The lord who in his anger holds the heavens in his control,
Ramman in his wrath the earth has shaken.
The mighty mountain—thou dost overturn it.
At his anger, at his wrath,
The gods of heaven mount up to heaven,[456]
The gods of earth enter the earth.
Into the foundation of heaven Shamash[457] enters.
The illustrations adduced will suffice to show the manner in which the Babylonians conceived the relationship between mankind and the gods. The element of fear alternated with that of love, and no matter how near the gods were felt to be, one was never certain of their good will.
Another feature of some of these hymns which calls for special mention is the introduction of the deity as himself or herself taking part in the dialogue. A hymn addressed to Ishtar, as the morning and evening star,[458] belongs to this class.[459] It begins with a glorification of the goddess as the source of light, of being, and of earthly blessings. The worshipper speaks:
O light of heaven who arises like fire over the earth, who art fixed in the earth,