Monotheism in Ancient Assyria.

Dr. Simo Parpola

In Concepts of Divinity in the Ancient World, ed. Barbara Assyriolo!ical Instit#te, $ol. %, &''', pp. %()*&'+

evlin! Porter. "ransactions of the Casco Bay

"he reli!ion of ancient Assyria is !enerally vie,ed as a classic e-ample of a polytheistic reli!ion ,ith a pantheon, mytholo!y and c#lt teemin! ,ith different !ods. % "his vie, can be easily defended and it is not my intention here to challen!e it. Instead, I shall ma.e an effort to sho, that it is a mista.e to re!ard Assyrian reli!ion as e-cl#sively, or even primarily, polytheistic. /n the contrary, belief in the e-istence of a sin!le omnipotent 0od dominated the Assyrian state reli!ion, royal ideolo!y, philosophy and mystery c#lts to the e-tent that Assyrian reli!ion in its imperial elaboration, ,ith all its polytheistic !arb, m#st be re!arded as essentially monotheistic. As ,ill be sho,n belo,, the basic e1#ation #nderlyin! the Assyrian concept of !od ,as 0od 2 3all4 the !ods. "his form#la implies a distinction bet,een a transcendent #niversal 0od 5 the s#preme !od of the empire and the only tr#e 0od 5 and his po,ers and attrib#tes, hypostati6ed as different !ods. While admittin!, and in fact, even promotin! the idea of diverse divine bein!s 3the !reat !ods4 r#lin! the physical #niverse, s#ch a concept of !od cannot be labeled as essentially polytheistic ,ith only elements of incipient monotheism or monotheistic tendencies in it, as has been done hitherto. & "he nat#re of the !reat !ods as mere po,ers and attrib#tes of 0od is repeatedly stressed in Assyrian te-ts, and their f#ndamental #nity, e-pressed in a net,or. of interloc.in! doctrines and vis#al symbols, ,as a str#ct#ral feat#re of the ,hole reli!io#s system. By no means can it be claimed either that belief in one #niversal 0od in Assyria ,as limited to a small elite !ro#p only for a short period of time and not shared by the b#l. of the pop#lation. 7 /n the contrary, as ,e shall see, it formed the very bac.bone of Assyrian imperial ideolo!y and ,as systematically propa!ated, by all possible means and over e-tended periods of time, to all se!ments of Assyrian pop#lation as ,ell as to nei!hborin! nations. "he essentially monotheistic nat#re of the Assyrian concept of !od is stron!ly implicit in the credo imposed on vassal r#lers in the S#ccession "reaty of 8sarhaddon9 In the f#t#re and forever A::#r shall be yo#r !od, and Ass#rbanipal shall be yo#r lord.; Compare the Islamic credo, "here is no !od e-cept Allah, and <#hammad is his envoy. Several considerations, not least the biblical desi!nation of =ah,eh as 8loh>m, literally, the !ods,; stron!ly s#!!est that imp#lses received from Assyria played an important role in the emer!ence and development of =ah,istic monotheism. "his li.elihood is stren!thened by a closer loo. at the Assyrian doctrines and ima!ery relatin! to the #nity of the divine po,ers, many of ,hich 3most importantly the symbolism of the menorah?"ree of @ife4 occ#py a central position in post*e-ilic =#daism and =e,ish mysticism. What is more, it can be sho,n that many centrally important Assyrian doctrines res#rface in 0nosticism, eoplatonism and Christianity, indicatin! the persistence of Assyrian ideas in the doctrinal str#ct#re of Christianity as ,ell 3see belo,, pp. %7*%)4. In order to #nderstand the monotheistic dimension of Assyrian reli!ion and the comple- doctrinal system set #p to red#ce its many !ods into A#st one, ,e m#st have a clear idea of the nat#re of its most important !ods. We shall accordin!ly be!in ,ith a presentation and disc#ssion of the s#preme

!od of Assyria and his po,ers, the !reat !ods, ,hich ,ill be considered both individ#ally and as a !ro#p. The Almighty God A::#r is #ne1#ivocally mar.ed as the s#preme !od of Assyria by his position in relation to other !ods mentioned in Assyrian te-ts. If not mentioned alone, he al,ays precedes any !od or !ods mentioned beside him.) In Assyrian royal inscriptions, letters and rit#als, treaties, and other state doc#mentsB he often heads a lon! list of !ods displayin! considerable standardi6ation in its composition and in the order of the individ#al !ods. Passa!es s#ch as A::#r and the !reat !ods, A::#r and the !ods, or A::#r, I:tar and the 3!reat4 !ods, ,here A::#r is follo,ed by a !ro#p of !ods rather than individ#al !ods,( are abbreviations for s#ch en#merations of !ods, see the chapter belo, on the !reat !ods. In s#ch lists, Assyrian !ods al,ays precede forei!n !ods. "he transcendental nat#re of A::#r is firmly established by the lo!o!raphic spellin! of his name as A .CDE, attested since the fo#rteenth cent#ry BC8, ,hich implies his e1#ation ,ith the !od An:ar 3,ritten A .CDE4 of 8nFma eli:, the Babylonian epic of creation ,hich had canonical stat#s in Assyria since the late second millenni#m. In the theo!ony of 8nFma eli:, A .CDE 3literally, the #niverse of heaven4 ,ith his spo#se GI.CDE 3literally, the #niverse of earth4 precedes the birth of An#, the !od of heaven, as ,ell as all other !ods incl#ded amon! the !reat !ods.H Born from the #nion of the #niverse of heaven ,ith the #niverse of earth, the latter m#st be #nderstood as entities materiali6ed in the physical #niverse, the #niverse of earth. A .CDE, by contrast, ,ho emer!es from nil thro#!h the pair @ahm# and @aham# denotin! binary oppositions,I has nothin! to do ,ith the limited physical #niverse, GI.CDE, a realm of dar.ness, evil, imperfection, i!norance and deathB he is its binary opposite, the infinite metaphysical #niverse of li!ht, !oodness, perfection, ,isdom and eternal life.+ As s#ch, he ,as an abstract metaphysical entity, a transcendent 0od beyond !ods, ,ho co#ld not be .no,n directly. Jis transcendence ,as not absol#te, ho,ever. Whereas in $edic Jind#ism and in ancient 8!yptian reli!ion the sin!le transcendent so#rce of the m#ltiplicity of !ods ,as defined in ne!ative terms as non*e-istence, A::#rKs definition as the #niverse of heaven made him an intermediate entity bet,een e-istence and non*e-istence, the so#rce of all manifest divine po,ers ,orshiped in the ,orld, and th#s an omnipresent, almi!hty 0od. In Assyrian imperial propa!anda, A::#r is presented not as a remote !od located o#tside this ,orld, b#t as the ma.er and soverei!n lord of the entire #niverse. Je is the lord of all lands, the .in! over the totality of heaven and earthB%' the creator of himself, the father of the !ods, ,ho !re, #p in the Abyss 3ApsL4B the .in! of heaven and earth, the lord of all the !ods, ,ho emanated 3lit., Mpo#red o#t,K :Fpi.4 the s#pernal and infernal !ods and fashioned the va#lts of heaven and earth, the ma.er of all the re!ions, ,ho lives in the Np#rOe starlit heaveNnsO.%% Je is present thro#!h his ,in!ed icon in the campai!ns of the Assyrian .in!, and is praised as the e-ceedin!ly !reat one, prince of the !ods, the omniscient, venerable, s#rpassin!, the 8nlil of the !ods, he ,ho decrees the fates... ,hose prono#ncement is feared, ,hose command is far*reachin! NandO, li.e the ,ritin! on the celestial firmament, does not miss its appointed time.%& At the same time, he is hidden to the de!ree that even a !od does not comprehend Nthe ... of hisO maAesty, the meanin! of Nhis maAestic desi!nsO is not #nderstood.%7 "his combination of transcendence and immanence ,as possible beca#se A::#r ,as present in the ,orld thro#!h his emanations, !ods, ,hile the identities of all the !ods of the ,orld conver!ed in him. Jis ,in!ed icon 3Pi!. %4 is a composite symbol reflectin! both aspects of him. "he ,in!ed dis., a symbol of the s#n, symboli6ed him as the infinite ocean of li!ht en!#lfin! the visible ,orld and radiatin! its bri!htness into it. "he divine r#ler fi!#re ,ithin the dis., ,hich displays the attrib#tes of all the !reat !ods, symboli6es him as the divine father and .in! 5 the almi!hty 0od from ,hom all the

