the adventures of istar.

triumph of izdubar.—istar’s love.—her offer of marriage.—her promises.—izdubar’s answer.—tammuz.—amours of istar.—his refusal.—istar’s anger.—ascends to heaven.—the bull.—slain by izdubar.—istar’s curse.—izdubar’s triumph.—the feast.—istar’s despair.—her descent to hades.—description.—the seven gates.—the curses.—atsu-sunamir the sphinx.—release of istar.—the dog of the dawn.—lament for tammuz.

n this chapter are included the sixth and seventh tablets, which both primarily refer to the doings of istar.

tablet vi.

the sixth tablet is in better condition than any of the former ones, and allows of something like a connected translation.

column i.

1. .... his weapon, he made bright his weapon.

227

2. like a bull his mountain he ascended after him.

3. he destroyed him and clothed himself with his spoils.

4. the ... he put on and the fastening of the crown he tore.

5. izdubar his crown put on (and the fastening of the crown he tore).

6. for the favour of izdubar the princess istar lifted the eyes:

7. i will make thee also izdubar my husband,18

8. thy oath to me shall be thy bond,

9. thou shalt be husband and i will be thy wife.

10. i will make (thy) chariot glisten with crystal and gold,

11. of which the body is gold and its horns are strong.

12. i will cause thy days to find gifts, o judge (?) of the great.

13. into our house enter, mid the scent of the pines.

14. when thou enterest our house

15. may the river euphrates kiss thy feet.

16. there shall be under thee kings, lords, and princes.

17. the tribute of the mountains and plains may they bring to thee as an offering.

18. may thy herds and flocks bring forth twins,

19. may the increase of the cows come unto (thee),

228

20. may thy (horse) be strong, without ceasing, in the chariot,

21. may (thy steed) in the yoke never have a rival.

—–———–———–———–

22. (izdubar) opened his mouth and speaks;

23. (he says) to the princess istar:

24. .... to thee thy possession

25. .... body and rottenness (?)

26. .... baldness and famine

27. .... i keep back the instruments of divinity

28. .... instruments of royalty

29. .... storm (?)

30. ...... he poured (?)

31. ...... i lingered

32. ...... i took thee

33. ...... caused to enter

34. the door afterwards .... ended wind and showers

35. palace .... the hero

36. mouth .... check her

37. that sign .... carry her

38. body glorious (?) .... carry her

39. grand .... tower of stone

40. they have dwelt (in) the land of the enemy

41. may she .... her lord

42. never may he woo thee for ever

43. never may a god praise thee

44. i took also the torch? .... i loved thee

229

column ii.

1. rest thee and .....

2. as for tammuz the lover of (thy) youth

3. year after year thou hast wearied him with thy love.

4. allala the eagle also thou lovest and

5. thou didst strike him, and his wings thou didst break;

6. he stood in the forest, he begged for wings.

7. thou lovest also a lion lusty in might,

8. thou didst tear out by sevens his claws.

9. thou lovest also a horse glorious in war,

10. he yielded himself and thou didst weary his love overmuch.

11. for seven kaspu (fourteen hours) thou didst weary his love without ceasing,

12. troubled and thirsting thou didst weary him.

13. to his mother silele thou didst send him wearied with thy love.

14. thou lovest also the shepherd tabulu,

15. of whom continually thou didst ask for thy stibium.

16. every day he propitiated thee with offerings,

17. thou didst strike him and to a hyena thou didst change him;

18. his own village drove him away;

19. his dogs tore his wounds.

20. thou lovest also isullanu the husbandman of thy father,

230

21. who continually was subject to thy order;

22. each day had he made bright thy dish.

23. the eyes thou didst take from him and didst put him in chains,

24. (saying): o isullanu, cut thy hand, eat (thy) eyes!

25. and thy hand thou didst bring out and thou didst strike? ....

26. isullanu says to thee:

27. as for me what dost thou ask of me?

28. my mother, thou art not beautiful, and i eat not.

