presented. Equally direct are the dedicatory
inscriptions set up by the kings in the temples erected to the honor of
some god, and of great importance are the references to the various
gods, their attributes, their powers, and their deeds, which are found
at every turn in the historical records which the kings left behind
them. Many of these records open or close with a long prayer to some
deity; in others, prayers are found interspersed, according to the
occasion on which they were offered up. Attributing the success of their
undertakings--whether it be a military campaign, or the construction of
some edifice, or a successful hunt--to the protection offered by the
gods, the kings do not tire of singing the praises of the deity or
deities as whose favorites they regarded themselves. The gods are
constantly at the monarch's side. Now we are told of a dream sent to
encourage the army on the approach of a battle, and again of some
portent which bade the king be of good cheer. To the gods, the appeal is
constantly made, and to them all good things are ascribed. From the
legal documents, likewise, much may be gathered bearing on the religion.
The protection of the gods is invoked or their curses called down; the
oath is taken in their name; while the manner in which the temples are
involved in the commercial life of ancient Babylonia renders these
tablets, which are chiefly valuable as affording us a remarkable insight
into the people's daily life, of importance also in illustrating certain
phases of the religious organization of the country. Most significant
for the position occupied by the priests, is the fact that the latter
are invariably the scribes who draw up the documents.

The archaeological material furnished by the excavations consists of the
temples of the gods, their interior arrangement, and provisions for the
various religious functions; secondly, the statues of the gods,
demigods, and the demons, the altars and the vessels; and thirdly, the
religious scenes,--the worship of some deity, the carrying of the gods
in procession, the pouring of libations, the performance of rites, or
the representation of some religious symbols sculptured on the palace
wall or on the foundation stone of a sacred building, or cut out on the
seal cylinders, used as signatures[10] and talismans.

Large as the material is, it is far from being exhausted, and, indeed,
far from sufficient for illustrating all the details of the religiou