subjects, virtuous and wicked, go to Aralu. Those who have
obtained the good will of the gods receive their reward in this world,
by a life of happiness and of good health. The gods can ward off
disease, or, rather, since disease (as all ills and misfortunes) is a
punishment sent by some god or demon, forgiveness can be secured, the
proof of which will consist in the restoration of the sick to health,
but the moment that death ensues the control of the gods ends. To the
Babylonians, the words of the Psalmist,[1194] "who praises thee, O God,
in Sheol?" came home with terrible force. They expressed, admirably, the
Babylonian view of the limitations of divine power. The dead do not
praise the gods, simply because it would be useless. The concern of the
gods is with the living.

We are fortunate in possessing a pictorial representation of the nether
world that confirms the view to be derived from a study of the religious
literature. A number of years ago, Clermont-Ganneau directed attention
to a remarkable bronze tablet which was purchased at Hamath in northern
Syria.[1195] The art was clearly Babylonian, and there was no reason to
question the genuineness of the production. Quite recently a duplicate
has been found at Zurghul, in Babylonia,[1196] so that all suspicions
are removed. The bronze tablet contains on the one side, the figure of a
monster with a lion-like face and body, but provided with huge wings.
Standing erect, his head rises above the tablet, his fore legs rest on
the edge, and the demon is thus represented in the attitude of looking
over to the other side of the tablet. At the side of the monster, are
two heads of hideous appearance.

The illustrations on the reverse are devoted to a portrayal of a funeral
ceremony, and of the general aspects of the nether world. There are five
distinct divisions,[1197] marked off from one another by four heavy
lines drawn across the tablet. In the first division appear the symbols
of the chief gods of the Assyrian pantheon, Marduk, Nabu, Sin, Ishtar,
Shamash, Ramman, etc.[1198] These gods, as inhabiting the heaven, are
placed at the head of the tablet. Next come seven evil spirits figured
as various animals,[1199] who, as inferior to the gods, and perhaps also
as messengers of the latter, are assigned a place midway between heaven
and earth. In the third section, there is pictured the funeral ceremony
proper. A dead body lies on a couch. Two rather strange figures, but
a