29. the food i have eaten is plentiful, even pain and waking;

30. trembling and faintness overcome me (?)

31. thou didst hear also this ....

32. thou didst strike him; to a pillar19 thou didst change him,

33. thou didst place him also in the midst of the land ....

34. that he rise not up, that he go not ....

35. and as for me dost thou love me, and like to him wilt thou [serve me]?

—–———–———–———–

36. when istar (heard) this,

37. istar was angry and to heaven she ascended;

38. istar went also to the presence of anu her father,

39. to the presence of anatu her mother she went and says:

40. my father, izdubar hates me, and

231

column iii.

1. izdubar despises my beauty,

2. my beauty and my charms.

—–———–———–———–

3. anu opened his mouth and spake, and

4. says to the princess istar:

5. my daughter thou shalt remove ....

6. and izdubar will count thy beauty,

7. thy beauty and thy charms.

—–———–———–———–

8. istar opened her mouth and spake, and

9. says to anu her father:

10. my father, create the bull of anu20 and

11. izdubar ....

12. when he is filled ....

13. i will strike ....

14. i will join ....

15. ........

16. over ....

—–———–———–———–

17. anu opened his mouth and spake, and

18. says to the princess istar:

19. .... thou shalt join ....

20. .... of noble names

21. .... maskhi ....

22. .... which is magnified ....

—–———–———–———–

23. istar opened her mouth and spake, and

232

24. says to anu her father:

25. .... i will strike

26. .... i will break

27. .... of noble names

28. .... reducer

29. .... of foods

30. .... of him

(some lines lost here.)

column iv.

(some lines lost.)

1. .... warriors

2. .... to the midst

3. .... three hundred warriors

4. .... to the midst

5. .... slay hea-bani

6. in two divisions he parted in the midst of it

7. two hundred warriors .... made, the bull of anu ....

8. in the third division .... his horns

9. hea-bani struck? .... his might

10. and hea-bani pierced ........

11. the bull of anu by his head he took hold of ....

12. by the thickness of his tail ....

—–———–———–———–

13. hea-bani opened his mouth and spake, and

14. says to izdubar:

15. my friend, we have strengthened ....

233

16. when we overthrow ...

17. my friend, i see ....

18. and the might ....

19. may i destroy ....

(three lines lost.).

23. .... hands .... to rimmon and nebo

24. .... tarka .... um ....

25. .... hea-bani took hold .... the bull of anu

26. .... he .... also .... by his tail

27. ........ hea-bani

column v.

1. and izdubar like a ....

2. the hero and (his friend)

3. in the vicinity of the middle of his horns ....

4. from the city they destroyed, the heart ....

5. to the presence of samas ....

6. they had gone to the presence of samas ....

7. he placed at the side the bulk (?) ....

—–———–———–———–

8. and istar ascended over the fortress of erech the lofty,

9. she destroyed the bull, she uttered a curse:

10. woe to izdubar who has overthrown me, has slain the bull of anu.

11. hea-bani also heard this speech of istar,

12. and he cut off the member of the bull of anu and before her he laid it;

234

13. and what of it? since i conquered thee when him also (i.e. izdubar)

14. i caused thee to listen to;

15. its skin also i have hung up at thy side.

16. istar gathered her maidens

17. samkhati and kharimati,21

18. over the member of the bull of anu a mourning she made.

19. izdubar called on the people, the multitude

20. all of them:

21. with the thickness of his horns the young men were glorious,

22. 30 manehs of crystal (was) their substance,

23. the sharpness of the points was destroyed,

24. 6 gurs its mass altogether.

25. for the food of his god lugal-turda he cut it up;

26. he seethed it and hangs it up in the rising of his fire;

27. in the river euphrates they washed their hands.

28. they had been taken and gone

29. through the street of erech riding,

30. the assembly of the warriors of erech put trust in them.

31. izdubar to the inhabitants of erech

32. .... a proclamation made.

column vi.

