probably
they regarded them as "foreign devils". Other Semites, however, who
came as traders, bringing wood, stone, and especially copper, and
formed communities in cities, may well have influenced Sumerian
religious thought. The god Ramman, for instance, who was given
recognition all through Babylonia, was a god of hill folks as far
north as Asia Minor and throughout Syria. He may have been introduced
by settlers who adopted Sumerian habits of life and shaved scalp and
face. But although the old cities could never have existed in a
complete state of isolation from the outer world, it is unlikely that
their inhabitants modelled their deities on those worshipped by groups
of aliens. A severe strain is imposed on our credulity if we are
expected to believe that it was due to the teachings and example of
uncultured nomads that the highly civilized Sumerians developed their
gods from composite monsters to anthropomorphic deities. Such a
supposition, at any rate, is not supported by the evidence of Ancient
Egypt.

CHAPTER VII.

CREATION LEGEND: MERODACH THE DRAGON SLAYER

Elder Spirits of the Primordial Deep--Apsu and the Tiamat
Dragon--Plot to Destroy the Beneficent Gods--Ea overcomes Apsu and
Muminu--The Vengeful Preparations of the Dragon--Anshar's Appeal to
Merodach--The Festival of the High Gods--Merodach exalted as Ruler
of the Universe--Dragon slain and Host taken captive--Merodach
rearranges the Pantheon--Creation of Man--Merodach as Asari--The
Babylonian Osiris--The Chief Purpose of Mankind--Tiamat as Source of
Good and Evil--The Dragon as the Serpent or Worm--Folk Tale aspect
of Creation Myth--British Neolithic Legends--German and Egyptian
Contracts--Biblical references to Dragons--The Father and Son
theme--Merodach and Tammuz--Monotheistic Tendency--Bi-sexual
Deities.

In the beginning the whole universe was a sea. Heaven on high had not
been named, nor the earth beneath. Their begetter was Apsu, the father
of the primordial Deep, and their mother was Tiamat, the spirit of
Chaos. No plain was yet formed, no marsh could be seen; the gods had
no existence, nor had their fates been determined. Then there was a
movement in the waters, and the deities issued forth. The first who
had being were the god Lachmu and the goddess Lachamu. Long ages went
past. Then were created the god Anshar and the goddess Kishar. When
the days of these deities had increased and extended, they were
f