mul apin
editthe great twins, the lion (latarak) the crab (the seat of anu)
the old mzan, the palm frond,
the star of enlil
the star in front, abundant the messenger of ninlil
the star behind, dignity the messenger of tispak
the wagon ninlil
the fox, erra, the strong one
the hitched yhoke, the gerat anui of heaven
the she goat gula, the star in front, the dog
the panther, nergal
at his right, the pig, damu
at left the horse
behind, the stag the messenger of the stars
the deleter
the field, the seat of ea, in front of the stars of anu
at its opposite, the swallow
the snake, ningizzida lord of the netherworld
the ravenm star of adad
the king regulus
su oa bootes
the plow is not the big dipperl the wagon is
the deleter beta andromedae
the hiored man aries
lepus the rooster
the raven corvus (AND CRATER)
the scales libra and part of virgo
the goat fish capricone
the bark e sagit
the snakle hydra
the eagle aquila
the old man perseus
the field, thje great square of pegasus
500-400 BC: planets become predictable- birth signs become relevant
Wiley
editThere was no dichotomy of good and evil in Babylon
The term "supernatural" had no meaning.
the distinction between gods and demons was fluid: gods could do evil, demons could protect, both could be worshipped and offered to, though gods more often
the Sumerian udug, the akkadian uttuku, is usually translated as demon
Lamashtu was thus once divine, presumably even a goddess. She had been stripped of that rank and the offerings that were owed it because of her habit of preying on the young, particularly infants and pregnant women – her aforementioned “unseemly deeds.” Her punishment only accelerated and intensified her crimes, and Lamashtu was the primary demonic threat to target the young.
Incantations designed to counter the demoness often cite her desire to nurse infants at her own breasts, though her milk bears poison and illness.
ardat-lilî, who drifted in from the steppe on the breeze to haunt men at night was essentially the ghost of a young woman who died unmarried.
the Akkadian myth Atra-h˘asis from the early second millennium BCE (Lambert & Millard, 1969), describes how the gods themselves established Lamashtu as a built-in control measure against unchecked population growth
the a�šipu, the Mesopotamian ritual specialist and exorcist, and primarily relied on sympathetic magic
By making a figurine of Lamashtu and performing rituals upon it, the effect could be transferred to the demoness herself. In one method, the figurine was set beside the afflicted individual, and following several days of ritual, placed with a figurine of a black dog and then buried outside the city wall. As black dogs were associated with and sacred to Gula, the goddess of healing (Böck, 2013; Plantholt, 2017), they were an ideal check on the demoness. In another ritual, a similar figurine of Lamashtu was placed by the afflicted and subjected to ritual incantations; following these, the figurine was provided with provisions and buried again outside the city wall.
Pazuzu was employed as a protection against Lamashtu, and his distinctive masculinity also contrasted with the demoness (Figure 3). When portrayed in full, Pazuzu is shown with a snarling, bestial head, clawed hands, and taloned feet. His bears a set of four wings, prominent ribs, and an erect, snake-headed penis. His protection was particularly sought by pregnant women, and pendants of the demon – or, most often, his snarling head – were clearly intended to be worn (Figure 4).
