The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria

M >> Morris Jastrow >> The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria

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If the male or female colt has a dog's head, the woman's[657]
life will be bad. The country will be reduced.

If the male or female colt has a lion's head, the ruler will be
strong.

If both colts, the male and female, resemble lions, the ruler
over his enemies prevails (?).

If both colts, male and female, resemble dogs, the ruler over
his enemy's country prevails (?).

If either a male or female colt is born resembling a lion, the
king will be strong.

If either a male or female colt resembles a dog, herds of cattle
will die, and there will be famine.

If a colt is born without a head, its master will be strong.

If a colt is born without eyes, the god Bel will bring about a
change of dynasty.

If a colt is born without feet, the king increases his army and
a slaughter will ensue.

If a colt is born without ears, for three years the gods will
reduce the land.

If a colt is born without a tail, the ruler will die.

In conclusion it may be observed that, apart from the unusual character
of these freaks which would suffice to attribute a special import to
them, the notions current among the Babylonians, as among so many people
of a period when creatures existed, the various parts of which were
compounded of different animals, may be regarded as an additional factor
that served to add force to the class of omens we are considering. The
monsters guarding the approaches to temples and palaces[658] were but
one form which this popular belief assumed, and when a colt was observed
to have a lion's or a dog's claw, an ocular demonstration was afforded
which at once strengthened and served to maintain a belief that at
bottom is naught but a crude and primitive form of a theory of
evolution. In a dim way man always felt the unity of the animal world.
Animals resembled one another, and man had some features in common with
animals. What more natural than to conclude that at some period, the
animals were composite creatures, and that even mankind and the animal
world were once blended together.

The prevailing religious and semi-mythological ideas, accordingly, enter
as factors in the significance that was attached to infants or to the
young of animals, serving as illustrations of 'hybrid' formations.

Omens from the Actions of Animals.

The same order of ideas, only still further extended, may be detected in
the sacredness attached to certain animals by so many nations of
antiquity. It is now generally admitted that this 'sacredness' has two
sides. A sacred animal may be 'taboo,' that is, so sacred that it must
not be touched, much less killed or eaten; and, on the other hand, its
original sanctity may lead people to regard it as "unclean," something
again to be avoided, because of the power to do evil involved in the
primitive conception of 'sacredness.'[659]

The swine and the dog are illustrations of this double nature of
sanctity among the Semites. The former was sacred to some of the
inhabitants of "Syria."[660] The Babylonians, as we have seen, abstained
from eating it on certain days of the year, while the Hebrews and Arabs
regarded it as an absolute 'taboo.'

The dog to this day is in the Orient an "unclean" animal, and yet it is
forbidden to do dogs any injury. If, then, we find the Babylonians
attaching significance to the movements of this animal, it is obvious
that by them, too, the dog was regarded as, in some way, sacred. It was
an 'animal of omen,' sometimes good, at other times bad. A tablet
informs us[661] that:

If a yellow dog enters a palace, it is a sign of a distressful
fate for the palace.

If a speckled dog enters a palace, the palace[662] will give
peace to the enemy.

If a dog enters a palace and some one kills him, the peace of
the palace will be disturbed.

If a dog enters a palace and crouches on the couch, no one will
enjoy that palace in peace.

If a dog enters a palace and crouches on the throne, that palace
will suffer a distressful fate.

If a dog enters a palace and lies on a large bowl, the palace
will secure peace from the enemy.

There follow omens in case dogs enter a sacred edifice:

If a dog enters a temple, the gods will not enlarge the land.

If a white dog enters a temple, the foundation of that temple
will be firm.

If a black dog enters a temple, the foundation of that temple
will not be firm.

If a brown[663] dog enters a temple, that temple will witness
justice.

If a yellow dog enters a temple, that temple will[664] witness
justice.

If a speckled dog enters a temple, the gods will show favor to
that temple.

If dogs gather together and enter a temple, the city's peace
will be disturbed.

The juxtaposition of palace and temple is an indication that a large
measure of sanctity was attached to the former as the dwelling-place of
one who stood near to the gods. The omens, accordingly, in the case of
both palace and temple are again concerned with public affairs. But from
the same tablet we learn that an equal degree of significance was
attached to the actions of dogs when they entered private dwellings.
Precautions must have been taken against the presence of dogs in that
part of the house which was reserved for a man's family, for we are
told:[665]

A dog entering a man's house was an omen that the ultimate fate
of that house would be destruction by fire.