manifest divine po,ers emanate and in ,hom they conver!e, the s#m total of all the !ods.%; At the same time, the icon also symboli6es the trinity of the divine .in!, the vol#te on its top standin! for his t,o other principal hypostases, the divine son e-alted to the ri!ht side of the father, and the mother, his Spirit, enthroned on his left 3see belo,, p. %;4. "he doctrine of A::#r as the s#m total of all the !ods is #ne1#ivocally attested since the mid*ei!hth cent#ry BC8 in the personal name 0abb#*ilani*A::#r, A::#r is all the !ods.%) /ther similar names sho, that the doctrine ,as ,idespread in Assyria thro#!ho#t the imperial period. In several personal names datin! bet,een the thirteenth and seventh cent#ries BC8, the compo#nd 0abb#*ilFni all the !ods and its abbreviation IlFni the !ods, li.e Jebre, 8loh>m 0od 3lit. the !ods4, f#nction as a sin!#lar proper name alternatin! ,ith A::#r and Il# 0od in identical conte-ts.%( ames li.e Ilani* aha*iddina 0od 3lit. the !ods4 !ave 3s!.4 a brother 3%7th cent.4, to be compared ,ith the ,ell*.no,n royal name A::#r*aha*iddina 38sarhaddon4, imply that the m#ltiplicity of !ods venerated in Assyria ,as conceived as a sin!le deity already in the early imperial period. "he etymolo!y and ori!inal meanin! of A::#r are #n.no,n, b#t it can be ta.en as certain that the name ,as in scholarly circles interpreted as the only 0od. "he c#neiform si!n AC #sed in the most common spellin! of the name, da:*:#r, did not normally have the phonetic val#e ?a:? in Assyrian scriptB its most common lo!o!raphic readin!s ,ere one and sin!le, onlyB in scholarly te-ts, it co#ld also mean mystery. By ta.in! the divine determinative 3d4 precedin! the name in its lo!o!raphic meanin! 3!od4, the spellin!, ,hich ,as fre1#ently abbreviated to da:, co#ld th#s be analy6ed not only as "he /nly 0od b#t also as 0od is /ne and "he Jidden 0od. Another common spellin! of the name, da*:#r, co#ld be correspondin!ly analy6ed as Plashin! Water, a reference to the !od as the ocean of li!ht.%H The Great Gods "he polytheistic notion of Assyrian reli!ion basically resides in the !reat !ods appearin! in Assyrian te-ts both as a !ro#p accompanyin! A::#r and individ#ally as seemin!ly independent !ods. It ,ill be sho,n belo, that this notion of independence is lar!ely ill#sory. "he !reat !ods formed an or!ani6ed system of hypostati6ed divine po,ers comparable to the !nostic pleroma and the Sefirot of =e,ish mysticism. @i.e the names of Allah, each of them represented an aspect or limb of the invisible 0odB to!ether, they constit#ted his manifest body. "he individ#ali6ed !ro#ps of !reat !ods appearin! beside A::#r display considerable variation both as re!ards the n#mber of !ods en#merated and their identity and order of en#meration. Some lists are very lon!, consistin! of #p to &' !ods, others are m#ch shorter, & to ) !ods onlyB some end ,ith I:tar and other !oddesses, in others these are inserted in the middle of other !ods.%I evertheless, all the lists display a stable n#cle#s of deities present in most if not all en#merations, as ,ell as a definite divine hierarchy reflectin! the second*millenni#m BC8 !od list An 2 An#m, ,hich presents the entire <esopotamian pantheon as an e-tended royal family startin! ,ith the divine .in!, An#. All variations in the order of the !ods can be e-plained as different paths thro#!h the !enealo!ical tree 3see belo,, p. H4. An Assyrian prophetic oracle refers to si-ty !reat !ods attendin! to the .in! at his birth.%+ "his passa!e has to be #nderstood in the li!ht of the mystic n#mber of An# 3see pp. ; and H4, ,hich as /ne and Si-ty comprised all the !reat !ods, ma.in! them one ,hile at the same time retainin! their pl#rality. Si-ty as the n#mber of the !reat !ods ,ill have been reached easily, for each !od had several alternative namesB conversely, many divine names ,ere A#st alternative desi!nations of the same !od. All female deities ,ere identified ,ith I:tar as names of her different aspectsB <ard#. had fifty names 3incl#din! other !reat !ods4B there ,ere seven er!als, seven in#rtas, and so on.&'

THE INDIVIDUAL G D! ine !reat !ods fi!#re in Assyrian te-ts as seemin!ly independent entities !enerally not identified ,ith one another. <ost of them, especially An#, S>n, I:tar, <ard#. and in#rta? abL, are, ho,ever, occasionally represented as incl#din! all the others or f#sin! ,ith other !ods. /n the basis of their attrib#tes and descriptions fo#nd in s#ndry reli!io#s te-ts 3myths, prayers, esoteric commentaries, etc.4, their personal profiles can be briefly s.etched as follo,s9&% %. An#9 the !od of heaven, the first one, the heavenly father, the !reatest one in heaven and earth, the one ,ho contains the entire #niverse, the .in! of the !ods, the father?pro!enitor of the 3!reat4 !ods, creator of everythin!. Je ,as the reflection of his father An:ar 32 A::#r4, ,ith ,hom he ,as identified. A personification of the imm#table heaven, his ,ord in the assembly of !ods ,as final. "he symbol of his a#thority ,as the cro,n, ,hich he had conferred #pon the Assyrian .in!, A#st as he had ceded the divine .in!ship to his !randson, <ard#., the establisher and maintainer of the present ,orld order. "hro#!h his mystic n#mber % 32 ('4, he ,as associated not only ,ith the crescent b#t also ,ith the f#ll moon9 %) times ; is (' 32 %4B % is An#B he called the Mfr#itK Ni.e., the f#ll moonO.&& &. 8a9 the lord of ,isdom?secrets, the sa!e?.in! of ,isdom, the sa!e of the !ods?of the #niverse, s#rpassin!ly?e-ceedin!ly ,ise, omniscient, .no,er of in!enio#s thin!sB the father of the 3!reat4 !ods, the creator of everythin!?all man.ind?created thin!sB the lord?.in! of the s#bterranean ,aters, the .in!?prince of ApsL 32 the ocean of !nosis4,&7 the !reat li!ht of ApsL, the lord of the ,aters of life. 8a had t,o n#mbers, ;' and (', derived from the & 9 7 ratio bet,een the len!th of day and ni!ht at the ,inter solstice.&; "he latter made him the mirror ima!e of his father An# and the personification of the ni!ht s.y, the former mer!ed him ,ith his !randson in#rta 3see belo,4. 7. S>n9 the moon !od, fr#it 3enb#4 !ivin! birth to itself, birth*!ivin! father, father of the !reat !ods, procreator of allB ma.er of decision3s4, A#!de of the #niverseB A#dicio#s, tho#!htf#l, circ#mspect, pr#dentB An# of the s.y ,hose co#nsel nobody perceives, ,hose profo#nd heart no !od can fathom, ,hose mind no !od .no,sB ,ise, .no,er of secrets, sa!e of the !odsB the p#re !od, li!ht of the !ods, li!ht of the #pper and lo,er ,orlds. S>n ,as, li.e 8a, the son of An#B by virt#e of An#Ks identification ,ith 8nlil as the s#preme a#thority, he ,as also called the son of 8nlil. ;. Cama:9 the s#n !od, the divine A#d!e par e-cellence, the lord of A#d!ment, .in!?lord of A#stice?ri!hteo#sness, the lord of A#stice and ri!ht, the !reat A#d!e of the !reat !ods, the A#d!e of the heaven and earth?#pper and lo,er ,orlds. Conceived of as destroyer?slayer of the ,ic.ed and the enemy, his standard epithets ,ere stron! man 3eFl#4 and hero 31#rFd#4. Je ,as the son of S>n and the brother of I:tarB his n#mber ,as &', ,hich in the first millenni#m also served as a lo!o!ram for the .in! as the s#n of the people. ). <ard#.9 the son of 8a, e-alted to the .in!ship of !ods as the of slayer of the forces of chaos and the establisher of cosmic order9 the lord of lordsB the e-alted lord of !ods, lord of the !ods of heaven and earth, .in! of the !odsB the or!ani6er of the re!ions, the or!ani6er of all the !ods, the or!ani6er?fo#nder of the assembly of the !odsB the leader of the !ods?man.ind. <ard#. ,as the brother of I:tar, b#t the polar opposite of her other brother, Cama:9 mercif#l and for!ivin!, the mercif#l !od?father?lord, the mercif#l one ,ith for!ivin! heart, mercif#l to man.ind, he ,ho for!ave the !ods. Jis standard epithet ,as the !reat lordB his n#mber ,as )', inherited from 8nlil, the head of the S#merian pantheon. (. I:tar9 the lady?!oddess of bea#ty and loveB the lady of love, the lovin! one, the one ,ho loves all man.ind. She ,as the da#!hter of An#, 8a, and S>n 3moon4, and the sister of Cama: and <ard#., bea#tif#l to a s#perlative de!ree. Jer standin! epithets ,ere p#re?holy and vir!in. In Assyrian