“I am Pazuzu, son of H˘anpu, king of the evil wind demons. I ascended a mighty mountain that quaked, and the (evil) winds that I ran into there were headed West. One by one, I broke their winds”
Moreover, the demon's terrifying visage moves beyond Mesopotamia, appearing in sites in the eastern Mediterranean, such as the island of Samos
In it, the witch, who is most often female, causes chaos and harm, with her actions described in some detail: “(the witch is) she who roams the streets, who continually intrudes houses, who prowls in alleys…she robbed the fine young man of his virility, she carried off the attractiveness of the fine young woman…she has driven away my god and goddess from my person” (Abusch, 2015, p. 305). The witch was too powerful to be merely exiled to the Netherworld; instead, she was burned so that her spirit would rise, like smoke, to the heavens, where the great gods could deal with her. Despite the prevalence of anti-witchcraft incantations, there is relatively little evidence for the presence of actual witches in Mesopotamia or the persecution of them
personal antagonistic magic, the curses against specific people found in greece and rome, is rare in mesopotamia. Treaties often included curses should they be violated
barû � (diviner), kalû (lamentation priest) and asû, often translated as physician or herbalist
Asalluh˘i, acting as a divine stand-in for the mortal a�šipu, presents the affliction to his father, Enki, who proclaims that all the knowledge Enki possesses is already Asalluh˘i's: “My son, what do you not know? What more could I add for you? That which I know, you know as well.” (Falkenstein, 1931, p. 54; Mander, 2010). Enki then commands Asalluh˘ i to go forth and heal the patient by means of the ritual instructions he subsequently dictates. By this means, the ritual – which was performed by the a�šipu himself – is given a clear mythological grounding and divine origin. The a�šipu reinforced this divine sanction and origin by often stating in incantations that the incantation was not his, but belonged to the gods: “The spell is not my own, it is a spell of Ea and Asalluh˘i,” as this example from the incantation series against Lamashtu states
So it was not unusual to see the a�šipu call upon his udug and lama to aid him, with both specifically identified as “good” or “benevolent” (Konstantopoulos, 2017). While the figure of the lama may have had a long history of primarily benevolent and even divine appearances (Sjöberg, 1974), the udug was truly flexible, and incantations could and did feature the benevolent udug (udug sa6-ga) fending off the malevolent udug (who could also appear as the udug hul), without any apparent distress over these diametrically opposed categories being applied to the udug within the space of one text.
Maqlu
editIt was performed during a single night and into the following morning at the end of the month Abu (July/August), a time when spirits were thought to move back and forth between the netherworld and this world. The primary participants were the exorcist and his patient. The ceremony is even the subject of a letter written by the exorcist Nabû-nādin-šumi to King Esarhaddon in early August 670 BCE. Here it should be mentioned that in almost all instances, the patients on whose behalf witchcraft rituals were performed were members of the male elite.4 Although lists of witches include both male and female forms, the witch is usually depicted as a woman.
I raise up the torch and burn the statues of
the demon, the spirit, the lurker, the ghost,
…..
and any evil that seizes mankind.
Dissolve, melt, drip ever away!
May your smoke rise ever heavenward,
May the sun quench your embers,
May the son of Ea, the magus (of the gods), sever your stench.
I seek against you kurgarrû-hierodules and owlmen – I break your bond! May warlocks perform rituals against you – I break your bond! May witches perform rituals against you – I break your bond! May kurgarrû-hierodules perform rituals against you – I break your bond! May owlmen perform rituals against you – I break your bond! May naršindu-sorcerers perform rituals against you – I break your bond! May snake charmers perform rituals against you – I break your bond! May agugillu-sorcerers perform rituals against you – I break your bond! I slap your cheek, I tear out your tongue!
I raise a torch and burn their effigies: the demon, spirit, specter, ghost, Lamashtu, Pestilence, Jaundice, incubus, succubus, demoness, and every evil that afflicts humanity. Melt, flow, and trickle away! May your smoke rise skyward and the sun snuff out your embers. May the son of Ea, the exorcist, extinguish your terror.
fierce raging furious overbearing violetn wicked are you who but ea can dampen you# who but asalluhi cana cool you
my mouth is water your mough tsi fire, may my mouth extinguish oyour mouth
gods of the night
edit1 The princes are closely guarded,
2 The bolts are lowered, rings set in place.
3 The noisy people are fallen silent,
4 Gates (once) opened are locked.
5 The gods of the land, goddesses of the land,
6 Šamaš, Sîn, Adad and Ištar
7 Have gone off into the "lap of heaven".
8 They will give no judgment, they will decide no cases.
9 Veiled is the night.
10 The palace, its chapel, (and) sanctuary are dark.
11 The wayfarer calls out to the god, the petitioner keeps on sleeping.
12 The judge of justice, father of the destitute,
13 Šamaš, has gone into his sanctuary.
14 (May) the great gods of the night,
15 brilliant Girra,
16 warrior Erra,
17 the "Bow", the "Yoke",
18 Orion, the "Dragon",
19 the "Wagon", the "She-Goat",
20 the "Bison", the "Horned Serpent",
21 stand by!
22 In the extispicy which I am performing,
23 In the lamb which I am offering,
24 place for me the truth!
