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Myths of Babylonia and Assyria

Chapter 30: E
By Donald A. Mackenzie
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History - AncientMythology, Legends & Folklore

About This Book

This work presents a compact survey of Babylonian and Assyrian civilization and mythology, tracing racial origins and early city-states and then detailing major deities, rival pantheons, demons, and popular cults such as Tammuz and Ishtar. It retells foundational narratives including creation as Merodach’s dragon-slaying, famed hero-quests of Etana and Gilgamesh, and the flood and underworld traditions, and examines material culture, laws, temple and urban life, astronomical lore, and imperial history from regional ascendancies to Assyrian splendour and decline, highlighting how myth, religion, and shifting peoples shaped political and social institutions.

D

Dadu (dä´dü), Ramman as, 57.
Dagan (däg´an), the Babylonian, identical with Ea, 31; Nippur temple of, 131; under Isin Dynasty, 132.
Dagda (dag´da), the Irish corn god, 33. 238.
Dagon (dag´on), Jah and Ea as, 31; Dagan and, 31, 32; as a fish and corn deity, 32; Baal-dagon and, 32; offering of mice to, 32, 33.
Daguna (däg´ü-na), Dagon and Dagan and, 31.
Daityas (dait´yăs), the Indian, like Babylonian demons, 34.
Damascius, on Babylonian deities, 328.
Damascus, Aramaean state of, 390; Israel and Judah subject to, 395, 396; Asa's appeal to, 404; conflict with Assyria, 407; Judah and Israel allied against, 408; murder of Ben-hadad II, 410; Palestine subject to, 414; Israel overcomes, 449; conquered by Adad-nirari IV, 438, 439.
Damik-ilishu (dam-ik-il-i´shü), last king of Isin Dynasty, 133.
Damkina (dam´ki-na), wife of Ea, 33, 34; demon attendants of, 63; as mother of Ea, 105; as mother of Enlil, 139; Zerpanitum and, 160; association of with moon, 436; creatrix and, 437.
Damu (dä´mü), the fairy goddess of dreams, 77, 78.
Danavas (dän´ăvas), the Indian, like Babylonian demons, 34.
Dancing, the constellations, 333.
Danes, harvest god as patriarch of, 92.
Daniel, Nebuchadrezzar's "fiery furnace", 349.
Danu (dä-nü), the Irish goddess, 268.
Daonus or Daos, the shepherd, Tammuz as, 83, 86.
Dari´us I, claims to be Achaemenian, 496; plots against Merodach cult, 497.
Darius II, death of at Babylon, 497.
Darius III, Alexander the Great overthrows, 497.
Dasa (dä'să), the Indian, as "foreign devil", 67.
Dasyu (däsh´yoo), the Indian, as "foreign devil", 67.
Date palm, in Babylonia, 25.
David, the ephod used by, 213, 214, 388.
Dead, the, Nergal lord of, 56; ghosts of searching for food, 70, 71; Osiris lord of, 86; charms, weapons, and food for, 206; "houses" of, 206-208 ; spirits of as warriors and fishermen, 212.
Death, eagle of, 168; the Roman, 169; Hercules and, 170.
Death, the sea of, in Gilgamesh epic, 178 et seq.
Death, the stream of, 56.
Deer, associated with Lagash goddess, 120.
Deities, the local, 43, 44; food and water required by, 44; the mead of, 45; early groups of in Egypt and Sumeria, 105, 106; made drunk at banquet, 144.
Deluge Legend, Smith translates, xxii. See Flood Legends.
Demeter (de-me´ter), the goddess, Poseidon as lover of, 33, 103.
