xercised by them. The king who continued to be
regarded as the representative of a god, nominated by some deity to a
lofty position of trust and power, stood nearer to the gods than his
subjects. In a certain sense, the king remained the priest _par
excellence_. Hence the prominent part played by the ruler in the
religious literature of the country. A large proportion of the hymns
were composed for royalty. The most elaborate ritual dealt with the
endeavor to secure oracles that might serve as a guide for the rulers.
Astronomical reports were made and long series of omen tablets prepared
for the use of the royal household. The calendars furnished regulations
for the conduct of the kings. A ceremonial error, an offence against the
gods on the part of the kings, was certain of being followed by
disastrous consequences for the whole country.

But even the smallest sanctuaries required some service, and it was not
long before the religious interests were entrusted into the hands of
those who devoted themselves to administering the affairs of the
temples. The guardians of the shrines became the priests in fact, long
before the priesthood of the rulers became little more than a theory;
and as the temples grew to larger proportions, the service was divided
up among various classes of priests.

The general name for priests was _shangu_, which, by a plausible
etymology suggested by Jensen,[1455] indicates the function of the
priest as the one who presides over the sacrifices. But this function
represents only one phase of the priestly office in Babylonia, and not
the most important one, by any means. For the people, the priest was
primarily the one who could drive evil demons out of the body of the
person smitten with disease, who could thwart the power of wizards and
witches, who could ward off the attacks of mischievous spirits, or who
could prognosticate the future and determine the intention or the will
of the gods. The offering of sacrifices was one of the means to
accomplish this end, but it is significant that many of the names used
to designate the priestly classes have reference to the priest's
position as the exorciser of evil spirits or his power to secure a
divine oracle or to foretell the future, and not to his function as
sacrificer. Such names are _mashmashu_, the general term for 'the
charmer'; _kalu_, so called, perhaps, as the 'restrainer' of the demons,
the one who keeps them in check; _lagaru_, a synonym of