20 THEOPHILUS G. PINCHES^, ESQ., LL.B., M.R.A.S., ON 



The waters in one then united themselves. 



The plains were not outlined, marshes were not to be seen. 



When none of the gods had come forth. 



They bore no name, the fates (had not been determined). 



There were produced the gods within the h[eaveijs'?] : 



Lahmu and Lahamu went forth (as the first ?) 



The ages were great (the times were long ?). 



Ansara and Kisara were produced over th[em ?] 



Long grew the days, extended (was the time of their existence ?) 



The god Anu their son 



Ansara, the god Anu 



Nudimmud. whom his fathers begot " 



It is unfortunate that this introductory portion, though 

 completed from different fragments, is so very imperfect 

 Notwithstanding this defect, however, it contains some 

 exceedingly interesting information as to the beliefs of the 

 Babylonians regarding the earliest period of the Creation of the 

 World, and the origin of the gods whom they worshipped. A 

 very noteworthy point about it is, that just this portion has 

 been made known to us by the old Syrian writer, Damascius, 

 who communicates to us its substance in the following words : — 



" But the Babylonians, like the rest of the Barbarians, pass over 

 in silence the one principle of the universe, and they constitute 

 two, Tauthe and Apason, making Apason the husband of Tauthe 

 and denominating her the mother of the gods. And from these 

 proceeds an only-begotten son, Moymis, which, I conceive, is no 

 other than the intelligible world proceeding from the two 

 principles. From them, also, another progeny is derived, Dache 

 and Dachos ; and again a third, Kissare and Assoros, from 

 which last three others proceed, Anos, and Illinos, and Aos. 

 And of Aos and Dauke is born a son called Belos, who, they 

 say, is the fabricator of the world : the Creator." 



It is needless to say that, in this interesting inscription and 

 the Greek paraphrase, we have not only a remarkable parallel 

 account, but also a noteworthy proof of the correctness of the 

 translation, as far as the text is complete, and a proof — if proof 

 be needed — that we have the key to these inscriptions. This 

 proof, it will easily be recognized, lies principally in the likeness 

 in the names, which agree excellently, all things considered. 

 Tiamthu, or, rather, Tiawthu, is naturally the Tauthe of 

 Damascius, and means " the sea." Apason, her husband, is the 

 Babylonian Apsu, which I have rendered " the primaeval ocean," 

 i.e., the waters which were supposed to lie under the earth, 

 later regarded as the abode of Ea, the god of the deep, to whom 

 reference will be made later on. In this part of the legend 



