olical decoration of edifices,
the bull and the lion, again illustrate the same two means at the
disposal of the gods for the punishment of man, the bull representing
the storms, and the lion being the symbol of Nergal, who is the god of
pestilence, as well as of war and of violent destruction in general.

A storm-god symbolized under the form of a bird is Zu. The underlying
stem of the word conveys the notion of strength and violence. How bulls
came to be chosen as symbols of storms is not altogether clear. Possibly
the element of "strength" formed the connecting link in the chain of the
association of ideas. In the case of birds, on the other hand, the
association is to be sought in the appearance of the clouds during a
storm moving across the heavens like a flock of birds. In the Etana
legend, a reference occurs to Zu, who, as it would appear, is unable to
escape from the control of the supreme judge Shamash.[1069] Zu is there
called the chief worker of evil--a kind of arch satan. A story has been
found which illustrates an attempt made by the bird Zu to break loose
from the control of the sun. A storm was viewed as a conflict between
the clouds and the sun, much as an eclipse symbolized a revolt in the
heavens. The myth represents the conflict as taking place between Zu and
En-lil, the Bel of Nippur. The latter holds in his possession the
tablets of fate, by means of which he enjoys supreme authority over men
and gods. Zu's jealousy is aroused, and he plans to tear these tablets
from En-lil. The tablets of fate, it will be recalled, play an important
part in the Marduk-Tiamat episode.[1070] Kingu--the symbol of chaos,
like Tiamat--wears them on his breast, but he is obliged to yield them
to the conqueror of Tiamat and of her brood, who replaces 'chaos' by
'order.' This conqueror was originally Bel of Nippur, and the Zu myth in
representing En-lil as holding the tablets of fate confirms the view
above set forth,[1071] according to which the original Tiamat tale has
been modified by the substitution of Marduk for the old Bel. But the
story, while thus admitting the legitimacy of En-lil's claim to supreme
power, is yet so constructed as to contribute to the glory of Marduk.
The attack of the Zu-bird was suggested--as the Tiamat myth--by the
annual storms that work such havoc in Babylonia. The forces of 'chaos'
are let loose, and an attempt is made to overthrow the 'order' of the
world, symbolized by the tablets of fate