Abush
editUnlike the asu, or physician, the ashipu was a member of the clergy, or at least an employee
shiptu means incantation
warlock kashapu, witch kashaptu
illigitimate parctiitoner of destructive magic
usually depicted as a woman
performed sympathetic magic (voodoo dolls)
bury with a coprse, performing a symbolic marriage
gods of the night, the night courts of Anu and enlil and the underworld of ereshkigal and ekur
vs the day court of shamash and the subterranean waters of enki
the incantations transform the witch into a force of nature
fierce raging furious overbearing violetn wicked are you who but ea can dampen you# who but asalluhi cana cool you
my mouth is water your mough tsi fire, may my mouth extinguish oyour mouth
my withc my informer who bblows vack and forth over lands crosses to and fro over maountains
loss of barley, silver, slaves, cattle shorses sheep, dying, heartbreak, lack of authroity, angera gainst the gods and king, his personal god is angry/ Or a witch has distanced him from his personal god
her spittle cut off trade she drove away my god and goddess from my person
she caused my god or goddess to be estranged fro me and i have become sickening in the sight of anyone who behod me i AM THEREFORE UNABLE TO REST DAY OR NGHT
anxietty depression misfortunme social rejection, nightmares
a personal god was a projection of the individual as a social being, a maifested ego. if it abandons you, you have no power or effectiveness
ignoring the superego led to loss of ego
burning a witch (sometimes) disallowed them entry to the Otherworld (see Emkidue, the smoke ent upwards)
sometimes not. effigies were often bronze and offered to girra, the god of fire and forging
lameness, dizzyness, impotence, tinnitus, weakness, irritability, depression
Ulla koch westenholz
editthe sribes of the eae were often also exorcists or ashipu, or ekur zakir
two good signs were good, two bad signs were bad, mixed was bad
if a good planet is bright good if a bad planet is bright bad
sympathetic magic: to prevent a dike breaking, an astrologer cut throuh another dike
Babylonian divination was based on the principle that all things in the universe related to one another
every event has a correlation, revealed in the will of the gods
if marduk approacdhes the moon and stands there, the king will live many days, the land will not prosper
Ea god of wisdom was the author of teh EAE
Evidence suggests the EAE had formed partially by 1300 bc
accession of sargon to the rise of ashurbanipal 721-627 (neo assyrian)
by the time the motions of the planets and stars coudl be calcualted in adance, their usefulness as signs disappeared
instead their power in themselves became notable, particularly as assigned to birth
some have called this the first scientific revolution
extipicy often corroborated astrological reports and coud procvide andwers to specific questions
many astrologers were also exorcists and physicians
the poverty of the chief scribe is miserable, a donkey woudln't go in there
fortunes could rise and fall two minas of silver a yer, shared leftovers, mule or ox
most were paid in monthly provisions
letters to the king were sickeningly flattering, comparing him to marduk or to wise sages past
letters to other astrologers were often dripping with contempt
"the unskilled fristrates the judge; th unlearned makes the mighty worry"
sin of sargon senneacharib dgathered his diviners to learn why his father was slain in battle and his body not foudm. he separated hjis diviners into groups as they studied the same liver. they gave the same answer, that sargon had placed the assyrian gods above the babylonian
the eae exists is several contradictory editions, showing that it was not a sacred text
mul apin 70 tables summa alu 130 tablets
war was often prescribed as an antidote to famine
heliacal risings/settings, acrinycial stationary points conjunctions, eclipses, colurs and halopes brightness
conjunctions which could enver occur in realuity such as fixed stars occulting each other, were also included
akkad= south
the first 20 tabletsof the eae concern the moon, the last eight concern eclipses
these are the oracles when sin makes a decision: eclipse flood, illness death the gerat gallu demons, seberru always block the way in front of Sin
first sighting of the new moon heralded the satart of the moth, a traditiion preserved today in islam
if the babylonians knew what caused eclipses, they left no record of it. demons messangers lf an break luse and surround sin, ohscruing him
sar pahi, sub king, oerformed after a solar or lunar eclipse
anu enlil and ea the great gods
venus morning star female and good evening star male and bad
Marduk sapik zeri
i fully master my fathers professiioon th disiplien fo lamentation i hacve stuided and changed the series iam compotent mouth washing and purifiation of the palace i have ecamiend healthy an sick flessh i have read the enuman anu enklil and mkae astronomical observations i have rad the summa izbu, the kataduqqu alamdimmu and nigdinmdimmu (physiogomical omens) and the summa alu (terrestrial omens) nabu was the son of marduk, mercuryn was the son of the crown prince
the babylonian word for different meant hostile, names for mars enemy, liar evil strange.