Demons, the Babylonian Ocean, 34; gods as, 35, 62, 135; Enlil lord of, 35, 63; Tiamat and Apsu as, 37, 38, 64; Tiamat's brood, 140, 141, 214, 215; "ceremonies of riddance", 58; as sources of misfortune, 60; in images, 61; the winged bull, &c., 65; the "will-o'-the-wisp", 66, 67; Anu as father of, 63, 68; as lovers, 67, 68; Adam's first wife Lilith, 67; ghosts as, 69, 215; penetrate everywhere, 71, 72; as pigs, horses, goats, &c., 71; Set pig of Egypt, 85; as wind hags, 72, 73; the Zu bird, 74; Indian eagle, 166; association of with gods, 76; the serpent mother one of the, 74-76 ; the Jinn, 78; as composite monsters, 79; the Teutonic Beli, 95; in mythology and folk lore, 151 et seq.; the Gorgons, 159; King of Cuthah's battle against, 214, 215; disease germs as, 234.
De Morgan, pottery finds by, 263.
Derceto (der-ke´to), fish goddess, Semiramis and, 277, 418, 423; mermaid form of, 426; Atargatis legend, 426, 427; dove symbol of, 432; legends attached to, 437.
De Sarzec, M., xxiii.
"Descent of Ishtar", poem, 95 et seq.
Destroyer, the, "World Mother" as, xxx, 100; Ninip as, 53; goddess Ninsun as, 57; Enlil and Nergal as, 62, 63, 303; Egyptian and Indian deities as, 63, 85, 157, 336; Cronos as, 64; "Shedu" bull as, 65; Set boar as, 85; Babylonian boar god as, 86; eagle as, 168, 169; "winged disk" as, 336; sun as, 336; Thor, Ashur, Tammuz, and Indra each as, 340.
Diarmid, the Celtic, Tammuz-Adonis and, 84, 87; water of life myth, 186, 187; Totemic boar and, 293.
Dietrich (dēt´rēch: 'ch' as in loch) as the thunder god, 74, 164.
Diodo´rus, on Babylonian star lore, 309.
Disease, Nergal the god of, 53, 54; goddess of, 77; demons of, 60, 63, 77.
Divorce, in Babylonia, 227.
Doctors, laws regarding, 230, 231; Herodotus on, 231; Assyrian king and, 231, 232.
Doves, goddesses and, 418; Semiramis protected after birth by, 424; goddess of Cyprus and, 426; Aphrodite and, 427; Ishtar and Gula and, 427, 428; associated with temples and homes, 428; in Gilgamesh epic, 428; deities identified with, 429; ravens and, 429; sacred at Mycenae, 430; snakes and in Crete, 430; sacred among Semites and Hittites, 430; Egyptian lovers and, 431; pigeon lore in England, Ireland, and Scotland, 431; fish and, 432; Totemic theory, 432 et seq.; antiquity of veneration of, 433, 434; sacrificed in Israel, 439; the Persian eagle legend and, 493.
Dragon, the, of Babylon, 62; in group of seven spirits, 63; Tiamat as the female, 38, 64; Tiamat as ocean, 15, as "fire drake", "worm", &c., 151; "Ku-pu" of Tiamat, 147; heart of, 147 n.; liver vulnerable part of, 153; the male, 156 (see Apsu); Biblical references to, 114, 157, 158; Eur-Asian variations of myth of, 151, 152; well of at Jerusalem, 152; the Egyptian, 156; Sutekh as slayer of, 157; Merodach as slayer of (see Merodach).
Drake, the Fire, the Babylonian, 66, 67; dragon as, 151.
Dreams, the fairy goddess of, 77, 78.
Drink traffic, women monopolized in Babylonia, 229.
Drinking customs, religious aspect of, 45; inspiration from blood, 48; the gods drunk at Anshar's banquet, 144.
Dungi (dün´gi), King of Ur, 130; daughters of as rulers, 130; an Ea worshipper, 131.
Dyaus (rhymes with "mouse"), displaced by Indra, 302.
Dying gods, the eternal goddess and the, 101 et seq.; death a change of form, 305.