1. “if anyone is of ability among the chiefs, 235

2. if any is noble among the men,

3. izdubar is able among the chiefs,

4. izdubar is noble among the men,

5. .... our strength

6. .... he has not

7. .... his ....”

—–———–———–———–

8. izdubar in his palace made a rejoicing,

9. the chiefs reclining lie on couches at night.

10. hea-bani lies down, a dream he dreams.

11. hea-bani came and the dream he explains,

12. and says to izdubar.

tablet vii.

the seventh tablet opens with the words, “my friend, what is this counsel the great gods are taking?” it is uncertain if any other portion of this tablet has been found, but part of a remarkable fragment, with a continuation of the story of istar, has been placed here. it appears that the goddess, failing in her attempt in heaven to avenge herself on izdubar for his slight, resolved to descend to hell, to search out, if possible, new modes of attacking him.

columns i. and ii. are lost, the fragments recommencing on column iii.

column iii.

1. .... people? to destroy his hand approached

2. .... raise in thy presence

3. .... like before

236

4. .... zaidu (shall accomplish) the wish of his heart

5. with the female samkhat .... he brought

6. .... thee, the female samkhat will expel thee

7. (homage) they did not perform ......

8. assemble thou a great assembly;

9. .... the strong one has caused thee to be struck, even thee.

10. ... goods of the house of thy fulness

after many lines destroyed, the story recommences in the fourth column.

column iv.

1. [to hades the country whence none return] i turn myself,

2. i spread like a bird my hands.

3. i descend, i descend to the house of darkness, the dwelling of the god irkalla:

4. to the house out of which there is no exit,

5. to the road from which there is no return:

6. to the house from whose entrance the light is taken,

7. the place where dust is their nourishment and their food mud.

8. its chiefs also are like birds covered with feathers;

9. the light is never seen, in darkness they dwell.

10. in the house, o my friend, which i will enter,

11. for me is treasured up a crown;

237

12. with those wearing crowns who from days of old ruled the earth,

13. to whom the gods anu and bel have given names of rule.

14. water (?) they have given to quench the thirst they drink limpid waters.

15. in the house, o my friend, which i will enter,

16. dwell the lord and the unconquered one,

17. dwell the priest and the great man,

18. dwell the worms of the deep of the great gods;

19. there dwells etana, there dwells the god ner,

20. (there dwells) the queen of the lower regions, allat,

21. the mistress of the fields the mother of the queen of the lower regions before her submits,

22. and there is not any one that stands against her in her presence.

23. i will approach her and she will see me

24. ... and she will bring me to her

here the story is again lost, columns v. and vi. being absent. it would seem that hea-bani is here telling his friend how he must die and descend into the house of hades. mr. smith, however, thought that in the third column some one is speaking to istar, trying to persuade her not to descend to hades, while in the fourth column the goddess, who is suffering all the pangs of jealousy and hate, revels in the dark details of the description of the lower regions, and declares her determination to go there.

238

if this view is correct, this part of the legend would be connected with the beautiful story of the descent of istar into hades which describes how the goddess descended into the lower world in search of her husband tammuz, the sun-god, who had been slain by the boar’s tusk of winter. tammuz became adonis, the ph?nician adonai “lord,” among the greeks, to whom the story of aphroditê and adonis had been carried by the ph?nicians. the story is one which meets us in the mythologies of many races and nations throughout the world, and has grown in each case out of the winter-sleep of the sun and his resurrection in the spring. its last echo in our own european folklore may be heard in the tale of the sleeping beauty. a calendar found among the banking records of the egibi firm in babylonia notes on the 15th day of the month tammuz or june “an eclipse of the moon,” apparently in reference to the descent of the moon-goddess istar into hades. the legend survives in a changed form in the talmud (yoma 69b, sanhedrim 60a). here it is said that after the captivity the elders of the nation, headed by ezra and nehemiah, besought god that the demon of lust might be delivered into their hands. in spite of a prophetic voice which warned them of the consequences of their request, it was persisted in, and the demon was given up to them and imprisoned. but before three days were over, the whole course of the world was thrown into disorder. no eggs even were to be had, and the jewish elders were obliged239 to confess their mistake and release the demon from his fetters.

the descent of istar into hades from k 162.