constantly portending pestillence
when bright it brings death to man or beast, when weak, it means plenty and fertility
when you look up a sign, be it one in the sky or one on earth, and if that signs evil portent is confirmed, then it has indeed occrued for you in referene to an enemy or to a disease or famine. Check the date of that sign, and should no sign hyave offucrred to coutnerbalance that signm, should no annuklment have taken place, one can not make it opass by, its evil cannot be removed, it will happen.
gavin white
editan the star eight rays heaven deity
mul three stars, a signifier for all celestial objects usually translated as star
mul udu idim wild sheep star idim means raid raving, and also to die.
MUL: kakkabu (constellation) AN: shamu (star)
Babylon's hebrew name was Babel
sebitti, ossociated with the pleiades, portended war, death and destruction
if a dog eats another dog, ahrd times for the city
if the sky glows red, bundance for the city
if the moon is red at its appearnje the land willl see plenty te land with enjoy abundant business if the constellation of the fish is darl, fish in the waters will not spwan, the birds of heaven will not lay eggs
if a constellation is described as dark, it is thought that a bad planet (mercury, saturn or mars) lies within it
if sagmegar (jupiter) comes near the bull of heaven, the treasures of the land will perish
if the star cluster reaches the destroyer this year there will be faimine
Here Mars is given the name of the plieades, who are also warlike
if the fish comees near the raven, fish and fowl will thrive
famine is usually associated with saturn
flood with mercury, mars with the death of cattle
scorpion - battle
Baigent
editToday the rainfall and river flow of Mesopotamia is little different to what it was then, but the quality of the soil has deteriorated
the rivers could not be relied upon to produce sufficient irrogation
eden: sumerian word for pastureland
the largest canals could be crossed in boats
the ever increasing amount of salt due to irrigation eventually rendered the soil sterile
the temples were the largest buildings
kings weere reprenstatives of thje local god
confederationm of 13 city states 30 thousand each
sumerians were highly organised and rigidly astructured
babylonain and assyrian are dialects of akkadian
sargon of akkad unified sumer and akkad into a single empire 2400 bc
akkadian semitic language used sumerian script
nineveh rotyal library of ashurbanipal; technical literature
nineveh was destroyed 612 bc and babylon became the seat of power
539 BC; babylon was captureed by cyrus the great
alexander the greats invasion 4th centruy bc
babylon declined in favour of greek states like selucia
anu enlil god of heaven, god of earth
earth and heaven werre co equal, and omens from both were of equal significance
man's job was to bear the yoke and toil of the gods
monstrousn births of animals or children were compiled in a book called shumma isbu
animal behavour shumma alu
entrails. shumma martu
medical exorcists had their series
astrology had to do with the king and state, individual birthcharts were absent
astrologers, the haruspeces 9(entrails), exorcists, physicians, singers, calmed the gods
they could offer advice to the king vut weer powerles to affect opolicy, flattery and praise were part of teh job
Hammurabi decreed that all astrologers should determine two facts, the timing of eclipses and the precise date of each new moon to fix the calednar
it would take 2000 years of observation before that was acocomplished
celestial, meterological, terrestrial ( amongoose run over by the kigns chariot presaged defeat in a military campaign)
when mars was retrograde in scorpio: the king should not put down his guard, it is best to remain indoors on an evil day
the astrologers could not do anything, no matter how private or vital, without the king's permission, from tracking errant handmaidens to hiring doctors
"in deep anxiety, I have nothing to report"
"if the planet jupiter is [present in the ecli[pse. all is well with the king, a moble diognatry will die in his stead
astrologers often played up their successes
those who failed were reduced to begging or told to make bricks for a living
"the sun is not mine to command, The sign is not clear and I am cast down. I do not understand it"
"venus is stable in the morning" meant that it was shinging brightly and rising in the west
astrologers would often hedge their bets, claiming that signs were "obscure" rather than evil
"In month tebeti, venus became visible in the west, the harvest of the land will prosper"
when the planet jupiter turns his face when rising towarsds the wesst and yuu can see the face of the skym, and no wind blows there will be a faminee and disaster, asbi sin the king of ur went in chains to ashan
the sumerisans had little astronomical material, just a lit of 25 stars
first ever systematic observations of planetary movements
hammurabi elevated marduk to the suopreme god and identified him with jupiter
if a statue was lost or carried off by invaders, great clamites woudl befall
the planets were not the gods, but manifestations of their power
heaven and earth were unified; the divine inhabited the bush and so the bush was worsh=pped as opposed to Moses
by the 2ndM BC, the idea of a personal god began to emerge
the man his bitter weepng was heard by his god when the lamentation and wailing that had filled him ad soothed the heart of his god for theounjg man, the righeous words, the artless words uttered by him his god accepted, his god withdrw his hadn from the evil word, the demon of fate which had been placed there in accordance with his sentence he turned aside, he turned the yung mans suffering into joy...