icono!raphy, her most common symbolic representation ,as the ei!ht*pointed starB she is often depicted as a female fi!#re s#rro#nded by intense radiance. I:tar embodied in herself all <esopotamian !oddesses and had an e-tremely comple- mytholo!ical fi!#re, ,hich has been characteri6ed as a parado- and a coincidence of opposites. /n the one hand, she ,as the 1#een?mistress of heaven 3and earth?and the stars4, the 1#een of 1#eens, the lady of ladies, the !oddess of the !ods, ,ho holds all the po,ersB the creatress of the !ods?all man.ind, the mother of men, mother of those ,ho !ive birth, mid,ifeB the mercif#l !oddess?motherB the veiled bride, ,ise, .no,led!eable. /n the other hand, she also ,as the prostit#te, the ,hore, the ra!in! del#!e, the lady?!oddess of battle?strife and ,ar. H. in#rta? abL, the mi!hty son of 8nlil?<ard#., the heavenly cro,n prince and e-alted savior9 the .iller of An6L 3the personification of sin4, the ,arrior ,ho achieved victory for 8nlil, the victor ,ho threshes the foe b#t ma.es the ri!hteo#s stand, ,hose stren!th is e-alted. In a eo*Assyrian prayer, both abL and in#rta are presented as po,ers of <ard#., the former as his victory, the latter as his pro,ess. "he standard epithet of in#rta is lord, a title ,hich he shares ,ith his fatherB he is also called the arro, and the ,eapon. After his tri#mph over An6L, he becomes the lord of the styl#s, the .eeper of the 3life*!ivin!4 ,ritin!* board, the holder of the styl#s of fates, ,ho presents the tablet of sins to <ard#. on the day of the settlin! of acco#ntsB his loo.s are chan!edB his eyes flame li.e fire, his N!armentsO !lo, li.e sno,B castin! n#mino#s splendor and silence over !od and man, he ret#rns in his tri#mphal chariot to his father, ,ho reAoices in him, blesses him, and ma!nifies his .in!ship. Je no, mer!es ,ith his father9 in a eo*Assyrian hymn !lorifyin! in#rta, his body is described as encompassin! the ,hole #niverse, ,ith different !ods, incl#din! his fathers <ard#. and 8nlil, presented as his limbs, his face bein! the s#n, etc.&) Jis n#mber ,as ;', b#t in line ,ith his ma!nification, his name co#ld occasionally be spelled ,ith the vertical ,ed!e, /ne and Si-ty, the n#mber of An#. I. Adad, the !od of th#nder9 !lorio#s, splendid, pro#d, mi!htyB the lord?.in! of oracles?decisions, a#!#st A#d!e. As the voice of NA::#rKsO maAesty, he ,as the oracle !od, divine herald and p#nisher in the same person, anno#ncin!, by his roar, divine A#d!ments and decisions to man.ind and hittin! by his li!htnin! the obstinate and the ,ic.ed. Jis n#mber ,as %', ,hich he shared ,ith 0irr# Pire, <adan# $erdict, and #s.#, the !od of a,a.enin! and vi!ilance. "hro#!h his e1#ation ,ith 0irr# and the association of heaven ,ith fire, he ,as the son of An#. +. er!al, the lord?.in! of the earth, to ,hom 8nlil NhisO father entr#sted the man.ind, all livin! creat#res, the cattle of Ca..an, and the herds of ,ild animals, a personification of se-#al potency and manKs animal insticts9 the po,er of the earth, the stron!est?most potent?po,erf#l of !ods, the lord of po,er and stren!thB a bea#tif#l, !ood*loo.in! tempter, fo-, .in! of tric.s, c#nnin! in tric.s. Je ,as the son of the mother !oddess Belet*ili and An#. Jis n#mber ,as %;, symboli6in! the ascent and descent thro#!h the seven !ates of the nether,orld.

THE G D! A!

""I#IAL!

"ho#!h individ#ally 1#ite different, the !reat !ods, ,hen considered to!ether, display a n#mber of common feat#res and similarities ,hich lin. them ti!htly to!ether as a ,ell*or!ani6ed, homo!eneo#s !ro#p. 8ach of them had a definite f#nction or office?offices 3parF#4 in the divine ,orld associated ,ith specific abstract 1#alities or po,ers9 An# 2 a#thorityB 8a 2 ,isdom and .no,led!eB S>n 2 p#rity and

