The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World Volume II Part 16

CHAPTER VIII.

RELIGION.

"The graven image, and the molten image."--NAHUM i. 14

The religion of the a.s.syrians so nearly resembled--at least in its external aspect, in which alone we can contemplate it--the religion of the primitive Chaldaeans, that it will be unnecessary, after the full treatment which that subject received in an earlier portion of this work, to do much more than notice in the present place certain peculiarities by which it would appear that the cult of a.s.syria was distinguished from that of the neighboring and closely connected country. With the exception that the first G.o.d in the Babylonian Pantheon was replaced by a distinct and thoroughly national deity in the Pantheon of a.s.syria, and that certain deities whose position was prominent in the one occupied a subordinate position in the other, the two religious systems may be p.r.o.nounced, not similar merely but identical. Each of them, without any real monotheism, commences with the same preeminence of a single deity, which is followed by the same groupings of identically the same divinities; and after that, by a mult.i.tudinous polytheism, which is chiefly of a local character. Each country, so far as we can see, has nearly the same wors.h.i.+p-temples, altars, and ceremonies of the same type--the same religious emblems--the same ideas. The only difference here is, that in a.s.syria ampler evidence exists of what was material in the religious system, more abundant representations of the objects and modes of wors.h.i.+p; so that it will be possible to give, by means of ill.u.s.trations, a more graphic portraiture of the externals of the religion of the a.s.syrians than the scantiness of the remains permitted in the case of the primitive Chaldaeans.

At the head of the a.s.syrian Pantheon stood the "great G.o.d." a.s.shur. His usual t.i.tles are "the great Lord," "the King of all the G.o.ds," "he who rules supreme over the G.o.ds." Sometimes he is called "the Father of the G.o.ds," though that is a t.i.tle which is more properly a.s.signed to Belus.

His place is always first in invocations. He is regarded throughout all the a.s.syrian inscriptions as the especial tutelary deity both of the kings and of the country. He places the monarchs upon their

CHAPTER VIII.

RELIGION.

"The graven image, and the molten image."--NAHUM i. 14

The religion of the a.s.syrians so nearly resembled--at least in its external aspect, in which alone we can contemplate it--the religion of the primitive Chaldaeans, that it will be unnecessary, after the full treatment which that subject received in an earlier portion of this work, to do much more than notice in the present place certain peculiarities by which it would appear that the cult of a.s.syria was distinguished from that of the neighboring and closely connected country. With the exception that the first G.o.d in the Babylonian Pantheon was replaced by a distinct and thoroughly national deity in the Pantheon of a.s.syria, and that certain deities whose position was prominent in the one occupied a subordinate position in the other, the two religious systems may be p.r.o.nounced, not similar merely but identical. Each of them, without any real monotheism, commences with the same preeminence of a single deity, which is followed by the same groupings of identically the same divinities; and after that, by a mult.i.tudinous polytheism, which is chiefly of a local character. Each country, so far as we can see, has nearly the same wors.h.i.+p-temples, altars, and ceremonies of the same type--the same religious emblems--the same ideas. The only difference here is, that in a.s.syria ampler evidence exists of what was material in the religious system, more abundant representations of the objects and modes of wors.h.i.+p; so that it will be possible to give, by means of ill.u.s.trations, a more graphic portraiture of the externals of the religion of the a.s.syrians than the scantiness of the remains permitted in the case of the primitive Chaldaeans.

At the head of the a.s.syrian Pantheon stood the "great G.o.d." a.s.shur. His usual t.i.tles are "the great Lord," "the King of all the G.o.ds," "he who rules supreme over the G.o.ds." Sometimes he is called "the Father of the G.o.ds," though that is a t.i.tle which is more properly a.s.signed to Belus.

His place is always first in invocations. He is regarded throughout all the a.s.syrian inscriptions as the especial tutelary deity both of the kings and of the country. He places the monarchs upon their throne, firmly establishes then in the government, lengthens the years of their reigns, preserves their power, protects their forts and armies, makes their name celebrated, and the like. To him they look to give them victory over their enemies, to grant them all the wishes of their heart, and to allow them to be succeeded on their thrones by their sons and their sons' sons, to a remote posterity. Their usual phrase when speaking of him is "a.s.shur, my lord." They represent themselves as pa.s.sing their lives in his service. It is to spread his wors.h.i.+p that they carry on their wars. They fight, ravage, destroy in his name.

Finally, when they subdue a country, they are careful to "set up the emblems of a.s.shur," and teach the people his laws and his wors.h.i.+p.