sumerian poem
perenst and future, good and eivl were constantly mingling in the here and now
everything was negotiable, fluid
namburbi: undoing (sumerian) ritual for the prevention of threatened evil
celestial events merely portended possible events, they did not cause them
a site was chiose, far from everyday life, and cordoned off with a curtain or a ring of flour
the priest than purified himself
the site was purified by sweeping, washing and incese
then prayers and offerings would be made to specific gods, such as shamash, god of justice, or adad, god of storms
than a plant would be unravelled or a pot smashed
the supplicant woudl then wear specific amulets and refrain from specific foods for a time
the sumerians had a complex pantheon, the semitic akkadians likely originally only had three major gods, the moon (sin), the Sun (shamash) and Venus (Attar -male-)
if the horns of the moon are bright, fortune for akkad; if they were unequally bright, disaster for a neighboring kingdom
If a full moon occurs on its proper day, "the land will be satisfied, the gods intnend akkad for ahppiness. Joyun in the heart of the peooppek, the catle of akkad wilkl like down securly in the pasture
"the market will be low, a strong enemy will overcome the land"
saturn falling within the halo of the moon portended peace for the kingdom, trueth spoken by all and security for the king; jupiter within it signified hostility and the king beseigned in his palace
mars meants destruction, death fo cattle, kings death and the reduction of his lands
Akkad represnted all of Assyria
subartu to the north, to the east, in Iran, elam. To the west, the Amorites.
Almost 40 percent of the omens in the EAE are ecliptical
the land of the prince will be destroyed the land will suffer calamitty] the king will die the land will go to ruin the gods will become angry pregnant women will miscarry their unborn there will be a devastatng flood the peopel will sell their children for money
eclipses that occurred in the proper times, such as the first watch in the first month, or on the 14th or 15th days, wre considered fortunate
if a particulary evil evt were to befall the king, the babylonians would hire a temorar king to take the hit
the king and his queen would then be sacrified and placed in a chamber
if ven us apoporaches cancer there will be [peace and reconiclliation in the country and the gods will hace mercy on the courntry enptoy7 silos will become full, the croopps iof the country will erecover, the pregantt women will eprfect their embryos, and the gerat gods willl keep the sanctuaries of th countryu in order
but if venus entered scorpio, then all crops woudl be detroyed by winds and floods
shoudl venus enter libra, a bad war would ensue
if venuis appeared in the fifth month, then a conflagration was due
An eclipse with VENUS AQND Jupiter in it was considered null. A conjunction of venus and jupiter was considred favorable to the king
Saturn (Ninurta) and Mars (Nergal) were seen as cojoined, as they were both warriors and brothers
Ninurta was the only warrior who volunteered to rescue the stolen tablets of fate from the monster zu, and thus recieved custody of them in reward, becoming arbiter of fate
th sun and saturn were often bodth caleld shamahs
conjunctions of saturn and the moon presaged truthful speaking
discipline adn whoeer enforces it
star of truth and justice, law and order
when Nergal faces another planet, there will be an invasion
Negal was god of the dead and pestillence, and his planet was believed to presage disease
Mars in scorpio was particularly feared
if jupiter stands fast in the morning, angry gods will be favorable with akkad, there will be copious rains, plentiful floods, corn and sesame will be plentiful
if jupiter was bright, "the king of akkad will rise to reeminence, adn his weapons will prevail over his foes"
the moon could affect Jupiter/the king "When Jupiter is within the moon's halo, the king of Akkad will be besieged"
If Jupiter should enter taurus, the fortune of the land would fade, while if hit sentered Orion, pests would wreck the crops.
