The role of human sacrifice in the ancient Near East / by Alberto

Ravinell Whitney Green.

Green, Alberto Ravinell Whitney.
Missoula, Mont. : Published by Scholars Press for the American Schools of Oriental Research,
c1975.

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The Role of Human Sacrifice

in the Ancient Near East

1
AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
DISSERTATION SERIES

Edited by

David Noel Freedman

Number 1

THE ROLE OF HUMAN SACRIFICE

IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

by

Alberto Ravinell Whitney Green

SCHOLARS PRESS
Missoula , Montana
 THE ROLE OF HUMAN SACRIFICE
IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

by

Alberto Ravinell Whitney Green

Published by

SCHOLARS PRESS

for

The American Schools of Oriental Research

 EL Distributed by

SCHOLARS PRESS
5 University of Montana

.679 Missoula , Montana 59801

THE ROLE OF HUMAN SACRIFICE

IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

by

Alberto Ravinell Whitney Green

Herbert Lehmen College
Department of History
BedfordPark Boulevard West
The Bronx , New York 10468

Ph.D. , 1973 Committee :

The University of Michigan G. E. Mendenhall
D. N. Freedman
L. L. Orlin
P. S. Jaini
Sylvia Ghrupp
Copyright © 1975

by

The American Schools of Oriental Research

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Green , Alberto R W
The role of human sacrifice in the ancient Near East .

( Dissertation series ; no . 1)
Bibliography : p.
1. Sacrifice , Human . 2. Rites and ceremonies
Near East . 1. Title . II . Series .
BL570.67 2991.21 75-43709
ISBN 0-89130-069-4

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

12 3 4 5
Edwards Brothers , Inc.
Ann Arbor , Michigan 48108
1162069-298

To Albert , Theodore , and Natalia

 PREFACE

of human sacrifice has long been a subject of

The problem
considerable interest among scholars of the ancient Near East .
Most studies of this subject betray a prejudice in the treat
ment of available data , tending on the one hand , either to deny
the existence of this practice among certain cultures , and on
the other to support its existence among other groups , or
,
totally reject the theory that available evidence points to its
occurrence in this area . The theme , then , of this investigation
is controversial , and with the continual flow of new evidence ,
the present study can scarcely claim to be definitive . The
present writer does not pretend to have mastered all the neces
sary areas covered ; however , the methodology pursued in each
section and the division into cultural and geographical regions ,

does indicate that at least a balance presentation has been

attempted .
This study grew from a doctoral dissertation which was sub
mitted to the Department of Near Eastern Studies of The Univer
sity of Michigan in 1972 . The present version has been consid
erably rewritten since that time .
The role of ritual killing as a prescribed activity in
various human societies came to my mind during a seminar on
" Law and War in the Exercise of Political Power in the Ancient
Near East " conducted by G. E. Mendenhall . P. S. Jaini in the
field of Indic Literature saw a similar relationship in Vedic
sources and subsequently made the connection of this body of
material with the ancient Near East .
The list of those to whom I am indebted during its prepar
ation spans the greater part of my residence at The University
of Michigan , and hence would include the entire Near Eastern
departmental staff . I am particularly grateful to L. L. Orlin ,

S. L. Thrupp and D. N. Freedman for suggestions relative to

methodological and historical all of whom served
procedure ,
with Professors Mendenhall and Jaini on my Dissertation Commit
tee . Other members of the Near - Eastern staff to whom I owe
special thanks for ideas , suggestions , as well as encouragement
are E. McCarus , J. Bailey , and c . Krahmalkov .

vii

1
 I wish to express my deep appreciation to Professor Menden
hall , who through seminars and informal discussions , has assist
ed me both professionally and personally . He has sought to
sharpen my critical acumen in areas of classification and com

parison of data . I am also indebted to him for the use of his -

manuscript , " The Tenth Generation . "
During my final year in the Department , it was my privi
lege to have the able advice of Professor Freedman . I owe him
my sincere thanks for his continued direction , suggestions as
to content and form , and improvements , both technical and liter
ary . His assistance in the editing of the manuscript has been
invaluable . I am also indebted to Miss Mary Hollman , Research
Librarian of the Graduate Library for her thoroughgoing and
gracious cooperation , and to Mrs. Elaine Cline for her technical
assistance and contribution in typing the several drafts of this
work .
Finally , I
would like to thank my wife , Natalia . This work
could not have been possible without her constant encouragement ,
moral support , labors , dedication , and inspiration .

Alberto R. Green
Ann Arbor
January , 1975

viii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABBREVIATIONS xiii
INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER I
THE DEFINITION OF SACRIFICE 3
Tylor : A Gift . 3

Smith : A Communion 4

Frazer : Magic . . 6

Hubert & Mauss : Acte Religieusse 9

Westermarck : Expiation 10

Loisy : Action Sacrée , Figuration Rituelle . 12

Freud and Money - Kyrle : Psychoanalysis 14

The Meaning and Definition of Sacrifice . .

16
16
CHAPTER II
MYTH AND RITUAL 19

Ritual Diffusionism . 21

Ritual Patternism . 24

CHAPTER III
RITUAL SLAYING ON SEALS 27

Seals of the First Babylonian Dynasty 28

The Early Dynastic and Sargonid Periods . 34

Cappadocian Cylinders and Ritual Killing 38

CHAPTER IV
ROYAL ATTENDANTS FOR THE " OTHER WORLD " 45

The Early Dynastic Period . 45

Surghul and Al Hibba . . 45

Burials Under Floors 46

Ur . 46
Kish . 53

The Ur III Period 54

Ur 54
The Larsa Period . 57
Ur 57

ix
 Page

CHAPTER V

INFANT BURIAL RITUAL IN THE NORTH 59

Nuzi / Yorgan Tepe . 59

Tepe Gawra 65

The Habur Region 77

Chagar Bazar 77
Germayir and Arbit 78

Tell Brak 78
Correlations Between North and South 80

CHAPTER VI
KINGSHIP AND THE ROYAL SUBSTITUTES . . 85

Sumerian 85
0
Post Sumerian Period . 86
Slaves and Prisoners of War 86

The Use of the " Puhu " in Texts 88

The Imprisonment of Marduk 91

CHAPTER VII
10
THE PROPITIATORY ROLE OF THE " PURUSHA -MEDHA 97

The Sunahshepa Sacrifice 99

The Rajasuya 104

Ashvamedha 104

Inconclusive Evidence . 105

Pre - Vedic References 106

Ritual Killing in Vedic Indus Valley 107

CHAPTER VIII
AN OFFERING WHICH THE KING GIVES . 109

The Predynastic Period through the Middle Kingdom 110

Predynastic Upper Egypt 110

Dynasties I and II . 112

The Middle Kingdom . 118

Evidence from Reliefs , Inscriptions and Tombs 122

Conventionalized Victory Scenes O 122

The Amada and Elephantine Stelae 125

New Kingdom Tombs 128

Relief at Abu Simbel 129

Summary of Mural Evidence 131

X
 Page

Textual References : Early and Late 133

The Fertility Sacrifice 135

The Theory of Substitution ' . . 143

Funerary Figurines , Ushabti . 147

CHAPTER IX
THE LAND " BEYOND THE RIVER " 149

Unwritten Remains . 152

Written Evidence 156

The Patriarchal and Adaptive Period 156

Abraham and Isaac 156

Ras Shamra 159
Jephthah's Vow . 161

Samuel and Agag 163

The word " hôqaC " and Ritual Killing 164

Sacrifices in the Early Periods

Human 167

Traditional Period : The Early Prophets . 169

Foundation Sacrifices at Jericho 169
Mesha of Moab 169

Indictments of the Early Prophets 171

The Re - formation and Later Prophets . 173

The Law of the Firstborn 173

The "Moloch " Sacrifices 179

CHAPTER X
HUMAN SACRIFICE IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST • 189

Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley 189

The Ancient Egyptians 195

Palestine and Syria 199

SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS 201

NOTES 205

BIBLIOGRAPHY 361

xi
 ABBREVIATIONS USED IN TEXT AND FOOTNOTES

AA The American Anthropologist

AASOR Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research
(New Haven ) .

AJA American Journal of Archaeology

ANEP Ancient Near Eastern Pictures Relating to the old
Testament . James B. Pritchard , ed . Princeton :
Princeton University Press , 1954 .
ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the old
Testament . James B. Pritchard , ed . Princeton :
Princeton University Press , 1955 .

APO Archiv für Orientforschung ( Berlin ) .

ARAB Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylon . 3 vols .

David D. Luckenbill , ed . Chicago : The University of
Chicago Press , 1926-1927 .
ARE Ancient Records of Egypt : Historical Documents .
5 vols . J.
H. Breasted , ed . Chicago : The University
of Chicago Press , 1906-1907 .
BA The Biblical Archaeologist .

Baldwin - Brett von der Osten , H. H. Ancient Oriental Seals in

the Collection of Mrs. Agnes Baldwin Brett . Chicago :
The University of Chicago Press , 1936 .

BANE The Bible and the Ancient Near East , Essays in Honor
of William Foxwe 22 Albright . G. Ernest Wright , ed .
Garden City : Anchor Books , 1965 .
AUCHER Aucher , J. B. Eusebi i pamthili caesariensis episcopi
chronicon bipartitum , 2 vols . , Venice : S. Lazari ,
1818 .

BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research

CAEM Comparative Archaeology of Early Mesopotamia , Studies
in Ancient Oriental Civilization . No. 25 . A. L.
Perkins , ed . Chicago : The University of Chicago
Press , 1949 .
CAH Cambridge Ancient History , 3rd ed . Vols . I and II .
CBQ The Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CIS Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum .

COWA Chronologies of old World Archaeology . R. Ehrich ,

ed . Chicago : The University of Chicago Press , 1954 .

xiii
CRAI Comptes rendues des séances de l'Académie des
Inscriptions et Belles Lettres ( Paris , 1857 ) .

EA Knudtzon , J. A. et al . Die El - Amarna Tafeln .

HTR Harvard Theological Review

HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual
IC Indian Culture , Journal of Indian Research Institute
JA Journal Asiatique
JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JCS Journal of Cunei form Studies
JEA Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies
JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
JTS Journal of Theological Studies
Moore Eisen G. A. Ancient Oriental Cylinder and Other
,
Seals with a Description of the collection of Mrs.
William H. Moore ( Chicago : The University of Chicago
Press , 1940 ) .
MRAK Hooke , S. H. , ed . , Myth , Ritual , and Kingship (Ox
ford : The Clarendon Press , 1958 ) .
Newell von der Osten , H. Ancient Oriental Seals in the
H.
collection of Mr. Newell ( Chicago : The
Edward T.
University of Chicago Press , 1934 ) .
PBA Proceedings of the British Academy

PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly

Ward - Morgan Ward , W. H. Cylinders and Other Ancient Oriental
Seals in the collection of J. Pierpont Morgan (New
York : Privately Printed , 1901 ) .
PJB Palästinajahrbuch .

Porada - Morgan Porada , E. The Collection of the Pierpont

Morgan Library ( Washington , D.C .: Pantheon Books ,
1948 ) .

RA Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale

RB Revue biblique

xiv
RCAE Waterman , Leroy . Royal Correspondents of the Assyr
i an Empire ( Ann Arbor : The University of Michigan
Press , 1930-1936 ) .
RHR Revue de l'histoire des religions
SA Scientific American
SAOC Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations . Chicago :
1931 -
IG , I Speiser , E. A. , Excavations at Tepe Gawra . Vol . I
( Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania , 1935 ) .

TG , II Tobler , Arthur , Excavations at Tepe Gawra . Vol . II

( Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press ,
1950 ) .

UVB Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft , Berlin ... vorläufiger

Bericht die von der Notgemeinschaft der deutschen
über
Wissenschaft in Uruk - Warka unternommenen Ausgrabungen
( Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften , philos.
hist . Klasse . Abhandlungen , Berlin , 1930- ) .

VAT Vorderasiatische Abteilung Thontaftels ammlung . Ber

lin , Statliche Museen .

VT Vetus Testamentum

ZA Zeitschrift für assyriologie und verwandte Gebiete

ZAS Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde
ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
ZDMG Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesell
8chaft
ZDPV Zeitschrift des deutschen Palästina - Vereins

ху
 ABBREVIATIONS OF BIBLICAL BOOKS

Amos Amos
I Chronicles I Chr .
II Chronicles II Chr .
Deuteronomy Deut .
Ecclestiastes Eccl .
Exodus Exod .
Ezekiel Ezek .
Genesis Gen.
Hosea Hos .
Isaiah Isa .
Jeremiah Jer .
Joshua Josh .
Judges Judg .
I Kings I Kgs .
II Kings II Kgs .
Leviticus Lev .
Micah Mic .
Numbers Num .
Proverbs Prov .
Psalms Ps./Pss .
I Samuel I Sam .
II Samuel II Sam .

xvi
 INTRODUCTION

The problem of " human sacrifice " as a form of societal ac

tivity in the ancient world has always attracted scholarly at
tention . Only in recent years , however , with the vast increase
in available hard data , has it been possible to determine with
confidence and accuracy the function and significance of this
practice . A number of works have appeared , which treated the
various historical and philosophical aspects of this practice .
Researchers have tended to classify numerous rites as be
longing to the complex out of which human " sacrifice " arose ,
and have assumed that human victims were offered as sacrifices
in all ancient societies . Does available evidence on the an
cient Near East support this conclusion ? If ritual killing of
human beings did exist in this region , does it follow the as
sumed "universal pattern ? " Or what , in fact , was its role among
the various groups of the Near East ?

Methodology

I have sought to correct the misconceptions and distortions

which have vitiated the work of many earlier scholars working in
this area . For the most part , they had inadequate control of
the data from the ancient Near East , and failed to grasp the
cultural -historical context , or to apply the appropriate method
ology . I have drawn upon all areas of material culture for this
investigation realizing that knowledge of the total social en
vironment is indispensable to a correct evaluation of data in
this field . At the same time , I have avoided generalizations
and other banalities concerning the occurrences of this ritual .
My goal has been , whenever possible , to isolate the social
objective inherent in each manifestation . A more traditional
approach would only have resulted in the perpetuation of
" clichés " which even modern scholars insist upon substituting
for genuine understanding of the " essential intent " of one of
the activities of ancient man .

1
2

Organization

In the first chapter I have attempted to define the central

meaning of re - evaluation of the seven promi
sacrifice through a

nent schools of thought on the subject . Chapter two focuses on

the interpretation of the myth and ritual " pattern " as it bears
on of human sacrifices among different groups . In
the problem
the course of the discussion , I have found it necessary to deal
with the theories of cultural diffusion and independent develop
ment as they relate to the central issue .
Chapters three to ten evaluate all available written and
unwritten evidence . In the interest of a cohesive presentation ,

I have organized the material along the following lines : mar

shalling of the evidence in each geographical or cultural re
gion , determining whenever possible its purpose , and finally ,
ascertaining its social function and meaning .

Limitations
Chronologically , the boundaries of this investigation en
compass the Bronze and Iron Ages . , I have in
Geographically
cluded all known cultural groups in the Fertile Crescent and
the Indus Valley . In the latter , however , the available sources
limit the study to the Vedic Period .

Earlier Works on the Subject

I of no existing work which gives a comprehensive

know
coverage of the subject in the area indicated . The many limited
studies which have appeared and to which I am indebted , are
cited repeatedly in the following pages .
 CHAPTER I
THE DEFINITION OF SACRIFICE

A number of ancient rituals referred to by modern scholar

ship as " sacrifices " have existed in many forms among all the
peoples of the world . The earliest investigations into the
background of this rite were based on assumptions and hypotheses
which , whether consciously or unconsciously held , had become
powerful determinants of conclusions .
Since the beginning of the century scholars representing
seven major schools of thought have grappled with the theory of
2
sacrifice , endeavoring to trace its basic origin and meaning .

Tylor : A Gift
Anearly view held by E. B. Tylor sees sacrifice as a gift
made to the soul of a person or object , or to the spirit of a
personified cause . 3 But he does not exclude the possibility
that other motives may be operative : " Efficient motive for mor
tuary sacrifice may be affectionate fancy or symbolism , a hor
ror of association of death leading the survivors to get rid of
anything that suggests the dreadful thought or desire to aban
don the dead man's property..4 However , such a motive does not
necessarily presuppose a belief in either the soul of the dead
or in the soul of the objects destroyed at his funeral .
Tylor further reasons that sacrifice involved a natural
desire on the part of man to establish a bond between himself
and that which he conceived to be sacred . Therefore this ritual
was a gift offered to supernatural beings to secure their favour
and subsequently minimize their hostility . As this purpose
gradually became transformed in the mind of the sacrificers ,
the dominant note became that of homage , which again passed in
to that of renunciation . 5
It seems apparent in an evaluation of Tylor's theory that
once the beliefs which have determined sacrificial rites have
been disclosed , it is very elementary to discover the rational
motives for these rites . " Sacrifice has its apparent origin in
the same early period of culture and its place in the same

3
animistic scheme as prayer , with which , through so long a range
of history , it has been carried on in the closest connection .
A prayer is a request made to a deity as if he were a man , SO
sacrifice is a gift made to a deity as if he were a man . 16
,

Tylor's theories give an adequate account of the conscious

motives in certain " kinds " of sacrifice . But , while his method
is instructive , he fails to uncover fundamental motives in a
number of cases because he uses his own feelings as a guide .
In discussing the cause of the development of the abnegation
theory of sacrifice he says , " Taking our own feelings again as
a guide , we know how it satisfies us to have done our part in
giving even if the gift is ineffectual..7 Thus , he reconstructs
8
many ancient beliefs in the light of modern man's value system .

Smith : A Communion

For W. Robertson Smith , sacrifice was essentially a com

munion , a method of establishing the solidarity between the

group and its god . This approach does not really contradict
that of Tylor . While Tylor attempts to give an account of the
evolution of the agnegation and honorific sacrifice from the
gift - sacrifice , Smith reconstructs some of the earliest motives
of sacrifice even before such rites had been rationalized as
gifts . '
He begins with the totemic communion in which the clan
ritually kills and eats an animal belonging to a species which
they believe to be akin to themselves . is , immediately , It
their father , their brother , and their god . Because the same
blood is supposed to flow in the veins of the victim , its death
is at once a shedding of the tribal blood and a violation of
the sanctity of the divine life that is transfused through
10
every member , human or irrational , of the sacred circle .
From this communion Smith derives the expiatory or propi
tiatory forms of sacrifice which he calls the " piaculum " and the
gift - sacrifice . 11 This then , represents only the re - establish
ment of the broken relationship . Therefore , as his theory đe
velops , the totemic sacrifice had all the effects of an expia
tory rite . This idea he sees as already very evident in the
primitive communion .
 un

If
the physical oneness of the deity and his
community is impaired or attenuated , the help of the
god can no longer be confidently looked for . And ,
conversely , when famine , plague , or other disaster
shows that the god is no longer active on behalf of
his own , it is natural to infer that the bond of
kinship with him has been broken or relaxed and that
it is necessary to retie it by a solemn ceremony in
which the sacred life is again distributed to every
member of the community . From this point of view the
sacramental rite is also an atoning rite , which brings
the community again into harmony with its alienated
god ,and the idea of sacrificial communion includes
within it the rudimentary conception of a piacular
ceremony . In all the older forms of Semitic ritual
the notions of communion and atonement are bound up
together , atonement being simply an act of communion
designed to wipe out all memory of previous estrange
12
ment .

Smith goes on to argue that when the kinship between men

and animals had ceased to be understood by the Semites , human
sacrifice replaced animal sacrifice because this was henceforth
the sole means of establishing a direct exchange of blood be
tween clan and god . Later , as the ideas and customs which pro
tected the life of the individual became stronger , the sacri
ficial meal which included cannibalism fell into disuse .
Thus the Semites like other cultures did pass through a

totemic stage , a conclusion which can be avoided only by sup

13
posing them to be an exception to the universal rule . Smith's
attempt to discover the motive of expiation in direct suffering
appears to have a serious weakness . He does not describe the

ceremonies in which this trend is apparent ; moreover , his use

of the vague term " piaculum " under which he explains such terms
as purifications , propitiations
, and expiations seems to create
more confusion conviction .
than
Instead of analyzing in its original complexity the semi
tic ritual system within its historical and cultural context ,
he classifies the facts genealogically in accordance with the
analogies that he saw between them . 14

I
 6

An analysis
of data within context seems to be not only
the safest but also the only adequate way to disentangle the
forms of any ritual . Some evidence of the rites Smith has men

tioned does exist , but his theory of communion based on ancient

totemic cult , which re - establishes the kinship between the wor
V shipper and his god as the source for the " piaculum " and gift
sacrifice , has not been found in any semitic source .

Frazer : Magic

A third position is
found in the monumental contribution
15
of Sir James George Frazer . It is extremely difficult even
to attempt to give a precise account of Frazer's theory of sac
rafice for , while his works are filled with illustrations of
sacrificial rites , his interpretations of their ends and his
explanations of their means are varied and unsystematic . How
ever , the fundamental idea he stresses seems to be that the
16
communal meal is simply a magical rite . Man imitates nature
and believes that nature will be magically compelled to follow
his example .
For Smith the main purpose of sacrifice is to cement a
relationship between a totemic god and his people by way of a
communal meal of the flesh of the slain animal divinity . For
Frazer , the slain god may be a man or an animal who incarnates
a nature spirit . Bringing Tylor's theory into focus here , it
would appear that this nature spirit would be called , by him ,
personified is killed ritually
17
a cause . The god , and its
death is believed to have a good effect on agriculture .
To his credit Frazer did collect and draw attention to in
numerable examples of such rites in order to prove their uni
versal existence . He believed that the motive for killing a
god is to preserve him from senility and , therefore , by this
18
means preserve the crops from imitating his old age . But he
also points out that the slaying of the god is combined with
the rebirth or reincarnation of the god's spirit in the person
19
of his successor . By so doing he associates the fundamental
idea of rebirth with the idea of sacrifice .
The theory of rejuvenation by way of sacrifice seems to be
Frazer's point of greatest emphasis . He distinguishes between
three types of rejuvenating sacrifice : 1) the killing of a god

to save him from decay and , therefore , to fa litate his

 7

20
rebirth , 2 ) the killing of a victim to feed and strengthen
and 3 ) the killing of the victim's
21
the victim's successor ,
22
rival . But he also distinguishes a communal sacrifice , a
piaculum , a homage , and a cathartic ritual , so that the reju
venation of the god is not the only aim of sacrifice .

We have seen that the spirit of the corn , or of

other cultivated plants , is commonly represented
either in human or animal form , and in many places a
custom has prevailed of killing annually either the
human or the animalepresentative of the god ....
We may suppose that the intention was to guard him
or her from the enfeeblement of old age by trans
ferring the spirit , while hale and hearty , to the
person of a youthful and vigorous successor .... But ,
further , we have found a widespread custom of eating
the god sacramentally , either in the shape of man
or animal who represents the goar or in the shape of
bread made in human or animal form . The reasons for
thus partaking the body of the god are , from the
primitive standpoint , simple enough . He believes
that by eating the flesh of an animal or man he
acquires not only physical , but even the moral and

intellectual qualities which were characteristic of

that animal or man ; so when the creature is deemed
divine ancient
, man naturally expected to absorb a
portion of its divinity along with its material
23
substance .

He distinguishes another type of animal sacrifice which

involves a piaculum .

On the one hand , when the revered animal is

habitually it is
nevertheless killed , the
spared ,
slaughter of any one of the species involves the
killing of the god , and is atoned for on the spot
by apologies and sacrifices , especially when the
animal is powerful and dangerous one ; and , in
a
addition to this ordinary and everyday atonement ,

there is a special select

atonement , at which a
individual of the species is slain with extra
24
ordinary marks of respect and devotion .
 8

Thus , a piacular sacrifice is offered to vegetation spirits and

sacred animals .

This Frazerian concept of rebirth in association with the

idea of sacrifice seems theoretically plausible , but there is
no known evidence that in the ancient world they did so regard
sacrifice. Furthermore , the belief that killing the god was
the necessary condition for his rebirth or rejuvenation , seems
hardly adequate to explain these rites .
Frazer has shown how the agrarian sacrifice developed from
the sacrifice the communion meal in which man was reputedly
and
joined to the gods . Through this process , ancient man is said
to have allied himself to the god of the fields at the term of
his annual life by sacrificing the god and consuming his flesh .
He has also established theory that often the old god , when
the
sacrificed in this manner , appeared to carry away with him
sickness , death and sin , and , therefore , in this way fulfilled
the role of an expiatory victim .
Frazer differs from Smith in that he stresses the social
side of totemism , whereas Smith emphasized throughout its reli
V gious aspect . The idea of expiation still seems to originate
in the communal meal , but rather than being religious it is a
mere magical rite . The weakness in this approach is that
Frazer seeks to subsume the multiplicity of sacrificial forms
under a single unifying principle . According to anthropolo
gists , totemism in its purest forms , appears only among a few
25
isolated tribes of Australia and the Americas . In many
cases the so - called totems are representatives of an animal
species upon which the life of the tribe depends , or which is
hunted by preference -- or , on the contrary , which is especially
feared .

Frazer's
main contribution to the theory of sacrifice is
his view that its inception lay in the fact that gods were de
stroyed to save them from decay ; but there is no evidence that
this idea existed in the ancient Near East . He himself had a
rather modest opinion of his achievement , holding that his
" contribution to the history of the human mind consists of a
little more than a rough and purely provisional classification
of facts gathered almost entirely from printed sources . 1126
 Hubert and Mauss : Acte Religieusse

Henri Hubert and Marcel Maussrecognized authorities of

,

the French School understood sacrifice as an Acte Religieuse ,

"...a religious act which , through the consecration of the vic
tim , modifies the condition of the person who accomplishes it
..27
or that of certain objects with which he is concerned .
The authors state very clearly that their definition not
only limits the object of their investigation , but it also pre
supposes the generic unity of sacrifices . 28
The unity they see here is one of method , " procédé , "
rather than of origin . Their criticism of Smith's position
focuses on his theory that all sacrifices have a common origin ,
that of the totemic communion . Hubert and Mauss argue that
every sacrifice is a " procedure in establishing a means of com
munication between the monde sacré and the profane world
through the victim , that is , of a thing that in the course of
, 29
the ceremony is destroyed .
In contrast with Smith's theory , Hubert and Mauss empha
v
size that the victim does not come to the sacrifice with a re
ligious nature , already perfected and defined ; rather the sac
rifice is conferred upon the victim . This being so , the logic
of the theory then implies that any sacrifice can impart to any
victim varied powers , which makes it suitable for the fulfill
30
ment of different functions during the same rite .
The major thrust of this theory is that ancient man de
sires to establish contact and communion with the " other world "
but cannot , or dare not , for fear of getting hurt . He , there
fore , employs an intermediary who is there to succumb to the
31
dangerous influences . The reason why the profane must enter
into relationship with the divine is obvious : this is the
a
very source of life .
This line of reasoning naturally raises several questions .
How can one explain the meaning of a sacrifice in which the
victim is itself a god ? Would this intermediary be the only
means of communication between the sacred and the profane ?
is no doubt that to the ancient mind certain things
There
are invested with dangerous and mysterious properties . They
are to be approached only with extreme caution or through an
intermediary . This has been true of every culture , ancient
and modern . However , there is very little evidence on the

1
 10

universal plane that only the victim of a sacrifice can become

such an intermediary . On the contrary , there is ample evidence
that the victim itself is sacred and cannot be approached ex
32
cept through an intermediary .
Emphasizing the religious essence of every sacrifice ,
Hubert and Mauss add :

If
religious forces are the very principle of
vital forces , if they are in fact these vital forces ,
they are of such a nature that contact with them is
dangerous to the vulgar . Especially when they reach
a certain degree of intensity they cannot be concen
trated in a profane object without destroying it .
Hence the sacrificer , however much he may need them ,

cannot absorb them without the greatest prudence .

For this reason he inserts intermediaries between him
and them ; and of these the principal is the victim .
If he penetrated to the end into the rite , he would
find death instead of life . The victim replaces him .
It alone penetrates into the dangerous sphere of the
sacrifice , it succumbs to it , and it is there to
succumb to it . 33
The differences among these theories are pronounced : Tylor
sees a gift in sacrifice , Smith argues for the idea of totemic
communion , the magical rite , but Hubert and
Frazer emphasizes
Mauss build their case on the premise that the victim or inter
mediary is the central figure in the drama , and the key to the
mystery which is to be explained .

Westermarck : Expiation

Edward Westermarck's monumental work The Origin of Moral

Ideas has long been recognized as a classic in the study of
ancient customs and rituals . His theory of sacrifice differs
from the ones previously discussed , but has had wide accep
tance , and deserves close attention . Westermarck believed that
the main element in sacrifice was expiation , and was the first
writer to offer a lengthy discussion of human sacrifices on the
basis of that view . The practice , he argues , is based on the
8
idea of substitution of the victim for other individuals whose
lives are in danger , which in the course of time led to the
 11

34
offering of animals instead of men . While most writers on
the subject do not accept expiation as the ultimate objective ,
Westermarck considers it to be the original purpose of all sac
rifices from which secondary meanings such as the transference
of sin or the rejuvenation of a dying god later developed . It
is important to note , however , that he does not deny the exis
tence of other types of sacrifice .

For people subsisting on agriculture , failure of

crops means starvation and death , and is , consequently ,
attributed to the murderous designs of a superhuman
being , such as the earth - spirit , the morning star ,
the sun , or the rain - god . By sacrificing to that
being , a man , they hope to appease its thirst for
human blood ; and whilst some resort to such a sacri
fice only in case of actual famine , others try to
prevent the famine by making the offering in advance .
This I take to be the true explanation of the custom
of securing good crops by means of human sacrifice ,
of which many instances have been produced by Dr.
Frazer .... So far as I can see , Dr. Frazer has adăuced
no satisfactory evidence in support of his hypothesis ;
whereas a detailed examination of the various cases
mentioned by him indicates that they are closely re
lated to human sacrifices offered on other occasions ,

and explicable from the same principle , that of sub

stitution . 35
According to his theory , then , expiation was the original pur
pose of the sacrifices to secure the future of crops .
Westermarck accepts Frazer's theory of the killing of a
victim in order to secure the future of the crops , but he sub
scribes only in part to the second type of human sacrifice , in
which the victim is fed to the recipient imbuing him with di
vine strength . He alludes to such funerary rites within this
context stating that they are made to dead men " to vivify their
spirits ,, 36
. "

Westermarck's theory brings into focus two other rituals

which he classifies as sacrificial . Regarding human foundation
deposits he writes that these were designed to provide a guard
ian deity for the building :
12

I do not believe that its primary object could

have been to procure a spirit - guardian ... the ghost
of a murdered man is not a friendly being and least
of all is he kindly disposed towards those who killed
him ... the human victim was sacrificed for the avowed

purpose of averting some mortal danger from the com

munity .... I
conclude that there , also , the primary
object of the rite was to offer a substitute , though
37
this substitute came to be used as a messenger .
of special interest also is his theory concerning the re
lationship between blood - feud and sacrifice . Using several
illustrations he argues that ,

The duty of blood - revenge is , in the first place ,

regarded as a duty to the dead , not merely because he
has been deprived of his highest good , his life , but
because his spirit is believed to have no rest until
the injury has been avenged . The disembodied soul
carries into its new existence an eager longing for
revenge and , till the crime has been duly expiated ,
hovers about the earth molesting the manslayer or
trying to compel its own relatives to take vengeance
on him .... 38
He is the only scholar holds the view that blood - revenge is
who
a form of human sacrifice
Westermarck's comprehensive
. discus
sion of the elements of expiation , guilt and vicarious suffer
ing , almost totally neglected by other scholars , marks his work
as a truly important contribution .

Loisy : Action Sacrée , Figuration Rituelle

M. Alfred Loisy has long been recognized as the scholar
who deals with the problem of sacrifice in the most comprehen
sive way , attempting to draw together all the previous schools
of thought into a tidy systematic structure in his Essai his
torique sur le sacrifice . Sacrifice for Loisy is not derived
from a single source but from two , the magical act and the rit
ual gift ;
but neither of these constituted a sacrifice in its
39
earliest form .
Loisy's theory of sacrifice is prefaced by a survey of its
predecessors . The gift , the communion , and the agricultural
 13

rite , all play their part , but he denies that all sacrifices
are
these practices

of
derived from any conclusion which

40
a
,
Frazer could heartily endorse He severely criticizes the

41
.
theory of Hubert and Mauss that sacrifice process for es

is
a
tablishing communication between the world sacred and the world
42
profane On this theory proposed earlier by his colleagues
.

Loisy writes
:

One would say after this definition that the two

worlds are radically distinct and even separate almost

,
in opposition with each other whereas in reality the
e

,
two are in perpetual contact and man employs the

,
process of sacrifice often to disengage himself from
'

'

the influences of what is called the world sacred

.
'

'
Sacrifice this case establish
in

to
is
not used

a
,

'
positive and direct but much more

to
communication
,
'

sever which grievous in its re

is

communication
a

43
sults
.

Reviewing Loisy's main principles

it
clear that

he
is
,

sympathetic and homeopathic magic

on

combines Frazer's views

with Tylor's gift theory the result
of

be
which can summarized
,

as follows
:

In contractual rites the victim often killed by the

is

parties to contract He sees this as an indication to the

a

parties concerned the event of breach of contract

in

that
a
,

,
the violator will share the identical fate This clearly
,
"
:

figuration rituelle
is is

example
of
an

then action sacrée

,
,

'

'

which neither offering nor nor even

an

communion hom
a

a
,
,

rite effective itself conditionally

to

age any god but

in
a
,

effective for it operates solely against the perjurer if there

,

perjurer 144 If this is so this indeed an example of

is

is
a

,
"
.

magical act
a

In the case of funeral rites Loisy finds the cult of

in
,

the gift of nourishment

45
the dead the purest example In
of
1

such cases offerings the gods were designed both

to

to

appease
46
their utilize their
to

anger and power

.

Seasonal rites are not the mere symbolic accompaniment

of

the phenomena they represent but rather their magical cause

,

47
Because of them the corn is made to die and revive However
,
.

since such necessities are thought semi personal powers

to
be

,
1
14

they are both magically controlled and magically propitiated

" to induce these beings to accept , and even assist , their ex
ploitation by man for his profit . 0148
Like Tylor and Smith , Loisy does not accept the ancient
idea of expiation through suffering , which causes him to write :

Ancient man has , one may say , a physical concep

tion of sin and a moral conception of illness ; or
rather he does not know how to distinguish clearly
between a physical and a moral evil , and he uses the
same process to eliminate both The sacrifices said....
to be for purification or expiation tend essentially
to rid men from the evil influences under which they
have fallen ....
The fundamental idea has been to
transfer evil from man to another being , through
the destruction of which the evil is supposed to be
itself destroyed or driven away . Then the gods are
supposed to have prescribed his remedy for these evils
which men finally attributed to the gods themselves 1
49
as a punishment for their sins .
It is important to note , however , that whereas Tylor views the
idea of abnegatory sacrifice as being derived from the gift and
Smith sees the piaculum as a retying of the blood bond , Loisy
and Frazer argue that the expiatory rite originates in the
magical transference of evil .
Loisy adds an important note regarding sacrifice in the
religion of ancient man , " ... neither the magical rite of de
struction nor the ritual gifts are in themselves sacrifices ,
if by sacrifices one understands a method of communicating 50
with invisible
beings , and not simply acting on them . "
Loisy's concept of sacrifice is thus systematic and com
prehensive . Along with some of his predecessors , he does not
attempt to explain the killing of a divine being , or the guilt
which seems to be so intimately involved in the sacrificial
ritual .

Freud and Money - Kyrle : Psychoanalysis

Any attempt to arrive at a definition of the term sacri

fice would be incomplete unless the psychoanalytical theory ,
first proposed by Sigmund Freud and later modified by R. Money
Kyrle , has been brought into focus .
 15

Before Freud , scholars did not deal with the unconscious

factors in the many sacrificial rituals ,
but considered the
conscious impulses alone , and by so doing , according to Freud
ian theory , completely missed some of the most vital forces
that conditioned " the seemingly irrational behavior..51
Freud's theory , in essence , is that sacrifice was origi
nally one of the results of the Oedipus complex of primitive
man . Adopting Charles Darwin's view of the life of primeval
52
man , Freud sets himself the problem of reconstructing the de
velopment of the Oedipus complex by suggesting that , initially ,
jealous sons who expelled their father because of their uncon
scious wish to possess the woman with whom they were first
brought into contact , namely , their mother , finally came to
gether , killed , and then ate their father . Freud came to this
conclusion after studying neurotic men who revealed this com
mon but unconscious wish .

His theory can best be summarized in a single quotation :

On the day the exiled brothers (who had been

driven out of the horde by its jealous leader ) came
together and killed and ate their father , and so made
an end to the Father - horde ...
the totem meal , perhaps
the first festival of man , was the repetition and
commemoration of this memorable and criminal ct ,
with which so much began , social organization , moral
limitations , and religion . 53

Money - Kyrle , however , in an obvious attempt to eliminate

the difficulty of finding an adequate motive for the repetition
of the alleged primeval parricide and a racial memory of the
drama , modifies the Freudian theory by making sacrifice the
symbolic representation of an unconscious desire to kill the
father , initiating his theory of parricide , which each indivi
dual is supposed to have acquired for himself . During the long
period of infancy , predilection for incest in the unconscious
has been conditioned , he contends , andvariations in the insti
tution of sacrifice are correlated with the various solutions
54
of the central complex .
Both the original theory and its subsequent modifications
contain an undeniable and fundamental weakness ; however much
it is nursed , modified and restated , it , nevertheless , rests
16

upon a purely hypothetical foundation without verification or

parallel in any known culture .
But even if one may justifiably leave on one side the
probability that primitive society was matriarchal in charac
55
ter , a fact which Freud does not dispute , the hypothesis can
scarcely be maintained in the face of Smith's theory of evi
dence for the rationale of sacrifice . 56 If totemism is a spe
cialized form of the doctrine of metempsychosis , it is hard to
imagine that this was an aspect of primeval society . Further
more , it has yet to be proved that a people like the Federation
of Israel passed through a totemic stage in the evolution of
57
their highly complex sacrificial system .
Be this as it may , it certainly cannot be maintained that
" originally all sacrifices were eaten by the worshippers , " and
" in the oldest sacrifice the blood was drunk by the worshippers
and after it to be , it was poured out upon the altar . " 58
ceased
Therefore , even if the psychoanalytical theory were accurate in
itself , it would not throw light on either the origin , or mean
ing , or definition of sacrifice . It is not until we reach the
stage in which the hypothetical parricides , or their descen
dants , treated their totem as they are alleged to have treated
their sire ( killing him , eating him , and mourning for him ) that
we come to bedrock ; and then, the causal relation between dei
cide and parricide is not at all convincing .
Indeed , no adequate reason is
given to explain why a blind ,
unconscious urge should have led the primeval murderers to re
peat their crime in the form of a totemic sacramental communion ,
or how it came to be extended to widely separated races . Vir
tually no evidence for totemism exists in the historic ancient
Near East . It might have been expected that the sublimation
would have taken very different forms in successive generations ,
but these are questions for psychologists to analyze .

The Meaning and Definition of Sacrifice

The preceding survey of the most common thegries about
sacrificial rituals makes it clear that the basic problem in
dealing with the subject was one of method . Failure to adopt
an appropriate methodology in dealing with the very limited
ancient material at command , led , at times , to conclusions
which could not be supported either culturally or historically .
 17

The anthropological inquiry , which is based mainly on de

scriptive evidence , is extremely important and useful . However ,
although the systematic study of archaeology and literary sources
gives us some knowledge of early civilizations , it can hardly
command uncritical support , since these sources are primarily
59
civil documents mainly concerned with State - organization .
While they throw needed light on the minutiae of sacrifices and
rituals , they cannot reveal completely their meaning and func
tion .
The many theories with their supporting arguments and
counter arguments serve to bring out all too clearly the com
plexities of the ritual called sacrifice . This rite is a uni
versal phenomenon , and , as such , rightly belongs to many de
partments of research . 60 In order to recover the inner signi
ficance of such a fundamental institution , all these rituals
should studied anthropologically , historically , sociologi
be
cally if possible , psychologically , in terms of an atti
and ,
tude toward life and a conception of reality .
The term " sacrifice " within the context of ancient cul
tures cannot be confined by any narrow definition , arbitrarily
imposed , in support of some modern notion of what it " should "
be . Indeed , the ancient concept appears to defy any modern
definition . The most that can be said when a given ritual ap
parently involves the termination of human life singly or in
groups, is that it can be understood only in its cultural and

historical the evidence is compelling ,

framework , and unless
interpretation of the data derived from such a study should not
be extended or applied beyond that context .
In the interest of clarity , the general expression "human
sacrifice " in this investigation to designate the vol
is used
untary or involuntary termination of human life in a ritualis
tic manner or for ritualistic purposes . In individual cases ,
however , an attempt will be made to adduce the meaning or pur
pose of such a rite .
3
 CHAPTER II
MYTH AND RITUAL

In the course of investigation one periodically encounters

the phenomenon of ritual slayings of human beings in the ancient
Near Eastern cultures . Whether these are referred to as mere
ritual slayings
or as human sacrifices , they are approached with
extreme caution by scholars because of the difficulties inherent
in assessing archaeological or literary data on the subject .
Almost always the idea of such a practice evokes emotional re
actions that obstruct the calm consideration of the evidence .
Some have been led by biblical
and classical accounts , and pos
sibly also by devotion to monotheistic religions , to
their own
believe that human sacrifice was commonplace in the ancient
world , and to be expected of pagans . Others are influenced by
partisan feelings to deny that their favorite ancient people
could have been capable of such " barbarity..1 Whenever the
evidence demands a discussion of the subject , the custom is to
treat it under the general heading of the relationship between
2
myth and ritual . A few words on this subject are necessary .
interpretation of the relationship
The between myth and
ritual is among the insights to be derived from the works of
W. Robertson Smith who saw ritual as primary and myth as its
offshoot . This position was accepted widely by scholars4 and
still 5
maintains its support , although attracting some criti
cism as too simplistic . Theodore Gaster and Mircea Eliade
render a more penetrating analysis . To these scholars the es
sential coherence of myth and ritual is expressed through the
category of time .
Eliade contends that historical time and mythical time
both coincide in the perception of the archaic mentality . Ev
ery meaningful occurrence is received as an interruption of
mere duration only that which is paradigmatic truly " hap
, and
pens . 07 is the history of an event at the point of its
Myth
ontological origin , 8 but ritual is the representation of that
9
event in the midst of ordinary time .
The basic difference in Gaster's position is primarily one
of terminology . Like Eliade , he views myth and ritual as mere

19
20

10
aspects of the same reality . Ritual occurs on the " punctual "
plane and myth is its parallel and equivalent expression on the
11
" durative " plane . The "punctual " actions of the king are
" transmuted " by means of myth , into theactions of " durative "

the god , and these in turn come primordial .

to be viewed as
The periodic representations of these durative / primordial ac
12
tions emerge on the punctual planes in the form of drama .
In both analyses then , the essence is the primordial / eter
nal activity of the gods , which resides in the myth and period
ically penetrates the temporal sphere in the form of ritual .
Among the examples offered by Eliade in support of this
theory are the recital of the Enuma Elið at the Babylonian New
13
Year Festival , and the incantation against toothache which
proceeds from Anu's creation of the worm to the anger of Ea and
14
Shamash at its request that it be allowed to eat human
teeth .
Following this rationale then , one can cite many instances of
ritual representation of mythical actions from numerous ancient
texts . This , of course , leads to reductio ad absurdum .
It is undoubtedly the case that many myths in the ancient
Near East were associated with rituals , and that some of them
were created to account for actions whose purpose was no longer
apparent . Yet , it is often difficult to ascertain from the
form of the myth or the ritual alone which came first ; hence
caution is necessary . In the words of R. de Langhe : " ... while
the study of the myths and ritual practices of so - called primi
tive peoples has in some cases revealed a close relationship
between the myths and the rituals , it is equally true that it
has also shown the existence of myths which are unaccompanied
by any ritual performance . Between these two extremes many in
15
termediate types can be attested . "
Subsequently , Professor Gaster offered a clarification of
his thesis which substantially modified the view stated above .
He asserted that " a certain type of story is au fond a literary
( or , more neutrally , a verbal ) expression of the same situation

as is expressed ' behavioristically

16
' in ritual , and that the two
things therefore run parallel . 11 This statement omits the
earlier claim of an ontological coordination of myth and ritual ,
and implies that such coordination , or correspondence ought on
ly to be posited when it is directly affirmed or presupposed in
the particular text under consideration .
 21

On the basis of a careful study of Near - Eastern mythology

I must reject the theory that all myths are associated with , or
are derived from rituals . Where ritual is conspicuous , it is Y

often a function of many other aspects of social life . Myths ,

on the other hand , will be told under a variety of circum
stances , e.g. , when men are relaxing after work , hardly a rit
ual occasion . Therefore I think it is misleading to associate
all myths with rituals . Different cultures are different and
the common preoccupations of mankind do not express themselves
in the same ways or in the same proportion from culture to cul
ture . Even if
a given myth of a particular group is closely
associated with ritual , it would not follow that the same as
sociation would be true of a neighboring group . Clearly , then ,
not every myth is associated with or derived from ritual , and
vice versa . 17 No strenuous attempt therefore will be made to
associate material evidence of ritual killing of human beings
with mythological references , except where the evidence on both
sides clearly points to a correlation between them . This will
be the basic criterion when dealing with literary material in
18
which ritual slayings of human beings are presented .

Ritual Diffusionism
The ritual " pattern " so often discussed by scholars is
alleged to have spread over a very wide geographical and chron
ological range , and thus to have occurred in several distinct
though interrelated cultures . There is no question about the
existence of ritual parallels , but the proper method of account
ing for them is still a source of debate . No reputable scholar
supports the theory of a " law " of uniform evolution 19 but rath
memes
er the hypothesis of diffusion through cultural contact .
This theory involves not only the assumption that man's
20
inventive capacities are limited , but also that his imitative
capacities are unlimited . It presupposes actual contact be
tween widely separated areas , a high degree of stability of
cultural features , and the capacity to remain relatively fixed
in particular constellations while travelling from one culture
21
to another .
The theory of diffusionism was sufficiently represented
22
by G. Elliot Smith and W. J. Perry , scholars whose works are
now outdated , but who saw Egypt as the nucleus of
 22

" civilization . 23 From Egypt then , civilization was carried

all over the24
earth peoples " with no culture of
among " savage
their own , by expeditions in search of the precious substance
25
we now know as gold . Other leading representatives of the
Diffusionist School were A. M. Hocart and S. H. Hooke , the for
mer arguing forcefully for this theory in his study of " Divine 1

Kingship " and the latter deviating somewhat from the concept of
an Egyptian - based culture to the belief that the Babylonian in
fluence on the semitic - speaking countries was more pronounced
than Egyptian .
26 (
Evidence of human sacrifice has been uncovered in differ
ent regions around the ancient Near East . In some examples the
striking similarity of the ritual in two widely separated geo
graphical areas with no other apparent cultural affinity na
turally raises the question of historical connection versus in
dependent development . The problem of accounting for ritual
parallels can be approached through the analysis of two theore
tical considerations regarding diffusionism .
One is the relative status of diffusionism vis - à - vis inde
pendent development . Alexander Goldenweiser focuses on the
problem by observing that whereas diffusion is demonstrable ,
the assertion of independent development requires " proving the
negative , " i.e. , that diffusion has not occurred . He therefore
concludes that such a procedure is " methodologically impossible ,"

since " independent must be assumed until diffusion

development
, 27
is proved , or , at least , made overwhelmingly probable . " R. H.
Lowe makes a similar assertion in his defense of the diffusion
28
ist hypothesis in anthropology .

-- > The other is a basic assumption of diffusionism that " sim

ilarities are generic , " which was also a feature of earlier
evolutionary hypothesis . Professor Frankfort asserts that this
bias distorted Frazer's understanding of the vast body of data
which he had gathered . " The belief that differences are speci

fic and similarities generic vitiates one's very approach to

, 29
the evidence . theory of diffusionism remains meth
But the
odologically very indebted to the very evolutionary thesis
much
it supposedly repudiated . For example , in answer to Frankfort's
statement , Hooke replied :
The question of the relative importance of the
differences and similarities will be answered
 23

differently according to the point of view of the

answerer , but it still remains true that differences
arise from prior similarities ; the genus comes before
the species , and the species is defined by its dif
ferences within the larger circle of the genus ....
Every logician would agree , as against Frankfort
that similarities are generic and differences spe
cific . 30
What is significant here is that Professor Frankfort's
charge countered by Hooke on the basis of formal logic , to
is
the rules of which human cultural patterns are expected to con
form . Can a methodology which is rooted in an assumed analogy
between biological forms and socio - cultural structures be re
garded as valid ?
This supposition that " similarities are generic " has ex
pressed itself among anthropologists and folklorists in the con
31
cept of " motifs ." The effect of this approach to the inter
pretation of parallels is well illustrated in the early work of
Albright in which he identified Joseph as a fertility god with
a sanctuary at Shechem , and interpreted his imprisonment in the
bôr in terms of Tammuz's descent into the netherworld . Having
paid tribute to Frazer and Baudissin , Albright asserts that
" from of the myths " of such fertility gods as
a comparison
Tammuz ,Adonis , Osiris , and Bitis , " we know what to expect "
32
with regard to Joseph .
It is unfortunate that , to use Albright's words , " this
knowing what to expect " is precisely the idea that has under
scored the diffusionists ' approach to cultural parallels , mak
ing them fundamentally deductive rather than inductive and ,
they are prime examples of Mendenhall's characterization of a
kind of scholarship which is " so addicted to theory " that it
" frequently leads to the subordination of all other concerns
into neat intellectual or logical symmetry . ..33
clearly , the nature of the problem would require that such
comparisons be restricted to inductive methods , always bearing
in mind that while there may be parallels , " Parallels are lines
which never meet . " Such sober reasoning is deepened by the
realization that the very act of isolating parallels for a
34
study of this type is itself fraught with uncertainty .
24

Furthermore , it is not the form , but rather the meaning

which is ultimately crucial to an understanding of the ancient
data .

The study of forms still does not constitute

either history or religion . For such purposes it is
necessary to delve beneath the ms of language ,

organization , and behavior to their functions : the

sum of their relationships to other aspects of society
and , above all , to the hierarchy of values upon which
solidarity ultimately depends . It should be clear
from the outset that such relationships between form
and function cannot be constant in any society at
the expense of complete stagnation . 35

This investigation may demonstrate essential similarities of

ritual slayings of human beings in the mass of material from
the ancient Near East , both in form and historical development ,

but this need not be a proof of congruity of signification.36

Rather , such complexes may change their meaning almost com
pletely ; 37 they may even persist in form long after virtually
all specific content has been lost .
I do not wish to deny categorically the theory of diffu
sionism or independent development where an examination of evi
dence reveals a similarity in the ritual of human sacrifice .
Simple ethnographic phenomena may arise independently in dif
ferent regions , but the diffusion of cultural elements may al
so play an important part . Where the principle of psychic un
ity cannot applied or the paths of diffusion cannot be
be
clearly indicated , one must inquire what determines existing
similarities , whether an identity really exists or was pre
sumed to exist by abstracting from the psychological context in
which they occur . Therefore one must question whether or not
one is dealing with a comparison of one's logical fantasy .

Ritual Patternism
Any study aiming at a clearer understanding of an ancient
custom , or ritual within a given cultural context , must deal
with the problem of " patterns . " For this investigation the
problem of " pattern in ritual slayings of human beings " is of
prime importance . For , if the ritual pattern is deduced from
 25

correspondences in form , without sufficient regard for correla

tion in meaning , then the is likely to be
resulting construct
artificial in its design and misleading in its implications .
One of the most widely studied events in the ancient Near
38
East is the Babylonian New Year Festival . S. H. Hooke and
his colleagues have analyzed it in support of the theory of
" patternism . " The following statement summarizes the views of
this school :
The annual festival which was the centre and
climax of all religious activities of the year con
tained the following elements :
( a ) The dramatic representation of the death and
resurrection of the god .
(b ) The recitation or symbolic representation of
the myth of creation .
(c ) The ritual combat , in which the triumph of
the god over his enemies was depicted .
(d ) The sacred marriage .
(e ) The triumphal procession in which the king
played the part of the god followed by a
train of lesser deities .
These elements might vary in different localities
and at different periods , some being more strongly

stressed than others , but they constitute the under

lying skeleton , so to speak , not only of such rituals
as the great New Year Festivals , but also of corona
tion rituals , initiation ceremonies , and may even be '
discerned in occasional rituals such as spells against
39
demons and various diseases .

The important but rather muted methodological claims im

plicit in this outline are : first , the concept of an " underly
ing skeleton " which presumably be laid bare by stripping
could
away such elements in time and space which have effectively
concealed it , this skeleton is discernible in all
and second ,
types of material , literary and otherwise , although they may
not necessarily be connected to any large - scale public cere
mony

One cannot seriously pursue this methodology in an evalua

tion of Near - Eastern material , for the practice of a given
26

ritual cannot be based primarily on the presupposition that it

forms part of a " pattern " elsewhere . I know that patterned
structures do exist , for no culture is sui generis and in the
ancient Near East no culture is isolated from others . But pat
terns derived from contemporaneous and related cultures histor
ically shown to have been in contact must always take prece
dence over modern theories and generalizations as sources for
the interpretation of specific evidence . IfHooke's methodol
ogy is followed , it could lead to the fabricating of ritual
" patterns " from the most divergent and unrelated sources . In
an evaluation of the evidence of human sacrifice in this area ,
analogies must only be based on what is known to be true of the
entire region and only thus can it be ascertained whether or
not a " pattern " exists .
 CHAPTER III
RITUAL SLAYING ON SEALS

Any objective investigation of

human sacrifices in the
ancient Near East must begin with the evidence from cylinder
1
seals .
Ancient Near Eastern seals are of two types : the stamp and
the cylinder , and both were used in the early periods in Meso
potamia . Then the stamp gave way to the cylinder which predom
inated . The former imparts its device to the medium by means
of simple downward pressure , but the latter is rolled over clay ,
hence sometimes known as " roll seals . " All seals of this class
are essentially the same form , but there is considerable range
in both absolute dimensions and in the proportion of height to
width ; they range roughly from half - an - inch to more than six
inches in dimension . Seals are made primarily from several
kinds of stone especially hematite and the various chalcedon
ies .
Like miniature paintings on clay , seals and sealings are
cultural revelations , and provide us with important material
for the study of history . They throw interesting light on
iconography , art , and religious beliefs of the past , and pro
vide data which corroborates , supplements , and also modifies
other historical sources . At times they supply new information
not available from any other source . The more than 10,000 ex
tant seals span a period of more than 3,000 years from the
fourth to the first millennium B.C. The majority show reli
gious scenes , and many symbols and ideas can be clearly traced
through the changing styles of successive periods . Regarding
the Babylonian seals , Leon Legrain observes : " Certain figures
and details seal landmarks of archaeology . They belong to
are
certain fixed times , regions and peoples , or while borrowed
from older tradition , they acquired their special importance
within limits of space and time . " 2
Attempts at such a study of seals are faced with a number
of seemingly insurmountable problems , foremost among which is
the refusal of most scholars in this field to consider the pos
sibility of human sacrifice in their interpretation of the

27
28

3
various seal designs
Along with this can be
. added the natur
al difficulties which this discipline entails . Dr. Frank fort
has argued that the scene or symbol can only be interpreted on
the basis of the relationship of the given locality to Mesopo
tamia as a whole . " A local classification is no more satisfac
tory because the glyptic art of all the regions in the North
and East is to a large extent dependent upon that of Mesopotam
ia and only explicable by reference to that cultural center . " 5
Information obtained on this basis would then permit recogni
tion of larger groups with considerable precision.6
The conclusions drawn from the evidence the seals supply
must be correlated with other available data in an attempt to
ascertain their meaning . Even so , a number of obstacles remain
in the process of interpretation . Many scenes are renderings
of myths , and there is a great degree of uncertainty about their
significance . This is due partly to our incomplete knowledge
of the literary materials , and our inability to grasp the allu
sions which must have been clear to the clients of the seal
cutters . 7 Added to this handicap , attempts at interpretation
8
have suffered from an inadequate methodology . Pictorial ex
pressions on a number of seals of the same or similar scenes
should be examined together , if one is to arrive at an accept
able interpretation.º In short , one must first seek to estab
lish the pictorial equivalents , and then attempt to discover
what fresh details the variants may add to the standard ver
sions . Only after this is done is one then in the position to
10
seek other sources for parallels with the pictured stories .
The study of seals began at the close of the nineteenth
century with the work of Joachim Ménant using the method just
outlined ; his publication is still among the best in the
field . 11 In this important work , which paved the way for later
scholars , Ménant proposed for the first time that significant
data concerning the ritual of human sacrifice in the ancient
Near East could be gained by a study of specific designs .

Seals of the First Babylonian Dynasty 12

The grouping
of seals into general chronological periods
based on forms , types , workmanship , material
and location has

been attempted by many specialists since Ménant . A synthesis

of the evidence from the different collections has been made
 29

by a number of scholars including W. H. Ward , L. J. Delaporte ,

13
A. Moortgat , L. Legrain , Edith Porada , and also H. Frankfort .
earliest attempt at a classification depicting ritual
The
slaying during the First Babylonian Period was made by Ménant .
The copies of the seals he describes and subsequently interprets
as human sacrifices portray scenes in which a naked man is

seized by a " priest , " whose upraised right hand holds a weapon
as if in the act to kill . This " priest , " whom Ménant inter
prets as officiating in a "human sacrifice , " is identified with
another figure , which appears frequently on other cylinders -- a
bearded personage in a short robe , with both legs exposed , his
right arm hanging by his side , who holds a sort of baton in his
left hand , which is lifted across his waist . On other seals
this figure appears with slight variations such as holding a
basket in his right hand , but the general features are always
preserved so as to leave little doubt regarding his identity .
The immediate issue is whether or not Menant is correct in
his identification of this scene as a human sacrificial ritual .
If is correct , the next question is whether it demonstrates
he
that the ritual was practiced in this region at this stage in
its history . A re - examination and re - evaluation of the scenes
described by Ménant , taking into account the observations based
upon the interpretation and arguments of later scholars , would
seem to be in order .

W. H. Ward rejects this identification , contending that if

Ménant is correct , the same conventionalized depiction of the
key personage is to be found scores of times on other hematite
seals in variety of postures , which exclude the proposed in
a
terpretation . He further observes that rather than represent
ing priests , these forms depict deities . 14 However , most later
scholars have argued that the distinction between deities and
mortals is rather vague in the seal designs of this period .
While the horned crown still appears in most carefully executed
seals as part of the god's attire , certain divinities of the
West were occasionally depicted with a turban similar to those
15
worn by an earthly ruler .
the various beings which assume human shape on the
" of
seals the bald headed kilted figure Pl . XV a , i , m, is cer
,
tainly human , since inscribed statues of men show the same fea
tures . The flat - capped person of Pl . XI f , is similarly known
30

from historical monuments Ward also pro

at Kish and Mari..16
poses that human figures
to be identified by their nudity ,
are
sometimes by bare heads and in the attitude of worship . 17
Though this appears to be generally the case , there is no cer
tainty that this is always so .
In his detailed analysis of Ménant's interpretation , Ward
refers to the following collection of seal designs from which
18
the deduction of human sacrifice has been made :
1. Small naked figure on one knee , turns his head back , and
lifts one hand over his head imploring mercy . Behind this
victim stands the usual " pontiff , " or sacrificing priest
of M. Ménant , clad in a short skirt , and one foot advanced
toward his victim . He holds in his left hand what appears

to be a club or a mace , while his right hand holds a curved

weapon lifted over his head with which he seems about to
strike the suppliant . In front of the victim stands anoth
er figure dressed in a short skirt carrying a bow ( or
shield ) over his left shoulder , while with his right hand
19
he holds down the head of the imploring victim .
2. Naked victim in same attitude ... one hand lifted over his
head the other grasped by the left hand of the god ( or

" pontiff " ) , who , in the same dress and attitude as pre
vious cylinders , lifts his curved weapon over his head .
There four other figures whose connection with the
are
scene doubtful , although one of them is seated in full
is
front face
20
...
to whom he regards this sacrifice as being

made .
3. The scene is precisely the same as the last , except that
21
the victim is of full size ...
4. The same " pontiff " holds the same weapon over his head , a
mace in his left hand ; before him cowers the victim in
22
the usual attitude .
The same scene as the last ....
23
5.

6. The same god ( or " pontiff " ) , ... with the mace ... he rests
his foot on the prostrate body of a small nude victim .
There are three other figures ... apparently duplicates of
the god .... 24
7 . The same scene except that the victim is not entirely
25
naked .
 31

8. The same scene ... the figures have been so conventionalized

or so imperfectly drawn , that the weapons and objects in
the hand of the god have disappeared and the victim has no
attire . 26
9. The god ( or " pontiff " )
long robe holds one hand
in a lift
ed , though lifted overhis head has disappeared
the weapon
with the mutilation of the stone .... Before him cowers the
kneeling naked victim who is also attacked from behind by
27
a composite winged animal ....
It is clear that all these seals show the same being , god or
priest , and the same type of " victim . " The leading figure is
usually the same ; holding a mace and threatening the nude vic
tim . On most scenes the naked person is portrayed before the
seated , or standing , figure of a rather dignified being . Ward
argues that all these circumstances do not suggest a sacrific
ing priest , bur rather a god of vengeance . The only scene he
would interpret as human sacrifice is the one described under
No. 7,where the victim is before a seated being whom Ward calls
a " goddess . He emphasizes that the distinction in the head
dress of gods and men is not so clearly drawn in the earlier
seals , and that later the headdress became obsolete but was
continued in art for the gods alone . At this time their repre
sentation became fixed .
Frankfort also agrees that the " priest " figure represents
a deity , pointing out that he appears on numerous seals armed
with a multiple mace and a scimitar , but usually either tramp
ling or killing a human victim . 28 But he rejects the theory
29 30
that this deity is either Marduk , or Shamash , arguing in
stead that the figure is actually the god of pestilence , Ner
gal , 31 a theory which was earlier rejected as untenable by
Ward but later accepted for the want of a better identifica
tion . 32
The analysis
of the evidence favors the inference that the
figure is a Whether it be Shamash or Nergal , this iden
deity .
tification raises quite a few more problems . How can it be
reconciled with the contention that the distinction between
deities and mortals , based on their attire , is very vague at
this period ? 33 Recall that the majority of seals bearing this
figure picture the alleged deity - figure in association with
another figure usually seated , or standing , next to a crescent .
32

Who , is represented by this second figure , or what does

then ,
he representin relation to the deity / priest figure ? If the
first figure represents a deity , and the nude figure being
killed and usually positioned between the two does indeed rep
resent a human victim , what is the latter's relationship to the
other two personages ? It would seem that the scene should be
analyzed in its totality , but neither Ward nor Frankfort has
done so . Their arguments apply primarily to the identification
of the priest / deity figure , to the almost total exclusion of
the others . Only after the foregoing questions have been tho
roughly explored and reasonable answers obtained can the iden
tity of the deity / priest figure even be partially ascertained ,
and the question of whether or not the rite of human sacrifice
is to be presumed from these seals be settled .
One fact seems clear : the frequent appearance of this seal
design , its occurrence in a particular chronological and cul
tural setting coincidental with the rise of a new power struc
ture in this region , should not be viewed as merely accidental ;
some basic purpose must underlie its emergence .
34
The figure with the mace , the dominant protagonist on
the seals of this group , wears a splayed beard , a round cap
35
with upturned brim , and a bordered shawl . While he is dis
tinguishable on the cylinder seals , he is more clearly portray
36
ed in front of contemporaneous clay chariots . The superior
role which this figure commonly assumes , facing a goddess or

another important seated dignified figure , indicates that he

must be either a king or a god . The fact that he usually wears
a cap like that of Hammurabi on his stele , rather than a horned

miter suggests that he is a king and not a deity . Only one ex

tant seal shows him with a horned miter , an indication that he
might also be divine . However , this does not necessarily con
flict with the view that the figure represents a king , as old
Babylonian texts also use terms for divinity with reference to
37
a king . But , notwithstanding , the general uniformity in the
rendering of this figure from the beginning to the end of the
First Dynasty of Babylon , suggests that it signifies the king
generally rather than any specific ruler .
The of deities ' pictures on seals presents
identification
38
numerous problems , and these vary from period to period . The

other important figure normally seated or standing is identified

 33

39 40
principally by his horned crown , is usually beardless , and
is most often attired in a kaunakes on
; many occasions a cres
cent appears in the field before him . Generally , scholars re
fer to this figure as an enthroned king or god . A respectable
number of old Babylonian seals depict the worship of this fig
41
ure , and a dated seal impression portraying worship of an en
throned king or god was found on a tablet of Sumu - la - ilu , the

second king of the First Babylonian Dynasty preceding Hammurabi

by about a century . 42 Scenes of this type also appear in im
pressions of old Babylonian style on tablets of the Assyrian
trading colonies in Anatolia , which may be contemporaneous with
the early First Dynasty kings .
43
These themes , then , belong to
the old Babylonian Period , and it has been argued that the seals
perpetuate the worship of certain deified kings of the Third
44
Dynasty of Ur ; hence , the figure represents a king and not a
deity .
However , it has also been pointed out that :

old Babylonian seals depicting the worship

The
of a figure like that of the deified king on the seals
of the Third Dynasty of Ur can be differentiated from
the latter by the fact that the interceding goddess
usually stands with hands raised in supplication be
hind the worshipper , instead of leading him by the
hand . There are also differences in the attire of
the figures : The worshippers wear bordered instead
of fringed mantles ; though most of them are bald ,
some wear caps which are occasionally vertically
45
ridged as in Isin - Larsa seals .

Porada concludes by suggesting that the meaning of the en

throned figure may have changed , especially since the kings of

of Babylon were not consistently deified .

46
the First Dynasty
A plausible conclusion , then , is that the enthroned figure
represents some major god of the pantheon , rather than a dei
fied king .
is general agreement that the naked figures repre
There
sent victims . On the strength of the previous analysis ,
human

there are indications that this corpus of seals from the First
Babylonian Dynasty portrays a king of this period either stand
ing over or in the act of killing a human victim in the presence
34

of a deity . this represents a human sacrifice , ritual

Whether
killing or some ,symbolic act , depends upon whether these scenes
can be correlated with literary or historical sources . Since
other extant seals also show similar or related scenes , it is
necessary to proceed with an examination of these so that a
plausible conclusion can be arrived at based on all the evi
dence .

The Early Dynastic and Sargonid Periods

With the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period ca. 3000

B.C. and variously called "Sumerian , " " Pre - Sargonid , " " Archaic , "

or " Period of the plano - convex bricks , " we pass from prehistory
into the recognized confines of history . The culture of this
period is divided into four phases : Early Dynastic I , , II III
and IV ; it reached its B.C. as reflected in
apogee around 2700

the finds of the " Royal Cemetery " at Ur . This is followed by

the Akkadian or Sargonid period ca. 2400-2180 B.C. and a unifi
cation of Mesopotamia under the Semites .

The details of a peculiar type of seal of the Early Dynas

tic and Sargonid Period are not as clear as most others from
this era , but they appear to depict a god seated in front of a
sacred tree , approached by three standing figures of which the
first two seem to be prisoners . The first figure is manacled ,
the second has the left arm extended backwards with the right
hand in the grip of the last and tallest figure , perhaps the
guard , who nudges the man forward by the back of his head . The

curious on the legs of the two prisoners may be in

markings
tended to represent shackles . Delaporte suggests that this
47
scene depicts a human sacrifice to the vegetation god . This
scene is almost identical to one on a seal at the Louvre , on
which two guards lead three manacled prisoners before a seated
48
god holding vegetation in his right hand . Other seals from
the same region in southern Mesopotamia represent the same gen
Seals fitting
49
eral picture , described by Frankfort .
and are
the designs and style of the preceding , have been assigned to
the second Early Dynastic Period by most specialists in this
field . 50
51
The Brocade style , which underlies the basic designs of
the first Early Dynastic Period is continued into the second
Early Dynastic Period ; however , the seal - cutters turned from
 35

the purely decorative patterns to scenes in which human and

half beings struggle with other human beings or with
-human
52
beasts of prey . Miss Porada argues that there must be either
mythological or symbolic meaning behind these designs . 53 Frank
fort on the other hand believes that these are variations upon
a single theme stressing, in essence , the defense against intru
sions upon which the daily life depended ; consequently , he in
sists , they expressing activities which were commonplace
may be

in daily life and sees no point in searching mythological

, lit
erature for the identification of the composite figures . 54 The
central figure is usually the victim , and the action of the
other figures and their interrelations remain intelligible
throughout .
55
In contrast to the preceding , the Sargonid Era produced
seals of the rarest types ; no other class of seals contains a
greater variety of rare material . Rather than the portrayal of
a mythological subject or a scene from daily life , this corpus
of seals is noted for singleness of purpose , along with preci
sion and clarity of presentation . All leading specialists
agree that these Akkadian seal designs embrace ritual and myth ,
daily life and religious beliefs with a directness rarely to be
56
found even in the cultic texts of the priests .
Frankfort's evaluation of Sargonid Seals and their rela
tionship to literary sources is especially perceptive :

There are a number of texts referring to subjects

dealt with by the seal - cutters of Sargon's age . These
texts are later than the seals , but though this differ
ence in age may be a source of error , it would be ex
ceedingly unwise to deny their relevance a priori .
We already know that numerous religious usages and

beliefs have come down from very ancient times , though

we happen to know them only from late documents . If
we refuse to countenance any combination , however
prudent , of texts of the First Millennium B.c. with
the seals of the Third , we are destroying the only
bridge between the literary and pictorial expression
of Mesopotamian religion . 57
A most interesting note to
be discussed later on is that ritual
texts rather than purely literary works supply many parallels
to these seal designs and those of later periods .
36

Among the involve an allusion to ritual

rare designs which
slayings are the following : A bearded , nude figure with a simple
horned crown , a decorated triangular protuberance between the
horns . He is seated on a cubical object with a step - like edge
resembling an altar . The figure is held and menaced by two
other figures attired in the same headgear and wide belts . One

holds the nude figure by the shoulder , the other jerks back his
beard while stepping on his thigh and grasping one of his
wrists . A fourth figure , like the other two , holds a long
58
weapon to With slight variations we have the same
his chest .
scenes designs number 151 and 152 . Are these scenes purely
on
mythological in their reference , or do they mean that in earli
er times beings were sacrificed on an altar ? 59
human
60
Another seal published by Ball depicts a standing figure
holding a scepter in both hands , and a divine being stationed
on the top of a ziggurat holding in his right hand a scimitar ,
and in the left a scepter . Behind him is an altar with vege
table offerings upon it . Behind the divinity are two standing
figures clothed in leopard skin with their right hands raised
in an attitude of striking . Between them is a kneeling human
figure wearing only loin cloth and a headdress . One of the
standing pair holds back the head of the kneeling figure while
the other pulls aside his beard as though to expose his throat
conveniently for a blow . Ball identifies this scene as a pre
paration for human sacrifice . It is similar to those discussed
above .

A third scene depicting some type of ritual slaughter por

trays the killing of a creature in human shape , accompanied by
61
a boar . The seal depicts a nude figure in the center bend
ing over a boar , while behind him are two other figures , the
one nearest him striking him in the back of the head with a
weapon , while a fourth figure stands in front holding the vic
tim's head in place over the boar .
The three scenes reflect some sort of ritual killing of
individuals during the Sargonid Period . The central question
is whether they are mythological representations , or are evi
dence of ritual slaughter as suggested by Frankfort , Ball , and
62
others .

The figure appearing with vegetation in hand and seated

upon a throne , along with the added evidence of a fruit
 37

offering upon the altar , has led scholars

to the conclusion
63
that it This figure also ap
represents a vegetation deity .
pears on other seals receiving offering of fruit , grain , and
even animals . 64 The figures holding the victim or offering him
on the altar are identified as either human attendants or minor

deities . 65 The identification of the victim or victims has al

so been problematical . On the seals where he wears a headdress

like the attendants he is identified as a minor deity by some

66
scholars , but since nudity is often used as the primary desig
67
nation of the human victim , others prefer this identification .
On those seals where the victims are manacled , the consensus is
68
that they represent human victims who are prisoners .
Based on a comparative analysis of all these designs ,
there is no doubt that those scenes which show an altar with
offerings and a presiding deity can only be the portrayal of a
sacrificial scene . Since a human victim is in the process of
69
being killed before the altar , in the presence of the deity ,
whether the attendants are to be identified
as human function
aries , or minor deities , the conclusion is inescapable : we have
here a clear - cut case of human sacrifice . The fact that the
glyptic of this period is noted for its directness , and drama
70
tic portrayal of religious thought , as generally agreed by
scholars in this field , only reinforces the conclusion we have
reached .
The final scene described does not depict an altar , but
it cannot be ruled out as a unique portrayal of some aspect of
ritual slaughter . This seal can be connected with one from the
71
Louvre . is a seated deity , and another minor deity
There
72
slaughtering boar before the seated figure ,
a while a bird
of prey hovers above the boar . In every identification , the
boar and the bird of prey represent the hostile powers which
have to be overcome before the god upon whom the life of na
73
ture depends can be liberated from his mountain - grave . Baby
lonian texts indicate that in the ritual of the New Year's fes
tival a boar is killed , 74 and also in mythology this hostile
power is referred to as the storm - bird zu . 75 Seals that repre
sent the subjection of the enemy in the form of a bird almost
always add to the scene the two
mentioned . figures
The accumulation of these data suggests that at the New
Year festival , a human being was slaughtered under the form of
38

a pig sometime during the ceremony . It is also worth noting

that on such an occasion a criminal was said to be imprisoned
with Marduk . 76 Is it not possible , then , that on this seal we
have the original ritual killing of a criminal , but in its later
form of a pig ? While there are only a few seals depicting this
77
scene , there may be a genuine relationship to ritual slaught
er .

Cappadocian Cylinders and Ritual Killing

At a time corresponding to the latter part of the Isin
Larsa Period in southern Mesopotamia , Assyrian merchant colo
78
nies flourished in Anatolia . A large number of sealed tab

lets have been recovered by excavations in this region . The

style of some of the impressions on the tablets is early old
Babylonian , but the majority present features that are very
different perhaps of indigenous origin .
, and The language of
the texts was later identified with the old Assyrian
inscribed
dialect ; however , the term Cappadocian is still often applied
to the tablets and the seal impressions found on them .
One of the non - Babylonian features on a number of these
seals is the figure of a bull with a pyramidal protuberance on
its back . A study of these representations along with others
depicting the weather god , their relationship to human figures
in the attitude of worship , and human victims , has persuaded
Ward , Dussaud , Contenau , and Meissner , that there may be evi
79
dence of human sacrifice on a number of them .

Ward's theory is based

on the evidence drawn from some
80
fourteen seals , of the designs of which reveal the
a summary
following : ( 1 ) a bull with a pyramidal protuberance on its
back , and in two cases a pair of arms extending in front , ( 2 )
worshippers in front of the bull varying in number from one to
four , (3) in three cases a small human figure under the bull ,
and (4) in two cases the bull stands on an altar .
Based on comparison with other glyptic of this type from
southern Mesopotamia concludes that the triangular ob
, Ward
ject on the bull's back represents a flame ; the design is not
meant to symbolize a real bull but rather the image of a bull
altar . He imagines a " cuplike depression on the square back
..81
of the bull into which oil was poured and burned , ' and hence
the flame . The small figure under the bull is interpreted as
 39

a child brought by worshippers . Therefore , he observes that

this could be a bronze bull being prepared for the immolation
of the human victim .
The " bull - altar " theory is validated
in Ward's view be
causethe object has four legs , and two arms and hands reaching
out in front , on which , he states , " an offering could be put ,
after the style in which we are told that children were placed
,
for the sacrifice to Moloch . 182 The triangular flame suggests
turbans or tiaras of the principal gods as they are figured on
the divine thrones on the so - called " boundary stone . 183 He
therefore sees here a striking similarity between Mesopotamian
and Syro - Hittite art .
Dussaud , Contenau , and Meissner have focused attention on
84
three seals of this corpus . They see a general Syro -Hittite
theme of the death and re - birth of a celestial mediator running
85
through these designs .
The central feature is a seated god holding a double axe
and curved sticks in his hands . He occupies a place behind an
elegant table , the top of which is supported by figures of lions
and heaped with offerings . Three worshippers approach , mounting
steps to a platform to reach the seated deity . On top of the
platform between the deity and the worshippers is a bearded fig
ure holding a double axe . Behind the seated god appears a
kneeling figure collapsing in surrounding flames . At the back
of this collapsing figure and facing the opposite direction
stands another figure attired in a Mesopotamian cloak , with a
libation jug ; on his left is another figure with a dagger . Be
tween them lying on an altar engulfed in flames is another hel
meted figure ; at his feet is the one figure with the dagger
raised to strike , and at his head the other with the libation
jug tilted as if in the act of pouring .
Other designs also include another figure behind the seat
ed deity , standing on one human victim , and attacking with a
spear another who is prostrate on the ground before him .
Various interpretations of these pictures have been offer
ed . Contenau and Meissner have suggested that they represent
For Ronzevalles it is a
86
an eradication of some sickness .

mythological scene representing the castration of Uranos by his

son Kronos as related in Hesiod's Theogony , but drawn essen
tially from oriental sources .
87
However , unlike Contenau and
40

Meissner , who try to interpret each section of this design sep

arately , Ronzevalles and Dussaud are of the opinion that they
are all connected , and hence , according to the latter , this
seal really represents the sacrifice of a human victim in order
88
to produce rain . In this setting he identifies Teshub , the
Anatolian rain - god , as the figure holding the spear in the pro
89
cess of immolating a human victim ; and Shamash the sun - god as
the great central figure . This has strong Sumero - Akkadian
coloring . The section depicting the immolation of the victim
on the table he relates to the influence of indigenous Anatol
ian elements since this rite was observed at times of drought
and plague . These scenes represent
a combination of both Ana

tolian concepts , but illustrating a prac

and Sumero - Akkadian
tical aspect of life with which the people of this region were
90
familiar . He supports this theory by drawing especially on
the accounts of classical writers . The question then is wheth
er these seal designs and those previously studied by Ward can
be used as evidence in support of the theory of ritual slayings
in early Anatolia .
Objection is raised by Frankfort , but
to these theories
his argumentis inconsistent with his previous position . His
suggestion that in dealing with Cappadocian seal interpretation
we are compelled to confine ourselves merely to the phenomenal
side of the designs -- "because all we know of Anatolian religion
belongs to a period 600 years later than the Cappadocian tab
lets "91 -- is
comparable to making the assertion that we really
cannot understand the rudiments of most early Sumerian ritual
because the greater portion of relevant texts were written more
than 1,000 years later during the Assyrian Period . But as
Frankfort himself claims , such a position is untenable .
Frankfort agrees that the characteristic bull figure is to
be considered pre - eminently Kanish , and even Ward points to one
such seal found as far west as Byblos . But while agreeing with
others 92 that the native civilization of Kanish was part of a
larger cultural milieu , and that this figure belongs to the
larger area , Frankfort states that in this region local beliefs
93
find a less detailed expression , therefore , the interpreta
tions of the previous scholars are based on assumptions which
94
cannot be proven . The contradiction here is rather striking ;
he admits that the bull figure and its associations are found
 41

in an extended region around Mesopotamia as far east as Elam

and west as Byblos , but he denies that there could be a similar
range in significance or application of the symbol .
It must be admitted that Ward's conclusion that this cor
pus of seals reflects the practice of human sacrifice is based
partly on the later Hebrew and Greek literary evidence to this
effect ; hence his remarks : " We know that human sacrifices were
practiced in Syria on the western coasts , although there is no
evidence of such practice prevailing in Babylonia , so that we
need not be surprised at the possible representation of human

sacrifice , perhaps child sacrifice in the region from which

, 95
these cylinders have come . This evidence is drawn from
96
Moore , who quotes Diodorus Siculus , the Midrash , and the old
Testament ; and explains that the image of Kronos was of brass ,
with hands stretched out in such a direction that the children ,
when placed on these , would roll into a pit of fire . The Jew

ish Midrash refers to this idol with the head of a bull as

97
Moloch .
As Ward has pointedout , there must have been some basis
for the report of these child sacrifices in Syria , Phoenicia ,
and Carthage . The question , then , is not whether the literary
sources reveal an actual situation or can be trusted , but wheth
er they may allude to a cultural activity which is portrayed on
these seals . Ward's theory is based on the same principle uti
lized by Frankfort and many ancient Near Eastern scholars . In
order to understand an ancient practice , a comparison of non
literary with literary sources is a safe way to proceed , even
though the literary sources being discussed may require addi
tional study . These seals allude to a bronze bull upon which
children could have been and probably were sacrificed , perhaps
to Moloch or Kronos . The ritual slayings may have been a part

of cultural activity in this region . It is generally agreed

that those seals which depict the Anatolian weather - god are
98
Cappadocian , but Frankfort questions the validity of the as
sumption that they portray an indigenous practice . He argues
instead that while the seals are in essence Cappadocian , they
represent merely a modification of Babylonian designs so their
true value as vehicles for insight into cultural practices is
open to question . The issue as Frankfort sees it is really one
99
of art -motif and not necessarily a custom . However , we may
42

really be dealing with an indigenous cultural practice . One

culture may borrow a custom from another , but it will rarely ,

if ever , be given the same interpretation in its new cultural
setting . It will be reinterpreted according to the local need ,

hence , even in linguistics , the same word may mean two differ
ent things to two different people . One must admit , even as
Frankfort does , 100 that certain changes in traditional Mesopo
tamian design denote a change in meaning , whether or not we are
able to grasp its significance . This thought can be carried
further to the effect that a change in design from one cultural
context to another may also be indicative of a difference in
thought or artistic expression .
The god with the dagger in Fig . 72 of Frankfort is Cappa
docian , though a modification of the Mesopotamian prototype of
101
the First Dynasty of Babylon , where his value was purely
decorative . 102 This is clear even in the previous seal where
he is in the process of making a sacrifice , a fact which is ac
cepted by Frankfort ,
based on another Cappadocian seal on which
103
a similar scene is depicted . Similarly , the god treading
104 is related to
upon a human victim the First Babylonian Dynas
105
ty god with the mace and may be identified with the sun - god .
It has also been pointed out that the use of the spear in the
Cappadocian seals as a sacrificial instrument parallels the
106
dagger in this same period . On the strength of previous
analyses and Frankfort's own correlations , it is difficult to
accept his theory that all these seals merely reveal that " the
local seal - cutters " used these designs to their own ends . The
sum of evidence makes it more reasonable to conclude that they
reflect an indigenous practice of human sacrifice .
The preceding material drawn from the First Babylonian ,
the Early Dynastic - Sargonid Periods , and the Cappadocian glyp
tic , represents all the available evidence on seals portraying
human sacrifice . The conclusions derived thus far from the
study of certain corpora of these seals were based primarily
on what each design and scene was thought to portray within
its cultural context . However , these conclusions cannot be
accepted with finality until
other areas relevant to this prob
lem have been explored . Archaeological scientists have , over
the past several decades , successfully unearthed and interpret
ed numerous other artifacts which contribute to modern man's
fuller understanding of the cultural achievements of the past .
 43

Conclusions derived from the evaluation and interpretation

of seal designs are very important for the ultimate purpose of
this study ; of equal importance , however , are places of burial ,

cultic artifacts and human remains which in a more concrete way

tends to illustrate ritual practices and societal customs in

this area .
Several factors make this type of evidence difficult to
interpret historically and culturally . Excavation in Mesopo
tamia began more than one hundred years ago and the field work
during that period has been done by archaeologists of varying
competence . The results are published piecemeal in the form of
annual progress reports and special periodical articles , many
of which are not always available . As a result , the task of
collecting and analyzing the reports from even the most impor
tant sites ( Kish , Warka , Susa , Nippur , and others ) is indeed
107
formidable .

Another frustrating ' factor is that the earlier excavators ,

especially the German and French expeditions which initiated
work at many of these sites , were primarily interested in the
accumulation of museum pieces with very little regard for pot
tery collection , stratigraphy , or human remains .
The following chapter represents an analysis of certain
cultic artifacts , burial places , and other human remains of a
number of sites in southern Mesopotamia , and of a later period
in the north . 108
 CHAPTER IV
ROYAL ATTENDANTS FOR THE " OTHER WORLD "

The Early Dynastic Period ?

Surghul and Al - Hibba

Relying upon articles published by Heinrich Lenzen , 2
Douglas Van Buren has arrived at the very reasonable conclu
sion that in early Mesopotamia sacrifices were performed not
only on altars in temples , but also that there were certain de
tached areas in the vicinity of temples especially prepared
for this purpose .
Certain types of sacrifices were offered on the same spot
over considerable periods of time . Evidence shows that these
places of sacrifice were in the form of a narrow trough - like
trench sunk into the floor of an enclosure . The interior usu
ally was plastered with a thin coating of clay ( upon which the
offerings were placed ) .
Fire was kindled in the round end of the trough , and the
ceremony completed by sweeping out all the ashes and refuse of
6
the sacrifice This form apparently underwent some changes ;
.
e.g. ,its successor on the same spot was a round raised plat
form -- a circular sacrificial area . All that is known is that
the sacrifices made in the prescribed areas were burnt offer
ings , and continued to be offered on almost the same spot
8
through consecutive occupational layers . Van Buren's conclu
sion , based on the size of the places , the persistence of the
rite , and the fact that the floor was swept clean after every
use , is that these sacrifices were of such a special nature
that they could not be offered in the local temple . Conse
quently , they could have been rites to avert evil or expiate
sin . SHe cites as good examples of the trough arrangement
Uruk , where Stratum III
has five troughs , and Ur , the III
Eanna precinct , where four troughs were uncovered .
If
these places of sacrifice are compared with what were
first believed to be incineration graves reported by Koldewey
10
at Surghul and Al - Hibba , where the bones and charred remains
of human bodies were found along with animal and fruit offer
ings , they could have been used for human sacrifices . The

45
46

argument for cremation at these localities should be discarded

as all evidence in situ indicates that these were not bur
the
ial places but rather places of sacrifice . No authentic evi
dence written or unwritten has been found for the practice of
cremation during this period . It is to be emphasized , however ,

that aside from the sites mentioned , there is no recorded evi

dence of human remains at other sites ; what is usually to be
noted is ashes and , at times , animal remains . The fact that
human remains are noted at some of these suggests human victims
at some sites during the period under consideration .
Burials Under Floors
practice during the period was to bury the dead
The common
under the floors of private houses , generally in the center if
the room was small , but more frequently along the walls .
ll
Since this is the rule rather than the exception , if a sacrifi
cial burial or some other form of ritual interment is made at
the time of the construction of a house , this could not be dis
tinguished from a normal type of burial , unless there was evi
dence to indicate that it was either built into the structure
itself , or was made in conjunction with a given rite .
It is this apparent " abnormality , " based on evidence at
Kish , which leads to the conclusion that here we have a drasti
cally different type of burial . Archaeological evidence at
Kish indicates that floor burials during this phase were con
nected with ritual killing .

Ur
The most important evidence of ritual killings in southern
Mesopotamia consists of the 12sensational discoveries by Woolley
in the " Royal Tombs " at Ur . Sixteen graves were found at the
cemetery and no two were exactly alike . All shared certain
characteristics which differentiated them from the thousands
of ordinary graves in this area . The dead were not laid in
coffins , but either in tombs built of stone , mud - brick single
chambers , or more elaborately structured vaults . The burial
itself varying number of human beings from as few
included a

as twelve to as many as seventy or eighty in each tomb .

Accompanying the human victims in each tomb were horses
and chariots , wooden wagons drawn by oxen , musical instruments ,

animals playing harps like men , seals , and other artifacts .