1. to hades the land whence none return, the land (of darkness),

2. istar daughter of sin (the moon) her ear (inclined);

3. inclined also the daughter of sin her ear,

4. to the house of darkness the dwelling of the god irkalla,

5. to the house out of which there is no exit,

6. to the road from which there is no return,

7. to the house from whose entrance the light is taken,

8. the place where dust is their nourishment and their food mud.

9. light is never seen, in darkness they dwell.

10. its chiefs also are like birds covered with feathers,

11. over the door and bolts is scattered dust.

12. istar on her arrival at the gate of hades,

13. to the keeper of the gate a command she addresses:

14. keeper of the waters, open thy gate,

15. open thy gate that i may enter.

16. if thou openest not the gate that i may enter,

17. i will strike the door, the bolts i will shatter,

18. i will strike the threshold and will pass through the doors;

19. i will raise up the dead to devour the living,

240

20. above the living the dead shall exceed in numbers.

21. the keeper opened his mouth and speaks,

22. he says to the princess istar:

23. stay, lady, thou dost not glorify her,

24. let me go and thy name repeat to the queen allat.

25. the keeper descended and says to allat:

26. this water (of life) thy sister istar (comes to seek).

27. the queen of the great vaults (of heaven) ....

28. allat on hearing this says:

29. like the cutting off of the herb has (istar) descended (into hades),

30. like the lip of a deadly insect (?) she has ...

31. what will her heart bring me (i.e. matter to me), what will her anger (bring me)?

32: (istar replies:) this water with (my husband)

33. like food would i eat, like beer would i drink.

34. let me weep over the strong who have left their wives.

35. let me weep over the handmaids who (have lost) the embraces of their husbands.

36. over the only son let me mourn, who ere his days are come is taken away.

37. (allat says:) go keeper open thy gate to her,

38. bewitch her also according to the ancient rules.

39. the keeper went and opened his gate:

40. enter, o lady, let the city of cutha22 receive thee;

241

41. let the palace of hades rejoice at thy presence.

42. the first gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw down the great crown of her head.

43. why, o keeper, hast thou thrown down the great crown of my head?

44. enter, o lady, of allat thus is the order.

45. the second gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw away the earrings of her ears.

46. why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the earrings of my ears?

47. enter, o lady, of allat thus is the order.

48. the third gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw away the necklace23 of her neck.

49. why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the necklace of my neck?

50. enter, o lady, of allat thus is the order.

51. the fourth gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw away the ornaments of her breast.

52. why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the ornaments of my breast?

53. enter, o lady, of allat thus is the order.

54. the fifth gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw away the gemmed girdle of her waist.

55. why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the gemmed girdle of my waist?

242

56. enter, o lady, of allat thus is the order.

57. the sixth gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw away the bracelets of her hands and her feet.

58. why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the bracelets of my hands and my feet?

59. enter, o lady, of allat thus is the order.

60. the seventh gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw away the covering robe of her body.

61. why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the covering robe of my body?

62. enter, o lady, of allat thus is the order.

63. when for a long time istar into hades had descended,

64. allat saw her and at her presence was arrogant;

65. istar did not take counsel, at her she swore.

66. allat her mouth opened and speaks,

67. to namtar (the plague-demon) her messenger a command she addresses:

68. go namtar [take istar from] me and

69. take her out to .... even istar

70. diseased eyes (strike) her with,

71. diseased side (strike) her with,

72. diseased feet (strike) her with,

73. diseased heart (strike) her with,

74. diseased head (strike) her with,

75. strike her, the whole of her [strike with disease].

