the religion of babylonia and assyria-第12节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


na；　〃knowledge…lord；〃　as　the　compound　ideograph　expressing　his　name　may　be　read　and　translated。　Besides　this　compound　ideograph；　the　name　of　the　god　Sin　was　also　expressed　by　the　character　for　〃30；〃　provided　with　the　prefix　of　divinity；　an　ideograph　which　is　due　to　the　thirty　days　of　the　month；　and　is　thought　to　be　of　late　date。　With　regard　to　Nannar；　Jastrow　explains　it　as　being　for　Narnar；　and　renders　it　〃light…producer。〃　In　a　long　hymn　to　this　god　he　is　described　in　many　lines　as　〃the　lord；　prince　of　the　gods；　who　in　heaven　alone　is　supreme；〃　and　as　〃father　Nannar。〃　Among　his　other　descriptive　titles　are　〃great　Anu〃　（Sum。　/ana　gale/；　Semitic　Bab。　/Anu　rab？/）another　instance　of　the　identification　of　two　deities。　He　was　also　〃lord　of　Ur；〃　〃lord　of　the　temple　Gi？nu…gala；〃　〃lord　of　the　shining　crown；〃　etc。　He　is　also　said　to　be　〃the　mighty　steer　whose　horns　are　strong；　whose　limbs　are　perfect；　who　is　bearded　with　a　beard　of　lapis…stone；＇*＇　who　is　filled　with　beauty　and　fullness　（of　splendour）。〃

＇*＇　Probably　of　the　colour　of　lapis　only；　not　made　of　the　stone　　　　　itself。

Besides　Babylonia　and　Assyria；　he　was　also　worshipped　in　other　parts　of　the　Semitic　east；　especially　at　Harran；　to　which　city　Abraham　migrated；　scholars　say；　in　consequence　of　the　patron…deity　being　the　same　as　at　Ur　of　the　Chaldees；　where　he　had　passed　the　earlier　years　of　his　life。　The　Mountain　of　Sinai　and　the　Desert　of　Sin；　both　bear　his　name。

According　to　king　Dungi　（about　2700　B。C。）；　the　spouse　of　Sin　or　Nannara　was　Nin…Uruwa；　〃the　lady　of　Ur。〃　Sargon　of　Assyria　（722…705　B。C。）　calls　her　Nin…gala。


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Addu　or　Rammanu。

The　numerous　names　which　Hadad　bears　in　the　inscriptions；　both　non…　Semitic　and　Semitic；　testify　to　the　popularity　which　this　god　enjoyed　at　all　times　in　Babylonia。　Among　his　non…Semitic　names　may　be　mentioned　Mer；　Mermer；　Muru；　all；　it　may　be　imagined；　imitative。　Addu　is　explained　as　being　his　name　in　the　Amorite　language；　and　a　variant　form；　apparently；　which　has　lost　its　first　syllable；　namely；　Dadu；　also　appearsthe　Assyrians　seem　always　to　have　used　the　terminationless　form　of　Addu；　namely；　Adad。　In　all　probability　Addu；　Adad；　and　Dadu　are　derived　from　the　West　Semitic　Hadad；　but　the　other　name；　Rammanu；　is　native　Babylonian；　and　cognate　with　Rimmon；　which　is　thus　shown　by　the　Babylonian　form　to　mean　〃the　thunderer；〃　or　something　similar。　He　was　the　god　of　winds；　storms；　and　rain；　feared　on　account　of　the　former；　and　worshipped；　and　his　favour　sought；　on　account　of　the　last。　In　his　name　Birqu；　he　appears　as　the　god　of　lightning；　and　Jastrow　is　of　opinion；　that　he　is　sometimes　associated　on　that　account　with　？ama？；　both　of　them　being　（although　in　different　degrees）　gods　of　light；　and　this　is　confirmed　by　the　fact　that；　in　common　with　the　sun…god；　he　was　called　〃god　of　justice。〃　In　the　Assyrian　inscriptions　he　appears　as　a　god　of　war；　and　the　kings　constantly　compare　the　destruction　which　their　armies　had　wrought　with　that　of　〃Adad　the　inundator。〃　For　them　he　was　〃the　mighty　one；　inundating　the　regions　of　the　enemy；　lands　and　houses；〃　and　was　prayed　to　strike　the　land　of　the　person　who　showed　hostility　to　the　Assyrian　king；　with　evil…working　lightning；　to　throw　want；　famine；　drought；　and　corpses　therein；　to　order　that　he　should　not　live　one　day　longer；　and　to　destroy　his　name　and　his　seed　in　the　land。

