The Babylonian Legends of the Creation Part 2

At this point a new Text fills a break in the First Tablet, and describes the fight which took place between Nudimmud or Ea, (the representative of the established "order" which the rule of the G.o.ds had introduced into the domain of Aps and Tiamat) and Aps and his envoy Mummu. Ea went forth to fight the powers of darkness and he conquered Aps and Mummu. The victory over Aps, i.e., the confused and boundless ma.s.s of primeval water, represents the setting of impa.s.sable boundaries to the waters that are on and under the earth, i.e., the formation of the Ocean. The exact details of the conquest cannot be given, but we know that Ea was the possessor of the "pure (or white, or holy) incantation" and that he overcame Aps and his envoy by the utterance of a powerful spell. In the Egyptian Legend of Ra and Aapep, the monster is rendered spell-bound by the G.o.d Her-Tuati, who plays in it exactly the same part as Ea in the Babylonian Legend.

When Tiamat heard of Ea's victory over Aps and Mummu she was filled with fury, and determined to avenge the death of Aps, her husband.

The first act of TIaMAT after the death of Aps was to increase the number of her allies. We know that a certain creature called "UMMU-KHUBUR" at once sp.a.w.ned a brood of devilish monsters to help her in her fight against the G.o.ds. Nothing is known of the origin or attributes of UMMU-KHUBUR, but some think she was a form of TIaMAT. Her brood probably consisted of personifications of mist, fog, cloud, storm, whirlwinds and the blighting and destroying powers which primitive man a.s.sociated with the desert. An exact parallel of this brood of devils is found in Egyptian mythology where the allies of Set and Aapep are called "Mesu betshet" i.e., "sp.a.w.n of impotent revolt." They are depicted in the form of serpents, and some of them became the "Nine Worms of Amenti" that are mentioned in the Book of the Dead (Chap. Ia).

Not content with Ummu-Khubur's brood of devils, Tiamat called the stars and powers of the air to her aid, for she "set up" (1) the Viper, (2) the Snake, (3) the G.o.d Lakhamu, (4) the Whirlwind, (5) the ravening Dog, (6) the Scorpion-man, (7) the mighty Storm-wind, (8) the Fish-man, and (9) the Horned Beast. These bore (10) the "merciless, invincible weapon," and were under the command of (11) Kingu, whom Tiamat calls "her husband." Thus Tiamat had Eleven mighty Helpers besides the devils sp.a.w.ned by Ummu-Khubur. We may note in pa.s.sing that some of the above-mentioned Helpers appear among the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac which Marduk "set up" after his conquest of Tiamat, e.g., the Scorpion-man, the Horned Beast, etc. This fact suggests that the first Zodiac was "set up" by Tiamat, who with her Eleven Helpers formed the Twelve Signs; the a.s.sociation of evil with certain stars may date from that period. That the Babylonians regarded the primitive G.o.ds as powers of evil is clear from the fact that Lakhamu, one of them, is enumerated among the allies of Tiamat.

The helpers of Tiamat were placed by her under the command of a G.o.d called KINGU who is TAMMUZ. He was the counterpart, or equivalent, of ANU, the Sky-G.o.d, in the kingdom of darkness, for it is said in the text "Kingu was exalted and received the power of Anu," i.e., he possessed the same power and attributes as Anu. When Tiamat appointed Kingu to be her captain, she recited over him a certain spell or incantation, and then she gave him the TABLET OF DESTINIES and fastened it to his breast, saying, "Whatsoever goeth forth from thy mouth shall be established."

Armed with all the magical powers conferred upon him by this Tablet, and heartened by all the laudatory epithets which his wife Tiamat heaped upon him, Kingu went forth at the head of his devils.

