Chapter XIV: Summary of Results

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This comparative exposition of the Sumerian-Babylonian and the most complex and developed pre-Christian religion of Europe cannot claim to be complete or at any point finally decisive, but it may at least have helped to reveal the high value and interest of these phenomena for the workers in this broad field of inquiry. This was one of the main objects of this course. The other was the discussion of a question of religious ethnology, concerning the possible influence of Mesopotamia on the earliest development of Hellenic religion. The verdict must still remain an open one, awaiting the light of the new evidence that the future will gather. But the evidence at present available--and it may be hoped that none of first importance has been missed--constrains us to a negative answer or at least a negative attitude of mind.

Confining ourselves generally to the second millennium B.C., we have surveyed the religions of the adjacent peoples between the valley of the Euphrates and the western shores of the Aegean; and have observed that morphologically they are generally on the same plane of polytheism, but that those of Mesopotamia and Hellas reveal inner differences, striking and vital enough to be serious stumbling-blocks to a theory of affiliation. These differences concern the {305} personality of the divinities and their relations to the various parts of the world of nature; the most salient being the different attitude of the two peoples to the divine luminaries of heaven and to the chthonian powers of the lower world. They concern the cosmogonies of East and West, their views of the creation of the world, and the origin of man; on these matters, certain myths which are easily diffused do not appear to have reached Hellas in this early period. They concern the religious temperaments of the Babylonian and Hellene, which appear as separate as the opposite points of the pole; the rapturous fanatic and self-abasing spirit of the East contrasting vividly with the coolness, civic sobriety, and self-confidence of the West. They concern the eschatologic ideas of the two peoples: the cult of the dead and some idea of a posthumous judgment being found in early Hellas, while the former was rare, and the latter is scarcely discoverable, in Mesopotamia. They concern, finally, the ritual; and here the salient points of contrast are the different views of the sacrifice, of the sacrificial victim, and the sacrificial blood; the different methods of purification and the expulsion of sin; the ritual of sorrow associated with the death of the god, so powerful in Babylonia and so insignificant (by comparison) in Hellas; the un-Hellenic Mylitta-rite, and the service of the “hierodoulai”; and, to conclude with the most vital difference of all, the manifestations of magic and its relation to the national religions, so complex, so pregnant for thought and faith, and so dominant in Mesopotamia; on the other hand, so insignificant and unobtrusive in Hellas.

Two other points have been incidentally noticed in our general survey, but it is well in a final summing up to emphasise their great importance as negative {306} evidence. The first concerns the higher history of European religion: the establishment of religious mysteries, a phenomenon of dateless antiquity, and of powerful working in Hellenic and Aegean society, has not yet been discovered in the Mesopotamian culture. The second is a small point that concerns commerce and the trivialities of ritual: the use of incense, universal from immemorial times in Mesopotamia, and proved by the earliest documents, begins in Greece not earlier than the eighth century B.C. This little product, afterwards everywhere in great demand, for it is pleasant to the sense, soothing to the mind, and among the harmless amenities of worship, was much easier to import than Babylonian theology or more complex ritual. It might have come without these, but they could scarcely have come without it. Yet it did not come to Hellenic shores in the second millennium. And this trifling negative fact is worth a volume of the higher criticism for the decision of our question.

Those who still cling to the faith that Babylonia was the centre whence emanated much Mediterranean religion, may urge that the negative value of the facts exposed above may be destroyed by future discoveries. This is true, but our preliminary hypotheses should be framed on the facts that are already known. Or they may urge that the generic resemblances of the two religious systems with which we have been mainly concerned are also great. But, as has been observed, the same generic resemblance exists between Greek and Vedic polytheism. And for the question of religious origin general resemblances are far less decisive than specific points of identity, such, for instance, as the identity of divine names or of some peculiar divine attribute. Later we can trace the migrations of Isis {307} and Mithras throughout Europe by their names or by the sistrum or by the type of the fallen bull, of the Hittite god Teschub in the Graeco-Roman guise of Jupiter Dolichenos as far as Hungary, perhaps as far as Scandinavia, by the attribute of the hammer. It is just this sort of evidence of any trace of Babylonian influence that is lacking among the records of early Greece. No single Babylonian name is recognisable in its religious or mythologic nomenclature; just as no characteristically Babylonian fashion is found in its ritual or in the appurtenances of its religion. This well accords with what is already known of the Mediterranean history of the second millennium. For long centuries the Hittite empire was a barrier between the Babylonian power and the coastlands of Asia Minor.

So far, then, as our knowledge goes at present, there is no reason for believing that nascent Hellenism, wherever else arose the streams that nourished its spiritual life, was fertilised by the deep springs of Babylonian religion or theosophy.

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INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS.

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Adad (Ramman), 62, 101-102, 142, 143.

Adonis, 251, 255, 273-274.

Alilat, 44.

Allatu, 57, 206, 218.

Aniconic worship, 225-230.

Animism, 43.