pr#denceB <ard#. 2 creativity and mercyB Cama: 2 A#stice and ri!hteo#snessB I:tar 2 love and bea#tyB er!al 2 destr#ctive?se-#al po,er, etc. "hey share many epithets and attrib#tes, and their f#nctions ,ere interconnected and, to some e-tent, overlappin!9 S>n, Cama: and Adad, often listed to!ether in this order, ,ere all A#d!es representin! different aspects and de!rees of A#rispr#dence and A#risdiction 3dFn# and p#r#ssL4B 8a, <ard#. and abL, also often listed in this se1#ence, ,ere all .in!s 3or .in!s* to*be4 embodyin! different aspects of ,isdom and creativity. "heir basic f#nctions ,ere, ho,ever, #ni1#e to each !od9 8a, and nobody else, ,as the !od of ,isdomB I:tar, and nobody else, ,as the !oddess of love, etc. THE G D! A! A # UN#IL All in all, the f#nctions of the !reat !ods remar.ably parallel those of the royal ma!nates 3rabLti, lit., !reat men4, ,ho, alon! ,ith the .in!, formed the Assyrian royal co#ncil.&( "his overlap is not accidental, for the !reat !ods constit#ted the divine co#ncil 3p#F#r ilFni NrabLtiO, lit., the assembly of the N!reatO !ods4 r#lin! and directin! the #niverse. =#st as the Assyrian .in! ,as the representative of A::#r #pon earth, so ,as the Assyrian royal co#ncil the earthly co#nterpart of the divine assembly, each of its members bein! the ima!e of a partic#lar !reat !od. "he earthly !overnment th#s ,as, as it ,ere, a mirror ima!e of the heavenly one. As r#lers of the #niverse, the !reat !ods ,ere similar in role and f#nction to the !nostic archons 3lit., r#lers4, ,ho ,ere in t#rn essentially e1#ivalents of the =e,ish and Christian archan!els 3see A#st belo,4. Seven of the !reat !ods ,ere associated ,ith the seven classical planets9 S>n and Cama: ,ith the moon and the s#n, <ard#. ,ith =#piter, I:tar ,ith $en#s, abL ,ith <erc#ry, Adad ,ith Sat#rn, and er!al ,ith <ars. "he remainin! t,o 3An# and 8a4 ,ere respectively associated ,ith heaven and the Abyss 3ApsL4, the transcendental ocean of ,isdom?.no,led!e. "he seven planetary !ods are in many ,ays e1#ivalent to the seven archan!els of =e,ish and Christian traditionsB they play an active role in mytholo!y and had important martial and?or p#nitive f#nctions comparable to those of the dreaded Pleiades 3Sebetti4, the heroic Jeptad. An#, and 8a, by contrast, ,ere maAestic po,ers hidden in the depths of their cosmic abodesB they formed a pair, 8a bein! the li.eness of An#, the head of the assembly. All this mirrors the distrib#tion of roles ,ithin the Assyrian royal co#ncil. "he minister closest to the .in!, the scholar, an ima!e of the !od of ,isdom, appears beside the .in! in .in! lists b#t never partoo. in military operations, ,hile the other seven ministers had e-tensive military and?or p#nitive responsibilities as commanders of imperial rapid deployment cavalry #nits. In Assyrian ideolo!ical parlance, the actions of the ministers often totally mer!e ,ith those of the !reat !ods. In royal annals, p#nitive actions a!ainst perA#red vassals are e-plicitly ascribed to the !reat !ods, ,hile in letters and treaties, the ministers are collectively referred to as the iron s,ord of A::#r. In this role they are stri.in!ly reminiscent of the seven p#nitive an!els described in the apocalypse of =ohn. THE G D! A! A "AMIL$ All the !reat !ods ,ere related by birth. "hey all descended from An#, the father of the !reat !ods, ,ho himself ,as a son of A::#r by reflection. "he !enealo!ical relationships of the !ods reveal a three*tiered !eneration hierarchy oriented aro#nd the !oddess I:tar, ,ho ,as .no,n as the convener of the assembly and ,as 3#nder different names4 married to all the !reat !ods. "hree of the !ods 5 An#, 8a and S>n 5 ,ere her fathers, t,o 5 Cama: and <ard#. 5 her brothers, and three 5 abL, Adad and er!al 5 ,ere her sons. "he t,o f#nctionally related !ro#ps of male !ods 38a, <ard#. and abLB S>n, Cama: and Adad4 ,ere both direct father*son linea!es startin! ,ith 8a and S>n respectively9 8a ,as the father of <ard#. ,ho ,as the father of abL, ,hile S>n ,as the father of Cama: ,ho ,as the father of Adad.&H Since An#, on the other hand, ,as the father of both 8a and S>n, the first !eneration incl#ded t,o s#b*!rades, ,ith An#, the father and .in! of all the !ods, alone occ#pyin! the first ran..

"he !enealo!ical tree of the !reat !ods can accordin!ly be plotted as follo,s 38a appears on the ri!ht side as An#Ks eldest sonB er!al appears #nder I:tar as the fr#it of her #nion ,ith An#, and belo, Adad and abL as the yo#n!est of the !reat !ods49 An# 0eneration % S>n Q 8a RQ? RQ? 0eneration & Cama:555I:tar555<ard#. ?QR ?QR 0eneration 7 Adad Q abL er!al THE G D! A! NUM%E&! Prom the thirteenth cent#ry on, every !reat !od ,as identified ,ith a n#mber or n#mbers. Some of these ,ere traditional and can be easily e-plained9 the n#mber of S>n, the moon !od 37'4, for e-ample, already occ#rs in third millenni#m te-ts and is clearly derived from the ideal len!th of the l#nar month 37' days4. /thers, li.e the n#mbers of I:tar 3%)4 and Adad 3%'4, are not attested before the %7th cent#ry and their ori!in is not readily apparent. Prom abo#t %7'' thro#!h ('' BC8 they ,ere 3,ith or ,itho#t the divine determinative4 commonly #sed for ,ritin! the names of the !reat !ods in Assyrian theophoric personal names. "he relevant n#mbers are9 An# 2 %, 8a 2 (', <ard#. 2 )', abL 2 ;', S>n 2 7', Cama: 2 &', Adad 2 %', I:tar 2 %), and er!al 2 %;. "he divine n#mbers add a ne, dimension to the nat#re of the !reat !ods. As n#mbers, they can no lon!er be re!arded merely as anthropomorphic members of a h#manly or!ani6ed celestial !overnmentB rather, they no, emer!e as p#rely abstract entities 3cf. p. 7 above4 derived from a sin!le ori!in, the se-a!esimal base n#mber %. S#ch a notion of !ods seems to #nderlie the ,ell*.no,n theo!ony of 8nFma eli:, ,here ,e are told that A::#r reflected 3#ma::il4 An# as his son, ,ho in t#rn !enerated 8a as his o,n li.eness 3tam:Fl#4. "he pec#liar phrasin! of the passa!e is e-plained by the fact the n#mbers of An# 3%4 and 8a 3('4 ,ere both ,ritten ,ith the same c#neiform si!n, the vertical ,ed!e DIC, meanin! one 3dependin! on the conte-t, also si-ty4, ,hile A::#r ,as ,ritten ,ith the hori6ontal ,ed!e AC, meanin! sin!le, only 3dependin! on the conte-t, also one4.&I "he Pytha!orean #nderstandin! of the !ods as n#mbers 3and vice versa4 s#rfaces partic#larly clearly in late second and early first millenni#m esoteric and scholarly te-ts, e.!. in the cosmo*theolo!ical treatise I. A< 0IC.JSE A .GI.A, ,here all the !reat !ods are e-plained as aspects of the moon by associatin! their n#mbers, thro#!h mathematical operations, ,ith different days of the l#nar month.&+ S#bstit#tin! the names of !ods in the !enealo!ical tree ,ith the correspondin! divine n#mbers res#lts in the follo,in! confi!#ration9 % 7' (' &' %) )' %' ;' %; Eemar.ably, the res#ltin! distrib#tion of n#mbers clearly is not at all hapha6ard b#t ma.es #p a meanin!f#l pattern closely mirrorin! the !enealo!ical hierarchy and f#nctional interrelationships of the !ods. "he ri!ht and left hand col#mns, ,hich correspond to the t,o male lines of !ods, contain only f#ll tens, neatly arran!ed in a descendin! a!e order. "he n#mbers of An# and er!al at the top and bottom of the middle col#mn, ,hen added #p, yield the n#mber of I:tar in the middle. "he li.elihood that s#ch a distrib#tion co#ld res#lt by accident is virt#ally nil. It accordin!ly seems that the f#lly