The tutelage of a.s.shur over a.s.syria is strongly marked by the ident.i.ty of his name with that of the country, which in the original is complete.

It is also indicated by the curious fact that, unlike the other G.o.ds, a.s.shur had no notorious temple or shrine in any particular city of a.s.syria, a sign that his wors.h.i.+p was spread equally throughout the whole land, and not to any extent localized. As the national deity, he had given name to the original capital; but even at a.s.shur (_Kileh-Sherghat_) it may be doubted whether there was any building which was specially his.

Therefore it is a reasonable conjectures that all the shrines throughout a.s.syria were open to his wors.h.i.+p, to whatever minor G.o.d they might happen to be dedicated.

In the inscriptions the a.s.syrians are constantly described as "the servants of a.s.shur," and their enemies as "the enemies of a.s.shur." The a.s.syrian religion is "the wors.h.i.+p of a.s.shur." No similar phrases are used with respect to any of the other G.o.ds of the Pantheon.

We can scarcely doubt that originally the G.o.d a.s.shur was the great progenitor of the race, a.s.shur, the son of Shen, deified. It was not long, however, before this notion was lost, and a.s.shur came to be viewed simply as a celestial being--the first and highest of all the divine agents who ruled over heaven and earth. It is indicative of the (comparatively speaking) elevated character of a.s.syrian polytheism that this exalted and awful deity continued from first to last the main object of wors.h.i.+p, and was not superseded in the thoughts of men by the lower and more intelligible divinities, such as Shamas and Sin, the Sun and Moon, Nergal the G.o.d of War, Nin the G.o.d of Hunting, or Vul the wielder of the thunderbolt.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE 141]

The favorite emblem under which the a.s.syrians appear to have represented a.s.shur in their works of art was the winged circle or globe, from which a figure in a horned cap is frequently seen to issue, sometimes simply holding a bow (Fig. I.), sometimes shooting his arrows against the a.s.syrians' enemies (Fig II.). This emblem has been variously explained; but the most probable conjecture would seem to be that the circle typifies eternity, while the wings express omnipresence, and the human figure symbolizes wisdom or intelligence. The emblem appears under many varieties. Sometimes the figure which issues from it has no bow, and is represented as simply extending the right hand (Fig. III.); occasionally both hands are extended, and the left holds a ring or chaplet (Fig.

IV.). [PLATE CXLI., Fig. 1.] In one instance we see a very remarkable variation: for the complete human figure is subst.i.tuted a mere pair of hands, which seem to come from behind the winged disk, the right open and exhibiting the palm, the left closed and holding a bow. [PLATE CXLI., Fig. 2.] In a large number of cases all sign of a person is dispensed with, the winged circle appearing alone, with the disk either plain or ornamented. On the other hand, there are one or two instances where the emblem exhibits three human heads instead of one--the central figure having on either side of it, a head, which seems to rest upon the feathers of the wing. [PLATE CXLI., Fig. 3.]

It is the opinion of some critics, based upon this form of the emblem, that the supreme deity of the a.s.syrians, whom the winged circle seems always to represent, was in reality a triune G.o.d. Now certainly the triple human form is very remarkable, and lends a color to this conjecture; but, as there is absolutely nothing, either in the statements of ancient writers, or in the a.s.syrian inscriptions, so far as they have been deciphered, to confirm the supposition, it can hardly be accepted as the true explanation of the phenomenon. The doctrine of the Trinity, scarcely apprehended with any distinctness even by the ancient Jews, does not appear to have been one of those which primeval revelation made known throughout the heathen world. It is a fanciful mysticism which finds a Trinity in the Eicton, Cneph, and Phtha of the Egyptians, the Oromasdes, Mithras, and Arhimanius of the Persians, and the Monas, Logos and Psyche of Pythagoras and Plato. There are abundant Triads in ancient mythology, but no real Trinity. The case of a.s.shur is, however, one of simple unity, He is not even regularly included in any Triad. It is possible, however, that the triple figure shows him to us in temporary combination with two other G.o.ds, who may be exceptionally represented in this way rather than by their usual emblems. Or the three heads may be merely an exaggeration of that principle of repet.i.tion which gives rise so often to a double representation of a king or a G.o.d, and which is seen at Bavian in the threefold repet.i.tion of another sacred emblem, the horned cap.

