The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria

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

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In the second tablet, Gilgamesh is introduced as a hero of superior
strength and in control of Uruk. Is he the savior of the city or its
conqueror? One is inclined to assume the latter, for the inhabitants of
Uruk are represented as complaining that Gilgamesh has taken away the
sons and daughters of the place. From a passage in a subsequent tablet
it appears that Uruk is not the native place of the hero, but
Marada.[865] Moreover, the name Gilgamesh is not Babylonian, so that the
present evidence speaks in favor of regarding the first episode in the
epic as a reminiscence of the extension of Gilgamesh's dominion by the
conquest of Uruk. When this event took place we have no means of
determining with even a remote degree of probability. The representation
of Gilgamesh on very ancient seal cylinders[866] warrants us in passing
beyond the third millennium, but more than this can hardly be said.

Gilgamesh is a hero of irresistible power. The inhabitants of Uruk
appeal for help to Aruru, who has created Gilgamesh:

He has no rival....
Thy inhabitants [appeal for aid?].
Gilgamesh does not leave a son to his father.
Day and night,...
He, the ruler of walled Uruk,...
He, their ruler,...
The strong, the preeminent, the cunning,...
Gilgamesh does not leave the virgin to [her mother],
The daughter to her warrior, the wife to her husband.
The gods [of heaven] hear their cry.
They cry aloud to Aruru, "Thou hast created him,
Now create a rival (?) to him, equal to taking up the fight against
him (?)."

So much at least is clear from the badly mutilated lines that Gilgamesh
has played sad havoc with the inhabitants of Uruk. In personal combat,
as it would appear, he has triumphed over the warriors of the place. The
son is taken away from his father, the virgins are taken captive,
warriors and husbands are snatched from those dear to them. Aruru is
here appealed to as the creator of mankind.[867] She who has created the
hero is asked to produce some one who can successfully resist Gilgamesh.
Aruru proceeds to do so.

Aruru, upon hearing this, forms a man of Anu.[868]
Aruru washes her hands, takes a bit of clay, and throws it on the
ground.
She creates Eabani, a hero, a lofty offspring, the possession of
Ninib.[869]

This creature Eabani is described as having a body covered with hair. He
has long flowing locks and lives with the animals about him.

Eating herbs with gazelles,
Drinking from a trough with cattle,
Sporting with the creatures of the waters.

The description evidently recalls man living in a savage state, and, to
judge from illustrations of Eabani on seal cylinders, the mythological
fancy of the period when strange monsters existed of hybrid formation,
half-man, half-beast, has influenced the conception of this strange
creature who is to combat the invincible Gilgamesh. But Gilgamesh
frustrates the plan. He sends a messenger known as _Sadu_, that is, 'the
hunter,' and described as a "wicked man," to ensnare Eabani.[870] For
three days in succession, the hunter sees Eabani drinking at the trough
with the cattle, but is unable to catch him. The sight of this 'wild man
of the woods' frightens the hunter. He returns to Gilgamesh for further
instructions.

Gilgamesh spoke to the hunter:

Go, hunter mine, and take with thee Ukhat
When the cattle comes to the trough,
Let her tear off her dress and disclose her nakedness.
He[871] will see her and approach her.
His cattle, which grew up on his field, will forsake him.

_Ukhatu_ is a name for a harlot devoted to the worship of Ishtar. Other
names for such devotees are _Kharimtu_[872] and _Kizritu_.[873]
Elsewhere the city Uruk is called "the dwelling of Anu and Ishtar, the
city of the _Kizreti_, _Ukhati_, and _Kharimati_"[874] and in a
subsequent tablet of the Gilgamesh epic[875] these three classes of
harlots are introduced as the attendants of Ishtar, obedient to her
call. The conclusion is therefore justified that Uruk was one of the
centers--perhaps the center--of the obscene rites to which
Herodotus[876] has several references. Several other incidental
allusions in cuneiform literature to the sacred prostitution carried on
at Babylonian temples confirm Herodotus' statement in general,[877]
although the rite never assumed the large proportions that he reports.

On the other hand, Herodotus does not appear to have understood the
religious significance of the custom that he designates as 'shameful.'
The name given to the harlot among Babylonians and Hebrews,[878]
_Kadishtu_ or _K'desha_, that is, 'the sacred one,' is sufficient
evidence that, at its origin, the rite was not the product of obscene
tendencies, but due to naive conceptions connected with the worship of
Ishtar as the goddess of fertility.

