THE PRINCIPAL GODS OF THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYRIANSAnu.
The name of this divinity is derived from the Sumero-Akkadian /ana/， "heaven，" of which he was the principal deity.He is called the father of the great gods， though， in the creation-story， he seems to be described as the son of An？ar and Ki？ar.In early names he is described as the father， creator， and god， probably meaning the supreme being.His consort was Anatu， and the pair are regarded in the lists as the same as the Lahmu and Lahame of the creation-story， who， with other deities， are also described as gods of the heavens.Anu was worshipped at Erech， along with I？tar.
Ea.
Is given as if it were the /Semitic/ equivalent of /Enki/， "the lord of the earth，" but it would seem to be really a Sumerian word， later written /Ae/， and certain inscriptions suggest that the true reading was /Aa/.His titles are "king of the Abyss， creator of everything， lord of all，" the first being seemingly due to the fact that Aa is a word which may， in its reduplicate form， mean "waters，" or if read /êa/， "house of water." He also， like Anu， is called "father of the gods." As this god was likewise "lord of deep wisdom，" it was to him that his son Merodach went for advice whenever he was in doubt.On account of his knowledge， he was the god of artisans in general--potters， blacksmiths， sailors， builders， stone-cutters， gardeners， seers， barbers， farmers， etc.This is the Aos (a form which confirms the reading Aa) of Damascius， and the Oannes of the extracts from Berosus， who states that he was "a creature endowed with reason， with a body like that of a fish， and under the fish's head another head， with feet below， like those of a man， with a fish's tail." This description applies fairly well to certain bas-reliefs from Nimroud in the British Museum.The creature described by Berosus lived in the Persian Gulf， landing during the day to teach the inhabitants the building of houses and temples， the cultivation of useful plants， the gathering of fruits， and also geometry， law， and letters.From him， too， came the account of the beginning of things referred to in chapter III.which， in the original Greek， is preceded by a description of the composite monsters said to have existed before Merodach assumed the rule of the universe.
The name of his consort， Damkina or Dawkina， probably means "the eternal spouse，" and her other names， /Ga？an-ki/ (Sumerian dialectic)and /Nin-ki/ (non-dialectic)， "Lady of the earth，" sufficiently indicates her province.She is often mentioned in the incantations with êa.
The forsaking of the worship of êa as chief god for that of Merodach seems to have caused considerable heartburning in Babylonia， if we may judge from the story of the Flood， for it was on account of his faithfulness that Utnipi？tim， the Babylonian Noah， attained to salvation from the Flood and immortality afterwards.All through this adventure it was the god êa who favoured him， and afterwards gave him immortality like that of the gods.There is an interesting Sumerian text in which the ship of êa seems to be described， the woods of which its various parts were formed being named， and in it， apparently， were Enki (êa)， Damgal-nunna (Damkina)， his consort， Asari-lu-duga (Merodach)， In-ab (or Ine？)， the pilot of êridu (êa's city)， and Nin-igi-nagar-sir， "the great architect of heaven"：--"May the ship before thee bring fertility， May the ship after thee bring joy， In thy heart may it make joy of heart...."êa was the god of fertility， hence this ending to the poetical description of the ship of êa.
Bel.
The deity who is mentioned next in order in the list given above is the "older Bel，" so called to distinguish him from Bel-Merodach.His principal names were /Mullil/ (dialectic) or /En-lilla/[*] (standard speech)， the /Illinos/ of Damascius.His name is generally translated "lord of mist，" so-called as god of the underworld， his consort being /Ga？an-lil/ or /Nan-lilla/， "the lady of the mist，" in Semitic Babylonian /Bêltu/， "the Lady，" par excellence.Bel， whose name means "the lord，" was so called because he was regarded as chief of the gods.As there was considerable confusion in consequence of the title Bel having been given to Merodach， Tiglath-pileser I.(about 1200B.C.) refers to him as the "older Bel" in describing the temple which he built for him at A？？ur.Numerous names of men compounded with his occur until the latest times， implying that， though the favourite god was Merodach， the worship of Bel was not forgotten， even at Babylon--that he should have been adored at his own city， Niffur， and at Dur-Kuri-galzu， where Kuri-galzu I.built a temple for "Bel， the lord of the lands，" was naturally to be expected.Being， like êa， a god of the earth， he is regarded as having formed a trinity with Anu， the god of heaven， and êa， the god of the deep， and prayer to these three was as good as invoking all the gods of the universe.Classification of the gods according to the domain of their power would naturally take place in a religious system in which they were all identified with each other， and this classification indicates， as Jastrow says， a deep knowledge of the powers of nature， and a more than average intelligence among the Babylonians--indeed， he holds it as a proof that， at the period of the older empire， there were schools and students who had devoted themselves to religious speculation upon this point.He also conjectures that the third commandment of the Law of Moses was directed against this doctrine held by the Babylonians.
[*] Ordinarily pronounced /Illila/， as certain glosses and Damascius's /Illinos/ (for /Illilos/) show.
Beltis.
