r _par
excellence_--necessarily retained his position at the head of the
Assyrian pantheon. The popularity of Nabu, which continued to the end of
the Assyrian empire, and gained a fresh impetus in the days of
Ashurbanabal, who, as a patron of literature, invokes Nabu on thousands
of the tablets of his library as 'the opener of ears to understanding,'
reacted on his position in the Babylonian cult. In the new Babylonian
empire, which continued to so large a degree the traditions of Assyria,
it is no accident that three of the kings--Nabupolassar, Nebuchadnezzar,
and Nabonnedos--bear names containing the deity as one of the elements.
While paying superior devotion to Marduk, who once more became the real
and not merely the nominal head of the pantheon, they must have held
Nabu in no small esteem; and indeed the last-named king was suspected of
trying actually to divert the homage of the people away from Marduk to
other gods, though he did not, as a matter of course, go so far as to
endeavor to usurp for the son, the position held by the father. It is
probably due to Assyrian influence that even in Babylonia, from the
eighth century on, Nabu is occasionally mentioned before Marduk. So
Marduk-baladan II. (721-710) calls himself the "worshipper of Nabu and
Marduk," and similarly others. In official letters likewise, and in
astronomical reports, Nabu is given precedence to Marduk, but this may
be due to Nabu's functions, as the god of writing and the patron of
science.

The Neo-Babylonian kings are not sparing in the epithets they bestow on
Nabu, though they emphasize more his qualities as holder of the
'sceptre' than as lord of the 'stylus.' So Nebuchadnezzar declares that
it is he 'who gives the sceptre of sovereignty to kings to rule over all
lands.' In this capacity he is 'the upholder of the world,' 'the general
overseer,' and his temple is called 'the house of the sceptre of the
world.'

His name signifies simply the 'proclaimer,' or herald, but we are left
in doubt as to what he proclaims,--whether wisdom or sovereignty.
Sometimes he appears as the 'herald' of the gods. In this role he
receives the name of Papsukal (_i.e._, supreme or sacred messenger), and
it may be that this function was a very old one. But, again, as god of
fertility he could also be appropriately termed the 'proclaimer.' The
question must, accordingly, be left open as to the precise force of the
attribute contained in his name. Finally, an intere