developed system of divine n#mbers emer!ed from a desire to e-press the !enealo!ical relationships of the !reat !ods n#merically, b#ildin! on the theo!ony of 8nFma eli:. "he system ,as b#ilt #p #sin! the available traditional n#mbers, b#t ne, n#mbers 3li.e those of Cama:, I:tar, Adad and er!al4 ,ere added in order to obtain the desired n#merical patterns. A closer st#dy of the n#merical tree reveals that considerations of harmony and balance also played a role in its plannin!. "he n#mbers of the middle col#mn, ,hen added #p, yield 7', the median n#mber of the se-a!esimal system, ,hich bea#tif#lly a!rees ,ith the position of the col#mn bet,een the t,o ro,s of symmetrically decreasin! tens to the ri!ht and left. At first si!ht, the left and ri!ht col#mns seem to #pset the n#merical balance of the tree, the n#mbers on the left bein! consistently smaller than those on the ri!ht. Jo,ever, ta.in! the left*hand n#mbers as ne!ative, each pair of opposite tens yields the same n#mber of balance 37'4 as the middle col#mn9 (' 5 7' 2 7', )' 5 &' 2 7', ;' 5 %' 2 7'T "he ri!ht and left branches of the tree th#s balance o#t each other. "he s#m of the branches and the tr#n. 3; - 7' 2 %&'4 added to the total of the individ#al n#mbers 3% U %' U %; U %) U &' U 7' U ;' U )' U (' 2 &;'4 yields 7(', a si!nificant n#mber in Assyrian royal ideolo!y.7' THE G D! A! A % D$ In s#m, ,e see that ,hile each of the !reat !ods had a definite identity e-pressed in terms of partic#lar f#nctions, family relationships and n#merical val#es, this identity had a meanin! only ,ith reference to a lar!er str#ct#re of ,hich the !ods formed a part, be it the celestial co#ncil, the divine family, or the n#merical tree. All these interrelated str#ct#res share the same three*!raded hierarchical pattern, ,hich served as a basis for determinin! the individ#al f#nctions, relationships and n#mber val#es of the !ods. In other ,ords, the !reat !ods had no independent e-istence on their o,nB li.e parts of the h#man body, they represented m#t#ally complementary, interdependent parts of a lar!er ,hole, the divine co#ncil, ,hich in its actions and resol#tions f#nctioned li.e a sin!le body. As a matter of fact, in its three*!raded symmetrical str#ct#re, the hierarchy of the !reat !ods displays a definite affinity to the h#man body. Bearin! in mind that An#Ks basic symbol ,as cro,n, and that ,isdom 32 8a4 and #nderstandin! 32 S>n4 ,ere in <esopotamia synonymo#s ,ith ear 3#6n#?FasF s#4, the topmost triad of !ods can be vis#ali6ed as a head ,ith a cro,n on top and t,o symmetrical ears to the ri!ht and left. Similarly, the middle and lo,ermost triads of !ods can be associated ,ith the middle and lo,er parts of the body, the heart and the t,o arms correspondin! to I:tar 3love4, <ard#. 3creation?mercy4 and Cama: 3A#d!ment4 and the t,o feet and the penis to abL, Adad and er!al respectively. By the same to.en, the divine hierarchy can be said to reflect the str#ct#re of the h#man so#l, An#, 8a and S>n representin! manKs intellect#al po,ers, I:tar, <ard#. and Cama: his moral and ethical po,ers, and Adad, abL and er!al the basic instincts of man.7% THE G D! A! A T&EE "he three*tiered symmetrical hierarchy of the !reat !ods finds a !raphic co#nterpart in a central motif of Assyrian imperial art, the so*called sacred tree, ,hich in its distinctively Assyrian form ma.es its appearance at abo#t the same time 3early thirteenth cent#ry BC84 as the f#lly developed system of divine n#mbers 3Pi!. &4.7& In its simplest form, the motif consists of a styli6ed palm tree standin! on a mo#ntain and s#rro#nded by a mesh of lines and a !arland of palmettes, pome!ranates or pine* cones. In more elaborate renditions, the tree has nodes in the top, middle and base of the tr#n., and t,o symmetrical series of small circles to the ri!ht and left of the nodes, recallin! the t,o series of tens to the ri!ht and left side of the n#merical tree. 8ven the most schematic e-amples are e-ec#ted ,ith the same metic#lo#s attention to harmony and a-ial balance that characteri6es the n#merical tree. "he mo#ntain base of the tree corresponds to the position of er!al 3the nether,orld !od4 in the !enealo!ical tree and accords ,ith the nether,orld connotations of the <esopotamian ,ords for

mo#ntain 3.#r?:adL, h#rsa!?F#r:Fn#4. "he palmette cro,n, ,hich in some variants is replaced by a styli6ed rainbo, or a s#nflo,er,77 corresponds to An#, the !od of heaven, and can be ta.en as a rendition of An#Ks basic symbol, the cro,n.7; "he node in the middle of the tr#n. corresponds to the central position of I:tar in the divine hierarchy and symboli6es her role as the convener of the assembly 3see above, p. (4. "he series of circles to the ri!ht and left of the tr#n. correspond to the t,o male lines of the !reat !ods.7) "he pome!ranates and pine*cones s#rro#ndin! the tree 3,ith their many seeds4 symboli6e the #ltimate #nity of the !ods,7( ,hile the lines connectin! them can be ta.en to symboli6e their interdependence and or!anic interaction. THE ANTH& ' M &'HI# T&EE "he sacred tree can th#s be vie,ed as a !raphic representation of the divine co#ncil intended to emphasi6e its nat#re as an or!anic ,hole, a sin!le body. "his interpretation is s#pported by a #ni1#e relief from the temple of A::#r in Ass#r 3Pi!. 74 sho,in! the tree as a frontally depicted cro,ned man, ,ith prominent symmetrical ears, hands symmetrically crossed over the heart, and the lo,er body mer!in! ,ith a mo#ntain 3cf. above4.7H Geepin! in mind the identification of the individ#al !reat !ods ,ith planets, heaven and the Abyss 3p. ( above4, this tree*man t#rns o#t be a metaphysical str#ct#re encompassin! ,ithin itself the entire #niverse 5 a !i!antic cosmic man. "he idea of the cosmic man certainly played an important role in Assyrian reli!ion and imperial ideolo!y. Prom the earliest times on <esopotamian .in!s had been portrayed as livin! personifications of the cosmic tree. An early third*millenni#m prec#rsor of the Assyrian anthropomorphic tree depicts a r#ler of Sr#. as an embodiment of the treeB7I early dynastic S#merian .in!s bore names identifyin! them as treesB7+ C#l!i and other .in!s of the Sr III dynasty ,ere referred to as trees planted at ab#ndant ,aters.;' In the eo*Assyrian empire the association of the .in! ,ith the sacred tree is implicit in the sc#lpt#res of the palace of Ash#rnasirpal II, ,here the .in! occasionally ta.es the place of the tree bet,een the ,in!ed !enies in the so*called fertili6ation sceneB in the famo#s throneroom relief, the .in! seated on the throne in front of the relief act#ally physically mer!es ,ith the tree.;% 81#ation ,ith the tree ,as a si!n of perfection9 0il!amesh, the perfect .in!, ,as a man ,ho 5 accordin! to the Assyrian spellin! of his name 5 e1#alled the tree of balance.;& The (ing as a Tree "he e1#ation of the .in! ,ith the tree had important doctrinal conse1#ences. In the first place, it identified him ,ith the cosmic man and th#s implied that he ,as the h#man incarnation of the almi!hty 0od, A::#r. As a personification of the tree he ,as, li.e Pa#lKs Christ, the ima!e of the invisible 0od ... "he ,hole #niverse has been created for him and thro#!h him. And he e-ists before everythin!, and all thin!s are held to!ether in him 3Col. %9%)*%H4. As I ,ill ar!#e belo,, the similarity bet,een the Assyrian ideal .in! and Pa#lKs Christ is not fort#ito#s, since there is a stron! li.elihood that early Christian tho#!ht ,as infl#enced at many points by Assyrian theolo!ical conceptions lon! familiar in ,hat later became centers of Christian ,orship in Syria and Palestine, areas that had been part of the Assyrian empire and its s#ccessors for cent#ries. "he cosmic dimension of the .in! is reflected in his ceremonial dress st#dded all over ,ith !olden stars and embroidered ,ith representations of the sacred tree.;7 Secondly, the str#ct#re of the tree t#rned the entire royal co#ncil, incl#din! the .in! himself, into a corporate body of the metaphysical perfect .in!. =#st as the individ#al !reat !ods ,ere limbs and parts of the manifest body of 0od 3the cosmic man4, so the individ#al ministers, as ima!es of the !reat !ods, became limbs and or!ans of the .in!, ,ho #nited all the divine po,ers in his metaphysical str#ct#re. "h#s, from the ideolo!ical point of vie,, the actions of the individ#al ministers became indistin!#ishable from those of the .in!9 everythin! they did as limbs and po,ers of the .in! ,as in the last analysis done by the .in!.;; "he .in! himself participated in the co#ncil as its

