Nothing has come down to us as yet concerning this legend except the
incident of his dwelling in Hades, whither Istar, the Babylonian
Venus, went in search of him. It is not by any means unlikely,
however, that the whole story existed in Babylonia, and thence spread
to Phoenicia, and afterwards to Greece. In Phoenicia it was adapted to
the physical conditions of the country, and the place of Tammuz's
encounter with the boar was said to be the mountains of Lebanon,
whilst the river named after him, Adonis (now the Nahr Ibrahim), which
ran red with the earth washed down by the autumn rains, was said to be
so coloured in consequence of being mingled with his blood. The
descent of Tammuz to the underworld, typified by the flowing down of
the earth-laden waters of the rivers to the sea, was not only
celebrated by the Phoenicians, but also by the Babylonians, who had at
least two series of lamentations which were used on this occasion, and
were probably the originals of those chanted by the Hebrew women in
the time of Ezekiel (about 597 B.C.). Whilst on earth, he was the one
who nourished the ewe and her lamb, the goat and her kid, and also
caused them to be slain--probably in sacrifice. "He has gone, he has
gone to the bosom of the earth," the mourners cried, "he will make
plenty to overflow for the land of the dead, for its lamentations for
the day of his fall, in the unpropitious month of his year." There was
also lamentation for the cessation of the growth of vegetation, and
one of these hymns, after addressing him as the shepherd and husband
of Istar, "lord of the underworld," and "lord of the shepherd's seat,"
goes on to liken him to a germ which has not absorbed water in the
furrow, whose bud has not blossomed in the meadow; to the sapling
which has not been planted by the watercourse, and to the sapling
whose root has been removed. In the "Lamentations" in the Manchester
Museum, Istar, or one of her devotees, seems to call for Tammuz,
saying, "Return, my husband," as she makes her way to the region of
gloom in quest of him. Eres-e-gala, "the lady of the great house"
(Persephone), is also referred to, and the text seems to imply that
Istar entered her domain in spite of her. In this text other names are
given to him, namely, /Tumu-giba/, "son of the flute," /Ama-elaggi/,
and /Si-umunnagi/, "life of the people."

The reference to sheep and goats in the British Museum fragment
recalls the fact that in an incantation for