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diff --git a/old/8bbdl10.txt b/old/8bbdl10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..02b0139 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/8bbdl10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1927 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Babylonian Story of the Deluge +as Told by Assyrian Tablets from Nineveh, by E. A. Wallis Budge + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Babylonian Story of the Deluge + as Told by Assyrian Tablets from Nineveh + +Author: E. A. Wallis Budge + +Release Date: December, 2004 [EBook #7096] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on March 9, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BABYLONIAN STORY OF THE DELUGE *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman + + + + + + +The Babylonian Story of the Deluge as Told by Assyrian Tablets from +Nineveh. + +By E. A. Wallis Budge. + + +The Discovery of the Tablets at Nineveh by Layard, Rassam and Smith. + +In 1845-47 and again in 1849-51 Mr. (later Sir) A. H. Layard carried +out a series of excavations among the ruins of the ancient city of +Nineveh, "that great city, wherein are more than sixteen thousand +persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left; +and also much cattle" (Jonah iv, II). Its ruins lie on the left or +east bank of the Tigris, exactly opposite the town of Al-Mawsil, +or Môsul, which was founded by the Sassanians and marks the site +of Western Nineveh. At first Layard thought that these ruins were +not those of Nineveh, which he placed at Nimrûd, about 20 miles +downstream, but of one of the other cities that were builded by +Asshur (see Gen. x, 11, 12). Thanks, however, to Christian, Roman and +Muhammadan tradition, there is no room for doubt about it, and the +site of Nineveh has always been known. The fortress which the Arabs +built there in the seventh century was known as "Kal'at-Nînawî, i.e., +"Nineveh Castle," for many centuries, and all the Arab geographers +agree in saying that tile mounds opposite Môsul contain the ruins +of the palaces and walls of Nineveh. And few of them fail to mention +that close by them is "Tall Nabi Yûnis," i.e., the Hill from which the +Prophet Jonah preached repentance to the inhabitants of Nineveh, that +"exceeding great city of three days' journey" (Jonah iii, 3). Local +tradition also declares that the prophet was buried in the Hill, +and his supposed tomb is shown there to this day. + + +The Walls and Palaces of Nineveh. + +The situation of the ruins of the palaces of Nineveh is well shown +by the accompanying reproduction of the plan of the city made by +Commander Felix Jones, I.N. The remains of the older palaces built by +Sargon II (B.C. 721-705), Sennacherib (B.C. 705-681), and Esarhaddon +(B.C. 681-668) lie under the hill called Nabi Yûnis, and those of +the palaces and other buildings of Ashur-bani-pal (B.C. 681-626) +under the mound which is known locally as "Tall al-'Armûshîyah," i.e., +"The Hill of 'Armûsh," and "Kuyûnjik." The latter name is said to be +derived from two Turkish words meaning "many sheep," in allusion to +the large flocks of sheep that find their pasture on and about the +mound in the early spring. These two great mounds lie close to the +remains of the great west wall of Nineveh, which in the time of the +last Assyrian Empire was washed by the waters of the river Tigris. At +some unknown period the course of the river changed, and it is now more +than a mile distant from the city wall. The river Khausur, or Khoser, +divides the area of Nineveh into two parts, and passing close to the +southern end of Kuyûnjik empties itself into the Tigris. The ruins of +the wails of Nineveh show that the east wall was 16,000 feet long, the +north wall 7,000 feet long, the west wall 13,600 feet, and the south +wall 3,000 feet; its circuit was about 13,200 yards or 7 1/2 miles. + + +Discovery of the Library of the Temple of Nebo at Nineveh. + +In the spring of 1852 Layard, assisted by H. Rassam, continued the +excavation of the "South West Palace" at Kuyûnjik. In one part of the +building he found two small chambers, opening into each other, which +he called the "chamber of records," or "the house of the rolls." He +gave them this name because "to the height of a foot or more from the +floor they were entirely filled" with inscribed baked clay tablets +and fragments of tablets. Some tablets were complete, but by far the +larger number of them had been broken up into many fragments, probably +by the falling in of the roof and upper parts of the walls of the +buildings when the city was pillaged and set on fire by the Medes and +Babylonians. The tablets that were kept in these chambers numbered +many thousands. Besides those that were found in them by Layard, +large numbers have been dug out all along the corridor which passed +the chambers and led to the river, and a considerable number were +kicked on to the river front by the feet of the terrified fugitives +from the palace when it was set on fire. The tablets found by Layard +were of different sizes; the largest were rectangular, flat on one +side and convex on the other, and measured about 9 ins. by 6 1/2 ins., +and the smallest were about an inch square. The importance of this +"find" was not sufficiently recognized at the time, for the tablets, +which were thought to be decorated pottery, were thrown into baskets +and sent down the river loose on rafts to Basrah, whence they were +despatched to England on a British man o' war. During their transport +from Nineveh to England they suffered more damage from want of packing +than they had suffered from the wrath of the Medes. Among the complete +tablets that were found in the two chambers several had colophons +inscribed or scratched upon them, and when these were deciphered by +Rawlinson, Hincks and Oppert a few years later, it became evident that +they had formed part of the library of the Temple of Nebo at Nineveh. + + +Nebo and His Library at Nineveh. + +Nothing is known of the early history of the Library [1] of the Temple +of Nebo at Nineveh. There is little doubt that it was in existence in +the reign of Sargon II, and it was probably founded at the instance of +the priests of Nebo who were settled at Nimrûd (the Calah of Gen. X, +11), about 20 miles downstream of Nineveh. Authorities differ in +their estimate of the attributes that were assigned to Nebo ( Nabu) +in Pre-Babylonian times, and cannot decide whether he was a water-god, +or a fire-god, or a corn-god, but he was undoubtedly associated with +Marduk, either as his son or as a fellow-god. It is certain that +as early as B.C. 2000 he was regarded as one of the "Great Gods" +of Babylonia, and about 1,200 years later his cult was general in +Assyria. He had a temple at Nimrûd in the ninth century B.C., and King +Adad-Nirari (B.C. 811-783) set up six statues in it to the honour of +the god; two of these statues are now in the British Museum. Under the +last Assyrian Empire he was believed to possess the wisdom of all the +gods, and to be the "All-wise" and "All-knowing." He was the inventor +of all the arts and sciences, and the source of inspiration in wise +and learned men, and he was the divine scribe and past master of all +the mysteries connected with literature and the art of writing (, duppu +sharrute). Ashur-bani-pal addresses him as "Nebo, the beneficent son, +the director of the hosts of heaven and of earth, holder of the tablet +of knowledge, bearer of the writing-reed of destiny, lengthener of +days, vivifier of the dead, stablisher of light for the men who are +troubled" (see tablet R.M. 132) In the reign of Sargon II the temple +library of Nebo was probably housed in some building at or near Nabi +Yûnis, or, as George Smith thought, near Kuyûnjik, or at Kuyûnjik +itself. As Layard found the remains of Nebo's Library in the South +West Palace, it is probable that Ashur-bani-pal built a new temple +to Nebo there and had the library transferred to it. Nebo's temple +at Nineveh bore the same name as his very ancient temple at Borsippa +(the modern Birs-i-Nimrûd), viz., "E-Zida." + + +Discovery of the Palace Library of Ashur-bani-pal. + +In the spring of 1852 Layard was obliged to close his excavations +for want of funds, and he returned to England with Rassam, leaving +all the northern half of the great mound of Kuyûnjik unexcavated. He +resigned his position as Director of Excavations to the Trustees of the +British Museum, and Colonel (later Sir) H. C. Rawlinson, Consul-General +of Baghdâd, undertook to direct any further excavations that might +be possible to carry out later on. During the summer the Trustees +received a further grant from Parliament for excavations in Assyria, +and they dispatched Rassam to finish the exploration of Kuyûnjik, +knowing that the lease of the mound of Kuyûnjik for excavation +purposes which he had obtained from its owner had several years to +run. When Rassam arrived at Môsul in 1853, and was collecting his men +for work, he discovered that Rawlinson, who knew nothing about the +lease of the mound which Rassam held, had given the French Consul, +M. Place, permission to excavate the northern half of the mound, i.e., +that part of it which he was most anxious to excavate for the British +Museum. He protested, but in vain, and, finding that M. Place intended +to hold Rawlinson to his word, devoted himself to clearing out part +of the South West Palace which Layard had attacked in 1852. Meanwhile +M. Place was busily occupied with the French excavations at Khorsabad, +a mound which contained the ruins of the great palace of Sargon II, +and had no time to open up excavations at Kuyûnjik. In this way a year +passed, and as M. Place made no sign that he was going to excavate at +Kuyûnjik and Rassam's time for returning to England was drawing near, +the owner of the mound, who was anxious to get the excavations finished +so that he might again graze his flocks on the mound, urged Rassam +to get to work in spite of Rawlinson's agreement with M. Place. He +and Rassam made arrangements to excavate the northern part of the +mound clandestinely and by night, and on 20th December, 1853, the +work began. On the first night nothing of importance was found; on +the second night the men uncovered a portion of a large bas-relief; +and on the third night a huge mass of earth collapsed revealing a very +fine bas-relief, sculptured with a scene representing Ashur-bani-pal +standing in his chariot. The news of the discovery was quickly carried +to all parts of the neighbourhood, and as it was impossible to keep +the diggings secret any longer, the work was