 47

These have served to identify the principal occupants as indi

viduals of some importance who were also attended by a retinue
of guards organized in ranks , women servitors , and other per
13
sonnel . Woolley's view is that the principal occupants of
the tombs were royalty . By studying the construction of the
tombs , theorizes that the king died first and was buried .
he
Later at the queen's death , the tomb was reopened , plundered ,
,

resealed , and the queen's remains and those of her retinue were
laid to rest on a higher level in the tomb . He also assumes
that there was quite an elaborate ceremony at each burial .
When the door was blocked with stone and plastered up ,

the first of the burial ceremony was complete . The sec

phase
ond phase Woolley finds well - illustrated in the tomb of
which
Shub - ad and her husband , was more dramatic . Down into the open
pit with its mat - covered floor and walls , the members of the
dead ruler's court -- soldiers , men and women servants in all
their finery and insignia of rank , musicians bearing harps or
lyres -- were driven or backed down the slope in perfect order .
Drivers of the carts , grooms holding the heads of the draught
animals , all took up their allotted places at the bottom of
the shaft ; a guard of soldiers stood at the entrance . Each in
dividual brought a little clay , stone , or metal cup , the only
14
equipment needed for the rite which was to follow .
Woollex imagines some sort of service in the pit , certain
that the musicians played to the tasto Each individual then
drank from his cup ca potion which had been prepared on the
spot , and then lay down and composed himself for death . Some

one then must have come down and killed the animals , since
their bones were found in many cases on top of the grooms . The
refilling of the tomb shafts he pictures as a long , elaborate
rite .
believes that these people were not slaves , killed as
He

the oxen , but persons bobelin bonou coming voluntarily to the

rite , and passing from one world to another , from the service
15
to that of the same god in another sphere .
of a god on earth ,Gentler
Woolley's opinion that the attendants were buried simul
taneously with their masters , is supported by almost every
scholar , but how this entire scene should be interpreted has
• long been in dispute , and is still an unsettled question . 16
48

There two general interpretations of the evidence :

are
One is that it portrays the fertility ritual in conjunction
with the New Year festival which was conducted regularly from
most ancient times in Mesopotamian history . In it , either the
king or a substitute , along with his wife or her substitute ,
and members of the royal retinue were sacrificed . The other
is that it exemplifies an ancient custom of sending a deceased
ruler to the nether world accompanied by all the ministrants
and gear of his earthly state .
Because each theory has
definite bearing on the overall
a
interpretation of ritual killings during the Early Dynastic
Period ,re - evaluation of the premises on which each is based
a
is needed .Other scholars challenge Woolley's conclusions with
the argument that there is no hint in ancient Mesopotamian doc
uments of human sacrifice forming a part of a royal funeral ;
such a practice is alien to all known Sumerian traditions .
They maintain , therefore , the alternative theory that the tombs
are those of victims of a fertility sacrifice .
17

Another prominent interpretation is

that the deaths at the
Ur tombs represent the central in the earliest enact
element
ments of the much celebrated Akîtu Festival . Many scholars

propose that this ceremony was practiced from the earliest su

18
merian Period up to the Persian rule in Mesopotamia . The
tendency has been to compare the wedding gifts given to the
temple at Bau's festival on New Year's day to the riches found
19
in these tombs and cite Sumerian sources to prove that this
however , it is pointed out
20
festival was held in other cities ;
that if
the correct translation of akîtu is sacrifice , as pro
21
posed by Legrain
and Landsberger , then this must be restrict
22
ed specifically to Sumerian texts , since only later texts
23
make reference to a bît akîtu .

This theory draws on later non -Sumerian sources to portray

the supposed march down to the tombs as similar to the proces
sion along the streets of Babylon from Esagila to the bît akî tu
complete with chariots , horses , and statues of the important
deities . 24 At the conclusion of the procession , great sacri
fices were made . 25 The great quantity of animals used at
these sacrifices and the large retinue of attendants are not
lost on the proponents of this view ; also , at Assur the Akitu
Festival is called the " banquet festival , 126 in which everyone
participated .
 49

Again these sources are used to equate the tomb where the
principal figures are located , with the [bab ) 8a e - sag - ila , a
27
subterranean sepulchral chamber . Therefore , the theoretical
conclusion is that what we have in the Ur tombs is a " primitive
fertility cult drama of the act of creation . 1128
According to this school of thought , the early akîtu was
no sacrificial feast as ordinarily understood , i.e. , where sac
rafices and offerings were the most prominent part of the cere
mony . Rather it centered around a cultic drama in the connu
,

bium where the deity gained the victory over the evil powers and
thus assured the fertility
of land , cattle , and man .
The weakness of this theory is that it attempts to substan
tiate the early existence of a much later ritual by the utiliza
tion of very late sources .
29
If
, as its proponents argue , the

term akitu and its early interpretation as a sacrifice should be

limited to Sumerian sources , it is difficult to understand why
the sacrificial emphasis must now be reinterpreted and expanded
in order to prove the point . We may grant that sacrifice is in
tended in these earlier sources ; however , while there are refer
30
ences to animal and fruit offerings , no human victim is ever
mentioned or implied ; even in the later sources there is no

direct reference to such within the context of the akî tu festi

val . There are definite similarities between the processional
scenes ; however , we have no late evidence that the participants
were entombed with their leader .

The constant appeal to late sources drawn from a very dif

31
ferent sociological and cultural environment , to substantiate
a much earlier ritual which must have been quite different , is
not to be recommended . The evidence can only be truly under
stood when interpreted in its known chronological and cultural
context .
According to a later interpretation , the king or his sub
stitute played the role of the god , while the queen or her sub
stitute that of the goddess ; the ceremony concluded with the
death of the principal actors . At Ur , the king was not prepared
to die ; consequently , someone else must enjoy the title and
32
state of king for a brief while and then disappear .
This fertility rite as a part of the New Year festival is
an annual affair ; therefore , the Ur cemetery , with its thou
sands of graves , super sed at times five or six deep , must
50

represent a length of time , but there are only six

considerable
teen tombs of the kind under
discussion . Must one conclude ,
then , that the people of Ur celebrated only occasionally a rit
ual which was to guarantee a good yearly harvest and assure the
fertility of man and beast , and in most years left the matter to
chance ?
Having designated his find as " Royal Tombs , " Woolley has
tried to strengthen his theory by proposing elaborate connec
tions between certain artifacts found in the tombs and others
discovered on related sites ; he has identified the names of cer
tain personages in these tombs with the names of Sumerian kings
in other sources and pointed to the divine status of these en
tombed individuals .
Among the rich deposits found , the only object telling a
story was " the It depicts scenes of feasting , a
standard . "
four - wheel with sumptuous furnishings attended by servants
wagon ,

and what appears to be a processional scene featuring chariots ,

musical instruments , and a banqueting scene . The conclusions
drawn by Woolley and others are that it represents a victory
celebration by a returning king . The chariot is the principal
33
armament of war . Similar " standards " have been located at
34
Nippur and Lagash . However , there need be no connection be
tween the different scenes on the standard , or between the
scenes and the entombed individuals ; furthermore , those at Nip
pur and Lagash appear to be similar stylistically and also dated
35
to Early Dynastic IIIa , but the context of their discovery
36
bears no comparison to the Ur tombs .
Woolley has also argued that Shub - ad's title NIN , " the
Lady , " was perfectly normal for a queen , and the seal bearing
the name Mes - kalam - dug was found beside one who definitely
,, 37
called himself Lugal , " king . In another tomb belonging to
one A - kalam - dug , he claims the more explicit title of "king of

In refuting the previous fertility theory , Woolley adds

„ 38
Ur .
that it would indeed be difficult to maintain that A - kalam -dug
would have handed over to his temporary substitute destined to
be sacrificed anything as personal and as important as the royal
39
seal .

The latter
part of the argument may be true ; but how is one
to account for the fact that the names of these kings do not ap
pear in the king list ? This states that after the flood , " king
ship was again sent down from on high 40 While we may not ..
 51

fully understand the meaning of the phrase " sent down from on
high , " the nature of the list and the systematic style of each
entry make it legitimate to assume a very old tradition . This
list was given its final form as evidenced by dating , as well
as the point where it stops , at the end of the Dynasty of Isin ,
1794 B.C. Its authors were working with a tradition preserved
more or less accurately by some half - dozen of the oldest and
greatest cities . The information it supplies is regular and
uniform . A city is named , the kingship resided there and King
A reigned X years . If
B was the son of A , this was added . At
the end of the dynasty , there is a summary -- so many kings reign
ed so many years . There are few digressions . Why the important
kings from the " Royal Tombs " are not found in this list is dif
ficult to understand . 41
Added to this is the convincing argument of Sollberger . 42
In discussing the name A - kalam - dug from grave PG / 800 , he reasons
that Lugal was a part of the name Lugal - šà - på - dà , and that
there is no reason to assume , as Legrain does , 43 that this is
the name of a royal person . Based on a study of other seals
published by Legrain , Sollberger believes that instead of
A - kalam - dug's seal , the most probable reading would be
d . 44
a- ºiſin ] dugú [muš ) en . The same can be said about the seal
from Pit F where he suggests that the reading of ' an - mes - šu ,
" the king , " should be changed to the more correct reading of a
simple personal name , Zugaz - dMÉS - šé , king ( going , turning ) to
45
MES . Both Sollberger and Gelb , addressing themselves to the
problem of Shub - ad , " the queen , " have challenged this long es
tablished meaning based on the interpretation of NIN , and are
both in agreement that the seal from tomb PG / 800 with the word
Pu ( KANŠU ) - abi ( AD ) nin , should be read Pu - abi and not Šub - ad . 46

This position maintains that in spite of this reading in Semitic

names , the word NIN in this phrase is most probably to be read
as nin , not š arratum . Two other seals , U10871 and 10872 , found
in the queen's grave , are listed as her second and third seals
( U.E. II
, p . 337 , Nos . 17 and 18 ) , but another seal from the

same grave of the same style bearing the name of a - bára - ge

proves that there is no reason to do so at all . 47
Again , Sollberger believes that to read lugaz - d imduguamušen
as a king , when compared with Zugaz - dim - dugúd and lugaz - dimdugu
mušen 48
is not a strong argument in favour of the " Royal " theory .
52

Woolley's strongest in favour of the theory of

argument
" Royal Tombs " appears that kings were divine .
to be
49
It is
af gued that the term in the king lists " sent down from on high "

could very well imply that there was always inherent in early
Sumerian kingship an element of divinity ; consequently , it must
be assumed that they were at the same timeneings and gods . 50
Since gods do not die , the " death " of a god - king is merely his
translation to another sphere where he continues his life . The
fact that no evidence of violence can be associated with the
death of the attendants in the tomb - chamber can only be explain
ed by the suggestion that they were not regarded as dying , but
continuing 51 Woolley
merely their service
under new conditions .
observes that the primary reason for scholars ' refusal to see
these as " Royal Tombs " is reluctance to recognize that this im
plies a view of the after - world which neither surviving exts
nor the evidence of later burial customs would warrant attribut
ing to the Sumerians .
These are legitimate arguments . The " Royal Tombs " do form
a striking exception to the ordinary tombs in the cemetery , but
is there any conclusive evidence in earlier Sumerian or later
semitic documentation that would justify the view that the Early
52
Dynastic kings were deified ? Personal names found cannot be
used as conclusive argument ; however , the immense wealth and
abundant evidence of human as well as animal victims could do
53
with closer inquiry .
In other burials of this type the entire harem is included
54
inside the tomb , here they are all on the outside . Even more
intriguing is the question of the discontinuation of the custom
of deification and similar burial of later kings . , as has If
often been assumed , Sumerians at this time had a fixed tradi
should we not expect to find some recurrence of it at a
55
tion ,
later date among some of their successors ? 56 These difficulties
cannot be easily explained . Woolley's point that scholarship is
always tempted to argue from a better known period back to the
unknown past , and that it is not always safe to do so , is quite
57
correct . But how else can we even begin a reconstruction of
the unknown past ? Furthermore , he uses the same principle in
arriving at his theory of divinity . Is he not then making an (
arbitrary application of the principle he criticizes ?
What then can be adduced from these " Royal Tombs ?" There
is no clear evidence that they can truly be classified as " royal .
 53

Our assessment of the major arguments which grapple with the

problem of interpretation is clear on that point ; beyond the

fact that the interred were apparently important people , much

more cannot be said . The implication that they were divine
kings implies a view of the after - life which the Sumerians did
not have at this time , and which is not supported by evidence of
later survivals .

of these three interpretations of the signifi

An analysis
cance of the burials at Ur appears to preclude the conclusion
that we have here an earlier stage in the development of the
great Akîtu Festival , the substitutionary death of the king and
his queen by sacrifice in a connubium , or the burial of deified
" royal " personnel with their retinue . While the arguments are ,
at times , theoretically plausible , the sources used in support
of them often lack the objectivity which is necessary if the
proposed positions are to be accepted . What they unequivocally

attest is not a dramatic example of " human sacrifice " to a deity ,

but simply ritual killing , an ancient rite of sending a deceased
lord to his grave fully furnished with his ministers and the
gear of his earthly state . Written descriptions and archaeolo
gical discoveries have repeatedly attested to this practice in
other parts of the world . It can , therefore , no longer be ar
gued that such did not exist among the highly civilized Sumer
ians .

Kish
reports on the Y - Cemetery at Kish by Wate
The excavation
lin , 58note that during this phase the dead were buried under
the floors of houses and that no real burial site was found else
where . of the more than 200 of these tombs excavated , all were
vaulted and large enough to contain one body . Three of the
tombs , however , were different , they were much larger and con
tained wagons and chariots.59 Harnessed to each chariot were
two animals , of the central pole . In each case
one on each side
the remains of five human beings were discovered with the char
iots , one before the animals , as if leading them , and two on
either side . 60 They were all furnished with weapons . The tombs
were rich in ornaments and other weapons aside from those car
ried by the five attendants .
The consensus of those who have studied the human remains ,
their position in the tomb , and the general layout of these
54

large structures the context is military and all the in

is that
dividuals simultaneously when the tombs were sealed ;
were buried
the remains therefore involved some killing as a ritual act .
61 4

The context of the discovery outside of the normal burial pat

tern , and the orientation of artifacts in relation to the indi
viduals , has led many leading scholars to point to this as evi
dent traces of human sacrifices in the Early Dynastic Period .
The similarity between these Kish tombs and those discover
ed at Ur and relationship to each other has
their chronological
been the subject of some debate . Recently , Hrouda and Karstens
have challenged the view held by most scholars that the A - Ceme
tery at Kish should be dated in Early Dynastic IIIb through
62
Proto - Imperial times . With carefully reasoned arguments based
on a seriatim analysis of pottery , small finds , and selected
graves , 63 they proved that this cemetery was in use for approxi
mately three hundred years , 64 later corrected and shortened to
65
one hundred years by P. R. S. Moorey .
This chronological shift also affected the previously held
theory which placed the " Y Cemetery " in Early Dynastic I. 66 The
" A Cemetery " previously assigned to Early Dynastic IIIa , has
been revised upward to Early Dynastic IIIb in the Akkadian Per
67
iod , graves in the " Y Ceme
and the third of the superimposed
tery " which housed the chariot burials , is
shown to be contem
porary with Palace A of the late Early Dynastic IIIb , hence ,
also an earlier contemporary of the " A Cemetery . "
This revised chronological sequence of early Mesopotamian
history would therefore indicate that , contrary to the generally
held opinion , the " Royal Tombs " burials preceded , rather than
followed , those at Kish , and hence , could represent the link
which connects this burial custom with similar practices in the
subsequent Ur III Period .

The Ur III Period

Ur
In Woolley's excavations of the remains of the Ur Per III
iod , three huge buildings were uncovered on the site of his
" RoyalCemetery " which were identified as a mausoleum . Under
the central and also the oldest of these , which he calls " the
Shulgi building , " he found three very large tombs identified as
68
burial place of the kings of this period . ' he location
 55

and type of structure relative to the buildings above has led

to the correct conclusion that they were constructed before the
buildings . 69 His observation of the dimensions in the various
rooms in the central building led him to conclude that the one
situated directly above the entrance to the tombs was somewhat
like a kitchen . Since the long runnels along the walls of this
one (Room 5 ) contained liquid and solid offerings , he reasons :

This was clearly

dining - room for the dead
the
king , of the incense rose into his
and while smoke
nostrils his more material needs were satisfied with
food and drink passing before him ; very properly , the
dining room was directly above the tomb in which the
king lay . 70

The records of this excavation note a passageway under the

level of the flight of stairs leading
to the tombs below , two
of which were thirty - four feet long .
One was apparently des
71
tined for the owner and the other contained many bodies . Both
were sealed at the same time and according to the nature of the
construction , could not afterward be reopened . The theoretical
conclusion is that they were both used in the same rite . What
cannot be ascertained with any degree of certainty is the iden
tity of the occupants , for there are not enough artifacts to
draw any reasonable conclusion . 72
The buildings over the tombs and their interconnection sug
gest that funerary rites continued for some time after burial .
Whatever their character , they were not conducted inside the
walled - up vaults , but on a slightly raised platform in front of
the entrance .
Woolley concluded that the interred were deified kings for
two reasons : ( 1 ) the site of the buildings on the same general

location as the " Royal Tombs ," and ( 2 ) the apparent evidence of
a funerary ritual . The first is based , of course , on the ear
lier assumption that the Early Dynastic tombs were "Royal Tombs , "
the second assumes the acceptance of the theory that the kings if
are deified , then one can expect some sort of continuing mortu
ary ritual evidence in the
. No excavation reports leads to this
73
conclusion . , archaeology and historical records
Furthermore
indicate that funerary rites in ancient Mesopotamia were not the
monopoly of royalty .
56

The type of construction suggests a different kind of bur

ial . The multiple remains of other human beings interred simul
taneously with the owner could signify some ritual involving the
killing of attendants , but nothing more .
The resemblance between tombs at Early Dynastic Ur , Kish ,
Susa ,
74
and those of Ur III , indicates some similarity in the
ritual performed in
The evidence in three cases suggests
them .
that it entailed the ritual slaying of the retainers of an im
portant individual at the time of his death . It would be incor
rect to refer to all these deaths as " sacrifices " to deities for
there is insufficient data to support such a theory . On the ba
sis of all available evidence , the best that can be said in this
regard is that the true nature and meaning of this ritual cannot
be fully ascertained .

of these tombs assigns this practice to that

The dating
period in Sumerian culture which extends from Early Dynastic I
to Early Ur .
75
III
The of the ritual is made clear by a comparison
uniqueness
with burial patterns . However , it appears that
contemporary
this practice ceased after Early Ur . It seems quite legiti III 3
mate , therefore , to theorize that it was impractical to immobil
ize so much wealth , or that man could better serve by remaining
alive than by a premature death . Given the continual accumula
tion of archaeological data , it is unwise to take the position
that the killing of attendants died out completely in southern
Mesopotamia . What is important to note is that evidence indi

cates very strongly that it was practiced by the same people

/
over an extended period .
If
the conclusion derived from the previous evidence seems 2
reasonable , then the inclusion of human victims at certain
places of sacrifice is also a real possibility . It may well be
that at these places in Babylonia the ground had been previously
prepared through the increasingly large scale on which sacri
fices of all kinds were practiced by means of the Opfers tätten .
Abundant traces of this have been found as earlier indicated by
Warka , Ur and Eridu . These are all dated to the pre - Royal Tombs
76
era . The classic example is at Surghul and Al - Hibba , where in
addition to the animal and human bones , large numbers of
clay and stone vessels , metal objects , and encrusted canopies
were deposited within the mud -brick chambers and burnt . This

1
 57

earlier practice of immobilizing such wealth through sacrifice

may have led to the later theory of burying , on occasions , im
portant individuals along with many of their earthly possessions .
At Surghul and Al - Hibba , human remains as well as many valuables
were offered . If archaeological remains should attest to human
" sacrifice , " then this is the context in which one would expect
to find such evidence .

The Larsa Period

Ur infant death
The only important evidence of sub - floor burials in southern
Mesopotamia which could be of a sacrificial character comes from
77
the Larsa Period , during the time of Rim - Sin . Woolley renders
an architectural description of house No. lll on Straight Street
as an example in the excavation of house sties in the southeast
quarter of Ur . Room 10 is called the chapel room , and contains
an altar against the far wall around which are clay platters

that held food offerings . The square recess like a hearth lo

cated in the wall behind the altar with a chimney he identified
as a hearth for burning incense . Against the altar , but dis
tinct from it , is a square pillar - shaped base averaging 1.50m
to 1.75m in height which appeared to be the base that supported
the emblem of the god as pictured on seals of the Third Dynasty
78
and Larsa Periods .

In most of the chapels , though not in all , we

found immediately in front of the panelled base , let
into the pavement but virtually flush with it instead
of being buried beneath it , a clay jar or bowl con
taining the bones of an infant . Occasionally there
was more than one such bowl ( in a chapel excavated
four years ago in another quarter of the town there
were over thirty ) , but one was seldom lacking , and
its position with regard to the base was identical :
it is quite independent of the brick family vault
under the pavement of the open part of the room , and
where there were subsidiary coffin - burials these
79
al
ways lay fairly deep and not under the roof .

His theory is that this points either to a rite of infant

sacrifice or simply means that infants , dying a natural death ,
58

might be placed under the special protection of the household

god .
There is no other archaeological evidence in situ to prove
or disprove either theory , however , should the latter be prefer
red , one may legitimately question whether in each household
where this is found , only one infant would have died of " natural "
causes ; and evenif it were the case , why should the child not
be buried in the regular family vault with others ? Evidence
points to interments of adults , children , and infants in numer
(
ous cases .
80
If
these reflect cases of natural death , should
not there be more " inside the chapel " ? The fact that there is
always only one child within this ritualistic setting , aside
from all other house burials , may lend greater weight to the
former of the two theories .
 CHAPTER V

INFANT BURIAL RITUAL IN THE NORTH

It has been noted in the preceding

chapter that evidence
from unwritten archaeological sources relative to ritual kill
ings in the south is sparse . It is possible to arrange this evi
dence according to chronological periods . However , in contrast
to the south , evidence of this ritual is much more frequent and
of a different type in the north . Therefore , in order to pursue
an orderly presentation , this investigation will attempt first
to evaluate , whenever possible , the evidence of this ritual
through the successive archaeological levels of each site con
sidered , and second , compare the relationship of the evidence to
its counterpart at other sites within the same period . This
procedure is necessary due to the differences in cultural pro
gression between north and south , and also between the different
northern areas .

Nuzi / Yorgan Tepe ?

The most common type of evidence of ritual slayings in the

north , is found in graves and tombs . Abundant evidence of this
kind was uncovered at Nuzi . In the Prehistoric Period of pave
ments XII - X ,
the skeletons of two young children were located
resting in two large vessels on the sandy floor of pavement X.
on the pavement of XA , the extended remains of another young
child were resting directly on the floor and covered over
found
with a . The location of the body makes it evident
large bowl
that the burial was contemporaneous with the floor level . This
is in contrast to normal type burials and simple inhumations on
the outside , unconnected with buildings .
The changes in pottery and architecture in connection with
these burials would indicate that this is not due to a disap
pearance of the original culture , but to the fusion of the ear
lier peoples with a more dominating and less artistically minded
3
group of newcomers . The same seems to be true of other burials
within this context . Whereas evidence points to an immediate
interment by people of the original culture , the new culture ,

59
60

identified as Nuzian from later evidence , performed infant bur

4
ials after the body had disintegrated leaving only the bones .
The difference and uniqueness of these three cases has led to
5
the assumption that these could have been sacrificial burials .
Added evidence was further located in Level x where another
infant burial was found encased in a wall.6 The skeleton rested
in the bottom of a large jar with the legs contracted and the
hands raised to the face . The age of the child has been esti
mated at not more than 12 months . The base of the container was
level with the floor and the wall was intentionally built over
it , to bridge the body so that the weight of the
with care taken
superimposed structure would not crush it .
It seems clear that this burial represents more than a mere
disposal of a body . Similar burials are evident during the
later Nuzi periods . The fact that during this phase there is
7
the appearance of new architectural and pottery types , coupled
with the introduction of this custom of burial , may indicate two
things : ( 1 ) there is evidence for an " unnatural " type of bur
ial and ( 2 ) this must be associated with the influx of a new
people . No other infant or other types of burials were found
in Levels IX - III
, which span the Early Dynastic through Akkad

ian Periods .
The principal graves uncovered in Stratum are as fol III
lows : On the pavement of at the northwest of Street
Room P400

1 , Group 16 , were uncovered three infant burial jars , upside

down , each covering the remains of one infant . A fourth large
jar approximately 49cm in height with a circular hole in the
bottom and a mouth 14cm in diameter , a shallow bowl inverted
over it , was of a different character . It contained the bones
of eleven infants . The bottom of the jar was placed directly
under the wall at the northerncorner . Starr thinks it unlike
ly that it was a part of an earlier phase of the room and con
cludes that it was deliberately placed . This room is distin
guished by the large amount of pottery and other equipment ,
mostly domestic , found in it , within and under the wall . 10
The frequency of these infant burials , the unusual nature
of one of these , and the large stone cups along with the many
smaller bowls and grey - ware vases , may mark this room as one of
greater importance relative to the others .
11
It is the center
of three in the group , the others , P451 and P458 , are connected
by P400 .
 61

The three pavement burials follow

the traditional Nuzian
pattern of interments , and the strange nature of the fourth type
has led some scholars to conclude that there must be some sacri
ficial aspect to these burials . 12 Starr has indicated the like
lihood of the fourth being dedicatory offerings placed within
13
and under the wall at the time of construction .
Stratum II
of the Ur III
and old Babylonian Periods reveals
a related group of house units crowded against each other , all
served by streets . Group 3 , comprising some twelve units , is an
orderly and symmetrical arrangement of " the perfect Nuzi town
,, 14
house . The quantity of objects in P470 would make this a
15
room of some importance . Its closed doorway to P37 blocks the
passageway with two thick walls built between the jambs on the
P37 side , thus closing the means of communication between these
two private houses . Within the space of some 40cm between the
two walls , above the pavement floor , was an infant burial cover
ed with the customary inverted jar . Below the floor , and under
the remains of the infant was the skeleton of a boy approximate
ly fourteen years old . 16 The space between the walls apparently
was then filled up with earth and potsherds . Above the infant
burial to one side was an envelope tablet which , though consid
ered to be intrusive by some , is considered as part of the bur
ial by others .
also of interest because of the posi
17
In Group 28 , G24 is
tion of the two infant burials relative to the construction of
the pavement . The first is against the northwestern wall near
to the doorway of unit G2 1A . However , the clay urn was below
the pavement with the top of its nob - handle flush with the floor .

The second was in the same position directly

the south under
western wall . The bottom of the wall was lower than the top of
the container , hence , they were both contemporary ; clearly the
18
wall was built with intentional care over the clay vessel .
Two such unusual burials certainly give an importance to this
room which cannot be overlooked .
The purpose of the room cannot be determined with certain
ty , but the context of the interments raises the possibility
that these burials could have been dedicated to construction . 19
Therefore , the plausible assumption can be made that they were
intended to sanction the practices performed therein .
62

The examples from Strata

drawn and III
represent the II
only abnormal of burials among the scores uncovered and ex
type
amined . In all of them , the bodies were clearly put in place
during the construction of the building . Were these people de
liberately killed and then so buried ? Were they " foundation
sacrifices " ?
The mere fact that the interments were contemporaneous with
the construction of walls or pavements does not constitute ade
quate proof of ritual killings . While other artifacts uncovered
in conjunction with these burials and their location in the
buildings may be considered as good supportive evidence , other
factors must be evaluated if their real significance is to be
understood .
What is of importance is
indication that this general
the
practice of infant burial almost entirely in private
was found
houses , along with the unusual manner of disposition of the
bones with broad - mouth jars placed upside down over the remains .
The frequency with which this type of jar was employed suggests
that it was restricted exclusively to this use .
There are variations to the customary position of the in
verted jars . In some cases they are upright holding the bones
and covered with a large jar or bowl . It seems that the "infant
burial jar " may be considered as the accepted type for infant
burials at Nuzi . 20 There are , nevertheless , four significant
exceptions worth noting , they are : P400 , Group 16 , Stratum III ; 21
S397 , Stratum IV ;
22
N359 , Group 20A , Stratum ;
23
II
and G24 and
G13 of Group 28 , Stratum .
24
II
All were upright with the re
mains on the inside , and built either " into " the construction ,

or placed on top of the pavement . All contained remains of

more than one individual . P470 and P37 of Group 3 , Stratum 1125

is added to this group owing to its connection with the con

struction of these two rooms .
the basis of the preceding , the reasonable deduction
On
may be drawn that the only rule governing the location of these
burials within a room is that they be connected with the con
struction , whether within the wall , the pavement , or the floor .
Reports of this site indicate that the number of sub - pavement
or intramural interments , is about equal to the supra - pavement
burials . The important factor , then , was not merely the dis
posal of the body , but its location within , and its connection
with the structure .
 63

It isfurther to be noted that in almost every case the re

mains of the individual are brought in direct contact with the
soil . The customary position of the infant burial jar is upside
down , covering the body , which is in contact with the soil . Even

on occasions when the jar is in an upright position , it is care

fully pierced at the bottom , apparently maintaining the same
principle . Good examples of this are N359 , 5397 , G24 , and G13.26

Can some conclusions be drawn concerning the purpose of this cus

tom which apparently is unique to Nuzi ?
The evidence reveals that there is no rule as to the number
of burials within a building or to the type of private house in
which they appear . The most frequent custom was that of a single
burial jar to a building , but there are also several instances
of three to a building , and two unique instances of four and
27
twenty - one . It is difficult
to establish a fixed type of room
in which they but the broad limitations of a subsidiary
occur ,

room which is never an entry room , or a courtyard , or devoted

merely to storage of pots or jars , seems plausible enough . None
occur in any of the seven levels of the temple , or the palace
building of Stratum II .
There is final factor to be considered .
one There is usu
ally one infant to each jar , as indicated earlier , but a number
of variants exist such as P440 , S397 , and N359 , which contain
multiple remains . Clearly , in their normal state at the time
of death it is impossible to force as many as eleven dead in
fants into jars of this type . The insertion after dismember
ment , or in a skeletal form , can therefore be the only method
used since the bones exhibit no sign of mutilation . At least
in two instances , P400 and N359 , the bodies of the infants were
evidently allowed to waste away , probably through exposure , or
some other means , and later put into the jars . One can then
plausibly conclude that the bodies of all these infants re
ceived similar treatment .
Burial among most peoples is governed by customs and tra
ditions in practice at a given time . Any deviation is looked
upon with distrust . Therefore it is rather unlikely that half
the burials ( sub - pavement ) would be treated in one manner , and
the other half ( supra - pavement ) in an entirely different manner .
Since the supra - pavement graves were not relegated to any inac
cessible distant quarter of a dwelling , and we suspect that the
64

occupants of these dwellings could or would not have tolerated

the nuisance of decomposing bodies within their abode , the fol 3
lowing conclusions on these burials at Nuzi are reasonably ten
able :
1. antiquity of this type of ritual may be ascertained
The
from the evidence of the certain burials in Pavement X of L4 ,
all of which are pre -Nuzian . of the two recorded here , neither
was covered a pierced - bottom container .
nor provided with Both
were newborn infants placed within large vessels turned upright
under a wall . They differ in a few details from the Nuzi bur
ials , and are located in pre - Nuzian surroundings , but are clear
ly the prototypes of the later Nuzian burials . Another , in
Trench 2 of the nearby pre - Nuzian mound of Kudish Sagir , is
28
identical with those at Nuzi , and apparently is the real an
cestor of those which followed . The angl at which the bowl was
found , proves that the child was placed there , not as a skeleton ,
29
but as a complete body . The same can be said with regard to
two other burials found in the same trench ; both were placed in
upright jars .
These four were uncovered at varying levels giving the ap
pearance of four different burials , each made separately . There
was no Nuzi occupation on this mound sufficiently substantial to
have left either walls or sherds . Those graves were on a mound
that was quite untenantable in Nuzi times . Could they not have
been sacrifices placed here so that special benefits might fall
on crops or other property in the immediate vicinity ?
2. An almost universal concern for contact of the remains
with the soil may have been intended to facilitate the passage
of the spirit to the next world , or its intermittent return to
its earthly remains .
3. The uniformity of the age of the infants at the time
of death , estimated between three and twelve months , cannot be
used as a measure of infant mortality at Nuzi . If this were so ,
then one would expect to find a more even distribution through
out the city . However , the majority of houses have no infant
graves at all , either in Stratum or III II
, and the total number

of skeletal remains is inadequate to account for the number of

deaths there must have been in a city of this size .
4. All points seem to indicate that the children were
killed intentionally to serve some religious purpose , which is
 65

not clear , but which

may have been connected with the building ,
the family , or the group it housed . The ritual , then , was made
for the benefit or protection of both . Under these conditions ,
the benefits accruing from the sacrifice would fall upon the
house or the group connected with the house in which it was bur
ied .

5. In of jars containing more than one individual

the case
( cf. P400 ) , it that these were all killed at the
does not mean
same time . A single householder should not be assumed to have
on hand eleven babies to offer . The rite , then , must have been
practiced over a considerable period of time to account for its
accumulation of a quota , which was placed in position and dedi
cated only after it was filled . This gives added support to the
theory of the body being reduced to skeletal remains before be
ing placed in position .
6. The possibility that initially this ritual had to do
with fertility
or the satisfaction of some ancient fundamental
,
human urge , cannot be ruled out ; however , by the time the Nuzi
Period was reached , this practice seems to have been unassoci
ated with formal worship for infant burials were notably absent
from the temples and chapels of that period .

Tepe Gawra

Among the numerous sites excavated in northern Mesopotamia ,

Tepe Gawra is strikingly important since a part of the mound was
consistently used as a necropolis during its earlier history .
Excavations that the tombs and graves , in an over
have revealed
whelming number of instances , were situated as close to the
temple buildings of their respective strata as was physically
possible . In other cases certain of these were deliberately
located under the foundations and floors of temple buildings ,

and consequently have been referred to as sacrificial inter

ments . That there could be some religious significance to these
burials is beyond question . But the interpretation of the evi
dence has tended to different conclusions . Nevertheless , a rea
sonable interpretation can be arrived at by a thoroughgoing re
30
evaluation of the excavation reports on this site .
Stratum XVII of the late Ubaid Period is the earliest level
from which pertinent evidence can be gathered . Two circular
buildings , or tholoi , were discovered with characteristics which
66

suggest that their basic purpose was religious . This conclusion

is drawn from the fact that through the two preceding Strata ,
XIX and XVIII , and also in Stratum XVII , successive tholoi are
also built on the same spot .
An additional feature is the many graves which are associ
ated with them . Two of these containing an adult and an infant
lay below the floor of the southern tholos , and three others
containing two infants and a child were located in the pavement
of the northern tholos . East of the former , three other graves
containing an infant , child , and youth respectively , were un
covered . Their position and regular distribution 1.50m apart
could indicate contemporaneousburials . The remaining fifteen
burials were all located near or between these ; they were in
31
some way connected with the tholoi .
Stratum XV reveals four buildings . The construction of two
exhibits careful regard for architectural symmetry . The exter
ior lines of these structures reflect the balance of its inter
nal arrangement . The smaller of the two , a private building ,
was divided into a number of square rooms , and below the floor
32
of Rooms 3 and 9 were found three infant graves .
The only building remains of Stratum XIV were the founda
tions of a very large rectangular structure . Though imposing ,
its secular character has been determined by the lack of simi
larity between its foundation plan and that of the temples lo
cated on the mound . One of its many rooms contained the remains
33
of three infants below the pavement .

In Stratum XIII , which is just prior to Early Dynastic I ,

only three buildings noted for their size and architectural ex
cellence were situated on the northeast edge of the mound .
These buildings , all temples , form an acropolis covering an area
approximately thirty meters square , enclosing on three sides a
large open court roughly eighteen meters long and fifteen wide . 34
The entire area was clearly dedicated to religious purposes .
Identified in the architectural remains of the eastern
shrine were cellas , incense rooms , storage rooms and altars .
Cultic remains on top of the pavements in all three included
animal bones , vessels , incense burners , and recessed niches for
liquid offerings . of the northern , central , and eastern tem
ples , the last mentioned was the largest and the only one of
the three to have had graves dug below its floors around the
 67

altar . Five interments were discovered below Rooms 2 and 3 .

35
All contained the remains of infants or children . Aside from
these five graves , only three others were located in the area of
the acropolis , two under the south wall of this shrine , and
36
another under the wall of the northern sanctuary .
The excavated areas of Strata XI - A and XI contain no reli
gious structures . Stratum XII - A depicts a humble resettlement
which later blossomed into the thickly populated township of XII
at the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period . It is from this
latter level that some 120 burials were uncovered . In contrast
to the earlier strata , most of the graves on this level were
just under the floors of houses or the streets , and widely scat
tered throughout the stratum . No groups or concentrations are
evident .

The contrastto the preceding strata is quite evident .

There are no religious buildings , but infants are all buried
under the floors of private houses . Could this reflect a shift
from earlier religious thought and practice ? Were these burials
intended to be propitiatory ? Can they be viewed as representing
sacrificial victims ? Compared with the former levels , no posi
tive answer can be given at this point . The interments below
the floors and temples in certain preceding levels may
walls of
represent sacrifices but these burials at the level in question
cannot be viewed in the same light . Almost all could reflect
the high infant mortality rate which must have been characteris
tic of the time , rather than represent ritual killing .
of greater importance is the fact that Strata XII -A and XI
apparently represent the final phase in a period whose outstand
37
ing product was the distinctive , monochrome - decorated pottery .
Beginning before Stratum XIX , its lengthy duration finally came
38
to an end with the destruction of this level . Since Stratum
XI - A was the earliest one characterized by the unpainted pot
tery , tombs , and distinctive architectural types , it is plausi
ble to conclude that the Stratum XII was representative of an
earlier culture immediately superseded by a different group ,

whose occupation need not have been peaceful .

Stratum XI - A was dominated by a large building of massive
construction and circular plan . This has been called the " Round
House " by the excavators .
68

of secondary importance compared to the Round House , is a

temple , the religious edifice of this stratum . It is
smallest
square and contained a central chamber or sanctum . The reli
gious nature of this building is assured by the location of
twenty graves and a single tomb shaft dug within the pavement
39
of the sanctuary . All were infant burials , except for two
which were dug from the floor of the cella , one at the south
western corner , and another at the eastern corner . Both of
these graves in this central chamber contained adult remains . 40
Another large private house is of interest because of the pres
ence of graves associated with it . Fourteen of the seventeen
graves found in it were located under the front half , and three
under the rear half . The former contained infants , and the lat
ter children and a young adult . Could this denote a difference
in degrees of importance within this private building itself ? 41
The outstanding features of Stratum XI are its temple and
tombs . The former was built on the same location as the Stratum
XI - A temple . There are architectural similarities between them
and temples of the subsequent strata . The largest structure is
a strange building containing several interesting features , but
its design precludes any idea that its function was religious .
There are nineteen graves located in different directions around
the building ; nine contain infant remains . But the fact that it
was the nucleus of a group of graves need not suggest any reli
gious significance .
Seventy - three graves were discovered in this level , but
only eight were located under the floor of the temple . 42 The
remainder were distributed around the outside of the building ,
a remarkable fact since this building was abandoned before the
43
end of Stratum XI phase . Seven of the eight under the floor
of the cella contained the remains of infants , but the eighth
those of an older child . Some special importance may have been
attached to the last one , since it was located under the floor
before the podium in the center of the temple ; beside the skele
ton was a gold rosette with an extruding nipple of the same ma
terial , and there was a gold disc - shaped ornament on44its skull .
Beads of gold and stone were located on each wrist .
An extremely important feature of these two strata is the
earliest evidence of tombs . Eleven of these are located in the
rear of the temple , six in other areas , while three were sunk
 69

through the floor of the temple . 45 Only No. G36-134 of those in

the temple contained the remains of an individual older than a
child , the other two contained infants . All others not located
within the temple contained infants .
compound

architectural types , different burial customs , and

The new
the beginning of tomb burials , with clear evidence of a new
pottery type , and densely populated strata , would indicate very
strongly the presence of a different cultural group with certain
new customs . The architectural remains and pottery from these
46
strata reveal a clear discontinuity from Stratum XII .
Stratum X - A had neither a temple nor a public building .
The site appeared to be occupied by a small and crowded collec
tion of unimportant shapeless houses , which may have contributed
to the scattered distribution of its nineteen graves dissociated
from any building remains on the southwestern edge of the mound .
However , even though Stratum x had twenty - three graves , only one
was directly related to the temple on that level . Locus 220 was
found about 75cm the floor of Room 1074 in the central
below
chamber of the temple ; the other twenty - two graves had no con
nection with the shrine and only two were of adults .
It would appear , however , that while only one grave was
found within the temple , the basic purpose of the edifice , its
formal plan and architectural features were designed as the
superstructure of an important tomb which lay directly beneath
the building dug through the floor of Room 1003.47 This shaft
yielded a rich assortment of objects with its adult remains .
48
Four other tombs and possibly five more are also connected
with this shrine . 49 Three of them are richly furnished , one
contained a triple burial of adults
while the other two con
,
tained the remains of children . It should be emphasized that
whereas five tombs were connected with the temple , only one , No.
107 with its adult occupant , was located immediately under the
center of the shrine . All of the others were in the immediate
vicinity and some interconnected from succeeding levels at a
50
later date .
It is worth noting that the four tombs of Stratum -
X A had
no religious structures , while the five or ten of Strata X were
located in close proximity to the temple . It seems clear that
the tombs in the majority of cases were situated either where
later temples were erected , close to temple buildings , or
70

deliberately located under the floors of these buildings . Hence ,

the fundamental characteristic of the Gawra tombs was definitely
religious .
The dominant structure on Stratum IX is the large well
constructed remains of a temple . It occupied a central position
1
in this level . Identified parts of this structure reveal a po
dium in the central chamber , a large sanctum with an altar in
the rear strongly marked by fire and several layers of ashes ,
51
presumably from the rituals which were conducted .
Twenty - four graves were dug into Stratum IX , but only two
can be said to definitely associated with this edifice . 52
be
The infant interred in 903 - A wore a gold headband and a necklace
of gold , carnelian , and lapis beads . It is the only grave at
Gawra to be covered with a stone slab . The second , an urn bur
ial in Square 8-0 was also that of an infant . All the other
graves lay primarily on the eastern section of the mound and
were of infants and children , with the exception of two adults .
The tombs of this level are connected with Level VIII ; there
fore , both of these will be treated simultaneously .
Stratum VIII of the mid - Early Dynastic Period is the most
significant and noteworthy occupation level of Gawra .
53
It is
also the most important level from which some evidence of ritual
practices ca be gleaned . There is uniform excellence of nearly
all architectural details . Strictly speaking , Stratum VIII of
fers a succession of settlements consisting of three sublayers ,
representing three successive , though interconnected periods .
54
However ,because they were all phases of the same culture ,
and the history of the occupation as a whole appears to be in
tricately interwoven , this level will be evaluated as one unit .

The most significant structures here are four temples , so

identified by architectural type , construction , and position on
the mound relative to other structures , and corresponding divi
sions and cultic arrangements inside . Together they formed an
55
impressive acropolis . A total of twenty - one graves all except

two containing infants were found on this level , fourteen were

56
grouped around the Western Temple , one of which was found in

the southwest wall presumably placed there while the building

57
was under construction . Four other graves were dug through
58
the pavement of the Eastern Shrine .
 71

One of the significant features of this mound is the forty

five identified tombs definitely related to Strata IX and
59
VIII , the majority of which are related , or connected , to
religious structures . Ten of these tombs have been identified
60
as containing sacrificial victims , and four connected to the
western and eastern of Stratum VIII , apparently were
temples
deliberately placed underneath the foundations of their respec
tive temple buildings . This is significant since the numerous
graves excavated at all levels associated with these temples us
ually have the remains of infants and children . However , it
should be pointed out here that Nos . 7-9 , 108 , and 109 have no
connection with the overlying religious structures of Ix and
VIII . All are connected instead to the temple of Stratum X, and
61
contain the remains of infants .
The human remains in the other seven are grouped as follows :
Those belonging to the western temple of Stratum VIII are Tombs
14 and B , to the eastern shrine are 2 , 202 , 5 , and 14 . Each had
an infant placed underneath the foundation of the front of the
building . Stratum IX Temple has Tombs C and 54 , each with an
infant burial . It is of interest that Tomb 5 is situated direct
ly beneath the podium of the eastern temple .
Other tombs , while not located directly beneath temples ,
appear to have some religious significance . Tomb No. 31 of
Square 9 - M is located 40cm east of the western temple of Stratum
VIII , and five meters from the liwan of Stratum IX Temple . It
62
also contained an infant , and may be connected to either temple.6
Tomb No. 60 of Squares 10-11M lay close to the wall outside
the Stratum VIII - B Western Temple , before this apparently fell
into disuse . Whereas the pattern seems to be a location beside
a religious edifice , it could have been placed here when this
building was still used for religious purposes . 63 The same ar
gument can be used for Tomb 29 which also may have had its
source in Stratum VIII - B .
other tombs are worth considering as containing evi
Three
dence of ritual killings . They are Nos . 124 , 107 , and 102 .
Located below the pavement of Stratum XI , their floor eleva
tions are remarkably uniform . No. 124 can be related to either
the northern Shrine of Stratum VIII , or to the Stratum IX Tem
ple . Numbers 107 and 102 are contemporaneous , separated only
by a wall . The importance of 107 and its relation to Stratum x
72

64
Temple have been pointed out . While 107 is directly under the
shrine , No. 102 lies outside , separated by a thin wall . The
similarity of construction and design , along with corresponding
similarity in artifacts , therefore , furnishes the link in the
relationship between them . 65 Tombs 124 and 109 contained infant
remains , while No. 107 those of an adult .
Among the excavated tombs , Nos . 25 , 29 , and 30 were of mul
tiple burials , the latter two of them contained mother and child
burials of Stratum VIII - C . No. G36-122 of Stratum XI had two
infants and an adult and could represent death in childbirth .
Other multiple tombs of interest are Nos . 25 and . The lat lll
ter of contained a triple burial , all adults , while
Stratum X
No. 25 had its origin in Stratum VIII ; both are uniquely joined
by the common walls of Tombs 24 and 109 .
66
The similarity between them has long been pointed out .
Both tombs contained only adults furnished with beads , and in
No. 25 , a gold rosette . However , the tombs with which they were
joined ( Nos . 24 and 109 ) were richly furnished and contained a
67
single occupant each . tombs containing
Both the multiple bur
ials were located northwest of their companion
tombs , and their
occupants lay at the feet of the single occupants of Tombs 24
and 109 .
The scholarly is that an inferior social standing
consensus
is indicated for all
persons in Tombs 25 and
the , but wheth ill
er they were slaves , serfs , or the wives of the persons interred
68
in Tombs 24 and 109 cannot be determined . Each double tomb is
a single structure , having been built and occupied at the same
time ; one must assume , then , that in Tombs 25 and there can lil
be evidence of victims of either ritual killing , war , or plague .
A study of these tombs reveals rather clearly that in an
overwhelming either situated as
number of instances , they were
close buildings
to temple as possible , deliberately located in
the foundations and floors , or by their location and artifacts
were connected in some way to religious structures . There is
also the important factor of infant burials : in all cases they
were located in central areas inside these temples , and in close
association with the tombs . The characteristic temple orienta
tion of these tombs and graves cannot be assumed to be coinci
dental ; there must be some underlying religious significance .
 73

The preceding evaluation has revealed that the number of

graves and tombs at Tepe Gawra was considerable , but by no means
large enough to account for the entire population of the exca
69
vated areas . One must , then , presume the existence of a Gawra
cemetery somewhere in the vicinity . This adds great significance
to the burials on the mound . It is equally clear that five bur
ial patterns appear in vogue among the Gawrans : ( 1 ) bur
to be
ials under the or walls of sacred structures , ( 2 ) bur
pavements

ials under the pavements of private dwellings , ( 3 ) scattered

burials with no particular orientation , ( 4 ) tomb burials associ
ated with religious edifices , and ( 5 ) tomb burials unconnected
with religious buildings . The view of certain scholars is that
all those burials which were located in the pavements and walls
of religious structures were victims of a ritual connected with
70
them ; hence , "human sacrifices " to chthonic deities . Does the
preceding evidence warrant such a conclusion ?
To equate all sub - pavement or intramural burials throughout
this extended period with ritual killing dedicated to chthonic
deities is also to assume , theoretically at least , either that
this custom which took different forms over this lengthy time
span was so practiced by the one cultural group , or that it was
so deeply rooted to the spot that a change in population would
not represent a change in the given practice , but merely an
adaptation by the new ethnic group of the custom because of the
71
sanctity of the location
neither of these is improbable .
; But
the sources tend to portray a different picture . The evidence
points to a new cultural element from Strata XI - A and XI on
72
ward . On occasions , the same spot is used for the erection of
temples but new locations are also used for this purpose . 73
Furthermore , there is a deliberate change in the burial pattern
74
to be noted beginning with Level XI -A . There is possible evi
dence of ritual killing at Gawra , but certainly all the sub
pavement and intramural burials cannot be so classified .
The earliest sub - floor burials are located in Level XVII
under the tholoi of the Ubaid Period , but two other tholoi are
75
found at the same location in the two preceding strata . None
contains any graves , even though there are graves in the general
area . 76 No more are found until the " Great Round House " of
77
Stratum XI - A . Speiser and others have more appropriately
78
designated it a tholos . Similar buildings had already been
74

used extensively at Arpachiyeh and burials were also associated

,
79
with them ,but none were found under the floors .
Thus , from Stratum xx , the successive development of tholos
structures can be followed from its earliest beginning through
four levels . Burials are associated with all . In only one case
are these found on the inside . After an interlude of six strata
the final evidence is that of an imposing building with some
forty - seven burials in its immediate vicinity , but only one
under the pavement of its central room , and that , an adult . If
the evidence of Tell Arpachiyeh is added , it may be plausibly
argued that these are burials of important individuals from the
community rather than ritual killings .
Religious practices are by nature conservative ; if such
burials were ritually significant and practiced by the same
people , it is expected that these customs should have been con
tinuously observed from the earliest evidence of the existence
of these structures and throughout their duration . This is not
the case either at Gawra or Arpachiyeh . It is , nevertheless ,
not difficult to understand how a study of the tholoi at Cyprus , 80
could lead to the assumption that the same principle should be
operative at Gawra . There is in the Cypriot case concrete evi
dence of ritual killing in association with the worship of
chthonic deities at this site ,
81
but I see no evidence of a "dif
fusion " as an operative factor spreading from South Mesopotamia ,
even though the striking architectural similarity cannot be de
82
nied .
The pottery and other artifacts , along with the architec

tural remains , all point to the common heritage of Strata XVI ,

XV - A, XV and XIV with that of the civilization which had its
beginning in Strata XX - XIX . The material evidence of this stra
tigraphic group forms a remarkably homogeneous collection . The
assumption , then , that a similar burial custom is in vogue
throughout this phase at Gawra can be theoretically maintained .
There is , therefore , no valid reason for identifying the burials
under the floors of the large private buildings of XV and XIV
as sacrificial in character ; though they represent the only hu
man remains uncovered , they may be classified within the same
category as those of the tholoi .
The human and architectural remains of Strata XIX , XVIII ,

and XVII indicate a sizable but decreasing population occupying

 75

the mound before Stratum XV . The only building remains of XIV

was single course of rubble forming the foundations of the
a
large structure under which the three burials were found . In
deed , the paucity of material remains in general makes it some
what difficult
to evaluate the position of Stratum XIV in the
history of this period . Its earlier connection with XV , though
established through the distinctive class of monochrome - painted
wares and a few other artifacts , is tenuous at the best , and
83
bears no relationship to the later strata .
In contrast , Strata XIII , XII - A and XII appear to indicate
a rehabilitation of the XIII
continues to show a paucity
mound .

of graves , but of the nine discovered , five wrere dug in the

floor of the sanctum , and two were under the northern and south
ern walls of the Eastern Shrine , the most important of the three
temples which form the acropolis distinguishing this stratum .
Also , in contrast to the preceding strata with a mixture of
adults and infant burials in buildings , in this case all were
infants . The architectural excellence of these edifices bears
no similarity to any earlier design .
There is evidence of evo
lutionary development from an earlier stage . The theoretical
conclusion , then , that there is evidence here of some new cul
tural element , is not completely borne out by other material re
mains .
The evidence of this large acropolis points to some change
in religious thinking . No graves were found under the northern
and central temples , which were also an integral part of this
important religious complex . They are located within the walls
and under the floors of the eastern shrine . This reflects some
ritual which may have involved human sacrifices . This conclu
sion is also based on the fact that the novel architectural pat
tern is religiously oriented in a distinctive manner ; one of the
shrines receives a greater emphasis than others , and all burials
are infants . However , the nature or identity of the deity to
84
whom these were made cannot at this point be ascertained , nor
can it be determined with certainty whether or not there is here
a new ethnic group or the return of the same cultural element

which had previously abandoned Stratum XIV .

This conclusion is further strengthened by Stratum XII - A
which reveals a population which could represent a return to
the old religious pattern of thought . The construction of
76

private houses over the acropolis would indicate that these edi
fices were no longer regarded as sacrosanct , while XII with its
one hundred and twenty graves , boasts no religious structure
whatever . All burials were found either under the floors of
private houses , under walls , or under the streets , and comprise
both infants and adults .
The introduction of a new cultural element with Stratum
XI - A through VIII - C can be clearly seen in the continuous erec
tion of better temples on the same location of each successive
stratum , the emergence of tomb burials along with grave burials ,

the constant association of all burials with temples , the ap

pearance of unpainted pottery - ware and the discontinuation of
monochrome - ware , the introduction and increase of many new arti
facts hitherto unknown on this site , and the conflagration which
85
marks the of Stratum XII .
end
All burials , whether tomb or grave , are usually connected
with religious structures , and except for a very few cases they
are all infants .
86
This study has already shown that the pro
portion of interments is extremely small in comparison to the
estimated population of the mound during these phases ; the addi
tional fact that they were all associated with these construc
tions must point to some special religious significance .
In view of the evidence associating these burials under the
floors of temples , in front , behind , or beside the altar , dif
ferentiating them from those outside , Ellis ' conclusion that :

" If there is an advantage in being buried near the temple , pre

sumably there would be greater advantage in being buried in it ,;
real difference in their signification
87
therefore , there is no ,

is an oversimplification of the problem . That the religious em

phasis is completely different when compared to evidence from
earlier strata is undeniable .
The temples occupy the central position in each stratum and
are clearly the focal point of the community . Therefore an at
tempt to equate these sub - pavement temple burials which are al
ways located in the sanctum and associated with the altar with
the earlier burials which , though located within religious
buildings at times , are not similarly oriented and are not re
stricted to children , would also imply a rejection of all evi
dence which points conclusively to the introduction of a new
cultural element .
 77

We must , therefore , take the view that all thirty - six bur
ials within these structures between Strata XI -A and VIII - C
represent some religious act which involved ritual killing . Al
though other theories are certainly possible , this seems to be
the most reasonable explanation .

It is also plausible to conclude that the continued loca

tion of temples on one specific site from Stratum XI -A through
VIII - C was deliberate and in accordance with a tradition of
sanctity of the area held by these people , and its dedication to
cult practices 88 to divinities whose characteristics may be as
certained from the evidence in situ .

The Habur Region

This area , geographically speaking , is a part of Syria , on

the northern frontier of Mesopotamia . There are , however , very
strong archaeological links between these two regions . The ar
chitecture , glyptic art , and other material culture would , there
fore , make the consideration of this region in conjunction with
Northern Mesopotamia a natural one .
89
Chagar Bazar
Chagar Bazar was a large city on the caravan route taking
overland traffic from the Habur to the upper Tigris . The simi
larity between the numerous artifacts uncovered with those from
neighboring sites suggests that in antiquity this much - frequented
route connected Chagar Bazar by road to Harran , Tell Halaf , Tell
Hamidi , Tell Furfara , and eventually led to Nineveh . The char
acter of the debris also reveals that this was probably the most
important city of the region .
All fifteen excavated levels of occupation yielded impor
tant material remains ; however , for the purpose of this investi
gation , the pre -historic levels fifteen through six are of very
little value and no adequate conclusion can be drawn . These
levels reveal seventy - five adult and child burials beneath the
floors of site had been much ravaged and prac
houses , but the
tically all burials had been disturbed by plunderers .
the
90

of the later occupational strata , Levels II and III of the

Akkadian Period are especially significant . They reveal the
most solidly constructed architecture and mud - brick houses .
Mallowan has cited the disproportionate number of child compared
78

to adult burials under floors or private houses of these two

levels in relation to those of earlier levels . Of a total of
twenty - three in earlier levels , only eight were children or in
fants . However , of forty - five in the two later levels , thirty
six were children or infants . 91 He rules out the suggestion of
a high infant mortality rate , suggesting rather that the houses
under which these burials were found were specially consecrated
to infant burial and that adults as a rule were buried else
92
where .
One of the most interesting of these contains multiple re
mains and is located under the chapel . This shrine contained
some offerings and five infants were buried less than 1/2
votive
93
meter the level of the floor .
below The location of the grave
relative to the " sacred niche " is comparable to those discovered
at Ur . 94 No other level reveals a mila arrangement , or this
high density of child burials . These are also the only levels
where there is a scarcity of adult burials in houses , a signi
ficant factor if assessed within its historical context .
Germayir and Arbit
As an agricultural
settlement , Germayir was located 4 kilo
meters to the west Bazar . This mound produced a rich
of Chagar
series of graves buried also under the floors of houses , corres
ponding approximately to Levels and II III
of Chagar Bazar ; how
ever , only one was that of an infant , and all the remainder ,
95
adults . They appear to be of the family vault type . Tell Ar
bit , though much larger and some 15 kilometers to the east , also
produced graves of the same type and general description as
those of Germayir ; it belongs to the same chronological period . 96

Tell Brak
Situated only 33 kilometers southeast of Chagar Bazar ,
Brak's importance has long been recognized through its associa
tion with Sargon of Akkad and Naram -Sin , the latter of whom
97
built a palace on this site . The whole of this site had been
much ravaged and plundered ; however , the remains of many child
burials under the floors of houses .
were discovered
of special importance is Room 13 on Site C.H. This was a
chapel with a decorated altar of a type that has also been fre
98
quently observed at sites in the Diyala region . The altar is
99
in the southeast corner of the room and nearby was a child
 79

burial accompanied only by a copper bangle . The disturbed re

mains of two more infant burials were located in the adjacent
100
Room 12 . This chapel and its artifacts bear a remarkable
resemblance to the private chapels of the Larsa Period . Its ar
tifacts include a considerable number of votive objects , tablets ,
seal impressions and pottery of the Akkad and Ur dynasties .
Accumulated evidence from Chagar Bazar , Germayir , Tell Arbit
and Tell Brak cannot represent the totality of occupation in the
Habur region . But it does present an approximate picture of the
general culture of the area .
The following conclusionsseem reasonably accurate : (1)

The periods from which an adequate archaeological assessment can

be made indicate that the commonest method of disposal of the
dead was by burial under the floors of private dwellings . (2)

Those interments which are associated with " house chapels " may
represent a different type of burial from the ordinary " family
vault " type , and they involve only children . ( 3 ) The usual loca

tion of these in association with altars and votive offerings

could signify some ritual involving a special type of burial , or
a sacrificial ritual which involves the killing of infants . This
seems the only reasonable way of explaining ( a ) the difference in
location of these burials within the same building , and (b ) their
association with an altar and other votive offerings .
Mallowan's theory that all the house burials in Levels II
and III represent " houses consecrated to infant burials " may
seem reasonable ; nevertheless , it is unsatisfactory since it
does not account for the remaining adult burials which are found
in certain buildings and on the same levels . Furthermore , it
seems unrealistic to classify all these burials under one head
ing when , aside from the nine adult graves , there are clearly
two which do not fit into the general descriptive category of
the others , both being located within a ritual context .
A theory which lends itself naturally to this context is
that all of these burials within the Habur region except the
latter two fit into the general pattern of house burials and
need not have any other significance ; but the two " chapel " bur
ials could very well be an indication of ritual killing .
80

Correlations Between North and South

Sketchy scattered as are the archaeological data pre

and

sented without the testimony of written sources , certain basic

religious and sociological inferences may indeed be drawn from
them . The probability of ritual slaying in southern Mesopotamia
has been argued from non - written sources during the initial
phases of the Early Dynastic Period at Surghul , Al - Hibba , and
possibly other locations where " places of sacrifice " are evi
dent , and also at Ur and Kish in the later stages of this per
iod . Evidence from Ur during Ur III
and the Larsa Period has
also been presented . In northern Mesopotamia , information from
selected areas -- Nuzi , Tepe Gawra and the Habur region -- has also
been given .
A study of these sites depicts three methods of this rite :
( 1 ) the performance multiple bur
at " places of sacrifice , " ( 2 )
ials at the death of a dignitary , and ( 3 ) house burials , espe
cially of children . The first need not detain us at this point
since it represents an idea which can be carried further only if
an examination of written sources contributes additional infor
mation on the matter ; the second has been explored primarily
from archaeological remains and will be given further study in
the following section of this chapter ; the last is the only type
which can be correlated in both regions .
During the protoliterate periods of Late Uruk and Jamdat
Nasr in the south , Sumerian religion was temple oriented and
fairly well organized . 101 The earliest prototype of temple
102
structures during this era occurs as early as Ubaid I Phase .
Throughout this region the dead are usually disposed of in ceme
and there is little or no
103
teries and not within the temples ,
,
104
evidence of house burials . Adams has suggested in his study
on the developments of temple communities , that the southern
Mesopotamian protoliterate communities were to a degree priest
controlled , built around the imposing dignity of the theocratic
105
temple center .

The contrast to this picture is very striking in Northern

Mesopotamia . There is no conclusive evidence of a temple state
religion . Indications of this are observed at Gawra XI - A
through VIII -A , Nuzi IX through VII ,
Nineveh 3 through Nineveh
4 , the Tell Brak Red , Grey , and Eye Temples successively , the
Chagar Bazar , along with a few minor sites . of these , only
 81

Gawra , Nuzi , and Brak reveal the beginning of such structures

and the status attained by the temples in Level VIII - C of Gawra
was apparently only of a short duration . It will be remembered
that the Western Temple of this acropolis ceased to be in use in
the overlying Level VII - B , 106 and both the eastern as well as
the northern temples suffered alterations between Levels VIII - B
and VIII - A , the latter emerging as a building of residential and
commercial nature ; hence , even if initially
107
there was a state
cult , this may have come to an end . There is very little
about the earliest of seven levels at Nuzi which could indicate
a center for organized temple state religion . Only the Eye Tem
ple , or the final of its three stages at Brak , may , by the pres
ence of its sculptured deities or religious dignitaries , suggest
some organized state religion or probably a system which could
108
have included a specialized priesthood .

It is therefore highly unlikely that these early temples

in northern Mesopotamia fulfilled an institutionalized role , ex
cepting probably that of Brak . The religious development in the
South and the North would consequently be different . In the for
mer , it organized and oriented , and in the latter ,
was state
residential or domesticated . This is the picture which emerges
also from the corresponding burial patterns . In southern Meso
potamia the " places of sacrifice " imply quite a degree of reli
gious organization . The complete absence of graves within the
temples and private houses , and their location at designated

cemeteries , is also in direct contrast to the northern pattern

where in Gawra , Nineveh , Nuzi , and the Habur region they are
most often found under the floors of private houses and temples ,
or connected to these in some way . Certain of these at Gawra
and Nuzi have been determined to be " ritual " killing .
What appears to be a more important trend is that these
temples began to exhibit certain aspects of south Mesopotamian
inspiration . The Gawran temple of Stratum XI - A was very small ,
109
measuring only 8.40 x 8.25 meters , but continued to increase
in size throughout Strata XI , X , and IX , with the late Gawran
110
of Stratum VIII measuring 17.5 x 13.00 meters .
Western Temple
The final size of the Eye Temple at Brak was 25 x 30 meters .
lll
But the increase in size and elaboration did not change the ba
sic plan and composition , which remained the same as that of
112
the Ubaidian phase temples .

!
82

During the late Gawran levels , especially Stratum VIII - C

Northern and Central Temples , the entrance is changed now to di
rect frontal and the traditional " long central form of cella , " 113
and in the Eye Temple at Brak , a new decoration of mosaic
colored clay cones appeared on the temple's walls , along with
eight - petalled stone rosettes ornamenting the outer face of the
north wall . Mallowan asserts that this kind of decoration to
gether with the platform upon which the temple stood was unpre
114
cedented in the North and is definitely of southern origin .
However , the socio - religious picture throughout northern Meso
potamia still appears to have been basically one of simplicity ,
and whatever southern influence was exerted was neither deep nor
pervasive , but rather confined to a few spots . 115 An indication
of this is the findings at Tepe Gawra Stratum XI - A - XI Temple ,
where association of child burials with religious edifices
the
since Stratum XIII has not changed even though the entire archi
tectural plan has undergone some transformation during the Pro
toliterate Period . In the South , this era is known for its zig
gurats and numerous temples which never house burials . 116
During the following Early Dynastic Period , Akkadian mater
ials are found in abundance among such northern sites as Ashur ,
Nineveh , Chagar Bazar , Tell Brak , Nuzi , Tepe Gawra , Billa , Jidle ,
and Tell Khoshi . This followed the creation of the Akkadian em
pire under Sargon . Certain cultural developments were to be ex
pected , but in spite of noted architectural changes in temples ,
the pattern of religious rituals experienced no corresponding
transformation . At Tepe Gawra Stratum VIII , the local custom
of " infant burials " increases side by side with the increasing
117
material evidence of Akkadian culture ; the same testimony is
borne by evidence from Chagar Bazar Stratum III , Nuzi Stratum
III , Brak , Germayir Arbit . There is continued rise in a
and

ritual involving the burial of infants , and especially the as

sociation of this with altars in either private dwellings or
temples . There is , however , no conclusive evidence of an or
ganized state religious structure . The emphasis appears to be
essentially domestic in nature .
In the subsequent periods of Ur III
and Larsa for the first
time in the South the Ur " chapel burials " of infants appear to
emerge as a new trend . This could represent an aspect of south
ern borrowing from the North , introduced by means of the Amorite
 83

invasions . However , it is clear that this ritual saw its ini

tial emergenceand continuous development
in the North and does
not seem to be of southern origin .
An important point should be noted here ; Nuzi , Tepe Gawra ,
the Habur region , and Ur have contributed evidence of ritual
killing , but in all four areas there are also important differ
ences . At Nuzi , this ritual was connected with the construction
of buildings ; no other cultic objects were discovered with , or
in relation to , these burials . Tepe Gawra's were all associated
with some cult objects , or deliberately located so as to be con
nected to temples or altars , implying a different concept from
that of Nuzi . at Chagar Bazar and Brak were all located
Those
only in private houses , in a special " chapel , " beside a sacred
niche or altar . Ur's were similarly oriented , the only differ
ence from the former being a family mausoleum where the rest of

the family dead were buried . The periods in which this practice
of ritual slaying of infants was in vogue at the first four
sites were contemporaneous with the custom of infant burials as
certained at a number of northern sites . This is not the case
in the South .
E

1
 CHAPTER VI

KINGSHIP AND THE ROYAL SUBSTITUTES

Direct written evidence of ritual killing in Mesopotamia is

not copious . There which derives from the early periods
is some ,
particularly from Sumerian sources . Other references , much more
numerous , are from the later Assyrian material which , at times ,
may reflect an earlier Sumerian environment .
Attempts to ascertain their real meaning or purpose are
frustrating because one or another school of reasoning would in
terpret a given piece of evidence to support some long - held
theory , and efforts at re - interpretation which do not conform
to these previously - held positions are often viewed with suspi
cion ,

Sumerian

One of the earliest sources citing an example of ritual

killing was introduced by S. N. Kramer in his re - interpretation
of a section of the epic tale " The Death of Gilgamesh . 12 has It
long been suspected that even though the fragments of the Baby

lonian Epic of Gilgamesh are relatively late , originating in the

2.
first half of the second millennium B.C. , ' much of its contents
really goes back to the Sumerians , the dominant cultural group
during the fourth and third millennium B.c.3 By piecing togeth
er much of the published but little understood sections of cer
tain fragments of the epic tale with some newly translated but
unpublished sections
, Kramer succeeded in restoring five of the
4
original tales involving the hero Gilgamesh .
Sumerian
An important part of Section B has been restored , based on
text UM 21-16-86 in the Nippur collection at the University Mu
seum at Istanbul . Kramer's translation reads :
1. His beloved wife , ( his ) be ( loved ] son ,
2. The ... wife , ( his ) be [ loved ] concubine ,
3. His musician , ( his beloved ) entertainer ,
4. ( His ) beloved chief valet , [ his beloved ) ... ,
5. ( His ) be ( loved ] palace attendants ,
6. His beloved possessions ,
7. ... whosoever lies with him in that palace ,
85
86

There is almost universal agreement that this is a list be

ginning with Gilgamesh's family and retinue , his wives , children , 2

musicians , chief valet and attendants , along with their gifts and
offerings , being presented to the numerous gods of the nether
world . The plausible interpretation being that Gilgamesh has
died , and has descended to assume his role as king in this re
gion . In the words of Kramer , and echoed by many scholars ,

... it would seem that a large palace retinue was

3

buried with Gilgamesh -- if correct , we have here the

first mention of " human sacrifice " of the type uncovered
by Woolley in at Ur -- and that Gilgamesh per
the tombs
forms the placation rites essential to their comfortable
6
sojourn in the nether world .

Böhl has raised issue of correct identification of the

the
character who this role , arguing that this obscure pas
assumes
sage refers not to the death and burial of Gilgamesh , but rather
7
to Enkidu . However , for the purpose of this study , the iden
tity of the character , whether it be Enkidu or Gilgamesh is ir 1
relevant ; what is significant is that there is textual evidence
in support of the theory that there were burial ceremonies in
which the deceased dignitary was accompanied by a retinue of his
immediate family , servants , and followers .

Post Sumerian Period

In Mesopotamian records of the post - Sumerian Period , some

indications of ritual killing may be extracted from four differ

ent classes of material ; they are : ( 1 ) inferences concerning

slaves and prisoners , ( 2 ) texts dealing with the matter of sub
stitution , ( 3 ) excerpts drawn from the important New Year Festi
val , and ( 4 ) the burning of children upon altars .
Slaves and Prisoners of War
There is only one text where the possible sacrifice of
slaves is implied : in Zimmern's presentation a slave is men
tioned along with the sacrifice of a calf or a sheep in a text
8
on exorcism . This writer is unaware of any other supportive
evidence for this type of ritual in any other genre of Mesopo
tamian literature . Whether this by itself can be used as suf
ficient evidence for the sacrifice of slaves in this region is
questionable .
 87

The evidence suggesting the sacrificing of prisoners of

war , even though
unwritten , appears
nevertheless to be more con
clusive . In later Mesopotamian philosophy , Ashur was unique in
many respects among the parochial gods of Mesopotamia . He stood

well above the other gods , and therefore , it was imperative that
his vicar and representative , the King of Assyria , should hold
sway over all other princes . The king's enemies were , therefore ,

the god's enemies , and deserved punishment unless there was com
plete submission . It is within this context that what is often
pictured as massacre and the cold - blooded cruelty of the Assyr
10
ians must be viewed .
This is the psychological background against which the nu
merous reliefs depicting prisoners of war kneeling , being killed
with a dagger or spear , or whose severed heads are being present
ed to such important kings as Tiglath - Pileser III
, Assur - Nasir
il
Apli II
, Esarhaddon and others , are to be interpreted . One

such scene , on a bas - relief from the palace of Assur - Nasir - Apli
II at Calah , depicts a victory scene in which captives are
brought before a priest . Judging from the two goats adorning
the tent poles , the priest stands at the entrance of a tent
which could serve some religious purpose . In the upper register ,
represented by an artistic convention , an Assyrian soldier may
be seen leading away two prisoners , clad in lions ' heads and
skins . Immediately adjoining this scene , soldiers are depicted
displaying the heads of their victims . The prisoners dressed
in animal hides and the presence of priests point to the con
12
clusion that their execution was a religious ceremony .
A single reference citing the killing of prisoners as an
act of sacrifice occurs within the context of Sennacherib's mur
der . Esarhaddon states that after taking the accomplices of
his father's murder as prisoners , he offered them as a human
sacrifice at the same place ( before the altar ) where his father
13
was struck down .

It must be acknowledged that this is the only text which

states that such prisoners are slaughtered as expiation of sin
against the national god , but if reliefs of this type are viewed
against the background of Assyrian religion and thought , could
any written record state more clearly what these reliefs so
vividly portray ?
88

As such common episodes involving the ritual slaughter of

" sinners " who are in direct rebellion against Ashur would fol
low the regular development of affairs in Assyrian daily life ,
we should not expect any special reference to be made by the
Assyrian scribes unless , of course , as in the last example , the
entire context is abnormal and a record would be necessary .
There are numerous reliefs which can be interpreted as ritual
killing . Notwithstanding the paucity of corroborative written
evidence in this regard , they should be viewed as positive indi
cations of this practice among the Assyrians .

The Use of the " Puhu " in Texts

The most widely assumed context for ritual killing develops
during the time of some grave crisis in the history of Mesopo
tamian kingship . In certain circumstances a human substitute
" puhu " might take the place of the king and possibly undergo
death to avert evil consequences to the state .
It has been pointed out that the occasions which would dic
tate the selection of a substitute can be a dangerous portent
like the eclipse of the sun , moon , or the presence of the royal
planet Jupiter in the sky . Under these circumstances the text
reads , " In his place , this year , a grandee , or a commoner will
die . 114 If there were no signs that the person of the king
could be protected in any ay from the impending danger , a sub
stitute king He reigned for one hundred days
was appointed .
and was then destroyed in the hope that he would carry away with
him the disasters which threatened the real king . The substitu
15
tion had to be complete to be effective .

Labat argues that though the texts show the priests expect
ed that during the time allotted the substitute would die , he
would " die a natural death , " and not be killed ritually as some
16
have alleged . However , the thrust of evidence is clearly in
the other direction .
Recalling an incident in the Isin Dynasty , a passage from
a late Chronicle reads ,
that the dynasty might not end , King Irra - imitti
made the gardener Enlil - bani take his place upon the

throne and put the royal crown upon his head . Irra
imitti died in his palace because he had swallowed
boiling broth . Enlil - bani who was upon the throne
17
did not relinguish it and was installed as king .
 89

There has been some controversy as to whether this passage is of

18
historical value or whether it is purely folklore . The con
text appears to make the latter the more reasonable of the two
conclusions ; nevertheless , since this is not an isolated in
stance , it could indeed have been an historical occurrence .
It is within this context of safeguarding the life of the
king19 that we find added evidence in late Assyrian sources for
the " šar puhi " ritual . In a letter written during the reign of
Ashurbanipal , 20 it appears that a certain Damqi , the son of a
superintendent of Akkad , had been chosen as the substitute for
the king by a prophetess in a trance ; he was given a lady of the
court in marriage and later ritually put to death with his wife
,
after a short " reign . 21 The text does not state categorically
that Damqi was ritually killed ,
but both the context and the
words make such an implication unavoidable , " You will take upon
you the kingship ...
Damqi the son of the superintendent of Akkad
governs the lands of Ashur and Babylon and the totality of the
Lands ... he met his fate ." 22 The text ends after the funeral
ceremony with evil has been averted .
the reassurance that the
believed that the gods expressed them
The Mesopotamians
selves and their will in many ways , and were constantly on the
watch for astronomical signs and other portents . Whenever an
eclipse occurred which , according to the omen texts , should have
resulted in the king's death , a substitute was temporarily
placed on the throne to die in place of the real monarch who
23
thus was saved .
There is scholars that this rite is
a consensus among

clearly implied in much of the royal correspondence , and proven

from the two references previously discussed . The sticking
point , however , has been on the frequency with which it was
practiced . The majority opinion favours only extraordinary
cases which would warrant this ritual ; however , Lambert has pub
lished a section of a substitution ritual recovered from the
papers of Weidner which not only confirms the theory and con
cept of substitution , but strongly implies that these appoint
The text lists the ec
24
ments occurred at regular intervals .
lipses which could be responsible for the menace recited by the
actual king , followed by a ritual prescription of a common type .
Column B , 2-4 leaves no doubt that the substitute king dies .
90

2. 1 ...... )X-ma ki - a - am x ( ..... )

[... .. ) . and so ( you shall speak , ]
3. ( .. .. ) - ti - ka ù lem - né - ti - ka it - ti- [ ka ]
" Your ( ..... ) . and your
evils with ( you )
4. [ .... ] a ana erşet la târi ( kur.nu.giq.a )
šu - ri - da ana pân džamas taqabbî
( dugga )-ma
Take down [ .... ] . to the Land of no - return
you shall speak before Šamaš
25
and

offers a fragment of a bilingual incantation which

Column C
seems to stress that the dead substitute was really accepted as
a member of the royal family . The existence of this rather ela
borate ritual certainly suggests but does not prove that the
need for a substitute king could rise frequently . It lists ec
lipses which could be responsible , and if a substitute were re
quired for each of these , obviously such an appointment would
occur at regular intervals . One might also assume that other
factors beside the eclipse had to occur before a substitute was
needed , butthis is not stated ; however , too little has been
preserved to exclude the possibility . 26
The intent of this investigation does not require us to
pursue the subject of substitution with all its ramifications
unless it has a direct bearing on the problem of ritual killing
of human beings . On this basis , the preceding evaluation of the
evidence seems to indicate the following : If omens dictated that
a national misfortune was imminent , threatening the physical
person of the king , or that the king's continuation in office
could imperil the welfare of the state , whenever this threat of
danger assumed unusual proportions , a substitute was installed
in the hope that the royal person might be saved . Consequently ,
the substitute served as a kind of protection . Labat points to
the fact that in the preparation for a battle the king is not
involved in the magic spell cast over an enemy by the baru
priest because of the in
risks which these manipulations could
volve to his person ; on these occasions the " royal eunuch " not
only assumes the kingly regalia , but also exposes himself to
great dangers . 27 If all went well , he emerged unharmed . The
expression , "may I go in the king's stead , " envisages this kind
28
of substitution .
 91

great emphasis is on the protection of the king's per

The
son . Apparently the king represented a divine pledge in the
hands of the people and the gods intended that the people pro
tect their chosen servant . In the case of the " šar puņi , " then ,
the gods were willing to accept instead a person fully invested
with the powers and attributes of kingship as substitute for the
real king . This aspect of substitution was , therefore , resorted
to not only to protect the king , but also to make a greater use
of his supernatural endowment than would otherwise have been
possible . Under these circumstances , it would be justifiable
to conclude that this rite could not imply , as Labat has sug
gested , 29 the natural death of such substitute , but rather the
deliberate killing of the substitute who has been specifically
chosen for this purpose . This is precisely what the portent re
quired .
Death by natural means seems to be completely ruled out in
such cases for it
to avoid this " unnatural " death that the
was
king was withdrawn from his function . One must ask whether a

substitute would indeed have been necessary if he would have

died a " natural " death as the king would have after a period of
time . Taking the characteristic form of Mesopotamian kingship ,
the king and his relationship to the supernatural powers , the
philosophy of a divine hierarchy in heaven with its counterpart
in the king on earth , one must conclude on the basis of avail
able material that the ritual killing of the " far puņi " was a
real one and took place not infrequently .
The Imprisonment of Marduk
During the New Year's Festival in Babylon , one of the focal
points of the entire ritual is that which pictures in some sym
30
bolic form the imprisonment and death of Marduk . Our recon
struction is based on the interpretations of Zimmern , Pallis ,
Langdon , Smith , and others . 31 The scene opens with Marduk dead

in the " mountain , " followed by his resurrection . The conclu

sion that this death and resurrection of Marduk was enacted in
some ritual form has been advocated by Hooke , Gadd , Smith , and
32
others , who argue that the slaying of the god was represented
symbolically by the slaying of the king as a cult act carried
out in secret .

Hooke observes that close association between the king and

agricultural pursuits from earliest pictorial and written
92

evidence is an indication of the central role of the king in the

community , and that early king lists also point to several kings
33
as gods . He states that such evidence is supported by the
regular use of the determinative sign for divinity with the names
of Babylonian kings . Therefore the ritual of the deification of
a king , even though we have but one example , that of Lipit - ishtar ,
34
was fact in history .
Mesopotamian
One cannot deny that certain kings used the divine determi

native before their names , but this fact , taken by itself , is

inconclusive . An examination of the hymn which glorifies Ishtar
as the evening star , and speaks of the deification of King Idin
Dagan of Isin , indicates that it is only in the sexual act that
the king acts the part of the god , the basic purpose of which
was to secure the prosperity of the new year . There is no indi
cation that Idin - Dagan assumed any other aspect of divine pre
rogative . 35 It is important to recognize that it was only on
certain occasions as this that the king was made to act the di
vine part of the bridegroom . The hieros gamos , which is the
central thrust of the poem , is aimed at the renewal of his na
ture and this only ; if on this occasion he was endowed with di
vine potency , this should not be taken to imply that he was a
god . Frankfort suggests that perhaps this is the clue to the
problem of the deification of the kings in Mesopotamia :

It may well be that only those kings were deified

who had been commanded by the goddess to share her
couch . In a general way the kings who use the divine
determinative before their names belong to the same
period as the texts mentioning the marriage of kings
and goddesses ; ...
some kings adopted the determinative ,

not at the beginning , but at the later stage of their

reigns . If
we assume that they did so on the strength

of a divine command , we remain within the normal scope

of Mesopotamian thought , while the view that a king
should have presumed of his own accord to pass the
barrier between the human and the divine conflicts
with everything we know of Mesopotamian beliefs . 36
If then the context of the deification of
this is correct ,
Lipit - Ishtar ,prelude to a sacred marriage with Ishtar by
a
being fused to Uruah , a fertility god , is quite logical , 37 and
 93

in early times the concept of deification probably did not out

last the ritual . Although certain rulers named deities as their
fathers or mothers , there is certainly no evidence that in doing
so they pretended to be divinities . Gudea calls himself the son
38
of Ninsun , Nanshe , or Baba and even Gatumdug ; Hammurabi calls
himself the " son of Sin , " " son of Dagan . Divine parentage has
been claimed by quite a few other Mesopotamian kings , but the
terms of parentage are used in connection with the deities to
express both intimacy and dependence . Again Frankfort's words
offer accurate assessment of the divinity of the Mesopotamian
an
king , ... he was a mortal marked -- and to some extent changed -- by
39
divine grace . "
The school of thought which suggests the ritual death of
the king at the annual New Year's festival is strongly influ
enced by certain parallels in the Egyptian kingship
" apparent "
and the Frazerian theory of the cyclical dying and resurrection
40
of the god . Hooke cites as evidence of the earliest stage of
the death of the king passages in the Pyramid Texts which pur
port to indicate the ritual slaying and eating of the dead
king's body by his successor " in order to obtain possession of
41
his magical properties . ' He sees in this " the well - attested

motive of preserving the virility and potency of the king by

slaying him before his powers wane , and substituting a new and
vigorous embodiment of the powers of nature . " 42 It is with this
context that the Tammuz ritual is
often associated .
Additional force for this Frazerian theory of the magic
character of the king and the cult of the dying god was provid
ed by Ebeling who combined both the Babylonian Akîtu and the
Persian Sacaea festivals . He maintains that at the feast of the
New Year , the king was given a substitute who was put to death
to bring about the renewal of life both for the king and also
43
for the prosperity of the country .
44
This hypothesis is refuted by Von Soden who gives a bet

ter translation and understanding of the texts , and also by Lam

bert . 45 Few scholars today maintain the view that these annual
rituals involved the killing of the king or his substitute in a
fertility act .
Relative to the statement , " Marduk who was confined in the
00
mountain , which presumably is the Mesopotamian formula for the
" death " of a god ,
46
it
has been noted by Kramer , Langdon ,
94

Thureau - Dangin , and Frankfort , that the word " death " in this
context is misleading and should not be termed as death in our
sense , but as bereavement , being exposed to hostile powers , or
temporarily overcome by diverse miseries . 47
There is one event during this important ritual where it
can be strongly argued that a ritual killing
did , in fact , take
place . The Babylonian text records that while the procession
moved from the landing place to the temple , the god was led to
some pigsties to inspect the boars they contained .

[ the head which ) is bound to the door of Beltis

of Babylon , that is the head of the malefactor whom
they smite
and slay him .
His head they bind to the neck (? )
of Beltis of Babylon .
the reed pigsties which are before the way of
Nebo , as he comes from Borsippa to adore him ,
Nebo who comes and stands over ( him ) , and re
48
gards him ; that means the sinner who is with Bel .
The boars were killed and so apparently was the criminal whose
head was carried hanging from the canopy of Bel , or tied to the
49
door of the temple of the goddess .
Friezes from Ashurbanipal's palace at Calah depicting inci
dents at the New Year's festival show human figures wearing ani
mal headdresses . Those who were so apparelled were sometimes , if
not always , prisoners designated for slaughter , 50probably by sui
cide , since they hold daggers to their throats . Within this
context , it may also be significant that two jewelled statues
which were prepared on the third of Nisan were also beheaded on
51
the arrival of Nabu at Esagila .
Written sources on human sacrifice in Mesopotamia ,
though rare are important . They refer to the early mass slay
ing of individuals at the passing of a dignitary ; the sacrific
ing of slaves , malefactors , and prisoners of war on occasions ;
the substitution of an individual when the life of the king is
threatened ; and also the slaughter of persons at the annual New
Year's festival . All of these circumstances which involved rit
ual killing have , thus far , been uncovered from unwritten re
mains . Only the killing of infants by way of foundation sacri
fices or associated in some way with temples , public , or private
buildings have , so far , been unauthenticated from written sources .
 95

The theory that Marduk died in the mountain , and therefore

that the king was annually killed during the earlier periods ,
52
and subsequently his substitute , cannot be supported textually .
There is , therefore , no valid basis for the assumption that the
imprisonment and death of Marduk at the annual New Year's festi

val is an indication that a king or substitute was ritually

slaughtered in this manner from year to year .
 CHAPTER VII
THE PROPITIATORY ROLE OF THE " PURUSHA - MEDHA "

Near Eastern and Asian scholarship has long ascertained

certain cultural connections between the pre - Vedic Indus Valley
and the ancient Near East through the study of important archae
ological artifacts . I Unfortunately , aside from the Mohenjo - Daro
2
and Harappa sitesvery little has been accomplished by way of
,
archaeological research in this vast region ; 3 hence , most con
clusions from the study of artifacts must at their best be ten
tative , always pending the possibility of future developments in
this field.4
This case can also be made for the subsequent Vedic Period .
There is the long recognized linguistic connection between many
words in the Sanscrit vocabulary of the Vedic Period and those
of the Hurro -Hittites cultural elements of the second millennium
B.C. , eastern Anatolian and Mesopotamian regions . This has led
to the conclusion that the Aryan elements of the Vedic Period in
the Indus Valley and the Hurro -Hittite elements of Anatolia and
Mesopotamia are both segments of the same culture which migrated
into these regions sometime between the late third and late sec
ond millennium B.c.7 from somewhere in the Eurasian heartland by
8
way of the Caucasus - Lake Van areas .
The theory held by most scholars is that one branch
moved south -westward toward Anatolia , and the other south and
east into the northern Assyrian region and Iranian heartland .
This was followed by a split of the latter into groups , one of
9

which continued its eastward movement into the Indus Valley ,

probably destroying in the process the great Mohenjo - Daro Har
rapian culture , and establishing the Aryan or Vedic culture in
India . 10
Owing to the paucity of material remains , the only reason
able source for any study of the Aryans of the Indus Valley is
the near contemporaneous Vedic literature . One must recognize ,
of course that this has
, its pitfalls
and natural limitations
like most investigations using only literature as its basis for
the reconstruction of cultural patterns .

97
98

the areas conquered and controlled by the Hurro

Unlike
Hittite in the west whose cultural influence was conse
elements
quently neutralized by successive migrations of new groups into
these areas , the Aryans of the Indus Valley succeeded in estab
lishing themselves locally , transmitting many aspects of their
culture to the indigenous people , and firmly implanting Vedic
thought in the process .
It is the view of many scholars that Vedic India may have
retained the purest form of Aryan culture , and could have con
stituted original way of life
the of the earliest Indo - European
groups into the Near East .
coming If this is so , Vedic litera
ture which strongly emphasizes the sacrificial ritua111 should
shed some light on the question of ritual killing of human be
ings by this people , the rationale behind it , and its possible
relationship to uncovered evidence in the ancient Near East .
Under the designation Veda , " knowledge par excellence , .12
or " sacred knowledge ," are comprehended all the texts represent
ing the religion which the Aryans brought with them into India
and developed during the centuries on Indian soil . But more ex
actly , the term refers to a series of texts of varying content
and form . The common features of the Veda are believed to de
rive from a śruti , " hearing , " which is a revelation believed to
have emenated from Brahman ; he " breathed " the " words " while the
human authors , the Rishis or inspired sages , did no more than
receive them by direct " vision . "
13
These texts
include the Samhita , or " collections , " gen
erally in verse , containing especially hymns , prayers , and
14
rit
ual formulae ; the Brahmana , 1 or " Brahmanic explanations , "
theological commentaries on the Samahitas , in prose ; the Aran
15 16
yaka , " forest texts " ; and the Upanishads , commentaries ad
joining the Brahmanas , but of a more esoteric character . Fi
17
nally , the Veda is concluded by the Vedanga , " auxiliary limbs
of the Veda . " These are subsidiary works of exegesis , explana
tions of the Veda . In the narrow sense , they are no longer
śruti but smirti , " tradition entrusted to memory . " It is this
,
imposing volume of texts which forms the foundation of Vedism ,
the most ancient form of Brahmanism .
The earliest evidence of ritual killing is indicated in
the Rigveda , the most ancient and most important literature of
18
Vedism . In this , the ritual of human sacrifice is described
 99

as a solemn and independent ceremony . There is reference to

the ritual offering of Sunahshepa in the Rajasuya account where
this sacrifice is considered as the most efficacious of all sac
rifices , making the victim equal to Prajapati , the Great Victim .
In addition , traces are to be found in the Agnichayana , in which
it is said that "formerly " five victims , including a man , were
sacrificed and their heads were walled up in a first layer of
bricks while their bodies were thrown into water with which clay
was mixed -- a magical operation . Here also is the first indica
tion of the great Ashvamehda , " horse sacrifice , " and its annual
toll of human victims . 19 However , the historicity of each has
been challenged owing to the mythological and liturgical nature
of the literature in which they appear . The problem one faces ,
then , when dealing with the Rigvedic literature is one of inter
pretation and its relative value as a historical source .
It
should be pointed out that the Rigveda , unlike the other
Vedic material , does not claim to be a practical manual . The
body of hymns contains praises to divinity , supplications and
curses , but all in mythical episodes referred to in an allusive
way . What is written down appears to be remnants of an immense

literature of legend , probably existing long before in oral

20
form . The hymns are addressed to divinities but with a vary
ing frequency : first to Indra ( 250 hymns ) , next to Agni ( 200
hymns ) , and finally to deified objects or ideas .
21
The dominant
concern expressed is to defend the wealth the Aryans have con
quered , to extend their domain , and enjoy the " wide open plains . "
This mythology , then , should not be construed as the common
mythology of later Vedism and Hinduism in that it is both older
and appears to be collateral with certain important historical
episodes . Everything is subordinated to a consciously classi
ficatory symbolism . As such , it
provides the key to some cor
respondence between much that appears to be the mythical and
the real .
From this complex scholars , by careful analysis and evalua
tion , have been able to define and date the Rigveda as deriving
from a period as early as the fifteenth century B.C. 22

The Sunahshepa Sacrifice

This earliest reference to a human sacrifice is found in
the Samhita of the Rigveda . The account includes seven hymns
100

supposedly recited by one Sunahshepa , a Brahman , when he was

bound to a sacrificial post preparatory to being immolated .
According to the account , one Harischandra , a Brahman king
or prince , made a vow to immolate his firstborn to Varuna , the
water - god , if that divinity would bless him with children . A
child was born named Rohita , and Varuna claimed it ; but Hari
1

schandra , the father , evaded fulfilling his promise under var

ious pretexts until Rohita , grown up , ran away from home . Varuna
retaliated by affecting Rohita's father with dropsy . At last ,
Rohita purchased one Sunahshepa , the son of Ajigarta , another
1

Brahman , for 100 head of cattle . He tied the youth to the sac

rificial post and was about to have him sacrificed when , at the
suggestion of Visvamitra , a Kshatriya , Sunahshepa recited cer
23
tain hymns and was thereby released , and a nearby goat was
substituted in his place .
The later Aitareya Brahmana of the Rigveda gives all the
details of story where the connection between the hymns sung
the
by Sunahshepa sacrifice is made . Since the late
and the human
nineteenth and early twentieth century , when elements of this
account were uncovered , a heated controversy has raged with re
gard to the apparent indication of a period in Vedic history
when the immolation of human beings appeared to have been prac
ticed . In the words of Colebrook and Wilson , early critics who
24
opposed this prospect :
The Vedic Aryans , were certainly highly civilized
people , for the time in which they flourished , and the
spirit of their institutions was so benign and pacific
that it may strike us as inconsistent to associate
with it the disgusting rite of human sacrifices ....
Human sacrifices were not authorized by the Veda it
self , but were either then abrogated and an emblema
tic ceremony substituted in their place , or they were
introduced in later times by the authors of such
works as the Káliká Purána .

This conclusion is held by quite a few scholars . Doubtless the

institutions of these people were to a degree benign and humane
in character ; however , the same " benign and humane spirit " was
not at all opposed to animal sacrifices . On the contrary , most
of its principal rites required the immolation of large numbers
 101

25
of various kinds of beasts and birds . The question is whether
or not an interpretation of the Sunahshepa legend and others
purporting to project this ancient practice can , in fact , lead
to this conclusion .
The same story , with some slight variation in minor details ,

is reproduced in the later Ramayana , the Mahabharata and the

26
Bhagavata Purana . Attention should also be called to the fact
that in the earlier Samhita , Sunahshepa is merely bound to the
" sacrificial stake , " and only the later works elucidate in all
detail the factor of his sacrifice . Arguing , therefore , from
this datum and the absence of specific references to other human
sacrifices in the Samhita , Wilson and others are of the opinion
ritual killing .
27
that the hymns cannot be associated with
Whatever their age , the Brahmanas are the oldest exposi
tions we possess of the origin , scope , and purport of the hymns
of the Samhitas . They are dated to the beginning of the Iron
28
Age . Therefore , to reject their interpretation in favour of
conclusions drawn by persons of our time would almost be tanta
mount to the rejection of proof in favour of conjecture , founded
upon modern canons of criticism and modes of thinking which are
not applicable to ancient records .
The details of the sacrifice are not given in the Samhita .
However , taking the Samhita to be , as all Sanscrit sch
agree , only a collection of hymns divested of all connecting
29
links , we have no right to expect them to be there . The ab
sence of reference to any rite custom or observance in a book
,

of hymns , sacred that book may be , is no proof that that

however
rite , custom or observance
never existed among those who held
the hymns to be sacred . Such negative evidence has no claim ,
and in the case under consideration there is enough to warrant
an opposite conclusion .
The story of Sunahshepa may indeed be an indication that
at a very early date in Vedic India , according to the Aitareya
Brahmana , these people did tolerate human sacrifice . To assume
that the sacrifice referred to was a symbolical one in which
there was no intention whatever to make a sanguinary offering
would be to destroy the raison d'être of the legend .
The great object of the legend , whether it be intrinsical
ly true or false , was to extol the merits of the hymns in rescu
ing a victim from a sacrificial stake . If
the stake be divested
102

of its horrors , that object would be entirely defeated .

30
It is
further stated that Sunahshepa , after his rescue , was so disgust
ed with his father that he forsook him and became the adopted son
of Visvamitra , a Kshatriya , who named him Devarat or Diodotus ,
" the god - given , " and he became the head of one of several
31 1
branches of the descendants of Visvamitra . In this case we
have a learned Brahman of high caste becoming the adopted son
32
of a Kshatriya .
Until recently , the practice of offering the firstborn to
33
the River - Ganges was common , and the story states rather clear
ly that Sunahshepa was offered to the water - god Varuna as a sub
stitute for the firstborn , Rohita . Therefore , to maintain that
the story has a historical kernel appears to be quite consistent .
Another exception to the theory of human sacrifice among
34
the Vedic Aryans is pointed out by Juag . His argument deals
with the story in Aitareya Brahmana 6 : 8 . In this , the gods took
man for their victim as the first step in a series of substitu
tions . As man was taken , the sacrifice , or spirit " medha , " went
out of him and entered a horse , so the horse became the sacrifi
cial animal ; but , as it was taken , the medha went out of him and
entered the ox , and so successively , it entered the sheep , then
the goat , and at last the earth , from which rice was produced
and offered in lieu of the sacrificial victim . This story tells
too much . If accepted as evidence against the existence of hu
man sacrifice at this time , it must be allowed to tell equally
against the animal sacrifices which are a part of the context .

But , curiously after the story , the Brah

enough , immediately
mana supplies the necessary mantras for the slaughtering of dif
ferent species of animals in five hundred different places , fur
nishing directions for selecting , offering , slaughtering , and
dividing among the officiating priests , goats , sheep , oxen ,
and other animals .
In short , the Vedas indicate that all the principal rites
of the Brahmana Period animal sacrifices , and it would
demanded

be absurd to believe on the strength of the story that , at the

time of the Aitareya Brahmana , there was no animal sacrifice
and everywhere rice cakes were substituted for sanguinary of
ferings . Exactly the opposite seems to be the case . It would
also be equally unnecessary to prohibit the Purusha - medha and
Ashva - medha , if
they had already been prohibited by the Vedas .
 103

An early view initially held by Colebrook and voiced cur

rently by other modern scholars is the theory based on a passage
in the Satapatha Brahmana of the White Yajur Veda in which the
human victims at the Purusha - medha are recommended to be let off
after certain mantras have been repeated . 35 It would seem , how

ever , according to Müller , Wilson , Mitra and Renou , that the

word " Purusha -medha , " literally meaning "human sacrifice , "
while
was not the common descriptive of every rite in which a hu
term
36
man victim was offered to the gods , but rather a technical one
implying a specific ceremony to be performed according to cer
tain fixed rules in the later Puranas . The connection between
this and the Sunahshepa story should not be made for two rea
and ( 2 ) it has no relation
37
sons : ( 1 ) It is extremely late ;

whatever to the sacrifice of children in redemption vows as is

the case of the Sunahshepa account . It does point to another
kind of sacrificial slaughter of human beings . The earliest
indication occurs in the later Vajasaneyi Samhita of the White
38
Yahur Veda . The passage bearing on the subject is supposed
to describe different kinds of human victims appropriate for
particular gods and goddesses . The section in which this oc
curs opens with three verses which , the commentator says , were
intended to serve as mantras for offering of human victims , thus
39
" to Brahma , Brahman , to Kshatra , a Kshatriya , " etc. The im

portant factor is that all of these names also occur in the

Taittiriya Brahmana of the Black Yajur Veda with only slight
variations . In some cases it root Zabh , " to kill , "
carries the
with the prefix " a " , which commentators have generally accepted
to mean slaughter , and in some cases , consecration before
slaughter . 40
Since the authors of the Brahmanas of the White Yajur Veda
accepted the passage as descriptive of human victims , why should
later schools of thought see it as otherwise ? There seems to be
no reason , then, for commentators to attempt to divorce the
hymns of the Rigveda from their commentary in the Aitareya Brah
mana in order to dissociate the former from the practice of rit
ual killing .
41
This custom is evident in the White Yajur Veda .
Furthermore , the Black Yahur Veda is much older than the White
which appears to be a copy of the former , and this presents the
42
same picture . Since no special distinction between animal or
human victims is noted in these texts , che only reasonabl
104

conclusion be that the Taittiriyas did not look upon the

would
human victims as merely symbolical .
Seeing , then , that the Brahmana depended solely on the Sam
hita for scriptural authority , modifying and changing details
to suit its own views , the presumption becomes strong that the
real reference to ritual slayings belonged to the Rigvedic Sam
hita Period , and the Brahmana may have divested it of some of
its cruelty , making it symbolic at this later date .
43

The Rajasuya

have been made to connect the " royal consecra

Attempts
tion Rajasuya , with the Sunahshepa legend . Certain scholars
, "

have argued that since this legend is recited in its entirety at

the enthronment of the king , it must have originally been con
nected with these rites , and that initially this " annual " cere
money also had as its focal point the sacrifice of an indivi
44
dual . But an opposing view rejects this on the basis of : (1)

the dissimilarity between the contexts of both events , and (2)

the known chronological background of the

of the development
Rajasuya -- with its extreme late date as compared to the former . 45
The recent work of Weller makes a comparative analysis of the
recensions of the Sunahshepa legend and those of the earliest
Rajasuya , and concludes that " die ganze Geschichte kann von ...
nichts mit der Königsweihe zu schaffen haben 46
...
Haus aus
the fact that the Sunahshepa legend was
to

However owing
,

later incorporated into the Rajasuya Heesterman argues that its

,

emphasis on sacrifice served to underscore the regenerating and

fertility powers the king which part
of

of
an

was inherent the

annual investiture ceremony
.

The king's annual symbolic death and rebirth are equivalent

to universal regeneration and renewal of nature Since the
.

chief interest of the legend lies the birth of being

in

son
a

Brahman he must act as the sacrificial victim In this way

a

the legend when recited actualizes in its own way the same
,

reality ritual incorporated 47

in

it
as

is

the which
.

Ashvamedha
48
The Ashvamedha royal and popular festival intended
is
a

to obtain prosperity for the kingdom and its subjects It is

,
.
 105

at the same time , a charm for obtaining victory , a festivity ,

49
and manifestation of the solar cult .
a The rite goes back to
Rigvedic times where it certainly must have taken a simpler form .
According to the Brahmanas , it is Prajapati who is sacrificed in
the form of a horse .
The human sacrifice Purushamedha follows closely the Ash
vamedha and consists in adding to the animal victims a man ,
Brahman or Kshatriya , who is bought for 1,000 cows and 100
50 51
horses . This sacrifice is described in two ritual texts ,
in which , as in the Ashvamedha , the chief queen must lie with
52
the dead victim as with the horse . The connection of this
53
ritual with the Rigveda has already been pointed out .
Keith argues that there is every reason to assume that this
is merely priestly imagination . He points out that the actual
slaying of man is not described in the Brahmanas at all , and
references in the Satapatha and the Taitteüya are merely the
symbolic offering of men . However , as previously indicated ,
the earlier commentators Apastamba and Sayana saw nothing sym
bolic in this ritual .

Inconclusive Evidence
There are a few other inferences which have been treated as
allusions to ritual killing
of human beings in the Vedas , but
their nature and context prevents one from arriving at any defi
nite conclusion either for or against the theory of human sacri
fice . MacDonell identifies as the last trace of this rite in
the Vedic Period the practice of burning loved ones with a de
ceased . He sees this later Hindu ritual very early in the Rig
and Mitra affirms that the very late practice of sacri
55
veda ,
ficing effigy instead of a living man among the Vamacharis
an
56
should also be traced back to the early Rigvedic world . Gadd

and Westermarck refer to the late Hindu custom of " suttee burn
ing " as the corrupt departure from the early Brahmanic ritual
57
during the Aryan intrusion into the Indus Valley . However ,
all of these and a few others are gathered from the early Chris
tian era . Research into Vedic literature has failed to turn up
any reasonably conclusive data in support of these assumptions .
Therefore , it would be preferable to have them designated as
merely speculative until added evidence can unequivocally link
them to earlier Vedic sources .
106

Pre - Vedic References

It is logical to conclude as certain scholars do that in

many ways the Aryans must have been influenced by the earlier
Harrapan and Mohenjo - Daro culture , and that they may have bor
rowed the practice of ritual killing from these indigenous
people . This is a reasonable theory considering that these new
comers did not exactly move into a cultural vacuum .
Scholars who have been reticent to " charge " the Aryans with
ritual killing have , therefore , tried to prove that this custom
was a part of the Mohenjo - Daro civilization . Hence , if the Ar
yans did practice such a rite , it was borrowed and not original
among them . oldenberg was the first advocate of such a theory . 58
He suggested that human sacrifices followed by multiple burials
were practiced , but , based on an obscure reference , he attributed
this to the pre - Vedic people . Heras has tried to read " real hu
59
man sacrifices " into a few murals of Mohenjo -Daro . Marshall ,
utilizing the same principle , identifies " persons to be kept in
prison to be sacrificed , " " kept in a palm - grove , " or " taken
ready
under trees and sacrificed , " their corpses afterward carried
the
60
away to be buried . The problem is that the whole theory is
built around the number seven . It assumes that the four occa
sions where seven or multiples of seven are referred to and a
fifth which ,is interpreted to indicate " the seven die when the
61
sun is high , is to be applied to human sacrificial victims .
One must admit that , on studying these photographs , it takes a
great degree of imagination to arrive at such a conclusion .
Based on these assumptions , however , Karmarkar has deduced
62
the prevalence of human sacrifice among the Proto - Dravidians .
He argues for
correctness of the theories of Heras and Mar
the
shall this theory by citing Herodotus ' account of
and supports
63
the immolation of Croesus , the late Puranic account of the
64
fourteen funeral pyres in the story of the Citpavanas , and
traces the number seven through the Atharvaveda , Rigveda , to
the mystic glorification of the human victim in the Purusha
65
sukta . His theoretical conclusion then points to an old cus
66
tom belonging to pre - Aryan times .
A careful evaluation of the evidence cited does not seem
to bear out this conclusion . Both Heras ' and Marshall's deduc
tions have long been viewed as questionable by later scholars
and cannot be accepted as authentic proofs . Even if it were
 107

true that the pre - Aryans engaged in human sacrifice , it would

still have to be shown that the Aryans did not have such a prac
tice before they came and that they borrowed from these people it
afterwards .

Ritual Killing in Vedic Indus Valley

Modern interpretations of Vedic texts are frequently domi
nated by a projection of contemporary interest , feelings , and
modes of thought into a life of quite another order . To an ex

tent , most scholars treating this material are naturalists by

training and temperament and , therefore , are prone to attribute
to every other age and people a corresponding ideology . They
are frequently incapable of recognizing what it means to think
of a world as a theophany , or even recognize in certain func
tions and experiences of ancient man the traces of a reality
superior to himself . In the present connection , then , one can
understand how the picture of a ritual slaying can be classified
as " a revolting ceremony . 1167 However , so long as we permit our
selves to be governed by the personal equation , or take for
granted an absolute value of contemporary standards , every in
terpretation will inevitably tell us more of the interpreter
than the interpreted . Thus , expressions such as " revolting
ceremony " cannot be construed as scientific descriptions , but
rather , as on their author's part , as a piece of unconscious
self - revelation . 68
In view of the history of human civilization and particu
larly these rituals of the Aryans , there is nothing to justify
the belief that in ancient times this people was incapable of
sacrificing human beings to their gods .
The Sunahshepa hymns of the Samhita most probably referred
to a practice of human sacrifices of the type which required
the immolation of a son or daughter in the fulfillment of a
vow .
If a comparison can be made here to other peoples , it appears
to a great extent to be a question of life insurance based on
the ancient theory of substitution , a life for a life . The pos
sibility that this also included rituals involving the offering
of the firstborn to a given deity , a ritual which may have sur
vived in the sacrificing of such to the River - Ganges until re
cently , cannot be ruled out when considering this legend .
108

It clear from the evidence discussed that the Aitareya

seems
Brahmana refers to actual human sacrifice . While the Purusha
medha portrays the periodic offering of a number of human beings
to their respective deities , it is equally clear that later the
Satapatha Brahmana sanctioned this ritual only in certain cases
and making it , at a later date , symbolic . This evidence , never
theless , gives no indication that such sacrifices were of an ex
piatory nature , performed under the impression of fear or intend
ed to allay the anger of the gods . Somewhat contrary to the pre
vailing concept elsewhere , they were essentially gifts to a god .
The killing at the Horse Sacrifice is also to be
of a man
interpreted in this context . The king gives to the deity the
best he has , including the human victim , in order that the deity
will reciprocate . One cannot doubt that in the earlier period
man was sacrificed along with other animals , then gradually ani
mals and even cakes were given in substitution for the human
victim . The theory of animals and other artifacts as a later
substitute for man is continually emphasized in later Vedic
sources .

Barth's proposal that " Brahmanism gradually abolished the

immolation of human victims as incompatible with the precept of
respect for everything that has life , " and the substitution in
its place of a figure made of flour - paste may well be correct .
For , according to Mahabharata , " the priest who performs a human
sacrifice is cast into hell..69
 CHAPTER VIII
AN OFFERING WHICH THE KING GIVES

The treatment of evidence on ritual killing in Egypt is

faced with the problem of partiality on the part of certain

Egyptologists similar to that discussed in the previous chapter .
Egyptologists either reject outright , refuse to discuss ,
or grudgingly admit that there may be certain vague references
which can be construed as ritual killing . The existence of this
"
horrible rite , 1 among the Egyptians was first suggested by Budge
in the translation of the word 82.wt as " human sacrifices . " 2
Mercer , pointed out that such a rendering cannot be jus
however ,
tified , nor can the phrase Zbtw Sm2 sbi be used to indicate
..3
" slaughter of the enemy . He argues that the term pr.t - r - how ,
" offering , " refers primarily to mortuary sacrifices and simple
gifts , but that numerous phrases , along with the commonest of
them , ir ih.t , were used to express the notion " to sacrifice . "
Furthermore , he states that there are many words as rhs , " to
kill " or " to slay , " which also means " to sacrifice . " 4 Neverthe
less , the most general name , title or formula for sacrifice ,
htp - di - now .t
. , " an offering which the king gives , " indicates a

sacrifice par excellence , made by the king to the deity on his

and the people's behalf . But , with the passage of time as a
stereotype , it was applied to all sacrifices . Therefore , it has
been affirmed that Davies and Gardiner are theoretically correct
in their concluding analysis of this term by stating : " One must
admit that there is no one word for ' human sacrifice ' but using
the very same argument , there is no definite word for any spe
cific sacrifice at all..5 This conclusion reinforces the pre
viously stated position that it is impossible to define the term
sacrifice within the context of ancient cultures .

Mercer admits
that even if
the prehistoric or historic
Egyptians were in the habit of offering human victims as sacri
fice on great and solemn occasions , as other ancient peoples ,
there is no convincing evidence in extant Egyptian material ,
written or otherwise , to prove that they ever engaged in this
ritual . ?

109
110

In this he is joined by other specialists . Even though

conclusive evidence has been discovered at Kerma , Scharff only
8
speaks of this as a " viel umstrittene Frage . " Kees has only the
few dubious words , " Dass das Hausgesinde dem Herrn ins Jenseits
folgen muss , ist ein primitiver Gedanke , " then proceeds to dis
cuss briefly the evidence as a rather dubious basis of human
9
" attendants " sacrifice . The same is true of Junker who blithe
ly dismisses this possibility " at one time . 10 It is
as a mere "
also regrettable and truly surprising that Vandier , in his ex
haustive discussion of the early Egyptian dynasties , makes no
11
mention whatever of this . The mostly negative statements of
these and other scholars make the open discussion of this sub
ject by Lefébure , Maspero , Budge , Reisner , Wainwright , Moret ,
12
and others a refreshing change .
The earliest indications of this custom appear in connec
tion with certain mortuary rites which were practiced at the
death of individuals of importance early in Egyptian history .
In order to draw a reasonable conclusion , a detailed study of
the nature of these burials and their true significance within
the general context of Egyptian culture must be made . This
study will attempt to evaluate evidence appearing in conjunction
with the mortuary cult , and to study other indications from in
scriptions and art .

The Predynastic Period through the Middle Kingdom

Predynastic Upper Egypt
at the predynastic site of Naga - ' d - Der ,
During excavations
Albert Lythgoe and Dows Dunham discovered a curious burial pat
13
tern in a number of graves . These graves were of indigenous
Egyptians and each contained multiple burials sometimes includ
ing as many as six individuals . A careful study of the position
of each body relative to the others in all these graves , and the
construction of the architectural remains indicated that they
were all interred at the same time . According to the excava
tors , there are no visible signs that once sealed the graves
were ever reopened , or that corpses were added at a later date .
The great majority of the graves were single burials
14
wrapped in reed matting and placed on another mat on the floor .
Very few material possessions were found in the graves . The
multiple burials , however , ind ated a greater degree of
 111

prosperity . Invariably , in the center of the grave lay a chief

body encased in a garment of skin lying on the traditional reed
matting . The artifacts , which usually included a weapon , ves
sels , personal adornment , and some beads , were
small dishes ,
more numerous . occasions , accompanying the chief body
On many
were from one to as many as four females , and , at times , another
male or a child was included . They were placed in an orderly
15
arrangement around the chief body . Reisner , who later re
excavated and studied the sites , was struck by the number of
these burials , but in spite of the obvious implications , " he
hesitated to see in them " ritual killing and burials . However ,
16
he does record similar burials at El - Ahaiwah , Mesa'ed , and
17
Keneneh , which taken together , indicate that whatever may be
their significance , this predynastic custom developed out of the
Semainean and Gerzean mixed population and extended over a rea
sonably large area of Upper Egypt , pointing to an accepted cul
tural practice of the period . It was clear to many excavators
that these were different burial types . However , it was only
after the discoveries at Kerma that the possible meaning of
these burials was clearly stated . In the words of Reisner :
For many years I have been reluctant to accept the
pre - dynastic multiple burials as due to anything more
than fortuitous simultaneous death of several persons .
Some of the apparent examples had certainly been pro
duced by the intrusion of a slightly later burial in
an older grave . With the absence of any precedent at
the time of excavation , the evidence seemed to me too
weak to permit the conclusions that these archaic
multiple burials were sati burials . But now when I
review the entire material and perceive for the first
time how persistent the occurrence is throughout the
whole field , that in some cemeteries , such as Mesa - ' ed ,
the proportion is as much as a tenth of the better
preserved graves , and having refreshed my memory as
to the characteristic features of both the Kerma
graves and the Egyptian archaic graves by an examina
tion of the photographs , I am forced to conclude that ,

in all human probability , the archaic multiple burial

18
is also a sati burial .
112

An interesting note is that this custom was not universally

practiced in Upper Egypt , and the artifacts uncovered from the
graves seem to indicate that only certain relatively wealthier
graves 19 are to be included in this group . The evidence also
reveals that this type of burial ended with the Predynastic
Period , as no evidence was uncovered from later periods .
Critics who argue that these burials represent nothing more
than are faced with the problem of accounting for
natural deaths
the cessation of this peculiarity with the coming of
complete
the Dynastic Age . Cemeteries of the same general types are found
with similar material possessions indicating a cultural continu
ity , but no additional evidence of this ritual pattern . 20 Fur
thermore , this practice appears to be selective as only a dis
tinct class of individuals is involved . The percentage of those
burials could not reflect the normal deaths in these areas , even
at an extremely low death rate .
However , on the basis of these finds , one cannot deduce
whether , at this time , it was anolder custom passing into dis
use or a custom which was practiced by a certain element of the
21
people who were of a special ethnic extraction . In the Proto
dynastic Period , this type of burial does not occur in Egypt ,
but it occurs with unusual frequency in Lower Nubia at a later
date . The possible significance of this will be discussed be
low .
context and description of these burials would indi
The
cate that they involved some type of ritual death , the nature of
which can only be guessed . The contorted position of certain
bodies relative to the main body could lead one to suspect that
22
the victims were strangled prior to the sealing of the graves .
If , indeed , these were human victims , one cannot explain the

reason the abandonment of the custom or account for its be

for
ginning This is the only available evidence of ritual killing
.

in Upper Egypt at this time . Attempts will be made later to

evaluate its importance within the context of Egyptian culture
after other funerary evidence has been examined .
Dynasties I and II
Early Egyptian history during this period focuses on a bur
ial custom which may be somewhat similar though unrelated to the
predynastic examples . The earliest tombs of the kings of this
period are surrounded by rows of tombs and magazines .
 113

Egyptologists do not seem much inclined to discuss the char

acter of these tombs . They are usually dismissed simply as
of courtiers " ignoring completely the question of whether
" tombs
these courtiers " died of natural causes ( as probably was the
"
case of the occupants of the mas tabas surrounding the pyramids ) ,
or whether they were servants of higher or lower rank , dispatch
ed at their master's funeral , to accompany him into the after
life . they died natural deaths is consistent
The theory that
with the basic viewpoint of most Egyptologists , who do not
charge " the civilized Egyptians with such atrocities . " Never
theless , the archaeological records of this period present a
different picture .
Evidence of what has been called "subsidiary burials " or
graves has been found in the First Dynasty Royal Tombs , the mas
tabas , at Abydos , Saqqara and Giza . The body of the king , or
his symbolic representation , lay in a large room in the sub
structure under the centre of the superstructure . All around
the inside of the building are grouped smaller rooms and maga
zines containing supplies . The bodies of male and female ser
vants are usually connected to the main body by their location
either in certain or in the main tomb . In such cases
magazines
these are identified as servants ' quarters . Some are in inde
pendent subsidiary graves -- arranged in ordered fashion within
the compound around the central tomb , while others are in sub
sidiary graves built beneath the superstructure and connected
architecturally to the Royal Tomb . Certain scholars argue that
they were probably killed at the funerary ceremony to accompany
23
their master into the life beyond .
These tombs are legitimately called " Royal Tombs " because
the names of the royal occupants have been identified in a num
ber of them . However , owing to the successive plunderings to
which they were subjected , only a few can be positively identi
fied . 24 The following Royal Tombs are among those identified
as bearing evidence of ritual killing :
Tomb No. 3357 has been cataloged as that of Hor - Aha , the
first king of the First Dynasty , 25 whom many scholars would
equate with Menes - Narmer . 26 A number of fragments of human ani
mal bones scattered throughout the five subterranean chambers
were recovered , but , due to the ransacked condition of the 'tomb ,
it is impossible to ascertain the original position of the
114

remains . Emery is fairly certain that they formed a part of the

original interment . 27 It should be noted that this earliest of
the Royal Tombs of the First Dynasty did not have any subsidiary
graves built around the tomb on the outside , but there is proof
enough for simultaneous interment of all the individuals whose
remains were located together within the magazines of the tomb
itself and around the place of the central burial , single sub
terranean , structure . Emery and Petrie believe that those could
have been slaves or attendants who were buried along with the
28
dead king .
Uadji's seems to be a transition to a
Tomb , Number 3504 ,

more elaborate of structure than Hor - Aha's . Under the walls

type
of the superstructure on the south , east , and west sides of the
tomb were a series of 62 subsidiary graves formed by three
trenches divided by cross -walls into separate pits . The east
trench contained 20 graves , the west and south , 21 each . These
graves were roofed with timbers upon which the superstructure
rested , and each section of the superstructure , under which a
grave rested , had a small niche toward the center of the struc
29
ture . The substructure , around which these small tombs were

built , consists of an immense pit divided by cross - walks into

five large rooms . The central one , much larger than the others ,
was reserved for the important corpse . The immense size and
original wealth of the burial suggests that it may well have
been the actual sepulchre of the king .
The burial place of Queen Meryet - Nit , Tomb Number 3505 , is
easily identifiable by the jar - sealings in the central chamber .
The architecture is similar to the previous one , but slightly
larger , even though the substructure was divided only into two
large rooms of equal size . The subsidiary burials totalled 20 ,

and , like the former , were located below the superstructure ,

distributed three each to the north and south , and seven each
to the east and west . All were well planned and symmetrically
30
arranged .
The owner of Tomb Number 3506 has now been identified as
Udimu of the First Dynasty . Ten subsidiary burials following
the same pattern of five each on the north and south sides ,
31
were located .

The two final tombs during this period , located at Saqqara ,

in which this burial custom is observed , are Tomb Number 3500 ,
 115

dated to the reign of Ka'a , smaller and less elaborate than all
the preceding tombs of the First Dynasty with four subsidiary
burials, and Tomb Number 3505 of approximately the same date ,
32
assumed to be that of a nobleman , with one subsidiary grave .
An interesting feature of these last structures is the fact that
they indicate a definite transitional design from a superstruc
ture with the conventional palace facade of the Second Dynasty .
Simultaneous with this architectural change comes the end of
33
this peculiar burial rite in the North .
The same general period bears witness to the remarkable
profusion of the subsidiary burials in the South to a much
greater extent than was true in the North . At Abydos
and Giza ,
where the cenotaphs of the First Dynasty kings are located , the
evidence is especially striking . Whereas in the northern tombs
only four of the eight burials were accompanied by a few retain
ers , their cenotaphs in the South required hundreds of lives .
The other Tomb of Hor - Aha at Abydos , which is architectur
ally similar to his burial place , yielded no evidence
Saqqara
of extra victims . This was probably related in some way to his
initial role as the undisputed king of the two lands after his
pacification of the North , and subsequent policy of concilia
tion . However , it is pointless to speculate about this issue .
Zer's Tomb at Saqqara reveals no subsidiary burials , but
excavation at the southern tomb of this immediate successor of
Hor - Aha at Abydos uncovered 338 subsidiary graves arranged in
neat and orderly rows around the tomb . Most of those indivi
duals were women and many of the burials bore crude stone stelae
34
recording their names .

Queen Meryet - Nit's Tomb at Abydos had 40 subsidiary graves

in which a few stelae similar to those from the tombs of Zer
were found . Aside from the two tombs at Abydos and Saqqara , a
further group of 77 graves of her servants , arranged in orderly
rows around each three sides of a rectangle , was found at Aby
dos . It should be added that similar rectangles of servant's
burials pertaining to Kings Zer and Uadji were also found , but
35
the meaning of these remains obscure .
Tomb z at Abydos is the northern Tomb of Uadji . It was
surrounded by 174 burials of royal retainers 20 of which had
,

the usual crude private stelae . There was also the great rec
tangle of servant burials along with 161 other burials . 36
116

Udimu's Tomb at Abydos is much smaller than his Saqqara

monument , yet it was surrounded by 136 subsidiary burials in
cluding men and women , most of whom were accompanied by their
37
stelae .

The cenotaph at Abydos of Enezib , sixth king of the First

Dynasty , is the smallest and least attractive architecturally ;
nevertheless , it
was surrounded by 64 graves of his retainers .
38

Semerkhet's at Abydos is superior by far to that of

Tomb
his predecessor . at Saqqara has been identified as
No monument
his ; however , the superstructure of his tomb at Abydos covered
39
not only the burial chamber , but also the subsidiary graves .
The same method of construction is apparent in Ka'a's Tomb
at Abydos where 26 subsidiary graves were located under the main
superstructure . Significantly enough , the Saqqara structure , an
impressive and extremely large building in comparison to the
Abydos monument , dated to the end of the First Dynasty , contained
40
no traces of any subsidiary burials of retainers .
Reisner , after a re - examination of the evidence on tomb
construction at Abydos , reasons that the number of burials was
undoubtedly only a fraction of the many hundreds found in the
41
subsidiary graves surrounding the Royal Tombs . In spite of
the insufficiency of the evidence showing the extent of this
practice during the Early Dynastic Period , its existence cannot
be questioned . If
the number of subsidiary graves bears any
relation to the number of victims , this custom reaches its peak
under Zer whose two - tomb complexes at Abydos contained more than
590 subsidiary graves , and thereafter declined to only 26 in the
42
Tomb of Ka'a .
These sources indicate that the custom continued for some
time during the Second Dynasty , but on a reduced scale . The
only concrete data available comes from the Tomb of Khasekhemwy
at Abydos which has been estimated to contain between 10 and 15
43
burials .

The previous
evidence bearing testimony to a pattern of
ritual burial clear enough , but a number of legitimate
seems
questions have been raised not only on the evidence of ritual
killing , but even more important , its justification within the
context of Egyptian religious thought .
Edwards has observed that it is only at Abydos , from the
Tombs of Semerkhet and Ka'a , that there is certainty that the
 117

superstructure of the principal tombs covered subsidiary graves .

Consequently , one must question whether all these burials in
each tomb were made at the same time .
Using the Tomb of Uadji as an example , he argues that , ac
cording to Emery's reports , 44 all subsequent " subsidiary bur
ials " around tombs need not imply ritual killing of the human

victims at all ,
but rather these arrangements allow for the pos
sibility that the persons concerned were buried when they died
45
a natural death . Edwards ' observation is true enough in cer
tain cases , but not in all . The subsidiary burials of Tomb Num
bers 3505 , 3506 , and 3500 are all either a part of the super
and substructure of the principal tombs , or located within the
46
enclosure as a part of the central building . However , even
if we should grant that they were all detached from the princi
pal tomb , and buried in these subsidiary graves at such time as
natural death occurred , would not this theory nullify certain
recognized fundamental premises upon which the whole fabric of
Egyptian culture is built , especially after the death of the
king ?
Unlike other ancient cultures , whose king is usually the
47
servant or representative of the deity , Egyptian history and
culture consistently recognizes its king as " a god . " Around
this important nucleus the entire
, political , economic , reli
gious , and cultural fabric is molded ; this is , in essence , the
unique difference between the Egyptian king and his ancient
counterpart in other regions .
48
If this foundation is removed ,
the entire history of ancient Egypt would have to be re - evaluat
ed . No historian denies this fact .
If , then , the god departs to his " Other World " to carry on
his natural functions as the preserver of his people , is it con
ceivable that his immediate domestic attendants would follow him
at " their " discretion , when they succumb to natural death ?
Should one assume that they would " want " to conduct themselves
thus ? Can this attitude be expected of the people who will
shortly dedicate the totality of its cultural energy to the pre
paration of the god's home in the " Other World , " those monument
al structures of the Pyramid Age ?49 Probably it can be argued
for other periods in Egyptian history that there were no accom
panying burials of attendants . But one cannot confuse later de
velopments with this testimony of human remains of this early
era . Doubtless , these were simultaneous burials .
118

Regarding the identity of these occupants , Emery has shown

by the general contents of the graves that they cannot be asso
ciated with courtiers or upper - class citizens as was previously
thought , 50 but , rather , they were "humble monuments of lower
51
citizens and perhaps even slaves . " The very fact that each
tomb contained magazines for storage , and near the body pottery
dishes ready for consumption , stalls for cattle , and other arti
facts of domestic usage , certainly points to an environment
which demanded daily and continual service . This view receives
additional support in places where occupations of certain indi
viduals are clearly indicated on the inscriptions in certain
52
tombs , and later Coffin and Pyramid Texts referring to this
context also single out the occupations of people serving the
god in the " Other World..53

It would be more consistent with Egyptian thought , culture ,

and religious outlook of this time to see the accompanying at
tendants at the king's burial as simultaneous burials with the
king . A plausible explanation for those cases of detached sub
sidiary burials would merely be a change in architectural pat
tern in accordance with the size and outlay of the tomb in ques
54 55
tion , or a change in thought regarding mortuary beliefs ,
both of which are fully substantiated . It is reasonable to con
clude that all those subsidiary graves were laid out and pre
pared together with the principal tombs , and hence to suggest
a mortuary ritual which involved the killing of certain indivi
56
duals at the king's death . The basis for this type of funer
ary ritual as part of Egyptian religious thought will be fur
ther analyzed .
The Middle Kingdom
following evidence of a mortuary ritual is not located
The
within the geographical limits of ancient Egypt but in an Egyp
tian colony under her influence . This custom was certainly
within the range of Egyptian ideas , and practiced by the archaic
Egyptians in Egypt as late as the Early Dynastic Period .
All evidence points to the continuance of this custom in
north Nubia . It was endorsed by the Egyptian administration ,
and the Egyptians were the principal participants .
Reisner , in his archaeological survey of Nubia , uncovered
a large burial place cataloged as the " Eastern Cemetery , " which
 119

has been dated to the Egyptian Middle Kingdom , and associated

57
with the Egyptian outpost at Kerma during this period .
The unique feature uncovered at this site is what he has
referred to as " sati " burials . 58 The general description of
these is as follows : There is a central body of a chief indivi
dual wrapped in common garments or garments made of skin , lying
extended face upward on a bed . Beside the body are personal be
longings and a few pieces of furniture .
, weapons Arranged
around thecentral corpse are the remains of other people , 90
percent of whom are in a contorted position either clutching the
throat , as if gasping for air , or with both hands covering the
face . Some have the arms extended and fists clenched as if
reaching for help , or doubled up with head between the thighs .
A few were males , but the majority are females and children .
According to the excavator , these burials are the results of one
funeral on a definite day , and not a series of acts extending
over a period of time as are burials in communal graves .
59
All
indications suggest that the bodies were not mummified in any
way , but have been cured by desiccation in the same manner as
60
those found at the predynastic cemeteries in Naga - ' d Der .
His conclusion is that the extra persons in those graves had
died within a day of the death of the chief person buried in the
grave .
This theory is also supported by the fact that the chief
body is always better equipped with personal adornments , and ,
in many cases , that of one of the females is nearer to the
chief's bed and sumptuously adorned .
This is the general description of the smaller graves : the
large tumuli examined all reveal the same general picture but
61
on a much larger scale . Based on the number of individuals
found in certain tumuli , Reisner suggests that the number of
victims usually increased approximately in proportion to the
size of the grave , meaning that the graves were made of a size
to contain the expected burials . Tumulus Number XX contained
some 400 bodies . He does not believe that other tumuli which
included a large proportion of men , women , children , many pieces
of furniture , and rams should be considered too large a size for
62
a harem or family of an important Egyptian official of the time .
The victims , he observes , cannot be the results of war , extermi
nation by family execution simultaneously , or the extinction of
family after family through many generations . 63
120

This scholar notes a significant trend in his report :

This sacrificial burial type extends through the

whole Egyptian Cemetery , and throughout the southern
part of the Nubian Cemetery . It is only in K Cem . M.
and K Cem . N. , both of them Nubian , that the single
64
burial graves with ram sacrifices predominate .
He further adds ,

the Eastern part of the cemetery and in

Towards
the Nubian graves , the rams become more numerous and
the human sacrifices fewer , until in the northern
Nubian Cemetery , most of the graves have only ram
sacrifices . They are all buried under conditions
similar to those of the human beings , and therefore
65
probably alive .

Scholars who have treated the Kerma burials have attempted to

However , it is clear from
66
prove that the victims were Nubian .
the records that the greater part of the people buried were Egyp
tians , and that the culture was certainly the work of civilized
67
Egyptians probably affected by local conditions . All the names
recovered are Egyptian , and three are known from Middle Kingdom
monuments . The many artifacts uncovered from the hundreds of
68
graves are all the work of Egyptian craftsmen .
One of the most important problems of Nubian history dur
ing the Middle Kingdom is the identification of certain remains
in the Egyptian colony of Inebu - Amenemhet uncovered at Kerma .
Among the numerous artifacts of Egyptian origin discovered in
one of the most elaborate tumuli was a magnificent statue of
Prince Hepzefa and another of his wife , Sennuwy . Surrounding
the remains of this Egyptian nobleman , who was appointed gover
69
nor of Nubia by Senusret I , were the usual remains of the
harem servants
, , and members of the household buried alive to
continue their service in the afterlife .
The identification of these remains as those of this impor
tant nobleman has been accepted by some Egyptologists but re
jected by others . The basis for their rejection is rooted in
a refusal to recognize multiple evidence at Kerma as essen
the
tially Egyptian remains . Such a recognition
likewise would im
ply a belief in the continued practice of a mortuary ritual in
volving human killing , which seems to be of harmony with
 121

70
the cultural horizons of Middle Kingdom .
and moral However ,
whether or not one accepts the identification of Hepzefa's tumu
lus and the remains in this area as Egyptian , we cannot deny the
similarities between the much earlier Egyptian and the current
evidence .
Multiple family burial within a single tomb has not been
found in the Middle Kingdom , or even in the old Kingdom for that
71
matter . In the old Kingdom there are single shaft burials
with several bodies , but each within a separate chamber as in
72
the mastabas at Giza . One must therefore assume that the
Kerma burials are entirely different . The extra bodies are not
stacked one on top of the other as in the communal graves , they
are not wrapped as mummies , nor are they in separate chambers ;
with a few exceptions , they all lie on the floor around the cen
tral burial touching each other in various positions .
The conclusion that they were all buried at the same time
as the chief body is inescapable . The only parallel to the
Kerma grave burials are those at Naga - ' d Der , El - Ahaiwah ,

Mesa'ed , and Keneneh ,in Predynastic Egypt . No evidence of

this type of burial for the whole remaining period of Egyptian
history has been found . 73 It appears , therefore , from all
available evidence that this custom of sending an important
person to his grave , accompanied by a retinue of ministrants ,
was practiced to a limited extent in Predynastic Egypt and for
some reason was revived by Egyptians during the Middle Kingdom .

Additional evidence for this custom is incomplete ; how

ever , it
seems that the basic idea of dispatching the spirits ,
by whatever magical means , was still
active in the Egyptian
mind . This possibility may not be excluded at a later date in
a few isolated in certain localities . That the spirit of
cases
the dead man , and needed wives and councilors , continued to live
after death in the life beyond is in keeping with the beliefs
and age - long practices of the Egyptians , and the Kerma burials
fall within the range of this very archaic Egyptian idea . The
later Egyptians did not bury alive the wives and servants of a
man , but they did place statues and figures of those persons

either with his body in the grave chamber or with figures of

himself in a specially sealed apartment constructed in the
superstructure of his tomb . Therefore , the spirits of the slain
relatives na were sent co the afterworld to perform the
122

same services as when alive , exactly as the New Kingdom statu

ettes in the tombs in territorial Egypt .
is no basic difference between this Egyptian mortuary
There
custom in Egypt and the emphasis on mortuary killings at Kerma
during the Middle Kingdom Period . If
we replace the bed with

the box - coffin , the human victims with the ushabti , the differ
ences disappear . The same ideas and desires expressed by the
contents of the graves in Egypt are expressed at Kerma by Egyp
tians in a realistic , rather than symbolic , form .
This ritual was practiced earlier in Predynastic Egypt and
it is clear that at Kerma this aspect of the earlier culture was
preserved over years later by the Egyptians and Nubi
a thousand
ans . Its revivalin this distant station was derived from the
original culture that had preserved it . To the Middle Kingdom ,
Egyptian " Egyptianization " was probably only associated with
class contrast . Therefore , the ritual killings at this time
represent a dramatic example of an archaic survival in a remote
cultural region . Its demise and substitution were first initi
ated by the Nubians with a complete elimination of the ritual
74
after the end of the Middle Kingdom .
This study of mortuary ritual which involved the killing
of victims at the burial of the chief member of a family ,
human

an important individual , or a royal person has revealed a number

of significant factors which must be further explored . First ,
it is apparent that this funerary custom had certain deep roots
in Upper Egypt , in the Predynastic , late Badarian civilization .
All evidence points to its southern survival at an important
funeral . The reason for this is unclear . Second , to what can
be attributed the fact that even though the burial place of the
kings of the First Dynasty is located in the North at Saqqara
with only a few retainers , their cenotaphs in the South were
accompanied by masses of retainers ? Why the tenacity of this
ritual in Upper Egypt ?

Evidence from Reliefs , Inscriptions and Tombs

Conventionalized Victory Scenes

The question whether the scenes on certain types of re
liefs inscriptions should be interpreted as proof of the
and
ancient Egyptians ' practice of ritual killing in varied forms
 123

is as open today as it ever was since the beginning of the

science of Egyptology .
First , there is the difficulty of determining whether a
given relief or inscription describes a historical event , or is
merely another example of conventional Egyptian ideology . If
the former is the case , there is the added problem of identify
ing the historical context of the incident portrayed . The sec
ond impediment has to do with the divinity of the king . cer If
tain scenes are to be interpreted as the offering of human vic
tims to the gods , what interpretation is given to portrayals in
which the king himself , the god Horus , is actually the offerer ?
Is he , in these acts , making an offering to himself ? It is
primarily because of the foregoing reasons that a number of
Egyptologists see ritual killing in some much debated sources ,

while others reject the idea .

An often discussed scene is that depicted on the Slate
75
Palette of Narmer . on the palette , Narmer is shown wearing
the crowns of both Upper and Lower Egypt , marching in proces
sions with the officials and standard bearers of his armies .
On one side he holdsa prisoner by the hair and with an upraised
mace prepares to smash his head . On the other , he is viewed ob
serving the decapitated bodies of ten other foes , each with the
head neatly placed between the legs ; the falcon - god Horus pre
sides over the scene .
Another scene shows Narmer wearing the " Red Crown of the
North , " seated on a throne with figures of captives and numerals
representing 120,000 men , 400,000 oxen , and 1,422,000 goats ,
evidently captured in war . Overhead is the vulture - goddess
76
Nekhbet . One of the difficulties with the Narmer - palette is

that the script on the signs is so archaic and stylized that

scholars have found it extremely difficult to read , and , hence ,
have given different interpretations of the scenes portrayed .
One interpretation is that Narmer is about to sacrifice a
prisoner to the deity , whereas another takes into consideration
the historical context of Narmer , the unifier of North and South ,

and the victories he gained in this process . Consequently , a

pictographic portrayal of the king in his conquest of the North
and the consequent subduing of his enemies is seen in these
scenes .
77
Hence , it is argued that there can be nothing sacri
ficial about the scene .
124

These two viewpoints accurately reflect the basic positions

taken by scholars when treating the many similar scenes through
out later Egyptian history . The following are among some of the
more prominent of these scenes : An ivory plaque found at Abydos
depicting Den ( Hesepti or Semti ) of the First Dynasty . The scene
depicted is almost identical to that on the Narmer - palette with
the king in the act of smashing the skull of a prisoner of war
with his mace , and in this case , the jackal - god , representing
78
either Anubis or Apuat , is stationed behind the captive .
According to one relief at Wadi Magharah in Sinai , Sneferu ,

the first king of the Fourth Dynasty , is shown in the act of

killing a prisoner in the same conventionalized posture . 79 The
inscription also details the number of captives and animals
brought back .

There other inscriptions of a later date which seem to

are
bear the motif . On a pectoral from Dahshur , King Amenemhet
same

III of the Twelfth Dynasty is shown in the same posture smashing

the heads of prisoners of war under the figure of the vulture
goddess Nekhbet . 80 Another scene on a temple wall follows the
same general pattern . Thutmose IV is portrayed with one arm
upraised , holding prepared to strike the head of a Lib
a mace ,
yan prisoner holds by the hair . The accompanying in
whom he
scription indicates that the king has followed the footsteps of
81
his father in subduing his enemies .
Lefébure , Wainwright and others argue that these " sacri
fices " frequently followed successful raids and wars , and that
" it can be proved that they were the almost necessary concomi
tants of every battle and raid . 1182 The scenes and inscriptions
already cited occur over and over again in reliefs of all per
iods of Egyptian history . Most certainly one can assume that ,
at times , there would be terrible massacres of prisoners during ,
or immediately after , a campaign . However , in view of the prob
lems of interpretation discussed earlier , one wonders if it is
really possible to categorize these scenes as " prisoners in one
83
form or another sacrificed to the gods . "
The portrayal of the Pharaoh holding up his mace and ready
to deal a blow to the captive held by the hair is clearly the
standardized portrayal of a victorious Egyptian king . The con
84
text is always a victory scene and the subduing of foes , and
 125

consequently , could represent , instead , just the idealistic con

cept of the conquering god whose power subdues every enemy .
At issue here is not whether the Egyptians did engaged in
ritual killing on these occasions , but rather when can scenes
like those described above be interpreted as conclusive proof
of that fact . One can agree with Wilson in his statement with

reference to Amenophis II
that , " The temple scene often shows
the pharaoh clubbing captured enemies with his mace this de ...
piction had its reality carried further by the public and derog
atory exposure of the enemies .... 185 But the nature of Egyptian
art , its convention and ambiguity , would tend to reject any con
clusion that these must be interpreted exclusively as " human
sacrifices " to the gods . This may be true in its broadest sense .
However , if
the captive is representative of a subdued or con
quered enemy being sacrificed by the god - king , could not the
analogy be carried further , that every enemy killed by the king's
men during
a battle conducted at the orders of the king is like
wise sacrifice offered to the god or gods ? It is this problem
a
of " where to draw the line , " owing to the ambiguity of Egyptian
art and thought , which makes an understanding of certain motifs
so difficult . 86
The Amada 87 and Elephantine 88 Stelae
These two stelae , Amada and Elephantine , are both
dedica
tion tablets of Amenhotep II . The former depicts offerings of
wine and oblations to Harakhte and Amon - Re ' in a sacred boat ,
and the latter oblations to Amon , Anuket and Khnum . The tablets
are duplicates emphasizing the nature of the king's triumphs in
Egypt after his return from his Asiatic campaigns . The problem
of dating the tablets , or whether Amenhotep II conducted one ,
two , or three campaigns in Palestine and Syria , need not detain
of particular interest is the context of certain re
89
us here .
corded slayings . While they do appear against the background
of his victory , there are a number of important factors which
appear to rule out any standard interpretation of this scene
as a mere conventionalized type . The context of the inscrip
tion where the slayings occur reads as follows :

When his majesty returned with joy of heart to

his father Amon , he slew with his own weapons the

seven princes , who had been in the district of Tikhsi

126

( Ty - h - 8y ) , and had been placed head downward at the

prow of his majesty's barge , the name of which was :
"Okheprure ( Amenhotep II
) -is -the -Establisher - of - the
Two - Lands ' . One hanged the six men of those fallen

ones , before wall of Thebes ; those hands likewise .

the
Then the other fallen one was taken up - river to
Nubia and hanged on the wall of Napata ( Npt ) , in order
to cause to be manifest the victories of his majesty ,
forever and ever in all lands and countries of the
land of the Negro ; since he had taken the Southerners
and bound the Northerners , the backlands of the whole
earth , upon which Re shines ; that he might make his
boundary as far as he desired , none opposing his hands ,
according to the command of his father Re , Amon - Re ,
Lord of Thebes ; in order that the Son of Re , of his
body , his beloved , Amenhotep ( II ) , divine ruler of
Heliopolis , might be given life , stability , satisfac
tion , joy of heart , through him , like Re , forever
90
and ever .

The conventional figure of an Egyptian king killing hos

tages with his own mace before deities appears on temple scenes
throughout Egyptian history . On the outside of the remains of
a small chapel built by Amenophis against the west face of II
the Southern Tower of Pylon V in the Great Temple of Amon at
Karnak , a relief scene also represents this king presenting to
Amon captives from " Retenu . " Below the scene , and separated
from it by a horizontal line of the text , is a topographical list
consisting of two rows of names , indicating that the captives
91
are from the northern part of Palestine or southern Syria .
Wherever scenes of the mace - wielding figure of the king ap
pears on reliefs after the Middle Kingdom Period , such scenes
are always accompanied by appropriate inscriptions listing in

careful detail the particular conquered enemy - groups being sym

bolically clubbed to death . More than 36 such lists have been
photographed , copied and studied . 92 There is , therefore , no
doubt that these scenes are merely symbolic representations of
victory .
The Amada and Elephantine Stelae do not fit the category .

While they are victory stelae , they may be much more . They do
 127

not present a list of the conquered

us with foe ; rather , they
93
state that " seven princes " from the district of Takhsi were
killed by the king himself . The interesting fact is that the
slaughtering of these princes is exactly contrary to the known
policy of Egyptian kings during the New Kingdom . Records prove
that before , and even after , this event princes were sent to
Egypt , trained by the Egyptians , and when a replacement was
needed , returned to their homeland as faithful vassals of the
94
Empire . The killing of seven Syrian princes on this occasion
does present an anomaly for which adequate reasons should be
sought . A statement from the biography of Amen - em-hab presents
a plausible reason for this unusual event .
In his tomb in Thebes , he has left us with an account of
as a soldier under Thutmose III . His bi
95
his accomplishments
ography after the death of this king includes the following :

When the morning brightened , the sun arose , and

the heavens shone , King Okheprure , Son of Re ,
Amenhotep ( II
) , given life , was established upon the
throne of his father , he assumed the royal titular .
He ( - - ) all , he mingled with ( -- ) in - , the Red
Land ; he cut off the heads of their chiefs . Diademed
as Horus , son of Isis , (he ) took ( -- ) the
Kenemetyew , every land , bowed down because of his

fame ; with their tribute upon their backs ( that he

might grant ] to them the breath of life . 96

Piehl that here , Amenemhab doubtless

and Breastea97 observe
refers to the sacrifice of the seven princes of Tikhsi , but of
equal importance is their conclusion that this ritual takes
place at his accession to the throne of his father . According
to Amenemhab's biography , Thutmose III
passed away on vii , 30
of his fifty - fourth year , and the next day , viii , , Amenhotep i98
II was " established upon the throne of his father . From the
sequence of events , it would then appear
that Amenhotep , II
prior to the death of his father , had probably , as coregent with
Thutmose III
, undertaken a military campaign against Tikhsi ,
during the course of which his father died . 99 Being a joint
ruler at his departure , but nevertheless obtaining the victory ,
he labeled it his " first victorious campaign . 100 Having re
turned to Heliopolis and assumed power as sole ruler of Egypt ,
128

he celebrated his coronation and " first victory " by ritually

slaughtering the seven captive princes , whom he had brought back
" tied upside down at the prow of his majesty's falcon - boat , " be
101
fore Harakhte , Anuket , and Amon - re .
The conclusion is plausible that this unique incident may
represent the ritual killing
of important captives at the coro
nation of an Egyptian king . There is no evidence either prior
to or after this date which points to a similar event . While
New Kingdom history is complete with symbolic representation of
the slaying of captives , this is the only known record of an
actual ritual slaughter of captive princes by a new king at his
accession before the powerful gods of Egypt .
New Kingdom Tombs

There genre of reliefs which does not fit the

is another
type previously discussed , but which could be indicative of the
continuing practice of ritual killing among the ancient Egyp
tians . On the walls of El - Kab in Thebes , a ceremony is repre
sented in which certain unexpected details are revealed for the
first time . 102 They reveal that , at the death of certain impor
tant individuals , human beings were offered as sacrifices along
with animals in the burial ceremony . Furthermore , the choice
of victims was from among Nubians and foreigners . For the most
part , who were taken as prisoners
they were slaves of war re
sulting from Egyptian
expansion ; north and south , east and west .

Elsewhere they are pictured as partisans of the god Seth , among

whom he is purported to have resided after his defeat at the
hands of the god Horus of Edfu . Two groups are referred to on
the murals : Tikanou and Qasou . On each occasion where a burnt
offering is being given to a deity , a Tikanou is represented as
being offered along with other animals .
The Qasou , however , appear to have been strangled and
served as a mummy. There are always two of these ; consequently ,
they served a different
may have purpose . The only relation
ship between the two is that they both served as human victims
at some funerary ceremony .
It may be significant that two terms are used for the vic
tims which emphasize foreigners . The term Tikanou , according
to Egyptologists , is unclear , but it has been associated with a
Syrian place name and could be used as a designation for the
103
Asiatics as a whole . The Qasou have been determined as
 129

Nubians . The hieroglyphic sign , which appears immediately over

the cartouche in which the word is written , is the old Kingdom
sign for foreign people or bowmen , which was later used in the
104
New Kingdom for Nubians . This is generally translated by
105
Egyptologists as referring to Westerners as well . In view
of the fact that the New Kingdom under Thutmose III and his suc
cessors created its empire by continual warfare and conquest of
Asiatics, Libyans and Nubians , the use of prisoners or slaves
drawn from these natural enemies of Egypt as victims in a mor
tuary ceremony of this type can be understood .
These mortuary scenes have , therefore , been explained as
evidence of human sacrifice at this time . 106 They are different
from those previously discussed . Unlike the conventionalized
form during all periods of Egyptian history , these are restrict
ed specifically to the New Kingdom . The former is generally
within a victory context and tends to portray the general motif
of the conquering god , while the latter attempts to describe a
mortuary scene which is within the scope of Egyptian thought of
the New Kingdom Period . It would seem by Mercer's statement ,

relative to these New Kingdom scenes , that there is nothing to

prove that these represent the strangling and burning of Nubian
107
slaves at funerals . While theoretically true , since we are
dealing with mere pictures , this , to the contrary , may be an in
dication of a certain type of mortuary practice known only to
this Period .
Relief at Abu Simbel
There is one final inscription from the Nineteenth Dynasty
which is worth some On a mural relief of the Great
attention .
Temple of Abu Simbel , Seti I and his son Rameses II ,
built by
among other scenes of a religious character , the king , accom

panied by the queen , is depicted sacrificing a Nubian on an al

108
tar before Amon , and a Libyan before Re - Harmachis .
The context of the relief is interesting . The Great Temple
of Abu Simbel , one of the masterpieces of Rameses , is one of II
the largest rock - cut structures in the world . Its location ,
near the Second Cataract , is in remote Nubia . Two arguments
have been presented for its location on this site . First , that
the hill
of Abu Simbel was for some reason considered sacred ;
and second , that the pharaoh may have wished to impress unruly
neighbors with his power and wealth . 109
130

There are many representations on its walls of military ac

tivity in Nubia during his lengthy reign
, but both the dates and

the localities of these supposedly important campaigns are lack

ing . Hence , the general impression is that much of this material
is fictional , the obvious intent of the king being to balance
his victories in Asia with victories in Nubia . All indications
are that his reign saw general peace in these southlands , a fact
borne out by his widespread building activities . It does not
seem , then , that the purpose of the temple at this remote site
was to demonstrate his power , or to create fear in his enemies .
There is greater weight to the opinion that , while the former
may have been a factor , the major reason lay in the sanctity of
the area .
One of the building inscription in which he in
section
structs an to build the temple reads , " ... His might is
official
in all lands , bringing for him multitudes of workmen from the
captivity of his sword in every country . llo This statement im
plies that the structure was built primarily by prisoner - of - war
labor . Like many of the other temples of Nubia , it was dedicat
ed to the worship of Re -Harmachis who is identified with the
sun .
The two sacrifices mentioned could have been a real event
at its completion , and the selection of a Nubian and a Libyan
within such a context , symbolic of the king's power over these
people and a continuation of their role as sacrificial victims
on some occasions . The context of this relief should not be
considered as identical to the other well - known conventional
forms of victory inscriptions of Rameses . There is noII lll
doubt that these are victory reliefs as they all have the appro
priate topographical names of the places " conquered " by the
great king . This is noticeably absent from the two sacrificial
scenes at Abu Simbel .
The weight of the evidence , based on a comparison with
other reliefs of this type , appears to favor the theory that
this reflects an actual sacrificial scene which may have taken
place either at the foundation of the temple or at its comple
tion by Rameses . II
Unfortunately , there are no other similar
scenes in Egypt to support this point .
 131

Summary of Mural Evidence

A study of these various types of mural reliefs and inscrip
tions makes it hazardous to rule out the possibility that certain
scenes , studied within their historical and geographical con
texts , may tell a story of ritual killing of human beings within
historical Egypt .
The conventionalized victory scene should not be ruled out
completely for it may be that on occasions the public , ritual
execution of some prisoners was an Egyptian custom even though
prisoners were more valuable alive than dead . However , one can
not view every Egyptian war , and the death of every non - Egyptian
dying in such wars , as an ultimate sacrifice to the gods , for
rarely is sacrifice relevant . It is the exercising of divine
power and authority which is self - perpetuating . This common
type is generally engraved on temple walls and forms a part of
topographical lists in which the central scene represents the
king slaying the captured enemies before his patron god (Amon ,
Ptah , Horus ) , after the return of his army from a campaign in
foreign countries . 112 These later reliefs listing foreign con
quests are undoubtedly a development from the earlier and much
simpler scenes which merely represent the slaying of a small
group or a single enemy by the Pharaoh .
As brought out earlier
this motif of decoration occurs as
,
early as the First on the verso of the Palette of Nar
Dynasty
113
mer . As a mural relief , the development of this earliest
example has been equally well known from Sneferu of the Fourth
114
Dynasty at Sinai , on which the details of the king's con
quests appear to be lacking , and the vague and general formula
" Smiterof the foreign countries " is observed . However , the ob
ject of this study does not permit an investigation into the
various stages of the development from the simple motif on the
Narmer palette and Sinai reliefs to the great scenes occupying ,
115
at times , entire temple wall .
an
It is also significant that this simple relief scene con
tinued to exist simultaneously with the more elaborate reliefs ,
two of which were left by Amenhotep II on the south face of the
eighth pylon at the Karnak temple . However , an indication that
they did represent the collective defeat of the enemy and not vh
a real sacrificial scene in Palestine or a part of Syria is the
fact that a small number of place names is included on the re
lief . 116
132

later scenes , therefore , are always accompanied by

The
texts celebrating the might and glory of the king over his ene
mies through the assistance of his god . On many occasions where
it has been proposed that these " sacrifices " are made to the
gods , the texts actually take the form of an address by the god
117
to the king , giving him titles and celebrating his high qual
ities . Nearly every one of the great Pharaohs whose reign falls
between the beginning of the New Kingdom and the end of the Dy
nastic Period is represented on this type of relief .
There is no convincing indication that these convention
alized reliefs portrayed human victims offered as sacrifices to
gods .
The second recorded inscription of the seven beheaded
chiefs under Amenophis II , though in some respects
comparable
to the former , reveals a number of details which do not fit the
standard pattern . Evidence indicates that these were no ordi
nary captives , but princes . The execution of princes is con
trary to usual New Kingdom Egyptian policy . Furthermore , they
were taken back to Egypt and executed before Amon - Re and
Harakhte at the coronation of the king . This evidence , when
compared to somewhat similar scenes , suggests a ritual killing
which involved a sacrifice to these gods . The significance of
this event cannot yet be determined .

The third type of relief equally suggests that human vic

tims did form a part of certain funerary rituals at the passing
of an important official ; however , there appears to be no simi
larity this custom in the New Kingdom and the earlier
between
multiple burials . This type involved a religious sacrifice
tomb
in which animal victims also played a part . The definite iden
tification of victims as foreigners may be a significant factor
which can only be evaluated within the total picture of the
Pharaoh's political myth of supremacy over the foreigner and
particularly his Nubian and Libyan neighbors .
Somewhat different is Rameses II's relief on the temple
wall at Abu Simbel . The dissimilarity between this and other
conventional victory reliefs cannot be overlooked , and the gen
eral historical context of the building tends to suggest the
possibility of real sacrifices either at the beginning or the
end of its construction . Other than the fact that the similar
ity in victims to the previous group may be of import , not much
 133

more at this point

can be said , but must await the examination
of other types of evidence .

Textual References : Early and Late

Aside from the previously discussed evidence , it has been

argued tha certain textual references , especially in the Pyra
mid and Coffin Texts , and the works of later classical writers

bear testimony to the practice of ritual sacrifice of human be

ings among the Egyptians from the earliest to the latest periods .
Even though most of these arguments have been seriously ques
tioned , to neglect them would represent a gap in this investiga
tion .
Argument for ritual killing which have sought to rely on
118
the Pyramid Texts for support are faced with serious obstacles .
Foremost among them is their historical context . One opinion is
that most of the Pyramid prehistoric times ; 119
Texts reflect
other theories , relying on certain internal evidence , emphasize
120
that they are much later . However , a study of many of these
ancient texts shows that there is indeed a primitive quality in
them which , on occasions , does reflect events and conditions
long prior to the time of the union of the two lands . A notable
example of this is the hostility between the north and south be
121
fore the me of Menes . In fact , Mercer is of the opinion
that many of the sayings probably existed in oral form before
the art of writing developed , but with the passage of time and
as the ability
to write developed , incantations , charms and
hymns doubtless written on papyrus and potsherds , some of
were
which in time perished , the rest remaining in various forms un
til they were collected and finally incised on the walls of the
122
pyramids . But , many later additions reflect various chrono
logical data which can be established with a fair degree of cer
tainty during the First and Second Dynasty , and even as late as
the Fifth . Aside from the fact that there are no references in
the Pyramid Texts to the actual occasions on which any utter
ance was written , there is the added problem of the interpreta
tion of what is written .
texts usually occupy the walls of the sarcophagus
These
chamber except the west side , and are so disposed that the de
ceased king in his sarcophagus might spiritually see and read
them . They constituted a body of spells concerned primarily
134

with promoting his welfare , especially in the future life . They

do not present a coherent whole , but clearly denote three out
standing elements : solar theology , religion and myths of Osiris ,
and the political unification
of the Two Lands . Mercer and
Faulkner have indicated the following general divisions : funer
ary ritual of mortuary offerings , magical formulae to ward off
harm and evil , burial ritual worship , religious hymns to the
gods , mythical formulae identifying the deceased king with dif
ferent deities , prayers and petitions on behalf of the dead
king , and the greatness and power of the deceased king in heav
123
en . The nature of these texts , then , shows that they are
ultimately burial - ritual based upon a belief in the ascension
of the body of the deceased king , and in reality funeral rites
built upon and interpreted as mythical events . As such , great
caution should be exercised when attempting to historicize any
portion of them .
Arguments for ritual killing based on evidence drawn from
the Coffin Texts or the Book of the Dead are confronted with a
124
similar set of problems . The Pyramid Texts were borrowed ,
royal implications and all , from the pyramid chambers , mingled
with new and more appropriate magical spells and written inside
the coffins of the Middle Kingdom nobility ; these in turn were
borrowed from the coffins and other available magical spells
added during the Empire Period . The contents of the Book of

the Dead
125 can dated with a greater degree of accuracy ,
be

even though corpus of the different recensions is still a

the
collection of magical spells . As with the Pyramid Texts , cau
tion is advised when attempting to make historical application
of any of them .
The third source from which written evidence has been ex
tracted , and the most widely used , is the works of Greek and
Roman writers . The accounts of magic , religion , mythology , and
gods of the ancient Egyptians , written by such Greek and Roman
writers as Herodotus , Diodorus , Plutarch , Tacitus , Eusebius ,
Josephus , Apuleius , and others were for the use and information
of their countrymen . These undoubtedly contain valuable infor
mation . On the other hand , they include information theories
and imaginings which are not only unsupported , but are absolute
ly contradicted by facts drawn from the Egyptian monuments .
One does not doubt that Herodotus and others wrote accurately
 135

enough what told by the Egyptian priests , or by their

they were
well - educatedfriends in Egypt , but it is equally clear from
the construction which they put upon much of the information
they received that they did not check the validity of the facts
given them . They were unable to understand the evidence in
scribed on the temple walls because of their inability to read
them or because the inscriptions and artifacts in the many tombs
were unknown at the time . They did not fully understand the
rudimentary principles of Egyptian religion , its primitive cults ,
or the nature of many of its symbolisms . When Herodotus visited
Egypt , the knowledge of its ancient past , old and Middle King
doms , had practically been forgotten .
However , they can hardly be blamedfor this for it is very
doubtful if the priests , at that time , themselves
few Egyptian
understood their past or took the trouble to study it . It is
well known that the closed and rigid structure of the Egyptian
priesthood described by Herodotus and others at this late per
iod is the exact antithesis of what is known of the earlier
periods ; and a cursory examination of the religious texts writ
ten under the Twenty - second and following Dynasties proves that
the knowledge of many aspects of Egyptian religion of the earli
126
er periods was extremely vague to the priests of this era .
This being the case , the information which they could have
imparted to inquiring foreigners was extremely questionable ,
especially for historical investigations . The general untrust
worthiness of the information about many aspects of Egyptian
religion supplied by classical writers is thus evident . There
fore , one seeking to study any aspect of Egypt's past should
not rely too heavily upon this source .
The Fertility Sacrifice
The theory that fertility sacrifices involving human vic
tims were practiced by the ancient Egyptians begins with the
asumption that the Pharaohs were , in actuality , fertility kings .
According to certain scholars , this is clearly illustrated by
the Sed Festival .
127
It has long been recognized that the dedi
cation and fertility of the field was the central ceremony of
128
this festival , The earliest evidence of its simplest per
formance derives from the Archaic Period .
129
It became more

complex with the passage of time . 130

136

All indications point to the physical activity of the king ,

especially in conjunction with the dedication of the field , dur
ing the days of celebration . The king's agility in performing
a peculiar sort of dance , first as king of Lower Egypt , then as
king of Upper Egypt , crossing the field to the four points of
the compass , carrying water , and performing other activities
may have been , it is argued , necessary to induce the skies to

provide water for the fertility of the land over which he had
reasserted his control . Since it is clear that the Egyptians
were not dependent on the rain , but rather on the Nile , for their
crops , attempts are made to trace the origin of Sed to a time
131
beyond prehistoric Egypt in the Libyan days .
There may be some support for this view all the facts if
can be joined together historically . 132 However , the current
position at this stage of scholarly research tends to indicate
that the Libyan origin of the Sed Festival cannot be proven .
Hence its origin is still a big question .
133

Nevertheless , certain details appear to associate the Sed

Festival with Libya , and its basis is allegedly the ritual kill
ing of the king to guarantee the fertility of the land . This
suggests that the celebration in Egypt could have been connected
with some type of fertility rite and , hence , calls for a brief
survey of the problem . This aspect of the festival has been
134
treated by various scholars .
Helck and Gardiner observe that the Sed Festival must have
been connected in some way with the coronation of the king . The
proper time , it is argued , was at the beginning of one of the
three seasons or the first day of the first month of winter . 135
A study of the Ramesseum Dramatic Papyrus , which has generally
been interpreted as a coronation drama , has led to the conclu
sion that in it some clues to this important festival are to be
136
found . Helck , who attempted to reconstruct the original
137
order of the scenes , claims that these , identical but in a
different order are to be found in the scenes of the Sed Festi
,

val of III
in the tomb of Kheruef at Thebes .
Amenhotep
138

He notes that this reconstructed papyrus is concerned with

ceremonies celebrated on the eve of the Sed Festival and con
1139 and the bur
sisted basically of the " Opening of the Mouth ,
ial of a royal statue representing the deceased king , the king's
father . He considers that this must go back to very early times
 137

when the Festival actually marked the accession and coronation

of a new king , on the eve of which the old king , killed on at
taining the conventional limit of his age , naturally had to be
buried . On this view , the statue was later substituted for the
killing of the old king . 140
It is obvious that a kingship such as the Egyptian was re
garded as having the deepest influence on its
people and was
closely connected with agriculture and fertility . The safety
and health of the king entailed . the safety of Egypt and the well
being of its inhabitants . One can only assume , therefore , that
inevitably there must have been numerous ceremonies at which
either the king conferred benefits on the land , or in which pro
tective rites on behalf of the king , automatically ensured the
same desirable results for Egypt . The question which demands
further inquiry is whether certain of these festivals , purported
to have been a part of the Sed Festival , can contribute any in
formation on the ritual death of the king as has been suggested
by Helck and , if so , at what point during the course of the fes
tivities this actually took place .
The Great Festival of Min in the first month of summer , ac
cording to Gauthier , was at once a harvest festival and a king
ship festival . 141 As this is neither a coronation nor an acces
sion ceremony , Fairman believes that the whole festival was ac
tually an annual renewal of the fertility and virility of the
king -- for the ultimate benefit of the entire land . 142 There are
indications of sacrifices of animals during the festival , but
there is no mention or implied statement or scene which can be
interpreted as a ritual killing of the king , or of any other
human being for that matter .

The so - called " Sacred Marriage " 143 at Edfu , conducted dur
ing its fifteen - day span , included quite a number of other cere
monies . The many minor ceremonies which were included prove
144
that it was definitely
not a unit . While the Sacred Marriage
was a part of it , it was not the principal element . On the one

hand , it included the harvest ceremonies , and on the other ,

ceremonies connected with the funerary cult . There are also
clear parallels and points of contact with the Festival of Min
and , throughout , the king and his office are involved . These
three ceremonies -- the Sacred Marriage , the Harvest Festival ,
and the funerary cult or Cult of the Ancestors -- are not
138

incompatible , and their association at Edfu may not be a coinci

dence . Allthree were interconnected with fertility rites , with
the mortuary cult , and with the protection of the king upon whom
the well - being of the land depended , but in none is there an
implication that the king was ritually or symbolically killed .
The ritual of the Sacred Marriage also included the dis
patch of the four geese to the cardinal points , at which time
four " books " are to be recited . The only one identified is the
fourth entitled , " The Subduing of the Nobility . " The earliest
scenes occur in the New Kingdom . One occurs under Thutmose III
another under Sethos I at
145
near the Festival Hall at Karnak ,

Abydos ,
146
and a third under Rameses II
at Karnak .
147

When these are compared with three other scenes of the

later period at Karnak , Edfu and Esna , the significance becomes
148
clear . They are concerned not only with the offering of
birds caught in a huge net , to a god , but also with the captur
ing and offering of human enemies , four of whom are seen kneel
ing with tightly bound arms . On the temple wall at Edfu , all
foreign lands are represented under the feet of the king and
the " Book of the Subduing of the Nobility " is being recited
over the figures of four enemies whose names are written on
their breasts .
The texts make it clear that the ceremonies and spells are
directed against rebels and enemies of the king , especially when
they attack him , and that their effect is to capture these ene
mies , render them powerless and ineffective , then destroy them .
The birds , fish , animals and human beings caught in the net
are said to represent enemies in general and are identified one
by one as Asiatics , Beduin , Nubians , etc. A damaged passage

indicates that they were to be eaten for breakfast , lunch and

supper . nature and purpose of the ceremony appears to be
The
in accordance with the Egyptian theory of sacrifice and offer
ing . 149 This bore no implication of atonement , but encompassed
a dual concept of the destruction of the enemy , e.g. , by burn
ing , and the absorption of certain desirable qualities and pow
ers by eating the sacrifice .
There is no indication in the text of the specific part of
the year at which these particular ceremonies were performed ;
however , the association with the " Book of the Subduing of the
 139

Nobility with ceremonies of investiture suggests that perhaps

"
it formed a part of the coronation ritual .
The two festivals previously discussed , according to Helck ,
are both a part of the Ramesseum Dramatic Papyrus which included
certain of the ceremonies conducted during the Sed Festival
which , at its inception , marked the accession of the new king
after the sacrificial death of his father or predecessor . How
ever , neither festival appears to render even the faintest clue
to the ritual killing of the king .
It is to be assumed , therefore , that whatever evidence can
be gleaned in support of this theory should come from the Pyra
mid Texts . In theory , they should provide us with information
in this regard since they refer to the earlier , formative per
iods , but the magical nature of the greater percentage of this
material makes it almost impossible to garner any meaningful
history of earlier ritual .
Helck's theory , while very attractive , does not supply
enough evidence to build any meaningful argument for an original
sacrifice of the Pharaoh . What it does indicate is that the
coronation of a new Pharaoh could have been accompanied by a
sacrificial slaughter of certain important enemies of Egypt .
This is what the " Book of the Subduing of the Nobility " and the
temple scenes are all about .
Other scholars , however , have attempted to connect the Sed
Festival with the ritual slaying " of the king , but
so - called "
the arguments are built upon an interpretation of certain utter
ances in the Pyramid Texts , bolstered by statements of classical
writers and bits of information derived from the old Kingdom .
This view assumes that , at the appropriate time , early
Egyptian kings laid down their lives for the good of their
people . In support of this general theme , attention is drawn
to certain obscure spells and utterances from the Pyramid Texts ,
570 , 571 : 1443 , 1453 , 1467-1469 .

The face of the sky is washed , the celestial

expanse is bright , the god is given birth by the
sky upon the arms of Shu and Tefenet , upon my arms .
I escape my day of death just as Seth escaped
his day of death .
I escape my half - months of death just as Seth es
caped his half -months of death .
140
1
i
I escape my months of death just as Seth escaped
his month of death .
I escape my year of death just as Seth escaped his
year of death .
Do not break up the ground , O you arms of mine
which lift up the sky as Shu ; my bones are iron and
my limbs are the Imperishable Stars .
I am a star which illumines the sky , I mount up to
the god that I may be protected , for the sky will no 1
not be devoid of me and this earth will not be devoid
of me forever .
The King escapes the day of his death just as
Seth escaped his day of death , this King is bound
for you ... 0 you gods of the Lower Sky , who suffer
no harm from your foes , this King will suffer no
harm from his foes ; O you who die not because of a
King , O you who die not because of any dead , the
King will not die because of any dead ; for the King
is an Imperishable Star , son of the sky - goddess who
150
dwells in the Mansion of Saket .

These utterances have been interpreted to show that in pre

historic times the Pharaoh was ritually put to death at certain
fixed periods However , being a
. representative of Seth on
earth , the texts also appear to indicate that oncertain occa
sions it became for the king to avoid this sacrificial
possible
death . A further interpretation of these spells sees in the
words , " ... who suffer no harm from your foes , this King will
suffer no harm from his foes ... this King will not die because
of a king ... , " references to two different forms of death dur
ing later periods ; one at the hands of enemies , the other at
151
the hands of a rival king , in this case someone other than
an enemy
Pursuing the same theme , there is an added interpretation
of Utterances 398 : 693 , 509 : 1120 , 560 : 1394 and others of a simi
lar type throughout the Pyramid Texts which refer to the mystic
act of the hoeing of the earth , and the roaring of the gods at
the " Festival of the Hoeing of the Earth " which took place at
Heracleopolis . 152 Since the hoeing of blood is mentioned in
the previous line where Seth's activities occur , it is argued
that this may have been Seth's blood . The deduction then
 141

historicizes the preceding accounts with the conclusion that

Seth's sacrifices initially took place with a view to fertiliz
ing the earth and , consequently , in the beginning , the Pharaohs
actually were sacrificed for this purpose .
This theory is said to have been reinforced by the publica
153
tion of the Hieratic Papyri which , among other things , made
certain oblique references to a section of the Egyptians of the
Nineteenth Dynasty known as the " Followers of Seth . " They are
called Typhonians by certain marks and characteristics : red men ,
red hair , or redness of eyes . The manner of the death of vari
154
ous types of Typhonians is stated in several places . The

sequence of the deduction , therefore , begins by placing the

origin of Sed in Libya , in the west . This initially involved
the hoeing of the earth , a ritual which , according to the Pyra
mid Texts , included the killing of the king and mixing his blood
with the soil .
155
If
there is any survival of this ceremony in
Egypt , then , likewise , it should involve the ritual killing of
the king . The god Seth is ultimately identified with " red " men ;
or certain individuals bearing characteristics identified as
red are identified as " Followers of Seth " and were , consequent
ly , ritually sacrificed in the same manner . 156
From the historicization of certain spells in the mid
Eighteenth Dynasty , it is argued that there were at least two
Festivals of the Hoeing of the Earth , at Ddw , known to the
Greeks at Busiris , and at Heracleopolis . Grapow's translation
of a section of the Theban recension of the Book of the Dead

relative to the former reads , " The Great Hoeing of the Earth in
Busiris on that night when the earth is hoed with their ( i.e. ,
the companions of Seth ) blood . " The glossary elaborates this
and says : " The companions of Seth came and changed themselves
into goats . They were slaughtered before the gods , and their
blood which flowed from them was ndr..157 The only basis for
assuming some degree of historicity to this whole theory is ,
therefore , the presumption that these primitive spells and ut
terances reflect actual historical events , an assumption which
lacks adequate proof .
With the treatment of vague spells and utterances as his
torical, supporters of this view seek to draw upon additional

material of equally questionable value from the opposite end of

the chronological spectrum . In the words of Wainwright ,
142

Festivals of the
Though in the New Kingdom at the
Hoeing of the Earth the Seth - sacrifices clearly had
their heads cut off ( alluding of course to the histor
icity of the statements in the Pyramid Texts ) , it is
equally clear that on other occasions the sacrifice
had been by fire . Thus , tradition recorded the death
by fire of one Pharaoh Sethian in colouring .
who was
This was Nitocris , who was ' golden colour and with
red cheeks , ' who ' cast herself into a room full of
ashes ... ' It is clear , therefore , that the official ,
historical , and religious records of Egypt do not
ignore the duties of the divine king , who acted in
stead of the storm - god , controlled the weather , and
supervised the fertility of the land and the health
of the people . The folk - tales give them great promi
nence , and it is the popular ideas of Egypt which the
classical writers have preserved to us .
The memory practice of this custom
and occasional
of putting to death Seth and the King , or their sub
stitutes are very prominent in the classical authors
who provide further details . To show that the Pharaoh
also owed or had owed this
, duty to his country , and
to point out some of its effects on Egyptian religion ,
history and folklore form a large part of the rest of
158
the present study .

The preceding assumes that the utterances are of historical

value , and also that the statements of the classic writers bear
great historical weight . Within this context , Wainwright ,
Lefébure , Moret , Budge , and others reason that , since Kerakleop
olis was one of the places where the earth was ceremonially
hoed with blood , and was very prominent under the Twenty - second
Libyan Dynasty played a leading part in the wars with
which
Piankhi on the Ethiopian side , when the Libyans finally took
over Bocchoris
, , the son of Tefnakhte , according to the classi
cal writers , paid the ancient penalty of kingship under the old
Religion . After reigning as Pharaoh for six years , he sacri
ficed himself . 159
The classical account of Nitocris identified her as a
golden - coloured queen , who is either the daughter of Khufu ,
Не -heres II of the Third ynasty , or a queen of the Fifth
 143

Dynasty bearing ahame -- both very fair , with white skin

similar
and red hair She is of
. Libyan ancestry and her self - immolation
by fire after a period of six years has been recorded by these
160
writers .

Another popular story concerns Sesostris , who has been

identified as Rameses II .
161
The essence of the story is that ,
after a period of nine years , attempts were made to burn the old
king to death by the man who had made himself the successor , but
, 162
" even as Seth escaped the day of his death , so he escaped .
The conclusion of these classical accounts is that these
kings and others were all liable to ceremonial death , and , as
in the case of Seth , it would have been accomplished by fire .
The precedent goes back to the remote period in Libya before the
occupation of the Nile Valley when the crops had been dependent
on the rain and not the inundation of the Nile . This custom
fell into after the old Kingdom , but saw its
desuetude sometime
recrudescence under the Libyan rulers of the eighth century B.C.
in Egypt .
Clearly , there are many loopholes in this attractive theory ,

but there are also certain points which are noteworthy . An at

tempt will be made later to evaluate the preceding on the basis
of what Egyptian evidence reveals .
The Theory of Substitution
The argument for a substitutionary theory which involved
ritual killing also receives its strongest support from classi
cal writers . According to Plutarch : " For truly , as Manetho has
recorded , they used to burn living men to ashes in Eileithyiap
olis , calling them Typhonians , and they used to scatter and dis
pose of their ashes by winnowing . " 163 To this piece of informa
tion Diodorus adds , "Anciently men who were similarly coloured
,, 164
to Typhon were sacrificed by the kings .
These statements , along with the several stories of
Pharaohs who were sacrificed by fire , have led proponents of
the essential historicity of the classical sources to reason
that in being burned alive these individuals were put to death
in the same manner as Nitocris , Bocchoris , and the attempted
death of Sesostris . These men were sacrificed by the kings ,
and hence were without a doubt substitutes for the kings them
selves , just as the kings had been substitutes on earth for the
165
god . Within this context , the Sesostris story appears to be
144

the memory of the sacrifice of substitutes for the king , and

the manner of their death would be that of the Seth victims at
Nekhab - Eileithyiapolis . However , an important addition made by
Plutarch states that " this used to be carried out publicly and
166
at a proper time in the Dog - days . The conclusion follows that
these Seth sacrifices were burned at the New Year's annual fer
tility celebration . Initially , during the Predynastic Kingdom
and , at times , during the old , the king himself was burned alive
as the earthly incarnation of Seth . Next , in the late old King
dom , substitute was chosen for the king .
a human
On such occasions as the Sed Festival , which was a fertili
ty rite , Seth sacrifices would take place . Evidence of the sac
rificing of Seth victims has been drawn from the earliest vic
tory inscriptions previously cited in this study as follows :
167
Narmer's 120,000 captives ; Khasekhan robed for the Sed Festi
168
val accompanied by a large number of overthrown enemies ;
Pepi I's tablet commemorating both Sed and his conquest of
Sinai ; 169 Mentuhotep I smiting a " chieftain of Libya " accompan
170
ied by two men bearing the doorjambs ; Hatshepsut as a sphinx
trampling her enemies in the presence of the Sed symbols ; 171
Merneptah accompanied by the same set of symbols as he slaughters
his enemies ; 172 Amenhotep III's
festival scene with prisoners
whose hands are tied behind their backs . 173 All are used as
proofs that these were human sacrificial substitutes at the Sed
Festival .

The of this argument is , there is no proof that

weakness
174
these captivessacrifices .
were This kind of scene showing
ceremonial sacrifices of foreign chieftains had long become a I
regular part of the decoration of the king's funerary temples
and , hence , it need not be used to assume actual sacrifices .

Also , it cannot be proved that they were substitutes for the

king .

Added to this is of any evidence of these cap

the absence
175
tives being put to death by fire . Assuming that indeed they
were substitutionary sacrifices conducted during the New Year's
festival in connection with the Sed Festival , all of which are
essential to the fertility of the land , is one to understand
that this vital ceremony , on which the existence of the country
depended , was conducted to infrequently ? It has long been re
cognized that the Sed Festivals , so few and far between , were

1
 145

performed at arbitrary intervals by the different Pharaohs . 176

If Sed is tied in with the annual New Year's festival merely to
link the sacrificial killing of prisoner - substitutes at the Sed
celebrations to the supposed killing of Typhon men during the
Dog - days ,the whole argument lacks real force . There is no
then
shred of evidence to support the theory that human substitutes
for the king were " sacrificed " at the Sed Festivals except , of
course , when this coincided with the coronation of a new king .
However , in spite of these weaknesses , it is assumed that
the previously cited Pyramid Texts , 570 and 571 , clearly por
tray a struggle during the old Kingdom in which kings sought to
avert their sacrificial fate . 177 Aspects of this struggle are
illustrated in a legend reported by Herodotus which states that
Khufu and Chepren closed the temples and " forbade the Egyptians
to sacrifice . " As a result , all sorts of calamities wore the
178
people down to the last extremity . On the other hand ,
Menkaure made the most righteous judgments , opened the temples ,
permitted the people to resume the sacrifices and , though un
179
willingly submitted to death .
, Thus , this evidence , drawn
from classical sources two thousand years later , states that
the struggle revolved around human sacrifices and ended in the
death of the king at a stated time upon instruction from the
priests . It was not until the Sixth Dynasty that substitutes
for the king were accepted . Hence , " Pepi escaped the day of
his death even as Seth escaped the day of his death , " indicating
a temporary this struggle
end to and the subsequent practice of
regular substitution .
By the Eighteenth Dynasty , animals had been substituted for
men , in at least some of these Seth - sacrifices . At the mythical
" Festival of the Hoeing of the Earth , " the Book of the Dead
adds , " The companions of Seth came , and changed themselves into
goats when they were slaughtered . 1180 Regarding this develop
ment , Diodorus adds that in his time " Red oxen , however , may be
sacrificed , because it is thought that this was the colour of
181
Thyphon . 11
This foundation of the entire argument for a substitution
ary ritual
among the Pharaohs of Egypt overlooks the important
fact that , between the Egyptian Early Dynastic and the old King
dom and the two thousand years which elapsed before the writings
of these classical works , the basis for , and the true meaning
146

of , many Egyptian myths and legends were largely forgotten and

182
misunderstood by the Egyptians themselves . The confusion
among these writers relative to the identity of one king or

another and the contradictions in their stories bear adequate

testimony to this fact . Furthermore , apparently no thought is
given to the element of continuity . If , as it is argued , the
custom of substituting other human beings for the king in the
late old Kingdom developed , should there not be some evidence
of this during the revival of the past in the Middle Kingdom ?
However , nothing has been uncovered which can be construed as
evidence in this regard at this period . During the following
" great " period of the New Kingdom , there is the resultant abun
dance of slaves and prisoners in Egypt , and even though they are
pictured to as participating in various rites , no
or referred
where is there any allusion to their use as substitutes
found
in a fertility ritual . It seems that the argument of " silence "
cannot be totally ignored here .
The argument of the ritual killing of early Egyptian kings
cannot be substantiated from earlier sources . The theory is an
attractive but its persistence is not based on actual evi
one ,
dence from Egyptian sources . Rather , it is based on the long
held theory which presupposes a strong Libyan influence of this
rite in the earliest stages of Egyptian religion .
historical accuracy of classical and Latin
While the
sources is highly questionable , and the continual reference to
ritual killing by fire of non - Egyptian human beings cannot , from
these sources , be traced back to the old Kingdom , they may be an
indication of the advent , in Egypt , of this custom at some time
after the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age when this country
was subject to frequent invasions and control by foreign ele
ments . The fact that foreigners are always involved points
strongly in this direction . However , the origin and nature of
this sacrificial ritual cannot be obtained from the classical
sources and must remain obscure until further study is made .
The evidence cited cannot be used to substantiate the argu
ment for human substitutes in the so - called fertility ritual .
It is possible that , where the king is god incarnate , some time
in the distant past he could have been destroyed when physical
disability seemed to interfere with the effectiveness of his
incarnation ; however , we have no proof for this . The notion
 147

that a mancould effectively take the place of the king would

be sacrilegiousand completely foreign to what one would expect
from Egyptian thought . The institution of this kind of substi
tution was unknown in Egypt .
The evidence from their writings that the Egyptians prac
ticed ritual killing is restricted to ceremonies which marked
the coronation of the king , and is in accordance with Egyptian
thought that the king was lord and master of all his enemies .
This should not be viewed as a fertility rite . No evidence has
been uncovered which appears to lend credence to the theory that
a fertility rite involving the sacrifice of human beings was
practiced by the kings of Egypt .
183
Funerary Figurines Ushabti
,

The Shabtiu or Ushabtiu is a little figurine made of stone ,

alabaster , wood , or some other material in the form of a mummy
which is found in tombs since the Sixth Dynasty . The Ushabti
from the Sixth Dynasty are uninscribed , but those from the Eighth
Dynasty , and onward , bear the name and titles of the person for
whom they were made and with whom they were buried . During the
Eighteenth Dynasty and onward , in addition to the name and titles
of the deceased , each Ushabtiu usually bore a text which certain
spells identical to some in the Book of the Dead . A number of

those from the Eleventh Dynasty and onward explain quite clearly
the purpose which the figurines were intended to serve : The
figurine is called upon in the name of the deceased person writ
ten on it to perform whatever labours he might be adjudged to
do in the other world . These labours consisted in tilling the
soil , watering the fields , and doing whatever else was necessary
in connection with agriculture , in the other world .
First proposed by Maspero is the generally accepted theory
that these figurines represent the slaves who were buried alive
with their masters in order that their spirits might serve the
spirits of their masters in the other world , just as their
184
bodies had ministered to their masters ' bodies in this world .
If this theory is correct , it would also assume that the
Middle Kingdom kings translated into a milder form the harsher
custom of the Early Dynastic kings , as there is evidence of the
mass murder of domestics at the funeral of a king only during
that early period . It is quite probable , as Emery has suggested ,

that realizing the barbarity of such a procedure , the Egyptians

148

solved the problem with the aid of this sort of magic . 185
Nevertheless , as this study has previously indicated , while the
custom ended in Egypt , the evidence at Kerma shows that it was
continued by Egyptians in this Egyptian colony using both Egyp
tians and Nubians as its victims and was presided over by high
officials .
It is only within this context that the theory of substi
tution can be appropriately applied in a very limited manner .
The use of Ushabtin was never restricted to the Pharaoh alone ,
rather , it became a regular part of the funerary objects un
covered in many non - royal tombs from the old Kingdom to Hellen
istic times . 186 Even if we were to assume that the indigenous
Egyptian peasant also engaged in a funerary ritual the same as
his unlikely possibility , there is no
god - king's , an extremely
way of proving the point .
We must conclude , then , that during the early periods , the
Us habtin was intended as a substitute for the once slain domes
tics , but during the period from the First Intermediate to the
Middle Kingdom the custom gradually spread from royalty and no
bility to the commoners . As the funerary beliefs developed and
the spells from the Royal Pyramid Tombs were gradually adopted
for use by non - royal persons and included in the Book of the
187
Dead , the theory of the Ushabti as a substitute was lost .
Ushab tiu as substitutes must , therefore , be restricted to the
era immediately following the old Kingdom .
 CHAPTER IX
THE LAND " BEYOND THE RIVER "

The nature of available evidence in the previous chapters

of this investigation on the ritual killing of human beings has
tended first toward the plausible interpretation of unwritten
remains through archaeological research , and second , the results
are always tested against certain theoretical conclusions drawn
from written documents .
Earlier in this study it has been observed that on many
occasions the availability of unwritten remains of such prac
tices is in striking contrast to the paucity of written mater
ial and that , more often than not , conclusions have been based
on archaeological research rather than philological investiga
tion . The strategy in archaeology is to attempt interpretations
of unwritten remains by what relevant written documents are
available . The latter type has not rendered an abundance of
corollary evidence in Mesopotamia and Egypt . Nevertheless , its
contribution has , on occasions , been sufficiently substantial
to enable us to arrive at reasonable conclusions .
Syria and Palestine form the land bridge connecting the
two great riverine cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt around
which the most significant aspects of international development
of the mid - second to mid - first millennium B.C. history revolve .
Although this area became the permanent home of representative
elements of the groups involved during this period of interna
tionalism , and its numerous material remains have borne increas
ing testimony of various aspects of cult , ritual , and religion
of the people of this region , it has contributed very little
from which a study of ritual killing of human beings can reason
ably be made . Furthermore , the small amount of evidence of this
type is so ambiguous , at times , that it is hazardous to attempt
a definite conclusion . Nevertheless , an objective investigation
requires that every available piece of evidence be considered .
Contrasted to this paucity of unwritten remains , there are
numerous references to ritual killing of human beings in the
old Testament , pointing to this practice among certain groups .

149
150

One of the factors which makes an investigation of the prac

tice of ritual killing in this region so important and interest
ing is that it is often cited either as an endemic custom of the
area , a prevailing convention among one or another newly arrived
group , or a ritual in by an organized cultus . The com
engaged
plexities of the philological evidence on which much of this
chapter must be based require a priori , a brief statement on the
nature of Hebrew religion , which is the phenomenological context
in which references to ritual killing are often found .
Most certainly , in any attempt to explain this ritual with
in the context of early Hebrew religion , much weight should be
given to analogous customs from contiguous cultures since most
of these engaged in rituals which were rather similar . To rule
out known contemporaneous customs among neighboring peoples in
an to prove the
attempt unique background of early
Israel be
cause of her special relationship with Yahweh would be to beg
the question with complete disregard for realities .
It should also be noted that the Hebrew " religion " appear
ing in the old Testament is a somewhat vague expression , presum
ing as it does that the two earliest streams of Hebrew migra
tions into Canaan represented on the one hand by Abraham at an
early date and on the other by Jacob and his Aramean ancestry
at a later period , brought some kind of religion with them . To
this first fusion of patriarchal religions can be added a sec
ond , that which was developed by the settled tribes who did not
go into Egypt , gleaned from the book of Judges and shaped large
ly by Canaanite influence , and a third , the Mosaic religion
which was , according to tradition , the result of special revela
tion made to Moses in Midian and imparted to the tribes he led
out of Egypt , and then carried by them to Canaan under Joshua .
The extent of the common element in these three historically
separate branches which caused them to blend and ultimately
develop into what might be called the " official " religion of
2
Israel is an extremely difficult question . ' Nevertheless ,
available written evidence of human ritual killing is given
against these three historical backgrounds .
Even though the context can thus be fixed , it
historical
must be in many instances information regarding
remembered that
religion and ritual practice has been vitiated somewhat by the
fact that it is not contemporary and suffered from the
 151

hostile attitude of the Hebrew writers who described it , thus

portraying an incomplete and , at times , probably an inaccurate
picture . Many instances of this cultural borrowing are project
ed in this light . Genesis should provide us with an important
source of the rituals and cult practices of the Syro - Palestinian
region , but the editors were not concerned to preserve for pos
terity this aspect of the culture of the area . Rather , they
were solely interested in giving final touches to a theodicy ,
setting forth the ancient traditions in such a light as to pre
sent the Hebrew people as from the first , the object of the im
3
mutable purpose of their god .
According to the tradition of the Book of Judges , "every
man did that which was right in his own eyes , " ( Judg . 17 : 6 ) ; the
implications of the ritual prohibitions
in Leviticus and Deuter
onomy ,which must be directed against prevalent practices , show
how far natural assimilation of Canaanite cult practices had
gone in Israel very shortly after her entry into Canaan . These

references to ritual prohibitions in the different layers of

Pentateuchal legislation , and the occasional allusion in the his
torical parts of the Old Testament to practices such as human
sacrifices , show that such customs were a part of Hebrew culture
at that time inherited from the pre - Mosaic past .
There is also the added factor of the numerous statements
from the pen of the prophetic writers who were naturally hostile
to the fundamental principles of Canaanite ritual and cultic
practices . They were quite aware of the nature of the religion
of the people of the region , by whom they must have been pro
foundly influenced , however little they cared to admit it . The
result is , on the one hand we have a biased account of these
practices presented in such a way that it prevents us from truly
understanding their significance to those who indulged in them ,
and on the other , the prophetic recasting which attempts to ob
literate all the original traits .
The preceding , along with the added factors of northern
( Anatolian ) influences on the earliest Hebrew society and the

later assimilation of Assyro - Babylonian culture , against the

background of which additional references on the ritual killing
of human beings are projected , present a rather complex environ
ment against which the role of ritual killing must be analyzed .
152

This is the final and most important area which must be

dealt with in this chapter .

Attempts are constantly
logical data of Palestine
Unwritten Remains
being
made in the study of archaeo
Syria to identify certain remains
and

with the ritual killing of human beings , particularly of in

fants . The apparent reason for this effort is the statement in
the Covenant Code , the oldest legislative text dealing with this
subject in the Bible ( Exod . 22 : 29-30 ) : " You shall give me your
firstborn sons . You shall do the same with your oxen and your
sheep . They shall stay with the mother for seven days , on the
eighth day you shall give them to me . Certain authors conclude
that this prescription relating to firstborn children is proof
that human sacrifice was not only lawfully practiced at the out
set of Israel's history , but that its presence is the indication
of an ancient custom which imposed the sacrifice upon them . 5
R. A. S. Macalister's report on his excavation at Gezer
lists a record number of infant jar - burials .
The whole area of the High Place was found on ex
cavation to be a cemetery of newborn infants . That
these infants were all the victims of sacrifice is
suggested their close association with the High
by
Place ,and confirmed by the fact that two at least
displayed marks of fire . These infants were depos
ited in large jars , which were two - handled pointed
base vessels . The body was usually put in head
first ; generally two or three smaller vessels-
usually a bowl and a jug -- were deposited either in
side the jar between the body and the mouth of the
vessel , or else outside and close by the large jar .
None of these smaller vessels contained organic
remains or other deposits , and no ornaments or other
objects were deposited with the bodies .... So far as
these excessively delicate bones could be examined ,
no evidence was found that the bodies were mutilated
in any way .

The primary basis for his identification of these as sacrifi

cial burials was their association with the High Place . While
 153

a number of later scholars conceded this as a possibility ,

8
others have questioned such a conclusion . Macalister , never
theless , argues that the basis for his identification of these
jar - burials as sacrificial is his feeling that ,
... the sacrosanct nature of the firstborn is a prin
ciple so deeply rooted in the Semitic mind , that in
the earliest Pentateuchal legislation the sacrifice
of the firstborn of man was anticipated and evaded by
substitution of some lawful animal .
He concludes that the sacrificed infants were firstborn , devoted
to the temple and all were under a week old , and they were not
offered under the duress of any special calamity ; the selection
of the infants must have been something inherent in the victims
themselves which devoted them to sacrifice from the moment of
1
their birth . 10

Aside from the jar - burials on the High Place , Macalister

classifies as human sacrifices other burials uncovered in pri
vate homes . In area II 3 A, the body of an elderly woman was

found in a gravethe corner of a building . She was se

under
lected " possibly because she was useless to the community..11
The same reason is given for a man buried under the floor in
the room of a 28 . II
Judging from the position of the arms and
the absence of the left hand , this victim is presumed to have
been bound and the left hand cut off . Another skeleton of a
youth about eighteen years of age also fits the sacrificial pic
ture . The body is cut in two at the waist with the arms folded
over the breast ; only this upper portion being deposited . Other
infant burials were found in jars under the corners of some
houses , butof only one ( No. II
21 B , according to the author )

can it be said with certainty that the wall was built over . it
All of these burials have been recorded as " foundation sacri
fices . 12
Once again it is stated that the old Testament story of
Hiel , the Bethelite , and his rebuilding of Jericho ( 1 Kings
16:34 ) is the locus classicus for this rite in ancient Pales
13
tine . Macalister states that this is " the only Biblical pas
sage , indeed , where any indication of the practice can be
found . " It should be pointed out that , aside from a few small
jars or bowls in certain cases , generally nothing is found with
154

these burials . In section III 30 , in the corner of a building ,

a large jar was uncovered containing

assortment of small
an sil
ver objects , some of which were identified as representations of
human figures . On this basis , it was concluded that they were
without doubt models of foundation sacrifices and , consequently ,
must be further proof of the prevalence of this custom . How
ever , " as is generally the case in such rites as this , attempts
while preserving its spirit ."
..14
were made to soften its barbarity
The science and techniques employed in archaeological re
search have made important strides since Macalister's excava
tion of Gezer . While scholarship has long ago revised the
chronological periods which he originally assigned to the
15 16
dif
ferent strata , and reinterpreted much of his recorded data ,
most attempts at the interpretation of later human remains as
"human sacrifices " have been built on the prior assumption that
Macalister's conclusions are correct . However , a comparative
study of the Gezer remains , and those of subsequently excavated
sites , has opened to serious doubt the previous interpretation
of these remains as sacrifices . Although outdated , this evi
dence must be examined since it initiated a trend .
The Gezer report has indicated two types of burials : the
jar - burials associated with the ritual of the High Place and
the foundation burials under the floors of private buildings ,
both of which have been questioned by prominent archaeologists .
On the former , Wright , Kenyon , and Albright have pointed out
that the recorded evidence gives no indication that the jar
burials were in any way associated with the later ritual of the
High Place . They argue that the entire area appears to have
been an ancient burial mound dedicated to infant burials and
17
separated from the city during the Ghassulian Period . The
High Place , it is argued by Eduard Meyer , was a living shrine
erected in honor of defunct princes or notables 18 and generally
dated by Albright as a functioning cult center during the Middle
19
to Late Bronze Age . Exactly at what time this burial mound
became a center for ancestral cults cannot be determined on the
basis of Macalister's report , but it is generally agreed that
there is no indication that the earlier development was in any
way connected with the later , or that infant burials could have
been the results of " child sacrifices " which formed a part of
20
the latter ritual at the High Place . Since there is no
 155

evidence to prove a connection between the two , and the sacri

ficial theory of the former relies upon its association with the
latter , the reasonable conclusion favours ordinary jar -burials
in Gezer from the earliest period similar to those found on
21 22
other sites . Open air sanctuaries , like the one at Gezer ,

have been found at Ader , 23 Bab edh - Dhra in the Dead Sea re
Nahariya , 27 Hazor28 and at Lejjun
24 25 26
gion , Megiddo , Shechem ,
29
in Moab . Although some were contemporaneous with the Gezer
30
shrine , none has contributed any evidence which can be asso
31
ciated with the ritual slaying of human beings .
The attempt to interpret certain house burials as " founda
tion sacrifices " is equally premature . There is no reasonable
means of ascertaining whether the other examples listed were ac
tually sacrificial victims since they fall into the normal pat
tern of the thousands of sub - floor burials uncovered on scores
of sites in Palestine and Syria . These bodies are interred
either with a few pieces of pottery , beads , a few implements or
alone . Unless there is some clear indication that a given bur
ial is to be associated with some cultic artifact or a series
of examples pointing to a definite pattern in type , location ,
and method of burial ,
32
it is hazardous to assume a foundation
sacrifice .
Only a few minor references to human remains as possible
foundation sacrifices have thus far been encountered . Joseph P.
Free records a child about one and one -half years old buried be
neath the large squared stones of a wall of the Middle Bronze Age
site of Dothan . this burial was not in the corner of
However ,
a room . In of this writer , " It suggests the idea of
the words
a ' foundation sacrifice ' reported in earliest Palestinian ex
cavations ( though denied by some recent writers ) . 1133
" The late
Nelson Glueck also records an Early Bronze Age foundation sacri
fice of a newborn babe under the fireplace of a house at Tell
Abu Matar , and another " stuffed into a jar that had been placed
under a threshold of another private building at Teleilat
34
Ghassul , " both in the Negeb . Miss Kenyon records an infant
foundation burial beneath the wall of a structure she identifies
as a temple or shrine in the late Early Bronze
a Age city of
Jericho . However , this was located some distance from the two
adjacent rooms with solid blocks of brickwork which she has
identified as altars . Her identification was not considered as
156

final . 35 From this kind of evidence , it is unlikely that a case

can be made the often - stated theory that the inhabitants

for of
this region engaged in the ritual killing of human beings . Such
an assumption implies that Gezer and similar burial sites pro
vide the physical evidence of a ritual which is emphasized in
Exod . 22 : 29-30 . This conclusion cannot be supported from avail
able evidence .

Written Evidence
Recorded evidence of human sacrifice among the inhabitants
of this region should appear primarily among two bodies of lit
erature : The Hebrew Scriptures and the Ugaritic Texts . The for
mer are projected against the background of ( 1 ) the Patriarchal
and Adaptive Periods in early Hebrew history , ( 2 ) the Tradition
al Period in the pronouncements of the early prophets , and ( 3 )
36
the Re - formation and the later prophets . The historical con
text of the latter is the Late Bronze Age . Since this may have
a bearing on the references from the Patriarchal and Adaptive
Period , the evidence from Ugaritic literature will be considered
prior to that of the early prophetic texts .

The Patriarchal and Adaptive Period

Abraham and Isaac

sacrifice of Isaac must be analyzed within
The contemplated
the context of this investigation because of its purported im
plication that early Patriarchal religious practice sanctioned
the ritual killing of individuals . There are two problems which
appear to be implicit in this narrative . First , the reflection
of a cultural context in which human sacrifices were an accepted
part of cultic practice and , second , the narrative implies that ,
on occasions , Yahweh required and accepted human victims as
sacrifices .
Long ago it had been recognized by critics that the inci
37
dent , as outlined in Gen. 22 : 1-19 , can be attributed to E,
but the vivid style and depth seems , nevertheless , more appro
priate to J. The consensus , as outlined by Noth , is the possi
bility of E imposed upon J a fusion of the two .
,
38

The geographical context where Isaac should be offered up

as a sacrifice to God is the land of Moriah , or the land of the
 157

39
Amorites . The true location cannot be determined ; however ,
some region in Palestine is no doubt intended . The chronologi
cal and cultural context appears to be Middle Bronze II Pales
tine with its predominant Semitic element and the arrival of the
earliest bands of Hurrian adventurers . What we have then is ap
40
parently an area under pre - Hyksos control . The question is
whether any evidence exists for the type of human sacrifice de
manded of Abraham , either in the context described or in his
Mesopotamian homeland .
Noclear testimony of the ritual killing of human beings
in this region appears in any written remains from this time . 41
Since this does not fit the category of " foundation sacrifices , "
to say that such examples are adequate testimonies of the con
temporaneous rituals of the Abrahamic type also lacks adequate
analogy and proof . 42 There is no known correlation of the scene
described in Middle Bronze Age Syria - Palestine .
On the other hand , among the many examples often used to
show parallel practice in the Mesopotamian region are the Ur
1,43
" Royal Burials , " and even the death of the Amorite King
44
' Ammisaduqa . These , however , are not sacrifices made to a
deity . to the Abrahamic narrative , they were merely
In contrast
attendants who accompanied their lord , chief , or king to the
other world . The only comparison in both cases can be the death
of the individuals , but the purpose of Isaac's intended immola
tion is very different from that of the Ur attendants .
A comparison which fits the sacrificial scene both chrono
logically and culturally
in Mesopotamia is that portrayed on
some seals in which the priest or king is about to slay the hu
45
man victim who is prostrate on the altar in front of the deity .

On the basis of the existing cultural and religious context ,

this investigation had earlier proposed that seals of this type

may be the projection of a ritual exercise carried out in ex

treme situations .
46
If so , this would be the only glyptic par
allel to the Abraham narrative in Mesopotamia .
The question of whether the context of the narrative as
sumes that God would require human victims as sacrifices on cer
tain occasions is , however , more complex and has been subjected
The J E recensions originated
47
to many scholarly discussions .
in the tenth - ninth centuries B.C .; however it is quite true
that there is a good deal of tradition intermingled with the
158

Patriarchal narratives of it very old but most

Genesis , some of
ly much later in date than the original stories . It cannot be
evaded that the core of the narrative seems to assume that at
one time God could demand a human sacrifice . It contains no
categorical divine repudiation of the practice as such . Fur
thermore , that Abraham responded to this call would indicate
that such a notion was not irreconcilable with his concept of
God .
Allof this is in such striking contradiction to the Law
Code and later prophetic teaching ; thus , the conclusion that the
core of the narrative must belong to some of the earliest strata
of Israelite traditions which contain echoes of the distant past
and reflect a popular , though certainly unofficial notion of her
religion , 48 seems inescapable . It has also been observed that
the full sacrificial vocabulary suggests a developed cult and
the question by Isaac bears witness to the fact that Abraham was
accustomed to sacrifice . 49
The suggestion has often been made that events related in
the narrative were linked to the foundation of a sanctuary , com
parable to narratives about the foundation of the sanctuary of
Bethel ( Gen. 28 : 10-12 , 35 : 1-7 ) . It is argued that Gen. 22 may
be related to the foundation of a sanctuary where , from the out
set , only animal victims were offered , in contrast with other
Canaanite sanctuaries where human victims were also offered .
This , then , would account for the " unknown " Moriah , and also
50
the unknown sanctuary called Yahweh - Yir'eh .
If the story is the aetiological background of a given
sanctuary then , as Thompson points out , its significance
, must
go beyond that of a purely local usage and approaches an aetiol
ogy of sacrifice
. On this basis , it
would appear to record not
merely the passing of human sacrifice in a particular sanctuary ,
51
but rather in Israel as a whole . Nor can it be argued that
the narrative represents a protest against human sacrifices and
the substitution of animals in place of man . It cannot be
proven either in historical or biblical records that animal
sacrifice was an innovation of Abraham .
It seems apparent that this story in its final form is not
an attempt to combat existing practice , but rather the product
of a religious attitude and period that recoils naturally from
associating God with human sacrifice . Nevertheless , the need to
 159

explain the ancient tradition as an unprecedented and unrepeat

able event was felt . It has now evolved from its ancient primi
tive nucleus to become a reflection of Israel's normative stand
point .
Ras Shamra
Discoveries at Ugarit have provided some degree of docu
mentation of the fifteenth - fourteenth century B.C. period just
prior to the formation of the Federation of Israel in Palestine .
Aside from these texts , there is no significant material avail
able from which one can reconstruct the ritual practices in the
Syro - Palestinian region prior to this time . 52
provided by these myths and epic tales is
The information
a basis for some of ritual practices during the
reconstruction
Late Bronze Age , and even earlier . Their treatment of sacri
1
fices and cult in general has been the source of much study by
Near Eastern scholarship because of its relation to the Bible , 53
but very little can be learned about the ritual killing of hu
man beings . Furthermore , whatever evidence exists is subject
to question .
Cycle 54
In the Baal and Anath , the poem apparently includes
a scene which direct relationship to a fertility cult .
bears some

Anath restores Baal to life to procure rain and subsequent ve

getation for the land by seizing the god môt , cutting him into
pieces with a sword , winnowing him as grain , roasting him in the
fire , crushing him in the mill , and then , scattering him in the
fields . The birds peck at the remains just as they do the grain
sown in a field . It is , therefore , the sowing of Môt's remains
which produces the revivification of the ground and later the
harvest . This account is assumed to be the mythical explanation
of the annual renewal of vegetation , and also may be the mythi
cal transposition of a ritual action which was recurrent in wor
ship -- a human sacrifice to assure fertility . 55
If , as it is assumed , this myth is an indication of a cus
tomary occurrence , then it is the only known evidence we have

for this supposed ritual in the Late Bronze Age Syria . One

would hardly expect to uncover any unwritten archaeological

artifact which could further substantiate this theory .
56
It has
previously that certain seals depicting human sac
been proposed
rifices before vegetation deities in Early Bronze - Middle Bronze
Mesopotamia could be references to actual pe dic oc ences
160

of this rite under special circumstances . If a ritual of this

57

character was practiced , could it be an indigenous custom ?

An argument for foreign origin as illustrated on certain
Mesopotamian seals has its merit . It has been shown that the
northern origin of the Baal epics in Ugaritic literature is , at
58
times , evident . El , the head of the epic pantheon , resides
in the remote region at the " source of the two rivers , in the
midst of the fountains of the two deeps , 1159 around the Casius
region in the far north . Baal , the most important and active
figure of the Canaanite pantheon , is not only called the " son of
Dagan , 1160 but he was also Hadad , the great storm god , enthroned
61
on the lofty mountain , Mt. Saphon . He was the great Baal 1
Hadad of north Syria , lord of the storm , and was undoubtedly
62
compared with the great storm - gods of Cilicia and Asia Minor .
In later times , this north Syrian deity was identified with Zeus ,
called Zeus Casius , the Hellenized Anatolian name ( Hazzi ) of
63
Saphon . Baal's consort Anath 64 and the bitter enemy of the
pair , Ashtarte also shares his north Syrian , South Anatolian
,
65
background . Since the vegetation dies in winter because of
the cold weather and comes back to life when it becomes warm ,
this yearly weather condition of the Anatolian plateau is com
parable to the climatic developments which leads to the storage
1
of grain in underground silos in the north Syrian region and ,
hence , both myth and reinterpretation in har
deities undergo a
mony with the new surroundings
Therefore , the role of these
.

deities in the Baal and Anath cycle is indicative of the south

66
Anatolian , as well as the north Syrian , cultural milieu .
It is possible that evidence of human sacrifice relating
to this theory should be not only within the Syro - Pales
sought
tinian regions , but also earlier south Anatolian sources .
among

Myths may gather a considerable variety of motifs from differ

ent ecological settings ; motifs in the Baal - Anath - Một cycle
67
gravitated from this general area .
The only other disputed reference to human sacrifice in the
68
tablets from Ugarit is that recently discussed by Virolleaud .
At the beginning of the liturgical text 4--19.15 ( p . 7 ) are the
words : " yn dykl bd ( ) , b , dbḥ mlk . " His translation reads :
" vin qui a étésera ) livré à N ( pour être consommé ?) dans
( ou
le sacrifice m- 2- k (ou repas de sacrifice . ) " On this reading
he argues that since the text in question is but one in a
 161

I catalogue of cultic which accompanied libations of

ceremonies
69
wine , m- Z- k here the first reference we have from the
may be

Ras Shamra tablets which confirms that " child " sacrifices offer
ed to Molech among the later Israelites was indeed practiced by
their earlier neighbours from Ugarit . 70 This theory was later
3 completely refuted by J. Févriér .
Février observes that the words dbḥ mlk are to be read " the
sacrifice offered to the King ( =Baal ) " since the context speaks
of sacrifices offered to the various deities even as the follow
! ing line reads dbḥ spn " the sacrifice offered to the ( god ) Spn , "
71
or to the mountain of the same name . dbḥ mlk should
The words
not be read " the sacrifice of Molech .
.: 72
It is
apparent that
Virolleaud was trying to find a Ugaritic precedent of the later
Molech sacrifices which are mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures .
These texts represent
to date , the total contribution of
,
Ugaritic literature to the problem of human sacrifices in this
region and , while at best the second is certainly negative ,
given the problem of interpreting myths in the ancient world ,
the first can only be a tentative conclusion pending the exami
nation of data from other sources . 73
Jephthah's Vow

of Jephthah ( Judg . 11 : 30-40 ) has been a famous exe

The vow
getical question since patristic times . Most of the discussion
1 has arisen from an effort to interpret the text in other than
its literal sense . It states that Jephthah offered his daughter
as a sacrifice ( 11:30 , 34 , 39 ) .
The context of this incident is the confrontation between
the Ammonites in Gilead and the Israelites in Mizpah in eastern
Palestine . Jephthah , a bandit chieftain , is made a judge by the
Elders " in the presence of Yahweh , 174 and is about to engage in
a battle over a boundary dispute . Jephthah , therefore , vows
that if he , he will offer up as a burnt offering
is victorious
1
to Yahweh whoever to meet him on his return . His daughter
comes

meets him and is subsequently sacrificed .

Since Rabbi Kimchi , ca. A.D. 1200 , some writers have pro
mulgated the view that Jephthah did not actually sacrifice his
daughter . 75 Kimchi interpreted verse 39 to mean that Jephthah
built his daughter a house where she was secluded from men for
the rest of her life -- thus dedicating herself to Yahweh .
Against this interpretation is the fact that there is no law ,

1
162

usage , or custom in the old Testament which intimates that a

single woman was looked upon as more holy to Yahweh than a mar
76
ried woman . It seems clear that a human rather than an animal
sacrifice is intended .
The theory proposed by Martin Noth ?? explains the story as
aetiological . First comes the rite i.e.
, , the "bewailing of
her virginity , " and then the story as an explanation of the rite
because she died without the fulfillment of womanhood ( marriage
and children ) . It is equally unconvincing . This mourning cere
mony is attested only in Judges 11:40 , but this , by itself , has

no relevance for the story of Jephthah as deliverer of Gilead

from the Ammonites . In this instance , the explanation may be
suggested that the story is given as the origin of the rite
since the event related was precisely this origin . The grief
of the father and the annual mourning of the women are intelli
gible only on the view that the sacrifice of the girl was con
summated . Even if the later Festival of Women is linked to the
" weeping for Tammuz , " and consequently becomes a fertility
78
rit
ual , in such a case the virgin's death would have to replace
that of the god , an implication which cannot be supported from
the context .
There are nearly contemporary parallels to this account . 79
In the story of Agamemnon and Iphigenia at Aulis , a god is re
80
sponsible for the demand and a vengeful clytemnestra is also
involved . There is also the Cretan tale of how Idomeneus , re
turning from the way with Troy , vows to sacrifice the first be
ing he meets upon coming to shore . This turns out to be his
In Anatolia , Meander vows to sacrifice the first
81
own son .

person who congratulates him if victorious in war . These are

82
his son , daughter , and mother .
The importance of these parallels is that they are nearly
contemporaneous with the Jephthah account during the period of
the Judges and they are dated to Iron Age I immediately follow
ing the end of the late Bronze Age . Interestingly enough , they
derive from regions to the north around Asia Minor contiguous
to the Syria - Palestine area . There are other factors which can
not be overlooked . Jephthah is a descendant of " Gilead , " with
83
no status in the tribe because of illegitimate birth , who es
84
tablishes himself and his robber band in the land of Tob .
A persistent strain of tradition locates the Israelites of
 163

eastern Palestine in a territory occupied by groups which had

previously migrated from the Anatolian region into this area . 85
The fact that parallel narratives also derive from these
northern regions and this , the only biblical account of its kind ,
is found among groups of a northern origin , makes it perfectly
admissible that this custom recalled a real event . Is it to be
assumed on this basis that a human sacrifice such as this was
encouraged in Israel ?
It is misleading
86
to say that his action is not condemned
by the narrator . Jephthah is represented as a Yahweh enthu
siast . He and his daughter hold themselves bound by the vow
87
which is irrevocable . To argue that " it can hardly be pre
tended that a robber captain who was persona non grata with his
88
own tribe represented ( in this act ] the normal faith of Israel "

is to disregard what may be considered " the normal faith of Is

rael " during the period of the Judges , a time in which " everyone
did that which was right in his own eyes . 189 The story of this
vow may reveal that the religious ideas of some early Israelites

were still uninfluenced by the new religious ideology of Moses .

If viewed against the cultural milieu , it is not difficult to
understand how a war lord professing Israelite faith could ar
rive at an idea of Yahweh who accepts human sacrifice . It is
equally feasible to see how Jephthah could regard Israel's land
as the gift of Yahweh and Moab's land as the gift of Chemosh .
It is the continuation of the old idea that the only important
function of deities was the maintenance of a political system
and its boundary . 90 Human sacrifice could clearly be acceptable
in Israel . 91
Samuel and Agag
Among all peoples of antiquity , war was linked with reli
gion and usually began at the command of the gods who gave their
approval through omens or other means , and ensured victory . 92
For this , the deities were thanked by offering them a part or
all of the booty . 93 In the broadest sense , then , every war was
a holy war . Israelite religion was the acquisition of a people
created by Yahweh and because of this relation between the
people and their God , every aspect of Israelite life was neces
sarily invested with a sacred character . Every war was con
sidered a sacred action in early Israel , having its own pecu "
liar ideology and rites . 94 The wars of Israel were wars of
164

Yahweh ( 1 Sam . 18:17 ; 25:28 ) because the enemies of Israel were

the of Yahweh ( Judg . 5:31 ; 1 Sam . 30:26 ) . Therefore , on
enemies
most occasions before going out to battle , a sacrifice was of 1
fered to Yahweh ( 1 Sam . 7 : 9 ; 13 : 9 , 12 ) , and Yahweh was consulted
by various means ( Judg . 20:23 , 28 ; 1 Sam . 14:37 ; 23 : 2 , 4 ; 23 : 9ff ;
30 : 7ff ) .

The subsequent battle was consequently fought by Yahweh for

Israel ( Josh . 10:14 ; Judg . 20:35) and after the victory the ḥerem
( the destruction of all pertaining to the enemy ) was usually
95
carried out . its root denotes a separation from the
Since
" profane " and consecration to the " sacred " within the ritual of
the holy war context it meant leaving to God the fruits of vic
tory . The precise form of this varies according to the differ
ent texts . Nevertheless , as a general rule the ḥerem originates
from an order of Yahweh ( Deut . 7 : 2 ; 20:17 ; Josh . 8 : 2 ; 1 Sam .
15 : 3 ) . In theory , it admits of no exception whatsoever .
It is within this context that Samuel's slaying96 of Agag
" before Yahweh" ( 1 Sam . 15:33 ) is to be understood . Saul's
order was to destroy all the Amalekites and admit no exception .
E

His failure to carry out in the strictest sense the ḥerem on

Agag apparently imposed on Samuel the necessity of fulfilling
the command of Yahweh ( 1 Sam . 15 : 3 ) . In this sense the execu
tion even
, though it took place "before Yahweh , " was merely a
fulfillment of the herem . The other examples in early Israel
and neighbouring regions support this conclusion.97 This iden
tical theme is expressed in earlier Egyptian records and in
99
scriptions 98 and from later Assyria . It was , therefore , a
common practice in the ancient world , and became a part of the
ritual of Israel . A herem is a ritual execution before the god .

The word and Ritual Killing

" hôqaC "
The this term is germane to this investigation be
use of
cause of the real life situation it describes in each of the
three contexts in which it appears .
100

The first is
the narrative account in Numbers 25 in which
Yahweh explains to Moses the type of punishment that must be
handed out to the perpetrators . The historical context is the
outbreak of an epidemic disease101 transmitted by the Moabites
to the Israelites in the course of ritual prostitution . The
102
adherents of the cult of Baal Peor , according to the narra
103
tive , incurred the anger of Yahweh which is evidenced by the
 165

plague . This will be abated only if Moses follows the command

to " take all the heads of the people and hôqa them to Yahweh in
the sun , that the fury of Yahweh's anger may turn from Israel "
(Num . 25 : 4 ) . What does it mean to " hôqaº " the heads " before
Yahweh "? Is this intended to be some type of ritual killing ?
The second use of this term involves the death of Saul and
his sons in I Sam . 31:10 . The context is the battle of Aphek
and the death of Saul , his sons , and his armour bearer on Mount
Gilboa . After the Philistines had stripped the bodies we read
they " tôqiệu his body to the wall of Beth - shan , " ( 1 Sam . 31 :
104
10 ) . Whatever the meaning of the word , the context clearly
indicates that the act was also extended to the dead bodies .
However , in this case the action is not carried out before a
deity but some ritual is evidently involved . 105
The last use of this term involves a three - year famine
which is attributed by Yahweh to blood - guilt on Saul's house
" because he put the Gibeonites to death " ( II
Sam . 21 : 1 ) , which

has been argued was in violation of Israel previously

a covenant
106
made with them under Joshua . According to the Gibeonite re
quest , expiation can only be made and bring out an end of the

famine if"seven sons of Saul be given to us so that hôqanum

before Yahweh at Gibeon on the mountain of Yahweh " (
107
Sam . II
21 : 6 ) . David complied readily with this demand and the sen
1 tence was carried out " in the first days of the harvest , at the
beginning of the barley harvest " ( 21 : 6-9 ) . Unlike the previous
use of the verb hôqaº , here we have punishment for murder of
the Gibeonites which is responsible for the famine .
108
It is
to be assumed that the fate meted out upon Saul's descendants
109

is sanctioned by Hebrew religious concepts of the time . The

stated need for this action by the Gibeonites and obvious recog
nition of this fact by David to end the famine The refer
is

ences to the impending rains and the role of Saul's concubine

,

Rizpah keeping the birds away from the remains

21

10-14
,

,
(

)
:

raises the legitimate question human sacrifice

of

sanctioned
a

bring end to drought

to

by Yahweh
an

All three references to point to Israelite involve

appear
people who are foreign northern background
of

ment with
a

the Baal Peor incident are probably

of

Midianites
of

The Ana
tolian origin 110
The Philistines an element of the Sea
,

"
.
1
166

Paoples " are likewise of northern extraction , 111 as are the

112
10
Gibeonites who came to the region from " a far country .
The term hôqa “ in these three narratives is in the Hiphil
and , while it has been translated as "some solemn form of exe
, 113
cution , ' its meaning at best is uncertain . It seems clear
that exposure of corpses of individuals is intended . However ,
of the three sources , it is only at Baal Peor and the death of
114
Saul's progeny that this ritual is done in the name of Yahweh .
Three things appear to be implicit in the meaning of this
term : ( 1 ) The death of the offending party is required ; ( 2 )
Following death , exposure of the remains is a part of the pro
cess , either on a wall or some other site for public viewing ;
( 3 ) This act is sanctioned by the deity , hence , we must assume
that in the eyes of Israel , in Saul's case , Yahweh sanctioned
the killing of his progeny .
to this practice in neighbouring
There are similarities
regions . In Egypt , during the Eighteenth Dynasty , Amenhotep II
captured the seven rebellious chieftains from the Syrian dis
trict of Takhsi , and all were killed by the king in the presence
115
of the deity and their bodies hanged on the wall of Napata .
Based on the preceding , can the theory of a fertility rit
ual be supported from the death of Saul's descendants ? This
ritual execution takes place " before Yahweh " ( II Sam . 21 : 6 ) and
follows years of famine caused by drought . It takes place at
harvest time ( 21 : 9 ) and brings rain ( 21 : 10-14 ) , and the birds
attempt to peck the remains ( 21:10 ) . The resemblance between
this episode and the Anath - Baal - Một myth has long been recog
nized by Old Testament scholars . One school of thought theo
rizes that , while the ritual slaying of human victims is in
volved , this should not be construed as an Israelite act be

cause the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel and that they
indulged in this Canaanite fertility rite with David's con
116
sent . However , there are indications that the Gibeonites
may have been a part of the emerging syncretism of Israel , like

so many different groups since the later days of Saul and in

117
the reign of David . Another expressed view is that , while
the context is ritual , there is no real connection with Ras
Shamra ; however , David realized that , in order to put a stop to
the famine , the spilling of guilty blood , even that of a royal
house , was imperative . Hence , by acceding to the request of
 167

!
the Gibeonites , he was at once eliminating political rivals and
acting to end the famine by complying with the oracle . 118 A
third theory assumes that the death of Môt and the subsequent
resurrection of Baal represents a seven - year cycle of famine
119
and plenty ; hence , this account is a strong supportive argu
ment .

All three schools of thought reflect the view that a ritual

killing of a religious character is involved . The question is
whether or not such a human sacrifice is required for this pur
!
pose by Yahweh . There is no need to suppose , as Kapelrud does ,
that D had omitted the narrative because it told of human sacri
fice . 120 If Gibeon is a part of the Federation of Israel , there
is no reason why they would not attribute the cause of the fam
ine to the murder of their people ; therefore , as an offense to
2 Yahweh , the appropriate ritual methods must be carried out with
the result that "Yahweh is entreated for the land . " 121 If the
king is responsible for the well - being of his people , any catas
trophe on a national scale could be attributed to the fact that
he had overstepped the mark and probably offended Yahweh in some
way . It is , reasonable that the three years of fam
therefore ,

ine could be attributed to Saul's attack

on the Gibeonites . In
like manner the outburst of
, plague was regarded as a consequence
122
of the census taken by David . Some 400 years later , Jeremiah

1 saw the impending destruction of Judah as the inevitable result

123
of Manasseh's lawless reign a few decades earlier . Malamat
compares the parallel between the Hittite king , Mursilis ( ca.
1340-1310 B.C. ) , who prays for an end of a twenty - year long
1 plague which had begun under his father , šuppiluliuma , reveal
ing that the cause was a breach of treaty by his father . Mur
silis tries to appease the gods by humbling himself and bringing
124
offerings The issue in this case , however , is not breach of
.
covenant but murder . Murder must be punished by Yahweh -- and
,
drought is one of the means . In order to avoid this , the king ,
1
representing the people , imposed the punishment .

Human Sacrifices in the Early Periods

The preceding has demonstrated that Israelite religion did
permit the practice of ritual killing of human beings at this
time , a conclusion which is assumed at this juncture of the in
vestigation .

1
168

The incidents which have been previously

discussed repre
(
sent the only examples during this early period from which con
clusions can be drawn . The following are to be noted : ( 1 ) Evi
dence from Mesopotamian and south Anatolian seals , assuming they
do portray real life situations , would indicate that the binding
of Isaac for sacrifice to Yahweh , though unique to the Pales
a
tinian region certainly not unknown in these areas . How
, was

ever , because this evidence derives from only glyptic art , the
reasons for such sacrifices can not be positively ascertained .
Its purpose in the akedah story , in which the sacrificial terms
Coza and Câză are used , is that of a special sacrifice of an
individual to Yahweh . ( 2 ) Jephthah's vow and subsequent sacri
fice fits within the Later Bronze and Early Iron Age pattern
of examples deriving from groups around the Anatolian milieu
and using the sacrificial terms Côzâ and Câlā which constituted
a special sacrifice made as a gift to Yahweh . ( 3 ) The heren

executions in holy wars were as much a part of early Israelite

religious life as they were of other ancient societies in which
the religion or deity undergirds the existing power structure ;
executions of this sort " before Yahweh " were a natural require
ment . (4) To hôqaC a person before Yahweh represents the ritual
killing of the individual for -biblical records
murder . Extra
give evidence of this custom among non -Israelite peoples where ,
however , it appears to be unconnected with any fertility rite .
From the viewpoint of the historian , the question is wheth
er the idea of Israelite religion in this period would permit
the practice of ritual slayings . Dogmatic tradition and , to
some extent , modern criticism as well , assume that Israel's
worship was in accord with the Law and the Prophets ; conse
quently , whatever practice is not in line with this guideline
should not be considered a part of Israelite religion . However ,
throughout these periods ,popular faith in Yahweh is different
from he religion crystallized in the Law and Prophets .
According to this tradition , human sacrifice is viewed as
a pagan rite , but to devote persons to destruction , to kill
them ritually " before Yahweh , " as Samuel's slaying of Agag ,
Jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter , the Gibeonites ' slaughter
of Saul's sons , even the near sacrifice of Isaac , fail to mani
fest an outspoken objection in principle to the idea of the rit
ual killing of human beings . Thus , while later tradition

[
 169

rejected human sacrifice on the basis of its newly developed

moral sense , the popular faith in Yahweh during the Early Iron
Age shows that there was room for regarding even human sacrifice
as an expression of the highest devotion to him , hence , accept
able to Israelite religion at a time when " everyone did that
1
which was right in his own eyes . "
Notwithstanding , it seems to have been unusual and excep
tional in Israel and probably elsewhere in Canaan .

Traditional Period : The Early Prophets

Foundation Sacrifices at Jericho
The theory that foundation sacrifices were practiced in the
Syro - Palestinian area is limited to one literary attestation .
In the reign of Ahab , Hiel of Bethel is said to have rebuilt
" at the price of Abiram , his firstborn son , and set up
1
Jericho
its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub , according to
the word of the Lord which he spoke to Joshua , the son of Nun "
( 1 Kings 16:34 and Joshua 6:26 ) . Primarily on this basis , early
archaeologists sought to interpret many subpavement burials as
125
foundation sacrifices , but can these passages be thus inter
preted ?
There has always been a difference of opinion on the nature
126
and interpretation of the curse , and the literary relation
127
1 ship between the two biblical passages . The passages are in
deed complex and the true relationship between them is difficult
to resolve . Added to this is the fact that we have uncovered no
128
real " foundation " sacrifices from Iron Age Jericho .
Since there can be no real proof of foundation sacrifices
from unwritten remains or written sources prior to , or during ,
this time in this entire region , and because the true meaning
of the texts is not easily understood , it cannot be assumed that
human " foundation sacrifices " are referred to here .
1 Mesha of Moab
One concrete references to human sacri
of the earliest
fices the Monarchy is Mesha's offering of his son on the
under
129
walls of his city ( 2 Kings 3 : 26-30 ) . The context of this
incident revolves around the Moabite king's rebellion against
Jehoram of Israel and the subsequent campaign by Jehoram and
Jehoshaphat of Judah to bring Moab once more under Israelite

!
170

C
control . When the King of Moab
that the battle was going
saw
against him , " he took his eldest son who was to reign in his
stead , and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall and
there was great indignation against Israel " ( 3:27 ) .
No one questions the authenticity of the statement relative
to the sacrifice , as this is not the only reference to human
offering being made to a deity in this region , 130 and , further
more , this can be perfectly understood within the context of a
" pagan " non - Israelite people . The problem focuses on whether
or not Eissfeldt's view that human sacrifice was sanctioned by
131
Yahwism before the Deuteronomic reform can be supported . In
this case , it is
not that the Israelites themselves offered the
human holocaustbut rather that their reaction in lifting the
,

siege after this episode implies a recognition of this ritual

action as an effective way out of a crisis situation . '
Gray argues that one need not infer that the Hebrew inter
preter necessarily approved of a similar sacrifice to Yahweh
under any circumstances . Nevertheless , he points out that the
general principle which can be inferred from this particular
sacrifice seems clear enough .

Chemosh , the god of Moab , was angry with Moab ,

and in his anger had allowed her people to be reduced
to the last extremities ; at this point the King of
Moab propitiates the anger of Chemosh by offering up
to him his eldest son ; the anger of Chemosh is by this
sacrifice deflected from Moab and poured out on Israel ,

who in consequence retire in all haste from the sphere

132
of Chemosh's influence .

While it can be argued that the Hebrew narrator two hundred

years later would not have attributed the anger or the action
to a pagan deity since his theology emphasizes that only Yahweh
can be angry or act at all , the matter - of - factness of the story
would indicate that he did not look upon the incident as in any
sense unique and , therefore , may have been familiar with human
sacrifice and with its propitiatory aim .
There is also the reaction of the Israelites which shows ,
contrary to the position of the previous writer , 133 that a Ć
sacrifice of this type to Yahweh , given the time and extreme
circumstances , could even be approved . The tendency is to
 171

reject such a view using , as a basis , the context of 3:27 and

134
the meaning of qesep . Among the interpretations of the
phrase " there was great indignation ( wrath ) against Israel , "
is the suggestion that this great sacrifice aroused the Moabites
to such wrath as to give them superhuman strength to defeat Is
rael , or Israel Judah experienced some outbreak of disease
and
which they interpreted as a sign of God's displeasure ; a third
simply attributes the raising of the siege to fear . 135 The
reason for the end of the siege is not clear in this case .
What is stated is that the sacrifice is made to Chemosh and not
Yahweh and , hence , it is the fear of the wrath of this god which
causes the retreat and , maybe , the more correct meaning of qeşep
in this context . Whether Chemosh is popularly considered as an
equal of Yahweh , 136 and this henotheistic concept of Jephthah's
day is to be understood as a part of popular Yahwism of the
ninth century , cannot be easily ascertained . Since the action
produces the hoped - for result on the enemy , it is possible that
they held a similar view of such a sacrifice to their God as
did the Moabites .
137
It is unfortunate that no other evidence
of sacrifices of this type has been encountered in ancient Near
Eastern material from which to make a comparative study .

Indictments of the Early Prophets

Among the ninth - eighth century B.C. prophets
, there are
only four passages which directly refer to the practice of rit
ual killing of human beings and each has been the subject of
much debate with regard to interpretation and meaning .

The prophetic indictment hurled by Amos against Moab

states that ,according to Yahweh , her punishment will not be
revoked " because he burned to lime the bones of the King of
Edom " (Amos 2 : 1 , RSV ) . Professor Albright , following Torczyner ,
has corrected the reading of me lek ' ědom zaśśid to mõlek ' ādām
138
Zaš šed , hence the reading
1
Thus Yahweh has spoken :
Because of three offenses of Moab ,

Because of four , I shall surely requite him !

Because he burns the bones ...
... of a human sacrifice to a demon .
139
Accordingly , the Masoretic pointing of zaśśid , " lime , " is
140
changed to laš šed , " demon , " and the pointing of melek ,
172

, 141 [
"King , " to mõlek , " sacrifice . The correlation to this
translation is Ps . 106 : 37 , where the parallel reads :
they sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons .

This emendation may be unnecessary since the phrase " burning

into lime " was a known expression in the eighth century B.C.
and is also mentioned by Isaiah .
A much debated text is Hosea 13 : 2 ,

Yet now they sin more and more ;

they have made themselves an image of cast metal ,
they have fashioned their silver into idols ,
nothing but the work of craftsmen ;

men say of them ,

' Those who kiss calf - images offer human
sacrifice ' (NEB ) .

The problem is that , while the Hebrew text can , in fact , be

translated in this way , this reading is not supported by the
other versions . Therefore , it has been argued that this makes
142
the of the passage somewhat unsatisfactory .
sense
The kissing of calves is presumably a reference to the wor
ship of golden " calves " set up by Jeroboam ( Hos . 10 : 5 ; 8 : 5 ) , but
the problem centers on the meaning of zöbņē ādām , which alleg
edly could only mean " sacrificers of men , ..143 and support for
this view is found on the assumption that child sacrifice was
already current in the North at least in the time of Hosea . As
early as the turn of the century , it was felt by others that
Hosea would hardly have passed by such a practice without com
ment , and that the grammatical arguments are not at all con
144
vincing .
There has been an increasing tendency toward the alterna
tive pointing of zbḥy as an imperative with the Septuagint . As
a result , there is room for the difficult ' Öměrim
11
( sacrifice
145
to those ! ) they say , " which is the reading of the RSV , and
which Sellin believes to have been the formula since the days
of Jeroboam . Verses 1-3 clearly constitute an attack on cult
images in the North and specifically Jeroboam's calves . Even C
though else is reference made to human sacririce by
nowhere
this prophet , nor do we have any direct indication that this
was a custom at either Dan or Bethel where the calves were set
 173

up , there no doubt that Hosea is talking about something ter

is
rible sacreligious in the first crisis of the north Kingdom .
and
Within this context , human sacrifice may well have been intended .
The corruption of the text cannot be ruled out as a possibility .
But , as it stands , the text does not reveal enough to draw defi
1
nite conclusions either way .

Another disputed passage is Micah 6 : 6-7 .

With what shall I come before Yahweh ,

and bow myself before God on high ?
Shall I come before him with burnt offering ,
with calves a year old ?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams .
with ten thousands of rivers of oil ?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgressions ,
and the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ? 146

The unity and early date of this text has been increasingly
147
recognized . Apparently , the worshippers are acquainted with
some kind of human sacrifice or this would not have been main
tained among the many presumably possible and impossible offers .
In view of the stress on justice , love and humility in the fol
lowing verse , as opposed to the disarray of previous offers , we
can only conclude that whatever the known type of human sacri
fice at the time , this too was unacceptable to Yahweh . All that
1
may be concluded from this passage is that human sacrifice was
known as a ritual act ; but , whether or not it was offered to
Yahweh cannot be determined from this text .
The knowledge of human sacrifices among the people of Is
rael and Judah at this time may be argued from the three refer
ences previously cited , but these allusions are obscure . HOW
ever , since they appear within the context of prophetic indict
ment , this ould certainly tend to rule out the idea that they
were sanctioned by Yahwism , if practiced at all .

The Re - formation and Later Prophets

The Law of the Firstborn
The law of the firstborn presents one of the most discussed
problems of the old Testament , owing to its implications for
child sacrifice . The oldest legislative text on this subject
is Exod . 22 : 29-30 .

1
174

You will give me the firstborn of your sons . 1

You shall do likewise with your oxen and with your

sheep : seven days they shall stay with the mother ,
and on the eighth day you shall give them to me .

The same absolute form appears in 13 : 2 .

me all the firstborn , whatever

Consecrate to is
the first
to open the womb among the people of Israel ,

both of man and of beast , is mine .

A number of critics find in this prescription relating

to first
born children decisive proof that human sacrifice was lawfully
a
practiced at the outset of Israel's history . But are we to read
in these statements a Yahwistic command to sacrifice children ?
Even those earliest laws stated that the firstborn of men
148
must be redeemed or bought back for five shekels , and other
later passages state that the Levites were to be given to Yahweh
149
instead of the traditional firstborn due to him . The later

manner in which the firstborn were given to Yahweh is therefore

quite clear , but our problem is how were they given before this
period ; were they actually sacrificed or devoted to some sacred
service ?
A number of Biblical scholars have concluded that these
very laws which prescribe the buying back or redemption of the
firstborn are a mitigation of the ancient custom which imposed
150
the sacrifice upon them , according to Eissfeldt .
Originally child sacrifices had a legitimate place in the
cult of Yahweh . The same theme is expressed by Dhorme who em
phasizes the theory that primitive law is maintained in all its
vigor in Exod . 22 . 151 Even the manner in which the firstborn
was to be redeemed is not known , whether by an animal , as in
the case of the ram being substituted for Isaac , or by money
payment , as in the later law . It is also possible that in early
times , under special circumstances , as by a vow , other persons
might be given to Yahweh , Jephthah's daughter being an excellent
example . Whatis important is that , according to this law , ir
respective of the earlier meaning , the vowing of a person to
Yahweh outlived the custom of sacrificing them to him .
De Vaux's explanation is that a comparison of Exod . 34 : 19
20 ( prescribing their redemption ) , Exod . 22 : 29-30 ( the absolute
formulation ), and Exod . 13 ( a composite of both ) --all three
 175

ancient Pentateuchal traditions -- does not allow us to say that

an ancient vigorous law has been modified . This seems justifi
152
able enough . The problem is which law is to be understood
here ? The fact that a consecration or giving of the firstborn
to Yahweh is called for should be an indication of a later well
developed pattern as against an earlier unspecified method .
Even though there is no indication of the manner in which this
was done , nevertheless , it clearly outlines the method of their
redemption through money , animals , and later , the Levitical
153
priesthood . We simply do not know what different aspects
were involved in the giving of an individual to Yahweh during
pre - monarchic times , or what the early Federation of Israel con
ceived as Yahwism . Does it mean all the firstborn were subject
to this law ? The absurdity of this idea has been pointed out by
such a law ever existed initially . 155
if
154
Buber and Eichrodt ,
One cannot truly refer to the legitimacy or illegitimacy of an
act as the sacrifice of a firstborn in the history of any group
unless it has been proven that such a group subscribes to a law
156
which regulates this practice , and prior to Amos , there is
no recorded denunciation of this custom through a law or other
wise .
A further complication of the problem of human sacrifice
and the giving of the firstborn to Yahweh is the implication of
Ezekiel 20 : 25-26 .

Moreover I gave them

statutes that were not good
and ordinances could not live ; and I
by which they
defiled them through their very gifts in making them
offer by fire all their firstborn , that I might hor
rify them ; I did it that they might know that I am
Yahweh .

The passage seems suggest that the sacrifice of the first

born and child sacrifice in general are sanctioned by the codes .
We can take the position of Kapelrud that the prior instances

of human sacrifices (Abraham , Jephthah , Saul's sons , and even

Mesha ) are to be regarded as exceptional and called forth by
grave circumstances . 157 However , all , except the last , were
either to be given to Yahweh or were actually made to Him . To
argue that non - Israelite influences were present in all cases ,
i.e. , they were performed by non - Israelites , and that these
176

stand at most on the outer edge of Yahwism and , hence , can

hardly be practices of Yahwism , 158 is to assume that
cited as
the Federation of Israel represented some isolated group adher
ing to a certain well - defined and recognized set of laws . How
ever , Old Testament study makes it very clear that this group
included elements which came from Egypt -- Canaanites who were
already living in the land and many newly arrived groups from
159
the northern regions . Whether these can be referred to as
non - Israelite elements depends on what one conceives as Israel
before the Monarchy . The instances cited cannot be used as sup
port for a universal sacrifice of the firstborn at this time .
Indeed , as most biblical scholars point out , to imply that this
is the meaning of Ezekiel 20 : 25-26 , " is impossible because his
tory and common sense make it certain that Israel never sacri
ficed all her firstborn .
160
Furthermore , Ezekiel himself con
demns this practice in 16 : 20-21 .

We cannot , therefore , state with certainty that the codes

which reflect later era require the sacrifice of the
a first
born of each household during the earlier period . However , this
reference to child sacrifice is made by Ezekiel in two other
passages , 16 : 15-21 and 23 : 36-39 , aside from the preceding 20 : 25
basis , it is apparent that the sacri
161
31 . On a comparative

fice of children is a custom indulged in by the people :

16 : 15-21 20 : 25-31 23 : 36-39

20 26 37
you took your sons their firstborn their sons
and your daughters
whom you had whom they had
borne to me ; borne to me

those you to cause to pass to cause to pass

sacrificed ( zābah ) through ( haCăbîr ) through (haCăbîr )
to them to them
to be devoured for food
( le ' @kôz ) ( Ze'okla )

21 31 39
my sons your sons their sons
you slaughtered they slaughtered
( šāḥat ) ( šanat )
 177

to cause to pass to cause to pass

through ( hacabîr ) through ( hacabir )

the fire ( bā'ēs )

to them (with your idols ) to their idols

? According to these passages , sons and daughters are sacrificed

and 20:26 apparently refers to all these as " firstborn . " Prob
ably 23:37 , 10for food , " can be understood as in 16:20 of the
" devouring " of the fire ( cf. Isa . 5:24 ) . The Septuagint uses
bā'ē š for them in 20:37 , but this is not found in the Masoretic
Text 20:31 . If
the verb šāḥat in 16:21 is to be followed ac
cording to the word order in this verse , it may be that the
children were first killed and then burnt . Verse 23:39 states
that the adherents slaughtered their children and came to Yah
weh's sanctuary the same day . Hence the deduction by some that
these sacrifices were offered to Yahweh . This view may be
countered by the phrases " to them " and " to their idols . "
Before we try to reconcile these passages with Ezekiel 20 :
25-26 , another similar set of texts from Jeremiah may be con
sidered -- Jer . 19 : 5 , 7:31 , and 32 : 5 . While their authenticity
has been questioned , we do not have the marked divergence of
opinion as in Ezekiel . 162 The relation between the passages is
as follows :
7:31 19 : 5 32:35
they have built they have built they have built
the high place high places high places
of Topheth of Baal of Baal
to burn in the to burn in the to cause to
fire ( śārap bā'ē š) fire ( śārap bā'ēš ) pass through ( hacabîr )
their sons their sons their sons
and daughters and daughters
cölöt to Baal to Molech

]
which did not command , nor did it enter my mind . " It is clear
I
that and daughters are sacrificed and that real sacrifices
sons
are intended . The use of hacabîr can , in this case , be inter
preted by sarap bā'ē š . Like the passages in Ezekiel , this
prophet does not single out the firstborn alone , nor are sons
specifically alluded to ; neither can we say , as Eissfeldt , that
163
these were made to Yahweh instead of to other deities .
 1

178

Albright refers to a god , Muluk , in Mesopotamia and subscribes

" qualitatively " to Eissfeldt's theory that a derivative from the
name of this deity may have come to be used for " promise , vow or
pledge , " and the children might have been sacrificed to Muluk as
patron of vows . He also sees Ahaz of Judah as among the earliest
to borrow this custom of sacrificing children to confirm a solemn
164
vow or pledge .
How are the of these two prophets to be under
statements
stood in comparison with the previous passage in which Yahweh
gave them " statutes which were not good and ordinances by which
they could not have life , ... in making them offer by fire all
their firstborn ... " ( 20 : 25-26 ) ? The context of Ezekiel 20 : 24-26
implies a commandment and verse 26 can be interpreted on the
working principle of " hardening " by which what Yahweh allows to
happen is ascribed to his volition -- men being incited to sin so
that the deserved punishment of sin will come upon them .
Bewer argues in verse 27 is
that the reference to blasphemy
out of place before verses 28-30 as no blasphemy appears here
and , hence , verse 27 should be read as an introduction to verse

25.165 This surgery is unnecessary .

Ezekiel's and Jeremiah's position reflects the same his
torical situation -- the practice of sacrificing of children on
the eve of the Exile . Could this not expose the belief that
these human sacrifices were precisely what were called for ac
cording to the law of Exod . 22 : 28-29 ? In the Prophets , they
are made to " other gods , " in the codes they are given " to Yah
weh . " The view of Buchanan Gray appears to be correct .

For Yahweh to say that he did not command the

people to sacrifice their children to a rival god
would have been superfluous ; on the other hand , if
the people thought that by sacrificing their children
they were doing their best to placate Yahweh , is it
very much to the point for the prophets to insist
that such rites had no place in the worship of Yah
166
weh .

That " giving " of the firstborn could actually have included
the
the " sacrificing " of children may , therefore be implied by Micah
6 : 7 where the prophet introduces the people as asking , " Shall I
give my firstborn for my transgression , and the fruit of my womb
for the sin of my soul ? "
 179

The inference is frequently

drawn that the recourse to
child sacrifice in the century B.C. , even though to
seventh
" other gods , " was due to the national crisis of the time , and
belief that these sacrifices , rather than sheep and oxen , had a
powerful propitiatory function . It is possible that through an
extension of their earlier native practices they may have re
vived ancient custom of sacrificing , on occasion , the cost
an
lier lives of their children ,a son or a daughter , to Yahweh

which in the interval had been replaced by the custom of the

redemption of the firstborn . The ninth century B.C. sacrifice
of the heir to the throne of Moab shows such an emergency . The

earliest denunciation of this practice comes from eighth - century

Amos ,but it is toward the close of eighth century , and in the
seventh , that the revival of this custom is indicated in worship
and subsequent prophetic challenge to the whole theory that un
derlay it .
not know what the earlier " giving " of the firstborn
We do
to Yahweh intended , but , in view of the increasing evidence of
this practice during the eighth and seventh centuries , and in
spite of the very few examples of earlier periods , to rule out
the actual sacrifice of children on occasion as a probable Yah
wistic belief in pre - monarchic times seems an impossibility .
The later indications of this practice may refer " to the scan
dalous misrepresentation of one single law , that of Exod . 22 :
167
28-29 , but it cannot be a denial of this very real possibil
ity . It was a period of return to a misunderstood past .

The "Moloch " Sacrifices

The sacrifices to " Moloch " constitute a special problem on
which much has been written . However , because this also in
volves the problem of ritual killing , it must be included in
this investigation .
The word " Moloch " comes from the Greek versions and appears
as " Molek " in the Hebrew , which was an epithet Hebrews applied
to Yahweh ( Pss . 5 : 2 , 10:16 , etc. ) and also , at an early date , the
name of a deity to whom child sacrifices were made . According
to the theory which tries to account for the change , the Jews
considered it inappropriate to refer to a pagan god by the same
epithet used for Yahweh . Hence , instead of " Melek , " the
180

designation " Molek , an apparent derogatory distortion which

168
took the vowels o and e from böseth ( shame ) , was used .
Sacrifices to Molek , or involving Molek , appear in the
Holiness Code in which they are forbidden , on penalty of death
( Lev . 18:21 , 20 : 2-5 ) , and Molek , probably as an idol to which
children are offered , is also mentioned ( Ps . 106 : 37-38 ) . There
are also references in warnings against pagan practices by the
Deuteronomic historian ( Deut . 12:31 , 18:10 ) and as one of the
many sins of Judah , according to Jeremiah and Ezekiel ( Jer .

2:23 , 3:24 , 7:31 , 19 : 5 , 32:25 , Ezek . 16:21 , 20:31 , 23:37 ) .

Josiah profaned the töpet so that no one should ever make his
child " pass through the fire " in honour of Moloch during his
reform ( 2 Kings 23:10 ) . The colonizers of Sepharvaim installed
by the Assyrians in the former colony of Samaria are charged
169
with this practice ( 2 Kings 17:31 ) , while Isaiah compares
this sacrifice with the future punishment of Assyria ( Isa . 30 :
33 ) .
170
It is also described as one of the harlotries of the
people ( 1 Kings 11 : 7,-171 2 Kings 19 : 5 ) , and as a pagan practice
indulged in by Ahaz and Manasseh ( 2 Kings 16 : 3 , 21 : 6 ) . Other
indications from the Old Testament allow us to discern a cult
practice of some importance during the late eighth and early
seventh century B.C. Our concern is its nature and role in Is
rael during this period .
Few problems have been examined as thoroughly as the sacri
172
fice of Molek among the Phoenicians and the Hebrews . Never
theless , in spite of the numerous monographs and articles on
the subject , there is still a divergence of opinion relative to
the real meaning of the term in Hebrew literature . A part of
the problem stems from the fact that the root m- Z- k is used
both as reference to a sacrifice and as a divine epithet , and ,
consequently , the contexts in which it appears in the old Tes
tament have been given various interpretations . Those refer
ences to the pagan practice of " passing the children through
the fire " have been understood by a number of scholars as the
burning of newborn infants or Molek sacrifices , but is this
really the meaning of the phrase ? Are the many Punic and Hebrew
passages to be thus interpreted ?
the etymology of the word , the following is representa
On
tive of the complexity of the problem . Chabot connected m- Z- k
with the Syriac me zak , " to council or advise , " " to pledge or
 181

, 173
promise , and Eissfeldt , in his monograph , continued Chabot's
theory by pointing out that there was never a Canaanite god
Moloch , but that this term was a Canaanite - Hebrew common noun
174
molk which referred to a kind of routine offering ; hence , the
word had a ritual sense and was related to the sacrifices of
children which would have been a particular type of sacrifice
called molk in Punic . Albright believes that , philologically ,

Eissfeldt's argument is convincing , but , on the basis of Dossin's

evidence of a god named Muluk , which was worshipped in the mid
Euphrates region ca. 1800 B.C. and since Muluk could alternate
with the more usual form Malik , a divine name in Akkadian texts
of the third millennium B.C. , 175 he argued that Muluk is the
normal form of the abstract noun Mulku which is used as the
personal name of a deity . 176
Professor Albright also refers to the eighteenth - century
Mari town of Ilumuluk , or Ilumalik , " God - royalty , " or " God
king . " 177 He reasons , on this basis , that the name originally
referred to the god of the king or the royal god and that dabħu
mulki came to mean " royal sacrifice , " i.e. , the noblest possible
sacred act . In this way , eventually mulk / molk developed the
sense of " princely sacrifice " by itself after which the transi
tion was easy to " vow of exceptional sanctity , " and finally ,
178
" solemn promise " ( Syriac mulkana ) .
Févriér , on the other hand , believes that in m- Z- k ( molek )

we have a verbal substantive deriving hiphil of Phoe

from the
nician ylk and signifies an offering ( sacrificial ) . He argues
that the word milk , " king , " and the word m- Z- k , vocalized molk ,
which signified " royalty , " are frequently found in Punic formu
las . He concludes , therefore , that whenever in Hebrew or Phoe
nician a noun appears in construct with another noun , only the
last receives the pronominal suffix and not the first , even if
this suffix is , in reality , realted to the construct noun . A
good example is har qodši of Ps . 2 : 6 , " the mountain of my holi
, 179
ness .
It is therefore clear , from a survey of the discussion re
lating to this term , that the word melek , " the King , 10 is a di
vine appellative which enters into the composition of many
Phoenician and Hebrew names . In these cases , it usually is
interchangeable with proper names of divinities .
180
It is also
certain that mulk or molek which
, appears often in the Bible ,

i
182

in Ugaritic , South Canaanite and early Aramaic literature , con

181
veys the sense of kingdom and royalty . The divine appella
tive is noted under the forms muluk and malik in the name lists
at Mari and as the proper name , Malik , a god of the Mesopotamian
pantheon of the third millennium B.C. The Ammonites also had
Milkom as their national god . There is , therefore , conclusive
evidence for the use of m- Z- k both as an " offering " ( sacrifi
cial ) and as the " appellative "
of a deity .
Punic inscriptions and archaeological remains from North
Africa have long ago established the extraordinary character of
molek beginning with the expression mīk ' mr , the second element
in the expression meaning "lamb ," seemingly imposing itself be
cause of the Assyrian immeru , Aramaic ' immar . Hence the sacri
fice is defined as molchomor , the " offering of a lamb , , 182
which
involves the substitution of an animal for a child as early as
' dm is more fre
183
the sixth century B.C. The expression mlk
quently used and is translated either as " sacrifice of a man "
184
or " sacrifice of blood , 10 which is contrasted with " sacrifice
of a lamb ." It has been pointed out , however , that in spite of
185
the obscurity of the phrase bsrm btm , the precise force of
the Punic would probably be " integrally , totally , " the complete
expression would mean " a human sacrifice , his own child , total
ly. " 186 Today no one questions the certainty that molk in Punic
is a ritual term used with the sacrifices of children .
187
That these sacrifices indeed were customary at Carthage ,
Constantine , Sousse , Sardinia , Sicily ,
188
and other Punic sites
189
has been well attested both by classical and Roman writers ,
and the many urn - burials of children and pointed stelae at
sacred sites . 190 The combined evidence from the classical and
Roman authors , the stelae , and the remains uncovered at these
sacred precincts yields a description of the molek sacrifices .
They were almost always linked to Kronos - Saturnus ( Baal -Ham
191
mon ) . The Phoenicians would vow their children to Kronos ,

on whose bronze with extended arms over a bronze braz

statue ,
192
ier , the children were placed and burnt . The victim then
fell from the extended arms of the idol into a prepared pit ,
a number of which have been uncovered at the previously dis
193
cussed sites At many of the burial sites indicated by
.

stelae , the calcinated remains of these child sacrifices were

194
contained in urns which also contained animal bones . These

+
 183

areas have been referred to as " Tophets . " The one important
fact which can be established at present is that all the victims
were burnt .

infants has thus been clearly established

The cremation of
as the primary characteristic of the Molek - sacrifice in the Punic
world and , therefore , it has often been assumed that these sac
rifices were a heritage of the country of origin , namely , Phoe
nicia . 195 The reasons for such sacrifices are said to be na
tional emergencies which are brought about by wars , drought ,

and plagues , at which time children would be sacrificed . AC

cording to Philo , there are many evidences of these sacrifices
196
in Sanchuniaton . However , the manner in which these sacri
fices were carried out is equally unclear here , as in North
Africa during those early centuries . Nevertheless , it is pre
cisely on the mystery of this rite that Févriér makes his
strongest connection with Israel . 197 Since these early records
have attested to the sacrifice of children prior to the founda
tion of Carthage , but also indicate their cessation centuries
before the conquest of Tyre by Alexander , we need not doubt the
validity of these accounts .
far , there are no known sanctuaries of the " tophet "
Thus
class either in Palestine or Syria . This can be explained , ac
cording to Albright , by the fact that they must preferably have
been located near the bottom of valleys to the south and east
of towns to which they belonged , so that by now most of them
198
are covered deep with debris blown or washed over them . He

sees no connection between the stelae at Gezer Hazor

, , Byblos
199
and those in North Africa ; but , like Dussaud and Neiman , he
admits a possible resemblance in function between the latter
group and the sacrificial stelae from the temple of Dagon at
Ugarit . 200
Although there appears to be some evidence of the diffu
sion of this rite from Phoenicia to North Africa , the term mlk
does not seem to be connected with a sacrificial meaning in
Phoenicia even though the documents
, from Ras Shamra , which in
clude numerous liturgical data , come from the same cultural mi
lieu , and approximate chronologically
the date assigned to San
chuniaton . to mlk , which some have tried to
The few references
201
identify as " sacrifice , " are highly questionable . The only
possible evidence which may allude to molek sacrifices ,
184

according to De Vaux , appears to be the term mlkm which has been

vocalized as " milkom..202 Nougayrol has identified a similar
list to Gordon's in syllabic Akkadian in which młkm is repre
203
sented by " the maliks . De Vaux sees in this the god Malik
of the Mesopotamian pantheon , but , being in the plural , he al
ludes to the possibility of młkm gods which may be divinized
molk sacrifices on the theory that the Akkadian vocalization is
incorrect . The evidence of molek sacrifices in Palestine and
Syria , from both written and unwritten evidence , is thus uncer
tain .
Since available evidence does not permit us to trace a par
allel molek ritual in Canaanite sources , but there is the simi
larity between the Hebrew and Punic terms , what was the nature 1
of the molek ritual in the Biblical context ? Are these sacri
fices to be equated with the ritual of " passing ( the little vic
tims ) through the fire " ? The Biblical writers continually refer
to these as " pagan " practices borrowed from Israel's neighbours .
To what do we attribute this " paganizing " influence on Israel ?
In his discussion of " Molk sacrifices and sacrifices ' to
moloch ' , " De Vaux argues that the sacrifices " to moloch " in Is
rael follow the same ritual as that used in the child sacri
204
fices in Punic regions . The statement is made that the
people " slaughtered their children and delivered them up as an
offering by fire " ( Ezek . 16:21 ) ; the Tophet is renamed " the
valley of slaughter " ( Jer . 7:32 ) , and also the " Topet " is pre
pared for the "molek " ( Isa . 30:33 ) at the final defeat of Assyr
ia . This description appears to be similar to the account of
the classical and Roman authors and what archaeological evi
dence exists of the molek sacrifices . According to the Punic
sources , they are first killed and the ditch prepared for their
subsequent burning . It is therefore generally agreed that the
identity of the rites practiced in Israel and Carthage can only
be explained in terms of a common source , which has been iden
205
tified as Phoenicia .
Based on the " mysterious method " by which the victims were
killed prior to cremation recorded by Philo , and the late refer
ence to a " sacrum magnum nocturnum molchomor , " which has been
206
translated as " the great nocturnal sacrifice " by Chabot ,
quite a few scholars have attempted to read into this a parallel
to the Hebrew Passover ritual , noting that these important
 185

207
apotropaic were usually conducted at nighttime
rites and
their basic purpose was the dispersal of demons of vengeance .
However , the very background and development of the Passover
ritual seem to rule out this connection , and also , the earlier
theory by Hooke and others , which sought to connect this rite
208
with infant sacrifices .
However , even though there are apparent parallels between
the Punic and Israelite rite , we cannot say that molek in Heb
rew refers to sacrificial " ritual exclusively ,
a 10 as the major
ity of the contexts in which the word is found use mõlek as a
divine name . It is the attempt to identify this deity which
has led to the equation of the victims who were " passed through
the fire " with the Punic " molek " sacrifices .
Professor Albright has pointed to the diminution of Phoe
nician influence on Israel in the late eighth and early seventh
centuries B.C. after Sidon and Tyre become Assyrian provinces
ca. 677-673 B.C. As a result , a new Aramaic culture composed
of Canaanite and Neo - Assyrian element with its strong religious
influence replaced the earlier religion of the Canaanites . As
Assyria replaced Phoenicia as the focus of influence , the pagan
reaction is exemplified by Ahaz ( ca. 735-715 B.C. ) who erected
an exact reproduction of an altar he had seen in Damascus , in
the temple complex at Jerusalem , and "made his son to pass
through the fire " ( 2 Kings 16 : 3 ) . He identifies this as an
,
offering made " to Moloch . 209 Supporting Eissfeldt's theory
on the idea of the meaning of this term as " a sacrificial vow , "
he concludes that Malik , " king , " or Muluk , " kingship , " would
be thus regarded among the early semitic inhabitants of north
ern Mesopotamia and Syria as the patron of vows and solemn pro
mises . This inference is then supported in 2 Kings 17:31 where
it is stated the men of Sepharvaim burned their children as of
ferings to their gods " Adrammelech " and " Anammelech , " the for
mer worshipped at this time in northwestern Mesopotamia under
210
the name Adad - milki , a form of the Syrian god Hadad . He

therefore finds that in Syria the sacrifice of children by cre

mation was associated with the cult of two deities identified
211
with the god Malik (Muluk ) .
This view of Albright appears to emphasize three points in
the sacrifice to Molek : ( 1 ) This deity is of north Syrian ori
gin , (2) The phrase " pass through the fire " is synonymous with
186

the cremation of the Punic sources , ( 3 ) This was a ritual at

Sepharvaim which he locates in northern Syria .
Whether one accepts the theory that under Phoenician in
fluence molek sacrifices were practiced in Israel prior to the
eighth century , the very fact that this was repeatedly denounced
in the pre - eighth century law makes it highly unlikely that this
was tolerated or sanctioned by Yahwism .
212
This Phoenician rit
ual probably died out in this area between the eighth and sixth
213
centuries , according to Eissfeldt . Since this is also the
period of strong Arame an influence on the area , it is possible
that the introduction of this rite , which involves the burning
of children , need not be interpreted as the Punic " molek " sacri
fices , though there may be an etymological similarity between
molek and Muluk . The phrase " to pass through the fire " need
not be equated with the Punic sacrificial cremations , and the
offerings to the gods Molek , Baal , Adrammelech , and Anammelech
may actually be another type of ritual . This , of course , need
not rule out some idea of burning .
The theory that Sepharvaim is the north Syrian town at
214
tacked by Shalmaneser v in 727 B.C. is plausible enough .
However , Obadiah lists
the exiles " who are in Sepharad , " which
215
is identified or Sardis in south Anatolia ,
as Sparda a region
in which the " fire cults " could have been practiced . Would
Sepharvaim be identified with Sepharad rather than Sippar ?
Aside from the biblical reference in 2 Kings 17:31 , two texts
appear to involve the burning of young victims in the region
referred is not enough information
to as Sepharvaim , but there
available parallels can be made with Punic sources . 216
from which (
Certain facts are clear in connection with these " Molek "
references . We cannot , with certainty , state that they were
borrowed from Phoenicia , though there were certain similarities .
Appearing as they do between the eighth and seventh centuries
B.C. , they could have been the result of Syrian and even Anatol
ian influence , but the sacrificial killing of infants was in
volved . Most scholars would interpret the passing of children
" through the fire " as a parallel rite in Israel according to
the Punic evidence , but there is no conclusive evidence avail
able which would indicate that this is so . We simply do not
know enough to ascertain precisely what was the nature of this
ritual . There is no question that the Prophets , the Deuteronomic
 187

redactor of Kings , and the priestly redactor of Leviticus all

reproved this ritual as contrary to the will of Yahweh . How
ever , the historical context clearly indicates that the continu
ous evidence of its role in Israel is contemporaneous with na
tional emergencies caused by external pressures and wars .
.

6
 CHAPTER X

HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley

! Whether the preceding should be interpreted as evidence
depicting the ritual slaughter of human beings in this region
is primarily dependent upon the personal bias of the particular
scholar .
A classic example is afforded by Ellis who begins his chap
ter on human sacrifices admitting , quite frankly , that , " Others
are influenced by partisan feelings to deny their own favorite
ancient people , at least , could have been capable of such bar
barity .. For the record my prejudice is in this direction . " 1
Then , it is not at all surprising that he concludes an entire
chapter purporting to be an objective evaluation of evidence in
this regard with the statement , " Nevertheless , in view of the
meagre and equivocal evidence for such a custom , and the great
frequency of ... non - sacrificial burials , it is justifiable to
believe that the killing for ritual purposes would have seemed
as it is to us .
1,2
as repellent to the ancient Mesopotamians
# This is an example of the general attitude which must be

confronted in any investigation attempting to grapple with the

problem of human slayings and their ultimate meaning within a
historical context . t In itself , it is of no importance that a
given ritual should appear "unethical , " " revolting " or " bar
baric " to a given scholar ; opinion and science are two differ
ent things , and it suffices to recognize that expressions of
opinion as absolute facts are out of place in scientific liter
ature . Nevertheless , one may be grateful for such frank admis
sions of opinion since they enable the reader to discount what
must be attributed to personal bias . On the other hand , it is
when the scholar proceeds to argue that , because a ceremony or
ritual is revolting ( to him ) , it ought , therefore , to be ex
plained away as the relic of an even more barbarous age , or re
jected as an interpolation of " popular " origin , that one finds
oneself involved in all sorts of errors of fact . f Usually things
are orderly and neat only in the environment to which they are
adapted and may well cease to be so when considered in another

189
190

context . Customs and rites , then , can be judged absolutely only

in relation to the principles on which they depend ; and rela
tively , only in the idiosyncrasy of the peoples and times whose
customs and manner they are . This has been the standard utilized
in evaluating the data presented .
There is a difference between the earliest evidence of rit
ual killing in northern and southern Mesopotamia . If
we are to

see evidence of human sacrifice at the " places of sacrifice " in

the South , realize that , clearly , this was performed as
we must
a corporate cultic act by the entire community . Such a conclu
sion is in correlation with the earliest evidence of organized
temple religion in this area during the Early and Middle Uruk
Period . On the other hand , in northern Mesopotamia , all evi

dence of this ritual is completely residential , which is demon

strated as early as prehistoric Nuzi , and Tepe Gawra XIII .
Based on their orientation beside the walls , or below the pave
ment in the centers of the private buildings , infant burials ap
pear to be the result of some ritual involved in the foundation
of these structures . This situation continues throughout this
region until the end of the First Babylonian Empire . The fact
that an incipient organized cult appears since Early / Middle
Uruk and continues its development does not change the peculiar
nature of the ritual ; such is the evidence from Nuzi , Tepe Gawra ,
and the Habur region . Southern influence is observed in the
transferral from the private house to the temple exclusively .
In the South , however , no evidence of this kind of sacri
fice is found until the Larsa Period . At this time , the " chapel
sacrifices " are contemporaneous with the most extensive diffu
sion of the same type in the Habur region . Since the develop
ment of this ritual can be traced from its inception in the
North , and its subsequent adaptation at a given point in the
South , we may correctly assume in this case a diffusion from
North to South by way of the Amorite invasions .
An interesting note is that the only seals which indicate
the sacrificial killing of children are of northern " Cappado
cian , Hurro -Hittite " origin . They are , however , of the " Bull
Altar " species , and may have had nothing to do with " chapel "
sacrifices . Therefore , while Early Dynastic Gawra XI - A - VI were
contemporaneous and reflect strong cultural connection with the
South during the Uruk V - III Period , this influence apparently
1 191
7

was not strong enough to break the cultural hold on foundation

sacrifices .
During the period from Early Dynastic to Ur , while III III
all the northern sites continue to reveal the practice of
" chapel " sacrifices , Nuzi gives evidence of the intrusion of

what can legitimately be called " foundation sacrifices , " a de

velopment which is contemporaneous with the emergence of the
Hurrian element in this region . These killings are directly
related to the construction of buildings and are found in no
other region . If Gawra and Nuzi are taken together , it would
indicate that these rituals which involved the , of chil killing
ren either in the construction of public buildings or cultic
rooms within private buildings , were stressed only after the
arrival of newcomers . Beginning at Nuzi III , these may be iden
tified with the Hurrians , whose religion and culture were rather
eclectic , but at Tepe Gawra XI - A and the entire Habur region ,
the identity of the newcomers is a mystery . The artifacts un
covered beginning with this level denote intercourse with such
far away sites as Syria , Palestine , and Anatolia in the west ,
and Iran and India in the east , with many indications of con
3
tacts with Assyria and Sumer farther south . It has long been
suspected that this method of ritual killing was not indigenous
and this investigation confirms the theory .
Between Nuzi , then , and the entire region , the pattern of

ritual killing exhibits marked differences . In the case of an

cient civilizations , cultural correspondence most likely denotes
contemporaneity within comparatively limited areas , and converse
ly , there is likely to be different or uneven cultural develop
ments in centers not more than 100 miles apart . It is for this
reason that it is unwise to assume a priori parallel cultural
developments between ancient population centers .
The absence of written materials which could shed some
light on the ritual killing of children in
the North is not
necessarily hindrance to the theory being proposed . In this
a
region during the periods in question , what we are dealing with
is not an organized cult or a state religion as in the South ,
but rather domestic , house cults . Cultic and other records are
preserved by the official power - structures of the ancient Near
East , and , consequently , are a reflection of the official cult .

This whole process was a much later development in the North .

192

Therefore , nothing could be expected by way of records at this

early date from the region .
In the South during the Early Dynastic Period , the " Royal
Tombs " at Ur , the " Y " Cemetery at Kish , and the Mausoleum bur

ials of Ur III may be correlated with the official records of

the " Death of Gilgamesh ." However , while there are no other
burial types which could shed light on this type of ritual kill
ing in this region , there are the remarkable glyptic represen
tations which clearly point to this ritual along with the impor
tant insight on Mesopotamian religion contributed by Professor
Jacobsen . As individuals during the third millennium sought
collective security from the ravages of war and starvation ,
kingship took form and grew under the pressures of those years .

The king , awesome and majestic in his power over

men , alike
was the defender against outside foes and
the righter of wrongs among his people . The new con
cept -- of openingup , as it did , a possibility of

approach to the elements of majesty in the divine-

was early applied to the gods , and it profoundly
influenced the religious outlook . The gods , seen as
kings and rulers ( at times ) were no longer powers
in nature only , they became powers in human affairs-
in history .
The seals during this period , depicting shackled indi
Sumerian
viduals by guards and put to death in the presence of
conducted
seated deities , suggest elements of concern for the time , stress
ing justice , peace and righteousness for all . Consequently ,
while we have no direct written evidence , the many seals may
indeed depict human victims who were ritually slain in conjunc
tion with certain cultic rites of the era .
If
, as most scholars agree , the seals from the Sargonid

Period are unique for their explicit scenes , it would be logi

cal to suggest that such seals , illustrating human victims be
ing sacrificed on altars before vegetation deities , clearly
demonstrate the central concern of this time . They are probably
attempts to appease the nature deities in order to wrest the
5
necessary subsistence from the earth - god . Here we have what
may well be evidence of corporate concern , dramatized in these

actions taken by the organized cult in the South .

 193

The many types of seals depicting an individual being

brought and killed by a king before a seated deity would be
the expression of a new theme for which ritual killing of a hu
man being on certain occasions is requisite . The god is not a
vegetation deity , and the conductor is not an ordinary indivi
dual , but a king . The entire context is , therefore , different .
These seals are paramount only during the First Dynasty of Baby
lon ,period in which semitic , rather than Sumerian , language
a
is dominant ; this context must be recognized as a factor in in
terpretation . We are dealing with the period of the first im
perial expansion of the semitic - speaking Amorites eastward into
Iran , northward into Anatolia , and to the Mediterranean
westward .

Hammurabi of this era is the first king to become lord

known
over life and limb of what can be called an empire . Unfor
tunately , while much of the culture of this period is known from
written sources , this writer has found nothing which would shed
light on the import of this seal design . The only archaeologi
cal evidence available is in the " chapel " sacrifices at Ur , and
these bear no correlations with the seal designs . One cannot
doubt , however , that ritual killing is involved . After the
Larsa and old Babylonian Periods , all non - written evidence bear
ing on this problem ceases .
The written sources are late northern and Aryan . Both ap
pear to emphasize a ritual in which a slain substitute human
victim is the central figure . In the Assyrian sources , the
earliest references identify an adult substitute to safeguard ?
the person of the king in emergencies , but in the earliest Vedic
literature , contemporaneous with the former , even though the
ritual killing appears to revolve around kingship , the emphasis
is rather on the " firstborn son . " The Assyrian " Šar pūņi , "
death , was essentially expiatory , but contrary to the opinion
of certain scholars , it had nothing to do with a fertility rit
ual since the " death " of Marduk was not involved , but the eli
mination of the king's person according to the requirements of
the omen . The Aryan "Sunahshepa " ritual was , by nature , a pro
pitiatory rite in fulfillment of a vow , and , in the beginning
at least , had nothing to do with the fertility theory .
Later Assyrian records do emphasize the ritual killing of
prisoners as an act of expiation before the Assyrian deity , and
also during the New Year festival . If this latter is synonymous
194

with the killing

of the boar as an eradication of evil powers
from the it is also expiatory in character . Aryan
community ,
records , however , initially included all different categories
of individuals from the greatest to the least as human victims
at the " Purusha -medha . " Only in the later texts do we have an
apparent specification of " certain " criminals .
Can be made for diffusion or parallel development ?
a case
There definite similarities in both regions . A diffusionist
are
theory need not trace the beginning of this rite in either re
gion in order to ascertain which was derived from which . Aspects
of the Aryan and Assyrian culture did not develop in a vacuum :
The Assyrian appeared within a milieu of different groups which
also included Aryan elements in northern Mesopotamia , and the
Aryans also developed certain cultural tendencies amidst the
Mohenjo - Daro - Harrapa civilization , after having migrated from
eastern Anatolia . While the substitution ritual in each of
these regions must certainly have been influenced at some stage
of development by their respective cultural environments , the
backgrounds of both were strongly influenced from areas in the
northwest around eastern Anatolia . Could this be the source of
these rites ? It is impossible to apply the theory of indepen
dent development with regard to this rite in these areas . It
is also reasonable to assume that both areas practiced a substi
tutionary ritual which involved the death of a substitute in the
place of a ruler . A historical appreciation of the Mesopotam
ian's religious psychology of sinfulness , fear and respect for
his deity easily explains why , in this region , these substitu
tion rituals were primarily expiatory in character , whereas the
Aryan's assurance of conquest and wealth easily underscores the
propitiatory nature of this rite within his culture . The same
argument is applicable where the Purusha - medha and the ritual
killing of prisoners or criminals is portrayed .
The important
factors which the preceding evidence reveals
are asfollows :
There is a strong indication that the ritual slaying of
children at a later date , which spread throughout the entire
region , was basically of northern origin . This involved what
has previously been categorized as " chapel sacrifices " or " foun
dation sacrifices ." The identity of the deities to whom these
sacrifices were made cannot be ascertained , but both appear to
 195

have been contemporaneous with the movement of new elements into

the area from a northwesterly direction .
The evidence of ritual killings in the South is directly
related to the existing power structures and the official cult .
What traces are extant were of Sumerian origin or extraneous to
the area .
The theory of " řar puņi " cannot be substantiated
from Sumerian sources ; hence , a fertility ritual which involves
the ritual assassination of its substitutes cannot be of south
ern origin .
The substitution ritual in which the human victim died in
place of the ruler was certainly extraneous to the Indus Valley
and was transported to this region by the Aryans . The same may

be true for this practice in Mesopotamia but there is no support

ive evidence for a like theory . Indications are that these rit
uals were not infrequent in these regions .
There are indications of the diffusion of child sacrifices
from North to South , but not of the multiple adult burials from
South to North . The theory of parallel developments and simi
larity in the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia , with respect to sub
stitutions during the Early Iron Age , can be supported . This
is also true regarding the theory of diffusionism . There is
substantive evidence in support of this position .
The preceding conclusions are limited entirely to the rit
ual of human slayings exclusive of other cultural developments .

The Ancient Egyptians

The evidence considered does reveal very clearly that the

Egyptians , at different periods and for different reasons , en
gaged in ritual killing . One may argue that the ancient Egyp
tians would not have been ancient had they totally ignored or
forbidden those rituals in which the human being becomes a vic
tim .
During the early periods , the Predynastic graves and Early
Dynastic tombs indicate the well - documented custom of domestic
attendants and members of a family accompanying a deceased lord
to his grave . In the former period , a clear picture of hierar
chical structure cannot be ascertained ; however , the available
data identifies those graves in which multiple victims occurred
as those of important people and probably of the more affluent
members of the community . In the latter , these Early tic
196

kings are certainly newcomers to the area and represented an

ethnic group different from their predecessors ; however , unlike
the former , the slain retainers are to be found only in the
Royal Tombs and are not members of the deceased family but
rather are lowly domestic attendants of the dead king or queen .
The Predynastic multiple burials are found only in Upper Egypt
and it has been pointed out that the actual burial places of the
Early Dynastic kings are located in Lower Egypt . These bear
evidence of relatively few slain retainers , but their cenotaphs
in Upper Egypt are the burial places of the hundreds of people
who were killed in the accompanying funerary ritual .
The reason for this
ceremony in Egypt , which appears to be
somewhat similar to that previously discussed in Mesopotamia ,
cannot be ascertained from the Egyptian evidence currently avail
able . The only concrete conclusions which can be reached from
available Egyptian sources are : ( 1 ) the Early Dynastic burials
represent the custom of a new ethnic group and were only prac
ticed for a relatively brief period in Egyptian history , and 4

( 2 ) as the preceding multiple grave burials , this apparently

originated and diffused for a time only in the South , pointing
to some cultural continuity .

There no concrete evidence of further ritual killing

is
until the Middle Kingdom , at which time the Kerma burials appear
to portray a combination of previous practices . On the one hand ,

the graves of hundreds of the affluent people present adequate

evidence of multiple burials whose remains offer reason to be
lieve that the ritual killing of both Nubians and Egyptians ac
companied the deceased lord , and on the other hand , the Early
Dynastic royal burial type in the Hapzefa tumulus , with its
accompaniment of hundreds of murdered Egyptian retainers . This
Kerma evidence is of primary importance for two reasons : it
represents a brief revival of the Early Dynastic custom in this
remote spot , though , unlike the former , there is no evidence of
1
this practice at this time among the Middle Kingdom kings but
only among the nobility ; it also reveals that , while Egyptian

sources indicate a rise in Ushab ti figurines accompanying the

dead king in Egypt , this practice of accompanying retainers ,
even though revived by the king's courtiers , is restricted to
areas outside the Egyptian homeland . On the strength of this
evidence , one may plausibly conclude that the harshness of this
 197

rite was frowned upon in Egypt and , in its place , the substitu
tion of Ushabtis began to gain prominence among the kings ; but ,
in certain foreign lands where there may have been a continua
tion of this custom , certain members of the Egyptian nobility
felt free to pursue this ritual , even though it included the
killing of Egyptians .
The final point which cannot be overlooked is that the evi
dence points to a gradual , then total , substitution of animals
for human victims among the Nubian burials at Kerma ; but the
Egyptian burials reveal no such change at this time . The prob
ability , then , that Egyptian influence could have been respon
sible for the perpetuation of this practice in later Nubian his
tory is an interesting speculation , but one which cannot be
proven . Nothing has been found in Egyptian texts which can be
used to explain either these multiple grave burials or the kill
ing of retainers .
Another significant type of ritual killing is the sacrific
ing of members of foreign conquered nobility at the coronation
of an Eighteenth Dynasty king . The event referred to in the
" Book of the Subduing of the Nobility , " which is recited at the
coronation of the king , portrayed in inscriptions and carried
out at the coronation of Amenhotep II
, appears to be evidence
enough that such a ceremony was , in fact , performed . A cere
mony such as this may have been carried out at the coronation

of other Eighteenth Dynasty kings ; how often we do not know ,

since only evidence of Amenhotep II
is available to us . Theo
retically , this to be the most reasonable interpretation
seems
of the combined written and non - written material . It consti
tutes the only available evidence of actual human sacrifice in
volving both the person and the office of the Pharaoh .
Athird type of ritual killing in the nature of a sacrifi
cial offering also comes from the New Kingdom . The evidence of
Nubians and Libyans being sacrificed on an altar to an Egyptian
deity is unique because of the mortuary setting . There is the
added important case the mortuary ritual
factor that in this
does not involve the king but the members of the nobility .
Aside from this evidence from tombs , this example of the ritual
slaughter of non - Egyptians as an offering to an Egyptian deity
occurs only once more , during the Nineteenth Dynasty reign of
Rameses II
at the ple of Abu Simbel in Nubia , where they
198

could have been offered as sacrifices at some time during the

construction of this edifice .
After the Early Dynastic Period and the coronation of Amen
hotep II
, available evidence of ritual killing in Egypt appears

to be confined exclusively to non - royal personnel . If and when

royalty participates , the context is strictly limited to some
act of great importance ; even on the occasions where the non
royal individuals of importance engage in this ritual , avail
able evidence singles out ' foreign victims selected from among
the enemies of Egypt .
The Egyptian's continued use of foreigners for sacrificial
killing is corroborated with his concept of himself relative to
others . Referring to these in the Admonitions of Ipuwer , he
observes that , " Foreigners have become people everywhere . ... Ah ,
the desert is spread abroad throughout the country ....
The bar
barians from without are come into Egypt , there are no people
8
anywhere . " When compared to the Egyptian , these are then some

what less than human , hence they would be as appropriate as ani

mals for sacrificial purposes . I do not wish to imply , however ,
that this was a long - lasting concept . The evidence of sacri
fices which utilized foreigners as victims comes from the New
Kingdom and onward , after the Second Intermediate Period and
Hyksos domination . This Egyptian concept of the lowliness of
the foreigner and the foreigner's popularity as a sacrificial
victim can be fully understood at this time .
The theory of the ritual murder of the king is largely
based upon anthropological deductions which , in turn , are based
chiefly upon practices of such modern primitive peoples as the
Shilluks of Africa , who are said to have been in the habit of
putting their aging king to death . However that may be , there
is no evidence that either the prehistoric Egyptians or the dy
nastic Egyptians ever observed this practice . While one must
admit the possibility that they did so in distant primitive
times , there is , however , not one shred of evidence to suggest
such a conjecture . No extant evidence points to the murder of

their aging kings since the dawn of history .

It remains now for this evidence of ritual killing in Egypt
to be tested for comparison , parallels , and similarities against
this practice in other areas of the Near East .
 199

Palestine and Syria

The study of available evidence in this region reveals con
vincingly that human sacrifice as a practiced ritual can be
documented from literary sources even though the unwritten
sources are by their nature so ambiguous that no definite con
clusion can be based on them . In view of this , the following
conclusions , based on previous evidence , seems inescapable .
All available documented evidence of human sacrifice is
limited to the Palestinian area . There are implications that
human sacrifice could have occurred in Syria also , but the weak
ness of such a conclusion is apparent as this is not even men
tioned in the Ras Shamra documents ; hence , the greater portion
of our evidence comes from the old Testament and subsequently
refers to this custom primarily among the peoples of Palestine .
During the formative period of the Federation of Israel ,
there is the strong implication that human sacrifice was prac
ticed by the people as an acceptable aspect of their Yahwistic
belief . In so doing , the people may have been consciously
carrying out a ritual which was common to most groups in the
region of whose cultural background they were a part . Whether
these early killings are to be understood within the undefined
concept of the later of the firstborn " and granted to Yah
" law
weh as gifts on special occasions , or some other type of sacri
fice , cannot be determined from the available evidence . What
is implied from the sacrificial terms used is that these sacri
fices were seen as cultic acts . The theory that Phoenicia be
gan to engage in human sacrifice at this time cannot be substan
tiated written or unwritten sources , therefore this cannot
from
be used either in support or denial of this theory .
During the subsequent traditional period , the denunciations
of this rite by Israel's early prophets is a clear implication
that it persists , but the mere fact that it is denounced as con
trary to Yahweh's will is an indication that , even during the
earlier period , its existence should be construed as a miscon
ception of early Yahwism . Whatever indications do exist point
to its use as a propitiatory rite and essentially as a deterrent
in crisis situations .
Human sacrifice continues apparently as propitiatory offer
ings to " other gods . " This change is contemporaneous with the
200

rise of Assyrian and Aramaean influence in Israelite politics

and religion and the practice of "human sacrifices " is continu
ally referred to by the prophets as a " pagan " custom . On the
basis of evidence studied , the rite " to pass children through
the fire " in this region cannot speak unequivocally of a " molek "
sacrifice from Punic regions .
Almost all available evidence of human sacrifice in the
Palestinian region can be traced back to a northern origin 1
around north Syria and south Anatolia . This northern strand
may be traced chronologically from the Abraham - Isaac narrative
based on seals and subsequently through each consecutive period .

The implication seems clear enough . Our evidence of human sac

rifice may well have been transmittedfrom this area to the
Syria - Palestine heartland through the periodic migration of
Anatolian groups since the Late Bronze Age . It should also be
recognized that whatever practices existed among the early Vedic
peoples could have been transmitted to the Indus Valley region
by earlier migrations passing through this area .
 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

This study on human sacrifices in the ancient Near East has

pursued three goals . It has sought first to assess the data
which supposedly testify to such practices in Mesopotamia , the
Indus Valley , Egypt and Syro - Palestine , and it has attempted , in
the second place , to evaluate the role of this ritual within its
cultural milieu . Finally , it has sought to find parallels among
contiguous cultures which may demonstrate contact and diffusion .
Proceeding along these lines , on the basis of the previous
evidence , it is to be concluded that human sacrifice can be
traced throughout this region according to the following pat
terns :
1. As the ritual killing of attendants who will continue
their service in the other world at the death of important per
sons and kings in Mesopotamia and Egypt from Early Bronze I in
termittently through Middle Bronze I.
2. As child foundation sacrifice in northeastern Mesopo
tamia from the Uruk Period to the Larsa Period in southern
Mesopotamia designed to protect the inhabitants of a building
from evil powers .
3. As adult substitutes for kings in India and Mesopotamia ,
upon whose persons the continuity of the natural process depends ,
proceeding from a northwesterly from the beginning of
direction
the Late Bronze Age to the Iron
Period . II
4. As an expiatory sacrifice
to various gods in times of
national emergency in which children were burnt in the north
Syro - Palestinian region during the Iron Age to the sixth cen
tury B.C.
5. As propitiatory , dedicatory and expiatory rites involv
ing children and adults on special occasions in all these regions
at different times .
Thesefindings do testify to a similarity of this rite on
an intercultural basis , founded assuredly on cultural contacts
and diffusion . The ordinary foundation sacrifice in private
houses in northeast Mesopotamia becomes the later " chapel " and
" temple " burial in both North and South , apparently through the
Amorite migrations . The ritual killings of attendants in Egypt

201
202

and Mesopotamia are similar and may also be traceable to one

common source which cannot be ascertained from available evi
dence .
The substitution ritual in Vedic India and Mesopotamia may

not be attributed to independent origin and development ; rather ,

the common features may be derived from some common source and
transmitted through of Aryans . The sacrifice of
the movement
children by burning is similar in description to the same CUS
tom in Punic sources though the manner in which this was done
may have been different in the two regions .

History has proven that patterns and similarities between

related cultures are derived from prior contact and the histori
cal contacts between the peoples of the ancient Near East is
well documented . No culture was truly sui generis as none ex
isted in total isolation . It is on this basis that the similar
ities in the descriptions of this ritual can be understood .
The evidence also reveals certain poignant factors about
the behaviour of ancient man . What intermittent indications of
human sacrifice exist prove that two major exercises of politi

cal power , namely law and war , always involved the death of per
sons . Since power in the ancient world was legitimized by the
gods , both had to have legitimization . The law which sanctioned
the death of individuals was , therefore , viewed as a " rite " re
quired by deity . War could not be merely secular ; it was reli
gious .Since it would be difficult to carry out a complex rit
ual killing in the midst of a real battle , this interpretation
was after the fact . Consequently , apart from the funerary monu
ments , as in Egypt , much "human sacrifice " was certainly in
volved with ancient politics .
It is also to be concluded that , aside from he early " foun
dation sacrifice " and the " ritual killing " of attendants , all
evidence examined points to " human sacrifice " during times of
political or domestic crisis . On such occasions , the context
in which the ritual occurs is usually that of a degenerate civ
ilization attempting to find solutions to problems based on a
misunderstanding of the past .
This investigation encountered no evidence of a fertility
ritual which involves human sacrifice ; however , a fruitful area
for additional research into the subject of ritual killing is
the connection between Anath of the Syro - Palestinian region who
 203

dances with the heads of her victims tied to her girdle , Beltis
of Babylon with the heads of slain prisoners bound to her neck ,
and Kali of the Vedas dancing with the skulls of her victims

tied to her neck and waist , all of the Late Bronze - Early Iron
Age .
 NOTES

CHAPTER I

E. B. Tylor was the first scholar to really attempt

1. a
scientific study of sacrifice in Primitive Culture , Researches
into the Development of Mythology , Philosophy , Religion , Lan
guage , Art and Custom , 2 vols . , 5th ed . (New York : John Murray ,
1929 ) . This scholar was inspired by I. Bastian , H. Spencer and
Chs . Darwin . After comparing data derived from various races
and civilizations , he formulated a theory of the origin of the
various forms of sacrifice . Sir James George Frazer was , in
turn , inspired by both W. Robertson Smith and Tylor at this ear
lier period .
2. That is , dealing with the ritual as a universal phe
nomenon . Of course , many regional studies have been made but ,
being " regional " rather than universal , the conclusions arrived
at tend to totally restricted to the development of this rite
be

within an assigned culture and its immediate peripheries , indi

cating similarities and parallels to other cultures from un
covered evidence . relative importance of such
The number and
investigations tend todirectly proportionate to the his
be

torical and cultural significance of the ancient group to

modern man .
...
fundamental meaning of sacrifice is that of effect
The "
ing anecessary and efficacious relationship with sacred power
and of establishing man and his world in the sacred order " ;
Herbert P. Sullivan , " Sacrifice , " Encyclopedia Britannica ( 1970 ) ,

XIX , 865 . This definition leans heavily upon the English repre
sentatives of the anthropological school , especially Tylor ,
Primitive Culture Vol . , II
Robertson Smith ,
, 5th ed .; W.
Religion of the Semites 2nd ed . (New York : The Meridian
, Li
brary , 1956 ) ; and J. G. Frazer , The Golden Bough , Vols . I - : II
The Magic Art and Evolution of Kings , Vol . IV : The Dying God
( London : Macmillan Co. Ltd. , 1911 ) , Vols . V - VI : Adonis , Attis ,

Osiris : Studies in the History of Oriental Religion ( London :

Macmillan and Co. Ltd. , 1914 ) . Under the heading " Frequency of
Sacrifice , " nine general varieties are enumerated , but it

205
206 Chapter I, Notes

would seem at first sight that all these appear to have little
in common except the name . The above definition consequently
assumes some hidden underlies them all , but this
purpose which
then becomes a petitio principii
tending in the final analysis
to exclude a priori all the facts
which do not really fit the
definition . It seems adoption of this method could further in
validate the whole concept of what is usually understood by sac
rifice . See also , R. Money - Kyrle , The Meaning of Sacri fice
( London : Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press , 1965 ) ,
pp . 71-72 .

3. In funeral sacrifice , he finds an example of the con

sequences of the belief in souls and , at the same time , of the
general theory of sacrifice that he later develops . " When a man
of rank dies and his soul departs to its own place , wherever and
whatever that place may be , it is a rational inference of early
philosophy that the souls of attendants , slaves , and wives put
to death at his funeral will make the same journey and continue
their services in the next life , and the argument is frequently
stretched further to include the souls of the new victims sacri
ficed in order that they may enter upon the same ghostly servi
tude . " Tylor , Primitive Culture , Vol . II , 5th ed . , pp . 108-110 .
4. Ibid . , pp . 483-484 .

s. Ibid . , p. 375 .

6. Ibid . ,
376 . Tylor later broadens this gift theory
p.

into three areas distinguishing broadly among the gift theory ,

later the homage theory , and finally the abnegation theory .
7. Ibid . , p. 396 .

8. later scholars in the fields of religion , anthro

When
pology and history discovered that the thought of ancient peo
ples was not the same as theirs , they did not hesitate to im
pute to them any motive , however strange , that seemed to account
for their rites .

9. While Smith's work is considered one of the founda

tions of modern anthropology , unfortunately leading to many ex
aggerations by later scholars , he was really the first to at
tempt a reasoned explanation . However , his excessively strong
reliance upon the totemic cult as the root cause of sacrifice
Chapter I, Notes 207

became the source of its greatest weakness . It sought to bring

the multiplicity of sacrificial forms within the unity of an
arbitrarily chosen principle . How can one prove that a given
sacrificial ritual is properly totemic ? Anthropologists , for
the most part , agree that it is practically impossible to veri
fy or even formulate a hypothesis which would make totemism the
basis of all theriomorphic cults . Yet this is precisely what
Smith attempted to do . Note the discussion in Elman Service ,
Primitive Social Organization : An Evolutionary Perspective (New
York : Random House , 1967 ) , pp . 34-54 ; Ruth Benedict , " Religion , "
General Anthropology , Franz Boas , ed . ( Boston : D. C. Heath and
Company , 1938 ) , pp . 627-644 ; and Alexander Goldenweiser , Anthro
pology : An Introduction to Primitive Culture (New York : F. S.
Crofts & Co. , 1937 ) , pp . 416-421 .

10 . Religion of the Semites , pp . 312-352 . The best

Smith ,
known hold that totemism originated in : misrepresenta
theories
tion of nicknames (H. Spencer ) ; a belief in transmigration of
souls through men and animals ( G. A. Wilken ) ; individual guard
ian spirits believed inherited in the clan ( F. Boas and others ) ;

outsiders giving local groups the name of their chief foodstuff

( A. C. Haddon ) ; and the totem as a symbol of the mystic unity
of social ingroup ( E. Durkheim
a ) . None of these theories ac
count for food tabus or exogamy . T. G. Frazer , whose great
Totemism and Exo gamy , 4 vols . ( London : Macmillan Co. Ltd. , 1910 )
remains a classic source , at various times held three different
theories : the totem was seen as the repositor of separable souls
repeatedly reincarnating in people ; totemism was a system of
magic designated to insure a group its main food ; when biologi
cal paternity was not understood , totemism was a primitive
theory of human reproduction . C. Levi - Strauss , Totemism ( Berke
ley : University of California Press , 1964 ) , pp . 163-165 .
11 . Smith was inspired by the widely publicized and ac
cepted theory of totemism . He deals with this in his explana
tion of the totemic clan in the organization of semitic tribal
structure , observing in the practices , which he calls " totemic
cult , " the root origin of sacrifice . For him , sacrifice is in
distinguishable from the common meal ." According to his view ,
sacrificial slaughter had no object other than to make possible
the devouring of a sacred and , consequently , forbidden animal .
208 Chapter I, Notes

From this " communion sacrifice , " he derives the expiatory and
propitiatory forms of sacrifice , namely the " piaculum " and gift
sacrifice or honorific sacrifice . Smith , Religion of Semites ,
pp . 363-376 and 294-295 . Clearly , this view of the gift - sacri
fice complements that of Tylor's , but his explanation is far
from complete ; thus he does not take into consideration the
magical purposes of such rites and the consciousness of guilt
which usually characterized man's relation to his god . This
fact has been ably discussed by Frazer in Adonis , Attis , Osiris ,
pp . 266-267 , and by Henri Hubert and Marcel Mauss , Sacrifice :
Its Nature and Function , trans . by W. D. Halls ( London : The Co
hen and West Press , 1964 ) , pp . 170-171 .
12 . Smith , Religion of the Semites , pp . 294–295 .
13 . Ibid . , p. 139 .

14 . It must be remembered that he had very little direct

evidence critically gathered either from the ancient Near East
or from other areas . Nevertheless , in spite of the great strides
in the fields of archaeology and anthropology , his views are still
used as the basis for many assumptions relative to this area .

15 . Frazer , The Golden Bough , Vols . I IV - VIII .

, These
volumes deal more directly with the problem under consideration .

For Frazer
16 . , religion in general
and sacrifice in par
ticular are a development of magic . " Led astray by his ignor
ance of the true cause of things , ancient man believed that in
order to produce the great phenomena of nature on which his life
depended he had only to imitate them and that immediately , by

a secret sympathy or mystic influence , the little drama which

he acted in the forest glade , or mountain dell , or desert plain ,

or windswept shore would be taken up and repeated by mightier

acts on a vaster stage . " Frazer , The Dying God , pp . 266-267 .

17 . Frazer , The Dying God , p. 3, and also p . 3 , no . 5 .

This is one of his very difficult points which the

18 .
present writer finds extremely hard to rationalize . How can
ancient come upon the idea that the killing of the
man have
spirit of the crops could really stimulate their growth ? If
the corn , like the animal , possessed an immortal soul , as ar
gued by Frazer , then it might be more dangerous in death than
in life . See Frazer , Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild , p. vi .
Chapter I, Notes 209

But to explain this point , Frazer writes : " The motive for slay
ing a man - god is
a fear lest , with the enfeeblement of his body
in sickness or old age , his sacred spirit should suffer a cor
responding decay , which might imperil the general course of na
ture , and with it the existence of his worshippers , who believe
the cosmic energies to be mysteriously knit with those of their
divinity . " Ibid . , p . iv .
19 . " For the killing of the tree spirit in Spring is asso
ciated always implicitly , and sometimes explicitly also , with a .
revival or resurrection of him in a more youthful and vigorous
form . " Frazer , The Dying God , p. 212 .

20 . Ibid . , p. 9, and also p . 9 , no . 1 .

In the totemic sacrifice , the ritual murder of the

21 .

god , man reputedly is assimilated to the god by devouring of the

sacred meal . In this way he is re - invigorated by appropriat
ing to himself the energy of the deity . Frazer , The Magic Art
and Evolution , pp . 314-315 .

22 . Frazer , Spirits of the Corn , pp . 138-139 , and note es

pecially the discussion of this topic by Edward Westermarck , The
Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas , 3 vols . (London : Mac
millan and Co. , Ltd. , 1912 ) , Vol . I , pp . 373-430 .

23 . Frazer , Spirits of the Corn , pp . 138-139 .

24 . Ibid . , p. 312 .

25 . See especially Service

, Primitive Social Organization ,
pp . 34-54 ; and Alexander Goldenweiser , Anthropology : An Intro
duction to Primitive Culture (New York : F. S. Crofts & Co. ,
1937 ) , pp . 322-329 .

26 . Frazer , Balder the Beautiful , p. vi .

27 . If ,
sacrifice is a
then , one can legi religious act ,
timately argue that this immediately suggests the idea of con
secration . Anticipating the natural temptation to equate sacri
fice and consecration as identical within this context , Hubert
and Mauss , however , argue that , while certain sacrifices do in
deed imply consecration , because in every sacrifice an object
passes from the common to the religious domain , not all conse
crations are of the same kind . Using , as an example , the conse
cration of a king , they point out that only his religious
210 Chapter I, Notes

personality is modified by the consecration . However , in the

sacrifice , they argue ,the consecration extends the thing beyond
consecrated . Among other objects , it touches the person who
bears the expenses of the ceremony . It is also interesting to
note that between religious punishment and expiatory sacrifice
there are both analogies and differences . For religious punish
ment also implies a consecration as well as the destruction
which is wrought by such a consecration . Hubert and Mauss , Sac
rifice , pp . 9, 13 and 109 , n . 30 .

28 . Ibid . , p. 9, 10 .

29 . Smith , Religion of the Semites , pp . 124-139 , and es

pecially pp . 441-446 .

30 . Hubert and Mauss , Sacrifice , pp . 132-133 .

31 . Ibid . , p. 134 .

32 . contact with the victim is risky at best , ap

Because
proaches through an intermediary or a priest . See
are made
Money - Kyrle , The Meaning of Sacrifice , p . 180 . One need not

follow the Frazerian theory , however , that the priest is the

linear successor of the medicine man who was led to renounce his
attempts to control directly process of nature and sought to
the
attain the same end by indirectly
appealing to the gods to do
for him what he no longer fancied he could do for himself . J. G.
Frazer , The Early History of Kingship ( London : Macmillan and Co. ,
Ltd. , 1905 ) , p . 127 . This theory , unfortunately , is more simply
stated than proven for it rests on the equally unproven assump
tion that a pretheistic age of magic preceded an age of religion
in which the magician alone held sway . This investigator has
uncovered no statement by scholars in this field to the effect
that a tribe or group exists in which a period of pure " godless "
magic prevails . Furthermore , it seems extremely difficult to
draw a hard and fast line between a magical and a religious
traffic with the supernatural where any external source of
strength is involved .
33 . Hubert and Mauss , Sacrifice , p. 134 .

34 . Westermarck , The Origin of Moral Ideas , pp . 469-471 .

35 . Ibid . , pp . 443-444 .
Chapter I, Notes 211

36 . Westermarck , ibid . , describes this rite as a propi

tiatory sacrifice to appease the wrath of the god . Even though
there may have been a negative element latent in the ritual , the
evidence cited by Frazer ( The Dying God , pp . 250-255 ) and used
as asource by Westermarck for his conclusions does not suggest
that this was the primary motive of the ritual . Insofar as hu
man sacrifice was a product of agricultural society , it was di
rected in the first instance to the growth of the crops and the
maintenance of the sequence of vegetation .
37 . Westermarck , The Origin of Moral Ideas , p . 464 . How

ever , the sociological and cultural context was different , hence ,

we should not assume that the thought process was the same as
ours . Would this ritual , evidently carried out for the protec
tion of the community ( either the family or a larger community
grouping ) , be conceived as murder even by the victim whose life
was taken ? The spirit can indeed be friendly or unfriendly de
pending upon the reasoning behind the rite from the viewpoint of
both the victim and the group for whose benefit the ritual was
performed .

38 . Ibid . , pp . 481-482 .

39 . M. Alfred Loisy , Essai historique sur le sacrifice

(Paris : E. Nourry , 1920 ) , pp . 6-7 .

40 . Ibid . , p. 7.

Frazer has written that he is unwilling to leave his

41 .

readers under the impression , natural and erroneous , that man

has created most of his gods out of his belly . See Frazer ,
Spirits of the corn , p . vii .
42 . Ibid . , p. 14 .

43 . Loisy , Essai historique sur le sacri fice , pp . 7-8 .

44 . Ibid . , p . 14 .

45 . Ibid . , pp . 11-12 .

46 . Ibid . , p . 162 .

47 . Ibid . , pp . 12-13 .

48 . Ibid . , p. 202 .

49 . Ibid . , pp . 14-15 .
212 Chapter I, Notes

50 . He that the combination of the ritual

also argues
gift , idea , with the magical rite of positive effect ,
or its
puts the communal sacrifice in the divine service ; the combina
tion of the ritual gift , or its idea , with the magical rite of
negative effect , forms the so - called expiatory sacrifice which ,
from the time that it included an offering , also enters into the
service of the gods . Ibid . , pp . 10-11 , 521 .

51 . S. Freud , Totem and Tabu , trans . by James Strachey

( London : Routledge & Paul , 1950 ) , pp . 235-239 .

52 . Money - Kyrle , The Meaning of Sacrifice , p. 186 . It

must be remembered that Darwin had long ago supposed that our
first ancestors lived in small families dominated , by an old man
the father , who killed or drove out his adolescent sons as Soon
as they threatened his sole enjoyment of his wives . See Charles
Darwin , Descent of Man and selection in Relation to Sex , 2nd ed .
(New York : D. Appleton and Company , 1927 ) , p . 395 . But such
a condition is nowhere to be observed . On the other hand , the
most primitive society still found consists of bands of men

who are gerontocratic and exogamous . See also Service , Primi -

tive Social Organization , pp . 34-58 .
53 . Freud , and Tabu , pp . 236-237 ; also
Totem Money - Kyrle ,
The Meaning of Sacrifice , pp . 186-187 .
54 . Money - Kyrle , The Meaning of Sacri fice , pp . 193-195 ,
and pp . 213-214 .

55 . Freud , Totem and Tabu , p . 235 .

56 . Ibid . , pp . 5-9 .

57 . For a good bibliography on the subject , see H. H.

Rowley , " The Meaning of Sacrifice in the old Testament , " Bulle
tin of Library , 33 ( 1950 ) , pp . 74-110 . Also ,
the John Rylands
for other important contributions in this regional field , see
G. B. Gray , Sacrifice in the Old Testament (New York : Ktav Pub
lishing House , Inc. , 1971 ) ; Roland de Vaux , Studies in Old Tes
tament Sacrifice (New York : Kennikat Press , 1970 ) ; R. J.
Thompson , Penitence and Sacri fice in Early Israel Outside the

Levitical Law ( Leiden : E. J. Brill , 1963 ) ; and R. Dussaud , Les

origines cananéennes du sacri fice israelite , 2nd ed . ( Paris :
E. Lerou , 1948 ) .
Chapter I, Notes 213

58 . Smith , Religion of the Semites , p . 389 .

59 . for
See , example , the brilliant discussion of the
place of ancient documents in the study of Mesopotamian civili
zation by A. Leo Oppenheim , Ancient Mesopotamia : Portrait of a
Dead Civilization University of Chicago Press ,
( Chicago : The
1964) , especially the " Introduction : Assyriology -- Why and How . "
His argument , while dealing specifically with Mesopotamia , is
certainly cogent for the ancient world in general . Ibid . , pp .
21-30 .

60 . Once more the words of Oppenheim are appropriate :

"All this is not meant to be a ' programme , ' but neither should
it be simply called wishful thinking -- it is a way well worth
considering . " Ibid . , p . 30 .
)
 NOTES

CHAPTER II
1. A very clear example of the latter is Richard S. Ellis ,
Foundation Deposits in Ancient Mesopotamia (New Haven : Yale Uni
versity Press , 1968 ) . See , especially , his chapter on " Human
and Animal Sacrifices , " where he introduces the subject matter
by stating very clearly where his prejudice lies ( pp . 35-45 ) .
Whether stated overtly or not it is this
, prejudiced approach to
the evaluation of the evidence by many scholars that has prevent
ed a truly objective assessment of this phenomenon in the ancient
Near East .

2. Clyde Kluckhohn , " Myths and Rituals : A General Theory ,"

The Harvard Theological Review , Vol . XXXV , No. 1 ( 1942 ) , pp . 45

46 , describes the successive interpretations of myth as symbolic
descriptions of natural phenomena , as primitive scientific the
ory , as the expression of " group phantasy . " See also Theodore

Gaster , "Myth and Story , " Numen , Vol . I , Fasc . 3 ( 1954 ) , pp .

184-185 .

3. This scholar boldly states " It may be affirmed with

confidence that in almost every case the myth was derived from
the ritual , and not the ritual from the myth ." W. Robertson
Smith , Lectures on the Religion of the Semites : The Fundamental
Institutions , S. A. Cook , ed . 3rd ed . ( London : A. & C. Black ,
Ltd. , 1927 ) , p. 18 .

" The uniformity

4. of many such rituals over large areas
and the diversity of mythological explanations show clearly that
the ritual itself is the stimulus for the origin of the myth ....
Franz Boas , "Mythology and Folklore , " General Anthropology ,
Franz Boas , ed . ( Boston : D. C. Heath and Company , 1938 ) , p . 617 .

5. Especially in the school headed by Dr. James . See E.

0. " The Influence
James , of Folklore on the History of Religion , "
Numen , Vol . IX , Fasc . 1 ( 1962 ) , pp . 3 , 7-8 . He argues that
" ritual techniques " are often called forth by " practical " needs

and tend to persist in time and space , while " the meanings at
tached to them " more commonly suffer modification . The present

215
216 Chapter II , Notes

writer fully agrees with this statement and would add that this
is especially true of " universal " rituals . Such modifications
take place not only within a given group , but also from group to
group , depending on the local configuration within which the
ritual functions .

6. adds : " While this suggestion of the primacy

Kluckhohn
of ritualover myth is probably a valid statistical induction
and a proper statement of the modal tendency of our evidence , it
is , it seems to me , as objectionable a simply unitary explana
tion as the generally rejected nineteenth century views . " " Myths
and Rituals , " p. 50 .

7. Mircea Eliade , Traite d'histoire des religions ( Paris :

Payot , 1948 ) , p . 338 . " L'histoire , dans la perspective de la
mentalité primitive , coincide avec le myths : tout événement
( toute conjoncture pour vue d'un sens ) , par le fait meme qu'il
s'est produit dans le temps , represente une rupture de la durée
profane et une invasion du Grand Temps . "
8. is the history of what took place in
" The myth , then ,
illo tempore , the recital
of what the gods or the semi - divine
beings did at the beginning of time . To tell a myth is to pro
claim what happened ab origine . Once told , that is , revealed ,
the myth becomes apodictic truth ; it establishes a truth that
is absolute . " M. Eliade , The Sacred and the Profane : The Nature
of Religion , trans . by Willard R. Trask (New York : Harper and
Brothers , 1961 ) , p. 95 .

9. Ibid . , p. 105 . 1

10 . " Au fond , therefore with , Myth is consubstantial Rit

ual . They are not -- as
is often -- two things artifi supposed
cially or schematically brought into relationship with each
other , but one thing viewed from two different angles or through
two different prisms . " Theodore Gaster , "Myth and Story , " p .
187 .

11 . Gaster , Thespis : Ritual , Myth , and Drama in

Theodore
the Ancient Near East , rev . ed . ( Garden City , New York : Double
day & Company , Inc. , 1961 ) , p. 17 .

12 . Ibid ., pp . 17-18 .
Chapter II , Notes 217

13 . Mircea Eliade , Cosmos and History : The Myth of the

Eternal Return , trans . by Willard R. Trask (New York : Harper
and Brothers , 1959 ) , pp . 55-58 . ANET ( Princeton : Princeton
University Press , 1953 ) , pp . 280 , 332b .

14. Mircea Eliade , Cosmos and History , pp . 84-85 . ANET ,

pp . 100b - 10la .
15 . R. de Langhe , MRAK , p . 131 .

16 . In " Myth and Story , " p . 211 , he writes : " In short ,

what we are discussing is a parallelism not between an actual
recitation and an actual performance , but between a pattern of

narrative and a pattern of ritual or -- to put it more broadly-

,

the ultimate relation of a genre of literature to a genre of

ceremony . "

17 . cf. G. S. Kirk , Myth , Its Meaning and Function

also
( Cambridge : The University Press , 1970 ) , pp . 12-16 ; R. de Langhe ,

MRAK , pp . 129-132 ; J. Fontenrose , The Ritual Theory of Myth

( Berkeley : University of California Press , 1966 ) , pp . 29-32 .

18 . G. Mendenhall sees this continual

Professor attempt at
analyzing classifying ancient Near Eastern data into neat
and
intellectual and logical symmetry as one of the paramount weak
nesses of scholars in this field . With reference to myth and
its role in ancient society , he adds , " ... there is little doubt
that the primary social function of the most important myths in
antiquity was simply to indicate and promulgate the power struc
ture . " G. E. Mendenhall , The Tenth Generation : Essays in Early
Biblical History ( Baltimore : The Johns Hopkins Press , 1972 ) , p.
7.

19 . The initial argument against this hypothesis was

launched by Franz Boas in " The Methods of Ethnology , " The Amer
ican Anthropologist , N.s. , Vol . XXII , No. 4 ( 1920 ) , pp . 311-312 .

Since then , many monographs have been written amplifying on the

main thesis of this scholar .

20 . Alexander Goldenweiser , " Diffusionism and the American

School of Historical Ethnology ," The American Journal of Sociol
ogy , Vol . XXXI , No. 1 ( 1935 ) , p. 21 .
218 Chapter II , Notes

21 . Boas , AA , N.S. , Vol . XXII , No. 4, p . 21 .

The hypothesis and the principal expositions

22 . of the
scholars is to be found in S. G. F. Brandon , " The Myth and Rit
ual Position Critically considered , " in MRAK , p . 265 , n . 1 .
23 . To quote a key thought in this theory : " Civilization

was growing and flourishing in Pre - dynastic Egypt at least five

centuries before the earliest evidence revealed in Sumer . More
over , in addition to the unassailable testimony of chronology ,

it can be demonstrated , as the following pages will show , that

the peculiar
form early civilization assumed , not only in Egypt
but in every part of the world , was determined in a large mea
sure by the practice of mummification on the banks of the Nile
in the middle of the fourth millennium B.C. " G. Elliot Smith ,
Human History (New York : W. W. Norton and Company , Inc. , 1929 ) ,
p . 252 . At the time of writing , Smith was unaware of the mas
sive influence brought to bear from Mesopotamia on Early Dynas
tic Egypt .
24 . Ibid . , p. xviii .
25 . Ibid . , p . 302 .

26 . S. H. Hooke , "Myth and Ritual : Past and Present , "

MRAK , pp . 1-2 . A. Hocart , Kingship ( London : Oxford University

Press , 1927 ) , pp . 1-2 .

27 . Alexander Goldenweiser , " Diffusionism vs. Independent

Origin : A Rejoiner to Professor G. Elliot Smith , " Science , N.S. ,

Vol . XLIV , No. 1137 ( 1936 ) , pp . 532-533 .

28 . " If there is any difference in the value of the two

theories , it must rest on the alleged absence of historical
proofs for independent development , in face of the universally
admitted existence of such proofs for historical connection . It
remains to that this allegation is erroneous , that
be shown

there exists unexceptionable instances of convergent evolution . "

R. H. Lowe , " On the Principle of Convergence in Ethnology , "
Lowe's Selected Papers in Anthropology , Cora du Bois , ed . (Ber
keley : University of California Press , 1960 ) , pp . 318-319 .
Chapter II , Notes 219

29 . Henri Frankfort , The Problem of similarity in Ancient

Near Eastern Religions ( Oxford : The Clarendon Press , 1951 ) , p . 6 .

30 . Hooke , "Myth and Ritual , " p. 7.

31 . cf. Stith Motif - Index of Folk -Litera

Thompson , ed . ,
ture : A Classification Elements in Folktales , Bal
of Narrative
Zads , Myths , Fables , Mediaeval Romances , Exempla Fabli aux , Jest
Books and Logical Legends , 6 vols . ( Bloomington : Indiana Univer
sity Press , 1955 ) .

32 . W. F. Albright , " Historical and Mythical Elements in

the Joseph Story , " The Journal of Biblical Literature , XXXVII
( 1918 ) , p . 115 . It is indeed rewarding to have a retraction
of the statement by the same author in the words : " This study
needs extensive revision today , partly on the basis of fur
ther parallel material and partly by way of a more sober and
critical treatment of the historical nuclei of the cycles in
question ." W. F. Albright , From Stone Age to Christianity :
Monotheism and the Historical Process , 2nd ed . ( Baltimore :
The Johns Hopkins Press , 1957 ) , p . 67 , n . 41 . Also , Ira
Wheatly , The Hieros Gamos in the Ancient Near East and in Is
rael ( Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation ; University of Iowa , 1966 ) ,
p. 20 . A very good discussion of this problem is presented .
33 . G. E. Mendenhall , The Tenth Ceneration , p. 7.

34 . " Even in the domain of material culture , it is not

always easy to say just how similar two objects are or how sig
nificant the similarity ; as to spiritual and social matters ,
who is there who would pass final judgment on the degree of
comparability of two features in religion , social organization ,
or art ? All those who have had experience in these matters
know the difficulties confronting the unbiased student of cul
tural analogies . " Goldenweiser , " Diffusionism and the American
School ," p. 22 .

35 . G. E. Mendenhall , The Tenth Generation , p. 6.

36 . " If an expression , an image , or a particular idea ,

etc. , is different places , in two civilizations
found in two
and religions , it does not follow that they mean the same , even
if there is a direct historical loan or influence from one of
the sides . " Sigmund Mowinckel , " General Oriental and Specific
220 Chapter II , Notes

Israelite Elements in the Israelite Conception of Sacral King

dom , " The Sacred Kingship : Contributions to the Central Theme

of the VIIIth International Congress the History of Reli

for
gions ( Leiden : E. J. Brill , 1959 ) , p . 288 . The same contention
is made by J. de Fraine : " Mail il
faut toujours se souvenir
qu'une identité
formules , voire de ' motifs ' phénoménologiques ,
de
peut masquer une dissemblance rélativement prononcée au sujet
des croyances religieuses . " " Les implications du ' Patternism ' , "
Biblica , XXXVII ( 1956 ) , p . 61 .
37 . Frankfort appropriately observes that " it needs an

effort ... to realize that the Isis worshipped in the Roman Empire
shared little more than her name with the goddess of Ancient
Egypt .... For the appeal
of religious symbols is not dependent
upon a correct understanding of their original meaning . Once
created , their lasting forms challenge the imagination ; they may
be charged with a new significance which they themselves called
forth , and may stimulate a new integration in alien surround
ings . " The Problem of Similarity , p . 22 .

38 . Among the best studies are the following : S. A.

Pallis , " The Babylonian Akîtu Festival , " Danske Videnskabernes
Selskab Copenhagen : Historisk - Filologiske Meddelelser , XI -XII
( 1925-27 ) , 1-306 ; A. Falkenstein , " akiti - Fest und akiti
Festhaus , " Festschrift Johannes Friedrich zum 65. Geburts
tag , R. von Kienle , et al . , eds . ( Heidelberg : Carl Winter ,
1959 ) , pp . 147-182 . The latter gives good bibliographical
coverage in footnotes .

39 . S. H. Hooke , " The Myth and Ritual Pattern in the An

cient Near East , Myth and Ritual : Essays on the Myth and Ritual
of the Hebrews in Relation to the Cultural Pattern of the An
cient East , S. H. Hooke , ed . ( London : Oxford University Press ,
1937 ) , p . 8 . To this can also be added Theodore Gaster's state
ment : " The seasonal pattern may be traced in many of the calen
dar festivals of the Ancient Near East . Representative in
stances are the Akitu (New Year ) Festival of the Babylonians
and Assyrians and the New Year -- Day of Atonement -- Feast of the
Ingathering complex of the Israelites . It may be recognized
also in Egypt and among the Hittites , and , at least vestigially ,
in the Asianic mysteries of Attis . " Thespis , p . 18 .
 NOTES

CHAPTER III
1. It is generally accepted that cylinder seals precede
the invention of writing , and the earliest tablets with seal
impressions belong to the fourth millennium B.C. See Henri
Frankfort , Cylinder Seals : A Documentary Essay on the Art and
Religion of the Ancient Near East ( London : The Gregg Press ,
1939 ) , p . 1 .

2. Leon Legrain , The Culture of Babylonia from the Seals

in the collection of the Museum ( Philadelphia : University of
Pennsylvania Press 1925 ) , pp . 52-53 .
,

3. early example is W. H. Ward who , while dedicating

An
a complete chapter to the discussion of this possibility based
on concrete evidence , nevertheless concludes with the statement
that , " there can be no evidence in Oriental Art of human sacri
fice , " The Cylinder Seals of Western Asia ( Washington , D.C .:
The Carnegie Institute of Washington , 1910 ) , p . 367 .
4. See Gustav A. Eisen , Ancient Oriental Cylinder and
Other Seals with a Description of the Collection of Mrs. William
H. Moore ( Chicago : The University of Chicago Press , 1940 ) , p . . l
This work will henceforth be cited as Moore .

5. Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , p. xiii .

Louis Speelers provides a full discussion of the prin
6.
ciples for the study and appreciation of Oriental Seals , includ
ing the determination of precedence , chronological setting , com
parison with similar types based on workmanship , and other fac
tors in Catalogue des Intailles et Empreintes orientales des
Musées Royaux du Cinquantenaire ( Brussels : Vromant & Co. , Im
primeurs Editeurs , 1917 ) . See also , H. H. von der Osten , An
cient Oriental Seals in the Collection of Mr. Edward T. Newell
( Chicago : The University of Chicago Press , 1934 ) , p . 1. This
work will henceforth be cited as Newell .
7. See Leon Legrain , " Gem - Cutters in Ancient Ur , " Museum
Journal of the University of Pennsylvania - Dec . , 1929 ) ,
( Sept.
pp . 258-306 , and Speelers , Catalogue des Intailles et Empreintes ,

221
222 Chapter III , Notes

p . 23 ; also Henri Frankfort , " Gods and Myths on Sargonid Seals , "
Iraq , I ( 1934-35 ) , 2. These scholars offer a detailed discus
sion of the circumstances which could have produced certain de
signs .

8. Ibid . , p. 4.

9. Ibid . , and Legrain , " Gem- Cutters , " pp . 274-277 , 285

287 .

10 . This is the method followed by Frankfort , with very

good results , attempts the
in Cylinder Seals . Edith Porada
same with The Collection of the Pierpont Morgan Library (Wash
ington , D.C .: Pantheon Books , 1948 ) . This work will henceforth
be cited as Porada - Morgan .

11 . Ménant , Catalogue des cylindres orientaux du Cabinet

royal des médailles de la Haye ( The Hague : Impremire de Thomine ,
1878 ) ; and " La sacrifice humain , " Recherches sur le Glyptique
orientale , I ( 1887 ) , 150-158 .

12 . This investigator is fully aware of the fact that the

First Babylonian Dynasty is preceded chronologically by the
Early Dynastic Akkadian or Sargonid , Ur
, and Isin and Larsa III
Periods , , these should be first treated ;
and methodologically
however , because the problem of ritual slaying on seals was
first identified and focused on certain types from this era , it
is felt that a start at this point is justified .

13 . See W. H. Ward , Seal Cylinders ; A. Moortgat , Vorder

asiatische Rollsiegel : Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Stein

schneiderkunst ( Berlin : Gebr . Mann ) ; L. Legrain , The Culture of
the Babylonians : From Their Seals in the collections of the Mu
seum , Publications of the Babylonian Section , Vol . XIV ( Phila
delphia : The University Museum , 1925 ) ; L. J. Delaporte , Cata
Zogue des cylindres cachets et pierres gravées de style orien
tal Musée du Louvre , Vols . I ,
, ( Paris : E. Leroux , 1920-1923 ) ; II
Porada - Morgan ; and Frankfort , Cylinder Seals . It should be
noted that , while Ménant's Glyptique orientale is extremely im
portant , since the publication of his work thousands of seals
have been added to the world's collection and , hence , a number
have been subject to reinterpretation , based on later discover
ies .
Chapter III , Notes 223

14 . This is
the essence of his criticism of Ménant's views .
11
See ' Human Sacrifice ' on Babylonian Cylinders , " American Jour
nal of Archaeology , V ( 1889 ) , 34-35 .
15 . Ménant utilizes this as one of his main marks of iden
tification in the series of seals he uses . See also Frankfort ,
Cylinder Seals , p . 159 , and especially Newell , pp . 6-7 ; Porada
Morgan , pp . 39 , 52 ; and Legrain , "Gem - Cutters , " pp . 85-86 , 91
92 , 97 , 258–64 , 270-71 , 274-277 , 305 , where the main identifying
characteristics of the seals of this period are treated in some
detail .

16 . See Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , p. 59 .

17 . Ward , " Human Sacrifice ," p. 35 .

18 . I will
identifications by Ward and simulta
use the
neously indicate the specific collection in which they are lo
cated and evaluated by the different scholars , along with the
conclusions drawn in each case .
19 . Cited by Ward as one obtained by him in Baghdad and
provisionally numbered at the time in the Metropolitan Museum
of New York as Gl . However , the identical design appears in a
similar in Newell , No. 155 , p . 28 , and Pl . XIV , p . 155 .
scene
The only addition in this case is a mountain goat with its head
turned backwards . See also Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , Pl .
XXVIII d .
20 . Ménant , " Le sacrifice ," Fig . 95 , p . 152 . This scene

is also duplicated in L. Delaporte , Catalogue des cylindres

orientaux et des cachets assyro - babyloniens , perses et syro
cappadociens de la Bibliothèque nationale ( Paris : E. Leroux ,

1910 ) , No. 434 , and Newell , No. 117 , p. 23 , Pl . XII , p . 117 .

21 . J. Ménant , sacrifice , " Fig . 96 , p . 153 . See also

" Le

Frankfort , Cylinder , Pl . XXVIII C .; and Porada - Morgan ,

Seals
Nos . 381 , 382 , pp . 46-47 . These are similar scenes , almost
identical in every detail .
Porada - Morgan , No. 464 , p . 55 ; Delaporte , Catalogue
22 .

des cylinders cachets , Vol . 1 , No. 242 ; and Frankfort , Cylinder

Seals , Pl . XXXVIII g . The mace has six heads on this last
seal .
224 Chapter III , Notes

23 . J. Ménant , " Le sacrifice , " Pl . IV , Fig . 5; and Porada

Morgan , No. 467 , p. 55 .

24 . Ward , " Human Sacrifice , " Fig . 12 , p. 37 .

Ibid
25 . . , Fig . 13 , p. 38 . The arrangement of the figures
on this seal is unique and appears only in L. C. de Clereg ,

Catalogue méthodique et raisonné ( Paris : E. Leroux , 1888 ) ,

Fig . 167 .

26 . Delaport , Catalogue des cylindres orientaux , No. 441 ;

and Ward , "Human Sacrifice , " Fig . 15 , p. 39 .

27 . Newell , Nos , 144 , 152 , Pls . XIII - XIV , pp . 27 , 28 .

28 . In this , Frankfort tends to agree with Ward , but adds

that , while the figure may be a deity , the mace and scimitar
alone cannot be used as the prime factor in the identification .

Cf. Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , p . 166 .

This was proposed by Ward , basing his identification

29 .

on the fact that Marduk carries a scimitar ; "Human Sacrifice , "

pp . 42-43 .

30 . The theory that this figure represents Shamash finds

strong support in the fact that his name is written in the de
sign ; cf. Delaporte , Catalogue des cylindres cachets , I , No. 242 ;

and ,since he carries a mace and his multiple dress appears

identical in all cases , there can be no doubt be that the same
ing is intended . However , the name was only added to the seal
designs of the period ; therefore it is also possible that it
refers to either of the two bull - like creatures on the seal who
are holding the sun's standard between them . See Newell , p . 88 .

Nevertheless , the conception of Shamash punishing evildoers was

very prevalent at the time and must be taken into account ;
Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , p . 167 . Shamash was also closely
connected with legal administration and the temple of Shamash
had a law court established by Hammurabi .

31 . Curiously Frankfort , who is usually methodical

enough ,
in his evaluation arrives at this conclusion on the basis of his
,

identification and interpretation of only two seals . See Frank

fort , Cylinder Seals , p . 167 , and Pl . XXVIII c ; also A. Parrot ,
" Les fouilles de Tello et de Senkereh - Larsa , " Revue d'assyrio
Zogie orientale ( 1933 ) , xxx , 179-180 , where the proposal was
Chapter III , Notes 225

made by this scholar . On the former , the two demons are depict
ed along with the mace - carrying figure and a human figure pros
trated before an altar . He interprets these as demons of di
sease and the third figure , carrying the mace , as their master ,
the god of pestilence , Nergal . On the latter , there is a figure
with mace , scimitar , and two feline heads , trampling a man upon
a mountain . He concludes , on the basis of this unusual design
and its dedication to Nergal , that they are probably related
and that the multiple mace stands for Nergal and not Shamash .

Ward , " Human Sacrifice , " p . 42 , and later retaining

32.
the same position in Cylinders and Other Ancient Oriental Seals
in the collection of J. Pierpont Morgan (New York : Privately
Printed , 1909 ) , p . 93 . This will henceforth be cited as Ward
Morgan ; cf. also , Porada - Morgan , No. 379 , p. 46 .

33 . See above , p . 31 .

34 . This is Frankfort's designation of this deity which

has become conventional ; Cylinder Seals , pp . 157-171 , especially
p . 168 .

35 . Note that this identification , and particularly the

round cap , appears in Newell , Nos . 135 , 155 , 173-174 , 178-183 ,
188 , 191 , 193 , 200 , 203 , 205 , 207 , 212 , 214-219 , 221 , 224 , 227 ,
229 , 231-232 , 237 , 239-249 , 251 , 254 , 259 , 266 , 275 , 276 . Ad
ditional examples are available from other collections .

36 . See some examples in E. D. Van Buren , Clay Figurines

of Babylonia and Assyria (New Haven : Yale University Press ,
1930 ) , pp . 302-304 .

37 . During this period , the royal name often takes the

place of that of a god . Such examples as Sharru - ili , "king is
or Rim - Sinili , " Rim -Sin is my god , " are all well known .
my god , "

These appear with other examples dealing with the theory of di

vinity among Mesopotamian kings in Berend Gemser , De beteckenis
der persoonsnamen onze kennis van het leven en denken der
voor
oude Babyloniërs Assyriers
( Wageningen : H. Veenman
en and Zonen ,
1924 ) , pp . 28-29 , Sumerian names ; pp . 178-82 , Akkadian names .
This trend was also in vogue in the period of Ur , p . 182 . III
38 . See Ward - Morgan , No. 103 .

39 . See Newell , especially Nos . 114-16 , 119 , 122-23 , 126 ,

130 , 133 , 139 .
226 Chapter III , Notes

40 . This is the case on the majority of seals examined ;

however , there are exceptions . Ibid . , Nos . 115 , 130 , 133 , and
139 . Also note especially the examples of seals " alleged " to
be depicting " human sacrifice ."

41 . See Porada - Morgan , pp . 41-43 . The writer combines

under this heading both the worship of an enthroned king , and
the worship of an enthroned deity .
42 . See Delaporte , Catalogue des cylindres cachets , I,
477 B.

43 . H. de Genouillac , Ceramique cappadocienne Musée du

Louvre , Dept. des antiquités orientales . sér . archéologique ,
I ( Paris : E. Leroux , 1926 ) , Pl . A 6 ; A. T. Clay , Letters and
Transactions from Cappadocia , Babylonian Inscriptions in the
Collection of James B. Nies, IV (New Haven : Yale University

Press , 1927 ) , Pl . 81 d ; and Delaporte , Catalogue des cylindres

cachets , I , p . 39 . For an assessment of the comparative histori
cal developments in southern Mesopotamia and these northern re
gions , and the influence the south may have had on these Assyr
ian colonies , see L. L. Orlin , Assyri an Colonies in Cappadocia
( The Hague : Mouton , 1970 ) .

44 . cf. Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , pp . 168-169 ; espe

cially Moore , p . 68 ; and Porada - Morgan , pp . 40-41 .

45 . Porada - Morgan , p. 41 . See also Frankfort , Cylinder

Seals , p. 146 .

46 . Porada - Morgan , pp . 41-42 .

47 . Delaporte , Catalogue des cylindres cachets , II , NO .

12 , Pl . 70 .

48 . M. E. L. Mallowan , " Excavations at Brak and Chagar

10
Bazar , ' Iraq , IX ( 1947 ) , Part 3 , Seal B. 808 , 134 .
49 . Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , Pl . X b.

50 . See Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , pp . 40–50 ; Mallowan ,

" Excavation at Brak , " pp . 134 , 135 ; Porada - Morgan , pp . 50-62
and especially pp . 9-10 ; and Moore , p . 24 ; and E. Porada ,
Mesopotami an Art in Cylinder Seals of the Pierpont Morgan
Library ( 1947 ) , p . 28 .
Chapter III , Notes 227

51 . A designation coined by Frankfort and later widely

used as an identification for the primary design of the entire
Early Dynastic Period . In this style , the whole surface of the
seal is filled with an even and well - balanced pattern that shows
no break when the seal is rolled out more than once . The sub
ject is of less importance than the stylistic principle which is
designed to produce an aesthetically satisfying frieze . This
treatment is especially suitable for tall slender seals . See
Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , pp . 44-50 .
52 . Moore , p . 24 .

53 . See , for example , the seals cited and her evaluation

of these in Mesopotami an Art , p. 28 .

54 . Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , pp . 46 , 48-49 .

55 . The Sargonid Period by Frankfort is referred to as

" Akkadian Period " by Eisen in Moore , p . 24 , and Porada in
Porada - Morgan , pp . 131-132 , and as the " Sumero - Akkadian Period "
by von der Osten , in Newell , pp . 5-6 .

56 . Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , p. 93 .

57 . Ibid . , and also Legrain , " Gem - Cutters , ' pp . 274-276 .

58 . cf. Neweli , No. 153 , p. 28 .

59 . The latter is the position taken by von der Osten ,

ibid . , p . 155 , but his view that we have a corroboration on
this point from the excavations at Ur , where many sacrificed
attendants were found in the royal tomb , is highly questionable .

60 . C. J. Ball "Glimpses of Babylonian Religion , " Pro

,
ceedings of the Society of Biblical Archeology , XIV ( 1892 ) , 149 .

61 . C. L. Woolley , The Royal Cemetery : Ur Excavations , II

( London : Kegan , Paul , Trench and Co. Ltd. , 1934 ) , 272 ; and
Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , Pl . XXIII h, pp . 132-133 .

62 . Ibid . , p. 132 .

63 . See Legrain , Culture of the Babylonians , Nos . 166-167 ,

and Newell , pp . 89 , 153 .

64 . Miss Porada - Morgan , pp . 18-19 , refers to a

, in Porada
number of seals identification of this deity is unmis
where the
takable . cf. also Legrain , Culture of the Babylonians , Nos . 185 ,
228 Chapter III , Notes

191 and 266 ; Newell , pp . 154-157 ; Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , pp .

114-117 ; and Ward , Seal Cylinders , pp . 108-122 .

65. Ibid .; and Porada - Morgan , pp . 18-19 ; von der Osten

points out that the determination is based on whether or not
one accepts the theme presented as purely mythological or really
olic , and also that during the early part of this period
there is no clear differentiation between the attire of gods
and human beings . Cf. Newell , pp . 153-154 .

66 . This is the view held by Delaporte , Legrain , Ward , and

Eisen ; however , as previously
stated , one cannot base this on
any substantial evidence because of the lack of clear - cut dis
tinction in the type of dress used by human and divine function
aries .
67 . On this , there is general agreement , although Frank

fort that this is still not a

argues certainty during the Early
Dynastic Period . See his discussion in Cylinder Seals , pp . 59
60 ; however , von der Osten , Porada , and Ward subscribe to the
view that nudity is a general designation for human beings --es
pecially when they appear before a deity .

68 . Delaporte , Catalogue des cylindres orientaux , No.

12 , Pl . 70 , and Mallowan's commentary in " Excavations at Chagar

Bazar , " p. 134 .

69 . For a comprehensive discussion of the role of altars

on ancient Near Eastern Seals , see Ward , Seal Cylinders , pp .
360-67 ; also of benefit is von der Osten's discussion in Newell ,

pp . 116-119 , and von der Osten , Ancient Oriental Seals in the

Collection of Mrs. Agnes Baldwin Brett ( Chicago : The University
of Chicago Press , 1936 ) , pp . 38-39 . This work will henceforth
be cited as Baldwin Brett .
70 . Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , pp . 92-93 .

71 . Delaporte , Catalogue des cylindres cachets , II , A - 60 ,

and Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , p. 132 .

72 . These two are usually identified as Ea and Usmu by

Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , p. 133 , and G. Furlani
, Miscellanea

Orientalia Antonio Deime 2 de dicata ( Rome : Dott Giovanni Bardi ,

1932 ) , pp . 135-136 , who discusses the two - faced characteristic

of Usmu .
Chapter III , Notes 229

73 . Ibid .

74 . Note the commentaries by S. H. Hooke , The Origins of

Early Semitic Ritual ( London : Oxford University Press , 1938 ) ,
p. ll ; and especially H. Frankfort , "Gods and Myth on Sargonid
Seals , " Iraq , I ( 1934 ) , 21-24 . Texts referring to this event
are found in Thureau - Dangin , Rituels accadiens ( Paris : E. Leroux ,
1921 ) , and especiallypp . 146-148 where the procession from
Esagila to Marduk's grave is described ; cf. also , S. Langdon ,
The Epic of Creation ( Oxford : The Clarendon Press , 1923 ) , and
lines 20-28 , pp . 38-39 , where the killing of the boar is de
scribed .

An evil being whose symbol is a bird of prey occurs

75 .

upon the following seals : Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , Pls . XX e ,

and XXIII a , b , d , e , f . The relationship between this and the
birdman , which occurs on many of these seals , is also pointed
out by the same scholar on pp . 133-34 .

76 . Cf. S. Langdon , The Babylonian Epic of Creation ( Ox

ford : The Clarendon Press , 1923 ) , pp . 34-49 , and especially the

sections dealing with this part of the New Year ritual , lines
lines 44-46 , p . 43 .
24-25 , p . 39 , and
77 . This investigator refers not only to the seals in
which the criminal is pictured over the boar , but also those on
which just the Zu bird and the pig occur ; they depict , mytho
logically , the hostile powers which must be killed .
The Isin and Larsa Period follows that of Ur
78 . and III
is ca. 1950-1840 B.C. For an excellent investigation in
dated
to the organization and development of the commercial activities
of these colonies , see Orlin , Assyrian Colonies , especially pp .
45-158 . Also of importance is J. Lewy , " Some Aspects of Com
mercial Life in Asia Minor in the Nineteenth Pre - Christian Cen
tury , " JAOS , 78 ( 1958 ) , pp . 89-101 .
79 . Ward deals with this theory in a chapter on " The Bull
Altar " in his Seal Cylinders of Western Asia . René Dussaud's
evaluation can best be appreciated in his Prélydiens , Hittites
et Achéens ( Paris : Paul Geuthner , 1953 ) . See especially his
chapter on " Sécheresse et séismes , Fléaux de la Lydie . " G.
Contenau , " Le Glyptique Syro -Hittite , " and B. Meissner , Bei
träge zur altorientalischer Archäologie , pp . 112-115 .
230 Chapter III , Notes

80 . They are located in collections of the New York Metro

politan Museum and are depicted by Ward under the following num
bers : 965 , 966 , 968 , 970 , 973 , 974 , 977 , and 978 , and in Dela
porte , Catalogue des cylindres orientaux , No. AO 1522 ; Ward
Morgan , Nos . 967 , 968 , 971 , 972 , 975 , and 976 ; Declereg , No.
284 ; cf. also Legrain , " Gem - Cutters , " pp . 273-281 .
81 . Ward , Seal Cylinders , p. 307 .

82 . Ibid . , p . 308 . Aside from this seal with the peculiar

design shown by him , another with a similar appearance is to be
found in Delaporte , catalogue des cylindre orientaux , No. AO 1522 .

83 . See J. B. Pritchard , Ancient Near Eastern Pictures

( Princeton : Princeton University Press , 1954 ) , Pls . 51 : 168 , 5:10 ,
20:63 . These important historical and legal documents are ex
plained in F. X. Steinmetzer , Die babylonischen Kudurru als Ur
kunden form ( Leipzig : J. C. Henrichs , 1922 ) .
Although there are many more which do not show all the
84 .

details of this particular design , nevertheless , they are simi

lar in many respects . Cf. Seals , No. 98-706 , and also given in
Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , Pl . XLIII n , o ; cf. P. Ronzevalle ,
" Le cylindre Tyszkiewiez et études d'archéologie
, " Notes
orientale , 5 ( 1927 ) , pp . Delaporte , Catalogue des
169-97 ;
cylindres cachets , II , No. A. 115 ; and Frankfort , Cylinder Seals ,
Fig . 92 , p. 285 .

85 . See Dussaud , Prély diens , Hittites et Achéens , p. 93 .

86 . See Meissner , Beiträge zur altorientalischer Archäo

logie , especially pp . 21-24 ; and Contenau , La Glyptique Syro
Hittite , pp . 112-15 .

87 . P. Ronzevalle , " Le cylindre Tyszkiewicz , " Notes et

Études d'archéologie orientale ( 1927 ) , V , 177-179 .
88 . Dussaud , Prély diens , Hittites , et Achéens , pp . 93-95 .

89. The lance is the sacred Anatolian instrument for hu

man sacrifice . Ibid . , p . 94 .
90 . Dussaud , Prély diens , Hittites et Achéens , pp . 91-93 ,
100-104 .
Chapter III , Notes 231

91 . Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , p . 246 . Acceptance of this

position , relative to the Cappadocian Seals , implies also a re
jection of the basic method of interpretation outlined by him in
" Sargonid Seals , " p . 2 , also Ménant .

92 . See especially Legrain , Culture of the Babylonians ,

pp . 36 , 285 ; Porada - Morgan , pp . 107-109 ; and Frankfort , Cylinder
Seals , p . 247 .
93 . Ibid .

94 . Ibid . , p. 246 .

95 . Ward , Seal Cylinders , p. 307 .

96 . G. F. Moore , " The Image to Moloch , " Journal of Bibli

cal Literature , XVI ( 1909 ) , pp . 161-65 . He deals essentially
with the historical aspects of the problem attempting to draw
together the statements of Greek , Roman , and Jewish writers
which indicate the presence of this ritual in Jerusalem , Syria ,
and Carthage .

The problem at this point is not an attempt to iden

97 .
tify or what is referred to as " Moloch " in the old Testa
who

ment , or Carthaginian sources . These problems are clearly

brought into focus by such good monographs on the subject as R.
Charlier , " Les stèles puniques de Constantine et la question
des sacrifices dits ' Molchmor ' en relation avec l'expression
' BSRMBTM ' , " KARTAGO , I - IV ( 1950-53 ) , 3-48 ; Otto Eissfeldt , " Molk
als opferbegriff in Punischen und Hebräischen und das Ende des
Gottes Moloch , " Beiträge zur Religionsgeschichte des Altertums ,

Heft 3 ( 1935 ) , pp . 1-71 , and others which will be treated in

Chapter IX .

98 . Ward , Seal Cylinders , especially Seal No. 849 , pp . 279

80 ; Porada - Morgan , No. 894 , pp . 112-13 ; Newell , pp . 7-8 ; Legrain ,
The Culture of the Babylonians , No. 509 , p. 285 .

99 . Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , pp . 247-48 .

100 . Ibid . , p. 246 .

101 . See , for example : Speelers , Catalogue des Intailles et

Empreintes , No. 607 ; Dussaud , Prély diens , Hittites et Achéens ,
Figs . No. 10 , 11 , pp . 93 , 95 ; and Frankfort , Cylinder Seals ,
Pl . XLIII n, O.
232 Chapter III , Notes

102 . Legrain , Cultures of the Babylonians , pp . 28-33 ;

Newell , p . 6 ; and Porada - Morgan , pp . 39-41 . Frankfort , Cylinder
Seals , pp . 158-79 .
103 . Delaporte , Catalogue des cylindres cachets , I, No.
871 ; and Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , Pl . XL 0.

104 . Dussaud , Prély diens , Hittites et Achéens , Fig . Nos .

10 , 11 , pp . 93 , 95 ; and Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , Pl . XLIII ,
n , O.

105 . See examples given by Porada - Morgan , pp . 51-54 ; and

Newell , p. 88 .

106 . Frankfort , Cylinder Seals , p. 246 , and also n . 108 .

107 . A prime example is the French excavations of Ras

Shamra and Byblos , the results of which have been published
piecemeal for decades -- almost exclusively by French scholars .
However , a very worthy attempt to collect and make a detailed
presentation of the results of work on certain sites was made
by H. W. Eliot , Sr. in Excavations in Mesopotamia and Western
Iran ( Cambridge , Mass .: Harvard University Press , 1950 ) ; it is
unfortunate that this applauded enterprise ended after the an
alysis of only six sites , because of the untimely passing of its
author .

108 . It is important at this early stage that such a differ

entiation be made . During this and earlier periods , cultural
developments in the North and the South were independent of each
other , and only at a later era do we find real evidence of cul
tural dependence and even a symbiosis . See Ann Perkins ed . , com
parative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia , Studies in Oriental
Civilization , No. 25 ( Chicago : The University of Chicago Press ,
1949 ) , pp . 198-200 . This work will be henceforth cited as CAEM .

Miss Perkins clearly comes to grips with the issue of cultural

differences , and is correct in her conclusions . In this same
vein , see also Abdul Jalil Jawad , The Advent of the Era of Town
ships in Northern Mesopotami a ( Leiden : E. J. Brill , 1965 ) , pp .
72-77 , and especially Robert M. Adams , Level and Trend in Early
Sumerian Civilization ( unpublished Ph.D. dissertation , Univer
sity of Chicago , 1956 ) . In discussing cultural developments in
early Mesopotamia , therefore , there are always two aspects : The
relation of archaeological material from north and south ; and
Chapter III , Notes 233

the relation of either region or both to peripheral areas . Var

ious chronologies are used for the ancient Near East , but this
writer finds that the data compiled in COWA is the most widely
accepted . See , for the pertinent data relative to Mesopotam
ian chronology , Edith Porada's chapter on " The Relative
Chronology of Mesopotamia : Seals and Trade , " Part I (6000
1600 B.C. ) .
 NOTES

CHAPTER IV

1. This period or consistently divided

" phase " has been
into Early Dynastic I, , II III
, and IV , extending from ca. 3000
to 2400 B.C. cf. COWA , pp . 75–76 , especially E. Porada's
chapter on " The Relative Chronology of Mesopotamia : Seals and
Trade , " Part I ( 6000-1600 B.C. ) . This entire monograph deals
with an analysis of the different schools of thought relative
to the dating of artifacts on which various chronologies are
based and drawing the pertinent conclusions therefrom .

2. Dr. Heinrich Lenzen has made a number of important ob

servations dealing with places of sacrifice which he has called
" Opferstätten , " according to the designation given them by the
excavators of Uruk - Warka . The correct interpretation of these
places emerged from the study of archaeological results of this
site . For a more detailed study of the problem , along with com
parisons and analysis of other sites , see the following in Vor
läufiger Bericht über die ... Ausgrabungen in Uruk - Warka , Ernst
Heinrich , UVB , V ( 1934 ) , p . 9 ; VI ( 1935 ) , pp . 9-12 , Pl . 4 ; IX
( 1938 ) , pp . 20-22 , Pls . 15 , 16 : Heinrich Lenzen , UVB , VIII
( 1937 ) , pp . 11-18 , Pls . 3-18 , 34 , 35a , 36a , b , 37 ; IX ( 1938 ) , pp .
11-16 , Pls . 2 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 20 , 21 , 25 ; X ( 1939 ) , p . 14 , Pl . 19 ;
XI ( 1940 ) , pp . 6-7 , 17 , Pls . 6 , 12 , 17 ; and especially E.
11
Douglas Van Buren , " Places of Sacrifice ( ' Opferstätten ' ) , Iraq ,

XIV - XV ( 1952-53 ) , pp . 76-92 , who summarizes some of the find

ings of Lenzen , Heinrich , Seaton Lloyd , Woolley and Delougaz .
3. Ibid . See also H. Frankfort , " The Last Pre - dynastic
Period in Babylonia , " CAH , Vol . I, Part 2, pp . 82-83 .

4. This is the key element in the studies made by Lenzen .

See , for example , UVB , VIII ( 1937 ) , pp . 11-12 , and Van Buren ,
" Places of Sacrifice , " pp . 77-78 .

235
236 Chapter IV , Notes

5. Ibid
pp . 91-92 .
. , This is true not only of Mesopo
tamia , but also other areas in the Near East . See , for exam
ple , G. E. Wright , Shechem : The Biography of a Biblical City
(New York : McGraw - Hill Book Company , 1965 ) , especially pp .
80-122 , who traces archaeologically the history of the sacred
area outside the temple complex which continued in operation
from the earliest settlement through to the Iron Age ; H. G.
May , Material Remains of the Megiddo Cult ( Chicago : Univer
sity of Chicago Press , 1935 ) , pp . 4-42 . [ The same pattern is
traced at Megiddo .) Other examples can be cited .
6. By making with others of a similar struc
comparisons
ture , the conclusion is that the interior
of the trough was re
plastered with a clay slip one to one and
one - half centimeters

thick ; hence , certain troughs give the appearance of a series

of troughs one within another . See May , Material Remains of
the Megiddo Cult , p . 78 . In many cases , these troughlike de
pressions were walled with mud bricks before the interior coat
ing was applied .
7. From Uruk III
, into the succeeding Early Dynastic

Period the trough

, was gradually discontinued , and in its place ,
a new floor of clay plaster in the form of a hollow dish or pan
was laid in an enclosure . The maximum measurement was 1.10
meters , and the minimum about 80 centimeters . Lenzen , UVB ,
VIII ( 1937 ) , pp . 12-13 , Pls . 15 , 35a , 36a , b . The pan was pre
pared for use just as the trough . Evidence of this progression
appears in the Ur III Period at the Eanna precinct . See also
Van Buren , " Places of Sacrifice , " pp . 80-82 .

8. The two principal sites where this phenomenon can ac

curately be traced through successive strata are Uruk and Ur .
9. Van Buren , " Places of Sacrifice , " pp . 91-92 .

10 . was the generally

This accepted view of similar struc
tures .
Note especially Dr. E. Jordan's misconstrued interpre
tation of this area in his excavations at Uruk III in 1929-30 .
See UVB , II ( 1931 ) , pp . 18 , 24-25 , and Lenzen's observations in
UVB , VIII ( 1937 ) , pp . 11-12 . It is quite natural , then , that
earlier , this type of arrangement was interpreted as " incinera
tion graves . " Robert Kildewey , " Die altbabylonischen Gräber in
Chapter IV , Notes 237

Surghul und El Hibba , " Zeitschrift für Assyriologie , I - II

( 1887 ) , pp . 403–430 .

11 . See Richard Ellis , Foundation Deposits in Ancient

Mesopotamia (New Haven : Yale University Press , 1968 ) , p . 35 ,
and E. Douglas Van Buren , Foundation Figurines and offerings
( Berlin : Hans Schoetz and Co. , 1931 ) , pp . 6-10 .

12 . There are many questions about the Royal Cemetery

which remain unanswered . Scholars cannot agree on an acceptable
date in the centuries between 2600 and 2400 B.C. , but the con
sensus has placed it in Early Dynastic IIIa or IIIb . See COWA ,
pp . 178-179 .

For detailed study of the Royal Tombs , see C. L.

13 .
Woolley Ur Excavations : The Royal Cemetery , Vol .
, ( London and II
Philadelphia : Kegan , Paul Trench and Co. Ltd. , 1934 ) . Ur Exca
vations : The Early Periods , Vol . IV ( Philadelphia : The British
Museum and The Museum of the University of Pennsylvania , 1955 ) ,
especially pp . 34-40 ; Excavations at Ur ( London : Ernest Benn
Limited , 1955 ) , pp . 52-90 ; and Shirley Glubok , ed . , Discovering
The Royal Tombs at Ur ( London : Macmillan Company , Collier -Mac
millan Ltd. , 1969 ) . This latter is an abridgment and adapta
tion of Woolley's Ur Excavations : The Royal Cemetery .

14 .
Professor Woolley's reports
have been restudied , and
reinterpreted by countless scholars , but the best source for
understanding this scene is still his own published report .
Woolley , Ur Excavations : The Royal Cemetery , Text , Vol . II ,
and Excavations at Ur .

15 . For an of the view that these burials

elaboration
represent the burial of deified kings , see C. J. Gadd , " The
Cities of Babylonia , " CAH , Vol . I , Part 2 , pp . 137-138 , along

with Woolley , Excavations at Ur , pp . 80-83 .

16 . See especially the following : S. A. Pallis , Chronol
ogy of the Shub - ad Culture ( Copenhagen : Pove Branner , 1941 ) ;
Van Buren , " Places of Sacrifice , " especially pp . 76-78 ; F. M.

Th . Böhl , " Das bei den alten Sumerern , " zeit

Menschenopfer
schrift für Assyriologie , 39 ( 1930 ) , pp . 83-89 ; Sidney
Smith , " A Babylonian Fertility - Cult , " Journal of the Royal
238 Chapter IV , Notes

Asiatic Society ( 1928 ) , pp . 849-875 ; Wooley , Excavations at Ur ,

especially pp . 78-79 , where he outlines the various objections
to his interpretation of the evidence ; H. Frankfort , Sepulchre
of the Third Millennium B.C. from Tez2 Asmar and Khafajah ( Chi
cago : University of Chicago Press , 1939 ) , pp . 43-48 ; and
Frankfort , " Gods and Myths on Sargonid Seals , " Iraq , I ( 1934 ) ,
pp . 2-29 . Other monographs also treat this problem partially ,
but usually in support of one or another of the positions
taken by the previously cited scholars .
17 . The initial proponent of this view , which stresses a
substitutionary human sacrificial ritual , is Sidney Smith in
" A Babylonian Fertility Cult . " His theory , which is widely ac
cepted , was based excellent work of Svend Aage Palis ,
on the
The Babylonian Akîtu Festival . Later , Henri Frankfort , in
" Sargonid Seals " used the evidence of glyptic art in support
,
of this view . He argued that this custom went back to predynas
tic times , and that the victims were connected with the god of
fertility . In this case , a special circumstance such as famine
or the founding of a temple would be the occasion for such a
mass of victims . Ebeling , in Tod und Leben , ll , 20-22 , 36 , has
suggested that the name of the male actor could very well be
translated " Warrior of the Nether World , " a title perfectly in
keeping wit certain myths which may have influenced the ritual
of the New Year festival in later times when the king is iden
tified with the warrior Ninurta . Böhl identifies this as a
union between Ninurta and Bau , hence , the prevalence of the
feasting scene at this important ritual . See F. M. Th . Böhl ,
" Das Menschenopfer bei den alten Sumerern ," Zeitschrift für
Assyriologie , N.F. 5-6 ( 1921-1931 ) , pp . 83-86 ; W. H. Ward , The
Seal Cylinders of Western Asia , No. 684 ; H. Frankfort , Cylinder
Seals , pp . 10-12 ; E. Ebeling , " Talim , " Archiv für Orient
forschung , 5 ( 1931 ) , p . 219 . This theory , unfortunately , is
built around the meaning of the caduceus which , according to
Frankfort , always represents the god Ningizzida , a view not gen
erally accepted among scholars . Only one statement refers to
this god as a " vegetation deity " for ritual purposes . Even
though Cylinder B , 11-13 , does state that " Gudea rejoiced and
provided drink and food , " the matter ends there ; nowhere does
it state , or even imply , that a ritual slaughter follows .
 1Notes Chapter IV , Notes 239

18 . Cf. H. Frankfort , Kingship and the Gods ( Chicago :

;tions University of Chicago Press , 1948 ) , pp . 313-333 .
chs 19
. The theory revolves around the hieros gamos which ap
Chi

(
extremely early period
to

at
an
have been celebrated

in
pears
culture
One of the earliest passages cited in

is
Mesopotamian

.
, 34

Inscription
in which the Sumerian EN.SI of Lagash
),

the Gudea
lly

relates how he sent wedding gifts

to
Shirpurla the old and
(

Bau's festival on New Year's day The gifts men

at

new temple

.
tioned are almost identical with those referred to on Statue

G
- Dangin sumer

F.
sa 10:19 and 8:11 see von Thureau Die
3
5

B
:

-
;

,
akkadischen Königsinschriften Leipzig
!

ischen und

J.
C.
D

:
ac Hinrichs Pallis Babylonian Akîtu Fes
A.

1907 and The

s
,

,
"
)

tival Det Kongelige danske videnskabernes Selskab Vol XII

,
"

.
1926
p

6
,
(

20 Evidence of this was first noted by Radau when he

.

las published text which contained the official calendar series

a

a
(
upon the system of months which was in in
LE f

of

months based use

)

city of Ur see Radau Early Babylonian History Down

H.

to
the
;

End of the Fourth Dynasty of

Ur

H.
the London Frowe 1900

,
(

)
:

One theoretically
S

arrives
at

299 the same conclusion when

p

.
.

Landsberger Der kultische Kalender

is

this compared with

B.

Babylonier Assyrer Hälfte Leipzig Heinrichs

J.
C.
der und
,
I,

,
(

1915 pp 65-67 George Reisner Tempelurkunden aus Telloh

,

,
"

"
)

.
.

Königliche Berlin Mittheilungen aus den oriental

zu

Museum
,

ischen Sammlungen Heft XVI 1901 No. 276 also mentions

,
(
,

)
.

sacrificial gift consisting dates for the

of
ri
da
aš
m

a
-
,
-
-

"

"
[
]

Festival dated itu

ki

Akîtu with the addition Šag4 ŠEŠI

ti
a

-
-
-
Ur

Another text dated in the same way by

in

unuki
V.
,
"

,
"
.

Délégation Memoirs publiés sous direction

en

Scheil
la

Perse
,

Textes elamites sémitiques

de

Morgan Paris
de

Serie
J.

4
,
x,

(
-

Ministere l'Instruction publique arts 1908

et
de

des Beaux
-

,
)

-ki i.e. stating that

Ur
ši
ki
22

ad
ti

mentions
p

?
š
,

,
-
-

)
(

)
.

the sacrificial gifts were presented royal palace

in

the
,

gal ta ba an tu
e
-

-
-
-

Pallis Akîtu Festival

19

21 The
p
.

,
"

"

22 See for example Landsberger Der kultische Kalender

.

pp 72-73 passage mentions list of sacrifices which are

A

a
.
.

to offered at the akîti festival

in

at
be

the 6th month Ur

,
"

"

and other cities

to

la

Referred are the Gu temple the temple

-

,
.
240 Chapter IV , Notes

to Urr - dsu - dsin, the Niu - Sun temple , the Šubaru temple , temples

dam
to ' Asaru - lu - dug , and to ( Nin - It should be pointed

an

na
.
-

-
out here that while this is seen as an early reference to an

,
akîti temple conversely also interpreted much later

it

as
is
,

.
Pallis argues that akîti

pp
The Akîtu Festival 18-19
s

,
"

"
.

.
mean akîti temple
in

to to
these passages cannot

be
shown Much

it .
later there frequent reference
is bît akîtu but would

,
"

"
be an error to have this influence our views of the Sumerian
Period Akiti Fest
is
This view also shared by Falkenstein
.

,
"
Akiti Festschrift Johannes Friedrich zum

65
und Festhaus
,
"

.
Geburtstag Heidelberg Carl Winter Universitätsverlag 1959

,
(

)
:

pp 147-149
.
.

23 Ibid The tombs in this case becoming the house of

.

"
sacrifice
"
.

24 These late scenes depict the remarkable procession

.

bît
to

akîtu Babylon complete with chariots men

in

the
"

"

,
dressed in robes and deities similar procession is de
A
,

scribed at Ishtar's festival at Uruk in relation to her descent

to the nether world See Thureau Dangin Rituels Akkadiens
-

-
.

Paris Leroux 1921

E.

No. 6463 Obv 12-5 and 7439 Rev.

,

,
(

)
:

2:12 pp 114-115
,

.
.

25 From Sargon's records apparent that from

seems it
.

Esagila bît akîtu whence

the king takes Marduk and Nabu
to
"

"

the procession again returns Esagila and sacrifices are made

to

there Sacrifices are mentioned in the Nabonidus Annals 6-7 II

,
.

ll 12 20-21 and 23-25 Friedrich Delitzsch Beiträge zur

-
,

,
"
.

Erklärung der babylonisch assyrischen Brieflitteratur Bei

-

,
"

träge zur Assyriologie und semitischen Sprachwissenschaft

,

The great sacrifice in this regard is

pp

1890 214-215
,

.
(

Die babylonischen Königsinschriften

in

Langdon
C. S.

mentioned
,

Leipzig Hinrichs
J.

1912 No.
9
,
,

.
(

26 The phrase Aššur's isinnu ki rêti has been rendered by

.

Pallis banquet festival

as

with food 173 and connected

p
,

,
"

"

offerings Mit
by

Sidney Smith The Sidney Smith Tablet

in

,
"

"

teilungen der Deutschen Orient Gesellschaft zu Berlin XXXIII

,
-

suggest that the akîtu

to

188 19 Other references seem

p

.
,
(

"
)

festival was concluded by great sacrificial meal of which

a
,
"

all the gods the king the priest and the people partook See
,

also Pallis The Akîtu Festival 126

p
,

.
Chapter IV , Notes 241

27 . According to Pallis , ibid ., pp . 87-88 , Zarpanitum's

chapel is always referred to as " bî tu , " and in VAT 9555 Obv .
20 , persons are standing before " [bâb ] Š a e - sag - ila " in
some
side of which Marduk lies dead , and by his side , mourning his
death a goddess lingers . But Pallis has argued that the ex
pression " [bâb ] Š a e - sag - ila , " might refer to either the door
in the interior of Esagila leading to the sepulchral chamber
or to a gate leading out of it to Marduk's grave . See ibid . ,
pp . 240-241 .

This is not stated outright in Pallis , but his argu

28 .

ment is intended to lead toward this conclusion . It is from

this point that Sidney Smith begins to reconstruct the important
happenings inside the bît akîtu , which leads to his quest for
an underground gigunnu , the sacred nuptial chamber .

29 . This should notto imply that late sources

be taken
cannot be utilized for illumination of earlier periods . The
problem is the utilization of certain references which have no
bearing on the ritual in question , for the sole purpose of sup
porting a theory . This leads eventually to a lack of confidence
in the whole structure .
30 . See especially Gudea Stat G.3 : 5-6 : 19 ; E.5 : 1-7 ; and
B.8 : 11 , VAT , Vol . IV .

31 . Clearly , the constant movement of peoples over this

area , migrations into and out of the region , the almost two
millenniums between the late Early Dynastic Period and that
from which the majority of these texts originate , must have had
a decided effect on many rituals . , as is often assumed , the If
fixation of Sumerian tradition was effected during this general
period , ( S. N. Kramer , The Sumerians ( Chicago : The University
of Chicago Press , 1963 ) , pp . 169-199 ) , should not a clearer
pattern of transition be traceable ?

32 . Frankfort later modified his earlier position in sup

port of Sidney Smith . Using the name " Meskalamdug , " usually
cited as the name of the king , he argued that , since this was
also found in it represented a role played
a tomb of a woman ,
in the ritual rather than a personal name . As such ,
performance
since in a sacred marriage there are no indications that the
king was replaced by a substitute or killed , the evidence points
242 Chapter IV , Notes

to the only indications of a substitute king being killed

known ,
i.e. , in of emergency . He prefers to see in the " death
cases
pits " atUr the burial of substitute kings together with their
ladies of the court and their servants as described in texts
dealing with Damqi . See H. Frankfort , Kingship and the Gods
( Chicago : The University of Chicago Press , 1948 ) , pp . 400-401 ,
and n . 12 .

33 . C. L. Woolley , Excavations at Ur , p . 89 .

34 . A very good discussion on the similarities between

these and their historical importance is given by D. P. Hansen ,

" New Votive Plaques from Nippur , " JNES , ( 1963 ) , pp . 145-166 .
35 . See Smith , " The Babylonian Fertility Cult , " p. 866 ,
and especially C. J. Gadd , " The Cities of Babylonia , " CAH , Vol .
I , Part 2, pp . 138-139 , who also contends that the mere appear
ance of two - wheeled riding chariots on the plaques may have no
bearing whatever on the picture of charging four -wheel wagons
on the standard . Furthermore , he argues , the feasting scene
appearing on all too commonplace to bear any special inter
is
pretation . It should also be emphasized that several of those
found at Lagash have only religious emblems and lack the drink
ing scene . Some of these observations are also borne out by
Hansen , " New Votive Plaques from Nippur , " pp . 165-166 .

Hansen's study and comparisons leave no doubt that all

36 .

these can be dated to the Early Dynastic Period . However , those

at Nippur Lagash and Ur - Nanshe were uncovered among various
foundation deposits of the temples in these cities . Not only
were the definitely religious , even the objects
environments
portrayed aside from the banqueting scene which only appears
,

on some , convey a very striking religious impression . Hansen ,

" Votive Plaques , " pp . 144-151 . See also Gadd , " The Cities of
Babylonia , " p . 139 .
37 . See Woolley , Excavations at Ur , pp . 79-80 .

38 . Woolley argues
that " Here we have the names of kings ,
and the fact that do not appear in the Sumerian king lists
they
is only to be expected . The king lists enumerate only those ru
lers whose authority was believed to have extended over the
whole country ; this was the case of the kings of the First Dy
nasty of Ur . " Ibid . , p. 80 .
Chapter IV , Notes 243

39 . Ibid .

40 . A. L. Oppenheim , " The Sumerian King List , " ANET , p.

265 . For a critical evaluation of the entire text material ,
style , and the historical problems
involved see T. Jacobsen ,
,

The Sumerian King List ( Chicago : University of Chicago Press ,

1939 ) .

41 . It is study of this document ,

often stated that , by a
one can discern its construction . ( 1 )
a dual purpose behind
The land was an entity made up of a number of principal cities ;
and ( 2 ) only one of these , at one time , was supreme over the
others . Both are true to a degree ; however , the record is
farther from the truth , since history shows that many of these
kings were reigning in different cities at the same time , not
caring or daring to challenge each other for sovereignty . The
great majority of Sumerian kings are well known from other
sources ; therefore , those whose tombs are represented could be
among them , without being on the king list . The king list is
rather compact , being conveyed by several copies of a single
compilation . The magnitude of the cemetery , with its thousands
of graves , would indicate use for quite an extended period . If
the " royal " tombs are those of certain kings of the city , should
not one expect to find reference to even one of them ? Other
kings of Ur are mentioned , but not of those entombed .

42 . E. Sollberger , " Notes on the Early Inscriptions from

Ur and el- ' Obed , "
Iraq , 22 ( 1960 ) , pp . 69-71 .
43 . Legrain's theory is based on a comparison with Woolley ,
Ur Excavations , II , p. 341 , No. 63 .

This seems clear when U.E.

44 . , p . 341 , No. 63 is com II
pared with U.E. II
, p . 113 , No. 318 and U.E. , p . 340 , No. II
54 . e L. Legrain , Ur Excavations : Seal Cylinders ( Oxford :

The University Press , 1951 ) , pp . 12 , 26 ; also Sollberger ,

" Early Inscriptions , " pp . 65-69 .
45 . The particular seal here referred to is 0.13679 . His
changes , of course , are based on the reading of the same on
U, E. III
, p . 44 , No. 512 . See Sollberger , " Early Inscriptions , "
pp . 81-82 .
244 Chapter IV , Notes

46 . This is in conjunction with Seal 010939 . See I. J.

Gelb , Materials for the Assyrian Dictionary , II
, pp . 12 , 210

[ this has not been published thus far ) and Sollberger , " Early
Inscriptions , " pp . 71 , 79 .

47 . If they all belong to the same individual and in the

same should this
grave , why name be correlated with the others
instead of those with which it was found ?

48 . Both Woolley and W. W. Hallo to dis

have attempted
tinguish the Mes -kalam - du [ g ] of grave PG / 755 " king "
from the
Mes- kalam - du [ g ] of PG 1054 . But there is more objective proof
to the contrary . Therefore it seems reasonable and even simpler
to regard them as one and the same person . of course , this dif
ferentiation has to be made , if
the theory of Royal burials was
to be maintained . Even Hallo's attempt at identifying Nin - banda ,
Mes - kalam - du [ g ] ' s " queen , " with the Nin - banda who appears as the
wife of Mes - ane - pada , is not too convincing . See Woolley , Ur
Excavations , II
, p . 340 , No. 55 , in his erratum , and w . W. Hallo ,

" Essays in Memory of E. A. Speiser , " American Oriental Series ,

XLIII ( 1968 ) , pp . 13 , 31 . W. Nagel cautiously suggests that
the seal might be that of a nugi [ g ] of A - ane - pada and even
Sollberger if lines 2 and 3 of the inscription should
wonders
not be read simply as [ ...
nin ) -b anda ni [ n ] [dam més - an ) -né - på - da .
In this way he reasons that line 1 could be the owner's name , a
member of the queen's household , his status (most likely IR )
being prefixed by her name . All this , however , is only conjec
ture . Sollberger , " Early Inscriptions , 10 p . 82 .
49 . See Woolley , Excavations at Ur , pp . 80-81 .

50 . This argument , however , is not conclusive . It could

equally be reasoned , as Jacobsen does , that the phrase "when
kingship was lowered from heaven , " is intended to show merely
the continuation of rule by the same cities on the earth in the
post - deluge world after the lacunae which divides the " ante
diluvian " from the " post -diluvian . " Consequently , no concept
of divinity need be implied here . See Jacobsen , The Sumerian
King List , pp . 58-60 .

51 . Woolley , Excavations at Ur , p. 81 .

52 . This argument can possibly be made for certain kings

of a later period , a factor which will be adequately explored
Chapter IV , Notes 245

below , but eventhis concept of deification can only be used in

a qualified for at no time in Mesopotamian history do we
way ,

have the type of deification observed in Egyptian history . In

anticipation of this discussion on deification , it should be
remembered that the key document often used in support of this
argument is the "Hymn to Ishtar . " The king , however , apparently
only assumes the role of the deity in the act of his marriage
with the goddess and only in this annual function . As will be
pointed out later , certain kings who used the divine determina
tive in no way or at no time assumed divine prerogatives . A
full treatment of this will be made in the evaluation of written
evidence .

53 . This anyone would readily admit , but there are too

many questions which cannot be answered by the supposition of
divine status , merely because these burials are accompanied by
a retinue of ministrants . To insist that they were divine may
be stretching the point too far . There has not been much sup
port for this aspect of the " Royal " theory . See Gadd , " The
Cities of Babylonia , " p . 137 .
54 . Evidence of this fact with adequate documentation will
be presented in future chapters . One can justifiably reason ,
however , that in Sumer there can be variations .
55 . Cf. S. N. Kramer , The Sumeri ans , pp . 10-14 .

56 . From the reports of the Ur III tombs , and comparison

with others , it would appear that this is what Woolley located
with the discovery of the " Mausoleum " complex ; however , as will
be indicated later after the Ur III Period (which follows Early
,
Dynastic III ) , there is no evidence of a continuation of this
ritual .

57 . Woolley , Excavations at Ur , pp . 80-82 , 89-90 .

58 . The strata where these were discovered have been as
signed to Early Dynastic I , ca. 2900-2750 B.C. See COWA , pp .
75-76 , 161-615 . It is indeed unfortunate that Louis Charles
Watelin's recording of this early phase of this site is poor ;
nevertheless , certain important dates are clearly set forth
in his report , Excavations at Kish , Vol . IV ( Paris : Paul
Geuthner , 1925-1930 ) , xx , pp . 17-24 . See also article on the
246 Chapter IV , Notes

" Y - city and the Tombs ,"Journal Asiatique , Vol . CCXV ( 1929 ) ,
pp . 103-116 ; and especially Excavations at Kish , Vol . IV ( Paris :
Paul Geuthner , 1931 ) .

59 . Tomb Nos . 237 and 357 each had one four - wheeled wagon ,
No. 529 contained one wagonand three chariots . The four
wheeled vehicles are referred to as either chariots or wagons ,
depending on the scholar . Ibid . , pp . 29-30 , and v . G. Childe ,
New Light on the Most Ancient East (New York : Frederick Praeger ,

1968 ) , pp . 148-153 .

Ibid . , p . 17 ; also " Objects de Fouilles , Kish , " Revue

60 .

des Arts Asiatiques , VI ( 1929-1930 ) , pp . 148-150 , " Rapport sur

les Fouilles de Kish , " Journal Asiatique , Vol . CCXV ( 1929 ) , pp .
138-139 , where he also records the finding of a model chariot .
For a synthesis of this find , see also Elliot , Excavations in
Mesopotamia , p . 22 .

61 . This is the view of the excavator and many have since

agreed with this conclusion . See C. L. Watelin , L'Anthropolo
gie , Vol . 2 ( 1931 ) , pp . 265-267 .
62 . This is set out in detail in COWA , pp . 163-165 .

63 . The conclusion that Cemetery A at Kish covered a short

period of time was suggested by Delougaz in his book on pottery
from the Diyala region , however , the sequence of graves is ill
defined at Kish and not very well represented either at Khafajah
or other excavated sites in the Diyala region . See P. Delougaz ,
Pottery from the Diyala Region , Oriental Institute Publication
LXIII ( Chicago : University of Chicago Press , 1952 ) , especially
p . 144 .

P. Delougaz , Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorder

64 .
asiatische Archäologie , 24 ( 1966 ) , pp . 256-258 .
65 . P. R. S. Moorey , " Cemetery A at Kish : Grave Groups and
Chronology , " Iraq , 31-32 ( 1969 ) , pp . 86-104 . 1

66 . COWA , pp . 179-180 .

67 . Moorey , "Cemetery A at Kish , " pp . 103-104 .

68 . Woolley , Excavations at Ur , p . 150 . This is the

largest of the three and is built with bricks bearing the stamp
of Shulgi . The last of the three was constructed by Shulgi's
son , Amar - sin .
Chapter IV , Notes 247

69 . Ibid . , pp . " The Cities of Babylon

156-157 ; and Gadd ,
ia , " pp . 139-140 . It was that the tombs , though de
observed
signed as part of a plan which was to be completed later , were
the raison d'être of the building , and were constructed first
together with a superstructure , some of which was purely tem
porary , even though parts were later included in the overall
plan of the mausoleum .

70 . A theory which he finds amply supported in a text

published by Professor Langdon in "Babylonian Penitential
Psalms , " Oxford Edition of Cunei form Texts , Vol . VI ( 1921 ) , p.

51 , 1. 15 - p. where a worshipper describing a sacri

56 , 1. 19 ,
fice he has offered , says , " seven kinds of sweet oil ... have I
burnt upon seven fires . " Remains of similar altars were found
in Room 8 and also in the Bur - Sin building .

71 . The tombs had been disturbed by robbers who had done

a thorough job rummaging through the artifacts and apparently
removed all that was valuable , except for the fragments of clay
pots and the human remains . Nothing more could be gleaned from
these tombs . Gadd , " Cities of Babylonia , " p . 156 , and Woolley ,
Ur Excavations , II , pp . 101-102 .

72 . The conclusions drawn , therefore , must of necessity

be based on three factors : (1) the type of construction rela
tive to the buildings above , ( 2 ) the few artifacts gathered in
the three buildings , and ( 3 ) the history of Ur during this per
iod based on study of other sources .

73 . It has long been proposed that the Third Dynasty kings

were deified in their lifetime , and probably worshipped as gods
after death . The tomb , according to Woolley , could have been
intended to receive the dead king's body and a permanent build
ing erected for the perpetuation of his cult . It may even be
conceived , as Woolley argues , as the residence of a deity whose
human origin could not be forgotten anymore than when he was
alive earth his divine character could be overlooked , "
on
Woolley Excavations at Ur , p . 158 ; however , aside from the
,
possible implication drawn from the artifacts and type of con
struction in the Shulgi and Bur - Sin buildings , there is simply
nothing connected with the tombs which can lead to the conclu
sion that those buried were deified kings .
248 Chapter IV , Notes

74 . The Susa tombs , two in number , are also dated to the

Early Dynastic Period . cited previously be
They have not been
cause no evidence of unnatural burial is found in them . Their
only resemblance with this group is the similar vault - like con
struction and two chariots or ox - drawn carts , and the remains
of the one individual who is identified as the driver . They are
in such a poor state of preservation that no conclusion on the
nature or time of death can be drawn . Evidence on these tombs
was located by a French Expedition , and reports of this and oth
er discoveries , with appropriate analysis , can be found espe
cially in the following sources : J. E. Gautier and G. Lampre ,
" Fouilles de Moussain , " France , Delegation en Perse : Memoires

recherches archéologiques , Vol . VIII ( 1937 ) , pp . 59-157 ; L.

Le Breton , " The Early Periods at Susa : Mesopotamian Relations , "
Iraq , XIX ( 1957 ) , pp . 79-124 , especially pp . 122-123 ; and v .
Gordon Childe , New Light on the Most Ancient East ( London : Rout
ledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. , 1952 ) , pp . 136-147 ; " The First Wagons

and Carts -- From Tigris to the Severn , " Proceedings of the Pre
historic Society ( 1951 ) , pp . 177-183 .
75 . The dating of the Ur Tombs as " Pre - dynastic " has been
challenged by certain scholars , foremost among whom is S. Pallis .
It is argued that , since inscriptions dating from the time of
A - anni - padda , one of the first kings of the Early Dynasty of Ur ,
have been uncovered , and they can be synchronized with scanty
written material from Al - ' Ubaid , the tombs may properly belong
to the First
Dynasty , and should not be classified completely
as Pre - Dynastic . The considerable numbers of seals and pottery
which have been uncovered from the graves are entirely
Shub -ad
related to those found at Al - ' Ubaidand if a synchronism can
,

be made between this and the Early Dynasties of Ur , then the

tombs should be classified accordingly . See s . Pallis , Chronol
ogy of the Shub - ad Culture ( Copenhagen : Pove Branner , 1941 ) ; H.
R. Hall and c . L. Woolley , Ur Excavations : Al - ' Ubaid , Vol . I
( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 1927 ) ; and C. J. Gadd , " The
Cities of Babylonia , " pp . 134-141 . What is important for the
ultimate purpose of this paper , is the fact that the tombs do
occur during the earliest period of Mesopotamian history , when
the cultured Sumerians are in power .

76 . See above , pp . 45-46 .

Chapter IV , Notes 249

77 . Of course Woolley's early date of 1910 B.C. for Rim

Sin's defeat by Hammurabi is extremely high , using as he does
the high chronology . Scholars have long since revised this and
most now adhere to a low chronology which places the old Baby
lonian Period ca. 1792-1600 B.C. and Hammurabi's reign ca. 1792
1750 B.C. See COWA , pp . 178-179 . Professor Albright's dating
is even later .

78 . c . L. Woolley , " Excavations at Ur , " Pls . XLVIII , XLIX ,

and pp . 362-363 .

79 . C. L. Woolley , ibid . , p. 363 .

80 . C. L. Woolley , Ur Excavations : The Kassite Period and

the Period of the Assyrian Kings ( London : The British Museum
and The University Museum , Pennsylvania , 1965 ) , pp . 78-79 .
1
 NOTES

CHAPTER V

1. The reports on the Nuzi excavations were prepared by

Richard F. S. Starr , Nuzi : Report on the Excavation at Yorgan
Tepe Near Kirkuk , Iraq , Vols . I , ( Cambridge , Mass .: Harvard II
University Press , 1939 ) , and Appendices by H. W. Elliot , Ruther
ford J. Gettens , Ernest R. Lacheman , Robert W. Ehrich , and Ruth
Sears Chute . volumes will be henceforth cited as Nuzi I
These
and Nuzi II . It
should be pointed out that the Pre -historic ,
Gasur , and Early Nuzi cultures have been divided stratigraphi
cally into pavements or levels ; the Nuzian culture and later
periods into strata .

2. Ibid . , pp . 9-11 .

3. A theory which is borne out by Starr , ibid . , p . 11 ;

also CAEM , pp . 55 , 56 ; COWA , pp . 75 , 77 , 81 ; Jawad , The Era
of Townships , pp . 57-58 ; and others . See especially H. W.
Elliot ,"Appendix A , Chronology , " Nuzi , I , p . 511 .

4. Starr , Nuzi , I, p. 510 .

5. H. W. Elliot , Nuzi : " Appendix A, Chronology , " p . 510 ,

and especially Starr , ibid . , I, pp . 1 , 16 , 30 , and Grave 12 ,
Pl . 49 , B ; Plan 5 , m.

6. Starr , ibid . , p. ll , and Jawad , The Era of Townships ,

p . 58 .

7. The first use of well - squared rectangular brick build

ing proved to be Kurdish ; and the almost complete absence of
painted ware replaced by the use of cruder incised patterns is
not only evident at Yorgan Tepe during this period , but also
at Tepe Gawra , Nineveh , Tell Hassunah , Gai Resh , Tell Brak ,
Tell Chagar Bazar , Tell Al - Halaf , Tell Me fesh , and other sites .
These data indicate that there was a migration of a new ele
ment into the area . See CAEM , pp . 46-64 .
8. See Starr , Nuzi , I , pp . 266-267 ; and Ellis , Founda
tion Deposits , p. 36 .

251
252 Chapter v , Notes

9. Starr , Nuzi , II , Pls . 28 , 29 .

10 . The peculiarity is indeed striking . Other burials

have been uncovered in walls , but they were all single . This
appears to be the first of this type with multiple interments .

11 . The objects in the other two rooms consisted primar

ily of household terra - cotta of the usual type . However , in
P400 there were large pots , storage jars , two rather large
storage pots , 73cm and 52 cm respectively in height . In niches
in the northwestern wall , there were three other pots ranging
from 56 cm to 66cm in height , and partly blocking the doorway to
Room P451 . Starr , Nuzi , I, p. 267 , and ibid . , II , Pl . 88B ; 89D ;
92L .

12 . cf. for example , Ellis , Foundation Deposits , p. 39 ;

Jawad , The Era of Townships , p . 58 .

13 . Starr , Nuzi , I, p. 268 .

14 . Units P474 , P485 , P472 , P464 , P470 , P335A , P335 , P323 ,

P331 , P47 , P37 , P35 , are included in this group . See Starr ,
Nuzi , II , Plan 13 , and ibid . , I, p. 273 .

15 . Among the numerous objects which were found in this

room footed and plain bowls , a terra - cotta Ishtar
were nineteen
figurine , large pots , tablets , storage jars and pots , and many
other scattered indiscriminately about the pavement . It could
have been a storeroom since it also contained storage bins in
the walls .
16 . Starr , Nuzi , I, pp . 274-275 ; ibid . , II , Pl . 29E .

17 . Group 28 includes units G13 , G21A , G24 , G21 , G22 ,

G28 , and G26 . Starr , Nuzi , I , pp . 226-229 ; ibid . , II , Plan 11 .

18 . Ellis , Foundation Deposits , p . 361 .

19 . These practices probably concerned two circular con

structions against the northeastern wall , crudely made of wall
brick sunk in the floor . The role of these receptacles is not
known , and they show no sign of burning . The slant to the cen
ter may imply a flow of liquid . The whole construction is an
enigma . See Starr , Nuzi , I , p . 228 .

20 . Ibid . , p. 350 .
Chapter V , Notes 253

21 . dealt with earlier , see above

This was , p. 61 . It
was built directly into
the wall , and therefore , an integral
part of the structure .

22 . pot , with a hole piercing the bottom ,

A broad - mouthed
with an inverted
bowl to serve as a cover , both of which are
unique in the Nuzi inventory . This pot rested on the floor in
an upright position and contained the bones of several infants .
See Elliot , Nuzi , I, Appendix A , p . 510 , and Elliot , ibid . , II ,
Pl . 71 C.

23 . This is the most unusual of all the terra - cotta ves

sels used for this purpose . It is much smaller , but with con
spicuous openings at both ends , the top covered by a small bowl .
It rested on the floor and contained the skeletons of five in
fants . Elliot , Nuzi , I, Appendix A , p . 510 , and ibid . , II ,
Pl . 71 B.
24 . See above , p . 61 . These are both considered a part
of the structure , G 13 being in the wall , and G 24 in the pave
ment .

25 . Ibid .

26 . This is true in burial all cases except the upright

of C2 , Starr , Nuzi , I
jar is not pierced
, pp . 352-353 , where the ,

but apparently carefully and intentionally lined with purified

clay 1 to 2cm thick . Could this clay lining have constituted
the necessary contact with the earth , and consequently , have
satisfied with this gesture a tradition which had formerly de
manded more rigid observance ?

27 . See ibid . , pp . 329 and 352 , in which four are re

corded in Group 16 , Stratum III
, and twenty -one in S397 , Stra
tum IV .

28 . The infant lay on a pavement and was covered with a

large crude bowl . It has all the essential elements of the
typical Nuzi infant burial . See above , pp . 58-60 . Elliot ,
Nuzi , I, Appendix , p . 510 , and Elliot , ibid . , II , Pl . 43 R.

29 . See Erich , Nuzi , I, Appendix E, and Grave 82 ; also

Erich , ibid . , II , Pl . 138 F.
30 . Excavations at this site are fairly well documented
by E. A. Speiser and A. J. Tobler , the latter dealing with the
254 Chapter V, Notes

earlier period in a more detailed fashion . All other studies

relating to this mound make reference to these sources . See E.
A. Speiser , Excavations at Tepe Gawra , Vol . I ( Philadelphia :
University of Pennsylvania Press , 1935 ) , and A. J. Tobler , Ex
cavations at Tepe Gawra , Vol . II ( Philadelphia : University of
Pennsylvania Press , 1950 ) . These volumes will henceforth be
cited as TG I and TG II .
31 . Graves referred to within the tholoi are loci 7-40
and 7-75 in the south , and 7-55 , 7-77 , and 7-78 in the north .
See TG II , p . 105 . For a description and assessment of the
tholoi , cf. pp . 41-43 , 125 .

32 . Ibid . , pp . 38-39 , 105 , 121 , 123 . This building is

in Squares 4 - G and 5 - G . See Pl . XLa .

33 . Ibid . , pp . 36-37 , 104 , and Pls . XIV , XXXVIIIa ,

XXXIXb , for location of Rooms 11 and 13 and the human remains .

34 . Ibid . , Pls . XII , XXXVIIIa and b. Also , pp . 31-36

for a discussion of their relative importance and architectur
al design .
35 . Ibid . , pp . 104-105 and 123-125 . These burials are
listed as Locus G36-162 in Square - Jb in
the Eastern Shrine ,
5
and Locus G36-152 and G36-157 under the cella of the same . Oth
ers are Locus G36-161 Square 4 - Gb , Loci 7-6 and G36-153 of
Square 5 - Gb . In the Northern Shrine would be Locus G36-148 in
4-0c , and Locus 703 of Square -
4 M.

36 . Ibid . , pp . 119-121 .

37 . This distinctive type of pottery appears at Tepe Gaw

ra , Karkemish , Tell Halaf , Samarra , Nineveh , and Arpachiya in
the North at this time ; there is also evidence of the same type
at Ur , Uruk , and Tello in the South . cf. TG , I , pp . 150-152 ;
E. A. Speiser , "Preliminary Excavations at Tepe Gawra , " AASOR ,
IX ( 1927 ) , pp . 17-57 , especially p. 40 .

The theory of a violent destruction

38 . seems to be well
supported . The white room as well as Rooms 18 , 43 , and 49 bore
clear signs of having been destroyed by fire . Room 18 was
covered by forty centimeters of ashes . In addition to these
signs of fire , Room of the White Room Building contained
44
skeletons of individuals sprawled on the floor in diverse
Chapter V , Notes 255

positions . The added fact that there is a lack of further signs

of fire in the remaining portions of Stratum XII , but with
skeletons scattered on the floor in other areas and on the side
of the mound , could support the theory that this phase was ter
minated by other than peaceful means . See TG , II , pp . 25-26 .

39 . Ibid . , pp . 67-73 , 102-107 , and Pl . XXIII , pp . 23-24 .

40 . These are found in Loci 268 and G36-19 . This is in

contrast to those of Locus 194 in Room 75 of the same structure ,
which contained infants and children ; and also with temples of
later levels . Ibid . , pp . 100-102 .
41 . Ibid . , pp . 24 , 103 , 118-119 . Since this building was
apparently not of a religious character , it is difficult to ac
count for the presence of these graves under its floors . There
is no evidence to support the theory that it was either of a
religious or public character , and Tobler's theory that this was
the home of " a wealthy or influential member of the XI - A com
munity who possessed a large and prolific harim , " is a specula
tion which is difficult to support .
42 . Ibid ., pp . 96-97 .

43 . The latter phase of XI . Cooking and pottery ovens

were common , and four of them were located directly in the rear
of the temple , the walls enclosing these at times including the
rear wall of the temple . One must assume that such a practice
would have been intolerable had the temple been in use ; conse
quently , it can be assumed that the area in the rear of the tem
ple would have been kept open when the structure possessed its
religious function . See TG , I , Pls . XXIII , and then Pl . XV ;

also pp . 16-17 , 101 .

44 . For these graves , see TG , II , Pls . LX , LXVb , XXII ,
XIII , XLb , and LXVII .

45 . These tombs are numbers G36-32 , G36-86 , and G36-134 ,

ibid . , pp . 66-67 ; see especially Pl . XXIII .

46 . All scholars who have evaluated these reports agree

that there is unequivocal evidence of a new group now in occupa
tion on the site . Jawad , The Era of Townships , pp . 64-69 .

47 . Tomb Number 107 is the richest to be discovered at

Gawra . Obviously , the building was erected as a shrine over
256 Chapter V , Notes

the location of the tomb . This conclusion is the only explana

tion for the meter - thick pavement , which would be inexplicable
without knowledge of the underlying tomb ; consequently , the tem
ple could have served as a means of preventing the desecration
of the holy soil beneath the building . Furthermore , it is
worthy of note that all streets and passages led to this edi
fice , suggesting that the town was originally planned around . it
Additional features also suggest that this building , the most
extensive thus far excavated , was the religious focus of Stratum
X. See TG , II , Pls . III , and XXXIZ , also pp . 10-13 .

48 . The reports point out quite clearly that it is diffi

cult to ascertain the strata from which most of the tombs origi
nate ; one may justifiably
question Speiser's and Tobler's deduc
tions concerning the origin of six of the ten tombs which they
have assigned to Stratum X. A study of the reports would assign
positively only five of these to this level .
49 . These are the tombs forming Group VII which include
Nos . lll , 109 , 114 , and 110 ; all lying in Squares 4 and 5 , m
and k . Ibid . , Pl . XLVIa , pp . 60-64 .

This is especially true of Tombs Nos . 24 and 25 which

50 .
really originate in Stratum VIII and then were connected with
the earlier double Tomb No. 109 , and triple Tomb of Stratum lll
XIII , the significance of which will be discussed below .
51 . Ibid . , Pls . XXIX , XXX , and XXXI . Also pp . 6-10 , 99
100 , 101 . See also pp . lll and 123 for distribution relative
to the other graves .

52 . These are dug through Room 903 - A . Locus 47 ; and

Square 8-0 , Locus 52 of the temple .
53 . Strata VIII - I were excavated primarily by E. A.
Speiser ,but the analysis of the finds and overall evaluation
are to be found both in TG I and TG II by Tobler . Careful
evaluation of the conclusions of both these scholars must be
made .

54 . An attestation to this fact is noted from the archi

tectural remains of many edifices which continue in use through
out the three periods , B, C, and A ; while others are shared by
the two later substrata , still others appear only in the final
phase , er the ruins of earlier buildings . Notwithstanding
 Chapter V , Notes 257

this interconnection , the repeated modifications do reflect the

influence of changing societal and economic conditions ; conse
quently , at times , each phase may reveal certain isolated char
acteristics , which , should this have a bearing on the problem in
question , will be taken into consideration . See TG , I , pp . 23
37 and Pls . XI , X , and IX .

55 . They were all crenelated structures , and have been

designated Northern , Central , Eastern , and Western Shrines , in
conformity with their position on the mound . They contained the
traditional " long - room " arrangement , niches , and raised platform
or podium , except in the Western Temple , in the central chamber .

56 . See TG , II , pp . 98-99 . Seven of these graves were

grouped in Squares 9, 10-6 , 9 and 10-0 , 10 - K , and 10 - M . Pl .
XXII .

57 . TG , I, pp . 25 , 140-143 .

58 . TG , II , p. 99 , and TG , I, pp . 141-142 with Pl . XII .

59 . See TG , II , Table A, and Pl . XXII .
60 . Numbers 7-9 , 14 , B, 54 , B, 108 , 202 , 5, 2, and 109 .

61 .
This has been determined position of the tomb by the
wall fragment which in one place crosses over that of Stratum
IX in the case of 7-9 , and by the depth of 108 and 109 in com
parison to that of tombs of Stratum IX . See TG , II , pp . 56-57 .

62 . One can easily associate this with the western temple

since it occupies a position opposite the double tomb , Nos .

24 and 25 , at the front of the temple and at its eastern corner .

63 . out that , whereas the acropolis of

Speiser points
Stratum VIIIfour shrines , apparently some time dur
began with
ing VIII B , the original western temple fell into disuse and
may have become a desecrated shrine . This seems the only logi
cal answer .

64 . See above , p . 69 .

65 . TG , II , Pls . XXII , XXIII , and Table A. See also pp .

60-63 .

66 . See Charles Bache , " Prehistoric Burials of Tepe Gaw

ra , " SA , Vol . 135 , No. 6 ( 1935 ) , p. 312 ; Jawad , The Era of Town
ships , p. 62 ; Ellis , Foundation Deposits , p. 39 ; TG , II , p. 76 .
258 Chapter V , Notes

67 . Ibid . , Pl . XXVII .

The theory by Tobler that the pigmentation of the

68 .

bodies is that which denoted inferior status is questionable .

This could have been applied coloring , as noted in other cases ,

and may therefore be indicative of some culturally determined

reason to distinguish them from the others . See Jawad , The Era
of Townships , p . 62 .
69 . It has been estimated that a figure near 500 repre
sents the total number of persons interred on the mound through
Strata XVIII - VIII . No graves have been found that can be re
lated to Strata VII through I even though these seven represent
extensive occupation levels . This fact alone would indicate
that the Gawra cemetery must be located elsewhere , probably
to the west . The conclusion is based on the fact that sound
ings have been made up to 100 meters in all directions except
this one . See TG , II , pp . 121-122 , and 140 .

70 . This is especially the thesis of Speiser , Tobler , and

Jawad where a general conclusion is drawn based on the collec
tive evidence from all strata . See TG , II
, pp . 124-125 , and TG ,

I, pp . 140-143 . Others , however , follow exactly the opposite

line of reasoning to the effect that none of the burials indi
cate foul play . See M. E. L. Mallowan , " Earliest Settlements
in Western Asia , " CAH , Vol . I , Part I , pp . 377-390 , and Ellis ,
Foundation Deposits , pp . 38-39 .
71 . The first can probably be successfully argued , but the
transformation of any cultic ritual over a period of time by the
same cultural element is to be expected , for only as this is
done does a ritual act become meaningful to the community , and
perpetuates itself as an indelible aspect of its culture . The
second is also probable but , if borrowed or adopted by a dif
ferent ethnic group , it is bound to undergo a transformation
which would make it
suitable to the peculiarities of the new
element . Evidence of this process will be cited time and again
in this study . Nevertheless , we must continue to recognize the
undeniable truism that it is people and not a place which per
petuate a given ritual .
72 . See above , pp . 67-69 .
Chapter V, Notes 259

73 . Thisevident in Stratum VIII where the

is clearly
three temples are constructed on a new section of the mound , un
used by the occupants of the preceding strata . Even the temples
of Stratum XIII acropolis were not constructed on the site of
the preceding tholoi . See above , pp . 66-67 ; TG , , pp . 31-39 . II
For the first
74 . shaft at this level
time , tombs appear .
These will
increase through successive strata and on certain
levels appear to replace the simple inhumations or grave bur
ials , even in the temples . TG , II , pp . 53 - H .

75 . This has been classified by Tobler as Area A , which

lists a few graves . Levels XVIII , XIX and xx are fully explored
especially in CAEM , pp . 46-49 , and Mallowan , " Earliest Settle
10
ments ... , pp . 378-381 .

76 . Ibid . , pp . 277-279 .

77 . TG , II , pp . 17-19 .

78 . The peculiarity of the type of structure , its divi

sions , and the marked similarity to the earlier tholoi gives
this building the appearance of a tremendously advanced struc
ture of the type . See Mallowan , " Earliest Settlements .. 11 p .
383 , and TG , II
, pp . 21-22 , and E. A. Speiser , " Some Recent

Finds from Tepe Gawra , " BASOR , 62 ( 1936 ) , pp . 10-14 .

79 . More than 45 graves were uncovered and the nearest to
the tholoi was about 5 meters from the outside wall ; while their
proximity to these buildings may indicate some reverence , none
were found buried on the inside . See M. E. L. Mallowan and J.
Cruikshank Rose , " Excavations at Tell Arpachiyah ," Iraq , 2
( 1935 ) , pp . 25-34 .

80 . P. Dikaios , " New Light on Prehistoric Cyprus , " Iraq ,

7-8 ( 1940-46 ) , pp . 69-83 .

81 . In one of the most important tholor of the group , the

skeletons of 25 infants were found in successive floors , at

times buried right on top of adults ... and on the topmost floor
an independent clay head of a human figure , probably represent
ing deity , was
a male found . On the back of the head appears ,
beside incised hair , a kind of ornamentation in relief which
appears to represent snakes . If this assumption is correct ,
260 Chapter V, Notes

the head may represent a chthonian deity and the enclosure walls
discovered round this tholos indicate , in a most evident manner ,
that it possessed a special character of sanctity . Ibid . , p .
74 . On many occasions , the corpses in the adult burials under
the floors
were found with hands tied behind their backs , pp .
72-73 . Dikaios had previously presented conclusive arguments
proving that the snake was the attribute of chthonian deities
in Cyprus in the Bronze Age . See P. Dikaios , " Les Cultes pre
historiques dans l'Ile de Chipre , " Syria , XIII ( 1932 ) , pp . 345
354 .

Mallowan's theory is that the beginning of these can

82 .

be traced back to fragments of reed huts with rounded roofs

found by Woolley at the bottom of the Flood Pit at Ur of the
Jamdat Nasr Period . He then observes " what appear to be "

vaulted reed huts drawn on a number of Samarra -ware sherds from

Arpachiyeh , but locating the true dome in the " Royal Cemetery . "
This is then traced through the Larsa , Kassite , and Assyrian
Periods . The link to the Mesopotamian archaic type is " numer
ous beehive - shaped houses around Aleppo . " By analogy he then
compares those at Arpachiyeh with the beehive form of tombs at
Mycencep . However , the fact is that the Mycencep buildings
were underground , those in the Mesopotamian region , above
ground . I find it
rather difficult to see how this argument
proves that the source of the tholoi in Gawra was either Meso
potamia or Cyprus , when there is clear evidence which traces
its development by stages in the Gawra area . Even if there are
other factors which were common to Arpachiyeh , Cyprus , and Gaw
ra , this need not imply that the meaning and type of ritual had
to be identical .
83 . is , however , the continuation of the use of the
There
monochrome - painted pottery , but really nothing more . M. E. L.
Mallowan , " The Development of Cities , " CAH , I , pp . 380-381 .
84 . The theory that it is a chthonic deity has been based 1
1
on evidence from later periods . It alleges that those buried
on the inside of temples were intended to appease such deities
as required death , while burials on the outside were intended
as appeasement of other deities who did not require a sacrifi
cial victim , but rather a dedication of those who died natural
deaths . Even if true , this cannot be applicable to this period
Chapter V, Notes 261

as no burials were found anywhere , not even in the proximity of

the acropolis . See TG , II ,pp . 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 104 .

85 . Note the evidence of this according to ibid . , pp .

25-27 , and I, pp . 31-36 , and Mallowan , " Earliest Settlements , "
pp . 384-389 .

86 . TG , II , pp . 121-122 .

87 . Ellis , Foundation Deposits , p. 38 .

88 . Of course , it must be recognized , as stated earlier ,

that it is people , and not places , who perpetuate and preserve
traditions .

89 . of Chagar Bazar , Tell Brak and certain

The excavations
smaller sites in the Habur region were accomplished in the im
mediate pre- and post - World War II
periods by M. E. L. Mallowan ,
and published as " The Excavations at Tell Chagar Bazar and an
Archaeological Survey of the Habur Region , " Iraq , III ( 1936 ) ,
pp .1-87 , and Iraq , IV ( 1937 ) , pp . 91-154 ; also " Excavations at
Brak and Chagar Bazar , " Iraq , IX ( 1947 ) , pp . 1-87 , 89-259 . It
should be noted that these graves have not been individually de
scribed by this scholar in any detail .

90 . See Mallowan , " Excavations at Chagar Bazar , " p. 17 .

91 . Ibid . , p . 19 . These results represent the excavation

of the entire mound and , unlike others , not just a section of
the site .

92 . This theoretical conclusion may seem natural in view

of the almost complete lack of adult burials in the houses of
this level . But the fact that nine were adult burials and also
located under the floors of private houses , and rather normal
sub -pavement burials , naturally raises the question of the
classification of those nine houses in which adults are buried .
There are no votive objects or anything which would indicate
a ritual context in any of the forty - five burials . Ibid .
93 . This peculiar burial placed less than 1/2 meter below
the floor is compared to the average of 1-1 / 2 to 2 meters depth
of the others on Levels and . II
This one is clearly differ III
ent both in location and context from all the others . Yet Mal
lowan has equated it with all others , and assumes that its
shrine was one " consecrated to infant burials . " However , based
262 Chapter V , Notes

on with other contemporaneous sites , one tends to

a comparison
agree with Jawad that Mallowan's assumption in this case is
highly questionable ; rather , this floor burial testifies to the
sanctity of the structure . Therefore , it could involve some
type of ritual killing of the interred infants . See ibid . , p.

18 , and Fig . 4 , also Jawad , The Era of Townships , pp . 79-80 .

94 . See above , pp . 57-58 . The houses appear to be archi

tecturally similar to those in Babylonia , the only difference
being the courtyard usually located at the north end rather
than in the center of the building . As in Babylon , there were
family vaults also , connected to each house for the burial of
the dead , but in the case of Room 3 , Level III , the chapel was
a room aside . Mallowan , " Excavations at Chagar Bazar , " pp . 110
lll .

95 . Ibid . , pp . 116-126 .

96 . Ibid .

97. Historical records do not show to what extent the Ak

kadian kings had secured a foothold in Assyria . But we do know
that Manishtusu , Naram - Sin's immediate predecessor , had built
a temple to Ishtar at Nineveh , and there is a striking parallel
to the unusual plan of the Palace at Brak in the oldest known
Palace at Ashur , which might have been built by Naram - Sin , too .
See R. Campbell Thompson , " The British Museum Excavations on
the Temple of Ishtar at Nineveh , " Annals of Archaeology and
Anthropology , XIX ( 1930-1931 ) , pp . 55-116 , especially p. 59 .

98 . See Woolley , " Excavations at Ur , " Antiquaries Jour

nal VII ( 1927 ) , pp . 385-413 , especially pp . 399-404 , and Pls .
L, LI , for similarities at Ur . Also XI ( 1931 ) , pp . 343-381 ,
especially pp . 364-368 . This can also be compared with a simi
lar structure at Tell Harmal where the altar is of the same de
sign and dated to the same period .

99 . Mallowan , " Excavations at Brak , " pp . 70-71 .

100 . Ibid .

101 . See a good discussion this period in the develop

on

ment of Sumerian religion , especially in Thorkild Jacobsen ,

Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamia His
tory and culture ( Cambridge , Mass .: Harvard University Press ,
Chapter V, Notes 263

1970 ) , " Formative Tendencies in Sumerian Religion , " and " Meso
11
potamian Gods and Pantheons , pp . 1-47 ; and also S. N. Kramer ,
The Sumerians : Their History and Culture ( Chicago : University
of Chicago Press , 1963 ) , pp . 33-72 .

102 . This evidence comes from Eridu where the earliest

phase of the later temples is prefigured in a square sanctuary
of Level XVI complete with its divisions and ritual furniture .
COWA , pp . 149-150 .

103 . The primary evidence , of course , must come from the

preceding Ubaid Phase where this is clearly the case at Abu
Shahrain and Ur graves of the lower series dug into the Flood
pits . Cf. The Illustrated London News , September 11 , 1948 , pp .
303-305 , and Figs . 8 and 14 , for Abu Shahrain , and Woolley , Ur
Excavations , Vol . I , pp . 190 , 198 . The Protoliterate sites of
Warka , Telloh , Jamdat Nasr , and ' Uqair did not yield graves
which can be assigned to this period , those uncovered have been
dated by their contents to the later Early Dynastic Period .
See CAEM , pp . 133-134 .

104 . Except , of course , the few at Khafajah . P. Delougaz ,

Private Houses and Graves in the Diyala Region , Oriental Insti
tute ( Chicago : University of Chicago Press ) , and COWA , pp . 156
158 .

105 . R. M. Adams , Level and Trend in Early Sumerian Civ

ilization , Ph.D. dissertation , The University of
( unpublished
Chicago , 1956 ) , pp . 73-75 . One should not , however , as pointed
out by Diakonoff , imply by this that we are dealing with a com
pletely priest - controlled society , land and all . He estimates
that the total temple land was only a fraction of the approxi
mately three thousand square kilometers of the territory of
Lagash . I. M. Diakonoff , " Sale of Land in pre - Sargonid Sumer , "
Papers Presented by the Soviet Delegation of the XXIII Inter

national Congress of Orientalists , Assyriology Section (Moscow :

Publishing House of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Science , 1954 ) , pp .
1-12 .

106 . See above , pp . 70-72 .

107 . TG , II , pp . 63-65 .

108 . Cf. Mallowan , " Excavations at Brak , " pp . 32-39 . His

theory that this may have been contemporary with the Sin Temple
264 Chapter V , Notes

IV at Khajajah is completely borne out by P.

, Delougaz . Cf.
Porada , " Relative Chronology , " pp . 155-159 .

109 . TG , II , pp . 23-26 .
110 . TG , I, p. 25 .

ill . Mallowan , " Excavations at Brak , " p. 57 .

This basic design consisted

112 . of a ground plan with a
tripartite division , i.e. , a formally arranged structure of a
long central room along with a podium flanked on both sides by ,

a row of small auxiliary rooms , and entered through an ante

chamber located on the short sides of the walls . cf. TG , , II
p . 45 and Pls . IX , X , for Strata XVIII and XIII at Gawra ; also
Jawad , The Era of Townships , pp . 30 , 31 , 46-49 .

113 . In the central room , the door was placed on one of the
long walls , and the wide door of the chamber could only be reach
ed after descending two steps . TG , I , pp . 27-28 and Pl . XI .

114 . Cf. Mallowan , " Excavations at Chagar Bazar , p . 32 ;

UVB X , 27-29 , the Mosaic Temple at Warka ; and s . Lloyd ,
for
" Tell ' Uqair : Excavations by the Iraq Government Directorate of
Antiquities in 1940-1941 , " JNES , II , No. 135-155 , espe
2 , pp .
cially pp . 136-149 , and Pls . III - XVI , for a comparison with
the ' Uqair Temple .

115 .The material remains especially in architecture and

seal designs of the Protoliterate phase in Northern Mesopotamia
clearly did not result from regular evolution among the indige
nous population , especially in the case of temples and other
public buildings . They were due to the influence which was be
ing felt from the South . See especially H. Frankfort , The
Birth of Civilization in the Near East (New York : Doubleday and
Company , Ltd. , 1956 ) , p. 84 .

116 . COWA , pp . 156-157 . Such structures as those at Uruk ,

Ur , Nippur , Tell Abu Shaharain ( Eridu ) , Tell ' Uqair , and Al

Ubaid bear testimony to this fact . Cf. CAEM , pp . 87-88 , and

Jawad , The Era of Townships , pp . 42-43 .

117 .This is noted especially on seals , beads , copper ob

jects , terra - cotta , and numerous other objects , found in conjunc
tion with the new architectural patterns noted in temples , forti
fications , and other secular buildings of the period . See ibid . ,
pp . 76-90 .
 NOTES

CHAPTER VI

1. For the interpretation according to Kramer , see ANEP ,

pp . 50-51 , especially p . 51 , Section B.
2. This epic is the longest and most significant liter
ary masterpiece of the ancient Babylonians ; it must have been
current during this period because it was studied , translated ,
and imitated , all over the ancient Near East . Evidence to this
effect are the Hurrian and Hittite versions which are known .

cf. S. N. Kramer , " The Death of Gilgamesh , " BASOR , 94 ( 1944 ) ,

pp . 2-12 .

3. Among theclues which tended to confirm this suspi

cion was the fact long noted by scholars that the names of the
two principal heroes , Gilgamesh and Enkidu , are both of Sumer
ian origin . Aside from this , most of the participating deities
belong to the Sumerian pantheon . It should also be noted that

the Sumerian tablets and fragments involving Gilgamesh , pub

lished in the last several decades , all appear to date from the
early post -Sumerian Period which followed immediately upon the
fall of Ur III . Cf. W. F. Albright , " A Third Revision of the
Early Chronology of Western Asia , " BASOR , 88 ( 1942 ) , pp . 28-36 .
4. Kramer , " Death of Gilgamesh , " p . 3 .

5. The context is Gilgamesh's death and his descent to

the nether world . In the following lines , certain well known
deities are mentioned ; Ereshkigal , the queen of the nether
world ; Namtar , the queen of death ; along with Dimpikug , whose
duties are not known , Neti the gatekeeper , and Dumuzi and
,
Ningishzida , the two well chthonic deities ; these are
known

some of the deities to whom Gilgamesh presents his offering at

death in lines 8-31 . cf. ibid . , pp . 8-10 ; and also ANET , p . 51 .
6. Ibid . , p. 6. Italics ours .

7. He argues that the context tends to portray a descrip

tion of Enkidu , who " offers " himself and his immediate followers

265
266 Chapter VI , Notes

as a sacrifice to the gods of the nether world . His and H.

Kees ' are the only recorded objections to the identification of
Gilgamesh . Cf. F. M. T. de Liagre Böhl , Opera Minora (Gronin
gen - Djakarta : J.
B. Wolters , 1953 ) , p . 247 ; and H. Kees , Toten
glauben und Jenseitsvorstellungen der Alten Ägypter ( Berlin :
J. C. Henrichs , 1926 ) , p . 81 .

8. Zimmern himself argues that , while the context is

magical , it may be indicative of a ritual which actually was
carried out on special occasions . cf. H. Zimmern and H. Winck
ler , eds . , Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament , 3rd ed .
( Leipzig : J. C. Hinrichs , 1903 ) , p. 599 .

9. This , nevertheless , appears to be the only basis for

the arguments by Jeremias and MacAlister . This does not mean
that this writer believes the premise is erroneous , but rather ,
that this reference alone , given its context , cannot be the ba
sis for such an assumption . Cf. R. Jeremias , Alte Testament
im Lichte Oriente ( Leipzig : J. C. Henrichs , 1906 ) , pp
des alte .
141-142 ; and R. A. S. MacAlister , "Human Sacrifice : Semitic , "
Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics , Vol . IV , James Hastings ,
ed . (New York : Charles Scribner's Sons ) , p . 863 .

10 . Many while the annual Assyrian

have reasoned that ,
campaign may be regarded of self - defence , an act
as a measure
of brigandage , it was also a crusade . The tremendous booty
collected and the tribute levied on foreign countries were a
source of income and a means of indicating their submission to
the supreme deity , Asshur . See especially L. Oppenheim , Ancient
Mesopotamia , pp . 196-199 , and his treatment on the Mesopotamian
" Psychology Roux , Ancient Iraq , Pelican Books
, "; also Georges
( Baltimore , pp . 257-259 .
1969 ) ,Note the words of Sennacherib
as he avenged himself on Babylon : " To quiet the heart of Asshur ,
my lord , that peoples should bow in submission before his exalt
ed might ... " See ARAB , I, Nos . 770 , 772 , 795 , 806 .
11 . Cf. J. B. Pritchard , ANEP , pp . 51 , 168 .

12 . See especially Sidney Smith , " The Age of Ashurbanipal , "

CAH , Vol . III , p. 91 , and ANEP , pp . 20 , 63 ; and 51 , 168 .
Chapter VI , Notes 267

13 . Sennacherib was " smashed with statues of protective

deities " by one of his own sons while praying in the temple ,
and Esarhaddon relates that by the same colossal bull nearby
which his father was murdered , he slew the accomplices as a
sacrifice . cf. RCAE , No. 327 ; for the sacrificial death of
the assassins , ARAB , I, No. 816 ; also B. Landsberger and H.
Baur , " Zu neuveröffentlichen Geschichtsquellen aus der Zeit
von Asarhaddon , bis Nabonid , " Zeitschrift für Assyriologie ,

III Babylonian Fertility

The
N.F. ( 1926 ) , pp . 85-86 ; Smith , "
Cult pp 863-865 Iraq pp 291-294
and Roux Ancient for

a
;
,

,
"

.
thorough discussion Note also the statements by Ebeling

E.
.

,
Tod und Leben nach den Vorstellungen der Babylonier pp 60-63

,
.
Dhorme Revue l'histoire des Religiones cvii 1933
E.

and
,

,
i,
(

)
115 Not all scholars interpret this incident

as
p

however
.

,
.

,
literal sacrifice of human beings De Vaux believes that the
a

words of Esarhaddon should taken only figuratively

be

hence

,
the statement implies symbolic funeral offering presented

to
a

the slain king Studies Old Testament Sacrifice

in
R.

de Vaux
,
.

Cardiff University of Wales Press 1964

p
56 The same
,

,
(

)
:

.
opinion reli
by

expressed Furlani sacrificio della

Il
in
is

G.

gione dei Semiti Assiria

R. de

Babilonia Rome Giovanni Bardi

e

,
(

pp
tipografia della Academia nazionale dei lincei 1932
,

,
)

.
147-149
.

Frankfort Kingship Chicago

H.

14 and the Gods The

.

University of Chicago Press 1948 263

p
,

,
)

15 On such occasions the text states that the person

,
.

invested with royal insignia authority

of
be

selected would
,

and also be required fulfill all the religious duties of the

to

king exposing himself all the supernatural dangers which

to
,

threatened the king at the time Cf. René Labat Le sort des
,
"
.

substituts royaux en Assyrie au temps des sargonids RA Vol

,

,
"

pp 131-133 It
would appear that there
XL

Nos 3-4 1945

,

,
(

)
.

were circumstances when royal eunuch was named and invested

a

king the proper formulas before the

as

the then pronounced

,

gods that the omens could fall

so

on

see also Caractère

Le

him
;

Religieux Royauté Assyro Babylonienne Paris Librairie

de

la

de Amerique et d'Orient 1939 pp 258-259

,

,
)

16 Labat Le sort des substituts 131

p
,

,
.

"

"

.
268 Chapter VI , Notes

17 . Frankfort , Kingship
and the Gods , p . 263 . Note also
Roux , Ancient Iraq , p . 168 . Whether folklore or history , the
historical record does attest to the fact that the lucky garden
er did manage to govern what remained of the kingdom for some
twenty years .
18 . for and against the view that this statement
Arguments
is historical to be found in Labat , " Le sort des substituts , "
are
p . 134 ; Frankfort , Kingship and the Gods , p . 263 ; Sidney Smith ,

" The Practice of Kingship in Early Semitic Kingdoms , " in MRAK ,

pp . 58 , 59 ; L. Oppenheim , Ancient Mesopotamia , pp . 100-101 ;
and W. von Soden , Vorde rasiatische Studien Festschrift für
Prof. Viktor Christian , Kurt Schubert , ed . ( Wien : Johannes

Botterwerck und Vorderasiatische , 1956 ) , pp . 100-107 . The

genre of literature from which this tale comes is of a type
which tends to grow into legends and eventually attachs itself
either to founders of dynasties or kings who may have fallen
from power in some spectacular way . The expert scribes , palace
or temple administrators , would enhance the importance of a
given ruler with such written stories , proverbial sayings and
references in certain omen collections , but this may not rule
out completely the historical kernel which formed the nucleus
of the legend in the first place : its basis may be entirely
historical .
19 . cf. Frankfort , Kingship and the Gods , p. 259 , where
this scholar rightly argues that .
20 . RACE , No. 437 , and R. Labat , Le Caractère Religieux
de la Royauté Assyro - Babylonienne , p. 359 .

21 . There is an accurate description of this event . " The

substitute king who arrived on the 14th toward sunset , who on

the 15th spent the night in the king's palace -- he entered Akkad
on the night of the 20th without mishap . He stayed there . "

He , Damqi , and his lady of the court , as is proper

have taken upon themselves ( the part of ) substitute for

the king my lord and of Shamash - shum - ukin . For their

( the kings and princes ' ) deliverance he has met his
fate . We have built a tomb . He and his lady of the
court have been prepared and laid out for burial , the
Chapter VI , Notes 269

bodies have lain in sate . They have been buried , and

bewailed . A holocaust made , Numerous rites have been
performed completely May the king my lord take....
notice ....
Cf. Frankfort , ibid . , pp . 263-264 , and RACE , No. 437 .

22 . Ibid .

23 . portended by the eclipse of the sun or the

The omens
moon were the royal planet Jupiter rendered a favour
evil , but
able omen , therefore , in such cases the texts state , " In his
place a commoner will die . " cf. Labat , Le Caractère Religieux ,
pp . 355-356 .

24 . W. G. Lambert , " A Part of the Ritual for the Substi

tute King , " Archiv für Orientforschung , 18 ( 1957-58 ) , pp . 109

112 . Weidner succeeded in joining three pieces of tablets found
in the British Museum , K2600 + 10216 . The completed text has
fewer than six columns .
25 . Ibid . , pp . 110-11l .

26 . For a good summary of these added factors , cf. Labat ,

" Le sort des substituts , " pp . 123-142 , and von Soden , " Beiträge
zum Verständnis , " pp . 100-107 .

27 . cf. Labat , "Le sort des substituts , " pp . 137-138 .

28 . Frankfort , Kingship and the Gods , p. 263 .

29 . cf. above , pp . 88-89 .

30 . This is drawn from the ritual commentary , VAT 9555 .

31. cf. Pallis

Babylonian Akîtu Festival ; H. Zimmern
, The ,

" Zum babylonischen Neujahrfest , " I - , Beiträge ( Leipzig , 1906 , II

1918 ) ; and " König Lipit - Ishtar Vergöttlichung ," Berichte über
die Verhandlungen der Sachsischen Gesellschaft der Wissen
schaften , Band 68 pp . 39-46 ; Smith , " The Babylonian
( 1916 ) ,
Fertility Cult " ; S. Langdon , The Babylonian Epic of Creation ,
p. 34ff .
32 . See especially , s . H. Hooke , The Origins of Early
Semitic Ritual ( London : Humphrey Milford , Oxford University
Press , 1938 ) , pp . 12-18 , and Sidney Smith , " The Practice of
Kingship in Early Semitic Kingdoms , " in MRAK , pp . 22-73 .
270 Chapter VI , Notes

33 . Reference is made to Lugalbanda , Tammuz , and Gilga

mesh in this context . cf. Hooke , Early Semitic Ritual , p . 13 .

34 . A mythological list of deified kings appears in M.

Witzel , Tammuz - Liturgien und verwandtes ( Rome : Pontifical Bibli
cal Institute , 1935 ) , pp . 16-18 . Also Stephen Langdon , " A Hymn
to Ishtar as the Planet Venus and to Idin - Dagan as Tammuz , " JRAS ,
1 ( 1926 ) , pp . 15-42 , cf. especially pp . 15-17 . This is the
clearest designation of the king as a god .
35 . An important monograph enumerating the gods whose
weddings in Mesopotamian texts may be found in E.
are mentioned
Douglas van Buren , " The Sacred Marriage in Early Times in Meso
potamia , " Orientalia , XIII ( 1944 ) , pp . 2-3 . For a discussion
on the problems of deification among Mesopotamian kings , cf.
Frankfort , Kingship and the Gods , pp . 295-313 .

36 . Ibid . , pp . 224 and 297 . The first king to assume di

vine prerogatives was Naram - Sin of Akkad , and it is possible ,
though by no means certain , that this custom was followed by
the kings of Ur III . Following the fall of Ur III , certain
kings of Isin and an occasional ruler of other city - states ap
peared to have used the sign of divinity on their inscriptions ,
cf. H. Frankfort , s . Lloyd , and T. Jacobsen , The Gimsilin Tem
ple and the Palace of the Rulers at Tell Asmar , Oriental Insti
tute Publications XLIII
( 1940 ) , pp . 116-119 , for those of
,

Eshnunna ; see Labat , LeCaractère Religieux , p . , for Rim - Sin ll

of Larsa . Hammurabi did not use it , but Samsuiluna and a few
Kassite rulers did . Neither the Neo - Babylonians nor the Assyr
ians continued the custom .
37 . cf. H. Zimmern , " König Lipit - Ishtars Vergöttlichung ,

Berichte über die Verhandlungen der königlich Sachsischen Ge

sellschaft der Wissenschaften , Phil . - hist . Klasse , Band 68
( 1916 ) , and Frankfort's commentary in Kingship and the Gods ,
pp . 297-299 . Kramer has argued that the sign in question is
Ur and serves as an abbreviation for the royal name Ur -Ninurta .
38 . He addresses the latter in the words : " I have no
mother ; thou art my mother . I have no father ; thou art my
father , " projecting both parents as one divine being . Cf. F.

1
Chapter VI , Notes 271

Thureau - Dangin , Les inscriptiones de Sumer et d'Akkad , Cylinder

A III , 6-7 ( Paris : E. Leroux , 1918 ) , p. 139 .

39 . Frankfort , Kingship and the Gods , pp . 300-301 . Ital

ics are the investigator's .

40 . See above , pp . 6-9 .

This is the theory which has been derived from the so

41 .

called " Cannibal Text " where the dead king is said to increase
his potency by incorporating into himself other gods . cf. R. O.
Faulkner , The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts ( Oxford : The Clar
endon Press , 1969 ) , p . 81 , No. 397 . Also Hooke , Early Semitic
Ritual , p . 13 . But the whole theory of parallel function ,
based on apparent similarity of rituals , is an artificial one .

42 . Ibid .

43 . Cf. Ebeling , Tod und Leben , pp . 62-63 .

44 . Von Soden , " Beiträge zum Verständnis , " pp . 100-107 .

45 . Lambert , " A Part of the Ritual for the Substitute

King , " pp . 109-112 .

46 . See Knut Tallqvist , Sumerisch - akkadische Namen der

Totenwelt ( Helsingfors : Finska Orient - Sallskapet Societatis

litterariae fennicae , 1934 ) , pp . 23-32 , 37-38 .

47 . This is the context of a myth which relates how Ish

tar impetuously decided to descend to the nether world and her
consequent suffering , where she was held captive by the forces
of death , even as Marduk who was wounded and . Cf. S. N. ill
Kramer , Sumerian Mythology (New York : Harper & Row , Publishers ,

1961 ) , pp . 83-96 . Ishtar was powerless , but alive ; of Marduk ,

Langdon's translation reads : " ( Into the house of bondage ) from
the sun and light they caused him to descend . " The Babylonian
Epic of Creation , p. in line 13 , " When the
37 , line 14 , and
gods bound him , he perished from among the living . " A good de
scription of the Mesopotamian's view of a god caught in the
" mountain " comes from Thureau - Dangin's description of a Tammuz

like god , Lillu , " the weak one , " who is bewailed by the goddess
in " Passion du dieu Lillu , " RA , XIX ( 1932 ) , p. 175 . cf.
Frankfort , Kingship and the Gods , p . 321 .
48 . Langdon , The Babylonian Epic of Creation , pp . 39ff ,

lines 21-22 , 24-25 .

272 Chapter VI , Notes

49 . Smith , " A Babylonian Fertility Cult , " p. 861 .

50 . Ibid . See above , pp . 86-88 .

51 . Langdon , The Babylonian Epic of Creation , p. 39 .

52 . It is rather interesting to note that Prof. Langdon ,

throughout his rendition , deals with the death of the god as
an event which had already taken place , cf. Langdon , The
Babylonian Epic of Creation , pp . 34ff . , lines 13 , 14 , 29 , 68 ,
and Pallis , The Babylonian Akitu Festival , does acknowledge that
no real proof of the enactment of the ritual death of the god
exists , p . 239 . It is against this danger of preconceived ideas ,
or the application of abstract labels , that Zimmern warns us .
Cf. " Das babylonische Neujahrsfest , " Der alte Orient , XXV ( 1926 ) ,
pp . 14-15 .

#
1
 NOTES

CHAPTER VII

1. One cannot refer to this material as " abundant " ;

nevertheless , whatever exists has been subjected to intensive
study and interpretation by scholars . cf. G. A. Barton ,
many

"A Comparative List of of the so - called Indo - Sumerian

the signs
Seals , " AASOR , X ( 1930 ) ; C. L. Fabri , " A Sumero - Babylonian In
scription discovered at Mohenjo -Daro , " Indian Culture , 3 ( 1937 ) ,
pp . 39-46 ; C. J. Gadd , " Seals of Ancient Indian Style Found at
Ur , " PBA ( London : 1933 ) , pp . 69-71 ; Simone Corbiau , An Indo
Sumerian Cylinder ( London : K. Paul , Trench , Trubner and Co. ,
Ltd. , 1933 ) , who suggests the possibility of a local industry
in Mesopotamia , or , at least , in connection with Mesopotamia .
C. C. Das Gupta , " On the Affinity Between One Mohenjo - Daro and
One Kish Terracotta Figurine , " IC , 5 ( 1939 ) , pp . 186-187 ; P.
Joseph , " The Near East and the Indus Valley -- An Introductory
Comparative Study of Prehistoric Ceramic Art , " Journal of Bom
bay University , Vol . XII , No. 4 ( 1944 ) , and Vol . XIV , No. 4
( 1946 ) , C. Das Gupta , " Some notes on the affinity
pp . 29-36 ; C.
between the Indus Valley and extra - Indian sculpture , " Proceed
ings of the Indian History Congress , 15th Session , 1952 , pp .
73-78 ; L. Oppenheim , " The Sea - faring Merchants of Ur , " JAOS , 74
( 1954 ) , pp . 6-17 ; V. G. Childe , The Aryans (New York : Alfred A.
Knoph , Inc. , 1926 ) , pp . 16-41 , and New Light on the Ancient Near
East (New York : Frederick and Praeger , 1968 ) , pp . 172-188 ; Sir
Mortimer Wheeler , Civilizations of the Indus Valley and Beyond ,
3rd ed . (New York : McGraw -Hill Book Company , 1966 ) , especially
pp . 9-13 and 34-52 ; also , The Indus Civilization ( Cambridge :

The University Press , 1968 ) , pp . 79-108 .

2. of these sites , bringing together
The best coverage
the mass of archaeological reports of the finds and their sig
nificance to the entire Indus Valley region and the eastern
Fertile Crescent , is to be found in the two works previously
mentioned by Sir Mortimer Wheeler . cf. R. A. Crossland , " Im
migrants from the North , " in CAH , Vol . I , Part 2 , pp . 824-876 ,
especially pp . 850-853 , and Stuart Piggott , Prehistoric India
( Harmondsworth : Pelican Books , 1950 ) .

273
274 Chapter VII , Notes

3. A number of sites have been surveyed

but aside from ,

Harappa -
and Mohenjo all the others contribute mainly cera
Daro ,
mic evidence . A discussion of these is given by Piggott , ibid . ,
pp . 150-159 , and an up - to - date list has been supplied by Wheeler ,

Indus Civilization , pp . 2-4 and 138-140 . The majority of these

are in the immediate vicinity of the two supposed capitals , and
were not subjected to in - depth archaeological excavations , but
rather mere surface surveys .
4. Cf. Crossland , "Immigrants from the North , " pp . 850
851 , and Wheeler , Indus Civilization , pp . 134-137 .
5. In Winckler startled the learned world by
1907 , Hugo
identifying the names of four gods , already familiar from the
Vedic literature, invoked as witnesses to a treaty signed be

tween the kings of the Mitanni and the Hittites . cf. Hugo
Winckler , " Vorläufige Nachrichten über die Ausgrabungen in Boğ
hazköi , " Mitteilungen der deutschen Orient - Gesellschaft , Vol .
XXXV ( 1907 ) , p . 31 . Named with the ten Babylonian deities were

four other gods : Indra

( in - da - ra ) , Varuna ( u - ru - v - na or a - ru - na ) ,

Mitra , and twins (na - sa - at - ti - i - ia ) . Since that

the Nasatya
time , Boğhazköi , Nuzi , and other sites in Anatolia and Mesopo
tamia , and others as far west as the Syro - Palestinian and Egyp
tian areas , have contributed a flood of linguistic evidence
which , when interpreted by competent scholars , leaves no doubt
as to the extent of Aryan influence in the Near East during the
second and first millennia B.C. A resumé of the important lin
guistic contributions and impact upon the field of Semitic lan
guages is given by R. T. O'Callaghan , Aram Naharaim : A Contri
bution to the History of Upper Mesopotamia in the Second Millen
nium B.C. ( Rome : Pontificium Institutum Biblicum , 1948 ) , pp .

56-64 , and 149-155 ; I. J. Gelb , Hurrians and Subarians , Studies

in Oriental Civilization , Vol . 22 ( Chicago : The University of
Chicago Press , very important monograph by P.
1944 ) ; and the
Thieme , " The Aryan Gods of the Mitanni Treaties , " JAOS , 80
( 1960 ) , pp . 301-317 . Also of importance are M. Mayrhofer , " Zu
den arischen Sprachresten in Vorderasien , " Die Sprache , V ( 1959 ) ,
pp . 79-95 ; E. A. Speiser , " Ethnic Movements in the Near East in

the Second Millennium B.C. , " AASOR , Vol . XIII ( 1931-1932 ) , pp .

18-54 ; Childe , The Aryans , pp . 17-24 ; and P. E. Dumont , " Indo
Aryan Names from Mitanni , Nuzi , and Syrian Documents , " JAOS ,
Chapter VII , Notes 275

67 ( 1957 ) , pp . 251-253 . It
is interesting to note that H. K.
Deb , " Vedic India Journal of the Asiatic
and the Middle East , "
Society of Bengal , XIV , No. 2 ( 1948 ) , pp . 121-143 , finds in
Vedic sources references to the rulers of Egypt , Assyria and
Babylonia a little after the twelfth century B.C. Finally , N.
D. Mironov , " Aryan Vestiges in the Near East , " Analalia Orien

talia , No. 11 ( 1932 ) , pp . 140-147 , sums up Indo - Aryan words and

names preserved in native documents in this area and Egypt be
tween the 18th and 13th centuries B.C. , determining their origi
nal form with their appropriate historical and linguistic value .
Many of these were later refuted by Dumont , Acta Orientalia , 11
( 1933 ) , pp . 140-217 .

6. The term "Hurro -Hittite " is used recognizing , of

course , that initially an indigenous substructure of Hurrian
elements is controlled by an Indo - European power structure which
calls itself Mitanni . The Hurrian tongue or language is of the
Asianic type and definitely non - Aryan . Cf. Gelb , Hurrians and
Subarians , pp . 42-44 , and O'Callaghan , Aram Naharaim , pp . 63-66 .
7. of these migrations
The date , number and character
has been source of much debate over the years . J. Mellaart ,
a

" The End of the Early Bronze Age in Anatolia and the Aegean , "

AJA , 62 ( 1958 ) , pp . 9-33 , notes strong archaeological indica

tions of large - scale disruptive movements in north -western Ana
tolia at two periods ca. 2600 B.C. and ca. 2100 B.C. suggesting
that the first brought the Luwian language into the Thracian
region , and the second may be responsible for the so - called
" Cappadocian painted pottery . The appearance of the monochrome
"
" Hittite " -type was subsequently brought into the central region
anywhere between 2100-1900 B.C. The first , representing an
early group of Indo - European migrants , lived in the northwest
ern region . These were later joined by the second group , or
the transmitters of the historical Hittite language . Ibid . ,
pp . 371 , 406 , 681-703 . His conclusion is that the Hittites en
tered Anatolia from the Caucasian region in the northeast .
However , Crossland has pointed out that , while there may have
been an Indo - European migration , neither of the two referred
to by Mellaart appear to have been responsible for , or connect
ed to , an earlier movement in the more northerly areas which ,
he argues , could have precipitated those farther to the south .
276 Chapter VII , Notes

Furthermore , he evidence which is

adds , the archaeological
alleged to indicate destructions occurring in central Anatolia
at this time , going from east to west , is inconclusive . Rather ,

what archaeological evidence is available tends to fit the com

parative linguistic evidence which points to an incursion from
the northwest moving in an eastern , then southern , direction .
Crossland , "Immigrants from the North , " pp . 841-845 . Other im
portant material bearing on the problem is v . Gordon Childe ,
New Light on the Ancient Near East , pp . 172-188 ; D. D. Kosambi ,
The Culture and Civilization of Ancient India in Historical out
line ( London : Routledge and Kegan Paul , 1965 ) , pp . 76-81 ; and R.
T. O'Callaghan , "New Light on the Hurrian and Indo - Aryan Symbio

sis in the Mitanni Kingdom , " ACIO , XXI ( 1949 ) , pp . 131-133 . In

this vein , it is also worth considering certain seals , rings ,
and ceramic evidence uncovered by M. I. Maksinnova in the Black
Sea coastal region , JNES , 10 ( 1951 ) , pp . 74-83 , and for the
later periods Albrecht Goetze , Hethiter , Churriter , und Assyr
,

er ( Cambridge , .: Harvard University Press , 1936 ) , and M.

Mass
Gimbutas , " The Indo - Europeans : Archeological Problems , " Ameri
can Anthropologist , 65 ( 1936 ) , pp . 815-836 .

8. The problem of the precise geographical origin of the

Indo - European or Aryan movements , i.e. , the region in which they
lived before their primary dispersal , their lan
and in which
guage reached the stage of its development prior to its recon
struction by linguistic comparison , is not within the scope of
this investigation . Owing to the tremendous impact which these
northern migrations have had on the development of all areas of
Near Eastern and Mediterranean history , each scholar attempting
to tackle the problem apparently does so with a built - in par
tiality , attempting to interpret his body of evidence to favour
that particular ethnic group which he represents to be an Indian ,
a Slavic , or a European origin . A sampling of the evidence on
origins consequently places the Aryan homeland as far north as
Scandinavia , as far east as the Russian Steppes , and as far west
as central Europe . Among the numerous schools of thought , rep
resentative figures are : M. Gimbuta , " On the Origin of the North
Indo - Europeans , " American Anthropologist , 54 , No. 4 ( 1958 ) , pp .
602-611 ; H. F. K. Gunther , Die nordische Rasse bei den Indoger
manen Asiens ( Munich : J. F. Lehmann , 1934 ) ; K. Kapur , " India
Home of Aryans , " Proceedings of the Indian History
Chapter VII , Notes 277

Congress ( 1941 ) , pp . 213-229 ; W. Koppers , " La question raciale

et indo - europeenne dans le lumière de l'histoire universelle , "
Nova et Vetera No. 2 ( 1944 ) , pp . 167-194 ; L.
19 , R. Palmer ,
Achaeans and Indoeuropeans : An Inaugural Lecture ( Oxford : The
Clarendon Press , 1955 ) ; P. S. Sastic , " South India : The Original
Home of the Aryans ," Summary of Papers , 14th A2Z India Oriental
Conference ( Poona : Darbhanga , 1948 ) ; Childe , The Aryans , cf.
especially pp . 94-206 , where this scholar explores the various
theories origin
; and Pulgram , "Mycenean Linear B , Greek , and
on
the Greeks , Glotta ( 1960 ) , who states that language , race and
"
culture have no necessary connection with one another .
9. There is complete agreement on the fact that the later
eastward movement represents split
of those who
a in the branch
had settled in the Iranian region , but the meager archaeological
evidence from the northern and eastern parts of Iran makes the
reconstruction of the events of this region well nigh impossible .
cf. M. J. Mellink , " Dark Ages and Nomads : Studies in Iranian and
Anatolian Archeology , " Publication of the Netherlands Historical
and Archeological Institute in Istanbul , XVIII ( 1964 ) , where ,
among important observations , she points out that names of spe
cifically Iranian characteristics first appear in Assyrian docu
ments of the nineteenth century B.C.

10 . Whether or not this culture was indeed completely de

stroyed by the invading Aryans as earlier scholars had presumed
is still an open question . Theories attempting to place blame
for the certain civilizations have ranged from wars with
end of
foreign climatic factors , racial degeneration , and
elements ,
violent geomorphological changes , to total migration from the
area . Later scholars , evaluating the mass of evidence from
Mohenjo - Daro , appear to view the end of this civilization in
the words of Wheeler as " marked by a massacre " but also rooted
in " deeper causes of decline which may well have included disas
terous floods , obstructed irrigation , " or just " one long pro
cess of getting tired , " Wheeler , The Indus Valley , pp . 72-83 .
Cf. Antiquity , XXXVI ( 1962 ) , pp . 86-92 , and R. L. Raikes , " The
End of Ancient the Indus , " American Anthropologist ,
Cities of
Vol . 66 , No. 2 ( 1964 ) . As opposed to this view , see R. Heine
Geldern , " The Coming of the Aryans and the End of the Harappa
Civilization , " Anthropos , 51 ( 1956 ) , pp . 331-343 .
278 Chapter VII , Notes

11 .The great importance placed on this ritual can be es

timated through the numerous types outlined in Srautacosa : En
cyclopaei dia of Vedic Sacrifici al Ritual , 2 vols . ( Poona : Vaidika
Samsodhana Mandala , 1963 ) .

12 . Actually , the Veda is spoken of in the plural , and ,

more precisely , there are four Vedas : 1 ) Samhita , verses re
cited in the course of the sacrifice , 2 ) Yajur - samhita , the
sacrificial formulae , also called Yajurveda , 3 ) Samasamhita or
Samaveds , the melodies of which the text is given , and 4 ) Atha
rasamhita or Atharaveda , the magical formulae . Cf. Louis Renou ,

Vedic India ( Calcutta : Susil Gupta ( India ) Private Limited ,

1957 ) , pp . 1-2 , and A. L. Basham , The Wonder That Was India
(New York : Grove Press , Inc. , 1954 ) , pp . 399-407 . 1

13 .The Samhita is shown indications to consist

by many
of fragments of different origin and date despite the uniform
ity of tone . The bulk is linguistically considered to be most
ancient . See Renou , Vedic India , p . 3 ; and especially A. B.
Keith , The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads ,
Harvard Oriental Series , Vol . 31 ( Cambridge , Mass .: Harvard
University Press , 1925 ) , pp . 5-23 ; and c . G. Kashitar , " Sayana
and the Text of the Rigveda -- Samhita ," New India Antiquity , I
( 1938-1939 ) .

14 . As indicated by its name , this is a series of inter

pretations by the " Brahmans " in their capacity as theologians .
They deal with the sacred science and expound the Brahman . Tra
dition appears to distinguish two subjects : prescriptions and
explanations ( vidhi and atharra ) . These collections of theo
logical statements appear to have arisen from scholastic con
troversies relating to the description of rites in the Samhitas .
The tendency is to regard the Brahmanas as defining a " period "
which may have been of a long duration coming after the Sam
hitas . Cf. H. R. Karnik , " The Brahmanas -- what can they teach
us ? " Bharatiya Vidya , 13 ( 1951 ) , pp . 65-77 , and Batakrishna
Ghosh , Collection of the Fragments of the Brahmanas ( Calcutta :
Modern Publishing Syndicate , 1935 ) . Also , note the historical
context of certain human sacrificial rituals which will be an
alyzed later in this investigation in V. V. Dixit , " Relation of
the Epics 'to the Brahmana Literature with Regard to History ,
Religion , and Sociology , " Poona Orientalist , Nos . 5-7 , ( 1941
1943 ) .
Chapter VII , Notes 279

15 . These texts of the forest , " H. Oldenberg ,

are the "
Die Religion
des Veda ( Berlin : Verlag von Wilhelm Hertz , 1894 ) ,
pp . 17-22 , because they are secret , " rahasya , " or at least
abstruse , perhaps dangerous because of their magical powers
and , therefore , kept away from the public and read in isola
tion in the forest . Also see Renou , Vedic India , pp . 32-33 .
However , they are not books of hermits as was long supposed .
Basham , The Wonder That Was India , pp . 233 , 246 . The schools of
the Rigveda possess two Aranyakas the Aitareya and the Shank
,
hayana . The former commented on by Sayana is a mixture of verses
pertaining to horse and human sacrifice on the fire altar . A

precise date cannot be determined . cf. also V. M. Apte , " Lan

guage and Literature of the Aranyakas , " History and Culture of
the Indian People , I ( 1950-1951 ) , pp . 42-431 .

16 . The most ancient Upanishads are closely connected with

the Brahmana portions of the Aranyakas . They appear to share
the esoteric tendency to discuss the symbolism of melodies or
words . Many see more of a scientific than religious tone in
these works . Renou has defined the Upanishads as " dialectic on
a magical basis , " Vedic India , p . 34 . The Upanishads are later
than the Brahmanas . Cf. Oldenberg , Die Religion des Veda , pp .
22-26 . Most scholars place them between 1200 and 1000 B.C.
Also see Basham , The Wonder , pp . 250-256 ; R. E. Hume , The Thir
teen Upanishads ( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 1949 ) ; and s .
Radhakrishnan , The Principal Upanishads ( London : George Allen
and Unwin , 1953 ) .

17 . A composition of subsidiary sciences necessary for

the proper understanding of the Vedas . There is a total of six
fields : kalpa , performance of the sacrifice ; siksa , correct
pronunciation of phonetics
; chandas , meter and prosody ; nirukta ,
etymology and the interpretation of the obscure words ; vyakarana ,
grammar ; and jyotisa , astronomy or science of the calendar . Cf.
V. M. Apte , The Vedangas ( Calcutta : R. K. Mission Institute of
Calcutta ,
1958 ) , pp . 3-7 ; Basham , The Wonder That was India p .
163 ; and Renou , Vedic India , pp . 1 , 82 , 96 .

18 . The " Rigveda exists in the form

," or veda of verses ,

of some 1,028 sukta , divided into " circles , " mandala ,

"hymns ,
containing some 10,462 verses . There is no precise date for
the codifying of this important work , but , based on a study of
280 Chapter VII , Notes

language changes , most scholars are of the opinion that it was

codified betweenfifteenth and tenth centuries B.C. cf.
the
Basham , The Wonder That was India , pp . 31-32 ; K. M. Shembavane
kar , " The Origin of the Rig Veda , " Journal of Bombay University ,

No. 4 ( 1935 ) , p . 7 ; Renou , Vedic India , pp . 10-1l ; and F. Max

Müller , Ancient Sanscrit Literature , revised and edited by Sur
endra Nath Sastri ( Varnasi : Chowkhamba Sanscrit Series Office ,
1968 ) , pp . 9-14 .

19. Attempts will be made to evaluate each of these refer

ences during the progress of this investigation .
20 . D. D. Kosambi , The Culture and Civilization of An
cient India in Historical Outline ( London : Routledge and Kegan
Paul , 1965 ) , pp . 73-75 , and 84-88 ; L. D. Barnett , Antiquities
of India ( Calcutta : Punthi Pustak , 1964 ) , pp . 1-9 ; R. C. Dutt ,
Early Hindu Civilization Based on Sanscrit Literature ( Calcutta :
Punthi Pustak , 1963 ) , pp . 23-35 ; F. Müller , Ancient Sanscrit
Literature , pp . 9-16 ; H. Zimmer , Altindisches Leben ( Berlin :
Weidmannsche Buchhandlung , 1879 ) , pp . 100-128 ; and Keith ,
Religion and Philosophy , pp . 1-6 .

A good example of this is presented by Keith , who

21 .
lists , according to their frequency , category and importance ,

the various divinities and the type of hymn ascribed to each ;

ibid . , pp . 58-256 .

22 . One encounters a wide range of dates from as early as

2000 B.C. ( Dutt , Hindu Civilization , pp . 1-5 ) , which most schol
ars reject , to as late as 900 B.C. ( Barnett , Antiquities of
India , pp . 1-3 ) , a date which is considered too late by the ma
jority of scholars . The fifteenth century B.C. is the generally
accepted approximation for this compendium of literature . On
scholarly opinion in this regard , see V. D. Mahajan , Ancient
India (New Delhi : S. Chand and Co. , 1962 ) , pp . 67-68 . It would
seem that Barnett is nearer the truth in setting an early date
of some of the contents , but does not demonstrate an early date
for the whole . literature on dating indicates the fifteenth
The
to tenth century B.C. for the final version would be reasonable
enough .

23 . The hymns and context of the legend appear in the

Rigveda translated by R. T. H. Griffith , The Hymns of the
Chapter VII , Notes 281

Rigveda , 2 Vols . , 4th ed . ( Varanasi : Chowkhamba Sanscrit

Series Office , 1963 ) , Vol . 1 , pp . 30-37 . This is one of many
translations by prominent Sanscrit scholars . Cf. also F. Max
Müller , Ancient Sanscrit Literature ; H. Oldenberg , Vedic Hymns ,

2 Vols . ( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 1899 ) ; A. B. Keith ,

The Religion and Philosophy of the Vedas and Upanishads (Cam

bridge , Mass .: Harvard University Press , 1925 ) , pp . 282-283 ;
and B. Bloomfield , The Religion of the Veda (New York : G. P.
Putnam's Sons , 1908 ) , pp . 291-302 .
24 . R. Colebrook and H. Wilson , " On the Sacrifice of Human
Beings , JRAS , XXIII ( 1926 ) , pp . 96-109 . This is the usual
thought that the particular ancient people of their choice would
not practice such "brutality . " Cf. F. M. Müller , Ancient San
scrit Literature , p . 380 , where he states , " It does not neces
sarily follow from this legend that the Rishis , the authors of
the Vedic hymns , offered human sacrifices . "

25 . cf. Srautacosa .

26 . R. N. Suryanarayan , " The Exegesis of the Vedas with a

special reference to the thirty - third chapter of the Aitareya
Brahmana , " Poona Orientalist , 2-3 ( 1938 ) , and especially H. G.
Narahari , " The Legend of Sunahshepa in Vedic and Post Vedic
Literature , 11 Kane Commentary Volume ( Varanasi : Chowkhamba San
scrit Series Office , 1941 ) , pp . 139-148 .
27 . While he admits that the " sacrificial post " is con
sistent with popular legend , he argues that the binding of the
victim's head , waist , arms and legs to this ritual " altar " has
been used in the hymns metaphorically to imply the bondage of
sin . Unquestionably , he has been influenced by the Hebrew
Scriptures with which he draws certain parallels from the
Abraham - Isaac account . Cf. H. H. Wilson , " On Human Sacrifices
in the Ancient Religion of India , " pp . 96-107 , especially pp .
99-100 . Cf. Müller , Ancient Sans crit Literature , pp . 380-381 .

28 . These are usually

dated ca. 1200-1000 B.C. cf. Renou ,
Vedic India , pp . 28-29 , and Dixit , " Relation of the Epics , " p .
13 , who classifies them according to certain historical and
narrative elements .

29 . Renou has pointed out that many of the hymns were

compiled in direct response to literary and liturgical needs ,
282 Chapter VII , Notes

either at the inauguration of a king or in praise to a divinity .

Renou , Vedic India , pp . 135-136 .

30 . R. Mitra , Indo - Aryans , Vol . II ( London : Edward Stan

ford , 1933 ) , pp . 74-75 , who
authentic reference to human
sees an

sacrifice in this story , argues that if Harischandra did actu

ally intend co give up hi son to Varuna in sacrifice , the pro
mise to " sacrifice his son when born " would be meaningless , and
the frequent evasions he resorted to were quite unnecessary .
He could have easily subjected his son at any time to the cere
mony of being tied to the stake and after repeating a few man
tras ovex him , let him off perfectly free . Also void of any
meaning would be the running away of the son , the purchase of a
substitute , the payment of a fee of 100 head of cattle , and the
sharpening of the sacrificial knife by Ajigarta . Cf. Griffith ,
Hymns of the Rig Veda , p . 30 , n . 24 , and Müller , Ancient San

scrit Literature , pp . 272-277 .

31 . Ibid . , pp . 378-379 .