When Ea heard that Tiamat had collected her forces and Was determined to continue the fight against the G.o.ds which Aps and Mummu had begun, and that she had made her husband Kingu her champion, he was "afflicted" and "sat in sorrow." He felt unable to renew the fight against the powers of darkness, and he therefore went and reported the new happenings to Anshar, representative of the "host of heaven," and took counsel with him. When Anshar heard the matter he was greatly disturbed in mind and bit his lips, for he saw that the real difficulty was to find a worthy antagonist for Kingu and Tiamat. A gap in the text here prevents us from knowing exactly what Anshar said and did, but the context suggests that he summoned Anu, the Sky-G.o.d, to his a.s.sistance. Then, having given him certain instructions, he sent him on an emba.s.sy to Tiamat with the view of conciliating her. When Anu reached the place where she was he found her in a very wrathful state, and she was muttering angrily; Anu was so appalled at the sight of her that he turned and fled. It is impossible at present to explain this interlude, or to find any parallel to it in other ancient Oriental literature.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Shamash the Sun-G.o.d rising on the horizon, flames of fire ascending from his shoulder. The two portals of the dawn, each surmounted by a lion, are being drawn open by attendant G.o.ds. From a Babylonian seal cylinder in the British Museum. [No. 89,110.]]

When Anu reported his inability to deal with Tiamat, a council of the G.o.ds was called, and Ea induced his son, Marduk to be present. We next find Anshar in converse with the G.o.d Marduk, who offers to act as the champion of the G.o.ds and to fight Tiamat and her allies. Marduk being a form of the Sun-G.o.d, the greatest of all the powers of light, thus becomes naturally the protagonist of the G.o.ds, and the adversary of Tiamat and her powers of darkness. Then Anshar summoned a great council of the G.o.ds, who forthwith met in a place called "Upshukkinaku", which may be described as the Babylonian Olympus. It was all-important for Marduk to appear at the council of the G.o.ds before he undertook his task, because it was necessary for him to be formally recognised by them as their champion, and he needed to be endowed by them with magical powers. The primitive G.o.ds Lakhmu and Lakhamu, and the Igigi, who may be regarded as star-G.o.ds, were also summoned. A banquet was prepared, and the G.o.ds attended, and having met and kissed each other they sat down, and ate bread and drank hot and sweet sesame wine. The fumes of the wine confused their senses, but they continued to drink, and at length "their spirits were exalted." They appointed Marduk to be their champion officially, and then they proceeded to invest him with the power that would cause every command he spake to be followed immediately by the effect which he intended it to produce. Next Marduk, with the view of testing the new power which had been given him, commanded a garment to disappear and it did so; and when he commanded it to reappear it did so.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Shamash the Sun-G.o.d setting (?) on the horizon. In his right he holds a tree (?), and in his left a ... with a serrated edge. Above the horizon is a G.o.ddess who holds in her left hand an ear of corn. On the right is a G.o.d who seems to be setting free a bird from his right hand. Round him is a river with fish in it, and behind him is an attendant G.o.d; under his foot is a young bull. To the right of the G.o.ddess stand a hunting G.o.d, with a bow and la.s.so, and a lion. From the seal-cylinder of Adda ..., in the British Museum. About 2500 B.C. [No. 89,115.]]

Then the G.o.ds saluted him as their king, and gave him the insignia of royalty, namely, the sceptre, the throne and the _pala_, whatever that may be. And as they handed to him these things they commanded him to go and hack the body of Tiamat in pieces, and to scatter her blood to the winds. Thereupon Marduk began to arm himself for the fight. He took a bow, a spear, and a club; he filled his body full of fire and set the lightning before him. He took in his hands a net wherewith to catch Tiamat, and he placed the four winds near it, to prevent her from escaping from it when he had snared her. He created mighty winds and tempests to a.s.sist him, and grasped the thunderbolt in his hand; and then, mounting upon the Storm, which was drawn by four horses, he went out to meet and defeat Tiamat. It seems pretty certain that this description of the equipment of Marduk was taken over from a very ancient account of the Fight with Tiamat in which the hero was Enlil, i.e., the G.o.d of the air, or of the region which lies between heaven and h.e.l.l. Marduk approached and looked upon the "Middle" or "Inside" or "Womb" of Tiamat [1], and divined the plan of Kingu who had taken up his place therein. In the Seventh Tablet (l. 108) Marduk is said to have "entered into the middle of Tiamat," and because he did so he is called "Nibiru," i.e., "he who entered in," and the "seizer of the middle."