It is observable that in the sculptures the winged circle is seldom found except in immediate connection with the monarch. The great King wears it embroidered upon his robes, carries it engraved upon his cylinder, represents it above his head in the rock-tablets on which he carves his image a stands or kneels in adoration before it, fights under its shadow, under its protection returns victorious, places it conspicuously in the scenes where he himself is represented on his obelisks. And in these various representations he makes the emblem in a great measure conform to the circ.u.mstances in which he himself is engaged at the time. Where he is fighting, a.s.shur too has his arrow on the string, and points it against the king's adversaries. Where he is returning from victory, with the disused bow in the left hand and the right hand outstretched and elevated, a.s.shur takes the same att.i.tude. In peaceful scenes the bow disappears altogether. If the king wors.h.i.+ps, the G.o.d holds out his hand to aid; if he is engaged in secular arts, the divine presence is thought to be sufficiently marked by the circle and wings without the human figure.

An emblem found in such frequent connection with the symbol of a.s.shur as to warrant the belief that it was attached in a special way to his wors.h.i.+p, is the sacred or symbolical tree. Like the winged circle, this emblem has various forms. The simplest consists of a short pillar springing from a single pair of rams' horns, and surmounted by a capital composed of two pairs of rams' horns separated by one, two, or three horizontal bands; above which there is, first, a scroll resembling that which commonly surmounts the winged circle, and then a flower, very much like the "honeysuckle ornament" of the Greeks. More advanced specimens show the pillar elongated with a capital in the middle in addition to the capital at the top, while the blossom above the upper capital, and generally the stem likewise, throw out a number of similar smaller blossoms, which are sometimes replaced by fir-cones or pomegranates.

[PLATE CXLI., Fig. 4. ] Where the tree is most elaborately portrayed, we see, besides the stem and the blossoms, a complicated network of branches, which after interlacing with one another form a sort of arch surrounding the tree itself as with a frame. [PLATE CXLII., Fig.1.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE 142]

It is a subject of curious speculation, whether this sacred tree does not stand connected with the _Asherah_ of the Phoenicians, which was certainly not a "grove," in the sense in which we commonly understand that word. The _Asherah_ which the Jews adopted from the idolatrous nations with whom they came in contact, was an artificial structure, originally of wood, but in the later times probably of metal, capable of being "set" in the temple at Jerusalem by one king, and "brought out" by another. It was a structure for which "hangings" could be made, to cover and protect it, while at the same time it was so far like a tree that it could be properly said to be "cut down," rather than "broken" or otherwise demolished. The name itself seems to imply something which stood, straight up; and the conjecture is reasonable that its essential element was "the straight stem of a tree," though whether the idea connected with the emblem was of the same nature with that which underlay the phallic rites of the Greeks is (to say the least) extremely uncertain. We have no distinct evidence that the a.s.syrian sacred tree was a real tangible object: it may have been, as Mr. Layard supposes, a mere type. But it is perhaps on the whole more likely to have been an actual object; in which case we can not but suspect that it stood in the a.s.syrian system in much the same position as the _Asherah_ in the Phoenician, being closely connected with the wors.h.i.+p of the supreme G.o.d, and having certainly a symbolic character, though of what exact kind it may not be easy to determine.

An a.n.a.logy has been suggested between this a.s.syrian emblem and the Scriptural "tree of life," which is thought to be variously reflected in the multiform mythology of the East. Are not such speculations somewhat over-fanciful There is perhaps, in the emblem itself, which combines the horns of the ram--an animal noted for procreative power--with the image of a fruit or flower-producing tree, ground for supposing that some allusion is intended to the prolific or generative energy in nature; but more than this can scarcely be said without venturing upon mere speculation. The time perhaps ere long arrive when, by the interpretation of the mythological tablets of the a.s.syrians, their real notions on this and other kindred subjects may become known to us. Till then, it is best to remain content with such facts as are ascertainable, without seeking to penetrate mysteries at which we can but guess, and where, even if we guess aright, we cannot know that we do so.

The G.o.ds wors.h.i.+pped in a.s.syria in the next degree to a.s.shur appear to have been, in the early times, Anu and Vul; in the later, Bel, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Nin or Ninip, and Nergal. Gula, Ishtar, and Beltis were favorite G.o.ddesses. Hoa, Nebo, and Merodach, though occasional objects of wors.h.i.+p, more especially under the later empire, were in far less repute in a.s.syria than in Babylonia; and the two last-named may almost be said to have been introduced into the former country from the latter during the historical period.

