plans in order to avenge the dis- comfiture of Apsu. Ea, who, it will be recalled, appears in the first conflict as the ‘ one who knows everything,’ is also in the second conflict the god through whom the gods learn of the designs of Tiamat. He comes to Anshar, ‘the father who begat him,’ and says—
‘Our mother, Tiamat, is full of hate towards us;
With gathered forces she hath waxed furious,—
All the gods have turned to her,
Even those whom ye created * are at her side;
Banded together they advance at the side of Tiamat,
Mighty in planning mischief night and day without respite.’
It would appear, therefore, that not merely the offspring of Tiamat, but also some of those beings sprung from the gods, are on the side of ‘chaos.’ Ea, unfortunately, does not specify which gods he has in mind, but we may perhaps assume that the Babylonian theologians thought of such forces as Adad,} the god of storms par excellence; Nergal and Namtar, associated with destruction and pes- tilence, who must have been conceived as, appar- ently at least, abetting the cause of Tiamat,
Anshar appeals in turn to his sons, Ea and Anu, to lead the attack against Tiamat. The details of Ea’s endeavours to either conquer or pacify Tiamat are, unfortunately, missing ;+ but from a subse- quent reference§ it follows that Ea was ‘afraid,’ and obliged to ‘turn back’; nor is Anu more suc- cessful. He is sent out by Anshar, in the hope that Tiamat may be appeased by hearing the ‘word’ of Anshar— 5
‘Go and stand before Tiamat,
That her liver may be appeased, her heart pacified ;
But if she will not hearken to thy word,
Then speak to her our word, that she may be appeased.’ But as Anu approaches, Tiamat growls, || and the god also turns back in terror. The third son is now appealed to by his father Anshar ; and as one of many indications that by this son was originally meant the third member, Bel, of the triad Ea, Anu, and Bel, it is to be noted that he is referred to as be-lum, i.e. ‘ the lord,’ {| though subsequently the identification with Marduk is made without reservation by the writing Amar-ud,** the ordinary
* The plural is used because the address is evidently to Anshar and his consort Kishar, although only the former is specifically mentioned.
t+ Adad occurs, and apparently as one of the abettors of Tiamat, in a fragment (Cuneiform Tats, xiii. pl. 24, K 3445+ Rm. 396, rev. v. 1) which represents a specifically * Assyrian’ version of Creation. See Zimmern, J.c. p. 496.
t The second tablet is very defective, though large portions may be restored through comparison with the third.
§ Tablet iii. 54, That Nudimmud or Ea was sent out first and Anu second, despite the fact that in the third tablet the order a peverees has been shown by King, Creation Tablets, i. p.
itlepile
|| See King, 7b. i. p. 12, n. 2. 4] Tablet ii. 118, 131.
** e.g. Tablet iii, 55, 113, 188, and passim in Tablet iv., and in the Epilogue, Tablet vii. 189, though, 1. 129, he is called Hn-Uil (or Bél) ildni, Marduk,
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RELIGION OF BABYLONIA 571
designation of the chief god of Babylon. Bel-turns out to be the real conqueror of Tiamat, and the introduction, therefore, of Ea and Anu is made artly with the intent to glorify the chief god of Nippur at the expense of his two companions, and partly as a consequence of the endeavour to com- ‘bine in the story other existing versions, and to reconcile these various versions with one another. The Ea-Apsu conflict points clearly to the exist- ence of an ‘ Eridu’ version, which celebrated Ea as the creator of man and establisher of the laws of the Universe. In another centre Anu was accorded the distinction ; and, when Nippur rose to political and religious supremacy, Bel was invested with the role of the conqueror of chaos. Our narrative, ’ therefore, represents the ‘ Nippur’ version ; but, by the transfer of the title of Bel to Marduk, it was transformed into the ‘Babylon’ version, and there the process stopped, though we have traces, as already pointed out, of a distinctively ‘ Assyrian’ version,* in which, by an identification of Anshar with Ashur, the chief god of the Assyrian pan- theon, the step is taken which makes Anshar- Ashur the real creator. However, the version which, owing to the long-continued supremacy of Babylon as the centre of the empire, became the dominant—we might almost say ‘orthodox ’—one, was the narrative with which we are concerned. Anshar kisses Bel-Marduk, and thus dispels his fear. While still implying that Bel-Marduk is to pacify Tiamat by his pure incantation, as Ea over- came Apsu, this reference is merely introduced in order to show that Bel-Marduk possesses all the powers that may be ascribed to any other god. In reality, Bel-Marduk is a warrior, and Anshar also addresses him as such, urging him to proceed and ‘trample the neck of Tiamat under foot.’ Bel-Marduk accepts the challenge, but in a speech to Anshar, the lord of gods, who determines the destiny of the great gods, imposes the condition that, if he succeeds, he is to supplant Anshar as the chief of the gods—