76. after istar the lady [into hades had descended],

243

77. with the cow the bull would not unite, and the ass the female ass would not approach;

78. the female slave in the streets would not let herself be touched.

79. the freeman ceased to give his command,

80. the female slave ceased to give her gift.

column ii.

1. papsukul, the messenger of the great gods bowed his face before (samas);

2. ..............

3. samas (the sun-god) went and in the presence of his father the moon-god he stood,

4. into the presence of hea the king he went in tears:

5. istar into the lower regions has descended, she has not ascended back;

6. for a long time istar into hades has descended,

7. with the cow the bull will not unite, the ass the female ass will not approach;

8. the female slave in the street will not let herself be touched;

9. the freeman has ceased to give his command,

10. the female slave has ceased to give her gift.

11. hea in the wisdom of his heart formed a resolution,

12. and made atsu-sunamir24 the sphinx:25

244

13. go atsu-sunamir towards the gates of hades set thy face;

14. may the seven gates of hades be opened at thy presence;

15. may allat see thee and rejoice at thy presence;

16. when she shall be at rest in her heart, and her liver be appeased.

17. conjure her by the name of the great gods.

18. raise thy heads, to the roaring stream set thy ear;

19. may the lady (istar) overmaster the roaring stream, the waters in the midst of it may she drink.

20. allat on hearing this,

21. beat her breast, she bit her thumb,

22. she turned again, a request she asked not:

23. go, atsu-sunamir, may i imprison thee in the great prison,

24. may the garbage of the foundations of the city be thy food,

25. may the drains of the city be thy drink,

26. may the darkness of the dungeon be thy dwelling,

27. may a stake be thy seat,

28. may hunger and thirst strike thy offspring.

29. allat her mouth opened and speaks,

30. to namtar her messenger a command she addresses:

31. go, namtar, strike the firmly-fixed palace,

32. the ashêrim26 adorn with stones of the dawn,

245

33. bid the spirits of earth come forth, on a throne of gold seat (them),

34. unto istar give the waters of life and bring her before me.

35. namtar went, he struck the firmly-fixed palace,

36. the ashêrim he adorned with stones of the dawn,

37. he brought forth the spirits of earth, on a throne of gold he seated (them).

38. to istar he gave the waters of life and took her.

39. the first gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the covering robe of her body.

40. the second gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the bracelets of her hands and her feet.

41. the third gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the gemmed girdle of her waist.

42. the fourth gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the ornaments of her breast.

43. the fifth gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the necklace of her neck.

44. the sixth gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the earrings of her ears.

45. the seventh gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the great crown of her head.

46. since thou hast not paid, (he says) a ransom for thy deliverance to her (i.e. allat), so to her again turn back

47. for tammuz the husband of (thy) youth;

246

48. the glistening waters pour over (him), the drops (sprinkle upon him);

49. in splendid clothing dress him, with a ring of crystal adorn (him).

50. may samkhat appease the grief (of istar),

51. and, kharimat,27 give to her comfort.

52. the precious eye-stones also she destroyed not,

53. the wound of her brother (tammuz) she heard, she smote (her breast), she, even kharimat, gave her comfort;

54. the precious eye-stones, her amulets, she commanded not,

55. (saying): o my only brother, thou dost not lament for me.

56. in the day that tammuz adorned me, with a ring of crystal, with a bracelet of emeralds, together with himself he adorned me,

57. with himself he adorned me; may men mourners and women mourners

58. on a bier place (him), and assemble the wake.

this remarkable text shows istar fulfilling her threat and descending to hades, but it does not appear that she had as yet accomplished her vengeance against izdubar.

at the opening of the sixth tablet we have the247 final scene of the contest with khumbaba. izdubar, after slaying khumbaba, takes the crown from the head of the monarch and places it on his own head, thus signifying that he assumed the empire. there were, as we are informed in several places, kings, lords, and princes, merely local rulers, but these generally submitted to the greatest power; and just as they had bowed to khumbaba, so they were ready now to submit to izdubar. the kingdom promised to izdubar when he started to encounter khumbaba now became his by right of superior force, and he entered the halls of the palace of erech and feasted with his heroes.