continued openly and by +day. The last-mentioned bas-relief was one of the series that lined +the chamber, which was 50 feet long and 15 feet wide, and illustrated +a royal lion hunt. [2] This series, that is to say, all of it that +the fire which destroyed the palace had spared, is now in the British +Museum (see the Gallery of the Assyrian Saloon). + +Whilst the workmen were clearing out the Chamber of the Lion Hunt +they came across several heaps of inscribed baked clay tablets of "all +shapes and sizes," which resembled in general appearance the tablets +that Layard had found in the South West Palace the year before. There +were no remains with them, or near them, that suggested they had been +arranged systematically and stored in the Chamber of the Lion Hunt, +and it seems as if they had been brought there from another place and +thrown down hastily, for nearly all of them were broken into small +pieces. As some of them bore traces of having been exposed to great +heat they must have been in that chamber during the burning of the +palace. When the tablets were brought to England and were examined by +Rawlinson, it was found from the information supplied by the colophons +that they formed a part of the great Private Library of Ashur-bani-pal, +which that king kept in his palace. The tablets found by Layard in 1852 +and by Rassam in 1853 form the unique and magnificent collection of +cuneiform tablets in the British Museum, which is now commonly known +as the "Kuyûnjik Collection." The approximate number of the inscribed +baked clay tablets and fragments that have come from Kuyûnjik and are +now in the British Museum is 25,073. It is impossible to over-estimate +their importance and value from religious, historical and literary +points of view; besides this, they have supplied the material for the +decipherment of cuneiform inscriptions in the Assyrian, Babylonian +and Sumerian languages, and form the foundation of the science of +Assyriology which has been built up with such conspicuous success +during the last 70 years. + + +Ashur-bani-pal, Book-Collector and Patron of Learning. + +Ashur-bani-pal (the Asnapper of Ezra iv, 10) succeeded his father +Esarhaddon B.C. 668, and at a comparatively early period of his reign +he seems to have devoted himself to the study of the history of his +country, and to the making of a great Private Library. The tablets that +have come down to us prove not only that he was as great a benefactor +of the Library of the Temple of Nebo as any of his predecessors, but +that he was himself an educated man, a lover of learning, and a patron +of the literary folk of his day. In the introduction to his Annals as +found inscribed on his great ten-sided cylinder in the British Museum +he tells us how he took up his abode in the chambers of the palace +from which Sennacherib and Esarhaddon had ruled the Assyrian Empire, +and in describing his own education he says: + +"I, Ashur-bani-pal, within it (i.e., the palace) understood the wisdom +of Nebo, all the art of writing of every craftsman, of every kind, +I made myself master of them all (i.e., of the various kinds of +writing)." [3] + +These words suggest that Ashur-bani-pal could not only read cuneiform +texts, but could write like a skilled scribe, and that he also +understood all the details connected with the craft of making and +baking tablets. Having determined to form a Library in his palace he +set to work in a systematic manner to collect literary works. He sent +scribes to ancient seats of learning, e.g., Ashur, Babylon, Cuthah, +Nippur, Akkad, Erech, to make copies of the ancient works that were +preserved there, and when the copies came to Nineveh he either made +transcripts of them himself, or caused his scribes to do so for +the Palace Library. In any case he collated the texts himself and +revised them before placing them in his Library. The appearance of +the tablets from his Library suggests that he established a factory +in which the clay was cleaned and kneaded and made into homogeneous, +well-shaped tablets, and a kiln in which they were baked, after they +had been inscribed. The uniformity of the script upon them is very +remarkable, and texts with mistakes in them are rarely found. How +the tablets were arranged in the Library is not known, but certainly +groups were catalogued, and some tablets were labelled. [4] Groups +of tablets were arranged in numbered series, with "catch lines," the +first tablet of the series giving the first line of the second tablet, +the second tablet giving the first line of the third tablet, and so on. + +Ashur-bani-pal was greatly interested in the literature of the +Sumerians, i.e., the non-Semitic people who occupied Lower Babylonia +about B.C. 3500 and later. He and his scribes made bilingual lists +of signs and words and objects of all classes and kinds, all of +which are of priceless value to the modern student of the Sumerian +and Assyrian languages. Annexed is an extract from a List of Signs +with Sumerian and Assyrian values. The signs of which the meanings +are given are in the middle column; the Sumerian values are given in +the column to the left, and their meanings in Assyrian in the column +to the right. To many of his copies of Sumerian hymns, incantations, +magical formulas, etc., Ashur-bani-pal caused interlinear translations +to be added in Assyrian, and of such bilingual documents the following +extract from a text relating to the Seven Evil Spirits will serve as +a specimen. The 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc., lines are written in Sumerian, +and the 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc., lines in Assyrian. + +The tablets that belonged to Ashur-bani-pal's private Library and +those of the Temple of Nebo can be distinguished by the colophons, +when these exist. Two forms of colophon for each class of the two +great collections of tablets are known, one short and one long. The +short colophon on the tablets of the King's Library reads:--"Palace +of Ashur-bani-pal, king of hosts, king of the country of Assyria" +and that on the tablets of the Library of Nebo reads:--"[Country +of ?] Ashur-bani-pal, king of hosts, king of the country of Assyria." +See on the Tablet of Astrological Omens, p. 22. The longer colophons +are of considerable interest and renderings of two typical examples +are here appended:-- + + +I. Colophon of the Tablets of the Palace Library. (K. 4870.) + +1. Palace of Ashur-bani-pal, king of hosts, king of the country + of Assyria, +2. who trusteth in the god Ashur and the goddess Bêlit, +3. on whom the god Nebo (Nabû) and the goddess Tasmetu +4. have bestowed all-hearing ears +5. and his possession of eyes that are clearsighted, +6. and the finest results of the art of writing +7. which, among the kings who have gone before, +8. no one ever acquired that craft. +9. The wisdom of Nebo [as expressed in] writing, of every kind, +10. on tablets I wrote, collated and revised, +11. [and] for examination and reading +12. in my palace I placed--[I] +13. the prince who knoweth the light of the king of the gods, Ashur. +14. Whosoever shall carry [them] off, or his name side by side + with mine +15. shall write may Ashur and Bêlit wrathfully +16. sweep away, and his name and his seed destroy in the land. + + +2. Colophon of the Tablets of the Library of Nebo. (RM. 132.) + +1. To Nebo, beneficent son, director of the hosts of heaven and + of earth, +2. holder of the tablet of knowledge, he who hath grasped the writing + reed of destinies, +3. lengthener of days, vivifier of the dead, stablisher of light for + the men who are perplexed, +4. [from] the great lord, the noble Ashur-bani-pal, the lord, the + approved of the gods Ashur, Bêl and Nebo, +5. the shepherd, the maintainer of the holy places of the great gods, + stablisher of their revenues, +6. son of Esarhaddon, king of hosts, king of Assyria, +7. grandson of Sennacherib, king of hosts, king of Assyria, +8. for the life of his souls, length of his days, [and] well-being + of his posterity, +9. to make permanent the foundation of his royal throne, to hear + his supplications, +10. to receive his petitions, to deliver into his hands the rebellious. +11. The wisdom of Ea, the precious priesthood, the leadership, +12. what is composed for the contentment of the heart of the great + gods, +13. I wrote upon tablets, I collated, I revised +14. literally according to all the tablets of the lands of Ashur + and Akkad, +15. and I placed in the Library of E-Zida, the temple of Nebo my lord, + which is in Nineveh. +16. O Nebo, lord of the hosts of heaven and of earth, look upon that + Library joyfully for years (i.e., for ever). +17. Of Ashur-bani-pal, the chief, the worshipper of thy divinity, + daily the reward of the offering-- +18. his life decree, so that he may exalt thy great godhead. + + +The tablets from both Libraries when unbroken vary in size from 15 +inches by 8 5/8 inches to 1 inch by 7/8 inch, and they are usually +about 1 inch thick. In shape they are rectangular, the obverse being +flat and tile reverse slightly convex. Contract tablets, letter tablets +and "case" tablets are very much smaller, and resemble small pillows in +shape. The principal subjects dealt with in the tablets are history, +annalistic or summaries, letters, despatches, reports, oracles, +prayers, contracts, deeds of sale of land, produce, cattle, slaves, +agreements, dowries, bonds for interest (with impressions of seals, +and fingernails, or nail marks), chronography, chronology, Canons of +Eponyms, astrology (forecasts, omens, divinations, charms, spells, +incantations), mythology, legends, grammar, law, geography, etc. [5] + + +George Smith's Discovery of the Epic of Gilgamish and the Story of +the Deluge. + +The mass of tablets which had been discovered by Layard and Rassam at +Nineveh came to the British Museum in 1854-5, and their examination +by Rawlinson and Norris began very soon after. Mr. Bowler, a skilful +draughtsman and copyist of tablets, whom Rawlinson employed in +making transfers of copies of cuneiform texts for publication by +lithography, rejoined a considerable number of fragments of bilingual +lists, syllabaries, etc., which were published in the second volume +of the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, in 1866. In that +year the Trustees of the British Museum employed George Smith to +assist Rawlinson in sorting, classifying and rejoining fragments, +and a comprehensive examination of the collection by him began. His +personal interest in Assyriology was centred upon historical texts, +especially those which threw any light on the Bible Narrative. But in +the course of his search