head. It is important to .eep in mind, ho,ever, that li.e An# 3the .in! of !ods and the head of the divine co#ncil4, he also incl#ded the entire co#ncil ,ithin himself. Je th#s ,as, li.e 0od, at the same time both one and many. "hirdly, and most importantly, by virt#e of his metaphysical constit#tion, the identities of all the !reat !ods conver!ed in the person of the .in!. Je ,as all of them in one person, actin!, as it ,ere, the role of any of them ,henever appropriate. $ie,ed from this perspective, the individ#al !reat !ods cease to e-ist as independent divine entities and emer!e as mere aspects of the .in! in his role as the perfect man.;) "he .in!Ks cons#bstantiality ,ith 0od, implicit in his identification ,ith the tree, constit#ted an article of faith of central importance to Assyrian reli!ion and imperial ideolo!y. As a perfect man, the .in! ,as not only 0od in h#man form,;( ,hose !overnment represented the .in!dom of heaven #pon earthB;H he ,as the very cornerstone of manKs salvation. As ,e shall see, he ,as presented in Assyrian ideolo!y as a child of 0od 5 in this case represented by the !oddess I:tar, the mother aspect of A::#r, rather than A::#r himself 5 and his appointed role ,as that of the !ood shepherd leadin! h#mans to the ri!ht path as servants of 0od. "his role of the .in!, ,hich bears a stri.in! resemblance to the Christian conception of Christ as Son of 0od sent for the redemption of man.ind, ,as elaborated in a system of interloc.in! myths, vis#al symbols and mental ima!es, and propa!ated thro#!ho#t the empire by all possible means. "he relevant ima!ery and the #nderlyin! compledoctrinal system, ,hich involved a sophisticated theory of the so#l, are f#ndamental to the #nderstandin! of Assyrian reli!ion and m#st therefore be considered here in detail.

The Holy !)irit In Assyrian royal inscriptions and prophetic oracles, the .in! is presented as the son of the !oddess <#lliss#?I:tar. Born of a h#man mother b#t created by the !oddess, he ,as a semi*divine bein! partly man, partly !od. In an oracle the !oddess declares9 I am yo#r father and motherB I raised yo# bet,een my ,in!s. "he mother*child relationship bet,een the !oddess and the .in! is elaborated in the oracles by portrayin! the .in! as a baby s#c.led, comforted, tended, carried, reared and protected by the !oddess, ,ho no, appears as his mother, no, as his mid,ife, ,et n#rse, or n#rse, and tenderly calls him my calf or my .in!, ,hile she fiercely attac.s his enemies.;I "his ima!ery is also enco#ntered in biblical prophecy, ,here it serves to describe 0odKs love for Israel, his chosen one. It has an important vis#al co#nterpart in a #bi1#ito#s motif of the Ancient ear 8astern arts, the so*called co, and calf motif sho,in! a co, lic.in! its s#c.lin! calf, often in association ,ith the sacred tree 3Pi!. ;4. "he interpretation of the motif is p#t beyond do#bt by 8!yptian te-t#al evidence, ,hich confirms that the calf*s#c.lin! co, represents Jathor 3the mother of Jor#s and the ,et n#rse of pharaoh4, the 8!yptian co#nterpart of <#lliss#B its ideolo!ical si!nificance is confirmed by its prominence amon! the royal ivories of imr#d and Samaria.;+ "he motif still s#rvives in Christianity in its t,o variants, e,e and lamb and mother and child, both symboli6in! Christ as 0odKs beloved son, cf. the #bi1#ito#s madonna and child motif as ,ell as the @amb of 0od of =ohn %97H, etc.)' <#lliss#, the divine mother of the .in!, ,as an aspect of I:tar, the !oddess of love. In Assyria, she denoted I:tar specifically as the 1#een of heaven9 she ,as the consort of A::#r, the creatress of the !ods and of the #niverse, ,hose holiness and l#minosity are constantly stressed in the te-ts9 She is !lorio#s, most !lorio#s, the p#rest of the !oddessesT ... @i.e A::#r, she ,ears a beard and is clothed ,ith brilliance. "he cro,n on her head !leams li.e the starsB the s#n dis.s on her breasts shine li.e the s#n.)% In Assyrian royal inscriptions she bears the epithet ,ild co,, ,hich not only connects her ,ith ins#n the Wild Co,, the mother of 0il!amesh, the perfect .in!, and ,ith the calf*lic.in! co, of

contemporary vis#al arts,)& b#t also associates her 3thro#!h the horns of the co,4 ,ith the moon, and th#s identifies her ,ith the s#pernal aspect of I:tar, the Da#!hter of the moon or I:tar of Wisdom 3see p. )4. Jer most prominent role in real life ,as that of an orac#lar deity9 she ,as the voice spea.in! thro#!h the prophets, the ,ords emanatin! from their mo#ths.)7 "hese characteristics of <#lliss# sho, that she corresponds in all essential respects to the !nostic Joly Spirit, ,ho is defined, amon! other thin!s, as the female aspect and consort of the Pather, the <other of the Sniverse, ,hom some call @ove, the andro!yno#s <other*Pather, a male $ir!in by virt#e of a hidden Intellect, and the ineffable Word, a $oice, ,ho !rad#ally p#t forth the All.); In the a! Jammadi treatise "rimorphic Protennoia, the Spirit, introd#cin! herself as the primordial tho#!ht of the Pather, becomes flesh and reveals herself in the ,orld as the Christ, the Perfect Son, th#s playin! the role of the @o!os of =ohn %.)) "he !nostic Joly Spirit, and hence, indirectly, <#lliss#, is th#s ,itho#t any 1#estion the prototype of the Christian Joly Spirit, ,hose role in the immac#late conception of Christ parallels the role of <#lliss# in the mirac#lo#s transformation of the Assyrian .in! into the son of 0od in his motherKs ,omb.)( Eeco!ni6in! in <#lliss# the prec#rsor of the Joly Spirit provides a .ey to the manifold and seemin!ly contradictory fi!#re of the !oddess I:tar, ,hich combines the ima!e of the madonna ,ith that of the prostit#te9 she is the spirit of 0od ,hich pervades the entire #niverse and is at the same time present in both !od and man.)H Jer representation as a node in the middle of the tr#n. of the sacred tree 3the heart of the cosmic man4 symboli6es her as a po,er connectin! heaven and earth and brid!in! the !#lf bet,een !od and man. Jer n#mber 3%)4, the s#m of the n#mbers of An#?heaven 3%4 and er!al?nether,orld 3%;4, corresponds to her nat#re as a t,o*faced entity participatin! in t,o opposite ,orlds, reflected in her parado-ical mytholo!ical fi!#re. In the myth of IshtarKs Descent to the ether,orld, the penetration of the !oddess into the material ,orld is presented alle!orically by means of a strippin! metaphor resemblin! the eoplatonic doctrine of the !rad#al ,ea.enin! of the cosmic so#l, the farther it !ets from its transcendent ori!in, the /ne.)I Sp in heaven, before her descent, I:tar is the 1#een of heaven, the p#re, chaste and pr#dent da#!hter of the moon, dressed in her re!al attire. At each of the seven !ates of the nether,orld, she loses one piece of her clothin! and Ae,elry, #ntil she finally arrives in the nether,orld completely na.ed, stripped of all her virt#es and po,ers, falls sic. and dies. Eevived and resc#ed by the !race of her heavenly father, she is the penitent so#l ,hose ret#rn to heaven mirrors her defilement9 at each !ate of the nether,orld she !ets bac. one piece of her clothin! in reverse order of its removal. "he f#ll moon ,ith its immac#late, shinin! dis. symboli6ed I:tar as the 1#een of heaven, as indicated by her n#mber, %), coincidin! ,ith the ideal f#ll moon day, the dar.enin! of the l#nar dis. bein! interpreted in terms of poll#tion and sin. Accordin!ly, the pro!ressive loss of p#rity of the ,anin! moon symboli6ed the !rad#al defilement, or descent, of the !oddessB its total disappearance, spirit#al deathB and the !rad#al increase of p#rity after the conA#nction, ascent and ret#rn to the ori!inal state of perfection.)+ THE G D! A! GA&MENT! " I*TA&

