The Historians' History of the World 01

The Babylonians pictured the earth as a cone-shaped mountain surrounded by water. Over this was stretched the dome of heaven behind which was the heavenly ocean and the home of the gods. In the dome were two gates through which Shamash the sun-god passed out in the morning and entered at night. The moon and stars were within the dome, and did not pass through it as did the sun. Underneath the thick crust of the earth’s surface the space was all filled with water, and within the crust was Arallu, the home of the dead and land of “no return.” This was supposed to be surrounded by seven walls. Although the real home of the gods was beyond the dome of heaven, they usually lived on the earth and had their council-chamber on the mountain of sunrise, near the gate through which Shamash came out in the morning.

The Babylonian gods are very human. They are born, live, love, fight, and even die, like the people on the earth. The conception is wholly materialistic. Alfred Jeremiask says of this religion: “A practical streak runs through the religion of the inhabitants of the Euphrates valley. Their gods are gods of the living; they are in active intercourse with them as helpers in every action, as rescuers from all evil. The whole religious interest centres on the necessities of this world. There is no room for the anxious reflection and philosophising as to the whence, and whither of the soul, which is so characteristic of the Egyptians. With death comes an end of strength and life, of hope and comfort. Hence their religion as such has little to do with conceptions of another world.”

The names of the chief gods have been already mentioned. Besides the ilani rabuti, the great gods, there were a hosts of smaller ones, and a large number of good and evil spirits. Sickness and disease were supposed to be brought by demons, the children of the under-world who performed the bidding of Allatu and Nergal, the rulers over hades. Allatu’s chief messenger was Namtar, the demon of pestilence. The Annunaki likewise did her errands of destruction. The Babylonians lived in constant terror of offending some of these divinities, and a large part of their literature was devoted to magical formulas and prayers for aid and protection. Before undertaking any deed it was customary to find out whether or not the omens were favourable. Certain days were particularly unlucky and on them nothing could be done. The 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th days of every month were among the unlucky ones. The later Jewish sabbath is thus seen to have been originally an unlucky day rather than a holy day. Hugo Winckler has suggested an ingenious theory for the fact that thirteen has always been considered an unlucky number. In order to make the Babylonian calendrical system of lunar months agree with the solar year, it was necessary to insert an extra month. This thirteenth month was regarded as being in the way and disturbing calculations. So thirteen came to be regarded as a superfluous, unlucky number. Another sign of the zodiac was appointed for this extra month, and this was the sign of the raven.

A great many of the tablets which have been excavated contain omens. Omens were drawn from dreams, from the conjunction of stars and planets, from earthquakes, eclipses, and in short from all natural phenomena. Connected with this was the magical literature, the hymns, and penitential psalms. If all a man’s precautions had been in vain and disease had come upon him, there were magical formulas which might rescue him from his misery, certain prayers or hymns he might recite. Every Babylonian had his own protecting god and goddess, to whose care he was perhaps committed at birth, but the intervention of a priest was necessary to appease the god. The following prayer, from a tablet used as prayer-book for the use of priest and penitent, is taken from King’sc Babylonian Religion and Mythology:

O my God, who art angry, accept my prayer, O my goddess, who art angry, receive my supplication. Receive my supplication and let thy spirit be at rest. O my goddess, look with pity on me and accept my supplication. Let my sins be forgiven, let my transgressions be blotted out. Let the ban be torn away, let the bonds be loosened. Let the seven winds carry away my sighs. I will send away my wickedness, let the bird bear it to the heavens. Let the fish carry off my misery, let the river sweep it away. Let the beast of the field take it from me. Let the flowing waters of the river wash me clean.

To ascertain why the evil had come upon the man, questions like the following were asked, some of which show an advanced moral code: