ts
from the religious texts were inscribed. These texts by virtue of their
sacred character assured protection against the entrance of demons.[360]
But when once a person had come under the baneful power of the demons,
recourse was had to a professional class of exorcisers, who acted as
mediators between the victims and the gods to whom the ultimate appeal
for help was made. These exorcisers were of course priests, and at an
early period of Babylonian culture it must have been one of the main
functions of priests to combat the influence of evil spirits. It was for
this purpose chiefly that the people came to the temples, and in so far
we are justified in regarding incantation formulas as belonging to the
oldest portion of the Babylonian temple rituals. In the course of time,
as the temples in the great religious centers developed into large
establishments, the priests were divided into classes, each with special
functions assigned to them. Some were concerned with the sacrifices,
others presided over the oracles, others were set aside for the night
and day watches which were observed in the temple, and it is likely that
the scribes formed a class by themselves. To this age of differentiation
in priestly functions belongs the special class who may be regarded as
the forerunners of the eastern _magi_ or magicians, and who by powers
and methods peculiar to them could ward off the dangerous attacks of the
demons and witches. The means employed by them may in general be
described as forming the complement to those used by the witches,--the
reverse side of the picture,--only that they were supposed to be
effective against sorcerers, witches, and demons alike. Against the
incantation formulas of the witches, incantations of superior force were
prescribed that might serve to overcome the baneful influence of the
former. The symbolical tying of knots was offset by symbolical
loosening, accompanied by formulas that might effect the gradual release
of the victim from the meshes of both the witches and the demons; or the
hoped-for release was symbolized by the peeling of the several skins of
an onion. Corresponding to the images made by the witches, the
exorcising priests advised the making of counter images of the witches,
and by a symbolical burning, accompanied by certain ceremonies and
conciliatory gifts to the gods, hoped to destroy the witches themselves.
Since, moreover, the favorite time chosen by the demons and witches for