The　original　seat　of　his　worship　was　Muru　in　South　Babylonia；　to　which　the　patesi　of　Girsu　in　the　time　of　Ibi…Sin　sent　grain　as　an　offering。　Its　site　is　unknown。　Other　places　（or　are　they　other　names　of　the　same？）　where　he　was　worshipped　were　Ennigi　and　Kakru。　The　consort　of　Addu　was　？ala；　whose　worship　was　likewise　very　popular；　and　to　whom　there　were　temples；　not　only　in　Babylonia　and　Assyria；　but　also　in　Elam；　seemingly　always　in　connection　with　Addu。


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　A？？ur。

In　all　the　deities　treated　of　above；　we　see　the　chief　gods　of　the　Babylonian　and　Assyrian　pantheon；　which　were　worshipped　by　both　peoples　extensively；　none　of　them　being　specifically　Assyrian；　though　worshipped　by　the　Assyrians。　There　was　one　deity；　however；　whose　name　will　not　be　found　in　the　Babylonian　lists　of　gods；　namely；　A？？ur；　the　national　god　of　Assyria；　who　was　worshipped　in　the　city　of　A？？ur；　the　old　capital　of　the　country。

From　this　circumstance；　it　may　be　regarded　as　certain；　that　A？？ur　was　the　local　god　of　the　city　whose　name　he　bore；　and　that　he　attained　to　the　position　of　chief　god　of　the　Assyrian　pantheon　in　the　same　way　as　Merodach　became　king　of　the　gods　in　Babylonianamely；　because　A？？ur　was　the　capital　of　the　country。　His　acceptance　as　chief　divinity；　however；　was　much　more　general　than　that　of　Merodach；　as　temples　to　him　were　to　be　found　all　over　the　Assyrian　kingdoma　circumstance　which　was　probably　due　to　Assyria　being　more　closely　united　in　itself　than　Babylonia；　causing　his　name　to　arouse　patriotic　feelings　wherever　it　might　be　referred　to。　This　was　probably　partly　due　to　the　fact；　that　the　king　in　Assyria　was　more　the　representative　of　the　god　than　in　Babylonia；　and　that　the　god　followed　him　on　warlike　expeditions；　and　when　engaged　in　religious　ceremoniesindeed；　it　is　not　by　any　means　improbable　that　he　was　thought　to　follow　him　wherever　he　went。　On　the　sculptures　he　is　seen　accompanying　him　in　the　form　of　a　circle　provided　with　wings；　in　which　is　shown　sometimes　a　full…length　figure　of　the　god　in　human　form；　sometimes　the　upper　part　only；　facing　towards　and　drawing　his　bow　against　the　foe。　In　consequence　of　its　general　appearance；　the　image　of　the　god　has　been　likened　to　the　sun　in　eclipse；　the　far…stretching　wings　being　thought　to　resemble　the　long　streamers　visible　at　the　moment　of　totality；　and　it　must　be　admitted　as　probable　that　this　may　have　given　the　idea　of　the　symbol　shown　on　the　sculptures。　As　a　sun…god；　and　at　the　same　time　not　the　god　？ama？；　he　resembled　the　Babylonian　Merodach；　and　was　possibly　identified　with　him；　especially　as；　in　at　least　one　text；　Bêltu　（Bêltis）　is　described　as　his　consort；　which　would　possibly　identify　A？？ur's　spouse　with　Zer…pan？tum。　The　original　form　of　his　name　would　seem　to　have　been　Au？ar；　〃water…field；〃　probably　from　the　tract　where　the　city　of　A？？ur　was　built。　His　identification　with　Merodach；　if　that　was　ever　accepted；　may　have　been　due　to　the　likeness　of　the　word　to　Asari；　one　of　that　deity's　names。　The　pronunciation　A？？ur；　however；　seems　to　have　led　to　a　comparison　with　the　An？ar　of　the　first　tablet　of　the　Creation…story；　though　it　may　seem　strange　that　the　Assyrians　should　have　thought　that　their　patron…god　was　a　deity　symbolising　the　〃host　of　heaven。〃　Nevertheless；　the　Greek　transcription　of　An？ar；　namely；　/Assoros/；　given　by　Damascius；　certainly　strengthens　the　indications　of　the　ideograph　in　this　matter。　Delitzsch　regards　the　word　A？？ur；　or　A？ur；　as　he　reads　it；　as　meaning　〃holy；〃　and　quotes　a　list　of　the　gods　of　the　city　of　Nineveh；　where　the　word　A？？ur　occurs　three　times；　suggesting　the　exclamation　〃holy；　holy；　holy；〃　or　〃the　holy；　holy；　holy　one。〃　In　all　probability；　however；　the　repetition　of　the　name　three　times　simply　means　that　there　were　three　temples　dedicated　to　A？？ur　in　the　cities　in　question。＇*＇　Jastrow　agrees　with　Delitzsch　in　regarding　A？ur　as　another　form　of　A？ir　（found　in　early　Cappadocian　names）；　but　he　translates　it　rather　as　〃overseer〃　or　〃guardian〃　of　the　land　and　the　peoplethe　terminationless　form　of　/a？iru/；　which　has　this　meaning；　and　is　applied　to　Merodach。