Nabu was the divine scribe, his name means herald. he replaced the earlier sumerian goddess of wisdom, Nisaba, as ruler of Borshippa
rawlinson, Nabu, Sabaeans
Mercury was associated with rainfall and thus, the market
moon path 18 constellations
Rochberg
editIf there is a mole on the dividing line of a man's forehead, he will not escape the hard times which will seize him
mole to the right/left of the eyebrow, what his mind is set on, he will/will not attain
if there is a mole on his left cheek, he will prevail against his ward ina legal dispute
if there is a mole on the orner of his left eye, his dowry will be stolen on the street.
if there is a mole on his nose, evil speech will xconstantly follow him
may ea, possessor of the incantation of life, ruler of teh swweet water under the earth cast a spell over you, may asalluhim, magician of the gods, castr the sepll of life over you
Marduk sapik zeri
i fully master my fathers professiioon th disiplien fo lamentation i hacve stuided and changed the series iam compotent mouth washing and purifiation of the palace i have ecamiend healthy an sick flessh i have read the enuman anu enklil and mkae astronomical observations i have rad the summa izbu, the kataduqqu alamdimmu and nigdinmdimmu (physiogomical omens) and the summa alu (terrestrial omens)
izbu (malformed foetuses)
there was no concept in mesopotamia of nature as separate from the divine
this was an elite persuit. If the common man had ideas about the stars or planets, we have no record of them
logogram ir to cry- eclipse
sailu dream interpreter baru haruspex
omens were provoked (you asked) or unprovoked (they tell you)
there were also those who cam by prophesy by scholarship, and those who received signs
right left ear/nostril right good left bad
if a woman gives birth to a dog, the master of the house will die, the house will be scattered. the land will go mad, pestillence
if a wopman gives birth and the mouth of the chld is closed, a cilty wil revolt adn kill its lord the settled land will be conquered the enemu=y will enjoy the harvest of the land, there will be famine
if a child is born in the bull, the bull of heaven, great anu of heaven, that ma will be distinguished, his somns and daughters will return adn he will see gain
if during a child's infancy a solar eclipse occurs, he will die in a city not his own, , and the house of hsi father will be scattered
the sumerians had diviners, but they left no divinatory texts that we know of
If a mans kidney hurts him, nergal
the kidney star is mars
there was no physical theory in babylonian astrology
shamash is the lord of social norms, one who drawss the ossmic designs
the babylonians had no word for luck; all that could be allowed was change as willed by the gods
ther word for fate like fate, means dccree
namburbi, countering effects with magic
events are correlations not causations
Sin made the decision and as a result the gods of heaven and eath decreed for mankind various adverse conditions, eclipse deluge, sickness death and the secven demonms
the idea that the celestial bodies themselvesd had unique and determinitstic effects is hellenistic, not babylonian
the zodiasc of 12 equial sized signs was invented in babylon in the fifth centruy bc
the zodiac was the path of the moon through the year, the 12 signs its 12 lunar months (before there ahd been 17)
the stars (gods) which s tand in the path of the moon the moon always passs through and comes in contact with them in the course of each month
jupiter and vebnus were seen as good mars and saturn were seen as evil
and if an eclipse occurs the region of its effect and the wind blowing will be excerpted together
babylonian astrologers ordered the planets not according to their synodic periods, but by whether tehy were good or evil
if jupiter is favorable, wealth and long days are in store If venuus is calm, wherever he goes good fortune and long days if mercury is heroic, lordly great strength if mars is ambiguous he will be quick to anger if satyurn is darkkl disturbed sick and constrained if the moon is bright, good true and long if the eclipsed moon is dark, disturbed not bright, no true omen if thje eclipsed sun is divide, confused longevity
if jupiter is very bright, neither moon nor sn will be eclimpsed in the place of akkad, the enemy will attack but not take booty if jupiter is dim, booty will be taken
celestial divination first appears in old babylon, without a sumerian antecedent
"like the stars" lit. "like the heavenly writing"
exstispicy monstrous births physiognomy
greek ideas of the divine oneness of the universe did not exist in mesopotamia
the various aspects of the unuiverse, the sky, the palnets, were personified as individuals
the first cuneiform sign to designate a god is a star
600s BC Sargonid period vast majority of astronomical texts
enuma anu enlil
editIf adad roars like a dragon/scorpion /road snake
if adad roars like a chicken, adad will devastate the harvest
like a dog, adad will ___ the army
like a puppy.. decay
like a rat, an uprising will hold the king captive
likea weasel, the kings son will kill the king