"he order in ,hich I:tar is stripped of her !arments reflects the str#ct#re of the sacred tree. At 0ate I, she loses her cro,nB at 0ate II, her earrin!sB at 0ate III, her nec.laceB at 0ate I$, her pectoralsB at 0ate $, her !irdleB at 0ate $I, her ban!lesB and at 0ate $II, her loincloth. ote the pro!ression from top to bottom and the alternation of sin!le and paired pieces of clothin!. "he cro,n corresponds to the palmette cro,n of the tree, the nec.lace, !irdle and loincloth to the three nodes of its tr#n., and the earrin!s, pectorals and ban!les to the circles s#rro#ndin! the tr#n.. Accordin!ly, the vario#s !arments and ornaments can be identified ,ith the divine po,ers 3!reat !ods4 constit#tin! the treeB in the S#merian version of the myth, they are, in fact, e-plicitly called po,ers 3me4.('

"he !reat !ods are th#s in the Descent of Ishtar red#ced into mere !arments and ornaments of I:tar 5 abstract psychic po,ers, ,hose presence or absence in the so#l determines its salvation or perdition. In terms of the f#nctions of the !reat !ods, these po,ers can be defined as di!nity 30ate I9 An#4, ,isdom and pr#dence 30ate II9 8a and S>n4, reason 30ate III9 <#mm#4, A#d!ment and mercy 30ate I$9 Cama: and <ard#.4, love 30ate $9 I:tar4, honor and pride 30ate $I9 Adad and abL4, and shame 30ate $II9 er!al4. "he sacred tree can th#s be seen as a symbolic representation of the perfect, #ndefiled so#l in its heavenly !lory, vested in all its divine po,ers, !arments and ornaments 5 in other ,ords, an ima!e of <#lliss#, the heavenly I:tar.(% "his a!rees ,ith <#lliss#Ks identification ,ith the date palm 3the tr#n. and cro,n of the sacred tree4, ma.in! her cons#bstantial ,ith her son, the perfect man.(& "he ei!ht*pointed star of the !oddess can similarly be interpreted to symboli6e I:tar as the bearer of all the po,ers,(7 the ei!ht points of the star standin! for the ei!ht male !ods s#rro#ndin! I:tar in the !enealo!ical tree 3see p. H above4. THE G D! A! # L &! Another symbol of I:tar ,as the 6i!!#rat 3the <esopotamian temple to,er4, ,hose seven sta!es and mo#ntain shape associated it ,ith the seven*sta!ed descent and ascent of the !oddess.(; Eemains of colorin! on the 6i!!#rat of the Assyrian capital city D#r*Carr#.en sho, that each of its sta!es ,as painted in a different color, the se1#ence of colors correspondin! to the colorin! of the seven concentric ,alls of 8cbatana in Jerodot#s I +I 3,hite, blac., p#rple, bl#e, oran!e, !old, silver4, probably symboli6in! the seven planetary spheres 3$en#s, Sat#rn, <ars, <erc#ry, =#piter, S#n, and <oon4. Descent from its silver*colored top 3the moonT4 thro#!h the seven sta!es 32 the seven !ates of the nether,orld4 ,o#ld have symboli6ed #ndressin!, ,hile ascendin! it ,o#ld have symboli6ed donnin! the colored !arments. "he ima!e of a m#lticolored seven*sta!ed 6i!!#rat associated ,ith the planetary spheres probably lies behind the <ithraic ascent of the so#l described in /ri!enKs Contra Cels#m, ,here the initiate climbs a ladder ,ith seven !ates, the first 3of lead4 associated ,ith Sat#rn, the second 3of tin4 ,ith $en#s, the third 3of bron6e4 ,ith =#piter, the fo#rth 3of iron4 ,ith <erc#ry, the fifth 3of electr#m4 ,ith <ars, the si-th 3of silver4 ,ith the <oon, and the seventh 3of !old4 ,ith the S#n.() In this ima!e, the !reat !ods are a!ain red#ced to mere 1#alities of the so#l, colors, the f#ll se1#ence of ,hich symboli6ed the heavenly !lory of the so#l. THE &AIN% + "hro#!h her association ,ith the colors of the 6i!!#rat, I:tar ,as also associated ,ith the rainbo,, another important symbol relatin! to the ascent of the so#l. "he conver!ence of the f#ll spectr#m of colors in the rainbo, symboli6ed I:tarKs heavenly ori!in 5 she ,as the da#!hter of An#, in ,hom the identities of all the !ods conver!ed 5, ,hile its bo, shape symboli6ed her as 0odKs ,eapon a!ainst sin and death. In 8nFma eli:, <ard#. fashions a bo,, desi!nates it as his ,eapon, and defeats "iamat ,ith itB later An# lifts it #p, .isses it, calls it my da#!hter, and fi-es it as a constellation in the s.y. "he constellation in 1#estion, Bo, Star, o#r Canis <aior, rose in Ab 3A#!#st4, a month ,ith prominent nether,orld connotations, and its e1#ation ,ith I:tar 3both as da#!hter of An# and da#!hter of the moon4 is ,ell attested in Assyrian te-ts. Conse1#ently, the ,eapon by ,hich <ard#. defeats "iamat act#ally is I:tar. 8lse,here in 8nFma eli:, this ,eapon is called Del#!e, reflectin! I:tarKs ,ell*.no,n role in brin!in! abo#t the Del#!e in 0il!amesh VI. "he del#!e bo,, ,hich already occ#rs in S#merian mytholo!y as

the ,eapon of in#rta, is of co#rse nothin! b#t the rainbo,, ,hich is !iven as a name of I:tar in !od listsB in addition, both Bo, Star and Eainbo, Star occ#r as names of $en#s and are e1#ated ,ith $ir!o in astrolo!ical te-ts. Bro.en into its components, the lo!o!ram for rainbo,, d"IE.A . A, si!nifies bo, of An# or bo, of heaven.(( With his del#!e bo,, 0od destroys the ,ic.ed b#t saves the A#st. In the Descent of I:tar, the ascent of the so#l is made conditional #pon the relin1#ishment of "amm#6 as the s#bstit#te for the !oddess in the nether,orld. "his is an alle!ory for the instit#tion of divine .in!ship #pon earth and an etiolo!y for the redemptory death of the .in!. In materiali6in! the idea of the perfect man in the h#man .in!, 0od !ave man.ind an e-ample to follo, and a shepherd to !#ide it to the path of salvation. "amm#6, the shepherd .in!, is the .in! as a tree planted by I:tar, the son of 0od ,ho had to come to the ,orld, ta.e h#man form, and die and rise a!ain in order to provide man.ind ,ith a livin! e-ample of the perfection re1#ired for salvation.(H "he dyin! and res#rrected "amm#6 th#s has to be #nderstood as one of the .in!Ks most central roles, the savior sacrificed for manKs sa.e. Whereas in#rta is the .in! as victorio#s hero ,ho van1#ishes death and disease, ret#rns to his father in tri#mph and is e-alted to !lory in heaven, "amm#6 is the shepherd dyin! for his floc., the felled tree, ,hose death is ,ailed bitterly. By ma.in! I:tar responsible for the death of "amm#6, the myth presents his sacrifice as an act of divine love comparable to % =ohn ;9+, Por 0od is loveB and his love ,as disclosed to #s in this, that he sent his only Son into the ,orld to brin! #s life. "his idea may lie behind the motif of the arro,*shootin! !od 3Pi!. )4, a familiar b#t eni!matic ima!e in Assyrian imperial art, ,hich can be interpreted as a symbolic representation of 0od the father sendin! his son into the ,orld, the !od sendin! the arro, to its tar!et representin! 8nlil?<ard#., the divine .in!B the arro, representin! his son, in#rta? abLB the bo,, <#lliss#?I:tarB and the monster hit by the arro,, the ,orld as a place of sin, dar.ness and death.(I ote that both A::#r and I:tar share the epithet lover of 3all4 man.ind.(+ The Trinity We th#s have in the Assyrian .in! the perfect doctrinal co#terpart of the Christian savior9 a ,ord of 0od become flesh,H' a lamb of 0od sacrificed for the sa.e of man. What is more, his relationship to 0od is defined e-actly in terms of the "rinitarian doctrine 3one s#bstance 5 three persons4 in its A#!#stinian elaboration, ,here the Joly Spirit is the m#t#al love of Pather and Son, the cons#bstantial bond that #nites them. "he .in!Ks cons#bstantiality 5 homoo#sia 5 ,ith 0od ,as encoded in the sacred tree, sim#ltaneo#sly representin! the psychic str#ct#re of the cosmic man, the heavenly I:tar, and the .in!. In the S#merian myth An!imdimma, available in several copies in the royal libraries of ineveh, the heavenly cro,n prince and savior, in#rta, Created li.e An#, havin! van1#ished the forces of dar.ness threatenin! his fatherKs .in!dom, tri#mphantly ret#rns to his celestial home and, praised and blessed by his father and mother, is e-alted beside them on a holy dais in the throne room.H% "his scene, e-plained to refer to the .in! in Assyrian c#ltic commentaries,H& finds a !raphic representation in the triad of !ods occasionally ridin! on the ,in!ed dis. of A::#r in Assyrian imperial !lyptics 3Pi!. (4. "he central fi!#re, raisin! its hand in a !est#re of blessin!, can be identified as 8nlil?<ard#.B the fi!#re on the ri!ht ,in!, receivin! the blessin!, as in#rta? abL, and the fi!#re on the left ,in!, li.e,ise raisin! its hand in blessin!, as his mother, <#lliss#?I:tar.H7 In some representions, the ri!ht and left hand fi!#res are red#ced to mere circles or vol#tes emer!in! from the central fi!#reB often a sin!le vol#te stands for all three fi!#res.H; "his implies not only that the accompanyin! fi!#res ,ere conceived as essentially one ,ith the central fi!#re, b#t that all three to!ether constit#ted an indivisible, homo!eneo#s ,hole. Jence the confi!#ration 8nlil5<#lliss#5 in#rta does not A#st represent a triad of !ods b#t a tr#e trinity*in*#nity in the Christian and eoplatonic sense of the concept. "he ,in!ed dis. bein! the primary symbol of A::#r, and the vol#te