The introduction of Ukhat, however, as an aid to carry out the designs
of Gilgamesh is devoid of religious significance, and one is inclined to
regard the Eabani episode, or at least certain portions of it, as having
had at one time an existence quite independent of Gilgamesh's
adventures. The description of Eabani is, as we have seen, based upon
mythological ideas. The creation of Eabani recalls the Biblical
tradition of the formation of the first man, and Ukhat appears to be the
Babylonian equivalent to the Biblical Eve, who through her charms
entices Eabani away from the gazelles and cattle,[879] and brings him to
Uruk, the symbol of civilized existence.

It is significant that in the Biblical narrative, the sexual instinct
and the beginnings of culture as symbolized by the tree of knowledge are
closely associated. According to rabbinical traditions, the serpent is
the symbol of the sexual passion.[880]

Eve obtains control of Adam with the aid of this passion. In the episode
of Eabani, Ukhat, and the hunter--who, be it noted, plays the part of
the tempter--we seem to have an ancient legend forming part of some
tradition regarding the beginnings of man's history, and which has been
brought into connection with the Gilgamesh epic,--when and how, it is
impossible, of course, to say.

The hunter follows the instructions of Gilgamesh. Eabani falls a victim
to Ukhat's attractions.

Ukhat exposed her breast, revealed her nakedness, took off her
clothing.
Unabashed she enticed him.

The details of the meeting are described with a frank simplicity that
points again to the antiquity of the legend.

For six days and seven nights Eabani enjoyed the love of Ukhat.
After he had satiated himself with her charms,
He turned his countenance to his cattle.
The reposing gazelles saw Eabani,
The cattle of the field turned away from him.
Eabani was startled and grew faint,
His limbs grew stiff as his cattle ran off.

But Ukhat has gained control of him. He gives up the thought of gazelles
and cattle, and returns to enjoy the love of Ukhat. His senses return,

And he again turns in love, enthralled at the feet of the harlot,
Looks up into her face and listens as the woman speaks to him.
The woman[881] speaks to Eabani:
"Lofty art thou, Eabani, like to a god.
Why dost thou lie with the beasts?
Come, I will bring thee to walled Uruk,
To the glorious house,[882] the dwelling of Anu and Ishtar,
To the seat of Gilgamesh, perfect in power,
Surpassing men in strength, like a mountain bull."

It would appear from these lines that previous to the coming of Ukhat,
Eabani had satisfied his desire on the beasts. In Ukhat, however, he
found a worthier mate, and he accordingly abandons his former associates
to cling to her.

He yields and obeys her command.
In the wisdom of his heart he recognized a companion.[883]

In the continuation of the story Eabani becomes the companion of
Gilgamesh, but I venture to think that the title was transferred in the
development of the epic from Ukhat, to whom it originally belonged. It
is she who awakens in Eabani a sense of dignity which made him superior
to the animals. The word translated 'companion'[884] may be
appropriately applied to Ukhat. Eabani clings to her, as Adam does to
Eve after she 'is brought'[885] to him. Ukhat becomes Eabani's
'companion,' just as Eve becomes the 'helpmate' of Adam.

These considerations strengthen the supposition that the Eabani-Ukhat
episode is quite distinct from the career of Gilgamesh. Had the epic
originated in Babylon or Nippur, Eabani and Ukhat would have been
brought to Babylon or Nippur. As it is, Eabani asks Ukhat to conduct him

To the glorious dwelling, the sacred seat of Anu and Ishtar,
To the seat of Gilgamesh, perfect in power,
Surpassing men in strength like a mountain bull.

Unfortunately, the tablet at this point is defective,[886] and the
following three tablets are represented by small fragments only, from
which it is exceedingly difficult to determine more than the general
course of the narrative.

Ukhat and Eabani proceed to Uruk. There is an interesting reference to
'a festival' and to festive garments,[887] but whether, as would appear,
Ukhat and Eabani are the ones who clothe themselves[888] upon reaching
Uruk or whether, as Jeremias believes, a festival was being celebrated
at the place it is impossible to say. Eabani is warned in a dream not to
undertake a test of strength with Gilgamesh,[889]

Whose power is stronger than thine,
Who rests not, ... neither by day or night.
O Eabani, change thy ...
Shamash loves Gilgamesh,
Anu, Bel, and Ea have given him wisdom.
Before thou comest from the mountain
Gilgamesh in Uruk will see thy dream.[890]

Dreams play an important part in the epic. They constitute the regular
means of communication between man and the gods, so regular that at
times the compilers of the epic do not find it necessary to specify the
fact, but take it for granted. To Gilgamesh, Eabani's coming is revealed
and he asks his mother Aruru to interpret the dream.

