‘My blood will I take, and bonet. . I will setup man, thatman... I will create man to inhabit [the earth], To establish the service of the gods, and that shrines [may be built.’
From the ‘blood’ of Marduk himself man is thus formed—a remarkable doctrine, which illus- trates the high position accorded to man in the theological system of Babylonia. The introduc- tion of Ea as a kind of associate to Marduk is, again, a trace of the composite character of the narrative, and points to a version in which the creation of man was assigned to Ea, who, in the Babylonian pantheon, is the god of mankind par excellence. From certain allusions in Marduk’s address to Ea, and from Ea’s reply, it would . appear that the creation of man was opposed by the gods, who perhaps feared his power; and it is likely, though by no means certain, that, after creating man, Marduk gave him instructions,$ detailing religious and moral obligations.
The seventh tablet is taken up entirely with the glorification of Marduk by the gods and by man- Kind. First, the gods are represented as hailing him in their assembly as the avenger of their wrongs, and they bestow upon him {fifty glorious names, enumerated in detail, emphasizing his power, his functions as the giver of life, the creator of vegetation, as the source of plenty; his righteousness, his mercy, his wisdom, his
* Cuneiform Teats, xiii. pl. 34; see King, Creation Tablets, i. pp. 122-125,
t See the reference, Tablet vii. 115, ‘he (.e. Marduk) created heaven and fashioned the earth.’
t King, /.c. i. p. 87, suggests the restoration, ‘I will fashion.’
§ King has shown (/.c. 1. p. 202 ff.) that the fragment which was supposed to contain the address does not belong to the series; but the possibility that Marduk gave some instructions to man must nevertheless be admitted.
RELIGION OF BABYLONIA
poues in removing evil, and more of the like. ankind is called upon to join in paying homage to Marduk as the one who ordained the courses for the stars of heaven, shepherding the gods like a flock of sheep, as the conqueror of Tiamat, and as the creator of heaven and earth. Father Bel is represented as transferring to Marduk his own title, ‘lord of the worlds,’ and Ea declares that Marduk’s name shall henceforth be Ea, as his own name. The epilogue to the narrative is an im- pressive appeal to the wise and the intelligent to ponder on Marduk’s deeds, the memory of which the father should hand down to his son. All should rejoice in Marduk, from whom fertility and prosperity emanate, whose word is unchangeable, whose anger is irresistible, but who is merciful and compassionate to the repentant sinner.
There is little that need be added by way of comment to this analysis of this main narrative of Creation which has come down to us, and which may be taken as representing the matured cosmo- logical theories of the Babylonians — the com- bination of primitive popular traditions with the scholastic astrological system, and the whole in- terpreted in accord with the theological doctrines developed in the schools of Babylonia. This main narrative, moreover, preserves traces of varying versions of Creation which were once current, but which differed chiefly in ascribing the work of creation to different deities, representing the gods worshipped in the various centres of religion in the Euphrates Valley. The principle underlying these versions, of which, outside of the traces in the main narrative, a number of fragments have been found,* is everywhere, so far as can be ascertained, the same—the overthrow of powers representing chaos and disorder by those standing for law and order. Inplace of a genuine theory of beginnings, the Babylonian and Assyrian cosmology thus fur- nishes a theory of emanation and of the evolution from chaos to order. Chaos is a primeval element, from which the gods emanate; the gods in turn produce gods, and, after the conquest of chaos, the laws of the Universe which the gods are forced to obey are imposed by the conquering god. The formation of ‘deep’ and the ‘heavens’ are the two chief factors in this work, to which, as a third factor, is added the earth proper, on which man is placed in order that he may pay the proper homage to the gods, and, above all, to Marduk.
8. Life after death.—Besides the Incantation texts, the Oracles, Omens, and Portents, the Hymns and Prayers, and the various versions of the Creation and unfolding of the Universe, we have quite a number of myths and legends in the literature of the Babylonians that bear more or less directly on the religion.
Among these, mention may be made (a) of a story of the ravages committed by a deity, Tra, who is identified in the later literature with Nergal, the raging power of the summer solstice ; (b) a series of myths, in which the solar deity, Ninib, plays the chief réle ; (c) stories of the storm-bird, Zu,§ de-
* Thus we have (a) a version of the Tiamat myth, in which Marduk’s name does not appear, but only that of Bel (King, /.¢. 1. p. 116 ff.) ; (b) a version in which the goddess Aruru 1s associated with Marduk in the creation of man and of animals and of vegetation, and in which the order of creation appears to be quite different from that found in the main narrative (King, lies 130ff.). Moreover, from references to the conflict with Tiamat, and to other incidents of the cosmology introduced in incanta- tions, astrological texts, hymns, legends, and myths, we see the numerous variations in details which marked the versions that were current. }