For the special characteristics of these various G.o.ds--common objects of wors.h.i.+p to the a.s.syrians and the Babylonians from a very remote epoch--the reader is referred to the first part of this volume, where their several attributes and their position in the Chaldaean Pantheon have been noted. The general resemblance of the two religious systems is such, that almost everything which has been stated with respect to the G.o.ds of the First Empire may be taken us applying equally to those of the Second; and the reader is requested to make this application in all cases, except where some shade of difference, more or less strongly marked, shall be pointed out. In the following pages, without repeating what has been said in the first part of this volume, some account will be given of the wors.h.i.+p of the princ.i.p.al G.o.ds in a.s.syria and of the chief temples dedicated to their service.

ANU.

The wors.h.i.+p of Anu seems to have been introduced into a.s.syria from Babylonia during the times of Chaldaean supremacy which preceded the establishment of the independent a.s.syrian kingdom. Shamas-Vul, the son of Is.h.i.+-Dagon, king of Chaldaea, built a temple to Anu and Vul at a.s.shur, which was then the a.s.syrian capital, about B.C. 1820. An inscription of Tiglath-Pileser I., states that this temple lasted for 621 years, when, having fallen into decay, it was taken down by a.s.shurdayan, his own great-grandfather. Its site remained vacant for sixty years.

Then Tiglath-Pileser I., in the beginning of his reign, rebuilt the temple more magnificently than before; and from that time it seems to have remained among the princ.i.p.al shrines in a.s.syria. It was from a tradition connected with this ancient temple of Shamas-Vul, that a.s.shur in later times acquired the name of Telane, or "the Mound of Anu," which it bears in Stephen.

Anu's place among the "Great G.o.ds" of a.s.syria is not so well marked as that of many other divinities. His name does not occur as an element in the names of kings or of other important personages. He is omitted altogether from many solemn invocations. It is doubtful whether he is one of the G.o.ds whose emblems were worn by the king and inscribed upon the rock-tablets. But, on the other hand, where he occurs in lists, he is invariably placed directly after a.s.shur; and he is often coupled with that deity in a way which is strongly indicative of his exalted character. Tiglath-Pileser I., though omitting him from his opening invocation, speaks of him in the latter part of his great Inscription, as his lord and protector in the next place to a.s.shur. a.s.shur-izir-pal uses expressions as if he were Anu's special votary, calling himself "him who honors Anu," or "him who honors Anu and Dugan." His son, the Black-Obelisk king, a.s.signs him the second place in the invocation of thirteen G.o.ds with which he begins his record. The kings of the Lower Dynasty do not generally hold him in much repute; Sargon, however, is an exception, perhaps because his own name closely resembled that of a G.o.d mentioned as one of Anu's sons. Sargon not infrequently glorifies Anu, coupling him with Bel or Bil, the second G.o.d of the first Triad. He even made Anu the tutelary G.o.d of one of the gates of his new city, Bit-Sargina (Khorsabad), joining him in this capacity with the G.o.ddess Ishtar.

Anu had but few temples in a.s.syria. He seems to have had none at either Nineveh or Calah, and none of any importance in all a.s.syria, except that at a.s.shur. There is, however, reason, to believe that he was occasionally honored with a shrine in a temple dedicated to another deity.

BIL, or BEL.

The cla.s.sical writers represent Bel as especially a Babylonian G.o.d, and scarcely mention his wors.h.i.+p by the a.s.syrians; but the monuments show that the true Bel (called in the first part of this volume Bel-Nimrod) was wors.h.i.+pped at least as much in the northern as in the southern country. Indeed, as early as the time of Tiglath-Pileser I., the a.s.syrians, as a nation, were especially ent.i.tled by their monarchs "the, people of Belus;" and the same periphrasis was in use during the period of the Lower Empire. According to some authorities, a particular quarter of the city of Nineveh was denominated "the city of Belus" which would imply that it was in a peculiar way under his protection. The word Bel does not occur very frequently as an element in royal names: it was borne, however, by at least three early a.s.syrian kings: and there is evidence that in later times it entered as an element into the names of leading personages with almost as much frequency as a.s.shur.

The high rank of Bel in a.s.syria is very strongly marked. In the invocations his place is either the third or the second. The former is his proper position, but occasionally Anu is omitted, and the name of Bel follows immediately on that of a.s.shur. In one or two places he is made third, notwithstanding that Anu is omitted, Shamas, the Sun-G.o.d, being advanced over his head; but this is very unusual.

The wors.h.i.+p of Bel in the earliest a.s.syrian times is marked by the royal names of Bel-snmili-kapi and Bel-lush, borne by two of the most ancient kings. He had a temple at a.s.shur in conjunction with Il or Ra, which must have been of great antiquity, for by the time of Tiglath-Pileser I.