The third and fourth tablets take us back to the history of Uruk.
Gilgamesh, aided by his patron Shamash, succeeds in gaining Eabani as a
'companion' in a contest that is to be waged against Khumbaba, who
threatens Uruk. The name of this enemy is Elamitic, and it has been
customary to refer the campaign against him to the tradition recorded by
Berosus of a native uprising against Elamitic rule, which took place
about 2400 B.C.[891] It must be said, however, that there is no
satisfactory evidence for this supposition. Elam, lying to the east of
the Euphrates, was at all times a serious menace to Babylonia.
Hostilities with Elam are frequent before and after the days of
Hammurabi. If Gilgamesh, as seems certain, is a Cassite,[892] the
conflict between him and Khumbaba would represent a rivalry among
Cassitic or Elamitic hordes for the possession of Uruk and of the
surrounding district. While the Cassites do not come to the front till
the eighteenth century, at which time the center of their kingdom is
Nippur, there is every reason to believe that they were settled in the
Euphrates Valley long before that period. The course of conquest--as of
civilization in Babylonia--being from the south to the north, we would
be justified in looking for the Cassites in Uruk before they extended
their dominion to Nippur. At all events, the conflict between Gilgamesh
and Khumbaba must be referred to a much more ancient period than the
rise of the city of Babylon as a political center.

Shamash and Gilgamesh promise Eabani royal honors if he will join
friendship with them.

Come, and on a great couch,
On a fine couch he[893] will place thee.
He will give thee a seat to the left.
The rulers of the earth will kiss thy feet.
All the people of Uruk will crouch before thee.

Eabani consents, and in company with Gilgamesh proceeds to the fortress
of Khumbaba. It is a long and hard road that they have to travel. The
terror inspired by Khumbaba is compared to that aroused by a violent
storm, but Gilgamesh receives assurances, in no less than three dreams,
that he will come forth unharmed out of the ordeal.

The fortress of Khumbaba is situated in a grove of wonderful grandeur,
in the midst of which there is a large cedar, affording shade and
diffusing a sweet odor. The description reminds one forcibly of the
garden of Eden, and the question suggests itself whether in this episode
of the Gilgamesh epic, we have not again a composite production due to
the combination of Gilgamesh's adventures with the traditions regarding
Eabani. Unfortunately the description of the contest with Khumbaba is
missing. There is a reference to the tyrant's death,[894] but that is
all. In the sixth tablet, Gilgamesh is celebrated as the victor and not
Eabani. We may conclude, therefore, that the episode belongs originally
to Gilgamesh's career, and that Eabani has been introduced into it. On
the other hand, for Eabani to be placed in a beautiful garden would be a
natural consequence of his deserting the gazelles and cattle,--the
reward, as it were, of his clinging to Ukhat. Separating the composite
elements of the epic in this way, we have as distinct episodes in
Gilgamesh's career, the conquest of Uruk and of other places,[895] and
his successful campaign against Khumbaba. With this story there has been
combined a popular tradition of man's early savage state, his departure
from this condition through the sexual passion aroused by Ukhat, who
becomes his 'companion,' and with whom or through whom he is led to a
beautiful garden as a habitation.

The sixth tablet introduces a third element into the epic,--a
mythological one. The goddess Ishtar pleads for the love of Gilgamesh.
She is attracted to him by his achievements and his personality. The
tablet begins with a description of the celebration of Gilgamesh's
victory. The hero exchanges his blood-stained clothes for white
garments, polishes his weapons, and places a crown on his head.

To secure the grace of Gilgamesh, the exalted Ishtar raises her eyes.
Come, Gilgamesh, be my husband,
Thy love[896] grant me as a gift,
Be thou my husband and I will be thy wife
I will place thee on a chariot of lapis lazuli and gold,
With wheels of gold and horns of sapphire (?)
Drawn by great ... steeds (?).
With sweet odor of cedars enter our house.
Upon entering our house,
... will kiss thy feet.
Kings, lords, and princes will be submissive to thee,
Products of mountain and land, they will bring as tribute to thee.

Ishtar appears here as the goddess of love and fertility. As such she
promises Gilgamesh also abundance of herds. But Gilgamesh rejects the
offer, giving as his reason the sad fate encountered by these who were
victims of Ishtar's love:

Tammuz, the consort of thy youth (?),
Thou causest to weep every year.
The bright-colored _allallu_ bird thou didst love.
Thou didst crush him and break his pinions.
In the woods he stands and laments, "O my pinions!"
Thou didst love a lion of perfect strength,
Seven and seven times[897] thou didst bury him in the corners (?),
Thou didst love a horse superior in the fray,
With whip and spur[898] thou didst urge him on,
Thou didst force him on for seven double hours,[899]
Thou didst force him on when wearied and thirsty;
His mother Silili thou madest weep.