Care had to be taken lest dogs defiled a person or any part of the
house. The omens varied again according to the color of the dog.

If a white dog defiles[666] a man, destruction will seize him.

If a black dog defiles a man, sickness will seize him.

If a brown dog defiles a man, that man will perish.

If a dog defiles a man's couch, a severe sickness will seize
that man.

If a dog defiles a man's chair, the man will not survive the
year.

If a dog defiles a man's bowl,[667] a deity will show anger
towards the man.

On the other hand, dogs were not to be driven out of the streets. Their
presence in the roads was essential to the welfare of the place. Hence
an omen reads:

If dogs do not enter the highway,[668] destruction from an enemy
will visit the city.

Through Diodorus, Jamblichus, and other ancient writers we know that the
Babylonians and Assyrians attached importance to the movements of other
animals, notably serpents, birds, and certain insects. The symbols on
the boundary stones which have been referred to[669] are based on this
belief. The serpent figures prominently among these symbols. In the
Babylonian deluge story, the dove, raven, and swallow are introduced. Of
these, the swallow appears to be the bird whose flight was most
carefully observed. The sign which represents this bird in the cuneiform
syllabary also signifies 'fate.'[670] The mischief wrought by swarms of
insects, as grasshoppers and locusts, the danger lurking in the bites of
scorpions sufficiently explain the importance attached to the actions of
these animals. The mysterious appearance and disappearance of serpents
and their strange twistings added an element in their case that
increased the awe they inspired, while if Ihering be correct,[671] the
omens derived from the flight of birds are a survival of the migratory
period in the history of a nation, when birds served as a natural guide
in choosing the easiest course to pass from one place to another. A
large number of tablets in Ashurbanabal's library treat of the
significance attached to the action of these various animals, and it is
likely that these tablets form part of a large series, of which the
illustrations above adduced regarding the movements of dogs form a part.
In this series, the application of the omens to individuals is more
strongly emphasized than in the series of birth portents. Naturally so,
for it was the individual as a general thing who encountered the signs.
In the case of the appearance of a serpent or snake, for example, the
omen consisted in the fact that a certain person beheld it, and that
person was involved in the consequences. Fine distinctions are again
introduced that illustrate the intricacies of the system of
interpretation perfected in Babylonia. If a snake passes from the right
to the left side of a man, it means one thing; if from the left to the
right, another; if the man who sees a snake does not tread upon it, the
omen is different than in the case when he attempts to crush it. Again
the omen varies according to the occupation of the man who encountered a
snake. If he be a gardener, the appearance of the snake means something
different than in the case of his being a sailor.

The place where the animal appears is also of import, whether in the
street, the house, or the temple, and again, the time of its appearance,
in what month or on what day. In the same way, an endless variety of
omens are derived from the appearance of certain birds, the direction of
their flight, their fluttering around the head of a man or entering a
man's house. So, _e.g._,

If a raven[672] enters a man's house, that man will secure
whatever he desires.

And again:

If a bird throws a bit of meat or anything into a man's house,
that man will secure a large fortune.

The omens from the appearance of flocks of birds in a town bore, as
appears natural, upon public affairs rather than upon the fate of
individuals, and similarly the appearance of birds in a temple was an
omen for the whole country.

The public or private character of the omens was thus dependent in large
measure upon the question whether the phenomena appeared to an
individual directly or to the population of a place in general. Meeting
a snake or scorpion in the course of a walk through the fields was an
individual omen, and similarly the actions of sheep in a man's stall,
whereas, a mad bull rushing through the city was a general omen. So we
are told that

If sheep in the stalls do not bleat (?), that stall will be
destroyed.

Whereas[673]

A bull crouching at the gate of a city is an omen that the enemy
will capture that gate.

A bull goring an ox in the city is an unfavorable omen for the
city, but if the bull enters the precincts of an individual, it
is favorable for the individual.

A series of omens derived from the appearance of locusts again
illustrates this principle. When the insects enter private precincts,
the individual and his immediate surroundings are affected.[674]

If black and speckled locusts appear in a man's house, the
master of the house will die.

If black and yellow locusts appear in a man's house, the
supports of that house will fall.

If large white locusts appear in a man's house, that house will
be destroyed and the owner will be in distress.

