[1591] See numerous examples in Menant's Collection de Clercq (Paris, 1888).
[1593] Stade, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, i. 458 seq.
CHAPTER XXVII.
CONCLUSION.
General Estimate and Influence.
In forming a general estimate of a religion, one's verdict will largely depend upon the point of view from which the religion in question is regarded. It is manifestly unjust and illogical to apply modern standards to an ancient religion, not that such a religion would necessarily suffer by the comparison involved, but because of the totally different conditions under which religion developed in antiquity from those prevailing in modern times. The close association, nay, the inseparable bond, between religion and the state is only one of several determining factors that might be adduced, while the small scope permitted to individualism in matters of religious belief and practice in a country like Babylonia or Assyria was fraught with such peculiar results that all comparisons, even with other religions of antiquity, could only obscure and not illumine our judgment.
There are manifestly three phases of the religion of Babylonia and Assyria that need to be considered in reaching some general conclusions as to the character and rank to be accorded to it,—the doctrines, the rites, and the ethics. So far as the pantheon is concerned, the limitations in the development of doctrines connected with it were reached when the union of the several Euphratean states was permanently effected under Hammurabi. Marduk, a solar deity, takes his place as the head of the pantheon by virtue of the preëminent place occupied by his patron city,—Babylon. The other great gods, each representing some religious center that at one time or the other rose to importance, grouped themselves around Marduk, as the princes and nobles gather around a supreme monarch. A certain measure of independence was reserved for the great mother goddess Ishtar, who, worshipped under various names as the symbol of fertility, plenty, and strength, is not so decidedly affected by the change as deities like En-lil, Shamash, Sin, and Ea, who could at any time become rivals of Marduk. As the position of Marduk, however, became more and more assured without danger of being shaken, the feeling of rivalry in his relations to the other gods began to disappear. Marduk's supremacy no longer being questioned, there was no necessity to curtail the homage paid to Shamash at Sippar or to En-lil at Nippur; hence the religious importance of the old centers is not diminished by the surpassing glory of Babylon. There was room for all. Marduk's toleration is the best evidence of his unquestioned headship.
The centralization of political power and of religious supremacy is concomitant with the focussing of intellectual life in Babylon. The priests of Marduk set the fashion in theological thought. So far as possible, the ancient traditions and myths were reshaped so as to contribute to the glory of Marduk. The chief part in the work of creation is assigned to him. The storm-god En-lil is set aside to make room for the solar deity Marduk. But, despite such efforts, the old tales, once committed to writing on the practically imperishable clay, survived, if not in the minds of the people, at least in the archives of the ancient temples.
The antiquity of literature in Babylonia was the factor that prevented the cult from acquiring a uniform character in the various parts of the empire. The priests of Nippur, of Sippar, of Eridu, of Erech, Cuthah, Ur, and other places began long before the period of Hammurabi to compile, on the basis of past experience and as a guide for future needs, omen lists, incantation formulas, and sacrificial rituals. These collections created orthodox standards, and these standards, once acknowledged, the natural conservatism attaching to religious customs was sufficient to maintain their continuance. The uniformity of doctrine was thus offset by variations in the cult; and the policy adopted by both Babylonian and Assyrian rulers, in permitting each center to remain undisturbed, and in freely recognizing the religious independence of each, prevented the Babylonian and Assyrian religion from falling into the state of stagnation which would otherwise have been its fate.