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Page 6
When Ti�mat heard of Ea's victory over Aps� and Mummu
she was filled with fury, and determined to avenge the death
of Aps�, her husband.
The first act of TI�MAT after the death of Aps� was to increase the
number of her allies. We know that a certain creature called
"UMMU-KHUBUR" at once spawned a brood of devilish monsters to help her
in her fight against the gods. Nothing is known of the origin or
attributes of UMMU-KHUBUR, but some think she was a form of TI�MAT. Her
brood probably consisted of personifications of mist, fog, cloud, storm,
whirlwinds and the blighting and destroying powers which primitive man
associated with the desert. An exact parallel of this brood of devils is
found in Egyptian mythology where the allies of Set and Aapep are
called "Mesu betshet" i.e., "spawn of impotent revolt." They are
depicted in the form of serpents, and some of them became the "Nine
Worms of Amenti" that are mentioned in the Book of the Dead
(Chap. Ia).
Not content with Ummu-Khubur's brood of devils, Ti�mat called the
stars and powers of the air to her aid, for she "set up" (1) the
Viper, (2) the Snake, (3) the god Lakhamu, (4) the Whirlwind, (5) the
ravening Dog, (6) the Scorpion-man, (7) the mighty Storm-wind, (8) the
Fish-man, and (9) the Horned Beast. These bore (10) the "merciless,
invincible weapon," and were under the command of (11) Kingu, whom
Ti�mat calls "her husband." Thus Ti�mat had Eleven mighty Helpers
besides the devils spawned by Ummu-Khubur. We may note in passing
that some of the above-mentioned Helpers appear among the Twelve Signs
of the Zodiac which Marduk "set up" after his conquest of Ti�mat,
e.g., the Scorpion-man, the Horned Beast, etc. This fact
suggests that the first Zodiac was "set up" by Ti�mat, who with her
Eleven Helpers formed the Twelve Signs; the association of evil with
certain stars may date from that period. That the Babylonians regarded
the primitive gods as powers of evil is clear from the fact that
Lakhamu, one of them, is enumerated among the allies of Ti�mat.
The helpers of Ti�mat were placed by her under the command of a god
called KINGU who is TAMMUZ. He was the counterpart, or equivalent, of
ANU, the Sky-god, in the kingdom of darkness, for it is said in the text
"Kingu was exalted and received the power of Anu," i.e., he possessed
the same power and attributes as Anu. When Ti�mat appointed Kingu to be
her captain, she recited over him a certain spell or incantation, and
then she gave him the TABLET OF DESTINIES and fastened it to his breast,
saying, "Whatsoever goeth forth from thy mouth shall be established."
Armed with all the magical powers conferred upon him by this Tablet, and
heartened by all the laudatory epithets which his wife Ti�mat heaped
upon him, Kingu went forth at the head of his devils.
When Ea heard that Ti�mat had collected her forces and Was determined
to continue the fight against the gods which Aps� and Mummu had begun,
and that she had made her husband Kingu her champion, he was
"afflicted" and "sat in sorrow." He felt unable to renew the fight
against the powers of darkness, and he therefore went and reported the
new happenings to Anshar, representative of the "host of heaven," and
took counsel with him. When Anshar heard the matter he was greatly
disturbed in mind and bit his lips, for he saw that the real
difficulty was to find a worthy antagonist for Kingu and Ti�mat. A gap
in the text here prevents us from knowing exactly what Anshar said and
did, but the context suggests that he summoned Anu, the Sky-god, to
his assistance. Then, having given him certain instructions, he sent
him on an embassy to Ti�mat with the view of conciliating her. When
Anu reached the place where she was he found her in a very wrathful
state, and she was muttering angrily; Anu was so appalled at the sight
of her that he turned and fled. It is impossible at present to explain
this interlude, or to find any parallel to it in other ancient
Oriental literature.
[Illustration: Shamash the Sun-god rising on the horizon, flames of
fire ascending from his shoulder. The two portals of the dawn, each
surmounted by a lion, are being drawn open by attendant gods. From a
Babylonian seal cylinder in the British Museum. [No. 89,110.]]
When Anu reported his inability to deal with Ti�mat, a council of the
gods was called, and Ea induced his son, Marduk to be present. We next
find Anshar in converse with the god Marduk, who offers to act as the
champion of the gods and to fight Ti�mat and her allies. Marduk being a
form of the Sun-god, the greatest of all the powers of light, thus
becomes naturally the protagonist of the gods, and the adversary of
Ti�mat and her powers of darkness. Then Anshar summoned a great council
of the gods, who forthwith met in a place called "Upshukkinaku", which
may be described as the Babylonian Olympus. It was all-important for
Marduk to appear at the council of the gods before he undertook his
task, because it was necessary for him to be formally recognised by them
as their champion, and he needed to be endowed by them with magical
powers. The primitive gods Lakhmu and Lakhamu, and the Igigi, who may be
regarded as star-gods, were also summoned. A banquet was prepared, and
the gods attended, and having met and kissed each other they sat down,
and ate bread and drank hot and sweet sesame wine. The fumes of the wine
confused their senses, but they continued to drink, and at length "their
spirits were exalted." They appointed Marduk to be their champion
officially, and then they proceeded to invest him with the power that
would cause every command he spake to be followed immediately by the
effect which he intended it to produce. Next Marduk, with the view of
testing the new power which had been given him, commanded a garment to
disappear and it did so; and when he commanded it to reappear it did so.
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