The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria Part 66

The Condition of the Dead and the Impossibility of an Escape from Aralu.

Among the remains of Babylonian literature there is a remarkable production, which furnishes us with an admirable view of the fate in store for those who have left this world.[1147] The composition is based upon a nature-myth, symbolizing the change of seasons. Ishtar, the great mother G.o.ddess, the G.o.ddess of fertility who produces vegetation, is, as we saw in the Gilgamesh epic,[1148] also the one who brings about the decline of vegetation. The change in nature that takes place after the summer solstice is pa.s.sed and the crops have ripened was variously interpreted. According to one, and, as it would seem, the favorite, tradition, the G.o.ddess is represented as herself destroying the solar deity, Tammuz, whom she had chosen as a consort. Repentant and weeping, Ishtar pa.s.ses to the lower world in search of her youthful husband,--the symbol of the sun on its approach to the summer solstice. While Ishtar is in the lower world, all fertility ceases, in the fields, as well as in the animal kingdom. At last Ishtar reappears, and nature is joyous once more. In the Semitic Orient there are only two seasons:[1149]

winter, or the rainy season, and summer, or the dry season. The myth was, therefore, a symbol of the great contrast that the two seasons presented to one another. Under various forms and numerous disguises, we find the myth among several branches of the Semites, as well as in Egypt and among Aryans who came into contact with Semitic ideas.[1150] A festival celebrated in honor of Tammuz by the Babylonians is one expression of many that the myth received. The designation of the sixth month as "the mission of Ishtar"[1151] is another. This myth was adapted by the theologians to ill.u.s.trate the doctrines that were developed regarding the kind of existence led by the dead. The literary method adopted is the same that characterizes the elaboration of the Adapa myth and of the myths incorporated into the Gilgamesh epic. The story forms the point of departure, but its original purport is set aside to a greater or less degree, necessary modifications are introduced, and the moral or lesson is distinctly indicated. In the case of the production that we are about to consider, the story of Ishtar's visit to the nether world is told--perhaps by a priest--to a person who seeks consolation. A dear relative has departed this life, and a survivor,--a brother, apparently,--is anxious to know whether the dead will ever come back again. The situation reminds one of Gilgamesh seeking out Eabani,[1152]

with this difference: that, whereas Gilgamesh, aided by Nergal, is accorded a sight of his friend, the ordinary mourner must content himself with the answer given to him. But what Gilgamesh is not permitted to hear,[1153] the mourner is told. A description is given him of how the dead fare in Aralu.

The problem, however, is somewhat different in the story of the descent of Ishtar, from the one propounded in the twelfth tablet of the Gilgamesh epic. The question uppermost in the mind of the mourner is "Will the dead return?" The condition of the dead, which is most prominent in Gilgamesh's mind, is secondary. Both questions, however, are answered, and both answers are hopelessly sad. The nether world is joyless. Even the G.o.ddess Ishtar is badly treated upon entering it. The place is synonymous with inactivity and decay; and, though the G.o.ddess returns, the conclusion drawn is that the exception proves the inexorable rule. A G.o.ddess may escape, but mortals are doomed to everlasting sojourn, or rather imprisonment, in the realm presided over by Allatu and her consort Nergal. The tale begins with a description of the land to which Ishtar proceeds:

To the land whence there is no return, the land of darkness (?)[1154]

Ishtar, the daughter of Sin, turned her mind, The daughter of Sin turned her mind; To the house of darkness, the dwelling of Irkalla, To the house whence no one issues who has once entered it.

To the road from which there is no return, when once it has been trodden.

To the house whose inhabitants[1155] are deprived of light.

The place where dust is their[1156] nourishment, their food clay.

They[1157] have no light, dwelling in dense darkness.

And they are clothed like birds, in a garment of feathers; Where over gate and bolt, dust is scattered.

Ishtar, it will be observed, is here called the daughter of the moon-G.o.d, whereas in the Gilgamesh epic she appears as the daughter of Anu, the G.o.d of heaven. Both designations reflect the views developed in the schools, and prove that the story has been produced under scholastic influences. The G.o.ddess has her place in the heavens, in the planet bearing her name, and the designation of this planet as the daughter of Sin can only be understood in connection with the astronomical system, in which the moon plays so prominent a role[1158] and becomes the father of all the great G.o.ds (except Shamash) who const.i.tute the lesser luminaries of the night.