for stories of the campaigns of Sargon II, +Sennacherib, Esarhaddon and Ashur-bani-pal, he discovered among other +important documents (1) a series of portions of tablets which give +the adventures of Gilgamish, an ancient king of Erech; (2) An account +of the Deluge, which is supplied by the Eleventh Tablet of the Legend +of Gilgamish (in more than one version); (3) A detailed description +of the Creation; (4) the Legend of the Descent of Ishtar into Hades +in quest of Tammuz. The general meaning of the texts was quite clear, +but there were many gaps in them, and it was not until December, 1872, +that George Smith published his description of the Legend of Gilgamish, +and a translation of the "Chaldean Account of the Deluge." The interest +which his paper evoked was universal, and the proprietors of the +"Daily Telegraph" advocated that Smith should be at once dispatched +to Nineveh to search for the missing fragments of tablets which would +fill up the gaps in his texts, and generously offered to contribute +1,000 guineas towards the cost of the excavations. The Trustees +accepted the offer and gave six months' leave of absence to Smith, +who left London in January, and arrived in Môsul in March, 1873. In +the following May he recovered from Kuyûnjik a fragment that contained +"the greater portion of seventeen lines of inscription belonging to +the first column of the Chaldean account of the Deluge, and fitting +into the only place where there was a serious blank in the story." [6] +During the excavations which Smith carried out at Kuyûnjik in 1873 +and 1874 he recovered many fragments of tablets, the texts of which +enabled him to complete his description of the contents of the Twelve +Tablets of the Legend of Gilgamish which included his translation +of the story of the Deluge. Unfortunately Smith died of hunger +and sickness near Aleppo in 1876, and he was unable to revise his +early work, and to supplement it with the information which he had +acquired during his latest travels in Assyria and Babylonia. Thanks +to the excavations which were carried on at Kuyûnjik by the Trustees +of the British Museum after his untimely death, several hundreds of +tablets and fragments have been recovered, and many of these have been +rejoined to the tablets of the older collection. By the careful study +and investigation of the old and new material Assyriologists have, +during the last forty years, been enabled to restore and complete +many passages in the Legends of Gilgamish and the Flood. It is now +clear that the Legend of the Flood had not originally any connection +with the Legend of Gilgamish, and that it was introduced into it by a +late editor or redactor of the Legend, probably in order to complete +the number of the Twelve Tablets on which it was written in the time +of Ashur-bani-pal. + + +The Legend of the Deluge in Babylonia. + +In the introduction to his paper on the "Chaldean Account of the +Deluge," which Smith read in December, 1872, and published in 1873, +he stated that the Assyrian text which he had found on Ashur-bani-pal's +tablets was copied from an archetype at Erech in Lower Babylonia. This +archetype was, he thought, "either written in, or translated into +Semitic Babylonian, at a very early period," and although he could +not assign a date to it, he adduced a number of convincing proofs in +support of his opinion. The language in which he assumed the Legend +to have been originally composed was known to him under the name of +"Accadian," or "Akkadian," but is now called "Sumerian." Recent +research has shown that his view on this point was correct on the +whole. But there is satisfactory proof available to show that versions +or recensions of the Legend of the Deluge and of the Epic of Gilgamish +existed both in Sumerian and Babylonian, as early as B.C. 2000. The +discovery has been made of a fragment of a tablet with a small portion +of the Babylonian version of the Legend of the Deluge inscribed upon +it, and dated in a year which is the equivalent of the 11th year of +Ammisaduga, i.e. about B.C. 2000. [7] And in the Museum at Philadelphia +[8] is preserved half of a tablet which when whole contained a complete +copy of the Sumerian version of the Legend, and must have been written +about the same date. The fragment of the tablet written in the reign +of Ammisaduga is of special importance because the colophon shows +that the tablet to which it belonged was the second of a series, +and that this series was not that of the Epic of Gilgamish, and from +this we learn that in B.C. 2000 the Legend of the Deluge did not form +the XIth Tablet of the Epic of Gilgamish, as it did in the reign of +Ashur-bani-pal, or earlier. The Sumerian version is equally important, +though from another point of view, for the contents and position of +the portion of it that remains on the half of the tablet mentioned +above make it certain that already at this early period there were +several versions of the Legend of the Deluge current in the Sumerian +language. The fact is that the Legend of the Deluge was then already +so old in Mesopotamia that the scribes added to or abbreviated the +text at will, and treated the incidents recorded in it according to +local or popular taste, tradition and prejudice. There seems to be +no evidence that proves conclusively that the Sumerian version is +older than the Semitic, or that the latter was translated direct +from the former version. It is probable that both the Sumerians +and the Semites, each in their own way, attempted to commemorate an +appalling disaster of unparalleled magnitude, the knowledge of which, +through tradition, was common to both peoples. It is, at all events, +clear that the Sumerians regarded the Deluge as an historic event, +which they were, practically, able to date, for some of their tablets +contain lists of kings who reigned before the Deluge, though it must +be confessed that the lengths assigned to their reigns are incredible. + +It is not too much to assume that the original event commemorated +in the Legend of the Deluge was a serious and prolonged inundation +or flood in Lower Babylonia, which was accompanied by great loss of +life and destruction of property. The Babylonian versions state that +this inundation or flood was caused by rain, but passages in some +of them suggest that the effects of the rainstorm were intensified +by other physical happenings connected with the earth, of a most +destructive character. The Hebrews also, as we may see from the Bible, +had alternative views as to the cause of the Deluge. According to one, +rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights (Gen. vii, +12), and according to the other the Deluge came because "all the +fountains of the "great deep" were broken up, and "the flood-gates +of heaven were opened" (Gen. vii, 11). The latter view suggests that +the rain flood was joined by the waters of the sea. Later tradition, +based partly on Babylonian and partly on Hebrew sources, asserts in +the "Cave of Treasures" [9] that when Noah had entered the Ark and the +door was shut, "the sluices of heaven were opened, and the deeps were +rent asunder," and "that the Ocean, that great sea that surroundeth +the whole world, vomited its waters, and the sluices of heaven being +opened, and the deeps of the earth being rent asunder, the storehouses +of the winds were opened, and the whirlwinds broke loose, and the Ocean +roared and poured out its waters in floods." The ark was steered over +the waters by an angel who acted as pilot, and when that had come to +rest on the mountains of Kardô (Armenia) "God commanded the waters +and they separated from each other. The waters that had been above +ascended to their place above the heavens, whence they had come; +and the waters that had come up from under the earth returned to the +lower deep; and the waters that were from the Ocean returned into it" +(Brit. Mus. MS. Orient. No. 25,875, fol. 17b, col. 1 and fol. 18a, +cols. 1 and 2). Many authorities seeking to find a foundation of fact +for the Legend of the Deluge in Mesopotamia have assumed that the rain +flood was accompanied either by an earthquake or a tidal wave, or by +both. There is no doubt that the cities of Lower Babylonia were nearer +the sea in the Sumerian Period than they are at the present time, +and it is a generally accepted view that the head of the Persian Gulf +lay further to the north at that time. A cyclone coupled with a tidal +wave is a sufficient base for any of the forms of the Legend now known. + +A comparison of the contents of the various Sumerian and Babylonian +versions of the Deluge that have come down to us shows us that they +are incomplete. And as none of them tells so connected and full a +narrative of the prehistoric shipbuilder as Berosus, a priest of Bêl, +the great god of Babylon, it seems that the Mesopotamian scribes +were content to copy the Legend in an abbreviated form. Berosus, it +is true, is not a very ancient authority, for he was not born until +the reign of Alexander the Great, but he was a learned man and was +well acquainted with the Babylonian language, and with the ancient +literature of his country, and he wrote a history of Babylonia, some +fragments of which have been preserved to us in the works of Alexander +Polyhistor, Eusebius, and others. The following is a version of the +fragment which describes the flood that took place in the days of +Xisuthrus, the tenth King of the Chaldeans, and is of importance for +comparison with the rendering of the Legend of the Deluge, as found +on the Ninevite tablets, which follows immediately after. + + +The Legend of the Deluge According to Berosus. + +"After the death of Ardates, his son Xisuthrus reigned eighteen +sari. In his time happened a great Deluge; the history of which is +thus described. The Deity, Cronus, appeared to him in a vision, and +warned him that upon the 15th day of the month Daesius there would be +a flood, by which mankind would be destroyed. He therefore enjoined +him to write a history of the beginning, procedure and conclusion of +all things; and to bury it in the city of the Sun at Sippara; and to +build a vessel, and take with him into it his friends and relations; +and to convey on board everything necessary to sustain life, together +with all the different animals, both birds and quadrupeds, and trust +himself fearlessly to the deep. Having asked the Deity, whither he was +to sail? he was answered, 'To the Gods': upon which he offered up a +prayer for the good of mankind. He then obeyed the divine admonition; +and built a vessel 5 stadia in length, and 2 in breadth. Into this he +put everything which he