| 11. | Then the god Hea in the depth of his mind laid a plan; |
| 12. | he formed for her escape a figure of a man of clay. |
| 13. | Go to save her, Phantom! present thyself at the portal of Hades: |
| 14. | the seven gates of Hades will open before thee; |
| 15. | Nin-ci-gal will see thee and will come to thee. |
| 16. | When her mind shall be grown calm and her anger shall be worn off |
| 17. | name her with the names of the great gods! |
| 18. | Prepare thy frauds! On deceitful tricks fix thy mind! |
| 19. | The chiefest deceitful trick! Bring forth fishes of the waters out of an empty vessel. |
| 20. | This thing will astonish Nin-ci-gal, |
| 21. | Then to Ishtar she will restore her clothing. |
| 22. | A great reward for these things shall not fail. |
| 23. | Go save her, Phantom! and the great assembly of the people shall crown thee! |
| 24. | Meats the first in the city shall be thy food. |
| 25. | Wine the most delicious in the city shall be thy drink. |
| 26. | A royal palace shall be thy dwelling. |
| 27. | A throne of state shall be thy seat. |
| 28. | Magician and conjurer shall kiss the hem of thy garment. |
| 29. | Nin-ci-gal opened her mouth and spake |
| 30. | to Namtar her messenger, a command she gave: |
| 31. | Go Namtar! clothe the Temple of Justice! |
| 32. | Adorn the images and the altars. |
| 33. | Bring out Anunnaka.[[111]] Seat him on a golden throne. |
| 34. | Pour out for Ishtar the waters of life and let her depart from my dominions. |
| 35. | Namtar went; and clothed the Temple of Justice; |
| 36. | he adorned the images and the altars; |
| 37. | he brought out Anunnaka; on a golden throne he seated him; |
| 38. | he poured out for Ishtar the waters of life. |
| 39. | Then the first gate let her forth, and restored to her the first garment of her body. |
| 40. | The second gate let her forth and restored to her the diamonds of her hands and feet. |
| 41. | The third gate let her forth and restored to her the emerald girdle of her waist. |
| 42. | The fourth gate let her forth and restored to her the small lovely gems of her forehead. |
| 43. | The fifth gate let her forth and restored to her the precious stones of her head. |
| 44. | The sixth gate let her forth and restored to her the earrings of her ears. |
| 45. | The seventh gate let her forth and restored to her the crown of her head.”[[112]] |
Surely here is poetry—the haughty queen of love and beauty imperiously demands an entrance into the land of shadows that she may recover her beloved. She threatens to break down the very gates of hades and raise the dead to devour the living if her wish is refused. She shrinks at no sacrifice which her love-lighted mission may cost. A great crown is taken from her head, but she stays not. Her jewels and precious stones—her girdle of priceless gems—is taken from her, and still she presses forward in quest of her love.
But when at last the seven gates of hades have closed upon her luxurious form, the world misses her joyous presence—the splendor is stolen from Beauty’s eyes—the crimson touch of life has faded from her lips—the doves and sun-birds no longer chant their love songs in the crowns of the palm trees, and the sorrowing night bird trills the plaintive tale to the closed and weeping roses. Nay, even the sky seems to forget to light up the couch of the dying sun with draperies of crimson and gold, and all the world is shrouded in darkness and cold despair. But Hea, in his ocean home, hears the wail of the gods who mourn the absence of Ishtar, and he comes to the rescue. The seven gates of hades swing again upon their hinges, and with crowns and jewels and girdle restored, the imperial goddess comes forth to resume her sway amid the flowers of a love-lighted earth.
CHAPTER IV.
PERSIAN MYTHOLOGY.
THE COMMON SOURCE OF MYTHOLOGY—MYTHICAL MOUNTAINS—RIVERS—MYTHICAL BIRDS—AHŪRA MAZDA—ATAR—THE STORM GOD—YIMA—THE CHINVAT BRIDGE—MITHRA—RÉSUMÉ.
We have briefly sketched in the preceding chapter the more tolerable features of a mythology which is evidently the common source of the later pantheons. The picture of human sacrifices, and practices which are still more revolting, have been avoided, as unnecessary to the general purpose, while the poetic figures of these ancient myths are dwelt upon with peculiar pleasure.
Persian civilization was to a great extent the product of Babylonian elements, and her mythology was born of that type of sensual idolatry too gross for description. But the Persians were a poetic people, and in their hands these ancient myths were refined and somewhat elevated. The hideous idols called sun-images, which were used in the worship of Chemosh, gave place to the adoration of the sun itself, as the great source of all physical light. It was by the hand of Persia that the sacred bull of Egypt was smitten down, and also the golden couch of Baal, with all its attendant horrors. But even Persia is accused of having at times practiced the horrible rite of human sacrifice, and the Babylonian Venus found admission, even among the people whose king had stabbed the Egyptian Apis, and overturned his shrine.[[113]]
Persia was a land of extremes, and the richest part of her dominions was fated to lie beneath the early snows, and feel the severity of winter, while the central portion of the country was one vast desert, whose scorching simoons were as much to be dreaded as the snows of her northern table-lands. The early settlers of Īrān, therefore, were forced to win their bread and develop their resources by the most arduous labor, and the dreamy mythology of the Hindūs gave way in their minds to the sterner conflict between good and evil.
The opposition between light and darkness became a prominent feature of their mythology, for the battles which raged in Hindū skies between Indra, the storm king, and his constant enemy, Vṛitra, became to the sons of Īrān a personal strife with the powers of nature, and instead of dreaming of a contest in the clouds, they sang of the daily battle in lives which were crowded with hardship. Hence it is that Ormazd and Ahriman, in their continual strife, form the background of the national mythology, although Persia took the sun for her emblem, and called her kings by his royal name; a flashing globe was the signal light above the imperial tent, and the golden eagle was perched upon the ensign that led the Persian troops to victory.