e Kudurru monuments was made by
Belser, in the _Beitraege zur Assyriologie_, ii. 111-203.

[214] The question has been raised (see Belser, _ib._ p. 111) by Pinches
whether these representations are not the symbols of the zodiac, but, as
Belser justly remarks, the attempt to interpret the pictures in this way
has not been successful. It still seems most plausible to regard the
pictures as symbols of spirits or demons. Such an interpretation is in
accord with the Babylonian and general Semitic view of land ownership.
At the same time it must be confessed that we are still in the dark as
to the motives underlying the choice of the animals portrayed. There may
be some ultimate connection with _some_ of the signs of the zodiac,--so
Hommel believes,--but such connection would have to be judged from the
earlier forms that animism takes on, and not in the light of an advanced
theology such as appears in the zodiacal system of the Babylonians.

[215] See Perrot and Chiplez, _History of Art in Chaldaea and Assyria_,
I. 351.

[216] The element _ki_ is sometimes omitted. The force of _na_ is not
clear, unless it be a phonetic complement merely.

[217] _Semitische Voelker_, p. 369.

[218] Very many of the names of the Semitic gods and heroes signify
strong, _e.g._, _El_, _Adon_, _Baal_, _Etana_, _Kemosh_, etc.

[219] The final vowel _i_ would, on the basis of the explanation
offered, be paralleled by the _i_ of Igigi--an indication of the plural.
See Delitzsch, _Assyr. Gram._ Sec. 67, 1.

[220] The Igigi are designated ideographically as v plus ii, and Hommel
(_Semitische Voelker_, p. 491) properly suggests that this peculiar
writing points to an earlier use of five as constituting the group.
Hommel, however, does not see that neither five nor seven are to be
interpreted literally, but that both represent a large round number,
and, therefore, also a holy one.

[221] IR. 55, col. iv. ll. 7-13.

CHAPTER XII.

THE ASSYRIAN PANTHEON.

We have now reached a point where it will be proper to set forth the
phases that the Babylonian religion assumed during the days of Assyrian
supremacy.

An enumeration of the gods occurring in the inscriptions of the rulers
of Assyria from the earliest days to the close of the empire, so far as
published, will show better than any argument the points of similarity
between the Babylonian and the Assyrian pantheon. These gods are in
alphabetical order:[222] Anu, Ashur, Bel, Belit, Gaga