the religion of babylonia and assyria-第1节

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The　Religion　of　Babylonia　and　Assyria

by　Theophilus　G。　Pinches


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　CHAPTER　I

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　FOREWORD


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Position；　and　Period。

The　religion　of　the　Babylonians　and　Assyrians　was　the　polytheistic　faith　professed　by　the　peoples　inhabiting　the　Tigris　and　Euphrates　valleys　from　what　may　be　regarded　as　the　dawn　of　history　until　the　Christian　era　began；　or；　at　least；　until　the　inhabitants　were　brought　under　the　influence　of　Christianity。　The　chronological　period　covered　may　be　roughly　estimated　at　about　5000　years。　The　belief　of　the　people；　at　the　end　of　that　time；　being　Babylonian　heathenism　leavened　with　Judaism；　the　country　was　probably　ripe　for　the　reception　of　the　new　faith。　Christianity；　however；　by　no　means　replaced　the　earlier　polytheism；　as　is　evidenced　by　the　fact；　that　the　worship　of　Nebo　and　the　gods　associated　with　him　continued　until　the　fourth　century　of　the　Christian　era。


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　By　whom　followed。

It　was　the　faith　of　two　distinct　peoplesthe　Sumero…Akkadians；　and　the　Assyro…Babylonians。　In　what　country　it　had　its　beginnings　is　unknownit　comes　before　us；　even　at　the　earliest　period；　as　a　faith　already　well…developed；　and　from　that　fact；　as　well　as　from　the　names　of　the　numerous　deities；　it　is　clear　that　it　began　with　the　former　racethe　Sumero…Akkadianswho　spoke　a　non…Semitic　language　largely　affected　by　phonetic　decay；　and　in　which　the　grammatical　forms　had　in　certain　cases　become　confused　to　such　an　extent　that　those　who　study　it　ask　themselves　whether　the　people　who　spoke　it　were　able　to　understand　each　other　without　recourse　to　devices　such　as　the　〃tones〃　to　which　the　Chinese　resort。　With　few　exceptions；　the　names　of　the　gods　which　the　inscriptions　reveal　to　us　are　all　derived　from　this　non…Semitic　language；　which　furnishes　us　with　satisfactory　etymologies　for　such　names　as　Merodach；　Nergal；　Sin；　and　the　divinities　mentioned　in　Berosus　and　Damascius；　as　well　as　those　of　hundreds　of　deities　revealed　to　us　by　the　tablets　and　slabs　of　Babylonia　and　Assyria。


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　The　documents。

Outside　the　inscriptions　of　Babylonia　and　Assyria；　there　is　but　little　bearing　upon　the　religion　of　those　countries；　the　most　important　fragment　being　the　extracts　from　Berosus　and　Damascius　referred　to　above。　Among　the　Babylonian　and　Assyrian　remains；　however；　we　have　an　extensive　and　valuable　mass　of　material；　dating　from　the　fourth　or　fifth　millennium　before　Christ　until　the　disappearance　of　the　Babylonian　system　of　writing　about　the　beginning　of　the　Christian　era。　The　earlier　inscriptions　are　mostly　of　the　nature　of　records；　and　give　information　about　the　deities　and　the　religion　of　the　people　in　the　course　of　descriptions　of　the　building　and　rebuilding　of　temples；　the　making　of　offerings；　the　performance　of　ceremonies；　etc。　Purely　religious　inscriptions　are　found　near　the　end　of　the　third　millennium　before　Christ；　and　occur　in　considerable　numbers；　either　in　the　original　Sumerian　text；　or　in　translations；　or　both；　until　about　the　third　century　before　Christ。　Among　the　more　recent　inscriptionsthose　from　the　library　of　the　Assyrian　king　A？？ur…bani…apli　and　the　later　Babylonian　temple　archives；there　are　many　lists　of　deities；　with　numerous　identifications　with　each　other　and　with　the　heavenly　bodies；　and　explanations　of　their　natures。　It　is　needless　to　say　that　all　this　material　is　of　enormous　value　for　the　study　of　the　religion　of　the　Babylonians　and　Assyrians；　and　enables　us　to　reconstruct　at　first　hand　their　mythological　system；　and　note　the　changes　which　took　place　in　the　course　of　their　long　national　existence。　Many　interesting　and　entertaining　legends　illustrate　and　supplement　the　information　given　by　the　bilingual　lists　of　gods；　the　bilingual　incantations　and　hymns；　and　the　references　contained　in　the　historical　and　other　documents。　A　trilingual　list　of　gods　enables　us　also　to　recognise；　in　some　cases；　the　dialectic　forms　of　their　names。


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　The　importance　of　the　subject。