If white and brown locusts appear in a man's house, that house
will be destroyed.

If small white and brown locusts appear in a man's house, the
house will be destroyed and the owner will be in distress.

If yellow locusts appear in a man's house, the supports of that
house will fall and the owner of the house will be unlucky.

If yellow-winged locusts appear in a man's house, the master of
the house will die and that house will be overthrown.

Omens From Dreams.

It made little difference whether one encountered something while awake
or saw it in one's dream. In fact, what one saw while asleep had as a
general thing more importance. A special god of dreams, Makhir, is often
referred to in the religious texts, and this is but another way of
expressing the belief that the dreams were sent to a man as omens. An
unusually wide scope was afforded to the compilers of omen series in
their interpretations of dreams, for what might not a man see in visions
of the night? If a lion[675] appears to a man, it means that the man
will carry out his purpose; if a jackal, it signifies that he will
secure favor in the eyes of the gods; a dog portends sorrow; a mountain
goat, that the man's son will die of some disease; a stag, that his
daughter will die; and so through a long list.

Again we are told[676] that

If (in a dream) a date appears on a man's head,[677] it means
that that man will be in distress.

If a fish appears on a man's head, that man will be powerful.

If a mountain appears on a man's head, that man will be without
a rival.

If salt appears on a man's head, his house will be well
protected (?).

Similarly, interpretations are offered for the apparition of the dead or
of demons, in dreams. The book of Daniel affords an illustration of the
importance attached to dreams in Babylonia, and of the science developed
out of the interpretations. The sarcastic touch introduced by the
compiler of the book,[678] who represents Nebuchadnezzar as demanding of
his priests not merely to interpret his dream, but to tell him what he
dreamed, is intended to illustrate the limitations of the far-famed
'Chaldean wisdom.' It is also interesting to note in connection with the
illustrations adduced, that the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar and
Belshazzar[679] in the book of Daniel are so largely concerned with
apparitions of animals.

The omens taken from dreams, together with the accidents that occurred
to an individual, or the phenomena occurring in a man's house, afford us
an insight into the purely popular phases of the science of augury.
While eclipses and the movements of planets bear chiefly and almost
exclusively on public affairs, and even birth portents frequently
portend something to the ruler or to the country, it was through such
omens as partook of a purely personal character that the intentions of
the gods towards the individual were made manifest. By means of omens,
the bond between the individual and the gods was not, indeed,
established, but in large measure maintained. Here was a phase of the
religion that touched each individual closely. What a person saw, what
he dreamed, what happened to him, what appeared in his house or among
the members of his household was of significance to him. To know what
every phenomenon portended was essential to his welfare; and we may feel
certain that the relations of the individual to the priests, so far as
these existed, consisted largely in obtaining from the latter the
interpretation of the omens that he encountered. On the other hand, the
power of the priests over the populace was due to the popular belief in
portents, and the attention given by the theologians to the collection
of exhaustive omen series is a proof that the priests knew how to use
their power.

These "Dream Books" must have been very numerous. The success of the
priests here depended even more than in other branches of the omen
literature upon exhausting, so far as possible, all contingencies. No
doubt they were guided here also by two factors: association of ideas,
and past experience through making of a single coincidence between a
dream and some occurrence, a principle of general application. Some of
the omens from dreams, however, appear to have themselves formed part of
a larger series dealing in general with

Omens From Individual Experiences.

If one may judge from the specimens furnished by Dr. Bezold in his
catalogue, this series was unusually extensive, embracing a large number
of subjects connected with human activity,--a man's work in the field,
his actions in commercial affairs, incidents of travel on sea or land,
his relations to his kindred--the dead as well as the living--disease
and death, down to such apparent trifles as the conditions of the walls
of his house. Cracks in the wall were an omen; meeting a snake in the
highway was an omen. A fall was an omen; dropping an instrument was an
omen; in short, it is difficult to say what was not an omen. The
character of the omens in this series does not differ in any essential
particulars from those of other series. The important feature of the
series is that it affords another and perhaps the most striking
illustration of that phase of the omen literature which concerns the
individual directly, and, it seems safe to add, exclusively.

Take, for example, omens connected with symptoms occurring in certain
diseases. We are told that

If the right breast is brown, it is a fatal (?) sign.

If both breasts are brown, there will be no recovery.

If the left breast is green, the sickness will be severe.

