126 



Lutz, Viticulture and Brewing, 



600 talents (Diod. 11, 9). Diodor's account is, of course, ex- 

 aggerated. Varro (Plin. XXXIII, 15) speaks of a chalice of 

 Semiramis, taken by Cyrus in Babylonia, which only weight 

 15 talents, while according to Diodorus its weight was 

 600 talents. Assurbanipal, on one of his hunting-inscriptions, 

 is pictured as offering a drink-offering over four dead lions (see Illu- 

 stration No. ^;^). The inscription states: "An offering I offered 

 up over them. Wine I libated over them," muh-hu-ru e-li-su-nu 

 u-ma-hir karana ak-ka-a e-li-hi-un. The same king refers 

 to a. corner-stone rite of the bit ridiiti in Nineveh in the follow- 

 ing words: "With strong wine and wine I sprinkled its cellar, 

 I poured (it) on its foundation-wall (?)," {Annals, Col. X, 83 84 



No. 33. Ashurbanipal pouring a drinking-offering of" wine over lions slain in 

 the chase (after Ball, Light from the East). 



ina kurunni u karani ka-lak-ka-su ab-^^lul ani-ha-sa sal-la-ar- 

 su). K 2674, 26 refers to a libation of wine after the beheading 

 of enemies: "The heads of my enemies I cut off", (and) 

 I libated wine over them," kakkade'"" [nakire]'"''^-ia ak-^^kis 

 karana ak-ka [e-li-su-mi\. Illustration No. 34 shows king Assur- 

 nasirpal about to pour a wine libation, after a successful 

 lion hunt. The fermented liquors were conserved in the e- 

 KAS + NINDA, i. e., "the brewery", or, "the beer-cellar". 

 We have seen above that Babylonia imported much grape- 

 wine. The wine was brought from the Eastern mountains 

 in large jars 1. From a text^ it appears that brewers were 



i) Tab. pier. d'Uruk II, 6: ^-KAS+NINDA geUin qagal kur-ta tum-a. 

 2) Sippar I23bis (No. 12 in Friedrich, Altbabyl, Urkunden aus Sippara; 

 BA, Vol. V, p. 491 and pp. 422 424). 



