Deluge Legend, the Island of the Blessed, and

Hades

Babylonian Story of the Flood The Two Immortals

on the Island of the

Blessed Deluge Legends in the Old and New Worlds

How Babylonian

Culture reached India Theory of Cosmic Periods

Gilgamesh resembles the

Indian Yama and Persian Yimeh Links with Varuna

and Mitra The Great

Winter in Persian and Teutonic Mythologies

Babylonian Hades compared

with the Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Teutonic, and

Celtic Otherworlds Legend of Nergal and the Queen
of Death Underworld originally the Grave Why
Weapons, &c., were Buried with the Dead Japanese
and Roman Beliefs

Palaeolithic Burial Customs " Our Graves are our

Houses "
Importance of Babylonian Funerary Ceremonies
Doctrine of Eternal Bliss in Egypt and

IndiaWhy Suppressed in Babylonia Heavy Burial Fees

Various Burial Customs.

THE story of the Deluge which was related to

Gilgamesh

by Pir-napishtim runs as follows:

" Hear me, O Gilgamesh, and I will make revelation

regarding the hidden doings of the high gods. As

thou

knowest, the city of Shurippak is situated upon the

bank

of the Euphrates. The gods were within it : there

they

assembled together in council. Anu, the father, was

there, and Bel the counsellor and warrior, Ninip the

messenger, and Ennugi the governor. Ea, the wise

lord, sat also with them. In their hearts the gods

agreed

together to send a great deluge.

"Thereafter Ea made known the purpose of the

divine rulers in the hut of reeds, saying:

reeds, hear; O wall, understand . . . O man of

Shurippak,

son of Umbara Tutu, tear down thy house and build

a ship ; leave all thou dost possess and save thy

life,

and preserve in the ship the living seed of every

kind.

The ship that thou wilt build must be of goodly

proportions

in length and height. It must be floated on

the great deep.'

" I heard the command of Ea and understood, and

I made answer, saying,

* O wise lord, as thou hast said

so will I do, for thy counsel is most excellent. But
how

shall I give reason for my doings to the young men

and

the elders?'

" Ea opened his mouth and said unto me, his servant
:

What thou shalt say unto them is this . . .   

hath been revealed unto me that Eel doth hate mey

therefore

I cannot remain any longer in his domain^ this city

of

Shurippak) so I must depart unto the domain of Ea

and

dwell with him . . . Unto you will Bel send

abundance

of rain, so that you may obtain birds and fishes in

plenty

and have a rich harvest. But Shamash hath

appointed

a time for Ramman to pour down destruction from

the

heavens.'"^

Ea then gave instructions to Pir-napishtim how to

build the ship in which he should find refuge. So far

as can be gathered from the fragmentary text, it

appears

that this vessel was to have a deck house six

stories

high, with nine apartments in each story. According

to another account, Ea drew a plan of the great

ship

upon the sand.

Pir-napishtim set to work and made a flat-bottomed

vessel, which was 120 cubits wide and 120 cubits in

height. He smeared it with bitumen inside and pitch

outside ; and on the seventh day it was ready. Then

he carried out Ea's further instructions. Continuing

his narrative to Gilgamesh, he said :

" I gathered together all that I possessed, my

silver

and gold and seeds of every kind, and my goods

also.

These I placed in the ship. Then I caused to go

aboard

all my family and house servants, the animals of the

field and the beasts of the field and the workers

every

one of them I sent up.

" The god Shamash appointed the time, saying :

I will cause the Night Lord to send much rain and

bring

destruction. Then enter thou the ship and shut thy

door.'

" At the appointed time the Night Lord sent at

evenr

time much rain. I saw the beginning of the deluge

and

I was afraid to look up. I entered the ship and shut

the door. I appointed Buzur-Kurgala, the sailor, to

be

captain, and put under his command the great vessel

and

all that it contained.

"At the dawn of day I saw rising athwart the

heavens

a dark cloud, and in the midst of it Ramman

thundered.

Nebo and Merodach went in front, speeding like

emissaries

over hills and plains. The cables of the ship were

let loose.

"Then Ninip, the tempest god, came nigh, and the

storm broke in fury before him. All the earth
spirits

leapt up with flaming torches and the whole land was

aflare. The thunder god swept over the heavens,

blotting out the sunlight and bringing thick darkness.

