Chapter I: Preface

The purpose of this book is to provide not only a popular account of the religion and mythology of ancient Babylonia and Assyria, but to extract and present to the reader the treasures of romance latent in the subject, the peculiar richness of which has been recognized since the early days of archæological effort in Chaldea. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, writers who have made the field a special study have rarely been able to triumph over the limitations which so often obtrude in works of scholarship and research. It is true that the pages of Rawlinson, Smith, Layard, and Sayce are enlivened at intervals with pictures of Assyrian splendour and Babylonian glory--gleams which escape as the curtains which veil the wondrous past are partially lifted--but such glimpses are only interludes in lengthy disquisitions which too often must be tedious for the general reader.

It was such a consideration which prompted the preparation of this volume. Might not a book be written which should contain the pure gold of Babylonian romance freed from the darker ore of antiquarian research? So far, so good. But gold in the pure state is notoriously unserviceable, and an alloy which renders it of greater utility may detract nothing from its brilliance. Romance or no romance, in these days it will not do to furnish stories of the gods without attempting some definition of their nature and origin. For more than ever before romance and knowledge are a necessary blend in the making of a satisfactory book on mythology.

Nevertheless, it is anticipated that it will be to the modern reader who loves the romance of antiquity that this book will especially appeal. It is claimed that the greater part of Chaldean romance clusters around the wonderful mythology and religion of that land; it is therefore of these departments of Chaldean lore that this volume chiefly treats. But the history of Babylonia and Assyria has not been neglected. The great names in its records will be found to recur constantly in these pages, in most instances accompanied by a tale or legend which will illuminate the circumstances of their careers and serve to retain these in the mind of the reader. Nor has the Biblical connexion with Chaldea been forgotten; the reader will find as he proceeds frequent references to the pages of the most picturesque Book in the world.

L. S.

CONTENTS

I. BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA IN HISTORY AND LEGEND
II. BABYLONIAN COSMOGONY
III. EARLY BABYLONIAN RELIGION
IV. THE GILGAMESH EPIC
V. THE LATER PANTHEON OF BABYLONIA
VI. THE GREAT GOD MERODACH AND HIS CULT
VII. THE PANTHEON OF ASSYRIA
VIII. BABYLONIAN STAR-WORSHIP
IX. THE PRIESTHOOD, CULT, AND TEMPLES
X. THE MAGIC AND DEMONOLOGY OF BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA
XI. THE MYTHOLOGICAL MONSTERS AND ANIMALS OF CHALDEA
XII. TALES OF THE BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN KINGS
XIII. THE COMPARATIVE VALUE OF THE BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN RELIGIONS
XIV. MODERN EXCAVATION IN BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA
XV. THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS

GLOSSARY AND INDEX

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Sacrificing to Bel _(Evelyn Paul) Frontispiece_ Assault on a City Basalt Stele engraved with the Text of Khammurabi's Code of Laws Sennacherib receiving Tribute The Death of Sardanapalus (_L. Chalon_) The Library of King Assur-bani-pal at Nineveh (_Fernand L. Quesne_) Daniel interprets the Dream of Nebuchadrezzar (_Evelyn Paul_) Grant of Privileges to Ritti-Marduk by Nebuchadrezzar I Birs Nimrûd, the Tower of Babel The Murder of Setapo (_Evelyn Paul_) The Seven Tablets of Creation "Mighty was he to look upon" (_Evelyn Paul_) Conflict between Merodach and Tiawath Types of En-lil, the Chief God of Nippur, and of his Consort Nin-lil Ishtar, as (1) Mother-goddess, (2) Goddess of War, (3) Goddess of Love The Mother-goddess Ishtar (_Evelyn Paul_) Assyrian Rock Sculpture Assyrian Type of Gilgamesh Ut-Napishtim makes Offering to the Gods (_Allan Stewart_) Nebo Hall in Assyrian Palace (_Sir Henry Layard_) Tiglath-Pileser I directed by Ninib (_Evelyn Paul_) Assur-nazir-pal attended by a Winged Mythological Being Zikkurats of the Anu-Adad at Ashur Stage-tower at Samarra Excavated Ruins of the Temple of E-Sagila Exorcising Demons of Disease Clay Object resembling a Sheep's Liver Eagle-headed Mythological Being Capture of Sarrapanu by Tiglath-Pileser II (_Evelyn Paul_) The Fatal Eclipse (_M. Dovaston, R.B.A._) Shalmaneser I pouring out the Dust of a Conquered City (_Ambrose Dudley_) The Marriage Market (_Edwin Long, R.A_.) A Royal Hunt Elijah prevailing over the Priests of Baal (_Evelyn Paul_) The 'Black Obelisk' of Shalmaneser II Outline of the Mounds at Nimrûd (_Sir Henry Layard_) The Palaces of Nimrûd (_James Ferguson_) Work of the Excavators in Babylon Ruins of Babylon The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (_M. Dovaston, R.B.A._)