had prepared; and last of all conveyed into +it his wife, his children, and his friends. After the flood had been +upon the earth, and was in time abated, Xisuthrus sent out birds from +the vessel; which, not finding any food nor any place whereupon they +might rest their feet, returned to him again. After an interval of some +days, he sent them forth a second time; and they now returned with +their feet tinged with mud. He made a trial a third time with these +birds; but they returned to him no more: from whence he judged that +the surface of the earth had appeared above the waters. He therefore +made an opening in the vessel, and upon looking out found that it was +stranded upon the side of some mountain; upon which he immediately +quitted it with his wife, his daughter, and the pilot. Xisuthrus then +paid his adoration to the earth, and, having constructed an altar, +offered sacrifices to the gods, and, with those who had come out of +the vessel with him, disappeared. They, who remained within, finding +that their companions did not return, quitted the vessel with many +lamentations, and called continually on the name of Xisuthrus. Him +they saw no more; but they could distinguish his voice in the air, +and could hear him admonish them to pay due regard to religion; and +likewise informed them that it was upon account of his piety that he +was translated to live with the gods; that his wife and daughter, +and the pilot, had obtained the same honour. To this he added that +they should return to Babylonia; and, it was ordained, search for +the writings at Sippara, which they were to make known to mankind: +moreover that the place, wherein they then were, was the land of +Armenia. The rest having heard these words, offered sacrifices to +the gods; and taking a circuit journeyed towards Babylonia." (Cory, +Ancient Fragments, London, 1832, p. 26ff.) + + + +The Babylonian Legend of the Deluge as Told to the Hero Gilgamish by +His Ancestor Uta-Napishtim, Who Had Been Made Immortal by the Gods. + +The form of the Legend of the Deluge given below is that which is +found on the Eleventh of the Series of Twelve Tablets in the Library +of Nebo at Nineveh, which described the life and exploits of Gilgamish +(), an early king of the city of Erech. As we have seen above, the +Legend of the Deluge has in reality no connection with the Epic of +Gilgamish, but was introduced into it by the editors of the Epic +at a comparatively late period, perhaps even during the reign of +Ashur-bani-pal (B.C. 668-626). A summary of the contents of the other +Tablets of the Gilgamish Series is given in the following section of +this short monograph. It is therefore only necessary to state here +that Gilgamish, who was horrified and almost beside himself when +his bosom friend and companion Enkidu (Eabâni) died, meditated +deeply how he could escape death himself. He knew that his ancestor +Uta-Napishtim had become immortal, therefore he determined to set +out for the place where Uta-Napishtim lived so that he might obtain +from him the secret of immortality. Guided by a dream in which he saw +the direction of the place where Uta-Napishtim lived, Gilgamish set +out for the Mountain of the Sunset, and, after great toil and many +difficulties, came to the shore of a vast sea. Here he met Ur-Shanabi, +the boatman of Uta-Napishtim, who was persuaded to carry him in +his boat over the "waters of death," and at length he landed on the +shore of the country of Uta-Napishtim. The immortal came down to the +shore and asked the newcomer the object of his visit, and Gilgamish +told him of the death of his great friend Enkidu, and of his desire +to escape from death and to find immortality. Uta-Napishtim having +made to Gilgamish some remarks which seem to indicate that in his +opinion death was inevitable, + +1. Gilgamish [10] said unto Uta-Napishtim, to Uta-Napishtim the remote: +2. "I am looking at thee, Uta-Napishtim. +3. Thy person is not altered; even as am I so art thou. +4. Verily, nothing about thee is changed; even as am I so art thou. +5. [Moved is my] heart to do battle, +6. But thou art at leisure and dost lie upon thy back. +7. How then wast thou able to enter the company of the gods and + see life?" + +Thereupon Uta-Napishtim related to Gilgamish the Story of the Deluge, +and the Eleventh Tablet continues thus:-- + +8. Uta-Napishtim said unto him, to Gilgamish: +9. "I will reveal unto thee, O Gilgamish, a hidden mystery, +10. And a secret matter of the gods I will declare unto thee. +11. Shurippak, [11] a city which thou thyself knowest, +12. On [the bank] of the river Puratti (Euphrates) is situated, +13. That city was old and the gods [dwelling] within it-- +14. Their hearts induced the great gods to make a wind-storm + (a-bu-bi), [12] +15. Their father Anu, +16. Their counsellor, the warrior Enlil, +17. Their messenger En-urta [and] +18. Their prince Ennugi. +19. Nin-igi-azag, Ea, was with them [in council] and +20. reported their word to the house of reeds. + +[First Speech of Ea to Uta-Napishtim who is sleeping in a reed hut.] + +21. O House of reeds, O House of reeds! O Wall, O Wall! +22. O House of reeds, hear! O Wall, understand! +23. O man of Shurippak, son of Ubara-Tutu. +24. Throw down the house, build a ship, +25. Forsake wealth, seek after life, +26. Abandon possessions, save thy life, +27. Carry grain of every kind into the ship. +28. The ship which thou shalt build, +29. The dimensions thereof shall be measured, +30. The breadth and the length thereof shall be the same. +31. ... the ocean, provide it with a roof." + +[Uta-Napishtim's answer to Ea.] + +32. "I understood and I said unto Ea, my lord: +33. [I comprehend] my lord, that which thou hast ordered, +34. I will regard it with great reverence, and will perform it. +35. But what shall I say to the town, to the multitude, and to the + elders?" + +[Second Speech of Ea.] + +36. "Ea opened his mouth and spake +37. And said unto his servant, myself, +38. ... Thus shalt thou say unto them: +39. Ill-will hath the god Enlil formed against me, +40. Therefore I can no longer dwell in your city, +41. And never more will I turn my countenance upon the soil of Enlil. +42. I will descend into the ocean to dwell with my lord Ea. +43. But upon you he will rain riches: +44. A catch of birds, a catch of fish +45. ... an [abundant] harvest, +46. ... the prince (?) of the darkness +47. ... shall make a violent cyclone [to fall upon you]." + +[The Building of the Ship.] + +48. As soon as [the dawn] broke... + +[Lines 49-54 broken away.] + +55. The weak [man] ... brought bitumen, +56. The strong [man] ... brought what was needed. +57. On the fifth day I decided upon its plan. +58. According to the plan its walls were 10 Gar (i.e. 120 cubits) high, +59. And the circuit of the roof thereof was equally 10 Gar. +60. I measured out the hull thereof and marked it out (?) +61. I covered (?) it six times. +62. Its exterior I divided into seven, +63. Its interior I divided into nine, +64. Water bolts I drove into the middle of it. +65. I provided a steering pole, and fixed what was needful for it, +66. Six sar of bitumen I poured over the inside wall, +67. Three sar of pitch I poured into the inside. +68. The men who bear loads brought three sar of oil, +69. Besides a sar of oil which the offering consumed, +70. And two sar of oil which the boatman hid. +71. I slaughtered oxen for the [work]people, +72. I slew sheep every day. +73. Beer, sesame wine, oil and wine +74. I made the people drink as if they were water from the river. +75. I celebrated a feast-day as if it had been New Year's Day. +76. I opened [a box of ointment], I laid my hands in unguent. +77. Before the sunset the ship was finished. +78. [Since] ... was difficult. +79. The shipbuilders brought the ... of the ship, above and below, +80. ... two-thirds of it. + +[The Loading of the Ship.] + +81. With everything that I possessed I loaded it (i.e. the ship). +82. With everything that I possessed of silver I loaded it. +83. With everything that I possessed of gold I loaded it. +84. With all that I possessed of living grain I loaded it. +85. I made to go up into the ship all my family and kinsfolk, +86. The cattle of the field, the beasts of the field, all + handicraftsmen I made them go up into it. +87. The god Shamash had appointed me a time (saying) +88. The Power of Darkness will at eventide make a rain-flood to fall; +89. Then enter into the ship and shut thy door. +90. The appointed time drew nigh; +91. The Power of Darkness made a rain-flood to fall at eventide. +92. I watched the coming of the [approaching] storm, +93. "When I saw it terror possessed me, +94. I went into the ship and shut my door. +95. To the pilot of the ship, Puzur-Bêl (or Puzur-Amurri) the sailor +96. I committed the great house (i.e. ship), together with the + contents thereof. + +[The Abubu (Cyclone) and its effects Described.] + +97. As soon as the gleam of dawn shone in the sky +98. A black cloud from the foundation of heaven came up. +99. Inside it the god Adad (Rammânu) thundered, +100. The gods Nabû and Sharru (i.e. Marduk) went before, +101. Marching as messengers over high land and plain, +102. Irragal (Nergal) tore out the post of the ship, +103. En-urta (Ninib) went on, he made the storm to descend. +104. The Anunnaki [13] brandished their torches, +105. With their glare they lighted up the land. +106. The whirlwind (or, cyclone) of Adad swept up to heaven. +107. Every gleam of light was turned into darkness. +108. ...... the land ...... as if ...... had laid it waste. +109. A whole day long [the flood descended] ... +110. Swiftly it mounted up ..... [the water] reached to the mountains +111. [The water] attacked the people like a battle. +112. Brother saw not brother. +113. Men could not be known (or, recognized) in heaven. +114. The gods were terrified at the cyclone. +115. They betook themselves to flight and went up into the heaven + of Anu. +116. The gods crouched like a dog and cowered by the wall. +117. The goddess Ishtar cried out like a woman in travail. +118. The Lady of the Gods lamented with a loud voice [saying]: + +[Ishtar's Lament.] + +119. "Verily the former dispensation is turned into mud, +120. Because I commanded evil among the company of the gods. +121. When I commanded evil among the company of the gods, +122. I commanded battle for the destruction of my people. +123. Did I of myself bring forth my people +124. That they might fill the sea like little fishes?" + +[Uta-Napishtim's Story continued.] + +125. The gods of the Anunnaki wailed with her. +126. The gods bowed themselves, and sat down, and wept. +127. Their lips were shut tight (in distress) ... +128. For