What the words "middle of Tiamat" meant to the Babylonian we are not told, but it is clear that Marduk's entry into it was a signal mark of the triumph of the G.o.d. When Kingu from the "middle of Tiamat" saw Marduk arrayed in his terrible panoply of war, he was terrified and trembled, and staggered about and lost all control of his legs; and at the mere sight of the G.o.d all the other fiends and devils were smitten with fear and reduced to helplessness. Tiamat saw Marduk and began to revile him, and when he challenged her to battle she flew into a rage and attempted to overthrow him by reciting an incantation, thinking that her words of power would destroy his strength. Her spell had no effect on the G.o.d, who at once cast his net over her. At the same moment he made a gale of foul wind to blow on her face, and entering through her mouth it filled her body; whilst her body was distended he drove his spear into her, and Tiamat split asunder, and her womb fell out from it.

Marduk leaped upon her body and looked on her followers as they attempted to escape. But the Four Winds which he had stationed round about Tiamat made all their efforts to flee of no effect. Marduk caught all the Eleven allies of Tiamat in his net, and he trampled upon them as they lay in it helpless. Marduk then took the TABLET OF DESTINIES from Kingu's breast, and sealed it with his seal and placed it on his own breast.

[Footnote 1: Or perhaps the "belly of Tiamat." The Egyptians distinguished a portion of the heavens by the name of "Khat Nut," "the belly of Nut," [Heiroglyphics] and two drawings of it are extant. The first shows an oval object rimmed with stars and the other a pear-shaped object, with a G.o.d inside it. (See Brugsch, _Inschriften (Astronomische)_ Leipzig, 1883, p, 146.) [Ill.u.s.tration]]

Then returning to the dead body of Tiamat he smashed her skull with his club and scattered her blood to the north wind, and as a reward for his destruction of their terrible foe, he received gifts and presents from the G.o.ds his fathers.

The text then goes on to say that Marduk "devised a cunning plan,"

i.e., he determined to carry out a series of works of creation. He split the body of Tiamat into two parts; out of one half he fashioned the dome of heaven, and out of the other he constructed the abode of Nudimmud, or Ea, which he placed over against Apsu, i.e., the deep. He also formulated regulations concerning the maintenance of the same. By this "cunning plan" Marduk deprived the powers of darkness of the opportunity of repeating their revolt with any chance of success. Having established the framework of his new heaven and earth Marduk, acting as the celestial architect, set to work to furnish them. In the first place he founded E-Sharra, or the mansion of heaven, and next he set apart and arranged proper places for the old G.o.ds of the three realms--Anu, Bel and Ea.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tablet sculptured with a scene representing the worship of the Sun-G.o.d in the Temple of Sippar. The Sun-G.o.d is seated on a throne within a pavilion holding in one hand a disk and bar which may symbolize eternity. Above his head are the three symbols of the Moon, the Sun, and the planet Venus. On a stand in front of the pavilion rests the disk of the Sun, which is held in position by ropes grasped in the hands of two divine beings who are supported by the roof of the pavilion. The pavilion of the Sun-G.o.d stands on the Celestial Ocean, and the four small disks indicate either the four cardinal points or the tops of the pillars of the heavens. The three figures in front of the disk represent the high priest of Shamash, the king (Nabu-aplu-iddina, about 870 B.C.) and an attendant G.o.ddess. [No. 91,000.]]

The text of the Fifth Tablet, which would undoubtedly have supplied details as to Marduk's arrangement and regulations for the sun, the moon, the stars, and the Signs of the Zodiac in the heavens is wanting.