Rain poured down the whole day long, and the earth

was covered with water ; the rivers were swollen ;

the

land was in confusion ; men stumbled about in the

darkness,

battling with the elements. Brothers were unable

to see brothers; no man could recognize his friends.

. . .

The spirits above looked down and beheld the rising

flood and were afraid : they fled away, and in the

heaven

of Anu they crouched like to hounds in the

protecting
enclosures.

" In time Ishtar, the lady of the gods, cried out

distressfully,

saying :

The elder race hath perished and

turned to clay because that I have consented to evil

counsel in the assembly of the gods. Alas ! I have

allowed my people to be destroyed. I gave being to

man, but where is he ? Like the offspring of fish he

cumbers the deep/

" The earth spirits were weeping with Ishtar : they

sat down cowering with tightened lips and spake

not ;

they mourned in silence.

" Six days and six nights went past, and the
tempest

raged over the waters which gradually covered the

land.
But when the seventh day came, the wind fell, the
whirling

waters grew peaceful, and the sea retreated. The

storm was over and the rain of destruction had

ceased.

I looked forth. I called aloud over the waters. But

all mankind had perished and turned to clay. Where

fields had been I saw marshes only.

"Then I opened wide the window of the ship, and

the sunlight suffused my countenance. I was dazzled

and sank down weeping and the tears streamed over

my face. Everywhere I looked I saw water.

"At length, land began to appear. The ship drifted

towards the country of Nitsir, and then it was held

fast

by the mountain of Nitsir. Six days went past and

the

ship remained stedfast. On the seventh day I sent

forth

a dove, and she flew away and searched this way

and that,

but found no resting place, so she returned. I then

sent

forth a swallow, and she returned likewise. Next 1

sent

forth a raven, and she flew away. She saw that the
waters

were shrinking, and gorged and croaked and waded,

but

did not come back. Then I brought forth all the

animals

into the air of heaven.

"An offering I made on the mountain. I poured

out a libation. I set up incense vessels seven by

seven

on heaped-up reeds and used cedar wood with

incense.
The gods smelt the sweet savour, and they
clustered like

flies about the sacrificer.

"Thereafter Ishtar (Sirtu) drew nigh. Lifting up the

jewels, which the god Anu had fashioned for her

according

to her desire, she spake, saying :

< Oh ! these gods !

I vow by the lapis lazuli gems upon my neck that I

will

never forget ! I will remember these days for ever

and

ever. Let all the gods come hither to the offering,

save

Bel (Enlil) alone, because that he ignored my

counsel,

and sent a great deluge which destroyed my people.'

" But Bel Enlil came also, and when he beheld the
ship he paused. His heart was filled with wrath
against

the gods and the spirits of heaven. Angrily he spake

and said: 'Hath one escaped? It was decreed that

no

human being should survive the deluge.'

"

Ninip, son of Bel, spoke, saying: 'Who hath done

this save Ea alone ? He knoweth all things.'

"

Ea, god of the deep, opened his mouth and said

unto the warrior Bel: 'Thou art the lord of the

gods, O

warrior. But thou wouldst not hearken to my counsel

and caused the deluge to be. Now punish the sinner

for his sins and the evil doer for his evil deed, but
be

merciful and do not destroy all mankind. May there

never again be a flood. Let the lion come and men
will

decrease. May there never again be a flood. Let

the

leopard come and men will decrease. May there

never

again be a flood. Let famine come upon the land; let

Ura, god of pestilence, come and snatch'ofF

mankind. . . .

I did not reveal the secret purpose of the mighty

gods,

but I caused Atra-chasis (Pir-napishtim) to dream a

dream

in which he had knowledge of what the gods had

decreed/

" Having pondered a time over these words, Bel

entered

the ship alone. He grasped my hand jand led me

forth,
even me, and he led forth my wife also, and caused
her

to kneel down beside me. Then he stood between us

and gave his blessing. He spoke, saying: 'In time

past

Pir-napishtim was a man. Henceforth Pir-napishtim

and

his wife will be like unto deities, even us. Let them

dwell apart beyond the river mouths

"Thereafter Bel carried me hither beyond the

mouths of rivers.'