or the triad of !ods bein! fo#nd in virt#ally all representations of it, one is forced to concl#de that a doctrine similar to the "rinitarian doctrine ,as an essential component of the Assyrian concept of !od. "he Assyrian version of the "rinity 5 Pather, <other, Son 5 has a perfect parallel in the !nostic antecedant of the Christian "rinity. Accordin! to the treatise "rimorphic Protennoia, the $oice that ori!inated from the "ho#!ht Nof the @o!osO e-ists as three permanences9 the Pather, the <other, the SonBH) the treatise /n the /ri!in of the World faithf#lly echoes the e-altation of in#rta, presentin! the holy spirit as a vir!in seated #pon a throne at the left of Sabaoth and !lorifyin! =es#s Christ, ,ho resembles the savior above in the ei!hth heaven and ,ho sits at his ri!ht #pon a revered throne.H( In a vision described in "he Apocryphon of =ohn, there ,as a Nli.enessO ,ith m#ltiple forms in the li!ht, and the Nli.enessesO appeared thro#!h each other, NandO the Nli.enessO had tree forms, ,ho said9 =ohn, =ohn ... do not NbeO timidT 5 I am the one ,ho is N,ith yo#O al,ays. I Nam the PatherO, I am the <other, I am the Son.HH "his passa!e has a stri.in! parallel in an Assyrian oracle ,here the Spirit first spea.s as <ard#. 3the Pather4, then as I:tar 3the <other4, and finally as abL 3the Son4, as if she ,ere repeatedly p#ttin! on ne, mas.s to s#it the chan!in! themes of the prophecy.HI # N#LU!I N , THE %I&TH " A!!$&IAN M N THEI!M

In s#mmary, it may be stated that a monotheistic concept of !od ,as an essential str#ct#ral feat#re of Assyrian reli!ion, philosophy and royal ideolo!y, and ,as firmly rooted in a comple- b#t coherent doctrinal system #nderlyin! the entire imperial c#lt#re from mytholo!y to royal rit#als and vis#al arts. "he fact that this doctrinal system ,as elaborated and propa!ated by means of vis#al symbols, metaphors and even riddles rather than in terms of Aristotelian lo!ic does not ma.e it non*e-istent nor detract from the po,er of its impact #pon contemporary and later reli!io#s and philosophical tho#!ht.H+ "he Assyrian concept of !od ,as rooted in political and concept#al str#ct#res inherited from earlier <esopotamian empires, and essential elements of it li.e the doctrine of the perfect man probably e-isted already in the early third millenni#m.I' It can be ass#med that ,hile the system as a ,hole #ndo#btedly #nder,ent modifications in the co#rse of time, its basic feat#res remained essentially #nchan!ed over the millennia. evertheless, the heavily monotheistic bent of Assyrian reli!ion appears to have been a !en#inely Assyrian development. "he system of divine n#mbers ,hich formali6ed the doctrine of the #nity of the divine po,ers, the sacred tree in its triadic elaboration, as ,ell as the e1#ation 0od 2 3all4 the !ods appear only ,ith the emer!ence of the <iddle Assyrian empire in the %;th cent#ry BC8.I% "his historical event, then, and especially the concomitant By6antini6ation of the emperor c#lt, appears to have been the cr#cial catalyst to the birth of Assyrian monotheism. In the co#rse of the follo,in! H'' years, and especially #nder the eo*Assyrian empire 3ca. +''*('' BC84, the f#ndamentals of Assyrian reli!ion and royal ideolo!y 5 the concept of one almi!hty 0od, and the emperorKs stat#s as his son sent for the salvation of man.ind 5 ,ere systematically propa!ated to the r#lin! elite and the masses by means of hi!hly symbolic vis#al arts, co#rt ceremony, reli!io#s festivals and mytholo!y, so as to finally become a factor permanently dominatin! the reli!io#s ideas and attit#des of the entire ear 8ast. #mero#s centers of hi!her learnin! speciali6in! in the relevant doctrines e-isted in palaces and temples thro#!ho#t the empire. In addition, the esoteric doctrines of the emperor c#lt ,ere transmitted all over the empire and beyond it by comm#nities of devotees of I:tar strivin! for salvation and eternal life in the footsteps of the !oddess. 8-treme asceticism, self*mortification and even self*castration ,ere conspic#o#s feat#res of these comm#nities, ,hose ideal ,as the andro!yno#s saint transcendin! all passions of the flesh and ,hose !oal ,as #nion ,ith 0od already in this life.I&

"he doctrinal and str#ct#ral similarities of Assyrian reli!ion ,ith Christianity, 0nosticism, and =e,ish mysticism are s#ch that they call for a radical reconsideration of the role of Assyria?Syria in the !enesis of =e,ish and Christian monotheism. Par from bein! a sea of polytheistic beliefs and practices s#rro#ndin! 3pre*4 e-ilic =#daism and early Christianity, Assyria?Syria has finally to be reco!ni6ed as an area ,ith deep*rooted monotheistic traditions antedatin! by cent#ries the emer!ence of De#teronomic monotheism. "he e-istence of these traditions, ,hich as a res#lt of lon!*term imperial propa!anda ,ere permanently rooted in the area, acco#nts for the prominent role of Syria in the history of early Christianity and for the pec#liar doctrinal and ascetic bent of Syriac Christianity.I7 o ,onder Syria and the previo#s areas of Assyria ,ere so easily converted to ChristianityB in the ,ords of Patricia Crone and <ichael Coo. paraphrasin! the Syriac Acta <artyr#m, the Assyrians ,ere monotheists before Christ and Christians after him, and the past therefore led on to the present ,itho#t a brea..