six days and nights +129. The storm raged, and the cyclone overwhelmed the land. + +[The Abating of the Storm.] + +130. When the seventh day approached the cyclone and the raging + flood ceased: +131. --now it had fought like an army. +132. The sea became quiet and went down, and the cyclone and the + rain-storm ceased. +133. I looked over the sea and a calm had come, +134. And all mankind were turned into mud, +135. The land had been laid flat like a terrace. +136. I opened the air-hole and the light fell upon my face, +137. I bowed myself, I sat down, I cried, +138. My tears poured down over my cheeks. +139. I looked over the quarters of the world--open sea! +140. After twelve days an island appeared. +141. The ship took its course to the land of Nisir. +142. The mountain of Nisir held the ship, it let it not move. +143. The first day, the second day, the mountain of Nisir held the + ship and let it not move. +144. The third day, the fourth day, the mountain of Nisir held the + ship and let it not move. +145. The fifth day, the sixth day, the mountain of Nisir held the + ship and let it not move. +146. When the seventh day had come +147. I brought out a dove and let her go free. +148. The dove flew away and [then] came back; +149. Because she had no place to alight on she came back. +150. I brought out a swallow and let her go free. +151. The swallow flew away and [then] came back; +152. Because she had no place to alight on she came back. +153. I brought out a raven and let her go free. +154. The raven flew away, she saw the sinking waters. +155. She ate, she pecked in the ground, she croaked, she came not back. + +[Uta-Napishtim Leaves the Ship.] + +156. Then I brought out everything to the four winds and offered up + a sacrifice; +157. I poured out a libation on the peak of the mountain. +158. Seven by seven I set out the vessels, +159. Under them I piled reeds, cedarwood and myrtle (?). +160. The gods smelt the savour, +161. The gods smelt the sweet savour. +162. The gods gathered together like flies over him that sacrificed. + +[Speech of Ishtar, Lady of the Gods.] + +163. Now when the Lady of the Gods came nigh, +164. She lifted up the priceless jewels which Anu had made according + to her desire, [saying] +165. "O ye gods here present, as I shall never forget the + lapis-lazuli jewels of my neck +166. So shall I ever think about these days, and shall + forget them nevermore! +167. Let the gods come to the offering, +168. But let not Enlil come to the offering, +169. Because he would not accept counsel and made the cyclone, +17O. And delivered my people over to destruction." + +[The Anger of Enlil (Bêl).] + +171. Now when Enlil came nigh +172. He saw the ship; then was Enlil wroth +173. And he was filled with anger against the gods, the Igigi [saying]: + [14] + +174. "What kind of a being hath escaped with his life? +175. He shall not remain alive, a man among the destruction!" + +[Speech of En-Urta.] + +176. Then En-Urta opened his mouth and spake +177. And said unto the warrior Enlil (Bêl): +178. Who besides the god Ea can make a plan? +179. The god Ea knoweth everything. +180. He opened his mouth and spake +181. And said unto the warrior Enlil (Bêl), +182. O Prince among the gods, thou warrior, +183. How couldst thou, not accepting counsel, make a cyclone? +184. He who is sinful, on him lay his sin, +185. He who transgresseth, on him lay his transgression. +186. But be merciful that [everything] be not destroyed; be + long-suffering that [man be not blotted out]. +187. Instead of thy making a cyclone, +188. Would that a lion had come and diminished mankind. +189. Instead of thy making a cyclone +19O. Would that a wolf had come and diminished mankind. +191. Instead of thy making a cyclone +192. Would that a famine had arisen and [laid waste] the land. +193. Instead of thy making a cyclone +194. Would that Urra (the Plague god) had risen up and [laid waste] + the land. +195. As for me I have not revealed the secret of the great gods. +196. I made Atra-hasis to see a vision, and thus he heard the + secret of the gods. +197. Now therefore counsel him with counsel." + +[Ea deifies Uta-Napishtim and his Wife.] + +198. "Then the god Ea went up into the ship, +199. He seized me by the hand and brought me forth. +200. He brought forth my wife and made her to kneel by my side. +2O1. He turned our faces towards each other, he stood between us, + he blessed us [saying], +202. Formerly Uta-Napishtim was a man merely, +203. But now let Uta-Napishtiin and his wife be like unto the gods, + ourselves. +204. Uta-Napishtim shall dwell afar off, at the mouth of the rivers." + +[Uta-Napishtim Ends his Story of the Deluge.] + +205. "And they took me away to a place afar off, and made me to dwell + at the mouth of the rivers." + +The contents of the remainder of the text on the Eleventh Tablet of +the Gilgamish Series are described on p. 54. + + +The Epic of Gilgamish. [15] + +The narrative of the life, exploits and travels of Gilgamish, king +of Erech, filled Twelve Tablets which formed the Series called from +the first three words of the First Tablet, Sha Nagbu Imuru, i.e., +"He who hath seen all things." The exact period of the reign of this +king is unknown, but there is no doubt that he lived and ruled at +Erech before the conquest of Mesopotamia by the Semites. According to +a tablet from Niffar he was the fifth of a line of Sumerian rulers at +Erech, and he reigned 126 years; his name is said to mean "The Fire-god +is a commander." [16] The principal authorities for the Epic are the +numerous fragments of the tablets that were found in the ruins of the +Library of Nebo and the Royal Library of Ashur-bani-pal at Nineveh, +and are now in the British Museum. [17] The contents of the Twelve +Tablets may be briefly described thus: + + +The First Tablet. + +The opening lines describe the great knowledge and wisdom of Gilgamish, +who saw everything, learned everything, understood everything, who +probed to the bottom the hidden mysteries of wisdom, and who knew the +history of everything that happened before the Deluge. He travelled +far over sea and land, and performed mighty deeds, and then he cut upon +a tablet of stone an account of all that he had done and suffered. He +built the wall of Erech, founded the holy temple of E-Anna, and carried +out other great architectural works. He was a semi-divine being, for +his body was formed of the "flesh of the gods," and "Two-thirds of +him were god, and one-third was man" (l. 51). The description of +his person is lost. As Shepherd (i.e., King) of Erech he forced the +people to toil overmuch, and his demands reduced them to such a state +of misery that they cried out to the gods and begged them to create +some king who should control Gilgamish and give them deliverance +from him. The gods hearkened to the prayer of the men of Erech, and +they commanded the goddess Aruru to create a rival to Gilgamish. The +goddess agreed to do their bidding, and having planned in her mind +what manner of being she intended to make, she washed her hands, +took a piece of clay and spat upon it, and made a male creature like +the god Anu. His body was covered all over with hair. The hair of his +head was long like that of a woman, and he wore clothing like that of +Gira (or, Sumuggan), a goddess of vegetation, i.e., he appeared to be +clothed with leaves. He was different in every way from the people of +the country, and his name was Enkidu (Eabani). He lived in the forests +on the hills, ate herbs like the gazelle, drank with the wild cattle, +and herded with the beasts of the field. He was mighty in stature, +invincible in strength, and obtained complete mastery over all the +creatures of the forests in which he lived. + +One day a certain hunter went out to snare game, and he dug pit-traps +and laid nets, and made his usual preparations for roping in his +prey. But after doing this for three days he found that his pits +were filled up and his nets smashed, and he saw Enkidu releasing the +beasts that had been snared. The hunter was terrified at the sight +of Enkidu, and went home hastily and told his father what he had seen +and how badly he had fared. By his father's advice he went to Erech, +and reported to Gilgamish what had happened. When Gilgamish heard +his story he advised him to act upon a suggestion which the hunter's +father had already made, namely that he should hire a harlot and take +her out to the forest, so that Enkidu might be ensnared by the sight +of her beauty, and take up his abode with her. The hunter accepted +this advice, and having found a harlot to help him in removing Enkidu +from the forests (thus enabling him to gain a living), he set out +from Erech with her and in due course arrived at the forest where +Enkidu lived, and sat down by the place where the beasts came to drink. + +On the second day when the beasts came to drink and Enkidu was with +them, the woman carried out the instructions which the hunter had +given her, and when Enkidu saw her cast aside her veil, he left his +beasts and came to her, and remained with her for six days and seven +nights. At the end of this period he returned to the beasts with which +he had lived on friendly terms, but as soon as the gazelle winded +him they took to flight, and the wild cattle disappeared into the +woods. When Enkidu saw the beasts forsake him his knees gave way, and +he swooned from sheer shame; but when he came to himself he returned +to the harlot. She spoke to him flattering words, and asked him why +he wandered with the wild beasts in the desert, and then told him she +wished to take him back with her to Erech, where Anu and Ishtar lived, +and where the mighty Gilgamish reigned. Enkidu hearkened and finally +went back with her to her city, where she described the wisdom, power +and might of Gilgamish, and took steps to make Enkidu known to him. But +before Enkidu arrived, Gilgamish had been warned of his existence +and coming in two dreams which he related to his mother Ninsunna, +and when he and Enkidu learned to know each other subsequently, +these two mighty heroes became great friends. + + +The Second Tablet. + +When Enkidu came to Erech the habits of the people of the city were +strange to him, but under the tuition of the harlot he learned to +eat bread and to drink beer, and to wear clothes, and he anointed +his body with unguents. He went out into the forests with his hunting +implements and snared the gazelle and slew the panther, and obtained +animals for sacrifice, and gained reputation as a mighty hunter and as +a good shepherd. In due course he attracted the notice of Gilgamish, +who did not, however, like