The prominence of the celestial bodies in the history of creation is not to be wondered at, for the greater number of the religious beliefs of the Babylonians are grouped round them. Moreover, the science of astronomy had gone hand in hand with the superst.i.tion of astrology in Mesopotamia from time immemorial; and at a very early period the oldest G.o.ds of Babylonia were a.s.sociated with the heavenly bodies. Thus the Annunaki and the Igigi, who are bodies of deified spirits, were identified with the stars of the northern and southern heaven, respectively. And all the primitive G.o.ddesses coalesced and were grouped to form the G.o.ddess Ishtar, who was identified with the Evening and Morning Star, or Venus. The Babylonians believed that the will of the G.o.ds was made known to men by the motions of the planets, and that careful observation of them would enable the skilled seer to recognize in the stars favourable and unfavourable portents. Such observations, treated from a magical point of view, formed a huge ma.s.s of literature which was being added to continually. From the nature of the case this literature enshrined a very considerable number of facts of pure astronomy, and as early as the period of the First Dynasty (about 2000 B.C.), the Babylonians were able to calculate astronomical events with considerable accuracy, and to reconcile the solar and lunar years by the use of epagomenal months. They had by that time formulated the existence of the Zodiac, and fixed the "stations" of the moon, and the places of the planets with it; and they had distinguished between the planets and the fixed stars. In the Fifth Tablet of the Creation Series (l. 2) the Signs of the Zodiac are called _Lumashi_ [1], but unfortunately no list of their names is given in the context. Now these are supplied by the little tablet (No. 77,821) of the Persian Period of which a reproduction is here given. It has been referred to and discussed by various scholars, and its importance is very great. The transcript of the text, which is now published (see p. 68) for the first time, will be acceptable to the students of the history of the Zodiac. Egyptian, Greek, Syriac and Arabic astrological and astronomical texts all a.s.sociate with the Signs of the Zodiac twelve groups, each containing three stars, which are commonly known as the "Thirty-six Dekans." [2]

The text of line 4 of the Fifth Tablet of the Creation Series proves that the Babylonians were acquainted with these groups of stars, for we read that Marduk "set up for the twelve months of the year three stars apiece." In the List of Signs of the Zodiac here given, it will be seen that each Sign is a.s.sociated with a particular month.

[Footnote 1: This is the original of the Syriac word for the Signs of the Zodiac _malwashe_ (plural of _malwasha_). The Syrians added to it an _m_, thus giving it a participial form.]

[Footnote 2: [Greek: Dekanoi] also called [Greek: prosopa], [Greek: horoskopoi], [Greek: philokes] and [Greek: episkopoi]. They were well known to the Egyptians, who, as early as the fourteenth century B.C., possessed a full list of them. See Lepsius, _Chronologie_, Berlin, 1848, and Brugsch, _Thesaurus (Astronomische und Astrologische Inschriften)_, Leipzig, 1883.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tablet inscribed with a list of the Signs of the Zodiac. [No. 77,821.]]

At a later period, say about 500 B.C., the Babylonians made some of the G.o.ds regents of groups of stars, for Enlil ruled 33 stars, Anu 23 stars, and Ea 15 stars. They also possessed lists of the fixed stars, and drew up tables of the times of their heliacal risings. Such lists were probably based upon very ancient doc.u.ments, and prove that the astral element in Babylonian religion was very considerable.

