s that the god
should be free from anger, the city, the temple, and the gods are
represented as unitedly speaking to him--appealing to him to be at
'rest.' The production might, therefore, be called a 'pacification
hymn.' The god has shown his anger by bringing on misfortune of some
shape. His divine associates are no less anxious than his human subjects
to pacify the mighty god.

Passing on to another god, a hymn to the storm-god, Ramman, enables us
to specify the great terror that the god, as the general source of
disturbances in the heavenly phenomena, inspired. The god is
addressed[455] as

The lord who in his anger holds the heavens in his control,
Ramman in his wrath the earth has shaken.
The mighty mountain--thou dost overturn it.
At his anger, at his wrath,
The gods of heaven mount up to heaven,[456]
The gods of earth enter the earth.
Into the foundation of heaven Shamash[457] enters.

The illustrations adduced will suffice to show the manner in which the
Babylonians conceived the relationship between mankind and the gods. The
element of fear alternated with that of love, and no matter how near the
gods were felt to be, one was never certain of their good will.

Another feature of some of these hymns which calls for special mention
is the introduction of the deity as himself or herself taking part in
the dialogue. A hymn addressed to Ishtar, as the morning and evening
star,[458] belongs to this class.[459] It begins with a glorification of
the goddess as the source of light, of being, and of earthly blessings.
The worshipper speaks:

O light of heaven who arises like fire over the earth, who art fixed
in the earth,
Thou art exalted in strength like the earth.
As for thee, a just path be graciously granted to thee
When thou enterest the house of man.
A hyena on the hunt for a young lamb art thou,
A restless lion art thou.
A destructive handmaid, the beauty of heaven,
A handmaid is Ishtar, the beauty of heaven,
Who causest all being to emanate, O beauty of heaven,
Associate (?) of the sun, O beauty of heaven!

At this point the goddess speaks, through the officiating priest, who
acts as the mediator:

For determining oracles[460] I have been established, in perfection
have I been established.
For determining oracles of my father Sin, I have been established, in
perfection have I been established.
For determining oracles of my brother Shamash, I hav