Anthropomorphism, in Greece, 10-12, 75-80; in Mesopotamia, 51-52, 55-57; in Canaan, 57-58; in Hittite religion, 60-61; in Phrygia, 63-64; in Crete, 64-75.

Aphrodite, Cretan-Mycenaean, 96; in Cyprus, 261; Ourania, 272-273.

Apollo, 49, 295; theory of Lycian origin, 90; Agyieus, 136; Delphinios, 291; Lykeios, 76.

Arabian divinities, 85, 263.

Aramaic divinities, 85.

Artemis, of Brauron, 244; in Cilicia, 89; at Ephesos, 91; aboriginal Mediterranean goddess, 96.

Aryan migration into Greece, 34.

Asshur, 58, 225.

Astarte, 57, 58, 59, 86, 107.

Astral cults, in Mesopotamia, 102; in Greece, 111-114.

Atargatis (Derketo), 57.

Athena, aboriginal Mediterranean goddess, 96.

Athtar, Arabian deity, 85, 263.

Attar, in Arabia, 168.

Attis, 91, 254-258, 266; Παπαῖος, 95.

Axe-cult, in Crete, 70, 93.

Baalbec, 273-274.

Baptism, 284.

Bau, Babylonian goddess, 263.

Belit, Babylonian goddess, 83, 84, 104.

Birds, cult of, 63, 69-73.

Boghaz-Keui, reliefs of, 47, 60, 125; cuneiform texts at, 61.

Borrowing, tests of, in religion, 37.

Boundaries, sanctity of, 127-128.

Bouphonia, in Attica, 237-238.

Britomartis, 170.

Bull, Hittite worship of, 252-253.

Burial-customs, 208-210.

Byblos, Adonis-rites at, 273-274.

Chemosh, of Moab, 59, 86.

Cilicia, Assyrian conquests in, 35 (_vide_ Typhoeus).

Cities, religious origin of, 118.

Communion-service with dead, 209.

Confessional-service in Mesopotamia, 151, 288.

Convent-system in Mesopotamia, 268-269.

Cook, Mr., 66, 69, 73.

Cosmogonies, 179-182.

Courtesans, sacred, 269-283.

Cowley, Dr., 90.

Creation of man, 184-185.

Cyprus, religious prostitution in, 273-274.

Days, sacred character of, 293-295.

Dead, worship of, 122, 210, 211, 213; tendance of, 211, 212; evocation of, 214-215.

Death of deity, 27-28, 238-240, 249-263.

Demeter, 80.

Demonology, 154, 206-208, 297-300.

Dionysos, 239-240; marriage with Queen-Archon, 267.

Divination, through sacrifice, 248-249, 301-302; ecstatic, 303.

Dualism, 19, 158.

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Ea, Babylonian god, 53, 102, 117, 121.

Eagle, Hittite worship of, 63.

Earth, divinity of, in Mesopotamia, 103; in Greece, 114.

Enlil, Babylonian god, 59, 103-104, 142.

Eros, cosmic principle, 181.

Eschatology, 204-220.

Esmun, Phoenician god, 57.

Eunostos, Tanagran vegetation-hero, 262.

Eunuchs, in Phrygian religion, 92, 256-258.

Euyuk, relief at, 61.

Evans, Sir Arthur, 17, 30, 64, 69-71, 73-74, 91, 97, 211, 227.

Evil gods, 19, 142-143.

Faith, not a religious virtue in Greece, 23-24.

Fanaticism, in Mesopotamia, 197-203.

Fassirlir, Lion-goddess at, 88.

Father-god, 48, 95.

Fetichism, 225-228.

Fire-god, in Greece and Babylon, 146-147, 285.

Fire-purification, 285-286.

Frazer, Dr., 17, 60, 79, 89, 257 n. 1, 277, 282.

Functional deities (Sondergötter), 110, 133.

Goddess-worship, importance of, 5, 81-82; in Mesopotamia, 17, 82-84; among Western Semites, 85-86; Hittites, 87-88; on Asia-Minor coast, 88-91; in Crete, 92-94; Aryan tradition of, 94-96; in early Greece, 96-98.

Hammer, sacred Hittite symbol, 63.

Hammurabi, code of, 129-132, 212.

Harpalyke, legend of, 239.

Harrison, Miss Jane, 67, 69-70.

Hartland, Mr. Sidney, 271 n. 1, 280-281.

Hearth-worship, 132-133.

Helios, at Tyre and Palmyra, 107; in Greece, 110-111.

Hell, Babylonian conception of, 205-206.

Hera, ? Aryan-Hellenic, 96; βοῶπις, 76.

Hierodoulai, 272.

Hittite ethnology, 36.

Hogarth, Dr., 74.

Homicide, Babylonian laws concerning, 129-130; Hellenic religious feeling about, 138-140; purification from, 287-288.

Hyakinthos, 262.

Ibriz, Hittite monument at, 47.

Idolatry, in Greece, 12-13, 228.

Incense, 231-232, 306.

Incest, Babylonian laws concerning, 131.

Incubation, divination by, 302.

Ira, goddess of plague, 143.

Ishtar, 55, 83, 103, 120, 142, 164-167; descent of, 204, 208.

