to show that the three
terms represent classes of priestesses attached to the temple. In this
respect the Ishtar cult of Erech was not unique, for we have references
to priestesses elsewhere. However, the function of the priestess in
religious history differs materially from that of the priest. She is not
a mediator between the god and his subjects, nor is she a representative
of the deity. It is as a 'witch,' that by virtue of the association of
ideas above set forth,[906] she is able to determine the intentions of
the gods. Her power to do harm is supplemented by her ability to furnish
oracles. In this capacity we have already come across her,[907] and we
may assume that giving oracles constituted a chief function of the
priestess in Babylonia. It was furthermore natural to conclude that as a
'witch' and 'oracle-giver,' the priestess belonged to the deity from
whom she derived her power. When we come to the cult of a goddess like
Ishtar, who is the symbol of fertility, observances that illustrated
this central notion would naturally form an ingredient part of that
'sympathetic magic,'--the imitation of an action in order to produce the
reality--which dominates so large a proportion of early religious
ceremonialism. Among many nations the mysterious aspects of woman's
fertility lead to rites that by a perversion of their original import
appear to be obscene.[908] In the reference to the three classes of
sacred prostitutes, we have an evidence that the Babylonian worship
formed no exception to the rule. But with this proposition that the
prostitutes were priestesses attached to the Ishtar cult and who look
part in ceremonies intended to symbolize fertility, we must for the
present rest content.

Gilgamesh, secure in his victory, proceeds to offer the horns of the
divine bull to his patron Lugal-Marada, the 'king' of Marad, and who
appears to be identical with Shamash himself. The offering is
accompanied by gifts to the sanctuary of precious stones and oil. There
is general rejoicing.

The episode of Gilgamesh's contest with the bull also belongs to the
mythological phases of the epic. The bull is in Babylonian
mythology[909] as among other nations a symbol of the storm. It is in
his role as a solar deity that Gilgamesh triumphs over the storm sent by
Anu, that is, from on high. In the following chapter, we will come
across another form of this same myth suggested evidently, as was the
fight of Marduk with Tiamat, by t