like a lion, an attack of teh umman manda, who have no rival
drum... adad will wreak destruction
wolf, the kings son will be killed
lion, the king will flee
rumbles like a lowing bull the king's possessions will be lost
sheep, the staff of nisaba will annihilate the offspring
an alu demon, the land of the king of the world will be conquered
kettledrum, the crown prince will rebel against his father
horse, the land will make progress
donkey, business will decline
goose, there will be famine
turtledove the foundation of thje ountry will be given for silver
once, the kurru dry measyureof the town will be broken to pieces
twice, the business will decline,
three times adad will devastate thje harvest
four times, adad will set up abundance in the land
five times adad will make the peoolpple of the land variant and the open country rich
seven times, the souls of the country will be cared for
eleven times an epidemic among the cattle
if lightning like fire flashes in all four directions, disease will be spread through the whole land, and the herds will not survive
if adad thunders, and lightning wihch is like fire flashe toward th south, there will be sick people in akkad, and the chidlren will die at the behest of lamashtu
... at the behest of shamash, men and young women will not survive
east, there will be sick people in elam, and the children will die at the behest of lamashtu
west.. ammuru
17times, ea will kill the fish in the land
18 times the palace of the prince will be plundered
and a rainbow which is like a sulphur flame in its appearance can be seen, there will be fire in the land but towns of men will be spared
repeatedly at an unexpecte time, rains will seas destrution by ea a prosperous harvest
if adad roars constantly and even diorite is smashed to pieces, adad will devastate the harvest of the land, and the land will devour its own possessions
if adad roars just a sunriset eh kings servants will kill him
... and d a dust storm blows gtimea dna again at the behes tof a dad the cattle will perish
if adad roars and surrounds the moon like a circle, the dead will rise and those who have seen famine will...
if adad roars in the heart of venus, there will be attacks by hostile kings on the land
if adad roars in the heart of the plieades. will anne the lands and twenty five hyears the barley will..
... in the middle of aquila, adad and nergal will devour the land
if the wind blow from the south in nisan th king will become ifuriated with his land
if teh south wind blows and adad roars, devastation if a violent stromer risies in the southm, the fall of armrru if a viollent strom rises in the norht, the fall of sabartu if a vilent stoern risies in the east the fall of akkad if a violent stron rises in the west the fall of elam
“If the sky is cloudy (adir ), (even though) the North wind is sweeping across it (rakib ),there will be a banquet of Nergal, and (consequently) the cattle will diminish”
an eclipse in the even watch is for plagues
an eclipse in the middle watch si for dimished economy
an eclipse in the morning watch is for healing
the right side of the eclipse was crosse,d there will be devedstating flood everywhere
an ecilipse in its middle part, it became dark all over the king will die, dsstruction of elam. and evluips began in the soudht and dleared downfall of the subarians and akkad an eclipse in the west downfall of amorites an elipse in the north downfall of akkad in the east, downfall fo teh subarians
if the sun wis red like a torch wehen it becomes visible on the fist of nisannu and a white cloed passed in front of it, in that month the king will die and his son will saeize the throne OR the land wil be happy th sky will bbring forth its rains, and the earth its priuidce in the proper seasons
if at venus rising the red star enters into it, the kings son will seize the throne. if the bow comes close to jupiter elam iwll eat fine food
if oon the second day of inisammu venus appears in the east, there will be morning in the land
the king and queen were given fine food wahsed and annointed with oil
bottero
editetemmu: mealevolent ghost or spirit
sometimes conflated withuttuku (demon) and even ilu (god) somtimes even given the god determinent
unburied corpses could not descend, and wandered the eartrh in spite
it was a journey fro which provisions, and proper clothing were needed
cross a desert full of wild animals and demons, and then cross hubur, teh river of the ferryman
aratu a pipe ineerted into a tomb top provide liwuid refereshment to the dead
the number of good etemmu is far outweighed by the number of evil ones
etemmu could return to plague the living
everything was divinitory
shamaswrote the oracles and placed messages in entrails
demons were the cause of evil
tey had no motives beyond their own fancy
the mahjority of the names are sumerian
what then is good? to have my neck and yours broken, or to be thrown into the river, isw that godo who is so tall as to ascend to heaven, who is so broad as to encompass the entire world? O well slave I s will kill you and send you first. Yes, but my master will surely not outlive me by three days...
