he deity, who was once
regarded as the patron of the place. Lastly it is to be noted that,
besides gods, stars are invoked, as well as rivers, temples, and even
towns,--in short, anything that has sacred associations.

On a different level from the gods enumerated in groups stand those
deities who are introduced into the incantation texts at essential
points individually and for a special reason. Such deities are
comparatively few,--hardly more than half a dozen. These gods may be
called the gods of the incantation texts _par excellence_. Their help is
essential to ensure the effectiveness of the exorciser's task. They
stand in close and direct connection with the troubles from which relief
is prayed for. For physical ills, they act as healers. If the evil for
which the individual or the country suffers is due to some natural
phenomena,--an eclipse of the moon, of which people stood in great
terror, or a deluge or a famine,--the moon-god, the storm-god, some
phase of the sun-deity, or an agricultural god would naturally be
implored; while in a general way the heads of the pantheon, Marduk in
Babylonia and Ashur in Assyria, come in for a large share of attention.

As already intimated in a previous chapter,[365] the god who plays
perhaps the most prominent role in the incantation texts is Ea. He
occupies this rank primarily by virtue of his being the god of humanity;
but another factor which enters into consideration, though in an
indirect fashion, is his character as a water-god. Water, being one of
the means of purification frequently referred to in the texts, acquires
a symbolical significance among the Babylonians, as among so many other
nations. Ea, therefore, as the water-god of the ancient sacred town,
Eridu, acquires additional popularity through this circumstance. The
titles that he receives in the texts emphasize his power to heal and
protect. He is the great physician who knows all secret sources whence
healing can be obtained for the maladies and ills caused by the demons
and sorcerers. He is therefore in a peculiar sense 'the lord of the
fates' of mankind, the chief exorciser, the all-wise magician of the
gods, at whose command and under whose protection, the priest performs
his symbolical acts. Not only does humanity turn to Ea: the gods, too,
appeal to him in their distress. The eclipse of the moon was regarded by
the popular faith as a sort of bewitchment of the great orb through the
seven evil spirits.