THE LATEST DISCOVERIES IN BABYLONIA. 



171 



beginning was good, and the creation of a good God, and that 

 evil, when it came into the world, was an intruder, and had no 

 part in the original scheme. 



II. — The Flood. 



Dr. Poebel tells us that the second column of the new 

 inscription mentions some of the antediluvian cities of Baby- 

 lonia, which Enlil bestows upon certain gods. In this portion 

 tliere is a reference to the city Larak, identified long ago with 

 the Larancha of F^)erosus, according to whom it was the seat of 

 many of the prediluvian kings of tlie land — Amempsinus, who 

 reigned 36,000 years, and Opartes (miswritten Otiartes), the 

 Babylonian U(ni)bara-Tutu,* the father of Xisuthrus of 

 Surippak, whose reign lasted 28,800 years. It is needless to 

 say, that additional information concerning these primitive 

 Babylonian rulers will possess a value which everyone can 

 appreciate — indeed, the story of the father of Xisuthrus, the 

 Babylonian Atra-hasis (the Chaldean Noah), the " exceedingly 

 wise," the favourite of the gods, who saved mankind from 

 destruction, and attained to immortality without death, would 

 be especially welcome. 



And the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th columns, Poebel tells us, refer 

 to the flood of which Atra-hasis was the central figure. At that 

 time, we are informed, Ziugiddu, " the long lived," was king. 

 He was a pasuu, or anointing priest of Enki (the god Ea) — all 

 these ancient Babylonian patriarch-kings were priests of some 

 kind or other — daily and constantly serving his god. " In order 

 to requite him for his piety, Enki, in column 4 (the first of the 

 reverse), informs him that it had been resolved, at the request 

 of Enlil, ' in the council of the gods, to destroy the seed of 

 mankind,' whereupon Ziugiddu — this part of the story, how- 

 ever, is broken away — builds a big boat and loads it with all 

 kinds of animals. For seven days and seven nights a rain- 

 storm, as we are informed in column 5, rages through the land, 

 and the flood of water carries the boat away ; but the sun then 

 appears again, and when its light shines into the boat, Ziugiddu 

 jiacrifices an ox and a sheep. Lastly, in column 6, we find 

 Ziugiddu worshipping before Enlil, whose anger against man 

 had now abated, for he says : ' Life like that of a god I give to 

 him,' and ' an eternal soul like that of a god I create for him,' 



* The Greek form Opartos shows that, at ihe time Berosus made his 

 translation (about 250 B.C.), U{m)hara-Tutu was pronounced Opartu^ or 

 similarly (for Obartic, Obartutu,- OmhartiUu, Ombaratutu). 