we are thus brought to a curious part of the story, the romance of izdubar and istar. one of the strange and dark features of the babylonian religion was the istar or venus worship, which was an adoration of the reproductive power of nature, accompanied by ceremonies which were a reproach to the country. the city of erech, originally a seat of the worship of anu, was now one of the foremost cities in this istar worship. tammuz, the young and beautiful sun-god, the dead bridegroom of istar, seems to be also spoken of as the brother of her handmaid kharimat. this explains, as m. lenormant has pointed out, the passage in jeremiah xxii. 18, which preserves a portion of the wailing cry uttered by the worshippers of tammuz or adonis when celebrating his untimely death. this should be rendered:248 “ah me, my brother, and ah me, my sister! ah me, adonis, and ah me, his lady!” reference is made to the worship of tammuz, which was carried on within the temple itself at jerusalem, in ezek. viii. 14, amos viii. 10, (where we should translate “as at the mourning for the only son” tammuz), and zech. xii. 10, 11. tammuz is the semitic form of the accadian dumuzi which signified in that language “the only son.”

bowareyeh mound at warka (erech), site of the temple of istar.

the struggle with a bull on the part of izdubar and hea-bani, represented on the babylonian cylinder figured on the next page, and numerous similar representations, refer to the struggle with the bull created by anu to avenge the slight offered to istar.

it would appear from the broken fragments of column iv. that hea-bani laid hold of the bull by the head and tail while izdubar killed it, and hea249-bani in the engraving is represented holding the bull by its head and tail.

at the close of the sixth tablet the story is again lost, only portions of the third and fourth columns of the next tablet being preserved, but light is thrown on this portion of the narrative by the remarkable tablet describing the descent of istar into hades. it is possible that this tablet formed an episode in the sixth tablet of the izdubar legends.

izdubar and hea-bani in conflict with the lion and bull.

this tablet containing the descent of istar into hades was first noticed by mr. fox talbot in the “transactions of the royal society of literature,” but his attempt at a translation was a failure. mr. smith subsequently published a short notice of it in the “north british review,” and afterwards a translation of it in the “daily telegraph.” prof. schrader brought out a monograph upon it in 1874, and both m. lenormant and dr. oppert have worked at it. the most recent translation is one made into italian by m. lenormant in a publication entitled250 “il mito di adone-tammuz,” 1879, upon the basis of the one made by dr. oppert.

the story of the descent of istar into hades is one of the most beautiful myths in the assyrian inscriptions; it has, however, received so much attention, and been so fully commented upon by various scholars, that little need be said on the subject here.

it is evident that we are dealing with the same goddess as the istar, daughter of anu, in the izdubar legends, although she is here called daughter of sin (the moon-god).

the description of the region of hades is most graphic, and vividly portrays the sufferings of the prisoners there. atsu-sunamir, created by hea to deliver istar, is described as a composite animal, half bitch and half man, with more than one head, and corresponds with the two dogs of the hindu rig-veda, which have four eyes and broad snouts, and guard the road to the abode of yama the king of the departed. they are also said to move among men, feasting on their lives, as the messengers of yama; and as the offspring of sarama, the dawn, they are called sarameyas, which prof. max müller compares with the greek hermês. at any rate, the same conception of a dog of the dawn which guards the approach to the realm of hades is found in the greek kerberos with his fifty heads (or three heads, according to later writers), as well as in the dog of geryon named orthros or “the dawn,” who seems to be identical with the vedic vritra the demon of251 night. it would appear, therefore, that in the primitive mythology both of the hindus and of the accadians the “fleet” dawn was likened to a dog, sometimes regarded as carrying men away to the dark under-world, sometimes as bringing light to the under-world itself.

the latter part of the tablet is somewhat obscure, but refers to the custom of lamenting for dumuzi or tammuz.