dence that the rulers of Babylonia and Assyria were
anointed with oil on their installation, though it is not improbable
that such was the case. The use of the oil in this case is but a
modification of the same rite, which, it is to be noted, loses some of
its ancient force by the spread of the custom in the Orient of unguents
as a part of the toilet.[1492] The use of odorous herbs, which, we have
seen, were placed under the walls, and of honey and wine, which were
poured over bolts,[1493] is also directly connected with the sacrificial
cult.

The libation in its purer form appears in the custom of the Assyrian
kings of pouring wine over the animal slain by them in the hunt. The act
is intended to secure divine favor towards a deed which involved the
destruction of something that by all ancient nations was held sacred,
namely, life. Even a despot of Assyria felt that to wantonly destroy
life could not be safely undertaken without making sure of the consent
of the gods. Significantly enough, Ashurbanabal offers his libations
after the lion or bull hunts to Ishtar as the "goddess of battle."[1494]
The animal is sanctified by being devoted to a goddess, just as the
victims in a battle constitute the conqueror's homage offered to the
gods who came to his assistance.

Sacrifices with libations are so frequently represented on the seal
cylinder that this testimony alone would suffice to vouch for the
importance attached to this rite in the cult. One of the most archaic
specimens of Babylonian art[1495] represents a worshipper, entirely
naked, pouring a libation into a large cup which stands on an altar.
Behind the altar sits a goddess who is probably A or Malkatu, the
consort of the sun-god. The naked worshipper is by no means an uncommon
figure in the early Babylonian art,[1496] and it would appear that at
one time it was customary to remove one's garments preliminary to
stepping into the god's presence, just as among the Arabs the cult of
the Caaba in Mecca was conducted by the worshippers at an early period
without their clothes.[1497] The custom so frequently referred to in the
Old Testament to remove one's shoes upon entering sacred territory,--a
custom still observed by the modern Muslim, who leaves his shoes outside
of the Mosque,--may be regarded as an indication that at an earlier
period people removed their garments as well as the sandals. It may be
that the order to take off the sandal alone, as recorded in the Ol