THE BABYLONIAN STOEY OP THK CREATION. 



45 



therefore whether she may not have been a form of the 

 goddess of the underworld. It is noteworthy, in this con- 

 nection, that in the text published in Delitzsch's Lesestiicke^ 

 3rd ed., p. 104, and in the Cuneiform Inscrijjtions of Western 

 Asia, vol. iii, Plates 67 and 68, Mah is likewise identified with 

 " the lady of the gods," showing that all the text of the list I 

 have been describing, up to the point where the section men- 

 tioning the goddess Mah ends, refers to her, her consort, her 

 attendants, her court, and her servants. There would seem 

 then, to be but little doubt that she is the same as Tiawthu in 

 her earlier and probably more noble and beneficent form. 



With regard to the succeeding portions of this noteworthy 

 list of gods, very little doubt can exist, the agreement with 

 the Semitic story of the Creation being most striking. 

 Immediately following the family and the train of the 

 goddess Mah, comes the name of Ae, the second opponent 

 of Tiamthu, and the king of the gods immediately preceding 

 Merodach. He has thirty-six names, after which are given 

 those of Damkina (Dawkina, the Dauke of Damascius), his 

 consort, who has eleven. The next on the list is Merodach, 

 eldest son of Ae, who had more than eight names (the text is 

 unfortunately broken here, so that the exact number is doubt- 

 ful). The members of his court follow, and probably included 

 his consort Zer-panitum ; his attendants, including the divine 

 door-keepers of his temple E-sagila, and his four dogs, 

 Ukkumu, Akkulu, Iksuda, and Iltebu (" Seizer," " Eater," 

 " Grasper," and " Holder "). Next we have the names of the 

 river-god, whom w^e see, farther on, to be none other than our 

 old friend Ae, who, having abdicated the throne in favour of 

 his son Merodach, was henceforth simply the divinity of the 

 deep, the sea, rivers, and water in general, as well as lord of 

 deep unsearchable wisdom. His spouse, messengers, attendants, 

 and doorkeeper (or doorkeepers) follow, after which the text 

 breaks off. That the god Ae should occur twice in this list, 

 as detailed here, is significant, and may be regarded as in note- 

 worthy agreement with the legend which forms the subject of 

 this paper. 



How much we have still to learn about the religion of the 

 Babylonians can at present hardly be estimated, but it must be 

 something very considerable, our material, voluminous as it is, 

 being in a rather fragmentary state. To mention only one 

 document. The duplicate of the inscription giving the fore- 

 going details is noted as being the largest tablet known, and 

 its value, if complete, would be more than double what it is in 