Jastrow, Prof., 37, 58.

Katharsis, Homeric, 289-291.

Kingship, divine character of, in Mesopotamia, 119, 122-123; among Western Semites, 123; among Hittites, 124-125; in Phrygia, 125; in Crete, 125-126; in Greece, 126-127.

Knots, magic use of, 300.

Kybele, 63, 91-92, 109, 170, 226.

Labartu, demon-goddess, 298.

Langdon, Dr., 56, 205 n. 1, 296, 298.

Leto ? Lycian origin of, 89-90.

Leukothea, 261.

Linos, 197, 262.

Lion-divinity, Phrygian Hittite Mesopotamian type, 62-63.

Lykaon, Arcadian sacrifice of, 239.

Ma, Anatolian goddess, 169, 272.

Magic, in Greece, 158, 176-179, 292-293; in Babylon, 291-301.

Male deity, predominant among Semites, 85-86; at Olba and Tarsos and in Lycia, 89.

Mannhardt, 276.

Marduk, 103, 120, 265.

Marriage of god and goddess, 263-268; marriage ceremonies in Babylon, 134.

Mercy, attribute of divinity, 158-160.

Minotaur, 74, 266-267.

Mitani inscriptions, 46.

Monotheism, 187-189.

Monsters, in Cretan art, 74-75.

Moon-worship, Semitic, 85; Hellenic, 112.

Morality and religion, 20.

Mylitta, rites of, 269-271.

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Nature-worship, 40-41, 97; in Mesopotamia, 99-106; West-Semitic, 106-107; Hittite, 108; Hellenic, 110-114.

Nebo, 52, 102, 119, 121, 188.

Nergal, 101, 142.

Νηφάλια, wineless offerings, 112.

Ninib, 101, 117, 127, 263.

Ninlil, 84.

Ninni, relief of, 52.

Nusku, 117.

Omnipotence, divine attribute, 173-175.

Orotal, Arabian deity, 44.

Pan-Babylonism, 30-33.

Pantheism, 161-162.

Perjury, 147-149.

Personal religion, 191-196.

Pessimism, in Babylonian hymns, 155.

Petrie, Professor, 223.

Phallic cults, 228-230.

Phratric system, religious sanction of, in Greece, 138; non-existent (?) in Mesopotamia, 138.

Poseidon, 146.

Punishment, posthumous, 215-216.

Purification, 155-158, 282-291.

Purity, 163-172.

Qadistu, meaning of, 269.

Ramman, _vide_ Adad.

Ramsay, Sir William, 117, 170, 273, 277.

Rewards, posthumous, 216-218.

Sacrament, 25-26, 236-242, 250.

Sacrifice, theory of, 24-26, 235-236, 240-242; bloodless, 230-231; chthonian, 233; human, 244-246; at oath-taking, 247-248; “sober,” 231-232; vicarious, 242-244.

Sandon, 252-253.

Sayce, Professor, 169, 253.

Scapegoat, 247.

Science, relation to religion, in Greece and Mesopotamia, 23.

Sentimentality, in Babylonian religion, 196-197.

Sex, confusion of, 58-60.

Shamash, Babylonian sun-god, 99, 100, 120-121, 127, 142, 208, 302.

Sin, Babylonian moon-god, 99, 100.

Sin, non-moral ideas of, 152-154.

Sinjerli, relief at, 61.

Smith, Prof. Robertson, 25, 226, 235, 238, 241.

Snake-goddess, in Crete, 64-65; snake-cult, 78.

Tammuz, 105-106, 219-220, 242, 250-263.

Tanit, Carthaginian goddess, 168.

Taurobolion, 253.

Temples, erection of, 223-225; deification of, 225.

Teshup, Hittite god, 46, 62.

Teukridai, at Olba, 89.

Theanthropic animal, 77-78.

Theism, 7-9, 40-49.

Theriomorphism, in Egypt, 15; in Mesopotamia, 14, 52-55; in other Semitic communities, 57-58; Hittite, 60-62; in Crete, 66-75; in Greece, 75-80.

Tiâmat, in Babylonian cosmogony, 181.

Tiele, Professor, 40, 42, 81, 199.

Tralles, religious prostitutes at, 275.

Trinities, 185-187.

Truthfulness, religious virtue, 148.

Typhoeus, legend of, 182-183.

Van Gennep, 279.

Ver Sacrum, in Greece, 137.

Virgin-goddesses, not found among Aryans, 95; Mediterranean, 96.

Virginity, sacrifice of, 269-281.

Virgin-Mother, idea of, 166-171.

Westermarck, Professor, 41 n. 1, 278.

Wilde, Dr., 1.

Word, mystic value of, 15, 56, 57, 176-179, 295-297.

Worship, ambiguity in term, 67, 77.

Zeus, 49; grave of, in Crete, 93, 259-260; Herkeios, 149-150; Horios, 152; Kouros, 259; Panamaros in Caria, 90; Polieus, 238; Thunderer in Bithynia, 95.

ENDNOTES.