In this way Gilgamesh proceeds to upbraid the goddess, instancing, in
addition, her cruel treatment of a shepherd, and apparently also of a
giant, whom she changed to a dwarf. The allusions, while obscure, are
all of a mythological character. The weeping of Tammuz symbolizes the
decay of vegetation after the summer season. The misfortunes that
afflict the bird, lion, and horse similarly indicate the loss of beauty
and strength, which is the universal fate of those who once enjoyed
those attributes. Ishtar, as the great mother, produces life and
strength, but she is unable to make life and strength permanent. Popular
belief makes her responsible for decay and death, since life and
fertility appear to be in her hand. Gilgamesh, as a popular hero, is
brought into association by popular traditions with Ishtar, as he is
brought into relationships with Eabani and Ukhat. A factor in this
association was the necessity of accounting for Gilgamesh's death. As a
hero, the favorite of the gods and invincible in battle, he ought to
enjoy the privilege of the gods--immortality. The question had to be
answered how he came to forego this distinction. The insult he offers to
Ishtar is the answer to this question. Knowing that Ishtar, although the
giver of life, does not grant a continuance of it, he who is produced by
Aruru will have nothing to do with the great goddess. But his refusal
leads to a dire punishment, more disastrous even than the alliance with
Ishtar, which would have culminated in his being eventually shorn of his
strength.

Ishtar, determined that Gilgamesh should not escape her, flies in rage
to her father Anu, the god of heaven, and tells of the manner in which
she has been treated. Anu comforts her. Yielding to Ishtar's request he
creates a divine bull, known as Alu, _i.e._, the strong or supreme
one,[900] who is to destroy Gilgamesh. At this point in the narrative
Eabani is again introduced. Gilgamesh and Eabani together proceed to the
contest with the bull, as they formerly proceeded against Khumbaba. On
seal cylinders this fight is frequently pictured.[901] In agreement with
the description in the narrative, Eabani takes hold of the tail of the
animal, while Gilgamesh despatches him by driving a spear into the
bull's heart. Ishtar's plan is thus frustrated.

Ishtar mounts the wall of walled Uruk.
In violent rage she pronounces a curse:
"Cursed be Gilgamesh, who has enraged me,
Who has killed the divine bull."

Eabani adds insult to injury by challenging the goddess.

Eabani, upon hearing these words of Ishtar,
Takes the carcass (?) of the divine bull and throws it into her face.
Woe to thee! I will subdue thee,
I will do to thee as I have done to him.[902]

The mythological motives that prompted the introduction of Ishtar into
this tablet now become apparent. The division of the epic into twelve
parts is due to scholastic influences. It is certainly not accidental
that the calendar also consists of twelve months. While it is by no
means the case that each tablet corresponds to some month, still in the
case of the sixth and, as we shall see, in the case of the seventh and
eleventh tablets, this correspondence is certain. The sixth month is
designated as the month of the "Mission of Ishtar." What this mission is
we shall see in a subsequent chapter.[903] In this month was celebrated
a festival to Tammuz, the young bridegroom of Ishtar, who is slain by
the goddess. The prophet Ezekiel gives us a picture of the weeping for
Tammuz,[904] which formed the chief ceremony of the day.

It is this character of the month that accounts not only for the
introduction of the Ishtar episode in the sixth tablet, but which finds
further illustrations in the mourning which Ishtar and her attendants
indulge in after the death of the divine bull.

Ishtar assembled the Kizreti,
Ukhalti and Kharimati.
Over the carcass of Alu they raised a lamentation.