(B.C. 1130) it had fallen to decay and required a complete restoration, which it received from that monarch. He had another temple at Calah; besides which he had four "arks" or "tabernacles," the emplacement of which is uncertain. Among the latter kings, Sargon especially paid him honor. Besides coupling him with Anu in his royal t.i.tles, he dedicated to him--in conjunction with Beltis, his wife--one of the gates of his city, and in many pa.s.sages he ascribes his royal authority to the favor of Bel and Merodach. He also calls Bel, in the dedication of the eastern gate at Khorsabad, "the establisher of the foundations of his city."

It may be suspected that the horned cap, which was no doubt a general emblem of divinity, was also in an especial way the symbol of this G.o.d.

Esarhaddon states that he setup over "the image of his majesty the emblems of a.s.shur, the Sun, Bel, Nin, and Ishtar." The other kings always include Bel among the chief objects of their wors.h.i.+p. We should thus expect to find his emblem among those which the kings specially affected; and as all the other common emblems are a.s.signed to distinct G.o.ds with tolerable certainty, the horned cap alone remaining doubtful, the most reasonable conjecture seems to be that it was Bel's symbol.

It has been a.s.sumed in some quarters that the Bel of the a.s.syrians was identical with the Phoenician Dagon. A word which reads _Da-gan_ is found in the native lists of divinities, and in one place the explanation attached seems to show that the term was among the t.i.tles of Bel. But this verbal resemblance between the name Dagon and one of Bel's t.i.tles is probably a mere accident, and affords no ground for a.s.suming any connection between the two G.o.ds, who have nothing in common one with the other. The Bel of the a.s.syrians was certainly not their Fish-G.o.d; nor had his epithet Da-gaga any real connection with the word _dag,_ "a fish." To speak of "Bel-Dagon" is thus to mislead the ordinary reader, who naturally supposes from the term that he is to identify the great G.o.d Belus, the second deity of the first Triad, with the fish forms upon the sculptures.

HEA, or HOA.

Hen, or Hoa, the third G.o.d of the first Triad, was not a prominent object of wors.h.i.+p in a.s.syria. a.s.shur-izir-pal mentions him as having allotted to the four thousand deities of heaven and earth the senses of hearing, seeing, and understanding; and then, stating that the four thousand deities had transferred all these senses to himself, proceeds to take Hoa's t.i.tles, and, as it were, to identify himself with the G.o.d.

His son, Shalmaneser II., the Black-Obelisk king gives Hoa his proper place in his opening invocation, mentioning him between Bel and Sin.

Sargon puts one of the gates of his new city under Hoa's care, joining him with Bilat Ili--"the mistress of the G.o.ds"--who is, perhaps, the Sun-G.o.ddess, Gula. Sennacherib, after a successful expedition across a portion of the Persian Gulf, offers sacrifice to Hoa on the seash.o.r.e, presenting him with a golden boat, a golden fish, and a golden coffer.

But these are exceptional instances; and on the whole it is evident that in a.s.syria Hoa was not a favorite G.o.d. The serpent, which is his emblem, though found on the black stones recording benefactions, and frequent on the Babylonian cylinder-seals, is not adopted by the a.s.syrian kings among the divine symbols which they wear, or among those which they inscribe above their effigies. The word Hoa does not enter as an element into a.s.syrian names. The kings rarely invoke him. So far as we can tell, he had but two temples in a.s.syria, one at a.s.shur (Kileh-Sherghat) and the other at Calah (Nimrud). Perhaps the devotion of the a.s.syrians to Nin--the tutelary G.o.d of their kings and of their capital--who in so many respects resembled Hoa, caused the wors.h.i.+p of Hoa to decline and that of Nin gradually to supersede it.

MYLITTA, or BELTIS.

Beltis, the "Great Mother," the feminine counterpart of Bel, ranked in a.s.syria next to the Triad consisting of Anu, Bel, and Hoa. She is generally mentioned in close connection with Bel, her husband, in the a.s.syrian records. She appears to have been regarded in a.s.syria as especially "the queen of fertility," or "fecundity," and so as "the queen of the lands," thus resembling the Greek Demeter, who, like Beltis, was known as: "the Great Mother." Sargon placed one of his gates under the protection of Beltis in conjunction with her husband, Bel: and a.s.shur-bani-pal, his great-grandson, repaired and rededicated to her a temple at Nineveh, which stood on the great mound of Koyunjik. She had another temple at a.s.shur, and probably a third at Calah. She seems to have been really known as Beltis in a.s.syria, and as Mylitta (Mulita) in Babylonia, though we should naturally have gathered the reverse from the extant cla.s.sical notices.