The accompanying ill.u.s.tration, which is reproduced from the Boundary Stone of Ritti-Marduk (Brit. Mus., No. 90,858), supplies much information about the symbols of the G.o.ds, and of the Signs of the Zodiac in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar I, King of Babylon, about 1120 B.C.. Thus in Register 1, we have the Star of Ishtar, the crescent of the Moon-G.o.d Sin, and the disk of Shamash the Sun-G.o.d. In Reg. 2 are three stands (?) surmounted by tiaras, which represent the G.o.ds Anu, Enlil (Bel) and Ea respectively. In Reg. 3 are three altars (?) or shrines (?) with a monster in Nos. 1 and 2. Over the first is the lance of Marduk, over the second the mason's square of Nab, and over the third is the symbol of the G.o.ddess Ninkharsag, the Creatress. In Reg. 4 are a standard with an animal's head, a sign of Ea; a two-headed snake = the Twins; an unknown symbol with a horse's head, and a bird, representative of Shukamuna and Shumalia. In Reg. 5 are a seated figure of the G.o.ddess Gula and the Scorpion-man; and in Reg. 6 are forked lightning, symbol of Adad, above a bull, the Tortoise, symbol of Ea (?), the Scorpion of the G.o.ddess Ishkhara, and the Lamp of Nusku, the Fire-G.o.d. Down the left-hand side is the serpent-G.o.d representing the constellation of the Hydra.

The mutilated text of the Fifth Tablet makes it impossible to gain further details in connection with Marduk's work in arranging the heavens. We are, however, justified in a.s.suming that the gaps in it contained statements about the grouping of the G.o.ds into triads. In royal historical inscriptions the kings often invoke the G.o.ds in threes, though they never call any one three a triad or trinity. It seems as if this arrangement of G.o.ds in threes was a.s.sumed to be of divine origin. In the Fourth Tablet of Creation, one triad "Anu-Bel-Ea" is actually mentioned, and in the Fifth Tablet, another is indicated, "Sin-Shamash-Ishtar." In these triads Anu represents the sky or heaven, Bel or Enlil the region under the sky and including the earth, Ea the underworld, Sin the Moon, Shamash the Sun, and Ishtar the star Venus. When the universe was finally const.i.tuted several other great G.o.ds existed, e.g., Nusku, the Fire-G.o.d, Enurta, [1] a solar G.o.d, Nergal, the G.o.d of war and handicrafts, Nabu, the G.o.d of learning, Marduk of Babylon, the great national G.o.d of Babylonia, and Ashur, the great national G.o.d of a.s.syria.

[Footnote 1: Formerly known as Ninip.]

When Marduk had arranged heaven and earth, and had established the G.o.ds in their places, the G.o.ds complained that their existence was barren, because they lacked worshippers at their shrines and offerings. To make a way out of this difficulty Marduk devised another "cunning plan," and announced his intention of creating man out of "blood and bone" DAMI ISSIMTUM. We have already quoted (see p. 11) the statement of Berosus that man was created out of the blood of a G.o.d mixed with earth; here, then, is the authority for his words. Marduk made known to Ea his intention of creating man, and Ea suggested that if one of the G.o.ds were sacrificed the remainder of them should be set free from service, presumably to Marduk. Thereupon Marduk summons a council of the G.o.ds, and asks them to name the instigator of the fight in which he himself was the victor. In reply the G.o.ds named Kingu, Tiamat's second husband, whom they seized forthwith, and bound with fetters and carried to Ea, and then having "inflicted punishment upon him they let his blood." From Kingu's blood Ea fashioned mankind for the service of the G.o.ds.

Now among the texts which have been found on the tablets at Kal'at Sharkat is an account of the creation of man which differs from the version given in the Seven Tablets of Creation, but has two features in common with it. These two features are: (1) the council of the G.o.ds to discuss the creation of man; (2) the sacrifice which the G.o.ds had to make for the creation of man. In the variant version two (or more) G.o.ds are sacrificed, _Ilu Nagar Ilu Nagar_, i.e., "the workmen G.o.ds," about whom nothing is known. The place of sacrifice is specified with some care, and it is said to be "Uzu-mu-a, or the bond of heaven and earth."

Uzu-mu-a may be the bolt with which Marduk locked the two halves of Tiamat into place.

The Anunnaki, wishing to give an expression of their admiration for Marduk's heroism, decided to build him a shrine or temple. To this Marduk agreed, and chose Babylon, i.e., the "Gate of G.o.d," for its site.