32 . Ibid . , pp . 376-377 , and Narahiri , " The Legend of

Sunahshepa , " p . 9 , see that the most interesting element of
the whole legend is the fact that , with the reference to a
Brahman purchasing another Brahman for a sacrifice , there is
evidence that there was a great difference between the various
Aryan settlers in India . Whether or not this can be ascribed
to a difference at the time of migration or to some other
cause , the fact is , that there were Aryan people in India
among whom not only could a young prince make the offer of
buying one of their children , but also the father could offer
to bind and kill his son .
33 . There is abundant proof of this in many sources as in
Basham , The Wonder That Was India , pp . 239-240 , and Mitra ,
Indo - Aryans , p . 76 .
34 . A. Huag , The Rig Veda ( London : K. Paul , Trench , Trub
ner and Co. , Ltd. , 1931 ) , pp . 90-91 . Cf. also the translation
by Müller , Ancient Sans crit Literature , p. 381 .

35 . The Purusha - medha consists in adding to the animal

victims a man , Brahman or Kshatriya , who has been bought for
the price of 1,000 cows and 100 horses . Like the horse in the
Asvamedha , he is allowed to wander free for a year , and when he
Chapter VII , Notes 283

killed , lies beside his corpse . The Satapatha refers

the queen
to 166 having been sacrificed . The event is not described ,
men

but there is no reason to think that it was symbolic . Renou ,

Vedic India , pp . 109-110 .
36 . Cf. Müller , Ancient Sanscrit Literature , pp . 319-320 ;
Keith , Religion and Philosophy , I , pp . 282-283 , 262-264 , II ,
347-348 , 354 ; Mitra , Indo - Aryans , Vol . II , pp . 93-102 ; Renou ,
Vedic India , p . 109 , etc.
37 . Mitra , Indo - Aryans , Vol . II , p. 79 ; Müller , Ancient
Sans crit Literature , pp . 314-323 ; Wilson , Religion of India ,
pp . 268-269 ; Renou , Vedic India , p. 110 .

38 . See the full translation of this rather curious pas

sage in the Taittíriya of the Black Yajur Veda , in Mitra , Indo
Aryans , Vol . II . , pp . 80-89 . The present writer has found this
translation to vary slightly from others , but it is of value in
that it gives a parallel translation of key sections from the
Vajasaneik Samhita of the later White Yajur Veda .
39 . Ibid . , p . 83 .

40 . In an explanation of this passage in the Taittíriya

Brahmana , Apastamba , the commentator adds , " the Purusha - medha
is penta - diural ; a Brahmana or a Kshatriya should celebrate
it ... the number of days should be as in Panchas aradiya rite ,

and as a sequel to the Agnishtoma rite Having sacrificed ....

twice eleven men , reciting the mantra , Brahmane Brahmanan
alabheta , ( the priest ) places the sacrificed ( or consecrated ,

up akrata ) victims between the sacrificial posts ... then turning

a burning brand round the victims , consigns them to the
north .... , " ibid . , pp . 89-90 .

41 . Sayana Acharya , after quoting the opinion of Apastamba

and explaining the different terms used in the Brahmana for gods
and goddesses , adds that human - formed animals should be immo ...
lated along with the sacrificial animals on the middle day of
the five days of the Purusha - medha . Neither Apastamba nor Sayana
has a word to say about the human victims being symbolical .
Ibid . , p. 90 .

42 . Renou , Vedic India , pp . 14-16 .

43 . Müller has estimated that the interval between the

Satpatha Brahmana and the Samhita of the Rigveda is between two
284 Chapter VII , Notes

hundred and years . Religion is one of the more

five hundred
conservative of culture . Therefore , customs , practices ,
areas
and characteristics in this field tend to be more tenacious
than in other areas . It would be difficult to hazard a guess
as to when the practice of this sacrificial type of human kill
ing was changed to the merely symbolic , but the fact that there
were continued instances of this sort until very late may indi
cate a gradual but very lengthy process . Cf. Müller , Ancient
Sans crit Literature , pp . 394-396 ; and also Keith , Religion and
Philosophy , pp . 440-454 .
44 . As described in the Atharveda IV.8 , I ; xi , 7.7 Tait
tíriya Samhita ; v.6 , 2,1 ; Aitareya Brahmana vii.15,8 , Satapatha
Brahmana , v.1,1.12 , etc. and also
in the Sudras , A. A. Mac
,

donell and A. B. Keith

, Vedic Names and Subjects ( Varanasi :
,

Motilal Benarsidass , 1958 ) , pp . 218-220 , the consecration of the

king is performed by sprinkling with water and other substances
from a wooden cup . The king is seated on a wooden throne cover
ed with a tiger skin . His dignitaries stand around him and an #

officiant presents him to the people . The curious scene which

follows is attributed to non - Aryan influence . The king makes
a mimic raid upon a herd of cows belonging to a relative , as
pects which exhibit twin functions of the king : rivalry and
suzerainty . The Satapatha states that this mimic performance
is to regain the virility which the relative had taken from the
king . Cf. Renou , Vedic India , p . 108 . Attempts to connect
this with ritual killing were made earlier by A. Weber , " Über
die Königsweihe , den Rajasuya , " ZDMG , XVIII ( 1896 ) , pp . 262
287 ; H. Oldenberg , Die Religion des Veda , pp . 472 , 491 ; and A.
Hillebrandt , Ritual - Litterature Vedische Opfer und Zauber ,
,

Grundriss der Indo - Arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde , III ,

Part 2 ( 1897 ) , pp . 144-147 .

45 . cf. , for example , Macdonell and Keith , Vedic Names ,

pp . 234-236 ; and especially G. Dumezil , Flamen - Brahman ( Paris :
Annales du Musée Guimet , 1935 ) , pp . 13-42 , 97-112 ; and even M.
MacDonnell and A. B. Keith , " The Rig Veda , " JRAS ( 1907 ) , pp .

844-845 ; and William Crooke , An Introduction to Popular Religion

and Folklore of Northern India , Vol . ( Oxford : Oxford Univer II
sity Press , 1926 ) , pp . 107-108 .
Chapter VII , Notes 285

F. Weller , " Die Legende von Sunahshepa , " Verh . Sachs .

46 .

Ak . Phil . - Hist . Klasse . , 102 , Part 2 ( 1956 ) . He proves

Wiss . ,
that the passage where Varuna proclaimed the Rajasuya sacrifice
to Harischandra is a later addition , and it is well known that
the Aitaraja Brahmana nowhere speaks of this event .

47 . J.
C. Heesterman , The Ancient Indian Royal Consecra
tion ( The Hague : Mouton and Co. , 1957 ) , especially pp . 158-161 ;
J. A. A. van Buitenen , in his review of this book , appears to
agree somewhat with Hesterman , JAOS , 80 ( 1960 ) , p. 252 . One

cannot fail to observe the close similarity between certain as

pects of the consecration of the Assyrian kings during the Akîtu
Festival , and that of the Rajasuya . It is interesting to note
that a ingenious but hitherto unproved theory was ad
rather
vanced by G. on the Falmen - Brahman in Mitra - Varuna :
Dumezil
essai sur deux représentationes indo - européennes de la souv
raineté ( Paris : Gallmard , 1948 ) . The Brahman - priest of the
Vedic ritual and primitive Indo - Europeans used to honour their
kings by killing them on certain occasions to placate the high
er powers . In later times , another person , a Brahman , who be
came a sort of alter ego to him , used to take his place at the

time of the human sacrifice . In this light , the author inter

prets the Sunahshepa Legend . It is interesting , but his entire
monograph is based on speculation regarding certain early Indo
European rites , and not much concrete evidence as proof .

48 . This " horse " is the most imposing and best

sacrifice
known of Vedic rituals ,the highest manifestation of the royal
authority and a demonstration of triumph indulged in by the vic
torious king . While it lasts for only three days , the prepara
tory ceremony extended over a year . Various aspects of this
ceremony have been scholars . The following
dealt with by many
represents a sample of these : Keith , " The Horse Sacrifice , " in
Religion and Philosophy of the Rig Veda , Vol . 31 , pp . 347–348 ,
who emphasizes the symbolism of the rite . P. E. Dumont ,
L'Ashvamedha ( Paris : E. Leroux , 1927 ) , pp . xi - xii , argues for

the assurance of the fecundity of the land . W. F. Albright ,

" Indic and Babylonian Sacrificial Rituals , " JAOS , 54 ( 1934 ) ,

pp . 107-128 , compares this with the Babylonian ritual involving
the bull sacrifice . Coomaraswamy , " A Note on the Ashvamedha , "
Archiv Orientalni , 8 ( 1936 ) , pp . 306-317 , compares the role of
286 Chapter VII , Notes

queen in this sacrifice to a symbolic marriage of heaven and

earth . Dumont , " The Horse - Sacrifice in the Taittíriya Brahmana ,"
Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society , No. 92 , Part
6 ( 1946 ) , pp . 447-503 , attempts to describe all aspects of the
ceremony from the different sources .

49 . cf. Coomaraswamy , " A Note on the Ashvamedha , " pp . 312 .

50 . Keith , Sacrifice , " p . 347 , and Renou ,

" The Horse
Vedic India , p . cf. Mitra , Indo - Aryans , pp . 103-104 .
110 .

51 . While there are differing opinions as to the conclu

sion to be derived , most scholars appear to see in these texts
an earlier indication of a ritual killing which was widely prac

ticed by the early Aryans ; but later , because of the cruelty

involved , this became symbolic . Cf. A. Weber , Episches im
vedischen Ritual ( Leipzig : F. A. Brockhaus , 1898 ) , pp . 9-12 ;
Hillebrandt , Ritual - litterature , pp . 153-154 ; and Keith , " Horse
Sacrifice , " p . 347 .
52 . The best translations and commentaries are to be
found in W. Caland , Das Srautasutra des Apas tamba aus der
Sanskrit übersetzt ( Leipzig : J. C. Hinrichs , 1921 ) , and above
all , Dumont , It
is interesting to note the reac
L'Ashvamedha .
tion of certain scholars to the ritual outlined here . Apparent
ly Griffith declines to translate this se ion of the ritual
and for Keith , Religion and Philosophy , pp . 343-347 , they " are
hardly translatable , " their language is " obscene . " However ,
there is no evidence that any such feelings were entertained
among those who took part in the ceremony , which was to them an

essential and significant part of a solemn rite .

53 . See above , pp . 102-103 .

54 . Keith , " Horse Sacrifice , " p. 348 .

55 . Cf. Macdonell , Vedic Mythology , p . 165 , where he

quotes Rigveda 18ff in which the deities explain the
X, 18 :
beauties of the world to which a wife has descended accompany
ing her dead husband .

56 . Mitra , Indo - Aryans

, Vol . . , pp . 101-110 . II
He claims

that the ancestors of these people were formerly offered as vic

tims at the Durga and the Kalipujas , and that they were sacri
ficed according to the formula laid down in the Kálíká Purana .
Chapter VII , Notes 287

57 . Cf. C. J. Gadd , " The Spirit of Living Sacrifices , "

Iraq ( 1960 ) , pp . 53-54 and E. Westermarck , The Origin of Moral

Ideas ( London : Macmillan and Co. , Ltd. , 1912 ) , p. 474 , and notes
1-2 .

58 . oldenberg , Religion des Veda , p . 587 .

59 . H. Heras , " The Religion of the Mohenjo - Daro People

According to Inscriptions , " Journal of the University of Bombay ,
V, Part I ( 1958 ) , p. 23 . Words are never found on these in
scriptions . The only significant factor is that they are re
peated ( i.e. the same scene ) a few times and always with seven
individuals .

60 . Cf. J.
Marshall , Mohenjo - Daro and the Indus civiliza
tion ( London : Longmans Green and Co. , Ltd. , 1917 ) , cf. Pls .
CXVI , No. 6 ; XII , Nos . 18 , 146 , 553 ; CXVIII , No. 3 .

61 . Marshall , Mohenjo - Daro , Photo , 1928-29 , No. 6357 .

62 . Cf. A. P. Karmarkar , "Human Sacrifice in Proto - India , "

Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute , XXV ( 1944 ) ,
pp . 109-115 .

63 . Herodotus , I, 66 .

64 . Cf. Monier Williams , Brahmanism and Hinduism (Varana

si : Chowkhamba Sanscrit Series Office , 1964 ) , p. 271 .

65 . Karmarkar , "Human Sacrifice , " pp . 111-113 .

66 . Ibid . , p. 113 .

67 . See above , pp . 104-105 and n . 52 where Griffith at

tempts to describe certain aspects of the ritual killing of the
Ashvamedha .

68 . Expressions
of this sort have no more absolute value
than the well - used " beastly devices of the heathen . " Comment
ing on the statement of the missionary , Gutzlaff , who called
the island of Puto " an infamous seat of de formed idols , " R.
Wilhelm and C. G. Jung ( Secret of the Golden Flower : A Chinese
Book of Life (New York : Harcourt , Brace and World , 1962 ) , pp .
125-126 ) , suggest that it is
rarely realized to what extent the
old missionary view has survived in many a modern scholar . They
aptly describe such an attitude as " the brutal morality suited
288 Chapter VII , Notes

to us recently civilized , barbaric Teutonic peoples ... ( for whom )

it was unavoidable that the sphere of the instincts should be
thoroughly repressed . " This is a criticism which would be ap
plicable to certain interpretations given by modern scholars of
the Vedic sources referred to in this study .

69 . Cf. A. Barth , Religions of India ( Varanasi : Chowkhamba

Sanscrit Series Office , 1963 ) , pp . 97-98 .

0
 NOTES

CHAPTER VIII

1. C. J.
Gadd , " The Spirit of Living Sacrifices ," Iraq ,
21 ( 1960 ) , pp . 51-52 .

2. E. A. Budge , An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary ( Lon

don : J. Murray , 1920 ) , p . 731a .

3. S. A. B. Mercer , The Religion of Ancient Egypt ( Lon

don : Luzac , 1949 ) , p. 358 .

4. Ibid . , p. 356 .

5. Ibid . , p. 355 . cf. N. de Garis Davies and A. H.

Gardiner , The Tomb of Amenemhet ( London : The Egyptian Explora
tion Society , 1915 ) , pp . 79-93 , and A. H. Gardiner , Egyptian
Grammar , 2nd ed . ( London : Geoffery Cumberledge , Oxford Univer
sity Press , 1950 ) , pp . 73–74 .

6. See N. de Garis Davies and A. H. Gardiner , The Tomb

of Amenemhet , pp . 24-26 .

7. Mercer , Religion of Ancient Egypt , p . 358 .

8. His entire article deals with a description of the

mass burials in Nubia , but apparently does not consider this as
adequate proof
Cf. A. Scharff ,
. " Die Ausgräbung von Kermon ,"
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung , XXIX ( 1926 ) , p. 92 .

9. H. Kees , Totenglauben und Jenseitsvorstellungen der

Alten Ägypter ( Berlin : Akademic Verlag , 1956 ) . cf. his chapter
on " Die Entwicklung des Totenglaubens nach den Zeugnissen der
Privatgräber des Alten Reiches , " pp . 108-131 , and especially
pp . 129-130 .

10 . H. Junker , Pyramidenzeit das Wesen der Altägyptischen

Religion ( Einseideln : Beziger , 1949 ) , p . 51 .
11 . J. Vandier , Manuel d'archéologie égyptienne : Tome III ,

Les Corandes Epoques , La Statuaire ( Paris : Editions A. et J.

Picard et Cic . , 1958 ) .

12 . G. A. Reisner , Excavations at Kerma : Harvard African

Studies , Vol . 5, Parts 1-3 ( Cambridge , Mass .: Peabody Museum of

289
290 Chapter VIII , Notes

Harvard University , 1923 ) , pp . 61-189 ; and W. B. Emery , Great

Tombs of the First Dynasty , Vols . I - III ( London : Oxford Univer
sity Press ) 1949-58 , and Archaic Egypt ( Baltimore : Penguin Books ,
,

1967 ) ; E. A. W. Budge , Osiris , The Egyptian Religion of the

Resurrection (New York : University Books , 1961 ) , pp . 197-230 ;

G. Maspero , "Tombeau de Montowhikhopshouf , " Mission archéolo
gique française au Caire : Memoires , V , Part 3 ( 1893-1894 ) , pp .
435-468 ; E. Lefébure , " Le Sacrifice humain d'aprés les rites de
Busiris et d'abydos , " Sphinx : Revue critique de l'égyptologie ,

iii- iv ( 1900-1901 ) , pp . 139-164 ; G. A. Wainwright , The Sky Reli

gion in Egypt : Its Antiquity and Its Effects ( Cambridge : The
University Press , 1938 ) .

13 . Albert M. Lythgoe and Dows Dunham , The Pre dynastic

Cemetery N. 7000 ( Berkeley and Los Angeles : University of Cali
fornia Press , 1965 ) . Cf. Grave Nos . 7016 , 7024 , 7027 , 7036 ,
7037 , 7045 , 7055 , These represent typical ex
7057 , 7058 , 35c .
amples of the many listed in this report . Some contain up to

six persons , and only a few indicate reopening for later addi
tions . Recordings of other predynastic graves at Nagada , Ballas ,

and El - Mahasna have also been made by W. M. F. Petrie and J. E.

Quibell , Nagada and Ballas ( London : British School of Archeology ,

1896 ) ; and E. R. Ayrton andW. L. S. Loat , Pre - dynastic Cemetery

at El - Mahasna ( London : The British Exploration Fund , 1911 ) . cf.
E. J. Baumgärtel , The Cultures of Pre - historic Egypt , II ( Lon
1
don : Oxford University Press , 1960 ) , especially pp . 122-139 ,
who makes a comparison of the material remains of all the pre
dynastic sites in an effort to trace the stage in cultural de
velopment at this time , and J. Vandier , Manuel d'archéologie
égyptienne , I, Part I ( Paris : Editions A et J. Picard , et Cic . ,
1952 ) , pp . 234-244 , for a brief description of specific graves
at all sites .

Ĉf . G. A. Reisner , who makes a detailed comparison

14 .

between these and his later discoveries at Kerma in Nubia , in

Excavations at Kerma . Also see the comments and reports of the
appearance of those graves by the excavators .

15 . Others may contain a few more artifacts , and even an

4
occasional ram ; however , this appears to fit the general de
scription . Reisner , Excavations at Kerma , p. 67 .

16 . C. A. Reisner , Excavations at Kerma .

Chapter VIII , Notes 291

17 . Ibid . , pp . 73 , 74 . Predynastic Egyptians , according

to a number of Egyptologists , are to be divided into the stages
--Badarian , Amratean and Badarian , Amratean only , Gerzean and
Amratean mixed , Gerzean only , Semainean and Gerzean mixed , and
Semainean only . Since this study is primarily concerned with
the historical periods , only a study of the last group is being
presented as this is immediately followed by the Early Dynastic
Period , and attempts must be made to see if there is evidence
of cultural continuity .

18 . This custom of burials referred to by Reisner using

the late Indian term " sati " involves a ritual in which post
Vedic Indians buried , or burned , a man's widow , immediate mem
bers of his family , horses , and other cherished possessions with
his corpse , so he might have all he loved and needed in the oth
er world . It should be noted , however , that the word sati means
" a virtuous woman in Sanscrit , but was erroneously applied by
early English officials and missionaries to the sati's self
immolation . cf. Basham , The Wonder That Was India , pp . 186-88 .

19 . The central figure is usually stretched out on reed

matting , clothed in ordinary garment , accompanied by a few beads
and a small bone or two . It is difficult in some cases to re
construct the position of the chief body and other artifacts ac
companying the deceased and his victims , since almost always
these " multiple " graves have been plundered . Whatever few pos
sessions were initially with the body have been destroyed , or
stolen . The fact that scores of single burials were usually
found intact lends weight to the argument that those were spe
cial individuals . Cf. Lythgoe and Dunham , Predynastic Cemetery ,

and Petrie , Nagada and Ballas , pp . 63-67 .

20 . Dr. Emery points out that during the entire First Dy

nastic Period and almost to the end of the Second Dynasty , " the
mass of the population followed the mortuary customs of their
forebearers , only adopting the methods of burial of their super
iors toward the end of the Second Dynasty , " but strangely enough ,
after the Predynastic Period , there is no evidence of multiple
sacrifice in the thousands of graves excavated . W. B. Emery ,
Archaic Egypt ( Baltimore : Penguin Books , 1967 ) , p . 128 . Also
see M. A. Murray , " Burial Customs and Beliefs in the Hereafter
in Pre - dynastic Egypt , " JEA , 42 ( 1956 ) , pp . 86-96 .
292 Chapter VIII , Notes

21 . The feasibility of this theory proposed by Reisner

and others will be treated in depth later in the course of this

study . See W. B. Emery , Archaic Egypt ( Baltimore : Penguin Books ,
1967 ) , pp . 24-32 .

22 . Cf. Reisner , Excavations at Kerma , pp . 70-71 , and W. B.

Emery , Egypt in Nubia ( London : Hutchinson and Co. Ltd. , 1965 ) , p . 154 .
23 . cf. J. Cerny , Ancient Egyptian Religion ( London :
Hutchinson University Library , 1952 ) , p. 107 . It is interesting
that in all of Cerny's works on Egypt , this is the only refer
ence he makes to " supposed " ritual killings . See also Murray ,
" Burial Customs and Beliefs ," pp . 86-87 .

24 . Initial excavation of these " Royal Tombs " was conduct

ed by Sir Flinders Petrie , and a few prominent members of his

staff . It was Petrie who initially made the discovery of these
subsidiary burials and their stratigraphical location , contents ,
and apparent relationship to the " Royal Burial " in the center .
However , Petrie's enthusiasm for his theory of " sequence dat
ing " has led , on occasion , to the incorrect dating of a number
of tombs and also to apparent confusion of the identity of a
number of the royal occupants . Consequently , his recordings of
these finds , their chronological distribution , and the dynastic
succession of many of them , based on Manetho's " 30 dynasties "
theory , while voluminous , are in some places difficult to har
monize with new data , or what is currently known and accepted
of the history
and chronology of early Egypt . cf. W. M. F.
Petrie , The Royal Tombs of the First Dynasty , Part I ( London :
The Egyptian Exploration Fund , 1900 ) , especially pp . 3-17 , and
44-45 ; Abydos , Part I ( 1902 ) , pp . 34-51 .
Building on this foundation , continued excavations , and
new discoveries from these , along with additional sites , Walter
B. Emery , Great the First Dynasty , Vol . I ( Cairo :
Tombs of
Government Press Vol .
, 1949 ) , II
( London : Oxford University 1
1
Press , 1958 ) , and Excavations at Saqqara : Hor - Aha ( Cairo : The

Government Press , 1939 ) , along with other scholars , has correct

ed many of Petrie's former errors . This study will utilize pri
marily these later reports of Emery and other scholars to eval
uate the purported evidence of human ritual slayings during
this period .

1
Chapter VIII , Notes 293

25 . All available archaeological material of the reign of

Hor - Aha has come from Abydos , Saqqara , and Nagada . Whereas it
was previously thought that Hor - Aha and other First Dynasty
kings who were buried at Abydos , and the huge monuments at
Saqqara and Nagada , were those of the nobility . See Petrie ,
Royal Tombs , I , pp . 8-16 , and G. A. Reisner , The Origin and De
velopment of the Egyptian Tomb Down to the Accession of Cheops

(Cambridge , Mass . : Harvard University Press , 1936 ) , pp . 13 , 27 ,

and 307 . The huge size of the structures at Saqqara , and espe
cially in of Hor - Aha , the mass of furniture and jars
the case
bearing the seal of this king , compared to some seven seals at
Nagada and eight at Abydos , along with the complete absence of
any other name at Saqqara , makes it clear that those kings were
indeed buried at Saqqara , and the monuments especially at Abydos
and Nagada are their " southern " tombs or cenotaphs . cf. Emery ,
Saqqara , pp . 2-3 , and W. C. Hayes , The Sceptre of Egypt , Part I
(New York : Harper and Brothers in cooperation with the Metro
politan Museum of Art , 1953 ) , pp . 41-42 . A few contemporary
scholars still retain the Upper Egyptian burial of Hor - Aha and
other First Dynasty kings . Cf. Frankfort , Kingship and the
Gods , pp . 53-54 .

26 . The question of the identity of Hor - Aha with the

legendary Menes has proved to be a vexing one , particularly be
cause of the conflicting evidence of the Narmer Seal impression
from Abydos . Petrie , Royal Tombs , II
, No. 93 , and Plate XIII ,

and the label

from Nagada ; P. E. Newbury , " Menes , the Founder
of the Egyptian Monarchy ," Great Ones of Ancient Egypt , w .
Brunton , ed . ( London : British School of Archaeology in Egypt ,

1929 ) , p . 47 ; J.
Garstang , " The Tablet of Mena , " Zeitschrift
für ägyptische Sprache , XLIII ( 1905 ) , p . 61 ; and Emery , Saqqara ,
p. 79 .

this can be added the testimony of classical writers

To
who attributed the building of Memphis , the "White wall
have "
to Menes cf. G. Wainwright , " El Hibah and Esh - Shurafa and
;

their connection with Herakleopolis and Cusoe , " Annales du ser

vice des antiquités de l'Égypte , XXVII ( 1931 ) , p . 102 , who
quotes this testimony of Herodotus . Other classical sources
aside from Herodotus , ii
, 4 , 99 , are Diodorus , I , 45 , and , II
89 , and , of course , Manetho . If
all the evidence is weighed
alongside the new evidence of the Saqqara seals , Emery , Saqqara ,
294 Chapter VIII , Notes

pp . 19-33 , 83-112 , it would appear that at least Menes could

well have been one of the titles of Hor - Aha , and Narmer , his
other name . Of course , many other possibilities exist ; however ,
since this does not affect the basic purpose of this study , the
present writer will leave this problem to competent Egyptolo
gists . For added reading on this subject , see the recent mono
graphs by B. J. Kemp , " The First Dynasty Cemetery , " Antiquaries
Journal , 41 ( 1967 ) , pp . 22-32 ; and especially P. Derchain ,
" Menes , le roi quel qu'un , " Revue d'Egyptologique , 18 ( 1966 ) ,
pp .31-36 ; along with Emery , Archaic Egypt , pp . 21-37 , where all
the possible solutions and counter - arguments are explored .
27 . Emery , Saqqara , p . 77 , and Tomb No. J. de Mor
3357 ;
gan , "Tombeau royale de Nagadeh , " Recherches sur les origines
de l'Egypte , Vol . I ( Paris : E. Leroux , 1896-1897 ) , Plate XIX ,
pp . 43-45 ; L. Borchardt , " Das Grab des Menes , " Zeitschrift für
ägyptisches Sprache , 36 ( 1898 ) , pp . 87-105 ; and Petrie , Royal
Tombs , Tomb B19 .

28 . Petrie , Royal Tombs , II , pp . 12-17 , and Emery , Great

Tombs , I, pp . 1-4 . This investigator finds the initial claims
by J. de Morgan , Recherches sur les origines de l'Egypte , Vol .
I, pp . 263-265 , and Petrie , Royal Tombs , I , pp . 6-7 , that the
tombs discovered at Nagada and Abydos Tomb B19 are those of Hor
Aha , cannot be adequately supported . cf. Petrie and Quibell ,
Nagada and Ballas , pp . 17-29 . Rather , it would appear more
reasonable , as has been established by Garstang , " The tab
let of that this tomb at Nagada is that of Hor - Aha's
Mena , "

mother , Nitholop , a northern princess , the wife of Narmer whom 1

he had married in his efforts to unify both north and south ;

hence , it would seem natural that no accompanying burials are
found in this tomb . De Morgan claimed to have located only one
skeleton in the center . The same can be said of Abydos . While
cenotaphs and monuments bearing Hor - Aha's name were found , there
are no human remains .

29 . Emery , Great Tombs , II , pp . 3, 13 , and Archaic Egypt ,

pp . 71-72 , 91 . 3

30 . Emery , Great Tombs , II , pp . 128-129 , 134-138 . These

graves of special significance for many of them were found
are
undisturbed , and they all contained objects denoting the par
ticular service rendered by each person to their royal mistress
Chapter VIII , Notes 295

such as her shipmaster , artist , vase - maker , etc. cf. Emery ,

Archaic Egypt , pp . 66 , 68 , 91 .

31 . Emery , Great Tombs , III

, pp . 37 , 41-42 ; Archaic Egypt ,
pp . 73-81 ; and The Tomb of Hemaka ( Cairo : The Government Press ,
1938 ) .

32 . For Tomb Number 3500 , cf. Emery , Great Tombs , III , pp .

5, 10 ; and Archaic Egypt , pp . 90-91 ; and for Tomb Number 3505 ,

cf. Great Tombs , III , pp . 98 , 102 , and Archaic Egypt , pp . 86–87 ,

91 .

33 . Reisner , Tomb Development , pp . 67-70 ; and Emery , Great

Tombs , III , p. 5. While there is evidence of a decline in this
burial custom in the north , it continued for some time longer
in the south .
34 . The opinion that these are sacrificed retainers is
held by a number of Egyptologists . Emery , Archaic Egypt , pp .
56-65 ; Great Tombs , I, Tomb Number at Saqqara ; Quibell ,
3471 ,
Archaic Mas tab as , Tomb Number 2185 ; and Petrie , Royal Tombs ,
Tomb Number 2185 . If indeed these represent a mass ritual slay
ing at this time , it may be
in harmony with indications of oth
er ritual deaths . of the important contemporary documents of
his reign , one label found at Saqqara records a religious festi
val at which human sacrifice was performed . Other rock - inscrip
tions show the king with a Nubian captive tied to the bow of his
warship , below which are the bodies of slain enemies . Emery ,
Archaic Egypt , pp . 59-60 . The real meaning is not clear .
35. Petrie , Royal Tombs , Tomb y , at Abydos ; and also the
" Enclosure of Sacrifice Burials , " in Tombs of the Courtiers .

36 . Petrie , Royal Tombs , Tomb 2, at Abydos ; and Emery ,

Archaic Egypt , pp . 69-71 .

37 . Petrie , Royal Tombs , Tomb T, at Abydos ; and Emery ,

Archaic Egypt , pp . 73-80 .

38 . Petrie , Royal Tombs , Tomb x, at Abydos . Cf. Emery ,

Royal Tombs , I , Tomb Number 3038 , at Saqqara ; Archaic Egypt ,
pp . 80-84 .

39 . Petrie , Royal Tombs , Tomb U at Abydos ; and Emery ,

Archaic Egypt , pp . 84-86 .
296 Chapter VIII , Notes

40 . Emery , Great Tombs , I, Tomb Number 3500 and 3505 ; Ar

chaic Egypt , pp . 84-91 ; and Petrie , Royal Tombs , Tomb Q , at Abydos .

41 . also held by others

A view . See also I. E. S. Edwards ,

" The Early Dynastic Period in Egypt , " CAH , Vol . I , Part 2, p. 36 ;
and Reisner , Development of Egyptian Tombs , pp . 117-121 .

42 . This is the total given by Petrie on his initial ex

cavations of these sites . Cf. W. M. F. Petrie , Tombs of the
Courtiers and Oxyrhynkhos ( London : British School of Archeology
in Egypt , 1925 ) , p . 3 , and Reisner , Development of Egyptian
Tombs , p . 105 . He demonstrates by the architectural construc
tion that less and less space was dedicated to subsidiary graves .
The total given Zer includes those found in the rectangle with
Meyet - Nit and Uadji .

43 . Reisner , Development of Egyptian Tombs , p . 128 . cf.

Petrie , Royal Tombs , Tomb V , at Abydos ; and Emery , Archaic
Egypt , pp . 101-103 .

44 . Edwards , " Early Dynastic Period , " pp . 58-59 . This

is very true according to Emery , Great Tombs , , p. II 7, and Pl .
1.

45 . Edwards , " Early Dynastic Period , " p. 58 .

46 . See Emery , Great Tombs , VII , pp . 8-10 , and espe

cially Pls . 22-23 ; pp . 40-42 , Pls . 45-49 ; and pp . 100-102 ,
Pl . 119 .

47 . See especially Frankfort's chapters , " The Making of a

King , " and " The Functions of the King , " in Kingship and the
Gods , pp . 231-274 , where an analysis and comparison are made be
tween the Mesopotamian and Egyptian concepts of kingship .

48 . Many essays have been written on the nature of Egyp

tian kingship . Among them is ibid . , pp . 3-12 , and Fairman ,
" The Kingship Rituals of Egypt , "in Myth : Ritual and King
ship , pp . 75-77 , where the Egyptian phenomenon in comparison to
other areas is discussed . In both those works , the pages cited
are in reference to the particular area being treated in this
study . To these can be added other important studies such as
J. Wilson's " The Search for Security and Order " ; in The Culture 1

of Ancient Egypt ( Chicago : Phoenix Books ) , especially pp . 43-47 ;

Ivan Engnell , Studies in Divine Kingship in the Ancient Near

1
Chapter VIII , Notes 297

East ( Upsala : Almquist and Wiksells Boktryckeri , A.-B. , 1943 ) ;

C. J. Ideas of Divine Rule in the Ancient Near East (Lon
Gadd ,

don : Oxford University Press , 1948 ) .

From the earliest historical times , the dominant element
in the Egyptian conception of kingship was that the king was a
god -- not merely godlike . He was not merely descended from

the gods who had founded the earth , but legally he was
Horus , the legitimate heir of Osiris whose claim to the
throne of his father had been vindicated in the divine Court
of Law .

49 . Cf. I. E. S. Edwards , The Pyramids of Egypt ( Hammonds

worth , Middlesex : Penguin Books , 1961 ) , pp . 284-294 ; John Wil
son , Burden of Egypt ( Chicago : Phoenix Books , 1961 ) , pp .
The
78-80 ; Adolf Erman , A Handbook of Egyptian Religion ( London :
Archibald Constable and Co. , Ltd. , 1907 ) , pp . 117-122 ; Mercer ,
The Religion of Ancient Egypt , pp . 293-297 ; and J. H. Breasted ,
Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt (New York :
Charles Scribners ' Sons , 1912 ) , pp . 70-84 , and others , in which
the Pyramid , the king's house in the Underworld Kingdom , is
surrounded by the graves of all those important individuals who
served him in life ,
- increasing priesthood committed
and an ever
to his service The mingling
. , at this time , of the two great
religious systems of ancient Egypt , the sun - god Re , and the
earth - god Osiris , emphasized more than ever before the idea of
this continued future service to the king .
50 . Cf. Petrie , Tombs of the Courtiers and Oxyrhynkhos ,
pp . 1-3 , who initially arrived at this conclusion
, but a later
study of the evidence and comparison with other tombs proved
that the artifacts uncovered in these could not be representa
tive of the courtiers of the day . Emery , Great Tombs , , pp . II
1-2 , and especially his study of ombs 3500 , 3503 , 3504 . cf.
C. J. Gadd , " The Spirit of Living Sacrifices , " pp . 52-53 .

No scholar today interprets these early subsidiary burials as

those of courtiers .

51 . Ibid . , and Emery , Archaic Egypt , p . 80 .

52 . Inscribed materials were found in Tomb Numbers 3503 ,

3504 , 3505 , 3506 , 3507 , 3500 and a number of others , and , of

course , the previously discussed Hor - Aha /Menes / Narmer Tomb .
298 Chapter VIII , Notes

A discussionof the meaning of the various inscriptions in these

can be found in W. M. F. Petrie , " The Earliest Inscriptions , "
Ancient Egypt , Vol . 1914 . Part I ( London : Macmillan Company
and British School of Archeology , 1914 ) , pp . 61-77 ; and P. E.
Newberry , " The Wooden and Ivory Labels of the First Dynasty , "
Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Literature , 34 ( 1912 ) ,
pp . 279-289 . Cf. Emery , Royal Tombs , I, II and III , and
the inscriptions section under each tomb . A clear example is
that of the burials of Meryat -Nit's retainers , many of whom
bore inscriptions stating their function .
53 . These references are from the Pyramid and Coffin
Texts . Though they are from a little later period , in line
with Egyptian theology of the time , they continually reflect an
earlier concept in funerary beliefs in which the immediate at
tendants of the king continue their services in the nether world .
coffin Texts , 356-357 , and Pyramid Texts , 565b - 566b , and 10950
would appear to justify this conclusion where reference to cup
bearers , butlers , etc. are made . cf. S. A. B. Mercer , The Pyra
mid Texts , Vol . I (New York : Longmans , Green and Co. , 1952 ) ,
and A. de Buck , The Egyptian Coffin Texts : Texts and Spells ,
The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Publications , Vol .
VI ( Chicago : The University of Chicago Press , 1956 ) ; Kees ,
Totenglauben , pp . 84-85 ; and Gadd , " The Spirit of Living Sacri
fices , " p. 51 , n. 4.

54 . Reisner , The Development of the Egyptian Tomb , pp .

213-214 , makes this fact clear .
55 . In Tomb 3471 , that of Hor - Aha , the attendants ' quar
ters are in the
located in magazines struc central of principal
ture ; in the later tombs of the same period , the archi
however ,
tecture is more sophisticated and the attendants ' quarters in
certain cases are attached either to the main structure of
separated from it but within the central compound .
56 . This is , likewise , the reasoning of quite a few other
scholars Hayes , The Sceptre of Egypt , pp . 80-81 ; Edwards ,
. Cf.
The Pyramids , pp . 40-41 ; Wilson , Culture of Ancient Egypt , pp .
63-64 ; and others .

57 . Reisner , Excavations at Kerma .

58 . On " sati " burials , cf. Reisner , Excavations at Kerma ,

p. 217 .
Chapter VIII , Notes 299

59 . Ibid . , p. 68 .

60 . Cf. Petrie and Quibell , Nagada and Ballas , pp . 18-23 ,

for general description of the physical
a condition and descrip
tion of each burial .
61 . Reisner , Excavations at Kerma , p . 69 .

62 . to Reisner's theory of ritual

The primary objection
killing is not that the evidence does not reveal this fact , but
rather that this cannot really suggest a custom practiced by
the Egyptians living in Kerma at this time . W. B. Emery , Egypt
in Nubia Hutchinson of London , 1965 ) , pp . 154-155 .
( London :
Many Egyptologists accept Reisner's findings and his conclusions
that the evidence points unmistakably to an Egyptian custom , but
Emery , while agreeing that Reisner's conclusion is reasonable
enough , has arguedthat Kerma , situated 100 miles beyond the
southernmost limit of Egyptian domination , was considered too
far an outpost for an Egyptian prince to be buried . He further
argues that the Egyptian had a fanatical distaste for foreign
burial , especially if this was not done according to the puri
fication . One can certainly infer this concept among Egyptian
nobles and use as evidence Sinuhe , who is invited back home
from the land of Retenu and Qedem , to be buried in Egypt . cf.
J. A. , " The Story of Sinuhe ," ANET , lines 185-195 .
Wilson
However , Egyptian history records many instances of nobles
dying in foreign lands . Consequently , this would not be the
first is also the added fact , which even Emery
case , and there
admits , that Prince Hepzefa's fine tomb was found at Asyut in
Egypt , but there is no evidence that he was every buried there .

Reisner , Egypt in Nubia , p . 154 . The innumerable Egyptian ar

tifacts found in this great tomb and the hundreds of victims
seem to indicate that , contrary to Emery's views , the distance
really had nothing to do with its identification as Egyptian ,
and the scores of other tombs of lesser Egyptian nobles make
Emery's argument rather weak . The question of maintenance of
this outpost was obviously no problem . New discoveries in the
Kerma area have not yet refuted Reisner's conclusion . Reisner ,

Excavations at Kerma , pp . 116-123 , 135-189 .

63 . Ibid . , p . 69 .
300 Chapter VIII , Notes

64 . Ibid . , p. 66 .

65 . Ibid . , p. 71 .

66 . cf. especially Emery , Egypt in Nubia , p. 154 ; and w .

c . Hayes , " The Middle Kingdom in Egypt , " CAH , Vol . I , Part 2.

cf. the section " Expansion under Sesostris and his successors ."

67 . One that the local Egyptians did not live

must assume
in isolation from the indigenous Nubian culture . Therefore ,
many elements of this local influence would naturally be pro
jected in almost anything Egyptian .

68 . See examples in Reisner's exhaustive study in Excava

tions at Kerma , pp . 89-121 .

69 . Ibid . , pp . 76-79 , 86-87 ; and especially J. Vercoutter ,

" Upper Egyptian Settlers in Middle Kingdom Nubia ," Kush , 5
( 1957 ) , pp . 61-69 .

70 . cf. , e.g. , Mercer , Religion of Egypt , pp . 356-358 ,

who in Egyptian history to warrant this practice
sees nothing
either before or after the Middle Kingdom period .
71 . In the cemeteries of Middle Kingdom , especially in
rock - cut tombs , multiple coffin burials are found with two to
five persons buried in wooden coffins in the same chamber . In
every case in which the sex has been determined , one of the ex
tra bodies is a woman , supposed to be the wife of the chief
body . The facts , however , are of quite a different character
and , consequently , leave room for doubt as to what actually
took place . Those opened by Palanque at Assuit and even by Qui
bell older than Dynasty XII , according to the pottery , stone
are
vessels and statuettes
discovered . What may have been the case
here was that these tombs were reopened at a later date and oth
er bodies inserted in the coffins . This is consistent with oth
er Middle Kingdom tombs , the general characteristics of which
seem to be the burial of all members of the family in one tomb
which is reopened on different occasions , and each coffin placed
in a separate chamber . Cf. E. Chassaint and J. Palanque ,
Fouilles d'Assiout ( Cairo : Institut français d'archéologie orien
tale ) , Vol . IX , Part II ( 1933 ) for all tombs from Number 6-26 ; and
Chapter VIII , Notes 301

Quibell , Excavations at Saqqara , II , pp . 7-17 ; also Reisner ,

Excavations at Kerma , pp . 74-75 .

This is very different from the simultaneous burials

72 .

in single grave , and therefore , cannot be truly classified

one
with the multiple burials at Kerma . There is , likewise , no in
dication that they were all interred at the same time . A good
example is to be noted in the mas tabas of the royal family of
Chephren at Giza . See Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts ,
Boston , No. 76 .

Except for those previously cited , this writer has

73 .

been unable to find any other examples of this Predynastic type .

74 . This conclusion is based on evidence that the burial

pattern appears in Predynastic Egypt , before it begins in Nubia
centuries later . It is also curious that , while the Egyptian
cemetery still preserves the full course of this rite , the Nu
bians had long since begun to substitute animals for human vic
tims . This is not to be taken to imply that the Nubians com
pletely discontinued this practice ; the conclusion is only based
on what evidence is available under Egyptian influence at the
Kerma site , and should not be assumed to be the picture of Nubia
as a whole .

75 . Countless scholars have written on this ; however , the

following appear to give an accurate synthesis of the problem .
Cf. Emery , Archaic Egypt , pp . 42-47 ; Borchardt , " Das Grab des
Menes ," pp . 87-105 ; W. Helck , "Gab es einen König 'Menes ' , "
2DMG , 103 , N.F. 28 ( 1953 ) , pp . 354-359 ; Budge , Osiris : The Egyp
tian Religion of Resurrection , pp . 199–204 ; Mercer , Religion of
Ancient Egypt , pp . 357–358 ; and Hayes , The Sceptre of Egypt , I ,
pp . 29-31 .

76. cf. Emery , Archaic Egypt , pp . 44-45 .

77. Hayes , The Scepter of Egypt , I , p . 31 ; Emery , Archaic

Egypt , pp . 43 , 47 , 48 ; and also R. de Vaux , " Palestine in the
Early Bronze Age , " CAH , Vol . I , Part 2 , 2nd ed . , pp . 234-235 ,
where the writer interprets the northern enemies as Palestin
ians whom he had conquered in the Eastern Delta and Palestine .
78 . E. Amelineau , Les nouvelles fouilles d'Abydos , Vol .
I , ( Paris : E. Leroux , 1895-1896 ) , Pl . XXXIII .
302 Chapter VIII , Notes

79 . E. Naville , " Les plus Anciens Monuments , " Recueil

de travaux relatifs à la philologie et l'archéologie , XXI
( 1899 ) . Cf. Hayes , The Scepter of Egypt , I , p . 61 , for rock
carvings of the scene .

80 . , cf. J. de Morgan , Fouilles à Dahe

For these scenes
hour , Mars - Juin Fouilles à Dahehour en 1894-1895 , Vol .
1894 and

I ( Paris : E. Leroux , 1895 ) , p . 64 , Pls . 20-21 ; also W. C. Hayes ,

" The Middle Kingdom in Egypt : Internal History from the Rise of

the Heracleopolitans to the Death of Ammenemes , " CAH , Vol . III

I, Part 2, p. 510 .

81 . cf. Hayes , Scepter of Egypt , II , pp . 148-151 .

82 . Lefébure " Le Sacrifice humain

, 129-130 ; G. ," pp .
Wainwright , The Sky - Religion in Egypt ( Cambridge , Mass .: The
University Press , 1938 ) , pp . 19-28 . There are no proofs for
this type of killing other than the customary propagandistic
claims of almost every Egyptian king that he had slaughtered
the enemy , or put them to flight . Aside from these standard
claims of victory , even in cases of known defeat , the only
" proofs " available are these conventionalized reliefs .
83 . Cf. Budge , Osiris , p . 198 .

84 . Among the more easily recognized scenes of this con

vention are some of the following : Five portraying Thutmose III
in this manner , in the Amon Temple at Karnak and Thebes . A.
Mariette , Voyage dans la Haute Egypte , II ( Cairo - Paris : Impri
merie de l'Institut
français d'archéologie orientale , 1893 ) ,
Pls . 18 , 45 ; J.
Capart , Thèbes , la gloire d'un grande passé
( Brussels : Vromant and Co. , 1925 ) , p . 233 , Fig . 151 ; and L.

Borchardt , zur Baugeschichte des Amonstempels von Karnak ( Leip

zig : J. C. Hinrichs , 1905 ) , pp . 24-25 . Two very clear reliefs
portray Haremhab slaying prisoners in the same way before the
god Amon . Cf. Mariette , Voyage , Pylon X ; and especially B.
Porter and R. L. B. Moss , Typographical Bibliography of Ancient
Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts , Reliefs and Paintings , II ( Oxford :
The Clarendon Press , 1927 ) , p . 62 , sub . 63 ; two also appear at
Karnak of Seti I , cf. ibid . , p . 21 , sub . 59 , and p . 23 , sub .
65 , and another at the temple of Wadi Abbâd ; H. Gauthier , Le
temple de l'Ouâdi Mîyah (Cairo : Imprimerie de l'Institut
Chapter VIII , Notes 303

français d'archéologie orientale , 1920 ) , Plan XII , where the

slaying of the Asiatics before Horus of Edfu is portrayed . Por
ter and Moss , Topographical Bibliography II , p. 109 , sub . 120 ,
121 , presents a similar portrait of Rameses II before the figure
of the god Sopdu ; and p . 24 , sub . 70 , 72 , before Amon - Re ' . On
the front of a great pylon of the temple at Medinet Habu , the
god Ptah presides over the slaying of prisoners carried out by
Rameses III
; he is pictured performing the same act on the fa
cade of the " Pavilion " to the god Amon - Re ' , ibid . , p . 173 ,
sub . 6 ; and H. H. Nelson , Epigraphic Survey Medinet Habu : Earli
er Historical Records of Rameses III
Oriental Institute
, No. 2,
Publications , Vol . XXV (Chicago : The University of Chicago
Press , 1936 ) , Pls . 104-105 . Shosheng's relief scene also pre
sents in the same way the slaying of prisoners before Amon .
Porter and Moss , Topographical Bibliography II , p . 14 , sub .
11-12 .

85 . Wilson , " The Amada and Elephantine Stelae , " ANET , pp .

247-248 , n . 59 .

86 . Wiedemann has argued that in essence the ceremonial

order of the scenes on the temple walls depicted sacred occa
sions , and hence these were temple texts . For the Egyptian ,
then , every war , in which his country was engaged , was a holy
war , counselled and planned by the god himself . the king If
himself went to battle , then over him as a bird
the god hovered
protecting him and granting him victory . Because the god con
ducted the war , it was to him that the victorious king made
offerings . Therefore , he reasons , all these victory scenes
were actually occurrences in which the king sacrificed the
slaves and prisoners as human offerings as an example to the
enemies of that god , in order that they might see depicted on
the reliefs the fate of all who attempted to oppose the god's
divine rule . Alfred Wiedemann , Religion of the Ancient Egyp
tians ( London : H. Grevel & Co. , 1897 ) , pp . 203-204 .

87 . The Amada Stela is located in the Temple of Amada in

Nubia and was published by H. Gauthier , " Le temple d'Amada , "
Les temples immerges de la Nubie , XIII ( Cairo : Imprimerie de
l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale , 1912 ) , pp . 19-27 ,
p. x ; cf. J. Wilson , " The Amada and Elephantine Stelae . " J. H.
304 Chapter VIII , Notes

Breasted , Ancient Records of Egypt : Historical Records , Vol . II

( Chicago : University of Chicago Press , 1906 ) , pp . 791-797 .

88 . For the Elephantine Stela , cf. Wilson , " Amada Stela , "
and J. H. Breasted , Ancient Records of Egypt , Vol . ( Chicago : II
The University of Chicago Press , 1906 ) , pp . 307-314 . This con
tains a translation of both the Amada and Elephantine .

89 . Prior to the discovery of the Memphis Stela of Amen

hotep II
which was M. " Die neue histor
published by A. Badawi ,
ische Stele Amenophis , " Annales II
du service des antiquités de
l'Égypte , XLII ( 1943 ) , pp . 1-23 , Pl . I , most scholars took it
for granted that the Asiatic campaign recounted on the frag
mentary Karnak Stela , ( J. Wilson , " The Memphis and Karnak Ste
lae , " ANET , pp . 245-247 ) , and the operations against Takhsi men
tioned in the Amada and Elephantine Stelae were one and the
same , concluding by this that Amenhotep conducted but one II
campaign in this area . All this has been proven wrong . The
Karnak , Amada , and Elephantine Stelae may refer to the same
events ; however , the Memphis Stela has shown conclusively that
it would be erroneous to limit his Asiatic operations to just
this one campaign . A good bibliography for this discussion can
be had from B. Porter and R. L. B. Moss , Topographical Bibliog
raphy of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts , Reliefs , and
Paintings , Vol . II ( Oxford : Oxford University Press , 1953 ) , p.

58 , and ARE II , p. 305 , note b .

90 . Ibid . , p. 797 .

This undoubtedly reflected the victory he had gained

91 .

after quelling the revolt which apparently was localized in the

northern Palestine - Syria , immediately following his accession .
The small number of the place names may well be regarded as
some guarantee of a historical basis . cf. Porter - Moss , Topo
graphical Bibliography , II
, p . 30 , sub . 17 , and J. Simons , Egyp

tian Topographical Lists Relating to Western Asia ( Leiden : E. J.

Brill , 1937 ) , p . 45 .

92 . Ibid . , pp . 13-14 .

93 . exact location of this region has not been ascer

The
tained . entire context stresses the northern Syro
However , the
Palestinian region and scholars generally place it somewhere
near Damascus , or in this general area . J. Wilson , " Biography
Chapter VIII , Notes 305

of Amen - em- heb . " ANET , p . 241 ,note 34 , and " The Amada and
Elephantine Stelae , " p. 248 , note 59 .
This was a fully developed policy under Thutmose
94 . III
and carried out by most of his successors of the Eighteenth Dy
nasty .

The Egyptians effective means of securing

employed
the obedience of the other members of their families as
hostages . These were quartered in the capital in a
great palace where they were handsomely treated even
though it was a sort of princely prison . They were
given an Egyptian education and became acquainted with
the Egyptian mode of life at the imperial capital .
Whenever a prince died in the Syrian homeland , the
pharaoh designated his Egyptianized son to succe
him , and , after ' annointing his head with oil , ' the
king sent him off to occupy the princely throne of
his father . Thus in the course of time a body of loyal
vassals was built up who ' kept watch over their cities '

and in later years gratefully recalled the time when

' they had been taken to Egypt as children to serve the
king their lord and to stand at the door of the king . '
George Steindorff and Keith C. Seele , When Egypt Ruled the East
( Chicago : University of Chicago Press , 1968 ) , p. 105 .

95 . Amen - em-hab's biography is an inscription found on

the wall of his tomb . It
traces certain accounts in his life
as an officer in the Asiatic campaigns of Thutmose , and III
subsequently , his son , Amenhotep . II
The one weakness in this
important inscription is that the dates of the different cam
paigns are not inserted , nor do they always follow a chronolo
gical order . Cf. ARE , pp . 574-592 , 807 , 809 , and Wilson ,
" Biography of Amen - em-hab , " pp . 240-241 . The majority of
scholars , however , have pointed out that its inaccuracy is
not as great as was previously thought , thanks to the various
synchronisms established from other sources .
96 . ARE , p . 808 .

97 . These were the first scholars to see in this section

of Amen - em - hab's biography a continuation of a logical sequence
of events following immediately upon the death of Thutmose . III
306 Chapter VIII , Notes

Following this consecutive order , then , Breasted's translations

of these events would be 592 , 807-809 , which would be the order
in which the events in which section 797 of the Amarna and Ele
phantine Stelae apparently took place . Wilson does not follow
this in his translation in " Biography of Amen - em -hab . " His rea
son for not doing this has to do with the problems of Amenhotep's
campaigns in Asia . However , once one accepts the possibility
of a coregency of Amenhotep II
with his father Thutmose for III
at least the last two years la fact which few scholars now
deny ) , the reading of these passages in sequence as pointed
out by Breasted is the only reasonable solution to the problem .
Cf. K. Piehl , " Varia II
, " Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache
( 1885 ) , p. 115 , note 3, and ARE II , p. 319 , note b; also D. B.
Redford , " Coregency of Thutmosis III and Amenophis II , " Journal
of Egyptian Archeology , 51 ( 1965 ) , pp . 121-122 .

98 . 592 , reads , " Lo , the King completed

ARE , P. his
lifetime of years , splendid in valor in [ migh ] t , and in
many
triumph ; from year 1 to year 54 , third month of the second
season , the last day ( of the month ) " This is the 30th of ....
the 7th month ( Phamenoth ) . The following , ibid . , p . 808 ,
brings the continuing sequence stating , " King Okheprure , Son
of Re , Amenhotep , given II life , was established upon the
throne of his father . "

Taken in this light , then , the section " when the

99 .

morningbrightened , the sun arose , and the heavens shone ... "
necessarily indicates that the ritual slaying of the princes
was not carried out in Asia , but , days later , at Heliopolis ,

after Amenhotep had officially

his father to the succeeded
throne as sole ruler . It must be within this context that he
offers the seven princes at his accession , as a part of the
accession ritual .
100 . Since clearly this technical term is used twice by
Amenhotep II
, and the occasions are two different campaigns in

Asia , the only acceptable solution is that proposed by Badawy ,

Edel , Alt , and Redford , who argue that his reference to his
" first victorious campaign " was made while he served as coregent
with his father , found in the Amada - Elephantine Stelae . The ap
parent reference to the " first victorious campaign " in the Mem
phis Stela speaks of another Asiatic campaign , later , after he
Chapter VIII , Notes 307

became sole ruler of Egypt . Hence , there is no contradiction .

Cf. Badawy , " Die neue historische Stele , "
Edel , " Die p. 5; E.
Stelen Amenophis II
aus Karnak , " ZDPV , 69 ( 1953 ) , pp . 158-160 ;
A. Alt , " Neue Berichte über Feldzuge von Pharaonen des Neuen
Reiches , " ZDPV , 70 ( 1954 ) , p . 40 , and Redford , " Coregency , " pp .
119-120 .

101 . There is only

one other extant Egyptian record in
which king conducts a prince to Thebes in this
a New Kingdom

manner , but the text does not state what happened at the end of
the voyage . Furthermore , this event did not take place at the
coronation of Thutmose I , but during the second year of his
reign . " His majesty sailed down - river with all the countries
in his grasp , that wretched Nubian chieftain being hanged head
downward at the prow of the ship of his majesty . " Reisner ,
Egypt in Nubia , p . 174 , and ARE , II , p . 80 .

102 . The tombs where the features are portrayed on the

walls are all of the New Kingdom and have been published in the
following works : U. Bouraint , " Tombeau de Harmhabi , " Mission
archéologie française au Caire : Memoirs , Vol . V , Part 3 ( 1893 ) ,
pp . 414-434 ; " Petits Monuments et Petits Textes , " Recueil de
travaux relatifs à la philologie et l'archéologie égyptiennes
et assyriennes , IX , Parts 3 and 4 ( 1896 ) , pp . 83-100 , in which
the tomb of Nibamom is discussed ; P. Virey , " Le Tombeau de
Rekhmara ," Mission archéologique française au Caire : Memoirs ,
V, Part I ( 1889 ) , pp . 1-172 ; G. Maspero , "Tombeau de

Montouhikhopshouf , " Mission archéologique française au Caire :

Memoirs , V , Part 3 ( 1893-1894 ) , pp . 435-468 ; "Tombeau de
Nakhti , " pp . 470-485 .

Cf. Maspero , "Tombeau de Montouhikhopshouf , " pp .

103 .

438-444 . It
does not appear in Gardiner's second edition
of the Egyptian Grammar , but its ideogram seems closely asso
ciated with the name of a Syrian locality . Gardiner , Egyptian
Grammar , p . 520 , U 33 ; 525 , V 31 ; and 514 , T22 which gives the
ideogram and also his identification as Libyans . A. H. Gardi
ner , Ancient Egyptian Onomastic , II
( Oxford : Oxford University
Press , 1947 ) ,
p . 302 , A 239. Lefébure , " Le Sacrifice humain ,"
pp . 150-156 , definitely identifies the Tikanou as Libyans as
does A. M. Blackman , " Middle Egyptian Stories , " Part 3 , Biblio
the Aegyptiaca , Vol . II ( 1932 ) , pp . 4-6 ; S. Adams , " Rece
308 Chapter VIII , Notes

Discoveries in the Eastern Delta , " Annales du service des anti

quitée de l'Egypte , 55 ( 1958 ) , pp . 301-324 ; J. J.
Clere , and J.
Vandier , Textes de la Premiere Période Interme daire et de la
XIéine Dynastic ( Brussels : J. Vromant , 1948 ) , p . 658 , and Hayes ,
" Middle Kingdom Egypt , " pp . 499-501 .

104 . Maspero , " TO au de Montouhikhopshouf , " pp . 454

455 . Cf. Gardiner Egyptian Grammar , pp . 511-512
, , and R. O.
Faulkner , A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian ( Oxford : The
University Press , 1962 ) , p. 281 .

105 . cf. Gardiner , Egyptian Grammar , cf. pp . 489 , N 29 ;

514 , T 19 , 20 .

106 . Reisner , Excavations at Kerma , I , p . 74 ; Wainwright ,

Sky - Religion , pp . 24 , 51 , 67 , 71 ; Lefébure , " Le Sacrifice hu
main , " p . 453 ; and W. Stevenson Smith , " The old Kingdom in
Egypt and the Beginning of the First Intermediate Period , " CAH ,

Vol . I, Part 2, p. 185 .

107 . Mercer , Religion of Ancient Egypt , p . 357-358 . In

this he is joined by Th . Hopfner , Der
der alten Aegyp Tierkult
ter ( Wien : Im kommission bei A. Holder , 1913 ) , pp . 19-20 , who
argues that the sacred animals in the Egyptian temples were
never slain .

108 . Reisner , Egypt in Nubia , pp . 199–200 .

109 . G. Maspero , Les Temples immerges de la Nubie ( Cairo :

Imprimerie de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale ,
1911 ) , pp . 133-134 , Reisner , Egypt in Nubia , pp . 194-195 .

110 . Ibid . , p. 197 .

111 . One example of this well - known type is a relief pre

served in the Temple of Luxor . A section of this relief pic
tures the figure of the god Sopdu , " ruler of the foreign coun
tries " leading two rows of 8 captives to the king . Further
down the relief , the king is represented slaying the bound pri
soners . cf. G. Daressy , " Notice explicative des ruines du tem
ple de Luxor , " Recueil de Travaux , XVI ( 1894 ) , p . 50 . He also
gives a later description of the king striking the captives be
fore " Amun . " Two more reliefs , one on the left (west ) of the
entrance , and another on the right ( east ) of the entrance of
the hypostyle , have the usual scenes of the slaying of prison
ers by the king before Amon -Re . Another is located in the
Chapter VIII , Notes 309

portico of Rameses II's temple at Abydos . On the photograph it

may be seen that the relief - scene represents the slaying of a
single prisoner by the king . G. Jéquier , " L'archtecture et la
décoration dans l'ancienne Egypte , " Vol . , Les temples Rame 8 - II
sides et Saites de la XIXe à la XXXc dynastie ( Paris : A. Mor
ance , 1922 ) , p . 8 .

112 . A good example of this scene showing many captives ,

all held together , is recorded in 1. Rosellini , I monumenti

de 22 ' Egitto e della Nubia Tomo Primo : Monumenti Storici ( Pisa :

Presso N. Capurro , 1832 ) , Pl . 148 ; cf. list XXXV of Shosheng I,

which once existed in his temple of El Hibeh , but now is en
tirely destroyed .
113 . Since its discovery , it has often been reproduced .

cf. among the many , G. Steindorff , Die Kunst der Agypter Leip
(
zig : J. C. Hinrichs , 1928 ) , p. 192 , and other references cited
earlier .
114 . A description of the details of this relief is given
by R. Weill , Recueil des Inscriptions Egyptiennes du Sinai
( Paris : H. Champion , 1924 ) , pp . 103-105 ; also A. Gardiner and
T. E. Peet , Inscriptions of Sinai
The ( London : The Egyptian
Exploration Fund , 1917 ) , Pl . l .
115 . No thorough study of this type exists , but good in
formation on this process may be gleaned from L. Borchardt's
Das Grab denkmal des Königs Ne - user - re ( Leipzig : J. C. Hinrichs ,
1907 ) , p . 87 , and w . Wreszinski , Atlas zur altägyptischen Kul
turgeschichte , II
( Leipzig : J. C. Hinrichs , 1923 ) , Pl . 184a ,
etc. While Wreszinski has tried to establish a distinction be
tween two original types of similar reliefs , the Narmer - palette
representing the Pharaoh's combat with his chief enemy accord
ing to the primitive custom of warfare , and the Sneferu -relief
depicting the ritual slaughter of enemies ( from which he argues
all the later scenes developed ) , he does not in any way cate
gorize these as " sacrificial " killing as other scholars do .

116 . cf. ARE , II , pp . 791-902 . Another similar scene can

also be noted at the Rameses II
Temple of Ed - Derr , A. M.
Blackman , " The Temple of Derr , " Les temples immerges de la
Nubie , Pls . VI , VII , I , IX , X. Others can be cited , but the
point is well made .
310 Chapter VIII , Notes

117 . A good example of this kind of text may be appre

ciated in W. F. Edgerton and J. A. Wilson , Historical Records
of Rameses III
: The Texts in Medinet Habu , Vols . I and , II
Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization , 12 ( Chicago : Univer
sity of Chicago Press , 1936 ) , especially pp . 106 and 1ll .
The Pyramid Texts as they are known today were
118 . in
scribed the walls of nine pyramids -- those of Unis , Teti , Pepi
on
I , Merenere , Pepi II ( Neferkare ) , Neit , Apouit , Oudjeblen , and
Aba ( or Ibi ) . Unis was the last king of the Fifth Dynasty , Teti ,
Pepi I , Merenere , and Pepi II
were kings of the Sixth Dynasty ;
Oudjeblem , Neit , and Apouit were queens of Pepi ; and Aba was II
an obscure king of the Seventh Dynasty . The texts , in more or

less fragmentary form , of the last five pyramids , were discover

ed by Maspero others in 1920-1935 by Jéquier . They
in 1880 , and

are thought to have been inscribed between the years 2350-2175

B.C. The original hieroglyphics of the first five pyramids
were published by Kurt Sethe , Die Ältaegyptischen Pyramiden
texte , ( Leipzig : J. C. Hinrichs , 1908-1922 ) , and those of the
other pyramids by Gustave Jéquier , Les Pyramides des Reines
Neit et Apouit ( 1933 ) ; La Pyramide de ' Aba ( 1933 ) ; La Pyramide
d'oudjeblen ( 1928 ) ; Le Monument Funéraire de Pepi ( 1936 ) II
( Cairo : Imprimerie de l'Institut français
d'archéologie orien
tale , 1928-1936 ) . Recent translations containing the complete
texts are : s. A. B. Mercer , The Pyramid Texts , 4 Vols . (New
York : Longmans , Green and Co. , 1952 ) , and R. 0. Faulkner , The

Ancient Pyramid
Texts ( Oxford : The Clarendon Press , 1969 ) .
Aside from these , there are other works dealing specifically
with single pyramids which will be cited should occasions arise
to draw from these sources .

119 . cf. especially K. Sethe , Urgeschichte und Alteste

Religion der Äegypter ( Leipzig : J. C. Hinrichs , 1930 ) , p. 104 ;

s . Schott , Mythe und Mythenbildung im Alten Äegypten ( Leipzig :

J. C. Hinrichs , 1945 ) , p . B. Mercer , Literary Criti
99 ; S. A.
cism of the Pyramid Texts Luzac and Company , Ltd. ,
( London :
1956 ) , pp . 42-43 ; and Faulkner , Pyramid Texts , Vol . I , pp . , iii
iv . All these scholars , while agreeing that there were certain
additions to a number of texts by later rulers , point to the an
tiquity of the great majority of the utterances , which date back
to prehistoric Egypt , although they were utilized by many of the
later kings of the old Kingdom .
Chapter VIII , Notes 311

120 . J.
H. Breasted finds that there are conditions of
civilization in the texts which are much later than the old
Kingdom . In this he has been joined by both Kees and Scharff .
Cf. J. H. Breasted , Development of Religion and Thought in An
cient Egypt (New York : Charles Scribner's Sons , 1912 ) , p . 85 ;
H. Kees , " Ägyptische Schrift und Sprache , " Handbuch der Orien
talistik , ( Leiden : E. J. Brill , 1952 ) , pp .
Band 1 , Äegyptologie
36-38 , A. Ausbreitung des Osiriskultes in die
Scharff , " Die
Frühzeit und während des Alten Reiches , " Ägyptologische For
schungen , Heft 4 , Ser . 5 ( 1929 ) , pp . 13-16 .

121 . Mercer , Literary Criticism , cf. Uts . 510 , 575 , 601 ,

which denotes two different kingdoms , Uts . 263-266 on Predynas

tic reed boast , etc.
122 . Mercer , Pyramid Texts , p. i.
123 . Mercer , Literary Criticism , pp . 1 -11 and Faulkner ,
Pyramid Texts , pp . iii - viii .

124 . The Pyramid Texts were originally intended for the

kings only ,but by the end of the Sixth Dynasty , they were also
inscribed on the walls of the pyramids of the queens of Pepi , II
and by the of the Middle Kingdom they were used with con
time
siderable modification in the tombs of the nobility , and refer
red to as Coffin Texts . By the New Kingdom , many of these were
written down on papyrus and incorporated in , and formed the core
of , theTheban Book of the Dead . This title is now commonly
given to the great collection of funerary texts which the an
cient Egyptian scribes composed for the benefit of the dead be
tween ca. 1600 and 700 B.C. Budge points out that the name
" Book of the Dead " is more satisfactory than that of " Ritual of
the Dead " or "Funeral of the Dead , " for only a very small sec
tion of it can rightly be described as of a ritual character ,
while the whole collection refers to the dead and what happens
to the dead in the world beyond the grave . Cf. E. A. W. Budge ,
The Book of the Dead , 2nd ed . ( London : Routledge & Kegan Paul ,

Ltd. , 1953 ) , xl - xlviii

pp . , also Joseph Kaster , ed . , The Liter
ature and Mythology of Ancient Egypt ( London : Penguin Books ,
1968 ) , pp . 127-131 .

125 . The term " Book " has often been used at this stage
because the collection of spells were now usually written on
rolls of papyrus which is the form of an Egyptian book . The
312 Chapter VIII , Notes

three known Recensions are the Heliopolitan , Theban , and Saite ,

corresponding to the various usages during the Fifth - Sixth ,
Eleventh - Twelfth , Eighteenth - Twenty - second , and Twenty - sixth
Dynasties . cf. T. G. Allen , The Egyptian Book of the Dead ,
Documents in the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of
Chicago , Oriental Institute Publications ( Chicago : The Univer
sity of Chicago Press , 1960 ) , pp . 1-3 , and Budge , Book of the
Dead , pp . xlix - li .
126 . cf. Wilson , The Culture of Egypt , especially the last
chapter .

127 . Among some of the more helpful discussions on the

subject are , H. Kees , Der Opfertanz der Äegyptischen Königs
( Leipzig : J. C. Hinrichs , 1912 ) , pp . 160-168 , 190-191 , 248 ; A.
Moret , The Nile and Egyptian Civilization ( London : K. Paul ,
Trench , Trubner Co. , Ltd. , 1927 ) , pp . 130-139 ; A. H. Gardiner ,
" Review on Recent Publications , " JEA , 2 ( 1915 ) , pp . 121-126 ;
Gardiner " Horus the Behdetite
, 30 pp . 23-60 ; G.
, " JEA , ( 1943 ) ,
Griffith , " The Jubilee of Akhenaton , " JEA , 5 ( 1918 ) , pp . 61-63 ;
F. W. von Bissing and H. Kees , Untersuchungen zu den Reliefs aus
dem Re - Heiligtum des Rathures , I ( Verlag
der Bayerischen akademie
der München , 1922 ) , pp . 23-34 ; von Bissing ,
" Das Re -Heiligtum des
Königs Ne -- Woser - Re ," Verlag der Bayerischen akademie der Mün
chen ( 1922 ) , pp . 23-34 . A. M. Blackman , " Some Remarks on a
clay Sealing Found in the Tomb of Hemaka , " Analecta Orientalia ,

17 ( 1938 ) , pp . 4-9 , and Wainwright , Sky - Religion , pp . 18-26 .

The Sed Festival is one of the oldest and most important in
Egypt . In it
the king assumed the character , insignia and cos
tume of Osiris and also experienced symbolically his death ,
resurrection , and new - birth . The essence of the rite was his
identification with Osiris , and hence , its basic purpose was to
renew and strengthen the life of the king . The festival can
safely be traced back to the First Dynasty . It was obviously
of very great importance , but we have no manuscript that gives
us a connected sequence of scenes . The order of the main rites
is quite uncertain , and even the significance of the festival
is disputed .
128 . Among those who have studied the question , W. M. F.
Petrie , " The Royal Magician , " Ancient Egypt , , Sept. ( 1925 ) III ,
pp . 65-67 , seemed to have recognized this as a ceremony to
Chapter VIII , Notes 313

ensure the fertility of the field . H. Frankfort , Kingship and

the Gods , pp . 85-86 , based on his study of the reconciliation
between Horus and Seth sees the "will " referred to in the Mem
phite Theology not merely as a basis for some transaction such
as the transfer of a field to some god or temple , but " as the
basic order of society which the rich and comprehensive appara
tus of the Sed Festival is designed to renew , " to which extent ,
" the dedication of the field is the central ceremony of the
festival , " ibid .; cf. Mercer , Religion of Ancient Egypt , pp .
362-363 , and H. W. Fairman , " The Kingship Rituals in Egypt ,"
MRAK , pp . 74-104 .

129 . cf. J.
E. Quibell and W. M. F. Petrie , Hierakonpolis ,
I , Pl . xxvi B,where this simple archaic scene portrays the king
running in the ceremony . Other early scenes are to be found in
Petrie , Royal Tombs , I , Pl . xv , and p . 16 ; Bissing and Kees ,
Re - Heiligtum , II , Pls . 13-14 , Figs . 33b and 34 .

130 . The name of the festival , sd , means " a tail , " and
the bull's tail on the robe of the pharaoh in the later scenes
may have been given to him on this occasion as a
of new symbol
strength of the Pharaoh . cf. especially Petrie ,
Royal " The
Magician , " p . 68 , where this appears during the Eleventh Dynas
ty ; also M. A. Murray , " Costume of Early Kings , " Ancient Egypt
and the East , III
, June ( 1926 ) , pp . 33-36 ; also Mercer , Religion

of Ancient Egypt , p . 361 . The same author has published two

statues , which hepoint to the celebration of this fes
argues
tival as early of Menes , Ancient Egypt and the East ,
as the time
III ( London : Luzac and Co. , 1933 ) , pp . 70-72 . Petrie , Royal
Tombs , I xv 16
, , , points to a representation of this same festi
val on the ceremonial mace - head of Narmer , and the Thinite La
bels which bear engravings of the feast . There are also refer
ences to the Sed Festival , Third Dynasty , C. M. Firth and J.
Quibell , Excavations at Saqqara : The Step Pyramid ( Cairo : Im
primerie de l'Institute français d'archéologie orientale , 1935 ) ,
p . 60 , Pl . 41 , where the doorjambs as symbols are introduced ; the
king running with vases of water appears during the Eighteen Dy
nasty , Kees , Opfertanz , pp . 22-24 . Other aspects of the various
steps in progression can be appreciated from G. Griffith , " The
Jubilee of Akhenaton ," JEA ( 1956 ) , pp . 39-47 .
314 Chapter VIII , Notes

131 . P. E. Newberry , " Egypt as Field of Anthropological

Research , " Reports of the British Association for the Advance

ment of Science ( 1923 ) , p. 185 .

132 . The core of this theory centers around the original

home of Seth Scholars are generally agreed that his home is
.
in the west H. Gardiner , " The Dakleh Stela , " JEA , XIX ( 1933 ) ,
. A.
pp . 17-30 , has identified Seth as an important god in the oases

of the Western Desert . Lepsius , Denkmäler aus Äegypten , IV , p .

74c , identifies him at a very early period as a " god of the
Western Mountain . " Petrie , Royal Tombs , I , Pl . XV , 16 , on the
Udymu Tablet of the First Dynasty , in the running ceremony ,
identifies the name of Libya . Firth and Quibell , The Step Pyra
mid , p. 60 , Pl . 42 , shows Zoser wearing the Libyan " penistasche "
when he is running . A man representing Libya assists at the
Neuserre's running ceremony where he is called TIKANOU , Bissing
and Kees , Re - Heiligtum , III , Pl . 13 , Fig . 33b . Neith , who is
supposed to be attends the festival , ibid . , Pl . 7 , Fig .
Libyan ,
39 . The priest of Horus of Libya holds the sceptre at
Neuserre's Festival , ibid . , and at Thutmose Festival , III's
Horus of Libya presents it to the king , ibid . , p . , and G. A. ll
Wainwright , " Leontopolis , " JEA , XVIII ( 1932 ) , p . 164 . Finally ,
at the Sed Festival of Osorkon , Horus of Libya is one of the
many gods represented , E. Naville , The Festival Hall of Osorkon ,

II ( London : K. Paul , Trench , Trubner & Co. , Ltd. , 1892 ) , Pl . vii

and xviii , and at his festival smites a chieftain Montuhotep I
of Libya , M. G. Kyle , " Some Further Observations concerning
Holocaust among the Ancient Egyptians , " Recueil de travaux rela
tifs , XXXII ( 1910 ) , pp . 52-53 . Cf. Wainwright , Sky - Religion ,
p . 24 .

133 . cf. counter - arguments by Griffith , " The Jubilee of

Akhenaton ," pp . 61-63 , Mercer , Religion of Egypt , pp . 361-363 ,
Breasted , Religion and Thought , pp . 39-41 , and Frankfort , King
ship , pp . 79-83 . All of these scholars have concluded that the
evidence is too obscure and , hence , no definite conclusion can
be drawn . The fact is that the true origin of the Sed Festival
cannot be ascertained from extant material .

134 . Wainwright , Sky - Religion , pp . 25-28 , 86-87 , and P.

Moret , La Mise à mort du Dieu en Égypte ( Paris : E. Leroux ,
1902 ) .
Chapter VIII , Notes 315

135 . Special attention has been given to the coronation

of Haremhab in this regard . The first month of winter would ,
of course , be the fifth month of the Egyptian year . Cf. A. H.
Gardiner , " The Coronation of General Haremhab ," JEA , 39 ( 1953 ) ,
pp . 13-31 .

136 . existing text is dated to the reign of Sesostris

The
I , the second king of the Twelfth Dynasty , but is clearly based
on a much older original which has been dated as early as the
First Dynasty . The forty - two scenes , each of four elements ,
consist of some act in play ; the mythological explanation of
that act ; a conversation between gods , embodying words and puns
on them ; and lastly , a variable number of stage directions . K.
Sethe , Dramatische Texte zu altägyptische Mysterienspielen
( Leipzig : J. C. Hinrichs , 1928 ) . However , while most scholars
accept the theory that this is really a drama performed shortly
after the king's accession and in his visit to the more impor
tant cities , Frankfort , even though he accepts Sethe's view in
general, considered that the whole drama was a " mystery play of

the succession , " cf. Frankfort , Kingship and the Gods , pp . 123
139 . The essential parts of this coronation drama are the coro
nation of the king ( scenes 26-32 ) , and the burial of his prede
cessor , which ends with a feast ( scenes 33-46 ) . cf. S. H.
Hooke , Myth and Ritual : Essays on the Myth and Ritual of the
Hebrews in Relation to the Culture Pattern in the Ancient East
( London : Oxford University Press , 1933 ) , p . 31 . Frankfort , how
ever , denies that the concluding scenes had anything to do with
burial , maintaining that in reality they were concerned with
the transfiguration of the king's predecessor . Frankfort , King
ship and the Gods , pp . 132-139 .

Scholars have long recognized that the traditional

137 .
interpretation of the drama involved great difficulties since ,
as a coronation play , it diverges very greatly from much of
what we know about the coronation . It not only omits many of
the important ceremonies , but even the placing of the crown is
merely given a passing reference . Moreover , the figure of the
king is consistently shown in his boat ; he is never depicted as
a living being , and he is never stated at any point in the
drama as taking an active part . Helck , however , considers that
these difficulties are due to the fact that the extant manu
script does not reflect the original condition and order bf the
316 Chapter VIII , Notes

text , but is a result of a Middle Kingdom editor who unwittingly

grouped the fragments of a badly damaged and broken manuscript
in an order different from the original . W. Helck , " Bemerkungen

zum Ritual des Dramatischen Ramesseumspapyrus , " Orientalia , 23

( 1954 ) , pp . 383-401 .

138 . The texts and the reliefs of this tomb rediscovered

in 1943 are published by A. Fakhry , " A Note on the Tomb of

Kheruef at Thebes , " Annales du Service des Antiquités de
l'Egypte , 42 ( 1943 ) , pp . 449-508 , Pls . xxxix - xiii , p . 487 .
139 . The ceremony of " The Opening of the Mouth " was to en
sure the restoration of the vital functions to the dead , and to
prevent him from dying the second death , or suffering from
hunger , cold , and thirst .

140 . Helck , "Dramatischen Ramesseumpapyrus . "

141 . in the ninth month of the Egyptian year ,

Conducted
this festival is
considered among the oldest in ancient Egypt .
Min , a god depicted regularly as ithyphallic , was also among
the most ancient of Egyptian deities , and from the Middle King
dom forward , he is frequently assimilated to Min - Amon . " Le dieu
ithyphallique Min , principe de la generation et de la fécondité
animale et végétable , est une des plus anciennes divinités du
panthéon égyptien ; son existence remonte aux origines les plus
lointaines de la religion et de l'histoire
, " Henri Gauthier ,

Le personnel du dieu Min , Recherches d'archéologie , de philo

logie , et d'histoire , Vol . III
( Cairo : Imprimerie de l'Institut

français d'archéologie orientale , 1931 ) , pp . 1 and 121 . There

are texts describing him as a " rainmaker , " but for obvious rea
sons , he hardly could have been . Cf. ARE , I , p . 451 .
The most complete representation of the Festival of Min is
found in the temple of Medinet Habu , erected by Rameses . III
Medinet Habu , Vol . IV : Festival Scenes of Rameses , Oriental II
Institute Publications , J. A. Wilson and G. T. Allen , eds . ,
Vol . I ( The University of Chicago Press , 1940 ) , Pls . 196-217 .
These scenes show an elaborate processional grouped about
the Pharaoh and his divine image . The king at various points
offers sacrifices incense and libations to the god ; and cere
,
monially releases four geese , and cuts a sheaf of corn or wheat .
The festival in its entirety is well described by Gauthier . cf.
Henri Gauthier , Les Fêtes du dieu Min , Recherches d'archéologie ,
Chapter VIII , Notes 317

de philologie , et d'histoire , Vol . (Cairo II : Imprimerie de

l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale , 1931 ) .

A number of scholars have suggested the epithet "Kamutef "
literally " Bull of his mother " could very well be an indication
of the actual engagement in ritual sexual intercourse . However ,
aside from the fact that the queen does appear in several of the
reliefs , there seems very little justification for implicating
her in this analysis . cf. E. O. James , The Ancient Gods : The
History and Diffusion of Religion in
the Ancient Near East and
the Eastern Mediterranean (New York : Capricorn Books , 1964 ) , p .
116 ; Frankfort , Kingship and the Gods , p . 118 ; Fairman , " King
ship Rituals , " p. 85 .

142 . Ibid . , p. 86 .

143 . The so - called " sacred marriage " seems to have con
sisted simply of the meeting of Hathor and Horus in the Temple
at Edfu , where they spent the night together . The next day be
gan a fifteen - day celebration ; the festival turned to other ac
tivities . These extended from the new moon to the full moon
of the third month of summer ( the eleventh month of the Egyp
tian year ) . The interpretation of this as a " sacred marriage "
is founded primarily in the following studies : A. M. Blackman ,
" Myth , Ritual , and Kingship , " Essays on the Myth and Ritual of
the Hebrews in Relation to the Culture Pattern of the Ancient
East ( London : Oxford University Press , 1933 ) , p . 34 ; E. 0 .
James , The Cult of the Mother Goddess (New York : Frederick A.
Praeger , 1959 ) , p . 64 . Among earlier work on which much of
this theory has been built is that of Junker who stated that
the " sacred marriage " was really a secondary theme . Herman

Junker , " Hathor galt dann auch als Braut des Horus ; in die Be
suchszeit fällt ihre Vermählung , es is das Fest der Umarmung .
Hathor empfangt den jungen Hours und es werden ihr die ' Frauen
zeremonien ; verrichtet . " Many of the preceding scholars have
built upon this brief mention . Herman Junker , Die Osirislegende ,

Denkschriften : Philosophisch - historische Klasse , Vol . LIX , No.

1 and 2 ( Wien : Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften , 1917 ) ,
p . 116 . These comments are based on the inscriptions at Den
darah .
Two recent and more extensive studies which confine them
selves to the relief inscriptions from the structure at Edfu
318 Chapter VIII , Notes

are Maurice Alliot , " Le Culte d'Hours à Edfou au temps des

Ptolemees , " Revue de l'histoire des Vol . CXXXVII , religiones ,

No. 1 ( 1950 ) , pp . 59-104 , and H. W. Fairman , " Worship and Fes

tivals in an Egyptian Temple , " Bulletin of the John Rylands
Library , Vol . XXXVII , No. 1 ( 1954 ) , pp . 196-200 .

144 . Among
the ceremonies listed are , The Opening of the
Mouth , The Offering of the First Fruits , The Driving of the
Calves , The Offering of Truth , The Festival of Behet , The Cere
monies of the Divine Souls , The Sacrificing of the Red Ox and
the Red Goat , The Dispatch of the Four Geese to the Cardinal
Points , The Harpoon Ritual , and The Sacred Marriage . cf. A. M.
Blackman and H. W. Fairman , " The Significance of the Ceremony
Hwt Bhow in the Temple of Horus at Edfu , " JEA , 35 ( 1949 ) , pp .
98-112 , and JEA , 36 ( 1949 ) , pp . 63-81 .
145 . H. H. Nelson , Key Plans Showing Locations of the
Theban Temple Decorations ( Chicago : The University of Chicago
Press , 1941 ) , Pl . vii , F 464 .

146 . A. Mariette , Abydos : Description des Pouilles execu

tées sur l'emplacement de cette ville , Vol . I ( Paris : Didier &
Cic . , 1869 ) , Pl . 49 e -f.
147 . M. Alliot , " Les Rites de la chasse au filet aux tem
ples de Karnak , d'Edfou , et d'Esneh , " Revue d'Egyptologie , Vol .
V ( 1931 ) , pp . 110-112 .
148 . M. Alliot , " Les Rites , " pp . 57-118 , provides a com
plete description of all the scenes .

149 . Cf. especially Junker , " Die Schlach- und Brand

, H.
opfer und ihre Symbolik im Tempelkult der Spätzeit , " ZAS , 48
( 1910 ) , pp . 69-77 , and " Das Brandopfer im Totenkult , " Mis
cellanea Gregori ana ( 1941 ) , pp . 109-117 .

150 . Cf. translations according to R. O. Faulkner , Pyra

mid Texts , and Mercer , Pyramid Texts , Vol . I.
151 . Wainwright , Sky - Religion , p . 28 .

152 . Cf. E. Naville , Das äegyptische Todtenbuch ( J. C.

Hinrichs , 1913 ) , 1:20 and 41 : 7 , 8 at Neref , the cemetery at
Heracleopolis . This is an extremely late recension , the Saite ,

but he alleges that it goes back to Middle Kingdom times .

Chapter VIII , Notes 319

153 . A. H. Gardiner , Hieratic Papyri in the British Mu

seum , Third Series , I , Text ( London : Trustees of the Museum ,
1935 ) , pp . 10 , 20-21 .

154 . Cf. discussion on the sacrifice of red men and red

animals in E. Lefébure , " Le Sacrifice humain d'après les rites
de Busiris et d'Abydos ," Sphinx ( 1901 ) , pp . 140-150 , and the
role of red victims in general , Wainwright , Sky - Religion , pp .

50-54 .

155 . Especially Budge , Osiris , pp . 202-210 . His commen

taries and deductions are drawn essentially from the Book of
the Dead .

156 . Lefébure , " Sacrifice humain ," p . 142 , and Sky - Reli
gion , pp . 85-92 .

157 . Cf. H. Grapow , Religiöse Urkunden II ( Leipzig : J. C.

Hinrichs , 1915 ) . This contains Section 7 of Chapter 18 of the
Book of the Dead , and K. Sethe , Dramatische Texte zu altäegyp
tischen Mysterienspielen , I ( Leipzig : C. J. Hinrichs , 1922 ) ,
pp . 153-160 , adds that the dd - pillar which was the fetish at
Ddw - Busiris , originally
represented Seth . It should be pointed
out that these scenes are also described by Budge in Osiris ,
pp . 200-208 , where the enemies who are beheaded , slaughtered
and their blood mixed with the soil , are called the enemies of
Osiris . This is taken from the New Kingdom Coffin Texts ,
which in turn are traced back to the Pyramid Texts .

158 . Wainwright , Sky - Religion , pp . 26 and 32 . A similar

view was held by Budge . A study of the arguments used by him
indicates clearly that it was his acceptance of the basic his
torical accuracy of the statements made by a number of Greek
writers which led him to place an unusual weight of historical
value on many of these magical spells of the Book of the Dead .
Cf. especially , Osiris , pp . 14-23 .

159 . cf.
Diodorus , I , p . 45 , 65 , 94 ; Josephus , contra
Apionem , I,
306 ; Eusebius , Aucher , I , p . 218 ,
p. , p . 171 II ;

ARE , Vol . IV , No. 884 . The writers laud the craftiness of

Bocchoris , his great reign , and how he met his death at the
hands of his successor , Sabacon . Cf. Herodotus , pp . 137 II ,

139 , 140 . A. Moret , De Bocchori Rege , ( Paris : E. Leroux , 1903 ) ,

has studied cge collection of the many stories written about
320 Chapter VIII , Notes

Bocchoris by classical writers , but only three of these give

him six years of reign . Others place his reign as high as
forty - four to forty - six years . ARE , IV , p . 884 , quotes
Africanus in concurring on the six - year reign of Bocchoris ,
cf. L. A. Dindorf , " Georgius Syncellus , " Corpus Scriptorum
Historiae Byzantinae , Vol . VI , 1 ( Bonn : E. Weberi , 1831 ) , p .
138 . This is Breasted's only reference
to this Pharaoh in
ARE ; however , concurs on the Manetho account ( given
he also
by Africanus in Dindorf ] that Bocchoris was burned alive
after an exceptionally short reign . Breasted , A History of
Egypt York : Charles Scribner's Sons , 1956 ) , pp . 546-547 ,
(New
550 ) .This is also the position of most Egyptologists .
Gardiner adds the somewhat authentic account , drawn from Manetho
and Eusebius , that Shabako ( Manetho's Sabacon ) , the son of the
Eth ia
Piankhi , captured Bocchoris , and burned him alive ;
A. H. Gardiner , Egypt of the Pharaohs ( Oxford : The Clarendon
Press , 1961 ) , pp . 334-335 ; Also J. E. Manchip White , Ancient
Egypt ( London : George Allen & Unwin , Ltd. , 1970 ) , p . 191 .
Other accounts state that this act of Shabako was in obed
ience to the gods , being unwilling to offend them since they
had decreed that Bocchoris should die thus ; Herodotus , p. II
139 . Josephus states that the purpose of his death was to
eradicate the pestilence and disease , and cleanse the temples ;
Josephus , contra Apionem , I , p . 306 . The picture presented is
one of famine and epidemics which prevented the normal function
of nature . Within this context then , Bocchoris , the wise king
of Libyan extraction , deciding to set everything in order , then
undertook the sacrifice which the ancient Libyan religion re
quired on such occasions . His death " at the hands of a succes
sor " is used as a positive argument for the historicity of the
previously quoted Pyramid Texts . The fact that Shabako ac
quired a reputation in the worship of gods , it is argued , sug
gests that his procedure was correct . He was also of Libyan
origin .

