abylonia; not only the
priests but also the gods performed magical ceremonies. Ea, Merodach's
father, overcame Apsu, the husband of the dragon Tiamat, by means of
spells: he was "the great magician of the gods". Merodach's division
of the "Ku-pu" was evidently an act of contagious magic; by eating or
otherwise disposing of the vital part of the fierce and wise mother
dragon, he became endowed with her attributes, and was able to proceed
with the work of creation. Primitive peoples in our own day, like the
Abipones of Paraguay, eat the flesh of fierce and cunning animals so
that their strength, courage, and wisdom may be increased.

The direct influence exercised by cultural contact, on the other hand,
may be traced when myths with an alien geographical setting are found
among peoples whose experiences could never have given them origin. In
India, where the dragon symbolizes drought and the western river
deities are female, the Manu fish and flood legend resembles closely
the Babylonian, and seems to throw light upon it. Indeed, the Manu
myth appears to have been derived from the lost flood story in which
Ea figured prominently in fish form as the Preserver. The Babylonian
Ea cult and the Indian Varuna cult had apparently much in common, as
is shown.

Throughout this volume special attention has been paid to the various
peoples who were in immediate contact with, and were influenced by,
Mesopotamian civilization. The histories are traced in outline of the
Kingdoms of Elam, Urartu (Ancient Armenia), Mitanni, and the Hittites,
while the story of the rise and decline of the Hebrew civilization, as
narrated in the Bible and referred to in Mesopotamian inscriptions, is
related from the earliest times until the captivity in the
Neo-Babylonian period and the restoration during the age of the
Persian Empire. The struggles waged between the great Powers for the
control of trade routes, and the periodic migrations of pastoral
warrior folks who determined the fate of empires, are also dealt with,
so that light may be thrown on the various processes and influences
associated with the developments of local religions and mythologies.
Special chapters, with comparative notes, are devoted to the
Ishtar-Tammuz myths, the Semiramis legends, Ashur and his symbols, and
the origin and growth of astrology and astronomy.

The ethnic disturbances which occurred at various well-defined periods
in the Tigro-Euphrates valley were not always fav