The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria Part 43

The message proper begins as follows:

Anshar your son has sent me, The desire of his heart he has entrusted to me.

Tiamat, our mother is full of hate towards us, With all her might she is bitterly enraged.

The eleven a.s.sociates that Tiamat has ranged on her side are again enumerated, together with the appointment of Kingu as chief of the terror-inspiring army. Gaga comes to Lakhmu and Lakhamu and delivers the message verbatim, so that altogether this portion of the narrative is repeated no less than four times.[718] The same tendency towards repet.i.tion is met with in the Gilgamesh epic and in the best of the literary productions of Babylonia. It may be ascribed to the influence exerted by the religious hymns and incantations where repet.i.tion, as we have seen, is also common, though serving a good purpose.

The message concludes:

I sent Anu, he could not endure her[719] presence.

Ea[720] was afraid and took to flight.

Marduk has stepped forward, the chief of the G.o.ds, your son, To proceed against Tiamat, he has set his mind.

Marduk's declaration is then repeated.

Upon hearing the message Lakhmu and Lakhamu and "all the Igigi"[721] are distressed, but are powerless to avert the coming disaster. The formal declaration of war having been sent, the followers of Anshar a.s.semble at a meal which is realistically described:

They ate bread, they drank wine.

The sweet wine took away their senses.

They became drunk, and their bodies swelled up.

With this description the third tablet closes.

The meal symbolizes the solemn gathering of the G.o.ds. At its conclusion, so it would seem, Marduk is formally installed as the leader to proceed against Tiamat. The G.o.ds vie with one another in showering honors upon Marduk. They encourage him for the fight by praising his unique powers:

Thou art honored among the great G.o.ds, Thy destiny is unique, thy command is Anu.[722]

Marduk, thou art honored among the great G.o.ds, Thy destiny is unique, thy command is Anu, Henceforth thy order is absolute.

To elevate and to lower is in thy hands, What issues from thee is fixed, thy order cannot be opposed, None among the G.o.ds may trespa.s.s upon thy dominion.

Thy weapons will never be vanquished; they will shatter thy enemies.

O lord! grant life to him who trusts in thee, But destroy the life of the G.o.d who plots evil.

As a proof of the power thus entrusted to Marduk, the G.o.ds give the latter a 'sign.' Marduk performs a miracle. A garment is placed in the midst of the G.o.ds.

Command that the dress disappear!

Then command that the dress return!

Marduk proceeds to the test.

As he gave the command, the dress disappeared.

He spoke again and the dress was there.

This 'sign,' which reminds one of Yahwe's signs to Moses as a proof of the latter's power,[723] is to be regarded as an indication that "destruction and creation" are in Marduk's hands. The G.o.ds rejoice at the exhibition of Marduk's power. In chorus they exclaim, "Marduk is king." The insignia of royalty, throne, sceptre, and authority are conferred upon him.

Now go against Tiamat, cut off her life, Let the winds carry her blood to hidden regions.[724]

Marduk thereupon fashions his weapons for the fray. Myth and realism are strangely intertwined in the description of these weapons. Bow and quiver, the lance and club are mentioned, together with the storm and the lightning flash. In addition to this he

Constructs a net wherewith to enclose the life of Tiamat.

The four winds he grasped so that she could not escape.[725]

The south and north winds, the east and west winds He brought to the net, which was the gift of his father Anu.

His outfit is not yet complete.

He creates a destructive wind, a storm, a hurricane, Making of the four winds, seven[726] destructive and fatal ones; Then he let loose the winds he created, the seven, To destroy the life[727] of Tiamat, they followed after him.

Marduk, taking his most powerful weapon in his hand,[728] mounts his chariot, which is driven by fiery steeds. The picture thus furnished of the G.o.d, standing upright in his chariot, with his weapons hung about him and the seven winds following in his wake, is most impressive.

He makes straight for the hostile camp. The sight of the G.o.d inspires terror on all sides.

The lord comes nearer with his eye fixed upon Tiamat, Piercing with his glance (?) Kingu her consort.

Kingu starts back in alarm. He cannot endure the 'majestic halo' which surrounds Marduk. Kingu's a.s.sociates--the monsters--are terrified at their leader's discomfiture. Tiamat alone does not lose her courage.

Marduk, brandishing his great weapon, addresses Tiamat:

Why hast thou set thy mind upon stirring up destructive contest?

He reproaches her for the hatred she has shown towards the G.o.ds, and boldly calls her out to the contest:

Stand up! I and thou, come let us fight.

Tiamat's rage at this challenge is superbly pictured:

When Tiamat heard these words She acted as possessed, her senses left her; Tiamat shrieked wild and loud, Trembling and shaking down to her foundations.

She p.r.o.nounced an incantation, uttered her sacred formula.

Marduk is undismayed:

Then Tiamat and Marduk, chief of the G.o.ds, advanced towards one another.

They advanced to the contest, drew nigh for fight.

The fight and discomfiture of Tiamat are next described:

The lord spread out his net in order to enclose her.

The destructive wind, which was behind him, he sent forth into her face.

As Tiamat opened her mouth full wide, He[729] drove in the destructive wind, so that she could not close her lips.

The strong winds inflated her stomach.

Her heart was beset,[730] she opened still wider her mouth,[731]

He seized the spear and plunged it into her stomach, He pierced her entrails, he tore through her heart, He seized hold of her and put an end to her life, He threw down her carca.s.s and stepped upon her.

The method employed by Marduk is so graphically described that no comment is necessary. After having vanquished Tiamat, the valiant Marduk attacks her a.s.sociates. They try to flee, but he captures them all--including Kingu--without much difficulty and puts them into his great net. Most important of all, he tears the tablets of fate from Kingu and places them on his breast. This act marks the final victory.

Henceforth, the G.o.ds with Marduk--and no longer Tiamat and her brood--decree the fate of the universe. There is great rejoicing among the G.o.ds, who heap presents and offerings upon Marduk. As the vanquisher of chaos, Marduk is naturally singled out to be the establisher of the fixed form and order of the universe. The close of the fourth tablet describes this work of the G.o.d, and the subject is continued in the following ones. Unfortunately, these tablets are badly preserved, so that we are far from having a complete view of the various acts of Marduk. He begins by taking the carca.s.s of Tiamat and cutting it in half.

He cuts her like one does a flattened fish into two halves.

Previous to this he had trampled upon her and smashed her skull, as we are expressly told, so that the comparison of the monster, thus pressed out, to a flattened fish is appropriate.