george and Oshima
editdo not insult the downtrodden and do not sneer at them autocratically. With this a mans god is amgry, and it is not pleasing to Shamash who will repay him with evil. Give food to eat, beer to drink, grant what is asked, provide for and honiour.; In this a man's god takes pleasure, it is pleasing to shamahs, who will repay him with favour. Do do cheritable deeds. render service all your days.
to the hosue of darkness the dweelling of irkalla, to the house ofrom which those who enter do not depart, to the road from which there is no turning back, to the house wherein tose who enter are bereft of light, where dust is their fare, and clay their food, who see no light but sell in darknesss, who are clad in a garment of wings like birds. Over door and bolt dust is spread
temples were the centre of city life and economy, the king was the godfs bailiff, the gods the true owners
the gods were the arbiters of all morality, to the point when babylonian moral philosopehrs completely dened human awareness of good or evil
all evil descended from sin. All misfortune was punishment, even if the sin was unknown. understanding of the sin could only come from divine revelation.
When inana stole the divine orderings from Enki, she takes not only rulership, crafting, weaving and other necessities, but also rejoicing, music rebellion, purification and sex
one role for the priest was punching the king in the face; if he shed tears, it would be a good year
a god could be appeased by proper ritual as much by reformation
amn was created to serve the gods and relieve their toil. Statues had to be fed and clothed and even entertained
there was no distinction between what was morally right and ritually proper
a personal god had to be worshipped every day
unsurprisingly there were many incantations for countering the effects of venereal disease
the sumerian word for a temple was the same as the word for any house
some sources argue that they probably didn't care that much
Marduk had over 50 names, some his own and epithets, some absorbed from syncttisation
the distinction between demon and god was vague
focp
editThe assyrians were the first empire with a professional army
Trial of Marduk
first universal library
engraving shows him and his queen relaxing in the garden while his enemy's head hangs from a tree
as soon as something has afflicted him, the exoricst rises, and hangs a mouse and a shoot of thornbush upon vault of the patient's door. The exorcist dresses in red garments and puts on a red cloak. He holds a raven on his right arm, a falcon on his left, and recites the incantation, Truly you are evil. after he has finished, he makes another exorcist go around the bed of the patient, win incense and a torch, and recites the incantation, begone evil uttuku,until the demon is driven out. He does this every morning and evening.
Leonard William King
editthe gods of mesopotamia were human in form and character. They were born, lived ate, mated, and died
their effigies could be sent on holidays to other cities, where they would meet with and even mate with other gods in specially designed bed chambers
A tablet at the great library of ashurbanipal listed 750 gods
the gods were not personifications of natural forces, but said to control them
The cult of each deity was specialised to specific cities, who, except during the reigns of the various empres, were essentially independent
black and green
editillness as wascribed to demons or gods. gods trample patients underfoot, while demons held them upside own. hand fo a ghost, hand if ishtar, hand of shamash. an exorcist was called to alleviate the symptoms
phychological illnesses were regarded as the work of demons or malevolent magic
some treatments were what we would call medical, through drugs or surgery.
forms of divination expicacy was highly developed and possessed its own techncal volcabulary
lecanomancy, the inspection of oil on water, libganomancy, incesne smoke, necromancy was rare and considered dangerous
heaps of flour in rituals represented offerings
by the 5th c bc the babylonians wre casting personal horoscopes
in mesopotamia the moon was a male deity, despite having a female sounding name sin or nanna
religion
editSumer and akkad (earliest known semitic language)
akkadians outpopulated the sumerians, akkadians became the spoken language
sumerian became latin
sumerian writing outlived the sumerians themselves
gods have both sumerian and akkadian names
sargon of akkad founded the first empire
then hammurabi founded a babylonian empire
assyrian empire
polytheistic religion
mesopotamian society was about its relgion
duty of the human being to worship the gods
gods were patrons of specific cities that each had a different cult
anu the highest god associated with the sky
enlil son of anu, chief god and god of air and thunder
enki was the wisest of the gods
ishtar the most prominent goddess
marduk the son of enki
anunaki anu and ki (sky and earth)
enlil ordered the flood
as a compormise, the gods invented disease and shortened human lifespans.