[Allatu curses Uddusunâmir, but the conjuration which he uttered is too powerful, and she must obey. Thus the power of the realm of death is broken and Istar is free.]
Allatu opened her mouth and spake,
To give command to Namtar, her servant: 30.
‘Go, Namtar, demolish the eternal palace,
Demolish the pillars, make the thresholds quake;
Lead out the Anunnaki, put them upon the golden throne,[26]
Sprinkle upon Goddess Istar the water of life;
Take her away from me!’ 35.
Namtar went and demolished the eternal palace,
He demolished the pillars and made the thresholds (?) quake,
He led out the Anunnaki and placed them upon the golden throne,
“He sprinkled upon Goddess Istar the waters of life and led her away:
Through the first door he led her and replaced the robe upon her body; 40.
Through the second door he led her and replaced the bracelets upon her hands and feet;
Through the third door he led her and replaced the gem-covered belt upon her hips;
Through the fourth door he led her and replaced the ornament upon her breast;
Through the fifth door he led her and replaced the chains upon her neck;
Through the sixth door he led her and replaced the ornaments in her ears;
Through the seventh door he led her and replaced upon her head the golden crown.” 45.
[The conjurer here addresses the brother and promises the release of his dead sister from the power of Allatu. The poem continues:]
“‘When she (Allatu) does not afford release, turn to her (to Istar) [thy face].
To Tammuz, the consort of her youth,
Pour pure water and costly balm ... [invite a priest].
Cover him with the sacrificial robe, a crystal flute may he [blow].
Let the Uhats weep with grievous [lamentations]. 50.
Let the goddess Belili break the precious utensil[27] ...
With diamonds shall be filled thy....”
[Now the spell takes effect. The spirit of the departed sister rises from Sheol:]
“Thus she heard the lamentations of her brother, the goddess Belili broke the precious utensil,
With diamonds were filled the ... [and the departed spirit said:]
‘My only brother, let me not perish, 55.
In the days of Tammuz play the crystal flute,
Play the instrument....
In those days play to me, the male mourners and the female mourners
Let them play upon instruments....
Let them breathe incense....” 60.
THE MAGNA DEA OF THE NATIONS.
THOUGH we may fairly well assume that in prehistoric ages all nations revered a Magna Mater, historical development points to the Orient as the place whence the cult of Aphrodite was imported into Greece; there it found the soil prepared by the common belief in a mother goddess, a world-creatrix, a lady divine and supreme. The Greek Aphrodite was the same as the Astarte of the Tyrians, the “great goddess” of the Syrians and the Istar of the Babylonians.
It is quite certain that the cult of this goddess-mother played a more important part in the world of primitive mankind than the cult of a God the Father, the male deity of a later age. The goddess of love and life under whatever name she may have been known, as Our Lady, the Queen of Heaven, the Mistress of the World, the holy mother genetrix of all living creatures, the Dea optima maxima or Most High Goddess, was practically the same all over the world. We may not be mistaken if we attribute the height of her worship to the age of matriarchy. In prehistoric times the Magna Dea was looked up to with awe and reverence, possibly even with a devotion more ardent than in a later period. The Ancient of Days or Jupiter, i. e., Diespiter, the father of time and light, was symbolized by the all-embracing sky and also by the sun. The Greeks called him Zeus, a name pronounced dzeus, connected with the Latin deus and dies, and Sanskrit deva, the creator and ruler of the world. The Magna Dea was the all-mother, and it is but to be expected that when the social conditions of matriarchy changed into the age of the patriarchs the reverence for an all-mother was superseded by the worship of an all-father.