his uncouth appearance and ways, but after +a time, when the citizens of Erech praised him and admired his strong +and vigorous stature, he made friends with him and rejoiced in him, +and planned an expedition with him. Before they set out, Gilgamish +wished to pay a visit to the goddess Ishkhara, but Enkidu, fearing +that the influence of the goddess would have a bad effect upon his +friend, urged him to abandon the visit. This Gilgamish refused to do, +and when Enkidu declared that by force he would prevent him going to +the goddess, a violent quarrel broke out between the two heroes, and +they appealed to arms. After a fierce fight Enkidu conquered Gilgamish, +who apparently abandoned his visit to the goddess. The text of the +Second Tablet is very much mutilated, and the authorities on the +subject are not agreed as to the exact placing of the fragments. The +above details are derived from a tablet at Philadelphia. [18] + + + +The Third Tablet. + +The correct order of the fragments of this Tablet has not yet been +ascertained, but among the contents of the first part of its text +a lament by Enkidu that he was associated with the harlot seems to +have had a place. Whether he had left the city of Erech and gone +back to his native forest is not clear, but the god Shamash, having +heard his cursing of the harlot, cried to him from heaven, saying, +"Why, O Enkidu, dost thou curse the temple woman? She gave thee food +to eat which was meet only for a god, she gave thee wine to drink +which was meet only for a king, she arrayed thee in splendid apparel, +and made thee to possess as thy friend the noble Gilgamish. And at +present Gilgamish is thy bosom friend. He maketh thee to lie down on +a large couch, and to sleep in a good, well-decked bed, and to occupy +the chair of peace, the chair on the left-hand side. The princes of +the earth kiss thy feet. He maketh the people of Erech to sigh for +thee, and many folk to cry out for thee, and to serve thee. And for +thy sake he putteth on coarse attire and arrayeth himself in the skin +of the lion, and pursueth thee over the plain." When Enkidu heard +these words his anxious heart had peace. + +To the Third Tablet probably belongs the fragment in which Enkidu +relates to Gilgamish a horrifying dream which he had had. In his dream +it seemed to him that there were thunderings in heaven and quaking upon +earth, and a being with an awful visage, and nails like all eagle's +talons, gripped him and carried him off and forced him to go down into +the dark abyss of the dread goddess, Irkalla. From this abode he who +once "went in never came out, and he who travelled along that road +never returned, he who dwelleth there is without light, the beings +therein eat dust and feed upon mud; they are clad in feathers and have +wings like birds, they see no light, and they live in the darkness +of night." Here Enkidu saw in his dream creatures who had been kings +when they lived upon the earth, and shadowy beings offering roasted +meat to Anu and Enlil, and cool drinks poured out from waterskins. In +this House of Dust dwelt high priests, ministrants, the magician and +the prophet, and the deities Etana, Sumukan, Eresh-kigal, Queen of +the Earth, and Bêlitsêri, who registered the deeds done upon the earth. + +When Gilgamish heard this dream, he brought out a table, and setting +on it honey and butter placed it before Shamash. + + +The Fourth Tablet. + +Gilgamish then turned to Enkidu and invited him to go with him to +the temple of Nin-Makh to see the servant of his mother, Ninsunna, in +order to consult her as to the meaning of the dream. They went there, +and Enkidu told his dream, and the wise woman offered up incense and +asked Shamash why he had given to her son a heart which could never +keep still. She next referred to the perilous expedition against the +mighty King Khumbaba, which he had decided to undertake with Enkidu, +and apparently hoped that the god would prevent her son from leaving +Erech. But Gilgamish was determined to march against Khumbaba, and +he and Enkidu set out without delay for the mountains where grew +the cedars. + + +The Fifth Tablet. + +In due course the two heroes reached the forest of cedars, and they +contemplated with awe their great height and their dense foliage. The +cedars were under the special protection of Bêl, who had appointed +to be their keeper Khumbaba, a being whose voice was like the roar +of a storm, whose mouth was like that of the gods, and whose breath +was like a gale of wind. When Enkidu saw how dense was the forest +and how threatening, he tried to make Gilgamish turn back, but all +his entreaties were in vain. As they were going through the forest +to attack Khumbaba, Enkidu dreamed two or three dreams, and when he +related them to Gilgamish, this hero interpreted them as auguries of +their success and the slaughter of Khumbaba. The fragmentary character +of the text here makes it very difficult to find out exactly what +steps the two heroes took to overcome Khumbaba, but there is no doubt +that they did overcome him, and that they returned to Erech in triumph. + + + +The Sixth Tablet + +On his return to Erech, Gilgamish + +1. Washed his armour, cleaned his weapons, +2. Dressed his hair and let it fall down on his back. +3. He cast off his dirty garments and put on clean ones +4. He arrayed himself in the [royal head-cloth], he bound on the + fillet, +5. He put on his crown, he bound on the fillet. +6. Then the eyes of the Majesty of the goddess Ishtar lighted on the + goodliness of Gilgamish [and she said], +7. "Go to, Gilgamish, thou shalt be my lover. +8. Give me thy [love]-fruit, give to me, I say. +9. Thou shalt be my man, I will be thy woman. +10. I will make to be harnessed for thee a chariot of lapis-lazuli + and gold. +11. The wheels thereof shall be of gold and the horns of precious + stones. +12. Thou shalt harness daily to it mighty horses. +13. Come into our house with the perfume of the cedar upon thee. +14. When thou enterest into our house +15. Those who sit upon thrones shall kiss thy feet. +16. Kings, lords and nobles shall bow their backs before thee. +17. The gifts of mountain and land they shall bring as tribute to thee. +18. Thy ... and thy sheep shall bring forth twins. +19. Baggage animals shall come laden with tribute. +20. The [horse] in thy chariot shall prance proudly, +21. There shall be none like unto the beast that is under thy yoke." + +In answer to Ishtar's invitation Gilgamish makes a long speech, in +which he reviews the calamities and misfortunes of those who have +been unfortunate enough to become the lovers of the goddess. Her love +is like a door that lets in wind and storm, a fortress that destroys +the warriors inside it, an elephant that smashes his howdah, etc. He +says, "What lover didst thou love for long? Which of thy shepherds +flourished? Come now, I will describe the calamity [that goeth with +thee]." He refers to Tammuz, the lover of her youth, for whom year +by year she arranges wailing commemorations. Every creature that +falls under her sway suffers mutilation or death, the bird's wings +are broken, the lion is destroyed, the horse is driven to death with +whip and spur; and his speech concludes with the words: "Dost thou +love me, and wouldst thou treat me as thou didst them?" + +When Ishtar heard these words she was filled with rage, and she went +up to heaven and complained to Anu, her father, and Antu, her mother, +that Gilgamish had cursed her and revealed all her iniquitous deeds +and actions. She followed up her complaint with the request that +Anu should create a mighty bull of heaven to destroy Gilgamish, and +she threatened her father that if he did not grant her request she +would do works of destruction, presumably in the world. Anu created +the fire-breathing (?) bull of heaven and sent him to the city of +Erech, where he destroyed large numbers of the people. At length +Enkidu and Gilgamish determined to go forth and slay the bull. When +they came to the place where he was, Enkidu seized him by the tail, +and Gilgamish delivered deadly blows between his neck and his horns, +and together they killed, him. As soon as Ishtar heard of the death +of the bull she rushed out on the battlements of the walls of Erech +and cursed Gilgamish for destroying her bull. When Enkidu heard what +Ishtar said, he went and tore off a portion of the bull's flesh from +his right side, and threw it at the goddess, saying, "Could I but +fight with thee I would serve thee as I have served him! I would +twine his entrails about thee." Then Ishtar gathered together all +her temple women and harlots, and with them made lamentation over +the portion of the bull which Enkidu had thrown at her. + +And Gilgamish called together the artisans of Erech who came and +marvelled at the size of the bull's horns, for their bulk was equal +to 30 minas of lapis-lazuli, and their thickness to the length of +two fingers, and they could contain six Kur measures of oil. Then +Gilgamish took them to the temple of the god Lugalbanda and hung them +up there on the throne of his majesty, and having made his offering he +and Enkidu went to the Euphrates and washed their hands, and walked +back to the market-place of Erech. As they went through the streets +of the city the people thronged about them to get a sight of their +faces. When Gilgamish asked: + + "Who is splendid among men? + Who is glorious among heroes?" + +these questions were answered by the women of the palace who cried: + + "Gilgamish is splendid among men. + Gilgamish is glorious among heroes." + +When Gilgamish entered his palace he ordered a great festival to be +kept, and his guests were provided by him with beds to sleep on. On +the night of the festival Enkidu had a dream, and he rose up and +related it to Gilgamish. + + +The Seventh Tablet. + +About the contents of the Seventh Tablet there is considerable doubt, +and the authorities differ in their opinions about them. A large +number of lines of text are wanting at the beginning of the Tablet, +but it is very probable that they contained a description of Enkidu's +dream. This may have been followed by an interpretation of the dream, +either by Gilgamish or some one else, but whether this be so or not, +it seems tolerably certain that the dream portended disaster for +Enkidu. A fragment, which seems to belong to this Tablet beyond doubt, +describes the sickness and death of Enkidu. The cause of his sickness +is unknown, and the fragment merely states that he took to his bed and +lay there for ten days, when his illness took a turn for the worse, +and on the twelfth day he died. He may have died of wounds received +in some fight, but it is more probable that he succumbed to an attack +of Mesopotamian fever. When Gilgamish was told that his brave friend +and companion in many fights was dead, he could not believe it, and +he thought that he must be asleep, but when he found that death had +really carried off Enkidu, he broke out into the lament which formed +the beginning of the text of the next Tablet. + + +The Eighth Tablet. + +In this lament he calls Enkidu his brave friend and the "panther of +the desert," and refers to their hunts in the mountains, and to their +slaughter of the bull of heaven, and to the overthrow of Khumbaba in +the forest of cedar, and then he asks him: + + + "What kind of sleep is this which hath laid hold upon thee? + "Thou starest out blankly (?) and hearest me not!" + + +But Enkidu moved not, and when Gilgamish touched his breast his heart +was still. Then laying a covering over him as carefully as if he had +been his bride, he turned away from the dead body and in his grief +roared like a raging lion and like a lioness robbed of her whelps. + + +The Ninth Tablet. + +In bitter grief Gilgamish wandered about the country uttering +lamentations for his beloved companion, Enkidu. As he went about he +thought to himself, + + "I myself shall die, and shall not I then be as Enkidu? + "Sorrow hath entered into my soul, + "Because of the fear of death which hath got hold of me do I wander + over the country." + +His fervent desire was to escape from death, and remembering that +his ancestor Uta-Napishtim, the son of Ubara-Tutu, had become deified +and immortal, Gilgamish determined to set out for the place where he +lived in order to obtain from him the secret of immortality. Where +Uta-Napishtim lived was unknown to Gilgamish, but he seems to have +made up his mind that he would have to face danger in reaching the +place, for he says, "I will set out and travel quickly. I shall +reach the defiles in the mountains by night, and if I see lions, +and am terrified at them, I shall lift up my head and appeal to the +goddess Sin, and to Ishtar, the Lady of the Gods, who is wont to +hearken to my prayers." After Gilgamish set out to go to the west he +was attacked either by men or animals, but he overcame them and went +on until he arrived at Mount Mashu, where it would seem the sun was +thought both to rise and to set. The approach to this mountain was +guarded by Scorpion-men, whose aspect was so terrible that the mere +sight of it was sufficient to kill the mortal who beheld them; even the +mountains collapsed under the glance of their eyes. When Gilgamish saw +the Scorpion-men he was smitten with fear, and under the influence of +his terror the colour of his face changed; but he plucked up courage +and bowed to them humbly. Then a Scorpion-man cried out to his wife, +saying, "The body of him that cometh to us is the flesh of the gods," +and she replied, "Two-thirds of him is god, and the other third is +man." The Scorpion-man then received Gilgamish kindly, and warned +him that the way which he was about to travel was full of danger and +difficulty. Gilgamish told him that he was in search of his ancestor, +Uta-Napishtim, who had been deified and made immortal by the gods, +and that it was his intention to go to him to learn the secret of +immortality. The Scorpion-man in answer told him that it was impossible +for him to continue his journey through that country, for no man had +ever succeeded in passing through the dark region of that mountain, +which required twelve double-hours to traverse. Nothing dismayed, +Gilgamish set out on the road through the mountains, and the darkness +increased in density every hour, but he struggled on, and at the end +of the twelfth hour he arrived at a region where there was bright +daylight, and he entered a lovely garden, filled with trees loaded +with luscious fruits, and he saw the "tree of the gods." + + +The Tenth Tablet. + +In the region to which Gilgamish had come stood the palace or fortress +of the goddess Siduri-Sabîtu, and to this he directed his steps with +the view of obtaining help to continue his journey. The goddess +wore a girdle and sat upon a throne by the side of the sea, and +when she saw him coming towards her palace, travel-stained and clad +in the ragged skin of some animal, she thought that he might prove +an undesirable visitor and so ordered the door of her palace to be +closed against him. But Gilgamish managed to obtain speech with her, +and having asked her what ailed her, and why she had closed her door, +he threatened to smash the bolt and break down the door. In answer +Siduri-Sabitu said to him:-- + +33. "Why are thy cheeks wasted? Thy face is bowed down, +34. "Thine heart is sad, thy form is dejected. +35. "Why is there lamentation in thy heart?" + +And she went on to tell him that he had the appearance of one who +had travelled far, that he was a painful sight to look upon, that +his face was burnt, and finally seems to have suggested that he was +a runaway trying to escape trom the country. To this Gilgamish replied: + +39. "Why should not my cheeks be wasted, my face bowed down, +40. "My heart sad, my form dejected?" + +And then he told the goddess that his ill-looks and miserable +appearance were due to the fact that death had carried off his dear +friend Enkidu, the "panther of the desert," who had traversed the +mountains with him and had helped him to overcome Khumbaba in the +cedar forest, and to slay the bull of heaven, Enkidu his dear friend +who had fought with lions and killed them, and who had been with him +in all his difficulties; and, he added, "I wept over him for six +days and nights ... before I would let him be buried." Continuing +his narrative, Gilgamish said to Sabîtu-Siduri: + +57. "I was horribly afraid.... +58. "I was afraid of death, and therefore I fled through the + country. The fate of my friend lieth heavily upon me, +59. "Therefore am I travelling on a long journey through the country. + "The fate of my friend lieth heavily upon me, +60. "Therefore am I travelling on a long journey through the country. +61. "How is it possible for me to keep silence about it? + How is it possible for me to cry out [the story of] it? +62. "My friend whom I loved hath become like the dust. + "Enkidu, my friend whom I loved hath become like the dust. +63. "Shall not I myself also be obliged to lay me down +64. "And never again rise up to all eternity?" + +65. Gilgamish [continued] to speak unto Sabîtu [saying]: +66. "[O] Sabîtu, which is the way to Uta-Napishtim? +67. "What is the description thereof? Give me, give me the description + thereof. +68. "If it be possible I will cross the sea, +69. "If it be impossible I will travel by land." +70. Then Sabîtu answered and said unto Gilgamish: +71. "There is no passage most assuredly, O Gilgamish. +72. "And no one, from the earliest times, hath been able to cross + the sea. +73. "The hero Shamash (the Sun-god) hath indeed crossed the sea, + but who besides him could do so? +74. "The passage is hard, and the way is difficult. +75. "And the Waters of Death which block the other end of it are deep. +76. "How then, Gilgamish, wilt thou be able to cross the sea? +77. "When thou arrivest at the Waters of Death what wilt thou do?" + +Sabîtu then told Gilgamish that Ur-Shanabi, the boatman of +Uta-Napishtim, was in the place, and that he should see him, and added: + +81. "If it be possible cross with him, and if it be impossible + come back." + +Gilgamish left the goddess and succeeded in finding Ur-Shanabi, +the boatman, who addressed to him words similar to those of Sabîtu +quoted above. Gilgamish answered him as he had answered Sabîtu, and +then asked him for news about the road to Uta-Napishtim. In reply +Ur-Shanabi told him to take his axe and to go down into the forest +and cut a number of poles 60 cubits long; Gilgamish did so, and when +he returned with them he went up into the boat with Ur-Shanabi, and +they made a voyage of one month and fifteen days; on the third day +they reached the [limit of the] Waters of Death, which Ur-Shanabi +told Gilgamish not to touch with his hand. Meanwhile, Uta-Napishtim +had seen the boat coming and, as something in its appearance seemed +strange to him, he went down to the shore to see who the newcomers +were. When he saw Gilgamish he asked him the same questions that +Sabîtu and Ur-Shanabi had asked him, and Gilgamish answered as he +had answered them, and then went on to tell him the reason for his +coming. He said that he had determined to go to visit Uta-Napishtim, +the remote, and had therefore journeyed far and that in the course of +his travels he had passed over difficult mountains and crossed the +sea. He had not succeeded in entering the house of Sabîtu, for she +had caused him to be driven from her door on account of his dirty, +ragged, and travel-stained apparel. He had eaten birds and beasts of +many kinds, the lion, the panther, the jackal, the antelope, mountain +goat, etc., and, apparently, had dressed himself in their skins. + +A break in the text makes it impossible to give the opening lines +of Uta-Napishtim's reply, but he mentions the father and mother of +Gilgamish, and in the last twenty lines of the Tenth Tablet he warns +Gilgamish that on earth there is nothing permanent, that Mammitum, +the arranger of destinies, has settled the question of the death and +life of man with the Anunnaki, and that none may find out the day of +his death or escape from death. + + +The Eleventh Tablet. + +The story of the Deluge as told by Uta-Napishtim to Gilgamish has +already been given on pp. 31-40, and we therefore pass on to the +remaining contents of this Tablet. When Uta-Napishtim had finished the +story of the Deluge, he said to Gilgamish, "Now as touching thyself; +which of the gods will gather thee to himself so that thou mayest +find the life which thou seekest? Come now, do not lay thyself down to +sleep for six days and seven nights." But in spite of this admonition +as soon as Gilgamish had sat down, drowsiness overpowered him and +he fell fast asleep. Uta-Napishtim, seeing that even the mighty hero +Gilgamish could not resist falling asleep, with some amusement drew +the attention of his wife to the fact, but she felt sorry for the +tired man, and suggested that he should take steps to help him to +return to his home. In reply Uta-Napishtim told her to bake bread for +him and she did so, and each day for six days she carried a loaf to +the ship and laid it on the deck where Gilgamish lay sleeping. On the +seventh day when she took the loaf Uta-Napishtim touched Gilgamish, +and the hero woke up with a start, and admitted that he had been +overcome