＇*＇　Or　there　may　have　been　three　shrines　to　A？？ur　in　each　temple　　　　　referred　to。

As　the　use　of　the　characters　/An…？ar/　for　the　god　A？？ur　only　appears　at　a　late　date　（Jastrow　says　the　eighth　century　B。C。）；　this　would　seem　to　have　been　the　work　of　the　scribes；　who　wished　to　read　into　the　name　the　earlier　signification　of　An？ar；　〃the　host　of　heaven；〃　an　explanation　fully　in　accord　with　Jastrow's　reasonings　with　regard　to　the　nature　of　the　deity。　As　he　represented　no　personification　or　power　of　nature；　he　says；　but　the　general　protecting　spirit　of　the　land；　the　king；　the　army；　and　the　people；　the　capital　of　the　country　could　be　transferred　from　A？？ur　to　Calah；　from　there　back　to　A？？ur；　and　finally　to　Nineveh；　without　affecting　the　position　of　the　protecting　god　of　the　land　in　any　way。　He　needed　no　templethough　such　things　were　erected　to　himhe　had　no　need　to　fear　that　he　should　suffer　in　esteem　by　the　preference　for　some　other　god。　As　the　embodiment　of　the　spirit　of　the　Assyrian　people　the　personal　side　of　his　being　remained　to　a　certain　extent　in　the　background。　If　he　was　the　〃host　of　heaven；〃　all　the　deities　might　be　regarded　as　having　their　being　in　him。

Such　was　the　chief　deity　of　the　Assyriansa　national　god；　grafted　on　to；　but　always　distinct　from；　the　rest　of　the　pantheon；　which；　as　has　been　shown；　was　of　Babylonian　origin；　and　always　maintained　the　characteristics　and　stamp　of　its　origin。

The　spouse　of　A？？ur　does　not　appear　in　the　historical　texts；　and　her　mention　elsewhere　under　the　title　of　Bêltu；　〃the　lady；〃　does　not　allow　of　any　identification　being　made。　In　one　inscription；　however；　A？？uritu　is　called　the　goddess；　and　A？？ur　the　god；　of　the　star　Sib…zi…　anna；　identified　by　Jensen　with　Regulus；　which　was　apparently　the　star　of　Merodach　in　Babylo