E

Ea (ā´ä), god of the deep, Ashur-banipal and, xxii, xxiii; a typical Babylonian god, xxviii, xxix, 27; Oannes and, 27, 30; as world artisan like Ptah and Indra, 30; connection of with sea and Euphrates, 28, 29, 39; as sea-demon, 62; names of, 30, 39; as fish and corn god, 32; Dagon, Poseidon, Neptune, Frey, Shony, &c., and, 31, 33; Dagon and Dagan, 31; Ea as Dagan at Nippur, 131; as Ya, or Jah, of Hebrews, 31; Totemic fish of, 294; Indian Varuna and, 31, 34, 209; wife of as earth lady, 33; wife of as mother, 105; Anu and, 34; Enlil and, 35; demons of, 35, 63; in early triad, 36, 37, 463; Indian Vishnu and, 38; as dragon slayer, 38, 140, 153, 157; Adapa, son of, a demon slayer, 72, 73; in demon war, 77; as "great magician", 38, 46; moon god and, 40, 50, 51, 53; solar attributes of, 50, 51, 53; food supply and, 43; beliefs connected with, 44; Nusku as messenger of, 50; Nebo a form of, 303, 435; gods that link with, 57, 58; as form of Anshar, 125; family of including Merodach and Tammuz, 72, 73, 82; daughter of, 117; Merodach supplants, 158; Enlil as son of, 139; Ashur as son of, 348; planetary gods and, 304; worshipped at Lagash, 116; earliest form of, 134; under Isin Dynasty, 132; in Creation legend, 138 et seq.; astral "field" of, 147, 307; constellations and, 296; Merodach directs decrees of, 149; Etana and eagle visit heaven of, 166; in flood legend, 190 et seq.; as Aos, 328; the goat and, 333; as "high head", 334; Sargon II and, 463.
Ea-bani (ā´ä-bä´ni), 41, 42; ghost of as "wind gust", 48, 49; goat demi-god, 135; lured from the wilds, 173; as ally of Gilgamesh, 174; Ishtar's wooing, 174, 175; slaying of Ishtar's bull, 176; death of, 176, 177; ghost of invoked by Gilgamesh, 183, 184.
Eagle, the, Sumerian Zu bird and Indian Garuda eagle, 74, 75, 165, 166, 168, 169, 330, 346, 347; the lion headed as Nin-Girsu (Tammuz), 120, 135; in Etana myth, 165; in Nimrod myth, 166, 167; in Alexander the Great legend, 167; in Scottish folk tale, 167, 168; as soul carrier, 168; Roman Emperor's soul and, 169; Hercules and, 170, 349; Gilgamesh protected at birth by, 171; Persian patriarch protected at birth by, 493; the Totemic theory, 293, 493; wheel of life and, 346, 347; Ashur and Horus and, 343; wings of on Ashur disk, 351, 352.
Eagle stone, as a birth charm, 165.
Eagle tribe, the ancient, 493.
Eannatum (ā´än-nä´tum), King of Lagash, a great conqueror, 118, 119; rules Ur and Erech, 119; works of, 119; mound burial in period of, 214.
Earth children, elves and dwarfs as, 292, 292 n.
Earth spirits, males among father worshippers, 105; the Egyptian, Teutonic, Aryan, and Siberian, 105; elves and fairies as, 294, 295.
Earth worship, moon and stone worship and, 52.
Ecclesiastes, "Lay of the Harper", "Song of the Sea Lady" and, 179, 180.
Ecke (eck-ā), Tyrolese storm demon, 74.
Eclipse foretold by Assyrian and Babylonian astronomers, 321, 322; the Ahaz sundial record, 323; Babylonian records of, 324; in reign of Ashurdan III, 442.
Ecliptic, when divided, 322.
Edinburgh, the giant Arthur of, 164.
Edom, Judah and, 402, 409, 448; tribute from to Assyria, 439.
Education, in Hammurabi Age, 251.
Egg, the, goddess Atargatis born of, 28, 426; thorn as life in, 352.
Egypt, agricultural festivals in, xxxi; debt of modern world to, xxxv; prehistoric agriculture in, 6; Mediterranean race in, 7; early shaving customs, 5, 9, 10; theory copper first used in, 12; social status of women in, 16; early gods of and Sumerian, 26, 36, 37; creative tears of deities of, 45; lunar worship in, 52; god and goddess cults in, 105; Great Mother Nut of, 106; at dawn of Sumerian history, 114; bearded deities of, 136; dragon of, 156; "Lay of Harper" and Sumerian "Song of Sea Lady", 178, 179; flood legend of, 197; feast of dead in, 206; burial customs and Sumerian, 209-214 ; Hyksos invasion and Hittite raid on Babylon, 259; culture debt of to Syria, 275; prehistoric Armenoid invasion of, 11, 263; prehistoric black foreign pottery, 263; Totemism in, 292-295 , 432-433 ; Syrian empire of lost, 284; fairies and elves of, 294; Pharaoh displaces gods in, 295; doctrine of mythical ages in, 315; the phoenix, 330; the "man in the sun", 336; Neith as a thunder goddess, 337, 337 n.; Ankh symbol, 347; influence of Hittites in, 364; wars with Hittites, 365, 366; Cretans and sea raiders,378; Hebrews and, 388; "mother right" in, 418; sacred pigeons in, 428; fosters revolt against Sargon II, 457; Pharaoh and Piru of Mutsri, 458 and n.; Sennacherib defeats army of, 465; intrigues against Assyria, 465, 471; as Assyrian province, 475; Ashur-bani-pal and, 482, 484; Assyrian yoke shaken off, 486; Scythians on frontier of, 488; after Assyria's fall, 489; Hophra plots against Nebuchadrezzar II, 491.