The Anunnaki themselves made the bricks, and they built the great temple of E-Sagila at Babylon. When the temple was finished, Marduk re-enacted the scene of creation; for, as he had formerly a.s.signed to each G.o.d his place in the heavens, so now he a.s.signed to each G.o.d his place in E-Sagila. The tablet ends with a long hymn of praise which the Anunnaki sang to Marduk, and describes the summoning of an a.s.sembly of the G.o.ds to proclaim ceremonially the great Fifty Names of this G.o.d. Thus the G.o.ds accepted the absolute supremacy of Marduk.

From the above it is clear that a dispute broke out between Marduk and the G.o.ds after he had created them, and the tradition of it has made its way into the religious literatures of the Hebrews, Syrians, Arabs, Copts and Abyssinians. The cuneiform texts tell us nothing about the cause of the dispute, but tradition generally ascribes it to the creation of man by the supreme G.o.d; and it is probable that all the apocryphal stories which describe the expulsion from heaven of the angels who contended against G.o.d under the leadership of Satan, or Satnael, or Iblis, are derived from a Babylonian original which has not yet been found. The "Fifty Names," or laudatory epithets mentioned above, find parallels in "Seventy-five Praises of Ra," sung by the Egyptians under the XIXth dynasty, [1] and in the "Ninety-nine Beautiful Names of Allah," which are held in such great esteem by the Muhammadans. [2] The respect in which the Fifty Names were held by the Babylonians is well shown by the work of the Epilogue on the Seventh Tablet, where it is said, "Let them be held in remembrance, let the first-comer (i.e., any and every man) proclaim them; let the wise and the understanding consider them together. Let the father repeat them and teach them to his son. Let them be in the ears of the herdsman and the shepherd."

[Footnote 1: See Naville, _La Litanie du Soleil_, Paris, 1875, Plate ii ff.]

[Footnote 2: See _Kur'an_, Surah vii, v. 179. That there were ninety-nine Beautiful Names of G.o.d rests on the authority of Ab Hurairah, who repeats the statement as made by Muhammad the Prophet.]

The object of the writer of the Fifty Names was to show that Marduk was the "Lord of the G.o.ds," that the power, qualities and attributes of every G.o.d were enshrined in him, and that they all were merely forms of him. This fact is proved by the tablet (No. 47,406), [1]

which contains a long list of G.o.ds who are equated with Marduk in his various forms.[2] The tendency in the later Babylonian religion to make Marduk the G.o.d above all G.o.ds has led many to think that monotheistic conceptions were already in existence among the Babylonians as early as the period of the First Dynasty, about 2000 B.C. It is indisputable that Marduk obtained his pre-eminence in the Babylonian Pantheon at this early period. But some authorities deny the existence of monotheistic conceptions among the Babylonians at that time, and attribute Marduk's kingship of the G.o.ds to the influence of the political situation of the time, when Babylon first became the capital of the country, and mistress of the greater part of the known world. Material for deciding this question is wanting, but it may be safely said that whatever monotheistic conceptions existed at that time, their acceptance was confined entirely to the priests and scribes. They certainly find no expression in the popular religious texts.

[Footnote 1: Published by King, _Cuneiform Texts_, Part XXV, Plate 50.]

[Footnote 2: Thus he is equated with En-Urta, Nergal, En-lil, Nab, Sin, Shamash, Adad, etc.]