Of　equal　antiquity　with　the　religion　of　Egypt；　that　of　Babylonia　and　Assyria　possesses　some　marked　differences　as　to　its　development。　Beginning　among　the　non…Semitic　Sumero…Akkadian　population；　it　maintained　for　a　long　time　its　uninterrupted　development；　affected　mainly　by　influences　from　within；　namely；　the　homogeneous　local　cults　which　acted　and　reacted　upon　each　other。　The　religious　systems　of　other　nations　did　not　greatly　affect　the　development　of　the　early　non…Semitic　religious　system　of　Babylonia。　A　time　at　last　came；　however；　when　the　influence　of　the　Semitic　inhabitants　of　Babylonia　and　Assyria　was　not　to　be　gainsaid；　and　from　that　moment；　the　development　of　their　religion　took　another　turn。　In　all　probably　this　augmentation　of　Semitic　religious　influence　was　due　to　the　increased　numbers　of　the　Semitic　population；　and　at　the　same　period　the　Sumero…　Akkadian　language　began　to　give　way　to　the　Semitic　idiom　which　they　spoke。　When　at　last　the　Semitic　Babylonian　language　came　to　be　used　for　official　documents；　we　find　that；　although　the　non…Semitic　divine　names　are　in　the　main　preserved；　a　certain　number　of　them　have　been　displaced　by　the　Semitic　equivalent　names；　such　as　？ama？　for　the　sun…god；　with　Kittu　and　Mê？aru　（〃justice　and　righteousness〃）　his　attendants；　Nabú　（〃the　teacher〃　=　Nebo）　with　his　consort　Ta？mêtu　（〃the　hearer〃）；　Addu；　Adad；　or　Dadu；　and　Rammanu；　Ramimu；　or　Ragimu　=　Hadad　or　Rimmon　（〃the　thunderer〃）；　Bêl　and　Bêltu　（Beltis　=　〃the　lord〃　and　〃the　lady〃　/par　excellence/）；　with　some　others　of　inferior　rank。　In　place　of　the　chief　divinity　of　each　state　at　the　head　of　each　separate　pantheon；　the　tendency　was　to　make　Merodach；　the　god　of　the　capital　city　Babylon；　the　head　of　the　pantheon；　and　he　seems　to　have　been　universally　accepted　in　Babylonia；　like　A？？ur　in　Assyria；　about　2000　B。C。　or　earlier。


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　The　uniting　of　two　pantheons。

We　thus　find　two　pantheons；　the　Sumero…Akkadian　with　its　many　gods；　and　the　Semitic　Babylonian　with　its　comparatively　few；　united；　and　forming　one　apparently　homogeneous　whole。　But　the　creed　had　taken　a　fresh　tendency。　It　was　no　longer　a　series　of　small；　and　to　a　certain　extent　antagonistic；　pantheons　composed　of　the　chief　god；　his　consort；　attendants；　children；　and　servants；　but　a　pantheon　of　considerable　extent；　containing　all　the　elements　of　the　primitive　but　smaller　pantheons；　with　a　number　of　great　gods　who　had　raised　Merodach　to　be　their　king。


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　In　Assyria。

Whilst　accepting　the　religion　of　Babylonia；　Assyria　nevertheless　kept　herself　distinct　from　her　southern　neighbour　by　a　very　simple　device；　by　placing　at　the　head　of　the　pantheon　the　god　A？？ur；　who　became　for　her　the　chief　of　the　gods；　and　at　the　same　time　the　emblem　of　her　distinct　national　aspirationsfor　Assyria　had　no　intention　whatever　of　casting　in　her　lot　with　her　southern　neighbour。　Nevertheless；　Assyria　possessed；　along　with　the　language　of　Babylonia；　all　the　literature　of　that　countryindeed；　it　is　from　the　libraries　of　her　kings　that　we　obtain　the　best　copies　of　the　Babylonian　religious　texts；　treasured　and　preserved　by　her　with　all　the　veneration　of　which　her　religious　mind　was　capable；and　the　religious　fervour　of　the　Oriental　in　most　cases　leaves　that　of　the　European；　or　at　least　of　the　ordinary　Briton；　far　behind。


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　The　later　period　in　Assyria。

Assyria　went　to　her　downfall　at　the　end　of　the　seventh　century　before　Christ　worshipping　her　national　god　A？？ur；　whose　cult　did　not　cease　with　the　destruction　of　her　national　independence。　In　fact；　the　city　of　A？？ur；　the　centre　of　that　worship；　continued　to　exist　for　a　considerable　period；　but　for　the　history　of　the　religion　of　Assyria；　as　preserved　there；　we　wait　for　the　result　of　the　excavations　being　carried　on　by　the　Germans；　should　they　be　fortunate　enough　to　obtain　texts　belonging　to　the　period　following　the　fall　of　Nineveh。


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　In　Babylonia。

Babylonia；　on　the　other　hand；　continued　the　even　tenor　of　her　way。　More　successful　at　the　end　of　her　independent　political　career　than　her　northern　rival　had　been；　she　retained　her　faith；　and　remained　the　unswerving　worshipper　of　Merodach；　the　great　god　of　Babylon；　to　whom　her　priests　attributed　yet　greater　powers；　and　with　whom　all　the　other　gods　were　to　all　appearance　identified。　This　tendency　to　monotheism；　however；　never　reached　the　culminating　pointnever　became　absolute　except；　naturally；　in　the　minds　of　those　who；　dissociating　themselves；　for　philosophical　reasons；　from　the　superstitious　teaching　of　the　priests　of　Babylonia；　decided　for　themselves　that　there　was　but　one　God；　and　worshipped　Him。　That　orthodox　Jews　at　that　period　may　have　found；　in　consequence　of　this　monotheistic　tendency；　converts；　is　not　by　any　means　improbableindeed；　the　names　met　with　during　the　later　period　imply　that　converts　to　Judaism　were　made。


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　The　picture　presented　by　the　study。

Thus　we　see；　from　the　various　inscriptions；　both　Babylonian　and　Assyrianthe　former　of　an　extremely　early　periodthe　growth　and　development；　with　at　least　one　branching　off；　of　one　of　the　most　important　religious　systems　of　the　a