with sleep, and made incapable of movement thereby. + +Still vexed with the thought of death and filled with anxiety to +escape from it, Gilgamish asked his host what he should do and where he +should go to effect his object. By Uta-Napishtim's advice, he made an +agreement with Ur-Shanabi the boatman, and prepared to re-cross the sea +on his way home. But before he set out on his way Uta-Napishtim told +him of the existence of a plant which grew at the bottom of the sea, +and apparently led Gilgamish to believe that the possession of it would +confer upon him immortality. Thereupon Gilgamish tied heavy stones +[to his feet], and let himself down into the sea through an opening in +the floor of the boat. When he reached the bottom of the sea, he saw +the plant and plucked it, and ascended into the boat with it. Showing +it to Ur-Shanabi, he told him that it was a most marvellous plant, and +that it would enable a man to obtain his heart's desire. Its name was +"Shîbu issahir amelu," i.e., "The old man becometh young [again]," +and Gilgamish declared that he would "eat of it in order to recover +his lost youth," and that he would take it home to his fortified city +of Erech. Misfortune, however, dogged his steps, and the plant never +reached Erech, for whilst Gilgamish and Ur-Shanabi were on their way +back to Erech they passed a pool the water of which was very cold, +and Gilgamish dived into it and took a bath. Whilst there a serpent +discovered the whereabouts of the plant through its smell and swallowed +it. When Gilgamish saw what had happened he cursed aloud, and sat down +and wept, and the tears coursed down his cheeks as he lamented over +the waste of his toil, and the vain expenditure of his heart's blood, +and his failure to do any good for himself. Disheartened and weary he +struggled on his way with his friend, and at length they arrived at +the fortified city of Erech. [19] Then Gilgamish told Ur-Shanabi to +jump up on the wall and examine the bricks from the foundations to +the battlements, and see if the plans which he had made concerning +them had been carried out during his absence. + + +The Twelfth Tablet. + +The text of the Twelfth Tablet is very fragmentary, and contains large +gaps, but it seems certain that Gilgamish did not abandon his hope +of finding the secret of immortality. He had failed to find it upon +earth, and he made arrangements with the view of trying to find it in +the kingdom of the dead. The priests whom he consulted described to +him the conditions under which he might hope to enter the Underworld, +but he was unable to fulfil the obligations which they laid upon him, +and he could not go there. Gilgamish then thought that if he could +have a conversation with Enkidu, his dead friend, he might learn +from him what he wanted to know. He appealed to Bêl and asked him +to raise up the spirit of Enkidu for him, but Bêl made no answer; +he then appealed to Sin, and this god also made no answer. He next +appealed to Ea, who, taking pity on him, ordered the warrior god Nergal +to produce the spirit of Enkidu, and this god opened a hole in the +ground through which the spirit of Enkidu passed up into this world +"like a breath of wind." Gilgamish began to ask the spirit of Enkidu +questions, but gained very little information or satisfaction. The +last lines of the tablet seem to say that the spirit of the unburied +man reposeth not in the earth, and that the spirit of the friendless +man wandereth about the streets eating the remains of food which are +cast out from the cooking pots. + +E. A. Wallis Budge. + +Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities, British Museum, + +July 24th, 1920. + + +Note. + +The Trustees of the British Museum have published large selections of +cuneiform texts from the cylinders, tablets, etc., that were found +in the ruins of Nineveh by Layard, Rassam, Smith and others, in the +following works:-- + + +CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS OF WESTERN ASIA. Vol. I. 1861. Fol. Il. (Out +of print.) +---- Vol. II. 1866. Fol. Il. (Out of print.) +---- Vol. III. 1870. Fol. Il. +---- Vol. IV. Second edition. 1891. Fol. Il. (Out of print.) +---- Vol. V. Plates I.-XXXV. 1880. Fol. 10S. 6d. (Out of print.) +---- Vol. V. Plates XXXVI-LXX. 1884. Fol. 10S. 6d. (Out of print.) +---- Vol. V. Plates I.-LXX. Lithographed reprint. 1909. Fol. Il. 7s. +INSCRIPTIONS FROM ASSYRIAN MONUMENTS. 1851. Fol. I1. 1s. CUNEIFORM +TEXTS FROM BABYLONIAN TABLETS, &C., IN THE BRITISH +MUSEUM. Parts I.-V., VII.-XXIII., XXV., XXVII.-XXXIV. 50 plates +each. 1896-1914.7s.6d. each. +---- Part VI. 49 plates. 1898. 7s. 6d. +---- Part XXIV. 50 plates. 1908. Fol. 10s. +---- Part XXVI. 54 plates. 1909. Fol. 12s. +ANNALS OF THE KINGS OF ASSYRIA. Cuneiform texts with transliterations +and translations. Vol. I. 1903. 4to. 1l. +CATALOGUE OF THE CUNEIFORM TABLETS IN THE KOUYUNJIK +COLLECTION. Vol. I. 8vo. 1889. 15s. +---- Vol. II. 1891. 15s. +---- Vol. III. 1894. 15s. +---- Vol. IV. 1896. 1l. +---- Vol. V. 1899. 1l. 3s. +---- Supplement. 8vo. I914. 1l. + + +FOOTNOTES + +[1] A group of Sumerian words for "library" are (girginakku), and +these seem to mean "collection of writings." + +[2] These bas-reliefs show that lions were kept in cages in Nineveh and +let out to be killed by the King with his own hand. There seems to be +an allusion to the caged lions by Nahum (ii. 11) who says, "Where is +the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, +where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, +and none made them afraid?" + +[3] (Brit. Mus., No. 91,026, Col. 1, ll. 31-33). + +[4] K. 1352 is a good specimen of a catalogue (see p. 10); K. 1400 +and K. 1539 are labels (see p. 12). + +[5] For a full description of the general contents of the two great +Libraries of Nineveh, see Bezold, Catalogue of the Cuneiform Tablets +of the Kouyûnjik. Collection, Vol. V., London, 1899, p. xviiiff.; +and King, Supplement, London, 1914, p. xviiiff. + +[6] Smith, Assyrian Discoveries, London, 1875, p. 97. + +[7] Published by Scheil in Maspero's Recueil, Vol. XX, p. 55ff. + +[8] The text is published by A. Poebel with transcription, commentary, +etc., in Historical Texts, Philadelphia, 1914, and Historical and +Grammatical Texts, Philadelphia, 1914. + +[9] A famous work composed by members of the College of Edessa in +the fifth or sixth century A.D. + +[10] A transcript of the cuneiform text by George Smith, who was +the first to translate it, will be found in Rawlinson, Cuneiform +Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. IV., plates 43 and 44; and +a transcript, with transliteration and translation by the late +Prof. L. W. King, is given in his First Steps in Assyrian, London, +1898, p. 161ff. + +[11] The site of this very ancient city is marked by the mounds of +Fârah, near the Shatt al-Kâr, which is probably the old bed of the +river Euphrates; many antiquities belonging to the earliest period +of the rule of the Sumerians have been found there. + +[12] Like the habûb of modern times, a sort of cyclone. + +[13] The star-gods of the southern sky. + +[14] The star-gods of the northern heaven. + +[15] The name of Gilgamish was formerly read "Izdubar," "Gizdubar," or +"Gishdubar." He is probably referred to as [GR: Gilgamos] in Aelian, +De Natura Animalium, XII, 21 (ed. Didot, Paris, 1858, p. 210). + +[16] Langdon, Epic of Gilgamish, pp. 207, 208. + +[17] The greater number of these have been collected, grouped and +published by Haupt, Das Babylonische Nimrodepos, Leipzig, 1884 +and 1891; and see his work on the Twelfth Tablet in Beiträge zur +Assyriologie, Vol. I, p. 49ff. + +[18] See Langdon, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Philadelphia, 1917. + +[19] The city of Erech was the second of the four cities which, +according to Genesis x, 10, were founded by Nimrod, the son of +Cush, the "mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his +kingdom was Babel, and Erech and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of +Shinar." The Sumerians and Babylonians called the city "Uruk Ki" ; +the first sign means "dwelling" or "habitation," and the second "land, +country," etc., and we may regard it as the "inhabited country," par +excellence, of Lower Babylonia at a very early period. The site of +Erech is well-known, and is marked by the vast ruins which the Arabs +call "Warkah," or Al-Warkah. These lie in 31º 19' N. Lat. and 45º 40' +E. Long., and are about four miles from the Euphrates, on the left or +east bank of the river. Sir W. K. Loftus carried out excavations on the +site in 1849-52, and says that the external walls of sun-dried brick +enclosing the main portion of the ruins form an irregular circle five +and a half miles in circumference; in places they are from 40 to 50 +feet in height, and they seem to have been about 20 feet thick. The +turrets on the wall were semi-oval in shape, and about 50 feet +apart. The principal ruin is that of the Ziggurat, or temple tower, +which in 1850 was 100 feet high and 200 feet square. Loftus calls it +"Buwáríya," i.e., "reed mats," because reed mats were used in its +construction, but bûrîyah, "rush mat," is a Persian not Arabic word, +and the name is more probably connected with the Arabic "Bawâr," +i.e., "ruin" "place of death," etc. This tower stood in a courtyard +which was 350 feet long and 270 feet wide. The next large ruin is +that which is called "Waswas" (plur. "Wasâwis"), i.e., "large stone" +The "Waswas" referred to was probably the block of columnar basalt +which Loftus and Mr. T. K. Lynch found projecting through the soil; +on it was sculptured the figure of a warrior, and the stone itself +was regarded as a talisman by the natives. This ruin is 246 feet long, +174 feet wide and 80 feet high. On three sides of it are terraces of +different elevations, but the south-west side presents a perpendicular +façade, at one place 23 feet in height. For further details see Loftus, +Chaldea and Susiana, London, 1857, p. 159 ff. Portions of the ruins of +Warkah were excavated by the German archaeologists in 1914, and large +"finds" of tablets and other antiquities are said to have been made. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Babylonian Story of the Deluge +as Told by Assyrian Tablets from Nineveh, by E. A. Wallis Budge + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BABYLONIAN STORY OF THE DELUGE *** + +This file should be named 8bbdl10.txt or 8bbdl10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 8bbdl11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 8bbdl10a.txt + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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