El´ah, King of Israel, 405.
Elam, prehistoric pottery of, 5, 263; copper from, 130; British influence in 357; caravan routes of, 361.
Elamites, relations with early Sumerians, 111; defeated by Eannatum of Lagash, 118; raid on Lagash by, 121; Sargon of Akkad defeats, 127; Ur dynasty overthrown by, 131; in Hammurabi Age, 217; conquests of Warad-Sin and Rim-Sin, 217; King Sin-mubal-lit's struggle with, 242, 243; Medes and, 244; King of and Abraham, 247; in Syria, 247; driven from Babylonia, 249; in Kassite period, 274, 370, 380, 381; connection of with early Assyria, 278; struggle for trade expansion, 361 et seq.; Babylonian raid, 369; during Solomon period, 391; Esarhaddon and, 472; Ashur-bani-pal subdues, 484, 485.
Elisha, call of Jehu, 409, 410; call of Hazael, 410, 411.
Elves, the Babylonian, 67; as lovers, 68; origin of conception of, 79, 80, 292; like Indian Ribhus and Siberian "masters", 105; the European, Egyptian, and Indian, 294; human bargains with, 294, 295.
Enannatum I (en-an-nä´tum) of Lagash, defeats Umma force, 119.
Enannatum II, King of Lagash, last of Ur-Nina's line, 120.
England, the ancestral giant of, 42; spitting customs in, 47; return of dead dreaded in, 70, 70n; Black Annis, the wind hag, 73, 101; fairies and elves of, 80, 186; the "fire drake" of, 151; "Long Meg" a hag of, 156; "Long Tom" a giant of, 156; pigeon lore in, 431.
Enki (än´ki), "lord of the world", Ea as, 31. See Ea.
En´lil, god of Nippur and elder Bel, lord of demons, 35; spouse of, 36; in early group of deities, 37; like Indian Shiva, 38; deities that link with, 35, 57, 271, 272; as destroyer, 62, 63; "fates" as sons of, 80; Ur Nina worshipped, 116; as son of Anu, 124; as son of Ea, 139; Ninip as son and father of, 53, 158, 302; during Isis Dynasty, 132; astral "field" of, 147; Merodach directs decrees of, 149; as corn god, 159; monotheism of cult of, 161; temple of as "world house", 35, 332; as bull and "high head", 334; Etana in heaven of, 166; also rendered Ellil. See Bel.
Enlil-bani (en´lil-bä´ni), King of Isin, a usurper like Sargon, 133.
En-Mersi (en-mer´si), a form of Tammuz, 116.
Enneads, the Babylonian and Egyptian, 36.
Entemena(en-te´men-a), King of Lagash, Umma subdued by, 119, 120; famous silver vase of, 120; worshipped as a god, 257, 258.
Ephod, the, used by David, 213, 214.
Ephron the Hittite, 12.
Equinoxes, precession of, where law of discovered: Greece or Babylonia? 320, 320n, 322.
Erech, Anu god of, 34; gods of become flies and mice, 41; destroying sun goddess of, 57; Ur-Nina and, 116; under Lagash, 119; an ancient capital, 124, 125; rise of after Akkad, 129; moon god at, 130; in Gilgamesh epic, 172 et seq.; in revolt against Ashur-bani-pal, 484; Nabonidus and, 492.
Eresh-ki-gal (eresh-ki´gäl), goddess of death, 53; Nergal husband and conqueror of, 53, 54, 204, 205, 303; as a Norn, 77; "Fates" as sons of, 80; as wife of Enlil, 80; Germanic hag like, 95; punishment of Ishtar by, 96, 97; as destroyer, 100.
Eridu (e´ri-dü), once a seaport, 22, 25, 38; Ea the god of, 27; sanctity of, 38, 39.
Eros, Greek love god, 90.
E-sagila (e-säg´i-la), Merodach's temple, 221; Hammurabi and, 252; in Kassite Age, 274; as symbol of world hill, 332; sacked by Sennacherib, 468; gods of Ur, Erech, Larsa, and Eridu in, 492, 493; Xerxes pillages, 497; Alexander the Great repairs, 497; decay of, 498.
Esarhaddon (e´sar-had´don), character of, 470; Babylonian wife of, 471; Egypto-Syrian league against, 471, 472; Queen Nakia regent of, 472; alliance with Urartu, 473; sack of Sidon, 473; Manasseh's revolt, 474; invasion of Egypt, 475; revolt in Assyria, 476; successors chosen by, 476; death of, 476.
Esau, Hittite wives of, 266.
Etana (e-tä´nä), Zu bird myth and, 74-76 ; quest of the "Plant of Birth", 164, 165; flight with eagle to heavens, 165, 166.
Eternal goddess, the, husbands of die annually, 101 et seq.
Ethnology, folk beliefs and, xxvi.
Euphrates, the river, 22; as "the soul of the land", 23; rise and fall of, 24; as the creator, 29.
Europe, lunar worship in, 52; Armenoid invasion of, 264.
Evans, Sir Arthur, pottery finds by, 263.
Evil eye, the, 235, 236.
"Evil Merodach", King of Babylon, 492.
Evolution, in Babylonian religion, xxxiv.
Ezekiel, on fire-worshipping ceremony, 50; Tammuz weeping, 82; on ethnics of Jerusalem, 246; on Hittite characteristics, 266; Assyria the cedar, 340, 341; the wheel of life symbol, 344 et seq.
Ezra, return of Jewish captives with, 496.