The symptoms affect the individual alone. Through this series we are
thus enabled to determine more definitely the boundary line between
omens involving the affairs of the country and king, and those involving
the individual. A phenomenon affecting an individual, or appearing to
him alone, or brought about through some action of his of a purely
private character, carries in its train an omen of significance for
himself or his immediate surroundings; but the moment that these rather
narrow limits are transcended, the fate of the individual becomes more
or less closely bound up with the fortunes of the population and of the
ruler of the country in general. The series also illustrates, perhaps
better than any other, the control exercised by popular beliefs over the
acts of the individual. For we may conclude, that if work on certain
days or traveling at certain periods or the appearance of certain
animals indicated something unfavorable to a man, he would studiously
avoid bringing misfortune upon himself and observe the precautions
involved in the interpretation of the vast mass of the accidents and
incidents of existence. The task was a difficult one, indeed, impossible
of being carried out to perfection, but this would not hinder him from
making the attempt. He was satisfied if he warded off at least a fair
number of unfavorable omens. Correspondingly, he would endeavor to so
regulate his course as to encounter as large a number as possible of
omens that were favorable to him. In this way his life would be spent
with a constant thought of the gods and spirits, who controlled all
things in this world. The popular belief in omens made it incumbent upon
the individual not to lose sight at any time of his dependence upon
powers over which he had but a limited control.

A certain phase of his religion thus entered largely into his life. That
phase would occupy him by day and by night. It was a part of his
religion which literally engaged him "upon lying down at night, and upon
rising up, while sitting in the house, and while walking on the way."
If, despite all his efforts, misfortune came,--and misfortunes, of
course, came constantly,--there was no other recourse but to throw
himself upon the mercy of some god or gods. The gods, especially Marduk,
Ishtar, Shamash, and Ramman, by putting 'grace' into the omens, could at
any time change them into favorable indications.

FOOTNOTES:

[548] Illustrated by the four volumes of Bezold's _Catalogue of the
Koujunjik_, Collection of the British Museum (London, 1889-96).

[549] _Vorgeschichte der Indo-Europaer_, pp. 221 _seq_.

[550] _E.g._, IIIR. 51.

[551] _Ib._ no. 1.

[552] The 1st month of the year.

[553] IIIR. 51. no. 2.

[554] _Ib._ no. 3.

[555] IIIR. 51, no. 9.

[556] _Ib._ no. 7.

[557] What the station of this official was we are not told.

[558] IIIR. 58, no. 7.

[559] Lit., 'true speech in the mouth of the people,' _i.e._, there will
be no sedition.

[560] IIIR. 58, no. 7.

[561] _Ib._ no. 6.

[562] Are not seen at the same time.

[563] His decision will be wise.

[564] Safe from attacks.

[565] IIIR. 58, no. 13.

[566] _Ib._ no. 12.

[567] This appears to be the unusual occurrence involved.

[568] See above, pp. 281, 332.

[569] IIIR. 58, no. 14.

[570] _I.e._, contrary to calculation.

[571] The shadow.

[572] Favorable to Elam (so Oppert translates).

[573] 9th month.

[574] IIIR. 51, no. 5.

[575] 11th month.

[576] IIIR. 59, no. 13.

[577] Some palace official is mentioned.

[578] _E.g._, IIIR. 52, no. 2; 60 and 61. Professor Craig of the
University of Michigan is now preparing for publication all the
fragments of this series. (See his _Assyrian and Babylonian Religious
Texts_, ii. 7.)

[579] IIIR. 60. The first eleven lines are broken off.

[580] _I.e._, of the night. The night, it will be recalled, was divided
into three watches of four hours each.

[581] Lit., a 'divine decision (or oracle) is given.'

[582] An island near the head of the Persian Gulf, often referred to in
the historical texts. See Tiele, _Babyl.-Assyr. Gesch._ p. 88, etc.

[583] Under the same circumstances.

[584] Lit., 'cattle'; but cattle appears to be used for 'property' in
general, just as our English word 'chattel.'

[585] 5th month.

[586] Under the same circumstances.

[587] Lit., Nergal--the personification of pestilence and death.

[588] Repeated in the text by an error of the scribe.

[589] III R. 60, col. ii. 90 to col. iii. 24.

[590] _I.e._, there will be war. One is reminded of the modern
superstition which associates war with the 'northern light' in the
heavens.

[591] _I.e._, there will be sedition.

