ding to the Egyptian Ra; others
designated it as Merodach, Ninib, Nergal, Dumuzi, not to mention other
less usual appellations. Nergal in the beginning had nothing in common
with Ninib, and Merodach differed alike from Shamash, Ninib, Nergal,
and Dumuzi; but the same movement which instigated the fusion of so many
Egyptian divinities of diverse nature, led the gods of the Chaldaeans to
divest themselves little by little of their individuality and to lose
themselves in the sun. Each one at first became a complete sun, and
united in himself all the innate virtues of the sun--its brilliancy
and its dominion over the world, its gentle and beneficent heat, its
fertilizing warmth, its goodness and justice, its emblematic character
of truth and peace; besides the incontestable vices which darken certain
phases of its being--the fierceness of its rays at midday and in summer,
the inexorable strength of its will, its combative temperament, its
irresistible harshness and cruelty. By degrees they lost this uniform
character, and distributed the various attributes among themselves. If
Shamash continued to be the sun in general, Ninib restricted himself,
after the example of the Egyptian Harmakhis, to being merely the rising
and setting sun, the sun on the two horizons. Nergal became the feverish
and destructive summer sun.* Merodach was transformed into the youthful
sun of spring and early morning;** Dumuzi, like Merodach, became the sun
before the summer. Their moral qualities naturally were affected by the
process of restriction which had been applied to their physical being,
and the external aspect now assigned to each in accordance with their
several functions differed considerably from that formerly attributed
to the unique type from which they had sprung. Ninib was represented as
valiant, bold, and combative; he was a soldier who dreamed but of
battle and great feats of arms. Nergal united a crafty fierceness to
his bravery: not content with being lord of battles, he became the
pestilence which breaks out unexpectedly in a country, the death which
comes like a thief, and carries off his prey before there is time
to take up arms against him. Merodach united wisdom with courage and
strength: he attacked the wicked, protected the good, and used his power
in the cause of order and justice. A very ancient legend, which was
subsequently fully developed among the Canaanites, related the story of
the unhappy passion of Ishtar for Dumuz