Cf. Diodorus , I , p . 64 , Strabo XVII ,

160 . , p . 33 , i
Herodotus , II
, p . 100 and 134 , says that the Egyptians killed

their king and gave the kingdom to his sister , Nitocris , who
in turn drowned the murderers and " cast herself into a room
full of ashes . " Attention , therefore , has been called to G. A.
Reisner's " Hetepheres , Mother of Cheops , " Museum Fine Arts
Chapter VIII , Notes 321

Bulletin , XXV ( 1927 ) , p. 66 , and Figs . 5 and 7 . The scenes of

which show Hetep - heres II ,
daughter of Khufu , and probably queen
of one of his successors , with her hair painted in bright yel
low --
in contrast to the black hair of the accompanying ladies .
Another queen bearing the same name , and hair painted in the
same color , is recorded in the Fifth Dynasty , cf. Lepsius ,
Denkmäler aus Äegypten ,Pl . 90 . II ,
tradition of the golden - coloured queen of the old
Thus the
Kingdom has been linked to these paintings because of the color
of the hair , by analogy Hetep - heres is Nitocris . The history
of the Fourth Dynasty does refer to one Hetep - here , mother of
Khufu , Gardiner , Egypt of the Pharaohs , pp . 80-81 ; Edwards , The
Pyramids of Egypt , pp . 102-106 ; Breasted , History of Egypt , pp .
89-91 , but the remainder of the argument is highly speculative
and only receives some force because these women have yellow
hair at this time . But other paintings , both before and after
this , also picture royal ladies with yellow hair , and
period
one must presume that if
classical tradition had placed this
particular queen during another period , the same argument could
also be used .
There is ,
nevertheless , some evidence of a Queen Nitocris ,
a fourth wife of Pepi II
, Gardiner , Egypt of the Pharaohs , p .

106 , the one with whom Manetho , according to Herodotus , p. II

100 , prefers to end the Sixth Dynasty . However , as this queen
belongs to the end of the Sixth , and not the mid - Sixth Dynasty ,
chronologically , one cannot truly associate the two . It would
be equally wrong to assume that Queen Neith , whose pyramid was
discovered at Saqqara is the same Nitocris referred to by the
classicists . Cf. Jéquier , Les Pyramides des reines Neit et
Apouit . While a queen may have momentarily succeeded Pepi II
in the immediate chaotic events following his death , nothing
of a concrete historical nature has thus far been determined .
The tradition of her self - immolation by fire cannot be attest
ed even through a comparison with other similar events at this
time . There is further reference to another Nitocris during
the time of Psammetichus of the Twenty - sixth Dynasty , but the
same problem of identification remains . Clearly , the objective
of this theory is to place this legend as early as possible in
Egyptian history in order to forge a Libyan influence . Nitocris
was fair , one of the Typhonians , and therefore , liable to be
322 Chapter VIII , Notes

sacrificed according to the manner of Seth for the welfare of

her people . But there is no support for this sacrificial
theory in the records of the old Kingdom ; furthermore , the
whole situation of trying to identify Hetep - heres , Neith , Nito
cris , and Neighagert of the old Kingdom and later periods with
the Greek Nitocris , the " fertility queen " is a confusing one .
161 . The Sesostris story is compounded of many elements ,

the details of which according to Posener , " A propos de la Stèle

Bentresh , " Bulletin de l'Institut français d'archéologie orien
tale du Caire , XXXIV ( 1934 ) , pp . 78-81 , are mainly taken from
the deeds of Darius I. The name Sesostris is taken from that
of of the Twelfth Dynasty ( Sethe , Untersuchungen ,
Senwosret II ,
but the exploits themselves are attributed to Rameses
p . 8 ), II
being reflections of his conquests of the many Asiatic peoples
at Kadesh . From the Egyptian sources , there is the late story
of Bentresh of Bakhtan , founded on Rameses II's Hittite War and
his marriage with the Hittite
Princess ; ARE , , pp . 429 III
430 , and Posner , " Stèle Bentresh "
, pp . 75-77 , which ascribes
to Rameses far - reaching influences in Asia . Tacitus , Annals ,
II , p . 60 , says that worldwide conquests were made by " King

Rhamses ," and were sculptured on the temples at Thebes . Diodo

rus , I , p . 47 , speaking of these Ramesseum sculptures of the
Battle of Kadesh , says that " Osymandyas " led a vast army
against the Bactrians in the distant parts of Asia . He is
identified as Rameses II , Sethe , Untersuchungen , II , p. 6. It
is also important to observe that the two Colossi of Rameses II
before the Temple of Memphis are used by Herodotus , , p . 110 II ,

to tell the story of " Sostris , " and Diodorus uses the same
( Diodorus I , 57 ) to relate how this " Sesososis , " in spite of

his large army , and worldwide conquests , had attempts made on

his life . However , it is Josephus , contra Apionem , I , pp . 98
102 , quoting Manetho , who tells the story of " Sethosis who is
also called Rameses ." It appears that Eusebius cut the story
of his attempted sacrifice in two , gave the latter part to
" Sethosis , " correctly called Rameses , but transferred the first
part to the Twelfth Dynasty . See also G. A. Wainwright , " The
Attempted Sacrifice of Sesostris , " JEA , 27 ( 1941 ) , pp . 138-143 .

162 . Herodotus , II , p. 107 ; Diodorus Siculus , I, pp . 55

57 ; Josephus , contra Apionem , I, pp . 98-101 ; Eusebius , Aucher ,
Chapter VIII , Notes 323

I , pp . 211 , 232-234 ; Dindorf , pp . - 112 . The association of lll

Sesostris with Rameses II is made by Josephus . Herodotus states
that two of his sons laid down their lives to facilitate the es
cape of their father . The importance of this legend within the
context of the present fertility theory is two - fold : first ,
Cesesosterus should die by sacrificing himself as others did ,
and second , he chose to escape even as the earlier spells pre
scribed . Later , Diodorus I , 58 states that the king committed
suicide , and consequently was admired not only by the priest ,
but by all the Egyptians .

163 . Plutarch , De Iside et Osiride , No. 73 .

164 . Diodorus , I, 88 .

165 . cf. Budge , Osiris , pp . 210-211 ; Lefébure , Le Sacri

fice humain , pp . 140-141 ; Wainwright , The Sky - Religion , p . 53 .
166 . The Dog - days are those connected with the heliacal
rising of Sirius , which mark the New Year in the ancient Egyp
tian calendar . Cf. Plutarch , De Iside et Osiride , No. 73 .
167 . Quibell and Petrie , Hierakonpolis , I , Pl . xxvi B.
168 . Ibid . , Pls . xxxix , xl , xli .
169 . A. H. Gardiner and T. E. Peet , The Inscriptions of
Sinai , p. 16 , Pl . viii .
170 . Bissing - Bruckmann , Denkmäler , Pl . 33 , A , b.

171 . E. Naville , The Temple of Deir - el - Bahari ( London :

Egypt Exploration Fund , 1910 ) , Pl . clx .
W. M. F. Petrie , The Palace of Apries
172 . ( London :

School of Archeology in Egypt , 1909 ) , Pl . xxi .

173 . Lepsius , Denkmäler , III , Pl . 85 , c.

174 . cf. Smith , " The old Kingdom in Egypt , " pp . 184-186 ,
where these types of scenes and their decorative significance
are explained .

175 . No place of burning has been identified or even re

ferred to in records from El Kab , Nekheb - Eleithyiapolis . Only

one has been identified at Nekhen - Hierakonpolis at the site of
this predynastic city in the center . A space of bare rock was
covered with a thick crust of charred wood , and other debris .
It was of some size judging from the pile of stones with which
324 Chapter VIII , Notes

it is no mention whatever of any

was covered ; however , there
remains of bones . Anything could have accounted for these re
mains . Cf. M. Lansing , Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art ( No. 1935 ) . A later predynastic trench full of ashes at
Gerzah is recorded by Petrie . It was 83 inches long , and 22
inches wide , and cut 25 inches deep into the rock . It contained
only ashes and three finger- or toe - bones . Its origin is un
known , Petrie draws no conclusions from this item in his
and
report cf. Petrie and Mackay , The Labyrinth , Gerzeh and
.
Mazghuneh , p . 8 , Pl . xiii , no . 108 .

176 . A. Moret , Du caractère religieux de la royauté

pharaonique Leroux , 1902 ) , pp . 255-259 , has pointed
( Paris : E.
out that one purpose of the Sed Festival was the renewal of
kingship , but nowhere does he imply that the king or a substi
tute was sacrificed on these occasions . Apparently several
kings are connected with the celebration of this festival at
the end of a thirty - year period . Those mentioned as perform
ing this rite thirty years after accession are : Pepi , II
Senusret I, Thutmose III , Amenhotep III , Rameses II and
Rameses . III
There are also indications that this period may
not have been essential as it was again celebrated at arbitrary
intervals by some of these kings after the first celebration ,
until the king's de cf. Frankfort , Kingship and th Gods ,
p . 366 . There is also evidence that it was celebrated before
the thirtieth year by Amenhotep , Seti II
and Psammetichus II
II , and even Thutmose IV , whose mummy shows that he was in his
early twenties when he died , but , nevertheless , had already
celebrated it once . Moret , Royauté , pp . 261 , and J. H. Breast
ed , " The Obelisks of Thutmose III
and His Building Season in
Egypt , " Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde ,
XXXIX ( 1901 ) , pp . 55–61 .

This interpretation is based on the theory that

177 .

Horus did gain a victory over Seth during the First and Second
Dynasties , but at the end of the Second Dynasty there was the
resurgence of Seth worship under King Persaben , which in turn
was repressed by the Horus - king Khasekhem who took the dual
titles to form his name " the Horus and Seth King Khasekhem " ; cf. 1
Newberry , Ancient Egypt , pp . 40-46 . The kings of the Third and
Fourth Dynasties ending with Khufu and Chephren are all
Chapter VIII , Notes 325

considered as advocates of Re - worship ; therefore , they discard

ed the old Religion and changed the style of worship for which
they were viewed as irreligious . The Fifth and Sixth Dynasties ,
ending with Pepi II
, who escaped his death which was a require

ment of the old Religion , once more saw its resurgence . Accord
ing to the spells , however , the avenue of escape was in human
substitutes . Wainwright , The Sky - Religion , pp . 65-68 . There
are numerous references in Egyptian literature to the fight be
tween Horus and Seth ; cf. Faulkner , Pyramid Texts , Ut . 215 , Nos .
289 , 306 , 712 ( 1963 ) , but the fullest and best preserved account
is rather late not earlier than
, the New Kingdom . However , the
crux of the conflict appears to be the domain of Upper Egypt .
cf. S. A. B. Mercer , Horus , The Royal God of Egypt ( Grafton ,
Mass .: Society of Oriental Research , 1942 ) , pp . 110-131 . There
is little doubt from these early Pyramid Texts that this strug
gle was made a legal contest in prehistoric times . The Mem
phite Theology proves that numerous refernces come from the
Thinite Period . This also forms a large part of " The Contend
ings of Horus and Seth " ; A. H. Gardiner , The Chester Beatty
Papyri , No. 1 ( London : Oxford University Press , 1931 ) , pp . 8-26 .
Nowhere is there an indication that this conflict ( projected in
the historical and political
of the period down to
developments
the Middle Kingdom ) centered around the recurring attempt at
doing away with an old , and the establishing of a new religion .
Over the centuries , the eclectic Egyptian religion kept adding
new deities to its basic cult but aside from the prehistoric
;

Horus and Seth struggle the addition of the Re Cult during the
,

old Kingdom caused no upheaval comparable to that proposed by

Wainwright , or the Aten Revolution of Amenhotep and Amenho III
tep IV ; there is no evidence to support the claim that from the
mid - old Kingdom to its end there was a struggle to end the
sacrificial death of the king , and the consequent rise of sub
stitutionary human sacrifices . cf. Erman , Handbook of Egyp
tian Religion , pp . 19-21 ; Frankfort , Kingship and the Gods ,
pp . 101-102 , and especially his chapter , " The Mystery Play of

the Succession , " and pp . 130-131 ; and Mercer , Religion of An

cient Egypt , pp . 92-96 .

178 . Herodotus , II , 124 , 127-129 , 133 .

179 . Ibid . , 133 .

326 Chapter VIII , Notes

180 . H. Grapow , Religiöse Urkunden , II ( Leipzig : J. C.

Hinrichs , 1915 ) , p. 128 , in which he quotes the Theban recen
sion of the Book of the Dead , Chap . xviii , p. 8.

181 . Diodorus , I, p. 88 .

182 . The rise of " Ushabti " figurines has nothing to do

with substitutionary victims .
183 . study of this subject has been made by
A complete

Louis Speelers in which he traces the origin and subsequent

,
development of Egyptian figurines within a funerary context .
This work is widely cited as the foremost authority on the sub
ject . Louis Speelers , Les Figurines Funeraires Egyptiennes
( Brussells : Les Editions Robert Sand , 1933 ) . See also discus
sions on the subject by Budge , Osiris , pp . 210-220 , and Mercer ,
Religion of Ancient Egypt .

184 . Maspero , Mémoires

G. de la Mission Française au
Caire , Mémoires publics par les membres de la Mission archéolo
gique française au Caire ( Paris : Institut français d'archéolo
gie orientale , 1884 ) , pp . 453-457 .

185 . Emery , Egypt in Nubia , p. 86 .

186 . Speelers , Les Figurines , pp . 159-171 .

187 . Cf. especially Cerny , Anci nt Egyptian Religion ,

pp . 92-93 , and Breasted , Development of Religion and Thought ,

pp . 39-43 .
 NOTES

CHAPTER IX

This is precisely what Yehezkel Kaufmann does . He

1.

tends to view the religion of surrounding nations as being dif

ferent from the elements operative in Israelite society , and
regards the definition of its character as less directly affect
ed by the weight of comparative evidence and less directly re
lated to the parallel phenomena operative in the lives of its
neighbours in the ancient Near East . The Israelite cult was
primarily symbolic in function , and possibly even in origin .
Consequently , whatever phenomena appeared in her system to be
similar to those on the outside were not really similar . His
work appears at times to be completely oblivious of the generic
character of ritual . Y. Kaufmann , The Religion of Israel ,
translated and abridged by Moshe Greenberg ( Chicago : University
of Chicago Press , 1960 ) . See especially his chapters 2 , 3 , 4 ,
and 6 dealing with pagan and Israelite religion .

2. See , for example , the following discussions on the

subject : von Rad , Old Testament Theology , I (New York : Har
G.
per and Row Publishers , 1957 ) , pp . 15-35 ; M. Noth , The History
of Israel (New York : Harper and Row Publishers , 1960 ) , pp . 53
138 ; J. Bright , A History of Israel ( Philadelphia : The West
minster Press , 1959 ) , pp . 120-160 ; W. F. Albright , From the
Stone Age to Christianity ( Garden City : Doubleday ( Anchor ) , 1957 ) ,
pp . 200-272 ; Archaeology and the Religion of Israel , especially
pp . 35-65 ; Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan , especially pp . 53-152 ;
Hooke , Myth and Ritual , pp . 13-34 ; Mendenhall , " Biblical His
tory in Transition , " BANE , pp . 38-45 , etc.
3. Cf. E. A. Speiser , Genesis , Anchor Bible , ( Garden
City : Doubleday and Company , 1964 ) , especially pp . xliii - ; lii
and N. Sarna , Understanding Genesis (New York : Schocken Books ,
pp . 81-136 .

4. Many " pagan " practices are denounced by the priestly

redactors as contrary to the will of Yahweh . Since these pro
hibitions are derived from a later period , we cannot be sure
that at an earlier date they were not viewed as acceptable

327
328 Chapter IX , Notes

within the cult of Yahweh . This problem will be explored dur

ing the progress of this investigation . Cf. J. McKenzie , Jr. ,
The World of the Judges ( Englewood cliffs : Prentice - Hall , Inc. ,

1965 ) , pp . 76-120 .
5. Frazer , The Golden Bough , II , pp . 43-59 , especially
p . 51 M. Jastrow , Hebrew and Babylonian Traditions (New York :

c . Scribner's Sons , 1914 ) , pp . 29 , 55 ; R. Dussaud , Les origines

cananéennes du sacri fice is raélite , 2nd ed . ( Paris : E. Leroux ,
1941 ) , p . 167 ; A. Lods , Israël des origines au milieu du VIII

siècle ( Paris : Renaissance du livre , 1930 ) , p . 330 ; E. Dohrme ,

La Religion des Hébreux nomades ( Paris : E. Leroux , 1937 ) , p . 33 ,
who concludes that this primitive law is maintained in all its
rigour in Exod . 22 : 29-30 .
The problem of the possible meaning of this text will be
analyzed during the progress of this investigation . Reference
here is merely to indicate the basis for scholarly attempts at
identification of certain remains .
6. R. A. S. Macalister , Excavations at Gezer , Vol . II
( 1907-1909 ) . Published for the Committee of the Palestine Ex
ploration Fund ( London : John Murray , 1912 ) , pp . 401-402 , 431
435 .

7. Cf. W. C. Graham and H. G. May , Culture and conscience ,

An Archaeological Study of the New Religious Past in Ancient

Palestine ( Chicago : University of Chicago Press , 1940 ) , pp . 74
79 , who see these as having some connection with the Cult of
the Dead ; S. H. Hooke , The Origins of Early Semitic Ritual (Lon
don : OxfordUniversity Press , 1938 ) , pp . 48-50 , who argues that
sacrificial victims of this sort may have been a part of the
original festival of the Passover Night ; Nahum M. Sarna , Under
standing Genesis (New York : Schocken Books , 1966 ) , pp . 158-159 ;
J. Finegan , Light from the Ancient Past ( Princeton : Princeton
University Press , 1959 ) , pp . 147-149 ; and E. Anati , Palestine
Before the Hebrews (New York : A. Knopf , 1963 ) , p . 427 , all of
whom agree that a rite of this nature , and the great number of

victims , make Palestine unique among the countries of the an

cient Near East .

8. G. Ernest Wright , Biblical Archaeology , Abridged ed .

( Philadelphia : The Westminster Press , 1960 ) , pp . 12-13 , argues

that infant mortality was exceedingly high and , hence , we can

Chapter IX , Notes 329

be sure that most cases of child burial which have been found
do not indicate child sacrifice . Miss Kenyon believes that ,
with respect to the finds at Gezer , although they were studied
and published with the most exemplary care , the excavation
methods lacked adequate modern techniques . Hence , it is diffi
cult to interpret the arious finds and their relationship to
each other . Cf. Archaeology in the Holy Land , 3rd ed . (New
York : Praeger Publishers , 1970 ) , pp . 117 , 312-313 . W. F.
Albright , Archaeology and the Religion of Israel , 5th ed .
(New York : Doubleday and Company , 1968 ) , pp . 102-104 , sees no
possible connection between the later High Place and the earli
er infant burials to indicate the sacrificing of children . He
does stress , however , as Eduard Meyer did , the strong possibil
ity of the site being used for the perpetuation of some ances
tral cult . Cf. Eduard Meyer , Geschichte des Altertums I, 3rd
ed . ( Stuttgart , Gotta , 1953 ) , pp . 422-425 .

9. Macalister , Excavations at Gezer , II , pp . 405-406 .

10 . Ibid .

11 . Ibid . , p. 427 .

12 . For an adequate description of each of the examples

cited , cf. ibid . , pp . 426-438 .

13 . Ibid . , p . 426 . This Biblical passage will be examined

later in the progress of this investigation .
14 . Ibid . , p . 433 .

Macalister divided the chronology of Gezer into five

15 .
periods . The non - Semitic period occupied by cave dwellers un

til ca. 2500 B.C. , followed by what he traced as four different

Semitic occupations , deduced from his identification of the
pottery and other artifacts . The first period closed ca. 1800
B.C. , the fall of the Egyptian XII Dynasty . The second ended
with the close of the Egyptian XVIII Dynastty , ca. 1350 B.C.
The third closed with the beginning of the Hebrew Kingdom ca.
1000 B.C. , and the fourth contemporary with the end of the
Hebrew Kingdom ca. 586 B.C .; Macalister , Excavations at Gezer ,
II , pp . 65-68 . For a revised and more accurate chronological
delineation based on Sequence Pottery Dating , cf. Albright ,
Archaeology and the Religion of Israel , pp . 201-202 , and Ken
yon , Archaeology of Palestine , pp . 117-118 , 164 , 233 , 236 , 248 .
330 Chapter IX , Notes

However , we must rememberthat Macalister merely utilized the

techniques that were then available in this field of research .

16 . For an example in his interpretation of certain remains

( those of a temple which stood on the site during the First Semi
tic Period ) see Macalister , Excavations at Gezer , II , pp . 405
409 . However , a later study of the reports and the site by ad
vanced archaeological techniques ruled out such a structure at
this period . Cf. Albright , Archaeology and the Religion of Is
rael , pp . 89-90 and especially pp . 103-104 .
17 . cf. G. E. Wright , " The Troglodytes of Gezer ," Pales
tine Exploration Quarterly ( 1937 ) , pp . 67-73 ; especially Ken
yon , Archaeology of the Holy Land , pp . 117-119 ; and Albright ,
Archaeology of Palestine , pp . 31-32 , 102-104 .

His conclusion is based on a study made of those in

18 .

Palestine , Syria , and Assyria , and has been generally accepted

by scholars in this field . Cf. Eduard Meyer , Geschichte des

Altertums , I , Sec . 2, 3rd ed . , pp . 423-427 ; and c . Watzinger ,

Denkmäler Palastinas , I ( 1933 ) , p . 63 , who was among the first 1
to agree with this treatment of High Places , and later W. F.
Albright , Archaeology and the Religion of Israel , p . 103 .
19 . Ibid
In many cases the Hebrew term bamah means
.

simply " height "

or " elevation " ( Deut . 32:13 ; 2 Sam . 1:19 , 25 ;
Micah 1 : 3 ) . Frequently , however , it designates an open - air
place of worship . Some high places were located on a hill or
mountain as in Num . 22:41 , while others were within or near a

town ( 1 Kgs . 11 : 7 ; 2 Kgs . 17 : 9 ) , and others even in valleys

( Jer . 7:31 ) ; Albright , Archaeology of Palestine , pp . 31-32 .

20 .
An examination of the published reports on High Places

around the ancient Near East has turned up no information which

would imply that human beings were ritually killed at these
sites .

21 . jar - burials are a common find on many sites in

Normal
this from very early down through the Late Bronze Age .
area
While there is ample evidence that tomb burials were used by
certain groups Chalcolithic Period , and became more
from the
prevalent from as as Early Bronze II , yet the burial of
early
some infants under the floor of private dwellings appears to
have continued at different sites throughout these periods .
Chapter IX , Notes 331

Cf. André Parrot , Abraham and His Times ( Philadelphia : Fortress

Press ) , 1968 , pp . 128-129 : For some specific examples , N. J.
Schofield , " Megiddo , " Archaeology and Old Testament Study , W.

Thomas , ed . ( Oxford : The Clarendon Press , 1967 ) , pp . 314-315 ;

Y. Yadin , " Hazor , " ibid. , pp . 249-251 ; G. E. Wright , Shechem :
The Biography of a Biblical City (New York : McGraw Hill
- Book
Company , 1965 ) , pp . 116 , 199 ; Graham and May , Culture and con
science , pp . 75-82 .

22 .
The memorial steles , " maşşeboth , " are the most promi
nent identification mark of a high place . Professor Albright
has presented an in - depth study of these standing stones and
their connection to ancestral cults in " The High Place in An
cient Palestine , " Vetus Testamentum , IV ( 1957 ) , pp . 242-258 .
While he has shown the relationship between bâmāh and massēbāh ,
especially from the LXX , and the meaning of bêt bâmôt as " a
house of ( burial ) stelae , " like the temple des obélisques of
Byblos , no indication of human sacrifices being offered at these
sites has been found . cf. Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan , pp .
203-207 , by the same author .

23 . Nelson Glueck , " Transjordan , " Archaeology and old

Testament Study , pp . 447-448 ; Albright , Archaeology and Reli
gion , p. 41 .

Paul W. Lapp
24 . , " The Cemetery at Bab edh - Dhra , Jordan , "
Archaeology , 19 ( 1966 ) , pp . 104-110 , and especially
" Palestine
in the Early Bronze Age , " Near Eastern Archaeology in the
Twentieth Century : Essays in Honor of Nelson Glueck , James A.
Sanders , ed . ( Garden City : Doubleday and Company , Inc. , 1970 ) .

25 . Schofield , " Megiddo , " pp . 312-313 , 318-319 . Here

the High Place has as its focal altar point a huge circular 8
meters wide . Cf. Kenyon , Archaeology in the Holy Land , pp .
111-112 .

26. Wright , Shechem , pp . 103-122 .

27 . Albright , Archaeology and Religion , p. 41 .

28 . Y. Yadin , Hazor , I , pp . 83-90 ; II , pp . 97-99 .

00
29 . Glueck , " Transjordan ,
p . 448 . He also makes refer
ence to another set of standing pillars called " menhirs " at
Khirbet Iskander in this same general region .
332 Chapter IX , Notes

30 . At least all
those in the Transjordan area have been
tentatively dated on of surface pottery to the end of
the basis
the third and beginning of the second millennium B.C. , while
the others are dated a bit later .

31 . Sellin
in his excavations at Taanach , thought that
,

he had uncovered a high place at this site comparable to that

uncovered by Macalister at Gezer , complete with infant burials ;
reinforcing the latter's theory of infant sacrificial burials ,
cf. Macalister , Gezer , II , pp . 402-403 , and E. Sellin , Tell
Taanek ( Leipzig : J. C. Hinrichs , 1904 ) , pp . 39-43 . However ,
J. Garstang subsequently discovered similar pillars at Hazor
and identified both areas as stables rather than high places .

Cf. Joshua - Judges : The Foundations of Bible History ( London :

Constable and Company Ltd. , 1931 ) , p . 343 . The latest view by
Pritchard , Yadin and others is that they are not stables either .
32 . The principle utilized in the analysis of the burials
discussed in Chapter II
must also be applied to this region .
See discussion on Nuzi and Tepe Gawra .

33 . J. P. Free , " The First Season at Dothan , " BASOR , 131

( 1953 ) , p . 18 .

34 . Nelson Glueck , Rivers in the Desert : A History of the

Negeb (New York : W. 'W. Norton and Company Inc. , 1959 ) , pp . 60
61 . He utilizes as his context for this archaeological state
ment God's command to Abraham to offer his firstborn son Isaac
as a sacrifice in this region .

35 . Kenyon , Archaeology of the Holy Land , pp . 153-154 .

36 .division of this sort seems natural within the de
A

velopment of Israelite history as it reflects distinct changes

in Israelite religious and political development . These divi
sion titles are borrowed from Professor Mendenhall's designa
tions in " Biblical History in Transition . " The word " Patri
archal " rather than " creative " is being utilized here since
this investigator feels that it is a more adequate description
of the material to be discussed .

37 . cf. especially vs. 1 , 3 , 8 , 9, 12 , and the strong

theological tenor of the narrative .
Chapter IX , Notes 333

38 . M. Noth , überlieferungsgeschichte des Pentateuch

( Tübingen : Niemeyer , 1948 ) , p . 38 , n . 132 , and E. A. Speiser ,

Genesis , I , pp . 165-166 , who agrees that J is the real person

ality behind the narrative .
39 . The text is uncertain : The MT has " Moriah " ; Syriac
reads Ha'emöri , i.e. , " Land of the Amorites " ; the LXX reads
" lofty country . " Hence , while we know that Abraham was indeed
a human being who lived and wandered around the Negeb during
the Middle Bronze I or II
Period , the site where this sacri
fice should have taken place is unknown . cf. Parrot , Abraham
and His Times , pp . 122 , 123 , and Albright , Yahweh and the
Gods of Canaan , pp . 64-66 . Tradition connected the place
with the site of the temple in Jerusalem , which is not a three
days ' journey from Beersheba and the hills of Judea . It is
clearly an association which lent itself readily to midrashic
embellishment . This identification cannot possibly be main
tained . cf. especially , Glueck , Rivers in the Desert , pp . 62
64 ; and 2 Chr . 3 : 1 ; also J. Skinner , Critical and Exegetical
Commentary of Genesis (New York : Charles Scribner's Sons ,
1910 ) , p . 328 .

40 . cf , especially , I. J.
Gelb , " The Early History of
West Semitic Peoples , " Journal of Cunei form Studies , 15 ( 1961 ) ,
pp . 33-36 , and Kenyon , Archaeology of the Holy Land , pp . 182
184 .

41 . Denise Piccard , sur l'interprétation

" Réflexions
chrétienne de trois récits de la Gènese , " Hommage à W. Vischer
( Paris : E. Larchemont , 1960 ) , p . 183 , has stated that " the

theme which inspires ( this story ] goes back to a far - off per
iod when religion of nomad Semites included a human sacri
the
fice alongside animal sacrifice . " However , aside from the
statements made by Robertson Smith treated in an earlier chap
ter of this investigation , no such examples in early Semitic
religion have been found .

42 . As has been pointed out earlier , the first archaeolo

gists of Palestine often thought that they had discovered evi
dence of human sacrifice , especially of children , when in
334 Chapter IX , Notes

reality this evidence was only of normal burials

. Therefore ,
to say as Sarna and others that , "... much archaeological evi
dence shows that human sacrifice was more in vogue here than
elsewhere , from very early times until far into the second mil
lennium B.C. , " is an exaggeration ; Nahum M. Sarna , Understand
ing Genesis (New York : Schocken Books , 1970 ) , p . 158 ; also
G. B. Gray , Sacrifice in the Old Testament (New York : Ktav Pub
lishing House , Inc. , 1971 ) , pp . 87 , 88 .

43 . discussion of this in Chapter IV ,

See the complete
pp . 46-48 . Although Woolley recognized the older date of the
statue of the ram with its feet in the bush , discovered at Ur ,
he apparently could not resist recalling the Genesis scene .

But there nothing to justify this comparison . The Ur statue

is
is but one of an antithetical group of two animals on
element
both sides of the divine tree . Woolley , Excavations at Ur , p .
75 , and frontpiece . Cf. also Parrot , Abraham and His Times ,
p . 123 .

44 . Albright , Yahweh and the Gods of Caanan , pp . 242-243 ,

275-276 .

45 . See " Cappadocian Cylinders and Ritual Killing , " and

" Early Dynastic and Sargonid Periods , " above , pp . 45-56 .

46 . Periods of emergencies caused by famine , war , plague ,

etc. , could very well call for such sacrifices .
Along with the works previously cited , good examples
47 .

of sampling of the more recent literature are A. George , " Le

a
Sacrifice d'Abraham : Essai sur les diverses intentiones de ses
narrateurs , " Études de critique et d'histoire religieuses
( Paris : Bibliotheque de la faculté de théologie catholique de
Lyon , 1948 ) , pp . 99-110 ; G. von Rad , Das erste Buch Mose . Das

Alte Testament Deutsch , pp . 208–209 ; R. de Vaux , Studies in Old

Testament Sacrifice ( Cardiff : University of Wales Press , 1964 ) ,
pp . 63-90 .

48 . For a source analysis , cf. H. Gunkel , The Legends of

Genesis York : Schocken Books , 1964 ) , and especially Noth
(New ,

Überlieferungsgeschichte , pp . 125-129 . Cf. Albright , Yahweh

and the Gods of Canaan , pp . 64-65 , and M. Sister , Le - Toldot ,
pp . 42-51 .
Chapter IX , Notes 335

49 . Note for example the words ölâ , Câqad , šāḥat , Cärak ,

se , and ' ayil . Cf. the discussion of the uses of these terms
in sacrificial contexts in R. J. Thompson , Penitence and Sacri
fice in Early Israel Outside the Levitical Law ( Leiden : E. J.
Brill , 1963 ) , pp . 63 , 65-67 , 78 and 96 .

50 . De Vaux , Studies in Old Testament Sacrifice , pp . 67

68 . It has been proposed that Yeruel is the name of the sanc
tuary but this place has never been known to have been a sanc
,
tuary cf. 2 Chron . 20:16 , 20 . Others have tried to identify
;

the sanctuary with Shechem , on the argument that E had confused

this with Moriah . 0. Procksch , Theologie des Alten Testaments
( Gütersloh : A. Deichert , 1950 ) , p . 53 . On the general treatment
of the foundation of Patriarchal sanctuaries , cf. " The God of
the Fathers , " in A. Alt , Essays on Old Testament History and
Religion ( Garden City : Doubleday and Company , Inc. , 1968 ) , pp .
3-100 .

51 . Thompson , Penitence and Sacri fice , p. 65 .

While the Amarna Letters are invaluable as primary

52 .

source material for a study of the political developments and

social structure in the area at this time , they contribute very
little to our knowledge of cults and rituals .
53 . Studies have been made of the sacrificial terms in
the Ugaritic vocabulary and their correspondence to similar
words in Biblical Hebrew , e.g. , šīm or šīmm and getāmîm ; dbh
and zebaḥ ; šrp and Corān ; etc. A sample of the literature in
this field would be Th . H. Gaster , " The Service of the Sanctu
ary : A Study in Hebrew Survivals , " Mélanges Syriens offerts à
R. Dussaud ( Paris : Paul Geuthner , 1939 ) , pp . 577-582 ; R. Dussaud ,

Les Origines cananéennes du sacrifice israélite ( Paris : Paul

Geuthner , 1941 ) ; D. M. L. Urie , " Sacrifice among the West
Semites ," PEQ ( 1949 ) , pp . 67-82 ; J. Gray , " Cultic Affinities
Between Israel and Ras Shamra , " ZAW, 52 ( 1950 ) , pp . 207-220 ;
A. De Guglielmo , " Sacrifice in the Ugaritic Texts , CBQ , 17
( 1955 ) , pp . 196-216 ; J. Gray , " The Legacy of Canaan , " Supple
ment to VT , 5 ( 1957 ) , pp . 140-152 ; etc.

54 . c . H. Gordon , Ugaritic literature ( Rome : Pontificium

Institutum Biblicum , 1949 ) , Text 49 : II - III24 .
336 Chapter IX , Notes

This argument has often been proposed , and given the

55 .

known transference from the human to the divine world by an

cients , such a theory is certainly not improbable . Cf. E. Jacob ,

Ras Shamra - Ugarit et l'Ancien Testament ( Paris : Editions Dela

chaux et Niestlé , 1960 ) , pp . 112-114 ; Albright , Yahweh and the
Gods of Canaan , pp . 126-127 ; De Vaux , Studies in Old Testament
Sacrifice , pp . 61-62 ; and s . H. Hooke , The Origins of Early Se
mitic Ritual ( London : Oxford University Press , 1938 ) , pp . 28-36 .

56 . Aside from evidence which could drawn from seals

be

and other glyptic sources coming from this region during the
Middle Bronze II Period and later .

57 . cf. above , pp . 36-37 .

58 . Professor Albright has noted that most of the details
of the important and interesting deities which would tie them
down to the immediate Ugarit locality are missing . The names
of the gods differ as radically from the divinities of the city
even as the language of the epics differs from the dialect of
Ugarit . Albright , Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan , pp . 118-121 .
59 . Gordon , Ugaritic Literature , Text 129 : 2-5 . cf. also
0. Eissfeldt's " El im Ugaritischen Pantheon , " Berichte über die
Verhandlungen der sächs Akademie der Wissenschaften , 98 ( 1951 ) ,
pp . 5-6 ; M. H. Pope , " El in the Ugaritic Texts , " Supplement to
VT , II
( 1955 ) , pp . 135-154 . This generally remote figure is
often compared to the Egyptian sun god Re , or the Sumero - Akkad
ian Anu , the god of heaven . His home is described as being lo
cated at a distance plains and ten thousand
of " a thousand
fields " from also Albright , Archaeology and Reli
Canaan . See
gion , pp . 70-71 . El was believed to " dwell in a cosmic para
dise just as the Babylonian flood - hero was translated to the
' source of the two rivers .'...
To this remote spot the gods in
variably had to travel when they wished to consult him " ; ibid .,
nn . 6 and 7. According to Pope , the " fountain of the two
deeps " is located in far northern Syria .
60 . On the role of Baal , see especially R. Dussaud , " Le
Mythe de Ba'al et d'Aliyan d'après des documents nouveaux ,
Revue de l'Histoire des Religiones , cxi ( 1935 ) , pp . 1-65 ; A. S.
Kapelrud , Baal in the Ras Shamra Texts ( Copenhagen : G. C. E.
Gad , 1952 ) , and R. de Langhe , " Myth , Ritual , and Kingship in
Chapter IX , Notes 337

the Ras Shamra Tablets , " MRAK , pp . 137-141 . On the evidence

of these texts , Baal is called the son of Dagon , the corn god ,
chief god of Terga in Mari who makes no other appearance in
Canaanite mythology , but appears as a god of fertility to whom
Sargon paid homage at Tuttul in the twenty - third century B.C.
Cf. Albright , " From Jerusalem to Bagdad down the Euphrates , "
BASOR , 20 ( 1925 ) , pp . 13-16 .

61 . Hadad is the ancient Semitic storm - god . Cf. S. H.

Horn , Seventh - day Adventist Bible Dictionary , D. F. Nueffield ,

ed . ( Washington : Review and Herald , 1960 ) . The word " bazu "
simply means " lord , " hence , an appellation which can be made to
any deity . However , as Professor Albright has pointed out , it
was not until the fifteenth century B.C. that " the lord " became
the god par excellence , and the reigning king of the gods . Al
bright , Archaeology and Religion , pp . 72-73 . By this time , Baal
had already appropriated the fertility characteristics of Dagon
and the prerogatives of Hadad who was enthroned in the far
north , De Langhe , " Myth , Ritual and Kingship , " p . 138 . It has
not been ascertained at what time the appellation " lord " became
applied to Hadad as a personal name , but his terrestrial home
was on Mount Casius or Şaphon . Therefore , because of this as
sociation , he was called Baal - saphôn . See especially 0. Eiss
feldt , Baal Zaphon , Zeus Kasi os und der Durchzug der Israeliten
durchs Meer ( Halle au der Saale : M. Niemeyer , 1932 ) , and W. F.
Albright , " Baal - zephon , " Festschri ft Alfred Bertholet ( Tübingen :

Mohr , 1950 ) , pp . 1-14 .

62 . The chief Anatolian divinities were weather - gods .
These were identified and compared with the Mesopotamian Hadad ,
the Hurrian Teshub , the sun - goddess Arinna and others . There
is little doubt that the thunder and storm characteristics of
these deities are due to the ecological factors in this region .
Cf. Seton Lloyd , Early Highland Peoples of Anatolia (New York :
McGraw - Hill Book Company , 1967 ) , pp . 78 , 79 ; and 0. Gurney ,
The Hittites ( Baltimore : Penguin Books , 1969 ) , pp . 32-37 .

63 . Eissfeldt , Baal Zaphon , Zeus Kasios , pp . 23ff .

64 . On the goddess
Anath , see u . Cassuto , The Goddess
Anath : Canaanite Epics of the Patriarchal Age , and c . H. Gordon ,

The Loves and Wars of Baal and Anath and Other Poems from
Ugarit ( Princeton : Princeton University Press , 1943 ) . Among
338 Chapter IX , Notes

Anath's titles are Baºlatu mulki , Baºzatu darkati , Balatu

Šamêm ( i.) râmêm ( i) , " Mistress of Kingship , Mistress of Dominion ,

Mistress of the High Heavens " ; Ch . Virolleaud , Comptes Rendus

de l'Academie des Inscriptions et Belles lettres ( Paris : Presses
universitaires de France , 1962 ) , p . 109 . Her extraordinarily
cruel characteristics are equally acclaimed ; cf. especially
Gordon , Ugaritic Literature , Text 68 , II : 5-40 , where Anath is
represented slaughtering mankind and her heart and liver rejoic
ing over the massacre . An interesting note is made by Pope . He

has compared the many traits which Anath shares in common with
the Indic goddess Kali or Durga . This scholar concludes that
these figures are so similar that coincidence can scarcely be
the explanation . He reasons that the major common source may
be a substratum extending from the Mediterranean to India -- by
way of South Anatolia , which is also the region of the storm
god , Baal - Hadad , and the various weather - gods . In discussing
this view with Professor Pope , this writer learned that the ar
guments for this theory are based on many discussions with In
dic scholars relative to the role of Kali and her apparent ori
gin somewhere in the far west of the Indus Valley . The present
writer was also gratified to learn that Professor Pope has been
gathering material for some time and plans to publish his find
ings in the future . Also Basham , The Wonder that was India ,
pp . 311 , 312 , where the wife of Siva bears such benevolent names
as pārvati " Daughter of the Mountain , " Mahādevi " the Great Gpd
dess , " Sati " the Virtuous , " Gauri " the White One , " etc .; how
ever , in her grim aspect is also known as Durgā " Inaccessible , "
Kali " the Black One , " and Candi " the Fierce . " She is described
as dancing among the slain , eating their flesh and wearing a
garland of their skulls . See also De Vaux's conclusion in Sac
rifice in the Old Testament , p . 49 , and Albright , Yahweh and
the Gods , pp . 125-129 , who also discusses Pope's views .
65 . Ch . Virolleaud , " La Naissance des dieux gracieux et
beaux ," Syria , 14 pp . 128–157 ; G. R. Driver , Canaanite
( 1933 ) ,
Myths and Legends ( Edinburg : T. and T. Clark , 1956 ) , pp . xi
xiv ; C. H. Gordon , Ugaritic Manual , Analecta Orientalia , 35

(Rome : Pontifical Institute , 1955 ) . All these scholars

agree that this is among the most difficult texts of Ugaritic
literature , and that the group of divinities may go back to a
very early period , prior to that of the deities in the text ,
Chapter IX , Notes 339

and that Ashtarte herself , a very complex figure , may have a

foreign background . See the recent article by J. Leclant ,
" Ashtarté à cheval , " Syria , 37 ( 1960 ) , pp . 1-67 .

66 For quite some time the question of the situation im

plied in the Baal - Anath cycle of myths has been in dispute .
Most scholars assert that the death of Một and subsequent resur
rection of Baal is indicative of seven - year cycles of drought
and famine , probably influenced by the Joseph story in Exodus ,
and , of course , the seven - year intervals in these texts . cf.
De Vaux , Sacrifices in the Old Testament , pp . 61-62 ; Gordon ,
Ugaritic Literature , pp . 3-6 ; and De Langhe , " Myth , Ritual ,

and Kingship , " pp . Others see a yearly occurrence

131-132 .
of death and resurrection of vegetation portrayed . Albright ,
Yahweh and the Gods , pp . 126 , 127 . As most scholars generally
agree , these myths are an indication of ritual practices .
Nevertheless , no one has claimed to have uncovered a text re
producing the rituals of Tammuz , Osiris , or Adonis cults on
which the basic theory of the annual fertility ritual is
based . This need not be proof that an annual cycle is not por
trayed . The fact that Một ( Death ) was destroyed and scattered
to the wind does not mean that he died once for all and , hence ,
his death must be interpreted as the beginning of a seven - year
cycle of plenty . We cannot deny the possibility of cultic rit
uals at the time of religious festivals in the temple of Ugarit .
There is , however , no basis for proving a seven - year cyclical
recurrence of drought and plenty , nor can it be proven that the
year in the Canaanite coastal region
was divided into recurring

seasons of sterile and fertile periods . If

the annual Syrian
custom of the underground storage of grain after the harvest
season is taken into consideration , along with the lean winter
months from the regions farther north , the annual death of Một
can be seen here . It is for this among other reasons that we
should look for the Sitz im Leben of certain aspects of the
Anath - Baal cycle
in a wider area than the Syro - Palestinian
coastal region .

67. Both the ecology of the region and the background of

the deities after emerging from the Mesopotamian milieu point
to this area .
340 Chapter IX , Notes

68 . Ch . Virolleaud , Mission de Ras Shamra Tome XV , Ugari

tica IV ( Paris : Imprimerie Nationale , 1962 ) , pp . 78-83 .
69 . Ibid . , p. 77 .

70 . Ibid . , p. 81 .

71 . J. G. Févriér , Mission de Ras Shamra , Tome XI , Le

Palais Royal d'Ugarit V ( Paris : Imprimerie Nationale , 1965 ) ,
pp . 7 , 8 .

72 . Albright gives a different translation . " Wine which

is measured by the hand of [ ] in the mulk sacrifice ( dbḥ m2 k ) . "
However , Févriér appears to give the more accurate rendition in
a context stressing sacrifices to the various deities . cf. Al
bright , Yahweh and the Gods , p. 241 .

73 . See the article by Loren R. Fisher in Harvard Theo

logical Review 63 ( 1970 ) , pp . 485-501 . Besides the possibility
of listing " a man " as a sacrifice , it uses mlk in a ritual con
text .
74 . According to Judg . 11:11 , the transaction between
Jephthah and the elders of Gilead took place " in the presence
of Yahweh , " which may indicate that Mizpah , whose location is

unknown , had a sanctuary of Yahweh , or is a traditional gather

ing place for elders of Gilead .

Kimchi suggests that the alternatives to be under

75 .

stood in verse 31 are " ( if unfit for sacrifice ) will be the

Lord's " and " ( if
suitable ) I will offer up as a burnt offer
ing This latter would apply only if whatever met Jephthah
. "

would be a sacrificial animal , but this mutilation of the text

is completely unnecessary since it would make nonsense of the
suffix on the verb wenaalitihû . This is cited by G. F.
Moore , Critical and Exegetical commentary on Judges ( Edinburgh :

Charles Scribner's Sons , 1895 ) , p. 300 . Very few modern schol

ars would recommend this theory .

It
would appear , to the contrary , that perpetual vir
76 .
ginity childlessness were looked upon as great misfortunes .
and
Deborah and Hulda both prophetesses are particularly mentioned
as married women . Dedication to religious life like that of
Samuel ( 1 Sam . 1:11 ) or to unmarried seclusion totally fail to
explain the tragic nature of the narrative .
Chapter IX , Notes 341

77 . Martin Noth , Aufsätze zur biblischen und Alter

tumskunde , B and I (München : Haus Walter Wolff , 1971 ) , pp .
360-365 .

78 . Jacob , Ras Shamra - Ugarit , pp . 114-115 ; S. A. Cook ,

" The Theophanies of Gideon and Manoah , " JTS , 28 ( 1938 ) ,pp .
368-383 .

79 . A number of parallels have been collected by W. Baum

gartner , " Jephtas Gelübde , " Archiv für Religionswissenschaft ,
18 ( 1915 ) , pp . 240-249 .

80 . C. Davidson , " Agamemnon , The Early Greeks ( London :

Burrick and Sons , 1948 ) , pp . 391-399 .

81 . Servius , Aen . , pp . iii , 121 ; xi , 264 .

82 . Plutarch , De Fluviis , p. ix .
83 . Jephthah's background indicates that his mother was
not an Israelite while his father was Gilead ; these antecedents
could make some foreign influence very likely .

84 . The land of Tob cannot be identified with certainty .

It appears in Thutmose list of III's Palestinian cities as a
place in Transjordan named Tby , and in the Amarna Letters as
Tubu , It is also identified with et - Taiyibeh in the South Dead
Sea region . The suggestion has been made that the 0 . T. Tob
may be the Toubion of 1 Mac . 5:13 in an east of Hauran .
area
cf. Horn , Bible Dictionary , p. 1105 ; also Noth , History of 18
rael , pp . 157-159 .

85 . See especially Mendenhall , The Tenth Generation , pp .

142-173 , and " The Hebrew Conquest of Palestine , " BA , 25 ( 1962 ) ,
pp . 76-84 ; also G. M. Landes , " The Material Civilization of the
Ammonites , " The Biblical Archaeologist Reader , . D. N. II
Freedman and E. F. Campbell , Jr. , eds . (New York : Doubleday
and Company , Inc. , 1964 ) , pp . 70-72 .
Elements of the Transjordan population have been traced
to Northern regions around Anatolia from whence they arrived
in Transjordan just prior to Israel's entry .
86 . As argued by De Vaux , Sacrifices in the Old Testament ,
p . 66 .

87 . cf. Num . 30 : 204 ; Deut . 23 : 21-23 ; Prov . 20:25 ; Eccl .

5 : 4-6 ; and R. K. Yerkes , Sacrifice in Greek and Roman Religions
342 Chapter IX , Notes

and Early Judaism (New York : Charles Scribner's Sons , 1952 ) ,

pp . 65-66 .

88 . cf. Thompson , Penitence and Sacrifice , p. 90 ;

May , Culture and Conscience , p. 160 , and Sarna , Understanding

Genesis , p . 159 .

89 . Judg . 17 : 6 .

90 . Cf. McKenzie , The World of the Judges , pp . 147-148 ,

and Judg . 11 : 23-24 .

John Bright ,
91 . A History of Israel ( Philadelphia : The
Westminster Press , 1959 ) , p. 159 .

92 . The role of prophets and prophecy outside Israel is

well recognized . Examples of prophetic guidance to kings are
well established from Egyptian and Mesopotamian records . cf.
A. Lods , " Un tablette inédite de Mari intéressante , " Studies
in Old Testament Prophecy , H. H. Rowley , ed . ( Edinburgh : T. and
T. Clark , 1950 ) , pp . 103-110 ; A. Parrot and G. Dossin , eds . ,
Archives royal de Mari , II
( Paris : Imprimerie nationale , 1950 ) ,
Letter No. 90 ; III ( Paris , 1948 ) , Letter No. 40 ; M. Noth , " His
tory and the Word of God in the Old Testament , " Bulletin of the
John Rylands Library , 32 ( 1950 ) , pp . 194-206 .

93 . The main reason for the Amarna Revolution under Amen

hotep IV of Egypt
was the pattern
which was established , by the
early founders of the XVIII Dynasty , of making increasingly
large gifts to the temple of the god Amon in gratitude for his
aid in delivering Egypt from the hated Asiatics ( Hyksos ) . See
especially A. Gardiner , Egypt of the Pharaohs (New York : Oxford
University Press , 1969 ) , pp . 212-246 , and G. Steindorff and K.
Seele , When Egypt Ruled the East ( Chicago : The University of
Chicago Press , 1968 ) , pp . 201-221 .
94 . Cf. R. de Vaux and his good discussion , " The Holy
War , " in Ancient Israel : Religious Institutions , I (New York :

McGraw - Hill Book Company , 1965 ) , pp . 258-267 , and McKenzie ,

The World of the Judges , pp . 16-20 .
( 95 . The meaning of of the cognate verb
the root and usage

haram shows that the word ḥerem denotes the fact of separating
something , taking it out of profane use and reserving it for
sacred use . In the Mesha Inscription , it designates the de
voting , dedicating the city to Chemosh , after all the
Chapter IX , Notes 343

inhabitants have been slaughtered . It is most often used for

the devoting cities to destruction by early Israel and her
neighbours . Brown , Driver and Briggs , Hebrew and English Lexi
con , pp . 355-356 ; Horn , Bible Dictionary , p . 270 ; E. Ullendorff ,

" The Moabite Stone , " Documents from old Testament Times , D.

Winton Thomas , ed . (New York : Harper and Brothers , 1961 ) , pp .

195-198 ; and especially Albert E. Glock , " Warfare in Mari and
Early Israel " ( unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation , University of
Michigan , 1968 ) .

Cf. Yerkes , Sacri fice and Early Judaism , pp . 65-66 ;

( 962

De Vaux ,Ancient Israel , II

, pp . 442-443 ; and Kaufmann , The
Religion of Israel , pp . 136-137 . The destruction of human life
within this context must be interpreted as ritual execution .
972 Joshua is commanded to destroy the city of Jericho
and all its inhabitants ( Josh . 18-24 ) . Also , Mesha destroys the
7,000 inhabitants of Nebo for his god . Ullendorff , " The Moab

ite Stone , " pp . 95-98 .

98 Regarding the Nubians and the Asiatics , cf. supra ,

" Conventionalized Victory Scenes , " pp . 122-133 .

99 . Repeated rebellion against Assyria was a rebellion

against Asshur .
100 . Numbers 25 and the Baal Peor incident ; ( especially
verse four ) ; 1 Sam . 31:10 ; and 2 Sam . 21 : 6 .

101 . This is thought to be the Bubonic plague . It has

long been attested that epidemics of this sort were very preva
lent in a number of areas during the Late Bronze Age . Cf. the
" Prayer of Mursilis , King of the Hittites , " in ANET , pp . 394
396 ; also Rib - Addi's denial that there was a plague in his
land , EA 244 : 32 . For other areas , cf. EA 35:37 ; 96 : 6-18 for
Sumer and Cyprus .

102 . Professor Mendenhall has identified " Peor " as Hiero

glyphic Luwian Pa - ha - r - we - na - i .
This would also be in accor
dance with Marcus and Gelb's Phoenician version which he cites .

Cf. Mendenhall , The Tenth Generation , pp . 109-110 , and n . 14 ;

also Marcus and Gelb , " The Phoenician Stele Inscription from
Cilicia , " JNES , 8 ( 1949 ) , pp . 116-120 .

103 . It is also argued that all available evidence on the

Midianites points to a recent northern origin of this people .
344 Chapter IX , Notes

The arrival of Midianite elders from Northern Syria to in

the
duce Balaam to curse Israel , and the Baal Peor cult , points
strongly in the Anatolian direction . Laroche , NH , pp . 270 ,
259-260 , refers to a possible Luwian territory in Arzawa called
Mada , the unattested gentilic of which would be madaw ana . cf.
Mendenhall , " The Midianites , " in The Tenth Generation , pp . 163
169 .

104 . The word used is " tàqecū , " with the same three con
sonants . But if this represents the archaic 3 pl imperfect
C
form with the preformative t- and not the y- , then tôqi
could be read instead .

105 . This may be what is implied when the good news is

carried to " the house of their idols , " ( LXX ) and to the people
in general . Cf. I Sam . 31 : 9 .

106 . cf. Josh . 9 : 1-15 . Malamat suggests that the dis

affection of these cities was as big a security risk to Saul
as it had been to the Canaanites who attacked them in Josh .
10 : 5 . He out that it was not merely that Saul had
points
killed the Gibeonites , but that he had killed them in defiance
of the treaty made by Joshua . A. Malamat , " Doctrines of Cau
sality in Hittite and Biblical Historiography : A Parallel , " VT
5 ( 1955 ) , pp . 1-12 . However , the old tradition of treaty had
nothing to do with the offense , but with the rationale of
David's obligation to give redress .
107 . This is the reading of the LXX . The MT reads " at

Gibeah of Saul , the chosen of Yahweh . "

108 . A. S. Kapelrud , " King and Fertility : A Discussion
of 2 Samuel 21 : 1-14 , " Interpretationes ad Vetus Testamentum
pertinentes ( 1955 ) , pp . 113-122 , has pointed out that the nar
rative of the Gibeonites is quite correct , though a later ad
dition , the Court History , having been inserted before the nar
rative instead of after it . Famine has usually been interpreted
as divine for murder ; note the curses in Deut . 28 : 23
punishment
24 , 17-18 . This is also associated with the drought of 1 Kgs .
17 : 1 . In Ugaritic Literature , Aqhat's murder is also the cause
of famine .

109 . This is , of course , one of the stipulations of the

Decalogue , cf. Exod . 20 : 4-5 in which the iniquities of the
Chapter IX , Notes 345

fathers are transmitted to the third and fourth generation . If

Saul's ancestry went back to Gibeon according to 1 Chr . 8 : 29
34 and 9 : 35-40 , his murder of the Gibeonites , whether for
political expediency or not , demonstrated no regard for this
Israelite tradition .
110 . cf. above , n . 103 .

ill The Peleshet

. appears as one of the many groups
among the Sea Peoples . Cf. Mendenhall , ' in" The ' Sea Peoples
Palestine , " in The Tenth Generation ; also Albright , The Archae
ology of Palestine , pp . 80-128 , G. E. Wright , " The Archaeology
of Palestine , " BANE , pp . 88-96 , and Kenyon , Archaeology of
the Holy Land , pp . 221–239 .
112 . The Gibeonites were Hivites whose origin has tenta
tively been identified by Professor Mendenhall as Luwians de
riving from Cilicia . Mendenhall , The Tenth Generation , pp .
154-163 .

113 . In the Qal , the verb may be derived from the Arabic
verb ; hence , the translation " to be dislocated " or " alienated "
" to fall down ," etc. , which is the meaning given to the word
in Gen. 32:26 . The Hiphil , based on the same idea , implies
death by some solemn form of execution : exposure , impaling , cru
cifixion , throwing down . Cf. F. Brown , S. R. Driver and C. A.
Briggs , A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament ( Ox
ford : The Clarendon Press , 1968 ) , p . 429 .

114 . There is no statement to this effect in the slaying

of Saul on Mount Gilboa but this may be intended as the Philis
tines carry the news to " the house of their idols " in I Sam .
31 : 9 .

115 . cf. above , pp . 105-128 .

116 . De Vaux , Studies in Old Testament Sacrifice , p. 62 ,
H. Cazelles , " David's Monarchy and the Gibeonite Claim , PEQ

( 1955 ) , pp . 165-175 .

117 . Since the Gibeonites concluded a treaty of friend

ship with Israel under Joshua , the Israelites had honored this
treaty and rendered military aid when the city was attacked
( Josh . 9 : 1-10 : 11 ) . The city was later assigned to the family
of Aaron ( 21:17 ) and the tabernacle was located there during
346 Chapter IX , Notes

the reign of David and Solomon before the Temple was built
( 1 Chr . 16 : 39-40 ; 21:29 ; 2 Chr . 1:3, 6, 13 ) . It was also at
Gibeon that David defeated the Philistines ( 1 Chr . 14:16 ) .
Among the many cities and groups which had become an inte
gral part of the Israelite Federation from an earlier date
playing important part in the emerging nation , Gibeon cannot
an
be left out . As was so characteristic of the early period , it
is quite possible that Yahweh was identified with the Gibeonite
deity .
Cf. Kapelrud , " Kingship
118 . and Fertility , " and Malamat ,
" Doctrines of Causality . "

119 . of opinion on this theory , cf. Jacob

As a sampling ,

Ras Shamra - Ugarit et L'Ancien Testament , pp . 114-115 ; Dussaud ,

R. H. R. ( 1931 - B ) , p . 392 ; De Vaux , Studies in Old Testament

Sacrifice , pp . 61-62 , who acknowledges this connection but

would exclude Gibeon as a part of Isarel .

120 . Kapelrud , " Kingship and Fertility , " p. 113 , and

Thompson , Penitence and Sacrifice , pp . 114-115 .

121 . It is interesting that the word translated " entreat

ed " ( KJV ) in 21:14 Catar is in Arabic slaughter for sacri
" to
fice ." The weakened sense " to make entreaty for " showing a
connection of propitiation and sacrifice .

122 . See 2 Sam . 24 : 10-25 and Gen , of interest

20 : 4-9 .

on this incident is A. George , " Fautes contre Yahweh dans les

livres de Samuel , " RB , 43 ( 1946 ) , pp . 177-179 .

123 . Jer . 15 : 4 and A. R. Johnson , " Hebrew Conceptions of

Kingship , " MRAK , p . 211 .

124 . Malamat , " Doctrines of Casuality , " pp . 1-12 .

125 . See " Unwritten remains , " pp . 232-239 .

A. Kuenen , An Historico - Critical Inquiry into the

126 .

Origin and Composition of the Hexateuch , ( London : Charles

Scribner's Sons , 1886 ) , p . 240 , argued that the two sons were
sacrificed to avert the wrath of the deity whose possession
Hiel had violated , an assumption which was naturally rejected
as unproven by A. Dillmann , Die Bücher Numeri , Deuteronomium
und Joshua , Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch zum Alten
Chapter IX , Notes 347

Testament ( Leipzig : J.
C. Hinrichs , 1886 ) , p . 466 . was , It
however , T. K. Cheyne , " Hiel , " Encyclopaedia Britannica 71
( 1901 ) , col . 2063 , who first saw in this a reference to founda
tion sacrifices .
127 . An interesting observation is made by C. Steuernagel ,
Joshua , Handkommentar zum Alten Testament , W. Norwaek , ed .
( Göttingen : Vanderhoeck and Ruprecht , 1923 ) , p . 231 . He argues

that the misfortune would have raised no interest had not the
ancient curse been remembered . thinks that the presence
Noth
of this passage in an appendix implies that it was not known to
the collector of the aetiological traditions , but came in only
with Deuteronomy ; M. Noth , " Bethel und Ai , " PJB 31 ( 1935 ) , pp .
27-29 . Hence , the probable death of two sons of Hiel was sub
sequently explained away as the fulfillment of the age - old
curse pronounced by Joshua ; Das Buch Joshua , p . 41 and 0. Eiss
feldt , "Menschenopfer , " Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart
( Tübingen : Mohr , 1960 ) , col . 868 .

128 . Albright , Archaeology of Palestine , pp . 33 , 34 , and

Kenyon , Archaeology of the Holy Land , pp . 209-212 , and 176-180 .

129 . One can argue that the slaughter of the four hundred
priests of Baal by Elijah during the reign of Ahab of Israel
can rightly be seen as a fertility rite comparable to the theory
proposed in Ugaritic literature of the Anath - Baal - Mot myth , cf. ,
e.g. , , Ras Shamra - Ugarit , p . 117 ; however , there is no
Jacob
similarity aside from the fact that in both accounts rain is
the end result . Human sacrifice is clearly not an issue in the
events around Mt. Carmel . Cf. also Albright , Yahweh and the
Gods of Canaan , p . 242 .

130 . The first direct reference is Jephthah's daughter .

131 . For this view , cf. 0. Eissfeldt , " Molk als Opfer
griff im Punischen und Hebräischen und das Ende des Gottes
Moloch , " Beiträge zur Religionsgeschichte des Altertums , Heft
3 ( 1935 ) , pp . 48-51 .

132 . G. B. Gray , Sacrifice in the Old Testament : Its

Theory and Practice (New York : Ktav Publishing House , Inc. ,

1971 ) , pp . 86-87 ; also Thompson , Penitence and Sacrifice , p.

130 .
348 Chapter IX , Notes

133 .Qaş ap " be wroth , " the related verb is often employed
to indicate human anger , Gen. 40 : 2 ; Exod . 16:20 ; Lev . 10:16 ;
1 Sam . 29 : 4 ; 2 Kgs . 13:19 ; however is also used in reference it
to the of God " as an absolute Deut . 1:34 . The noun qesep
" wrath
is used more often , though not always as an act of God ; Num .
1:53 , 18 : 5 ; Josh . 9:20 , 22:20 ; 1 Chr . 27:24 ; 2 Chr . 19:10 ,
24:18 ; it may be understood within this context as a fear of
the wrath possibly of Chemosh , the god of the Moabites . Brown ,
Driver , Briggs , Hebrew and English Lexicon , p . 893 .

Horn , Bible Dictionary , p .

134 .
709 , for a summary of
those different views , also , Buttrick , The Interpreters Bible ,

Vol . III
, pp . 201-203 .

According to Albright , " the efficacy of the Moabite

135 .
King's oath ( which he compares to that of the Gibeonites
solemn
in Josh . 9:20 ) was so enhanced by the act of human sacrifice
that the besiegers were appalled by the possible consequences
to themselves and superstitiously raised the siege " Archaeology
and Religion , pp . 158-159 .

136 . The problem of whether or not Eissfeldt's views are

correct will be pursued later in this chapter under the "Molech "
sacrifices .
137. cf. especially , De Vaux , Sacrifices in the Old Testa
ment , p. 44 and Institutions , p. 261 ; D. Winton Thomas , ed . ,
Documents from old Testament Times (New York : Harper and
Brothers , 1958 ) , pp . 195-198 ; Graham and May , Culture and con
science , p. 201 , etc.
138 . Albright , Yahweh and the Gods , p . 240 and H.
Torczyner , "Ha - Lashon ve - ha - Sefer " in Essays by Harry Torczyner
I, pp . 64-66 .

139 . Brown , Driver and Briggs , Hebrew and English Lexicon ,

p . 966 .

140 . This , ,
of course , goes back to the Akkadian šēdu de
mon .

141 . This reading is likewise recognized by Mitchell

new

Dahood , Psalms 101-150 , Anchor Bible , 17A ( Garden City : Double

day and Company , Inc. , 1970 ) , p . 74 .

142 . De Vaux , Old Testament Sacrifice , p . 68 .

Chapter IX , Notes 349

143 . Cf. Th . H. Robinson and F. Horst , Die zwölf Kleinen

Propheten ( Stuttgart : Gotta , 1954 ) .

144 . A. B. Davidson , Hebrew Syntax ( Edinburgh : T. and T.

Clark , 1901 ) , p . 32 , refers to the circumlocutions for adjec
tives , e.g. , the genitive and its construct , when two things
are identical as , e.g. , the thing and its name or its class
in Isa . 9 : 6 " a wonder of a counsellor " the same as "men who
sacrifice . " Similarly , Gesenius - Kautzsch , Hebrew Grammar (Ox
ford : The Clarendon Press , 1910 ) , p . 416 ; W. 0. E. Osterley
Sacri fices in Ancient Israel , p . 121 , who makes a comparison
with Prov . 15:20 " a fool of a man . 11
145 . See , e.g. , H. Gressmann , Die älteste Geschichts
schreibung und Prophetie Israels , Die Schriften des Alten Tes
taments , H. Gressmann , ed . ( Göttingen : Vanderhoeck and Ruprecht ,
1922 ) ; and E. Sellin Minor Prophets , Kommentar zum Alten Tes
,

tament , E. Sellin , ed . ( Leipzig : A. Detchert , 1922 ) .

146 . Cf. J. Steinmann , Le Prophetisme biblique des ori
gines à Osée ( Paris : Editions du Cerf , 1959 ) , p . 204 .

147 . Among the more recent , see A. Weiser , Das Buch der
Zwölf kleinen Propheten I; G. W.Anderson , " A Study of Micah
6 : 1-8 , " Scottish Journal of Theology 4 ( 1951 ) , pp . 191-197 ; R.
Wolfe , Interpreters Bible VI
" Micah , " , G. A. Buttrick , ed . ,
(New York : AbingdonPress , 1956 ) ; and R. Hentschke , Die Stell
ung der vorexilischen Schriftpropheten zum Kultus ( Berlin :
1957 ) , pp . 104-107 .

148 . Exod . 13 : 11-15 ; 34 : 19-20 and Num . 18 : 15-16 where a

man may be redeemed for five shekels a head and the amount
paid to the priest .

149 . Num . 3 : 40-51 ; 8 : 17-18 .

150 . Cf. Eissfeldt , " Molk als Opferbegrif , " p . 55 ;

Dussaud , Les origines canaanéennes , p . 167 ; and Lods , Israë z

des origines au milieu du VIIIe siècle , p. 330 . Many earlier
scholars held a similar view . It should be observed , however ,
that Eissfeldt , while not changing , slightly modified his view
to the effect that he was inclined to see the buying back of
the firstborn with an animal or even money going back to an
earlier date . cf. "Menschenopfer , " Die Religion in Geschichte
und Gegenwart 4 ( 1960 ) , col . 868 .
350 Chapter IX , Notes

151 . E. Dhorme , La Religion des Hébreux , p . 33 .

152 . De Vaux , Old Testament Sacrifice , pp . 70-71 . On the
Covenant Code , cf. G. Morgenstern , " The oldest Document in the
Hexateuch , " HUCA 4 ( 1927 ) , pp . 1-138 and G. R. Berry , " The
Ritual Decalogue , " JBL 54 ( 1925 ) , pp . 39-43 .
153 . See , for example , G. B. Gray , Sacrifice in the old
Testament , pp . 34-37 , for a discussion of this problem .

154 . M. Buber , Königtum Gottes ( Heidelberg : L. Schneider ,

1936 ) , p. 219 , and W. Eichrodt , Theologie des Alten Testaments

I ( Berlin : Evangelische verlagsanstalt , 1959 ) , p. 89 .

155 . H. Cazelles , Études sur le code de l'alliance , p. 83 .

156 . Noth argues that " there is no sure proof that there
ever was in Israel a sacrifice of the firstborn which was rec
ognized as legitimate . " M. Noth , Das zweite Buch Mose , Exodus ,
p . 80 .

157 . Kapelrud , " King and Fertility , " pp . 118-121 ; he ar

gues , however , that these sacrifices were from the families of
kings and leaders and possibly connected with fertility rites .
158 . As does Thompson in Penitence and Sacrifice , pp .
75-76 .

159 . On the organization of the Federation of Israel

which included those already in the land and subsequent groups ,
cf. Mendenhall , " The Hebrew Conquest of Palestine . " Even if
we were to accept the traditional view held by most scholars
of a Hebrew conquest which systematically conquered each city
under Joshua , we must still recognize that the common people
of the land would intermarry with the incoming .
160 . De Vaux , Old Testament Sacrifice , pp . 71-72 .

161 . The authenticity of these three passages is doubted

by some scholars ; Ezek . 16:21 is rejected by G. Hölscher Hese
kiel der Dichter und das Buch ( Giessen : A. Töpelmann , 1924 ) ,
,
p. but it is assigned to a second strand by both A.
93 ,
Bertholet , Ezekiel : Handbuch zum Alten Testament , o . Eissfeldt ,

ed . , ( Tübingen : M. Niemeyer , 1936 ) , and G. Fohrer , Minor Proph

ets , ibid . , ( 1955 ) . H. G. May , Ezekiel 16 , The Interpreter's
Bible , G. A. Buttrick , ed . (New York : Abingdon Press , 1956 ) ,
rejects 20 : 25-31 , as does Hölscher . G. A. Cooke , Ezekiel , The
Chapter IX , Notes 351

International Critical Commentary

thinks 23 : 36-39 was
( 1936 ) ,
uttered on another occasion while Fohrer rejects it altogether
, .
But aside from their connection with the present contexts , and
some redactional elements , the passages need not be impugned .
Cf. Thompson , Penitence and Sacrifice , pp . 196-197 .
162 . The best current study available treating all as
pects of Jeremiah is by J. Bright , Jeremiah , Anchor Bible , 21
( Garden City : Doubleday & Company , Inc. , 1965 ) , especially
pp . 51 , 59 , 293 , 296 .

163 . In essence , Eissfeldt's view is that 7:31 is the

primary source and 19 : 5 and 32:35 are secondary passages which
introduce Baal and Moloch to avoid the implication that these
were sacrifices to Yahweh . Moloch was not a separate god but
those were " votive offerings " to Yahweh which were a part of
Yahwism to the Deuteronomic Reform . Eissfeldt , " Molk als
down
Opferbegriff The majority
, " p.
43 . of scholars have rejected
the theory that these sacrifices were officially sanctioned by
Yahwism and A. Bea was among the first to point out that these
sacrifices were not to Yahweh but to a god Moloch in " Kinder
opfer für Moloch oder für Jahwe ?" Biblica 18 ( 1937 ) , pp . 95
107 . The latest and most comprehensive on this question , cf.
K. Dronkert , De Molochdienst in het Oude Testament ( Leiden : E.
J. Brill , 1953 ) .

164 . Albright , Archaeology and Religion of Israel , pp .

157-159 . The problem of Moloch sacrifice will be discussed
further in this investigation ,

165 . J. A. Bewer , " Textual and Exegetical Notes on the

Book of Ezekiel , " JBL 72 ( 1953 ) , pp . 159-161 .

166 . Gray , Sacri fice in the Old Testament , pp . 88-89 .

167 . De Vaux , Old Testament Sacrifice , p. 73 .

168 . Cf. De Vaux , Review of Eissfeldt's " Molk als Opfer

begriff ," Biblica ( 1936 ) , pp . 278-282 .

Assuming tentatively that this is what is referred

169 .

to as being offered to the gods Adrammelek and Anammelek .

170 . The word " Molek " should be read instead of Melek ,
a meaning which is in accordance with the Aramaic and Syriac .
352 Chapter IX , Notes

171. Rather than Molek , the god " Milcom " should probably
be read ; cf. verses 5 and 33 . Quite possibly the difference
could have arisen by an inadvertent dropping of the final m
from the Hebrew name .

172 . Among the most thorough explorations on the subject

are Eissfeldt , " Molk als Opferbegriff " ; De Vaux , Old Testament
Sacrifice , pp . 73-90 ; J. G. Févriér , " Essai de Reconstitution
du Sacrifice Molek , " JA 248 ( 1960 ) , pp . 167-187 ; Albright , Ar
chaeology and Religion , pp . 160-165 ; Yahweh and the Gods , pp .
232-244 .

173 . cf. J. B. Chabot , CRAI , ( 1931 ) , p. 13 .

174 . Eissfeldt , " Molk als Opferbegriff ."

175 . cf. G. Dossin , " Signaux lumineaux au Pays de Mari , "

Revue d'Assyriologie 35-37 ( 1938-40 ) , p . 178 ; also A. Bea ,
" Moloch in den Maritafeln , " Biblica 20 ( 1939 ) ; p . 415 , and P.

Jansen , " Die Götter und die Erscheinungs

Chemosh und Melek
formen ' Kammuš ' und ' Malik ' des assyrisch - babylonischen Gottes
' Nergal , Zeitschrift für Assyriologie , N.F. 7-8 ( 1933-34 ) ,
pp . 235-237 .

176 . Albright , Archaeology and Religion , pp . 162-163 .

177 . cf. Dossin , " Signaux lumineaux au Pays de Mari , "

p. 178 and Albright , Yahweh and the Gods , pp . 241-242 .

178 . Parrot and Dossin , Archives Royales de Mari 15 ( 1954 ) ,

p . 127 .

179 . Févriér , " Sacrifice Molek ," pp . 168-169 , RHR , 1953 ,

Ep . 8-9 , and " Le vocabulaire sacrificial Punique , " pp . 52-53 .
This is based of course on the Phoenician inscription at Kara
tepe which gives a verb hlk in the Hiphil l'iphil in Phoeni
cian ) employed in the sense of " offer in sacrifice . " Hence the
word mozk would be a participial form and mean " sacrificial of
fering " ; cf. A. Alt , Die Welt des Orients I ( München : C. H.
Beck , 1949-52 ) , pp . 282-283 .

180 . Eissfeldt , " Molk als Opferbegriff ," and in De Vaux ,

Revue Biblique 45 ( 1936 ) , p. 281 and 62 ( 1955 ) , p. 610 , where

the observations are made .

Chapter IX , Notes 353

181 . See , for example , Albright , " The Case of Lèse

Majesté in Pre - Israelite Lachish , " BASOR 87 ( 1942 ) , p. 35 , n.
20 , and " The Oracles of Balaam , " JBL 63 ( 1944 ) , p. 218 , n. 70 .

182 . See especially J. G. Févriér , " Le vocabulaire sacri

ficial punique , " JA 243. ( 1955 ) , pp . 52-53 , and " Sacrifice Mo
lek , " ibid . , pp . 174-175 ; Eissfeldt , " Molk als Opferbegriff , "
pp . 278-282 ; and De Vaux , Revue biblique 45 ( 1936 ) , p . 280 .

However , the expression mlk ' mr occurs only four times in North
African inscriptions .

183 . This was pointed out by R. Dussaud in reference to

a seventh- or sixth - century stele from Malta ( CIS I , 123b ) ;
CRAI ( 1946 ) , pp . 376-377 , and Albright , Yahweh and the Gods ,
pp . 235-236 . Cf. H. Cazelles , Dictionnaire de la Bible :
Supplement v ( Paris : Letouzey et Ani , 1957 ) , p . 1341 .

184 . is recognized by Eissfeldt who reads it

The former
as " sacrifice offered of the people , i.e. , who is
by a man "
neither a priest or king ; " Molk als Opferbegriff , " pp . 19-20 .
This position is also held by Dussaud , CRAI ( 1946 ) , p . 380 , n . 3 .
Févriér , however , would prefer the latter rendering admitting
a prosthetic aleph in ' dm , " Sacrifice Molek , " p . 180 , as do a
number of scholars who would prefer another meaning than " sac
rifice " for mozk . See , e.g. , M. Buber , Königtum Gottes ( Hei
delberg : L. Schneider , 1956 ) , mlk ' mr " the Malk has spoken "
and młk ' dm (n ) " the Malk is Lord , " pp . 214-215 , and also ref
erences in De Vaux , Old Testament Sacrifice , pp . 77-78 .

185 . Févriér , " Sacrifice punique , " pp . 53-55 .

186 . According to G. Hoftijzer , " Eine notiz zum punischen

Kinderopfer , " VT ( 1958 ) , pp . 292-293 .

187 . Since the discovery of the stele from Carthage show

ing a priest carrying a arms just as others carry
child in his
their victims , stelae of the same type began to be found by
natives in Carthage itself in the area known as " Precinct of
Tanit " and generally referred to as " Tophet , " cf. L. Poinssot
and R. Lantier , " Un Sanctuaire de Tanit à Carthage , RHR 87
( 1923 ) , pp . 32-68 ; F. W. Kelsey , Excavations at Carthage ,
1925 : A Prelininary Report (New York : The Macmillan Company ,
1926 ) ; and D. Harden , The Phoenicians ( London : Thames and
354 Chapter IX , Notes

Hudson , 1962 ) , pp . 94-110 . See also the excellent article by

Jacques Allibert , Archéologia 1 ( 1964 ) , pp . 82-84 , on the repre
sentation of the priest holding the lamb .
188 . Phoenicians , pp . 94-104 . A good discus
Harden , The
sion of the findings at each site and their relative importance
on the subject of infant sacrifices with an accompanying bibli
ography is presented by this scholar . Cf. André Berthier and
René Charlier , Le Sanctuaire punique d'el - Hofra à Constantine
( Paris : Arts et metiers graphiques 1952-55 ) ; Gennaro Pesce ,
Sardegua punica ( Cagliari : Editrice Sarda Fratelli Fossataro
1961 ) , pp . 68-93 ; Albright , Archaeology and Religion , pp . 235
239 ; and De Vaux , Old Testament Sacri fice , pp . 81-84 .
189 . deal of information is given by Greek and
A great
Roman writers practice of child sacrifice in both Phoe
on the
nicia and North Africa . According to these accounts , the chil
dren are burnt as sacrifices to Kronos ( Saturnus ) . A good bib
liography of these statements is given by M. Pope , " Syrien : Die
Mythologie der Ugariter und Phönizer , " Wörterbuch der Mytholo
gie , Part 1 , No. 3 , H. W. Haussig , ed . ( Stuttgart : E. Klett ,
1965 ) , p. 100 . cf. De Vaux , Old Testament Sacrifice , pp .

79-83 .

190 . It should be noted that stelae were not found at all

the sacred cemeteries .
191 . According to the oldest tradition , the founders of
the Tyrian colony at Carthage ca. 814 B.C. brought with them
Baal - Hammon , Melcarth , and Tennit , the first of which the Greek
later identified with Kronos and later the Romans with their
own Saturn . Professor Albright has identified the name of this
chief god Baal -Hammon as " Lord of the Brazier , " whom he sees
first appearing in Syria along with another deity , " Lord of the
Mace , " ( BaC al - şmd ) , Archaeology and Religion , pp . 215-216 and
Yahweh and the Gods , pp . 233-235 ; this also coincides with the
conclusions of Févriér , " Sacrifice Molek , " pp . 169-173 . Kronos
( according to Philo of Byblus ' Sanchuniaton ) , in order to stop

a destructive sacrificed his only son to his father

plague ,
Uranos ; as a children were sacrificed as burnt offer
result ,
ings to Baal -Hammon to recall the debt which the Phoenicians
owed to him for having sacrificed his own sons to save their
Chapter IX , Notes 355

forefathers . The other was the sacrifice of the nymph Anobret

during a great war .
192 . This could well be the source of the rabbinic account
of a similar statue in Jerusalem . cf. above , pp . 60-61 , and
Moore , " The Image of Moloch . "

193 . A number of texts , however , speak of the slaughtering

of the child before it fell into the fire . Févriér , " Sacrifice
Molek , pp . 179-182 and also J. Guey , " Civitas Pothensis Moloch
et Molchomore ," Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire 54 ( 1937 ) ,
pp . 94-99 .

study of these remains was made by J. Richard who

194 . A
concluded that the burials included infants from premature
births up to four years old ; J. Richard , Étude médico - légale
des urnes sacri ficielles puniques et leur contenu . Thèse pour
le Doctorate en médecine ( Lille : Institut Medico - Legal de Lille ,
1961 ) . The summary of the findings are provided by De Vaux , Old
Testament Sacri fice , pp . 82-83 .

195 . cf. statements by Quintus Curtius , Porphyry , Eusebius ,

and Philo of Byblos according to the unknown Sanchuniation . See
above , p . 182 .
196 . Porphyry , De Abstinentia , 56 . Philo has long ii
been suspected by scholars as having invented this ancient
Phoenicial author who is traditionally dated ca. 14th - llth cen
turies B.c. in order to give some degree of authority to his
own writing . However , Eissfeldt and Albright have shown that ,

according to the Ras Shamra texts , much of his information can

be corroborated and is essentially correct . cf. Eissfeldt ,

" Philo Byblius " and " Sanchunjaton " Die Religion in Geschichte
und Gegenwart 5 ( 1961 ) , cols . 346-347 and 1361 ;Eissfeldt , Ras
Schamra und Sanchunjaton ( Halle : M. Niemeyer , 1939 ) ; and
Albright , Yahweh and the Gods , pp . 221-227 .

197 . This aspect will be discussed during the progress of

this investigation .
198 . Albright , Yahweh and the Gods , p. 238 .

199 . Albright , " The High Place in Ancient Palestine , "

Supplements to VT 4 ( 1957 ) , pp . 252-254 .
356 Chapter IX , Notes

200 . Dussaud , " Deux Stéles de Ras Shamra , " Syria 14 ( 1935 ) ,
pp . 177-180 , D. Neiman , " PGR : A Canaanite Cult - Object , " JBL 67
( 1948 ) , pp . 55-60 ; Albright , Archaeology and Religion , p . 203 ,
n. 30 , and Yahweh and the Gods , p. 238 .

201 . references are according to Gordon : 3:48 , 50 ,

These
53 ; Herdner , " Un novel exemplaire du Rituel , " Syria 33 ( 1956 ) ,
pp . 104-12 , has tried to see in the designation of this ritual
an equivalent of the Hebrew molek , but the many lacunae in the

context prevents any such conclusion . In his Ugaritic Manual ,

glossary No. 1119 , Gordon also recognizes that a type of sacri
fice comparable to the Hebrew in 9:10 between
młk also appears
two words which have thus far defied interpretation ; młkt is
also noted in the mutilated text 41 : 4 but Févriér has accepted
a sacrificial sense in " Le vocabulaire sacrificial punique , "
p. 53 , an interpretation which is highly questionable since
Cazelles ( "molok " Supplément au dictionnaire de la Bible V , col .
1345 ) finds in 52 : 7 the forms mlk and młkt which are generally
translated as " king " and " queen . " cf. R. Largement , La Nais
sance de l'Aurore in which the lines of this poem are found .
How could these two forms both be a designation of the same
sacrifice in the same context ? See also G. R. Driver , Canaanite
Myths and Legends ( Edinburgh : T. and T. Clark , 1956 ) , pp . 34
36 .

202 . Ugaritic Literature , 17:11 , p . 108 . Schaef

Gordon ,
fer's refutation of Virolleaud's interpretation of the ritual
text 19:15 , which was interpreted as an allusion to human sacri
fice , has been pointed out earlier in this investigation , cf.
above , pp . 160-161 .

203 . J. Nougayrol , CRAI ( 1957 ) , pp . 82-83 .

204 . De Vaux , Old Testament Sacrifice , pp . 87-88 .

205 . is not found in any Punic or Ca

The word " Tophet "
naanite only in the Old Testament when it occurs in re
source ,
lation with the burning of infants . ( Jer . 7:31 , 19:11 ; 2 Kgs .
23:10 ; Isa . 30:33 ) . Février and Albright have connected this
with the " sacred contained the brazier in both the
fosse " which
valley of Ben - Hinnon near the sanctuary in Jerusalem and the
sacred precincts of cremation in North Africa . Cf. Févriér ,
" Sacrifice Molek , " pp . 180-182 ; and Albright , Archaeology and
Religion , pp . 92-94 .
Chapter IX , Notes 357

206 . Chabot , CRAI ( 1931 ) , p. 13 .

207 . A sampling of this view can be appreciated in M.

Noth , Das zweite Buch Mose : Exodus , pp . 69-71 . Eissfeldt , " Molk

als Opferbegriff , " p. 57 , n. 1. Févriér , " Sacrifice Molek , "

pp . 174-177 .

Cf. Hooke , Early Semitic Ritual , pp . 47-55 and the

208 .

well - documented refutation by De Vaux , Ancient Israel , pp . II

484-493 .

209 . Albright , Archaeology and Religion , pp . 161-162 .

A. Pohl
210 . " Mizzellen , " Biblica 22 ( 1941 )
, , pp . 35-37 ;
0. Eissfeldt , "Mélanges Isidore Levy , " Annuaire de l'Institut
de Philologie et d'Histoire Orientales et slaves 13 ( 1955 ) , pp .
153-154 .

211 . Cf. G. Kohler , A. Ungnad , " Vertragsrecht . Bindung .

Bindungsklauseln . " Assyrische Rechtsurkunden ( Leipzig : E.

Pfeiffer , 1923 ) , No. 41 , pp . 455-458 ; and Albright , Archaeology

and Religion , pp . 221 , n . 116 .

212 . A view opposed by Eissfeldt , who saw the sacrifice

of children as being practiced under Yahwistic sanction . " Molk
als Opferbegriff , " pp . 48-50 . No one else accepts this view .

213 . Eissfeldt , Ras Shamra und Sonchunjaton , pp . 68-71 .

214. Albright , Archaeology and Religion , p . 161 . He also

cites this cult in late Assyrian economic texts under Aramean
influence . In the Dead Sea Scrolls , Isaiah SPRYYM , and else
where Sibraim- ( AssyrianSabarain ) the s and š are pronounced
š and s respectively . Albright , Yahweh and the Gods , pp . 240
41 and notes 96 and 97 .

215 . Horn , Bible Dictionary , p. 981 .

216 . " He who violates burn his eldest

the contract will
son in the sacred precinct of Kohler - Ungrad ,
Adad . " cf.
Assyrische Rechtsurkunden , No. 41 ; also Johns , Assyrian Deeds
and Documents , No. 632 ; and B. Meissner , " Die Keilschriftexte
aus dem Tell Halaf , " Festschrift M. von Oppenheim
3

>

1
1

1
 NOTES

CHAPTER X

1. Ellis , Foundation Deposits , p. 35 , and note 1 .

2. Ibid . , p . 42 .

3. cf. especially TG , I, pp . 184-186 .

4. T. Jacobsen , Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other E8

says on Mesopotami an History and Culture ( Cambridge , Mass .:
Harvard University Press ) , 43 . See especially notes 17-24 ,
p.

where he translates certain expressions used in the myths to

denote these central concerns of the period .

5. cf. Jacobsen , " Salt and Silt .... " Toward an Image of
Tammuz .

6. It is not meant to suggest that Sargon's claim to

have expandedhis control over much of this region was false .
However , as is well recognized , the actual size or extent of
his control cannot be adequately ascertained from the few ob
scure references .

7. of course , this brings into focus the "Sumerian Prob

lem " and one's theory with respect to origin , a topic which is
outside the scope of this investigation .
8. Frankfort , Before Philosophy ( Baltimore : Penguin
Books , 1967 ) , pp . 47-48 .
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