OF THE BABYLONIAN CREATION AND FLOOD STORIES. 309 



Smith (see p. 305, above). Some such rendering as this is sug- 

 gested by the more complete line which follows: "the holy 

 Istar wailed on account of her people " — who were to be con- 

 signed to destruction. Enki, the god of the sea, now took counsel 

 with himself, and they all — Anu, Enlil, Enki, and Nin-hursaga, 

 the gods of heaven and earth, invoked the name of Ana-En li la 

 — apparently the compound deity so much in favour in Baby- 

 lonia after the land had lost its independence. 



At this point we have the first mention of Zi-u-suddu, the 

 Babylonian Xoah, and prototype, apparently, of the Ut-napisti m of 

 the Flood-story already outlined. As read by Poebel, this royal 

 patriarch was an anointing-priest of the class or order called by 

 the Akkadians (Semitic Babylonians )pasisu } and he is said to have 

 made some object expressed by the characters an-sag gur-gur (or 

 nigin-nigm, or nigin simply), and if this be the case, the words 

 would probably indicate a great net, with which Zi-u-suddu 

 hoped to save the drowning people. Then, in humility prostrat- 

 ing himself, daily and perse veringly standing (in reverence), by 

 hitherto unexisting dreams, apparently, he forecasted the fate (of 

 mankind), invoking the name of heaven and earth — for what 

 reason does not appear, but his object may have been to stir the 

 creators of the universe to action, so as to preserve the living 

 creatures which they had produced. 



Here the third column, which is that on the extreme right of 

 the obverse, ends, and the fourth column (reverse) follows on 

 immediately, without any other gap than a lost word or two at 

 the end of its last line. The fourth column, however, is itself 

 exceedingly defective and mutilated, and less than a third part 

 remains, especially when we remember that the end of every 

 line is wanting. 



The following is an outline of the contents of this mutilated 

 section : — 



" At the enclosure of the gods is a wall (?).... 



Zi-u-suddu, standing at its side, heard 



" At the support on my left hand stand 



" At the support I will speak a word to thee .... 



" My hallowed one, thine ear (to me incline). 



" At our hands (?) a water-flood upon the mighty (?) 



will be (sent), 



" To destroy the seed of mankind 



"The decision is the pronouncement of the assembly 



[of the gods]. 



The command of Ana-Ellilla 



His kingdom, his rule 



To him • 