Irkalla is one of the names[1159] for a G.o.d of the nether world, who is regarded as the a.s.sociate of Allatu. The dwelling is elsewhere spoken of as a 'great palace' in which Allatu and her consort Nergal have their thrones. A gloomier place than the one described in these opening lines of the story cannot well be imagined. The picture reflects the popular views, and up to this point, the doctrines of the school are in agreement with the early beliefs. The description of the lower world is evidently suggested by the grave or the cave in which the dead were laid. The reference to dust and clay as the food of the dead shows that the doctrine taught in the Gilgamesh epic,[1160] of man's being formed of clay and returning to clay, was the common one. This view helps us to understand how the words for grave came to be used as synonyms for the nether world. The dead being placed below the earth, they were actually conveyed within the realm of which Aralu was a part, and since it became customary for the Babylonians to bury their dead together, the cities of the dead that thus arose could easily be imagined to const.i.tute the kingdom presided over by Allatu and Nergal. At this point, however, the speculations of the schools begin to diverge from the popular notions.

We may well question whether the Babylonian populace ever attempted to make clear to itself in what form the dead continued their existence. It may be that the argument from dreams, as the basis for the primitive belief in the continuation of life, in some form, after death has been too hard pressed,[1161] but certainly the appearance of the dead in the dreams of the living must have produced a profound impression, and since the dead appeared in the same form that they had while alive, the conclusion was natural that, even though the body decayed, a vague outline remained that bore the same relation to the _corpus_ as the shadow to the figure casting it. Two remarkable chapters in the Old Testament[1162] ill.u.s.trate this popular view prevailing in Babylonia, as to the condition of the dead in the nether world. The prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel both portray the dead as having the same form that they possessed while alive. The kings have their crowns on their heads; the warriors lie with their swords girded about them. The dead Eabani, it will be recalled, appears to Gilgamesh and is at once recognized by the latter. What distinguishes the dead from the living is their inactivity.

They lie in Aralu without doing anything. Everything there is in a state of neglect and decay. The dead can speak, but the Babylonians probably believed, like the Hebrews, that the dead talk in whispers, or chirp like birds.[1163] The dead are weak,[1164] and, therefore, unless others attend to their needs, they suffer pangs of hunger, or must content themselves with 'dust and clay' as their food. Tender care during the last moments of life was essential to comparative well-being in Aralu.[1165] The person who goes to Aralu in sorrow and neglect will continue sorrowful and neglected.

The theologians, while accepting these views in general, pa.s.sed beyond them in an important particular. They could not reconcile the evident dissolution of the body with a continuation of even a shadowy outline.

When a man died, the 'spirit,' which, according to the animistic theory, lodged somewhere within the body and produced the manifestations of life, sought for refuge in some other substance. The ease with which birds moved from one place to another suggested these beings as the ones in which the dislodged spirit found a home. The Babylonian thinkers were not alone in developing the view that the dead a.s.sumed the form of birds. Parallels to the pictures of the dead in the story of Ishtar's descent may be found in Egypt and elsewhere.[1166] But what is important for our purposes is the consideration that, in Babylonia at least, the view in question is not the popular one, but the result of speculations about a problem that appeals only to those who make the attempt, at least, to clarify their ideas regarding the mystery of death. The next section of the story affords us a picture of the entrance to Aralu:

When Ishtar arrived at the gate of the land without return, She spoke to the watchman of the gate: Ho! watchman--open thy gate.

Open thy gate that I may enter.

If thou dost not open the gate, if thou refusest me admission, I will smash the door, break the bolt.

I will smash the threshold, force open the portals.

I will raise up the dead to eat the living Until the dead outnumber the living.

The entrance to the nether world is strongly guarded. From other sources we learn that there was a 'spy'--perhaps identical with the watchman--stationed at the portal of the lower world, who reports all happenings to the queen Allatu through Namtar, the G.o.d (or spirit) of pestilence. The watchman is to prevent the living from entering, and also the dead from escaping.

The violence of Ishtar is an interesting touch in the narrative. As a G.o.ddess, she resents any opposition to her desires. Her anxiety to enter Aralu indicates that the original form of the myth, which must have represented the descent as forced and not voluntary, has been modified by the introduction of a new factor,--the search for her dead consort, Tammuz. The character of Ishtar as the G.o.ddess of war[1167] may also have influenced this portrayal of her rage. In her violence, she threatens a conflict between the dead and the living. The former will destroy[1168] the latter, as a victorious army butchers the hostile host. The watchman endeavors to pacify the enraged Ishtar:

The watchman opened his mouth and spoke.

Spoke to the great Ishtar: Hold, O mistress, do not destroy them.[1169]

I will go and mention thy name to the queen Allatu.

Allatu is grieved upon hearing the news of Ishtar's arrival, for Ishtar's disappearance from the world means death.

I must weep for the masters who forsake their consorts.

I must weep for the wives who are torn from their husbands' side.

For the children I must weep who are s.n.a.t.c.hed away (?) before their time.

Go, watchman, open thy gate.

