l statues were actually known by the name _shedu_, which we have
seen is one of the general terms for 'demon.' But as a general thing,
this personal phase of the demon's existence is lost sight of. Even
though embodied in animal form, the demons could make themselves
invisible to man; and since most of their actions were performed in
secret, so that people were totally at their mercy, the differentiation
of the demons became a factor of minor importance. With so large a
quantity of demons at command, it was difficult to hit upon the one who
was manifesting himself by some evil at any given moment. Accordingly,
instead of a single mention, a number or a group were enumerated, and
the magic formulas pronounced against them in concert. We have one such
group of seven to whom quite a number of references are found in the
incantation texts. A section in one of these texts gives a vivid
description of them:[351]

Seven are they, they are seven,
In the subterranean deep, they are seven,
Perched (?) in the sky, they are seven,
In a section of the subterranean deep they were reared,
They are neither male nor are they female,
They are destructive whirlwinds,
They have no wife, nor do they beget offspring.
Compassion and mercy they do not know,
Prayer and supplication they do not hear,
Horses bred on the mountains, are they
Hostile to Ea[352] are they,
Powerful ones among the gods are they.
To work mischief in the street they settle themselves in the highway.
Evil are they, they are evil,
Seven are they, they are seven, seven, and again seven[353] are they.

These seven spirits, who are elsewhere compared to various animals, have
power even to bewitch the gods. The eclipse of the moon was attributed
to their baneful influence. The number seven is probably not to be taken
literally. As among so many nations,[354] seven had a sacred
significance for the Babylonians; but largely, if not solely, for the
reason, as I venture to think, because seven was a large number. In the
Old Testament seven is similarly used to designate a large number. A
group of seven spirits, accordingly, meant no more than a miscellaneous
mass of spirits, and we may therefore regard this 'song of the seven' as
a general characterization of the demons who, according to this view,
appear to move together in groups rather than singly. Elsewhere[355] we
are told of this same group of spirits 'that they were begotten in the
mounta