[592] So a variant text.

[593] _I.e._, will play havoc with the Inhabitants of the deep.

[594] _I.e._, there will be peace.

[595] See the chapter on "The Temples of Babylonia and Assyria."

[596] See Jensen, _Kosmologie der Babylonier_, pp. 134-139.

[597] IIIR. 63.

[598] Lit., "delayed in the heavens."

[599] Tablet defective.

[600] _I.e._, there is war.

[601] Intercalated month.

[602] _I.e._, it is a good sign.

[603] Tablet defective.

[604] Text erroneously 'one month.'

[605] See above, p. 183.

[606] See Ihering, _Vorgeschichte der Indo-Europaer_, pp. 182 _seq._

[607] See _The Golden Bough_, passim.

[608] IV Rawlinson, pls. 32, 33.

[609] _I.e._, the Intercalated Elul. After the 6th month (Elul) and
after the 12th (Adar), a month was intercalated at certain intervals in
order to bring the solar and lunar years into conjunction.

[610] Lit., 'raising of his hand to a god'--the attitude in prayer.

[611] Text erroneously 'mistress.'

[612] Here and elsewhere Ishtar is used in a generic sense for 'chief
goddess'; in the present case Sarpanitum. See above, pp. 82, 151, 206.

[613] 'Belit,' as 'mistress' in general.

[614] Lit., 'place of secrecy,' the reference being to that portion of
the temple where the god sat enthroned.

[615] _I.e._, of the palace.

[616] _I.e._, upon one's enemies.

[617] Isaiah, lviii. 13.

[618] Meat, just as wine, was considered at all times a symbol of joy in
the Orient.

[619] Perhaps also the 24th.

[620] V Rawlinson, pls. 48, 49.

[621] The plural is used, but in a collective sense.

[622] The Euphrates or Tigris is no doubt meant.

[623] IIIR. 52, no. 3, reverse.

[624] The most extensive publication of omens is Boissier's _Documents
Assyriens Relatifs aux Presages_, of which two volumes have appeared.
Boissier's method of publication is not altogether satisfactory.

[625] _Introduction to the History of Religions_, pp. 28-35.

[626] A particularly bad omen. See IIIR. 65, 22, obverse.

[627] Boissler, _Documents Assyriens Relatifs aux Presages_, pp. 110
_seq._ Boissier has published portions of some twenty tablets of the
series, _ib._ pp. 110-181.

[628] _I.e._, will not suffer.

[629] The phrase used is obscure. My translation is offered as a
conjecture.

[630] _I.e._, an enemy will keep the land in turmoil.

[631] _I.e._, like a lion. Elsewhere the preposition 'like' is used.

[632] Where the child is born.

[633] A solar deity; see above, p. 99. Reference to minor deities are
frequent in these omen texts.

[634] The reference appears to be to some misfortune that will be
brought about through the solar deity Gilgamesh.

[635] Boissier, _Documents, etc._, pp. 118-120.

[636] _I.e._, only two.

[637] Between the two heads, _I.e._, the hands and feet are misplaced.

[638] IIIR. 65, no. 1.

[639] Abnormally small.

[640] _I.e._, the father or master.

[641] The Egyptians carried the observation and interpretation of omens
to quite as high a degree as the Babylonians and Assyrians. See, _e.g._,
Chabas, _Melanges Egyptologiques_, 3^e serie, tome ii.; Wiedemann's
_Religion of Ancient Egypt_, p. 263.

[642] Lenormant, _Choix des Textes Cuneiformes_, no. 87.

[643] Occurring at the end of the fourth tablet, as an aid for the
correct arrangement of the series. IIIR 65, no. 1, reverse, l. 28.

[644] Lit., 'stall,' which includes sheep, oxen, and swine.

[645] Boissier, _Documents, etc._, pp. 132, 133.

[646] _I.e._, the owner of the stall. A variant reads 'king' instead of
'man.'

[647] _I.e._, misplaced.

[648] In Babylonian, 'ear' is a synonym of 'understanding.'

[649] Still further misplaced.

[650] Where the young one was born.

[651] _I.e._, the flocks.

[652] Boissler's text has 'man,'--probably in error for 'king.'

[653] IIIR. 65, no. 2, obverse.

[654] Of the master.

[655] Lit., 'cut off.'

[656] Of the owner.

[657] The wife of the owner of the mare appears to be meant.