These three classes of sacred prostitutes have already been dwelt
upon.[905] With more material at our disposal regarding the cult of
Ishtar or Nana of Erech, we would be in a position to specify the
character of the rites performed at this temple. The statements of
Herodotus and of other writers suffice, however, to show that the three
terms represent classes of priestesses attached to the temple. In this
respect the Ishtar cult of Erech was not unique, for we have references
to priestesses elsewhere. However, the function of the priestess in
religious history differs materially from that of the priest. She is not
a mediator between the god and his subjects, nor is she a representative
of the deity. It is as a 'witch,' that by virtue of the association of
ideas above set forth,[906] she is able to determine the intentions of
the gods. Her power to do harm is supplemented by her ability to furnish
oracles. In this capacity we have already come across her,[907] and we
may assume that giving oracles constituted a chief function of the
priestess in Babylonia. It was furthermore natural to conclude that as a
'witch' and 'oracle-giver,' the priestess belonged to the deity from
whom she derived her power. When we come to the cult of a goddess like
Ishtar, who is the symbol of fertility, observances that illustrated
this central notion would naturally form an ingredient part of that
'sympathetic magic,'--the imitation of an action in order to produce the
reality--which dominates so large a proportion of early religious
ceremonialism. Among many nations the mysterious aspects of woman's
fertility lead to rites that by a perversion of their original import
appear to be obscene.[908] In the reference to the three classes of
sacred prostitutes, we have an evidence that the Babylonian worship
formed no exception to the rule. But with this proposition that the
prostitutes were priestesses attached to the Ishtar cult and who look
part in ceremonies intended to symbolize fertility, we must for the
present rest content.

Gilgamesh, secure in his victory, proceeds to offer the horns of the
divine bull to his patron Lugal-Marada, the 'king' of Marad, and who
appears to be identical with Shamash himself. The offering is
accompanied by gifts to the sanctuary of precious stones and oil. There
is general rejoicing.

The episode of Gilgamesh's contest with the bull also belongs to the
mythological phases of the epic. The bull is in Babylonian
mythology[909] as among other nations a symbol of the storm. It is in
his role as a solar deity that Gilgamesh triumphs over the storm sent by
Anu, that is, from on high. In the following chapter, we will come
across another form of this same myth suggested evidently, as was the
fight of Marduk with Tiamat, by the annual storms raging in Babylonia.
Gilgamesh triumphs as does Marduk, but when once the summer solstice,
which represents the sun's triumph, is past, the decline of the sun's
strength begins to set in. This is indicated by the subsequent course of
the narrative.

The scene of rejoicing at Gilgamesh's triumph is changed to one of
sadness. Eabani is snatched away from Gilgamesh. The few fragments of
the seventh and eighth tablets do not suffice for determining exactly in
what way this happened, but Ishtar is evidently the cause of the
misfortune. A fatal illness, it would seem, seizes hold of
Eabani,--whether as the result of a further contest or directly sent, it
is impossible to say. For twelve days he lingers and then is taken away.
As usual, the catastrophe is foreseen in dreams. For a third time[910]
he sees a vision of fire and lightning, which forebodes the end.

The fragmentary condition of the epic at this point is particularly
unfortunate. There is a reference to Nippur,[911] of which it would be
important to know the purpose.

The relationship between Gilgamesh and Eabani would be much clearer if
the seventh and eighth tablets were preserved in good condition. The
disappearance of Eabani before the end of the epic confirms, however,
the view here maintained, that the career of Eabani was originally quite
independent of Gilgamesh's adventures. His death is as superfluous as is
his association with Eabani. In all critical moments Gilgamesh appears
to stand alone. He conquers Uruk, and it is he who celebrates the
victory of the divine bull. The subsequent course of the narrative after
Eabani's death, except for the frequent mention of Gilgamesh's lament
for his companion, proceeds undisturbed. Moreover, Eabani's punishment
appears to be identical with that meted out to Gilgamesh. The latter is
also stricken with disease, but in his case, the disease has a meaning
that fits in with the mythological phases of the epic. The seventh
month--the one following the summer solstice--marks the beginning of a
turning-point in the year. As the year advances, vegetation diminishes,
and the conclusion was naturally drawn that the sun upon whom vegetation
depended had lost some of his force. This loss of strength is pictured
as a disease with which the sun is afflicted. In this way, the seventh
tablet--and possibly also the eighth--continues the nature myth embodied
in the sixth.

Haupt has ingeniously conjectured that the sickness which affects
Gilgamesh is of a venereal character. The hero wanders about in search
of healing. His suffering is increased by his deep sorrow over the loss
of his 'companion.' The death of Eabani presages his own destruction,
and he dreads the dreary fate in store for him. The ninth tablet
introduces us to this situation.

Gilgamesh weeps for his companion Eabani.
In distress he is stretched out on the ground.[912]
'I will not die like Eabani.
Sorrow has entered my body.
Through fear of death, I lie stretched out on the ground.'

He determines to seek out a mysterious personage, whom he calls
Parnapishtim,[913] the son of Kidin-Marduk.[914] This personage has in
some way escaped the fate of mankind and enjoys immortal life. He is
called the "distant one." His dwelling is far off, "at the confluence of
the streams." The road to the place is full of dangers, but Gilgamesh,
undaunted, undertakes the journey. The hero himself furnishes the
description.