Deal with her according to the ancient laws.

The scene that follows embodies, again, views of the nether world as developed in the schools. Corresponding to the seven zones surrounding the earth,[1170] the nether world is pictured as enclosed by seven gates. Through these Ishtar must pa.s.s, before she is ushered into the presence of Allatu.

The watchman went and opened his gate.

Enter, O mistress, welcome in Cuthah.[1171]

The great house[1172] of the land without return greets thee.[1173]

Through the first gate he led her, and boldly removed the great crown from her head.

Why, O watchman, dost thou remove the great crown from my head?

Enter, O mistress, such are the laws of Allatu.

At the second gate, he removes the earrings of the G.o.ddess; at the third, her necklace is taken away, and, similarly, at each succeeding gate, a portion of her dress, the ornaments on her breast, her belt of precious stones, her bracelets, until, when the seventh gate is reached, the covering over her loins is removed, and she stands naked before Allatu. At each gate Ishtar asks the same question, why the watchman strips her, and the same answer is given.

The removal of one ornament after the other symbolizes, evidently, the gradual decay of vegetation, not, as has been supposed, that the dead enter Aralu naked.

Allatu calls upon her messenger, Namtar, to strike the G.o.ddess with disease in all parts of her body. The disease expresses the same idea as the removal of the ornaments,--decay of strength. There follows a description of the desolation on earth during Ishtar's sojourn with Allatu. Productivity comes to a standstill.

The ox does not mount the cow, the a.s.s does not bend over the she-a.s.s.

Among mankind, likewise, fertility ceases. The G.o.ds lament the absence of Ishtar and the fate that overtook her. The astronomical conception of Ishtar as the planet Venus, at this point, is apparent. The G.o.ds complain.

Ishtar has descended to the earth, and has not come up.

As a planet, Ishtar's seat is in the heavens. The disappearance of the planet has been combined with the nature-myth of the decay of vegetation. As the evening star, Venus dips down into the west, to reappear after a long interval in the east. The astral character of Ishtar dominates the latter half of the story in its present form. It is not the G.o.ddess of love and fertility nor the G.o.ddess of war who is rescued from her prison by Ea, but the planet Ishtar. Shamash is informed of the disaster by his servant, Pap-sukal.[1174] The sun-G.o.d proceeds for aid to Sin and Ea. The latter furnishes relief. The sun enters Ea's domain every evening, and, since it is in the west that the planet sinks like the sun, the a.s.sociation of ideas becomes apparent which suggests Ea as the savior and the sun as the mediator.

Ea created in his wisdom a male being.

He formed Uddushu-namir, a divine servant.

Go, Uddushu-namir, to the gate of the land without return, turn thy face.

The seven gates of the land without return will be opened before thee.

Allatu will see thee and welcome thee After her heart is pacified, her spirit[1175] brightened.

Invoke against her the name of the great G.o.ds.

Raise thy countenance, to Sukhal-ziku direct thy attention.

Come, mistress, grant me Sukhal-ziku, that I may drink[1176]

therefrom.

Ea appears here again in the role of Creator.[1177] The name of the mysterious being created by Ea signifies 'renewal of light.' The incident, it will be seen, is wholly symbolical. A touch of mysticism has also been introduced. Sukhal-ziku is a compound of a word meaning 'to sprinkle' and another which may mean 'grotto.'[1178] Sukhal-ziku appears, therefore, to be the name for a mysterious fountain, the waters of which restore the dead to life.

Uddushu-namir having p.r.o.nounced the name of the G.o.ds before Allatu, and having thus secured their aid, his request is in the nature of an order.

But the request must not be interpreted literally, as though the waters were intended for him. It is for the sake of Ishtar that he desires to have the use of Sukhal-ziku. Allatu understands Uddushu-namir's speech in this sense, and is enraged at the order to yield up Ishtar.

Allalu, upon hearing this, Smote her sides and bit her finger.[1179]

Thou hast demanded of me a request that should not be requested.

Come, Uddushu-namir, I will curse thee with a terrible curse.

Food from the gutters of the city be thy nourishment.

The sewers (?) of the city be thy drink.

The shadow of the wall be thy seat.

The threshold be thy dwelling.

Exile and banishment break thy strength.

The force of the curse lies in the closing words. Uddushu-namir is to be an outcast. He will not be permitted to enter either city or house, but must remain at the wall or stop at the threshold. Properly prepared food and drink are to be denied him. He shall starve or perish miserably.

But the mission of Uddushu-namir has been accomplished. Allatu may curse as she pleases; the order of Ea must be obeyed.

The G.o.ddess Allalu opened her mouth and spoke.

To Namtar, her messenger, she addressed an order: Go, Namtar, smash the true palace.[1180]