Myths of Babylonia and Assyria | Page 6

from the United
States by the University of Pennsylvania, and began to operate at
Nippur in 1888. The Germans, who have displayed great activity in the
domain of philological research, are at present represented by an
exploring party which is conducting the systematic exploration of the
ruins of Babylon. Even the Turkish Government has encouraged
research work, and its excavators have accumulated a fine collection of
antiquities at Constantinople. Among the archaeologists and linguists
of various nationalities who are devoting themselves to the study of
ancient Assyrian and Babylonian records and literature, and gradually
unfolding the story of ancient Eastern civilization, those of our own
country occupy a prominent position. One of the most interesting
discoveries of recent years has been new fragments of the Creation
Legend by L.W. King of the British Museum, whose scholarly work,
The Seven Tablets of Creation, is the standard work on the subject.
The archaeological work conducted in Persia, Asia Minor, Palestine,
Cyprus, Crete, the Aegean, and Egypt has thrown, and is throwing,
much light on the relations between the various civilizations of
antiquity. In addition to the Hittite discoveries, with which the name of
Professor Sayce will ever be associated as a pioneer, we now hear
much of the hitherto unknown civilizations of Mitanni and Urartu
(ancient Armenia), which contributed to the shaping of ancient history.
The Biblical narratives of the rise and decline of the Hebrew kingdoms
have also been greatly elucidated.
In this volume, which deals mainly with the intellectual life of the
Mesopotamian peoples, a historical narrative has been provided as an
appropriate setting for the myths and legends. In this connection the
reader must be reminded that the chronology of the early period is still
uncertain. The approximate dates which are given, however, are those
now generally adopted by most European and American authorities.
Early Babylonian history of the Sumerian period begins some time

prior to 3000 B.C; Sargon of Akkad flourished about 2650 B.C., and
Hammurabi not long before or after 2000 B.C. The inflated system of
dating which places Mena of Egypt as far back as 5500 B.C. and
Sargon at about 3800 B.C. has been abandoned by the majority of
prominent archaeologists, the exceptions including Professor Flinders
Petrie. Recent discoveries appear to support the new chronological
system. "There is a growing conviction", writes Mr. Hawes, "that
Cretan evidence, especially in the eastern part of the island, favours the
minimum (Berlin) system of Egyptian chronology, according to which
the Sixth (Egyptian) Dynasty began at c. 2540 B.C. and the Twelfth at
c. 2000 B.C.[8] Petrie dates the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty at c.
3400 B.C.
To students of comparative folklore and mythology the myths and
legends of Babylonia present many features of engrossing interest.
They are of great antiquity, yet not a few seem curiously familiar. We
must not conclude, however, that because a European legend may bear
resemblances to one translated from a cuneiform tablet it is necessarily
of Babylonian origin. Certain beliefs, and the myths which were based
upon them, are older than even the civilization of the Tigro-Euphrates
valley. They belong, it would appear, to a stock of common inheritance
from an uncertain cultural centre of immense antiquity. The problem
involved has been referred to by Professor Frazer in the Golden Bough.
Commenting on the similarities presented by certain ancient festivals in
various countries, he suggests that they may be due to "a remarkable
homogeneity of civilization throughout Southern Europe and Western
Asia in prehistoric times. How far", he adds, "such homogeneity of
civilization may be taken as evidence of homogeneity of race is a
question for the ethnologist."[9]
In Chapter I the reader is introduced to the ethnological problem, and it
is shown that the results of modern research tend to establish a remote
racial connection between the Sumerians of Babylonia, the prehistoric
Egyptians, and the Neolithic (Late Stone Age) inhabitants of Europe, as
well as the southern Persians and the "Aryans" of India.
Comparative notes are provided in dealing with the customs, religious

beliefs, and myths and legends of the Mesopotamian peoples to assist
the student towards the elucidation and partial restoration of certain
literary fragments from the cuneiform tablets. Of special interest in this
connection are the resemblances between some of the Indian and
Babylonian myths. The writer has drawn upon that "great storehouse"
of ancient legends, the voluminous Indian epic, the Mahabharata, and
it is shown that there are undoubted links between the Garuda eagle
myths and those of the Sumerian Zu bird and the Etana eagle, while
similar stories remain attached to the memories of "Sargon of Akkad"
and the Indian hero Karna, and of Semiramis (who was Queen
Sammu-ramat of Assyria) and Shakuntala. The Indian god Varuna and
the Sumerian Ea are also found to have much in common,