Both the source of the original form of the Legend of the Fight between Ea and Apsu, and Marduk and Tiamat, and the period of its composition are unknown, but there is no doubt that in one form or another it persisted in Mesopotamia for thousands of years. The apocryphal book of "Bel and the Dragon" shows that a form of the Legend was in existence among the Babylonian Jews long after the Captivity, and the narrative relating to it a.s.sociates it with religious observances. But there is no foundation whatsoever for the a.s.sertion which has so often been made that the Two Accounts of the Creation which are given in the early chapters in Genesis are derived from the Seven Tablets of Creation described in the preceding pages. It is true that there are many points of resemblance between the narratives in cuneiform and Hebrew, and these often ill.u.s.trate each other, but the fundamental conceptions of the Babylonian and Hebrew accounts are essentially different. In the former the earliest beings that existed were foul demons and devils, and the G.o.d of Creation only appears at a later period, but in the latter the conception of G.o.d is that of a Being Who existed in and from the beginning, Almighty and Alone, and the devils of chaos and evil are His servants.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Marduk destroying Tiamat, who is here represented in the form of a huge serpent. From a seal-cylinder in the British Museum.

[No. 89,589.]]

Among the primitive Semitic peoples there were probably many versions of the story of the Creation; and the narrative told by the Seven Tablets is, no doubt, one of them in a comparatively modern form. It is quite clear that the Account of the Creation given in the Seven Tablets is derived from very ancient sources, and a considerable amount of literary evidence is now available for reconstructing the history of the Legend.

Thus in the Sumerian Account the narrative of the exploits of the hero called ZIUSUDU [1] begins with a description of the Creation and then goes on to describe a Flood, and there is little doubt that certain pa.s.sages in this text are the originals of the Babylonian version as given in the Seven Tablets. In the Story of ZIUSUDU, however, there is no mention of any Dragon. And there is reason to think that the Legend of the Dragon had originally nothing whatever to do with the Creation, for the texts of fragments of two distinct Accounts [2] of the Creation describe a fight between a Dragon and some deity other than Marduk. In other Accounts the Dragon bears a strong resemblance to the Leviathan of Psalm civ, 26; Job xli, 1. In the one text he is said to be 50 _biru_ [3] in length, and 1 _biru_ in thickness; his mouth was 6 cubits (about 9 feet) wide, and the circ.u.mference of his ears 12 cubits (18 feet). He was slain by a G.o.d whose name is unknown, and the blood continued to flow from his body for three years, three months, one day and one night.

In the second text the Dragon is 60 _biru_ long and his thickness is 30 _biru_; the diameter of each eye is half a _biru_, and his paws are 20 _biru_ long. Thus there is every reason for believing that the Legend as it is given in the Seven Tablets is the work of some editor, who added the Legend of the Creation to the Legend of the Dragon in much the same way as the editor of the Gilgamish Legends included an account of the Deluge in his narrative of the exploits of his hero. All forms of the Legend of the Creation and of the Dragon were popular in Babylonia, and one of them achieved so much notoriety that the priest employed recited it as an incantation to charm away the toothache.

[Footnote 1: See Poebel, _Historical Texts_, No. 1.]

[Footnote 2: See King, _Cuneiform Texts_, Part XIII, Plate 33; and Ebellog, _a.s.surtexte_, I, No. 6.]

[Footnote 3: The _biru_ was the distance which a man would travel in two hours.]

The literary form of the text of the Seven Tablets fulfils the requirements of Semitic poetry in general. The lines usually fall into couplets, the second line being the antiphon of the first, e.g.:--

"When in the height heaven was not named, And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name."

Each line, or verse, falls into two halves, and a well-marked caesura divides each line, or verse, into two equally accented parts. And the half-lines can be further resolved into two halves, each containing a single accented word or phrase. This is proved by tablet Spartali ii, 265A, where the scribe writes his lines and s.p.a.ces the words in such a way as to show the subdivision of the lines. Thus we have:--

_enuma_ | _elish_ || _la nab_| _shamamu_ _shaplish_| _ammatum_|| _shuma_ | _la zakrat_

Here there is clearly a rhythm which resembles that found in the poems of the Syrians and Arabs, but there are many instances of its inconsistent use in several parts of the text. Both rhyme and alliteration appear to be used occasionally.

THE SEVEN TABLETS OF CREATION.--TRANSLATION.